Hipster Bar


They shuffled into this tiny hipster hole in the wall bar with absolutely no room. The space was crawling with twenty somethings. Goren felt that his large body was not a commodity at the moment. He was certainly overdressed in his suit. He never felt so out of place in his life and he often felt like an outsider even in his own life. He undid his tie and stuffed it in his suit jacket which was folded on his lap. He undid a couple buttons and rolled up his sleeves a little passed his wrist. "This. Eames. This is the last time you are picking out a bar."

"What? It was new and it seems to be very popular."

"And very not us."

"Exactly. You did say no cop bar." She smiled at him mischievously even though he hated the place he would be more comfortable than at the typical spots they normally frequent which often had a higher cop clientele.

Goren glanced over the menu options and grimaced as Eames almost got toppled by a couple heading toward the bar. She was saved by Goren pulling her to him at the last second. "Hey watch it." He held her close to his side.

"This bar does have one good benefit."

"What?"

"This." She grabbed his chin bringing his head up and looked into his eyes briefly then kissed him. Goren continued it from where she left off. The kiss was passionate but sweetly chaste and tender. Eames pressed her body against his body using his size to shield her from getting trampled. Goren opened his eyes slowly as he reluctantly brought himself back to the present.

"That is a great benefit."

"Say it. I was right." She relaxed her hands against his chest as she spoke.

Goren chuckled softly, "not really typical bar food." He closed the menu and placed it back into its receptacle.

"The easier it will be to get drunk and give a big middle finger to those bastards. What they are doing...its "

"You are going to get plastered, Alex"

She stuck out her tongue. "I'm not that bad. I have you know I have a very high alcohol tolerance."

"You do but everyone has their limit and you have a tendency to drink passed it." She smacked his arm playfully.

"Well, it's more fun that way." She laughed and he smiled back at her.

"So what do you think happened to Donny?" His face was more somber when he brought Donny up.

"Last I heard, he escaped by faking an appendicitis attack."

"What was he thinking?"

"He was probably scared. Seeing you like that probably didn't make him feel safe, you know."

The bartender finally made his way in their direction nodding a what would you have greeting. "Yeah I'll have a Glevilet. And uh she'll have…"

"Vodka martini. Easy on the vermouth."

"We don't have those."

"Well what do you have?"

"IPAs. Dogfish head, Blind pig, Stone IPA, Voodoo Ranger, Brooklyn East IPA"

"Just Great. Just bring me the strongest beer on tap. Uh mixed Drinks?"

"Kombucha, Moscow mule, Charred Pineapple Mojito, Lavender Collins, pickle juice pair, white claw, and Elderflower and Lime Martini"

"Can't you just make the martini and leave that other stuff out?"

"Sorry ma'am. Drinks come as is."

"Well that puts a damper of tips."

"Goren put his hand out. How about that mojito?"

"Fine."

"Can I also get a shot of Jim Beam?"

"Coming right up."

Goren turned to Eames and gave her the funniest look of bewilderment. "Still satisfied with your bar choice?"

She just shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"I wonder where he would go? He's too smart to go back to his mom's. Uh do you think he would reach out to Frank again? He's in serious trouble, Alex."

"Apparently, he takes after his uncle."

"Gorens, we really are a cursed bunch."

Their drinks came. Eames winced in Goren's direction. "Even I got to admit this is bad." She downed it and switched her drink to jim beam. "You gonna be okay?" She placed her hand on his leg for comfort.

"I'm used to getting in trouble. You're right it will probably blow over eventually."

"It still bothers you."

"It's my job. It's what I am good at. Without it what do I have?"

"You'll still have me." He kissed her forehead.

"What a rotten set of circumstance . You went in to help your nephew and now he's missing and you are on suspension. Shit."

Goren drank in her face, the way the light fell onto her cheeks and her eyes lit up when she laughed. He never seen anyone as caring and pretty as her. He got lucky. He would have been sulking and drinking alone but somehow she just got under his skin. He normally would push her away but he needed her now because she grounded him. He felt so lost but being by her side felt like maybe he wasn't as lost as he thought.

"Hey let's go home."

"Okay." She replied as she put on the biggest smile across her face.

"C'mere" Goren pulled her into his arms. He breathed her in, her subtle floral scent not overpowering but enough to make him close the distance. He exhaled. She put her arms around his neck running them up and down. His hair stood on his neck as he took in how good her soft touch felt. He closed his eyes then bent down to catch her lips and placed a few kisses on her neck. "Thank you."

"Mmm for what?"

"Being with me and loving me."

Goren called a cab and brought Eames home. He wavered around the door. Thoughts of work, Tates, and Donny were cascading through his mind. He was exhausted but his body was wired with energy to do something, to fix something. He was about to leave when Eames got his attention.

"You're not staying?" Eames pouted undressing and leaving a trail of garments as she clumsily walked to the bedroom. Goren laughed and she shushed him. "You are too loud," she shouted.

"Yeah, okay. I'm too loud." He followed her into the room removing his clothes along the way.

She passed out shortly after they had sex, sleeping soundly on her side. His mind couldn't settle. He was still angry at the thought of the suspension and now increasingly worried about Donny. He picked up his pants from the floor. They made a clink sound when the belt made contact with the frame of the bed. He carefully put them on to avoid making any more noise and grabbed his undershirt and slipped that on. The rest of the suit could stay there. He just needed to get out.

He kissed Eames' forehead brushing her messy hair from her eyes and cheek. He made his way to the door, grabbed his jacket and sneaked out taking the subway toward Frank's address. He's gotta know something.