Michael sits at a round dirty wood table in the center of a dark pub. To his left is a dance floor, and to his right is the drink counter. Out of the corner of his eye he see's a man slip the bartender a few bills, probably to get him too have a girl come over. He looks back to the front and see's a woman holding hands with a man, but realizes that she is being secretive and notices another man grabbing their drinks from a counter. Michael narrows his eyebrows. He's never liked cheaters, whether its on tests or husbands. Michael straightens his green plaid shirt, and looks up at the cheating woman again. This time though, she is not holding hands with the other man and she is arguing with her husband. Michael looks away. He can't let someone else's problem bother him. Michael scouts the pub a few more times noticing other hidden acts such as a nosy girl looking at her friends phone, a man pick pocketing another man as he exits the bar, or the bartender pouring himself a few shots that he did not pay for. Finally, he see's the swish of her chocolate brown hair as Fiona enters the bar. She's wearing a gray above the knee dress, and her hair is flowing down her arms. He realizes that her bangs must have been clipped back before, because now she wears them down, just above her eyebrows. She looks around for a second, as if pretending to look for Michael but he knows she has already seen him. She must be scouting the area but covering it up by pretending to look for me, He thinks. She finally pretends to have found him and she smiles sweetly and waves as she walks towards him. Michael smiles back a small smile and gets up out of his chair to greet her.
"Hello." He says, pulling her chair out for her.
"Hello." She replies. She seems happy, but tired.
"Long day?" He asks concerned.
"Long day." She says, but then she perks up, smiling. "But glad to be with you tonight, mister Michael McBride." He grins.
"Me too." He replies happily.
"So, I've been meaning to ask you a question." Fiona says cautiously.
"And?" Michael asks, afraid of what the question might be.
"Before I had asked you what your job was, and you had said 'It's complicated'. What exactly did that mean?" She says, smiling mysteriously. Michael thinks carefully for a moment. They were treading into dangerous waters.
"You said the same thing." Michael answers, playfully. "What exactly does that mean?" Fiona smirks. Michael is unsure of what she will say, because she seems uncomfortable. He feels bad, and decides to just jump out of the water instead of hitting the bottom. "How about he just think about now and not talk about work?" He says, smiling.
"Sure." She replies, looking relieved.
At that moment, the bartender calls out, "Is there anything I can get for ye, lovers?" He says, flashing a missing tooth grin. Perfect timing, Michael thinks as Fiona asks the bartender for a bottle of whiskey.
Fiona takes a sip of whiskey, looking at the dance floor to her right. She then sets it down, thinking about the night. They had talking about everything; their favorite foods, colors, activities. Their favorite magazines (which so happened to be the same one, Gun Digest), movies, and T.V. shows. They had literally talked about everything, except two topics that were avoided the whole time. Childhood and work. Fiona didn't think that Michael was trying to hide anything about his childhood. She had noticed how his eyes turned fiery for a minute but then they softened and he had changed the subject. He must have had a rough childhood, she thinks. Just as she is about to ask Michael a question he holds out his hand to her.
"Would ye like to dance?" He asks, smiling that small sweet smile of his.
Fiona giggles a little, but then takes his hand and stands up. "I would love to." She replies. Michael stands up and they both walk over to the dance floor. They dance through a few songs of upbeat music, Fiona giggling and Michael grinning as they dance sillily. But then a man calls out "LAST SONG!" and the music goes into a slow dance. The lyrics start, and Fiona and Michael hold their hands together at one side. Fiona puts her hand on his shoulder as he puts his hand on her hip. He's not like most guys, She thinks. He doesn't want me for my looks, he wants me for, me. Fiona stares at Michael, mesmerized by his face. And Michael stares back, staring into her hazelnut eyes. She finally tears her eyes away from his face and rests her cheek on his shoulder, inhaling his smell of sweat and cologne. When the song finally ends, she takes her cheek of his shoulder and looks up at him.
"My place?" He asks her, smiling that sweet smile of his.
"Your place." She replies, nodding and smiling. They walk out of the pub holding hands and walk to Michael's car. As they get in the car, Fiona smiles at Michael, and Michael smiles back. I've never been so happy in my life, Fiona thinks, as she gets into the car, ready to start a relationship with this man who she met this morning.