Chapter 9

The bar was loud, with a large dancefloor and VIP booths surrounding it. Tony, of course, got them the biggest booth available. Lizzy wasn't sure how he managed since they didn't have a reservation, maybe Tony Stark just had a VIP booth in every bar in New York ready for him, just in case.

They all set their things down and Tony ordered a round of drinks. Lizzy had a Margarita, Tequila was her drink, even if Tony laughed at her for being cliché. "Santiago, you could try something else you know." Lizzy laughed, threw out a "viva Mexico!" and sipped on her drink. Barnes sat across the booth from her, she could swear he did it on purpose, just to annoy her. She glared at him, but quickly looked away when she realized she was starting to get lost in his blue eyes- damn him.

Bucky ordered a beer, more for the sake of having something to hold than anything else. He hated himself so of course he chose the seat across from Lizzy. She glared at him for a second; then her eyes turned away, she almost looked embarrassed. God her eyes were pretty. He stood up abruptly. He came here with a purpose, and he wouldn't find what he was looking for in this booth. He pulled Steve with him and headed to the bar.

"So, you still planning on finding a dame tonight?" Steve asked.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"It's just Lizzy is here and she looks beautiful, you could always ask her to-"

"No Steve."

That ended the conversation. Bucky looked around and saw a pair of girls eyeing him and Steve not too far away. They were both tall: leggy, blonde hair, blue eyes. They looked nothing like Lizzy, perfect. He walked over, dragging Steve behind him. "Hello dolls," he said, "can we buy you girls a drink?"

They giggled, "of course you can," the taller one said, "I'm Carey, and this is Stacy."

"I'm Bucky, this is Steve."

"Ohmygod, you're Captain America," Carey yelled and pointed.

"Uhhhmm yeah," Steve scratched the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.

"Are you Bucky Barnes? The Winter Soldier?!" This time Stacy was the one yelling.

"Yeah doll, though they don't call me the Winter Soldier anymore."

"That is so cool!" They squealed in unison. They ordered their drinks, courtesy of Tony Stark, and stood off to the side making idle conversation. This was nice, Bucky thought, they seemed normal enough, obviously attractive and, his favorite, very into him. Steve seemed to be loosening up, he had graduated from blushing and stammering to shy responses to the girls' questions.

Bucky glanced around the bar, looking in the direction of the VIP booth. Nat and Lizzy were gone, he scanned the crowd to look for them- not that he cared. He clenched his jaw when he saw Lizzy talking to some guy, tall, kind of nerdy, wavy hair and glasses. He was handsome he guessed- if you were into that sort of thing. Lizzy seemed to like him, she was laughing at something he said, he seemed pleased. Bucky tightened his grip around his beer bottle; she could do better. Stacy said something-

"What was that?"

"Oh I was just asking if you wanted to dance." She said with a flirty smile.

"Sure," he said, guiding her to the dance floor. Some pop song was playing, he didn't recognize it but it seemed to be popular, the crowd was excited. He pressed up against Stacy, feeling her curves, she wasn't as curvy as Lizzy, her rhythm was a little off, not like when Lizzy was dancing to that one song. He caught his train of thought, and tried to focus on the beautiful woman in front of him. She turned around and kissed him, it was fine.

Across the room Lizzy talked to Matt, he was an engineer, obviously smart, a little awkward with a cute sense of humor. She liked him, he was the kind of guy you could have a relationship with- though that wasn't the goal tonight. Still, she kept talking to him, she saw Barnes in the corner of her eye and she tried not to notice the beautiful woman following him to the dance floor.

"Can I get you a drink?"

"Of course, thanks Matt." She followed him to the bar, he ordered for them and then they went back to their conversation, they were laughing as they described all the ways the show runners had absolutely ruined the Game of Thrones finale. "I can't even watch the older episodes anymore!" They both laughed. She hadn't felt like this around a man for a long time. It wasn't like what she felt for Bucky, nothing compared to that feeling, but it was warm and promising.

"Could I get your number? Maybe we can get dinner sometime?" Matt looked hopeful.

"Of course, I would love that," she smiled at him, he was such a sweet guy.

Bucky pulled away from Stacy, she was giddy, he was underwhelmed. He saw Lizzy out of the corner of his eye- was she giving that guy her number? Bucky turned back to Carey, wait, Stacy, and pulled her in for another kiss.

"Do you want to get out of here?" he mumbled into her lips.

"Sure," she said, breathlessly.

Bucky led her to the exit, he'd get a cab back to the compound, he told Steve to let the group know. Steve gave him a small wave and a half smile, Carey was talking to him about her job selling makeup and Steve was patiently listening. He had a feeling she wasn't the one.