From then on, he found it harder to avoid her. She was always there, but always unattainable and it was slowly driving him insane. So, he decided it was time to turn the tables, and turn them good he did.

"Dan not with you?" Smithy asked absently, taking the tray to their table. A nudge from Nate meant a few spilt drinks and in return, Smithy nabbed his wallet, stole two tenners and announced the rest of the drinks were on Nate.

"He's coming along later," Stevie replied, "Why? Worried I've told him about our little tryst in the cupboard?"

She's trying to rile him but he's wise to her games and merely shrugs, a content smile on his face.

"It was hardly a tryst, Stevie. A glimpse of your underwear hardly needs mentioning."

"You clearly haven't met Dan then," is all she replies with, before turning her attention to her phone, with Dan to appear several minutes later.

Smithy tries to stifle a laugh as a short, curly haired man slips an arm around Stevie's back. This was his competition? To date he'd only seen pictures, heard stories, caught glimpses of the man (none of which did him any justice.) Feeling a bout of cockiness unable to be suppressed, Smithy took to the bar to get in another round (courtesy of Nate, who tried - and failed - to regain his money.)

Dan left to use the bathroom, meaning Stevie had nothing else to busy herself with than to watch Smithy's every action. He appeared in deep conversation with two other people; one being a man Stevie felt she'd met before - one of Smithy's friends, she believed. But the other, the other she struggled to see, until Smithy moved further round the bar and a young red-head came into Stevie's view. She listened as Smithy guffawed at her every sentence, wondering when he'd look over and give her that smirk to let her know he's just trying to make her jealous. But it never came and Smithy's conversation deepened, and Stevie forced herself to watch as he touched the girl's arm and bought her another drink.

Dan returned several minutes later and tried to regain his girlfriend's attention, much to Stevie's dismay. Keeping a watchful eye on Smithy's closeness, she managed to spill her drink over both herself and Dan when Smithy leant in and placed a gentle kiss on his companion's face. Noticing the commotion where his colleagues sat, Smithy failed to hide a smirk as Stevie headed to the ladies, in an attempt to clean herself up. Finishing his goodbyes to the girl in front of him - Coral O'Reilly - he took a shortcut to the loos and diverted Stevie's path, pulling her into the male toilets with him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Stevie's mock outrage was only spurring Smithy on, backing her against the furthest wall from the entrance.

"Cornering you." Smithy placed an arm either side of Stevie's body, leaving just the smallest gap between the two of them.

"Dan could walk in any momen-"

"He won't," Smithy assured her, a smirk tattooed on his face. His short, curt replies made her feel nervous for reasons she couldn't fully understand. He paused and just watched her, the smirk fading and a genuine smile replacing the malice. "So why don't you shut up and kiss me?"

Stevie didn't need much persuasion, bypassing the guilt and softly pulling Smithy's head down to hers, securing her fingers at the base of his neck. Each fingertip softly brushed the hair at the nape of his neck as her tongue invaded his mouth and his hands met her back. Only the sound of a nearby toilet flushing broke them apart, and without that, there was no teeling how far they would have gone..