Such a discovery was made in the form of a lounge bar and grille just down the block from Luke's hotel. It was a casual place, filled with men and women who appeared to be enjoying a drink after work. Some wore suits, some wore clothes more in step with Luke's own attire, and still others wore more various outfits from cowboy hats to scrubs. Luke was amused by the eclectic crowd the small place seemed to attract and wandered inside, taking a seat at the bar. The place wasn't overly crowded, a few tables taken up with smaller groups and other single customers were eating and drinking at the bar. A basketball game was on the TV overhead, though Luke honestly had no idea who was playing, nor did he care, but he still glanced at it with mild interest, though mostly resorted to people watching.
The bartender came down and gave Luke a menu. In the meantime Luke ordered a soda before he began flipping through the generic but oh-so-good sounding food options.
In the end he chose a rather simple burger and a side of chili that he had to admit was actually quite delicious, though it didn't match up to Al's of course. The game had ended and the local news was now on and Luke found himself being pulled into the fluff stories that he knew absolutely nothing about. People came and went but for the most part it stayed fairly busy, giving the building just the right amount of chatter. Around 9pm the lights at the back of the place dimmed and music began to play. More and more people showed up and took to the dance floor. Luke was entertained, enjoying the music and continuing to slowly pick at his food. He ordered another soda, deciding that he had no problem with spending the rest of his evening here.
The bartender delivered Luke his soda before sidestepping to take a simple order of beer from the man who had just sat down a few stools over. Luke looked up with mild curiosity, noticing that like a few others, this man was wearing scrubs. He knew the hospital was nearby so he wasn't at all surprised. The only thing that intrigued him about this particular man was how down he seemed to be.
"Tough day?" Luke asked casually, glancing up at the man for only a moment before sipping his drink. The man looked up at him, appearing almost offended that Luke had interrupted his solitude.
"You could say that," he offered grudgingly, bringing the beer he had just been handed to his lips. He sat the glass down with an unsatisfied sigh, leaning onto the bar and raking a hand through his thick curly hair.
"Sorry to hear that," Luke continued. Again the man looked up with the same dumbfounded expression. He glanced at the bits of chili and burger left in front of Luke, and at his non-alcoholic beverage, and frowned.
"Do you always insist on starting conversations with random strangers at bars, or am I just lucky?" he said in a very forwardly annoyed voice. Luke tried not to roll his eyes, his shoulders tightening.
"Just making small talk," he said with an amused grin he couldn't hide.
"Small talk is a waste of time," the man groaned, taking a sip of his beer again.
"Not always," Luke shrugged. The man turned to him again, staring with disbelief.
"Are you still talking?" he asked rudely.
Luke let out a mock laugh. "Sorry," he said, still unable to suppress a grin, clearly amused by this man's bad mood. "You just looked like you could use more than just a beer."
The man stared at Luke, his expression softening but not necessarily growing any friendlier.
"I'll stick to the beer, thanks."
"Suit yourself," Luke shrugged, returning to his food.
Some time later Luke noticed that the man was not so covertly staring at him. He looked up with a curious expression, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
"Can I help you?" asked Luke. The man closed his eyes and looked away, shaking his head.
"No," was all he said. Luke gave him a confused look. The man sighed. "You eat like a four year old," he said evenly and Luke actually laughed. "I'm glad you find your lack of table manners amusing," he continued almost bitterly, taking a sip of his second drink.
"I do, actually. Clearly you've never watched a four year old eat," Luke laughed.
"And clearly you're an expect on the eating habits of four-year-olds?" the man ventured, almost immediately regretting that he was actually continuing with this conversation. Luke shook his head, putting down his drink.
"Not necessarily, but I do have a four-year-old brother, and I can promise you that I'm nowhere near as messy as he is."
"Wait, you have a brother who is four?" the man asked, turning more fully toward him. "How old are you exactly?"
Luke was surprised by the man's sudden interest. "Twenty-three," he answered. The man looked a bit surprised.
"That's an impressive age difference. I'd love to see the woman who managed to push out both of you," he said, not caring how rude he sounded.
Luke brushed the comment off. He wasn't exactly the most easily offended. "Let's just say I don't come from the most conventional of families," Luke grinned.
"Oh yeah?" the man went on, again regretting his words, especially when he saw the blond start grinning. It had to be the alcohol kicking in.
"I won't bore you with details, but yeah. I'm from a small town, everybody knows everybody, and almost everybody is related. And, if you're not related, you might as well be," Luke explained with a smirk, thinking fondly of Oakdale.
"Sounds a lot like Hell," the man frowned. So did Luke.
"It can be, sometimes. It's hard to get away from things, from people," he said sadly. The man noticed his sudden change in disposition, but chose to ignore it.
"So is that why you're sitting in a bar in the middle of Dallas striking up conversations with whomever happens to have the unfortunate luck of sitting next to you?"
This made Luke grin. "I guess you could say that," he began. "I'm actually here for work, though."
"Don't tell me your another one of those⦠college, indie kids going to that stupid film festival they've been littering the city with flyers about," the man groaned. Luke grinned.
"No, I'm definitely not the film junkie," Luke insisted. "That would be my boy-" he cut off, face falling. The man looked at him curiously, but Luke just shook his head. "Never mind," he said, forcing a smile. "No, I'm not here for the film festival."
"Good. That's one point in the positive direction for you," said the man.
"Oh, so I'm on a point scale, huh?" asked Luke. The man actually managed a bit of a grin, which only made Luke smile more.
"Not really, but I could start ranking you if that would make you feel better," he said sarcastically. Luke knew he was only kidding, but decided to take him up on the offer.
"Oh really? How would you rank me then?"
The man looked up, a bit stunned. He thought for a moment, taking a deep breath, and another gulp of beer.
"Well, on a scale of one to ten," he began, looking the boy over with seemingly vague interest. "I'd say a four for conversation, three for wit, and, let's say, seven and half for looks."
Luke stared for a moment, then grinned curiously.
"I'm not sure if I should feel complimented or insulted," he laughed awkwardly. The man shrugged.
"Like I said, small talk doesn't interest me, so the low marks for that shouldn't surprise you."
"For someone who doesn't like small talk you sure have been talkative," Luke pointed out slyly. The man actually grinned.
"I blame the alcohol," he said. They both laughed.
"I'm Luke by the way. Luke Snyder," said Luke, offering his hand. They'd been talking for a while and he figured it only made sense to introduce themselves. The man seemed to debate for a moment before finally shaking his hand.
"Dr. Reid Oliver," he offered. Luke instantly smiled.
