Soooo, this was going to be a short 2-chapter thing...but it's morphed into a bit more than that. Blame it on being a rookie I guess ;) Maybe I'll do the story as an #HallmarkAfterDark some time

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Eliz-a-bethhh. You have to come out tonight. Come and let your hair down a little before the school year starts on Monday."

Elizabeth wasn't sure how to respond.

"C'mon Beth. New town, new job" she continued "new man" tentatively.

"Rosie, I don't know if I'm ready for that yet!"

Rosemary glanced at her friend and took a breath before responding carefully. "I know Elizabeth. Losing Jack has been the hardest thing of your life. My heart broke for you. It still does. But you know Jack wouldn't want you to mourn him forever. Don't you think Little Jack deserves to see his mum happy? It's been four years."

Elizabeth Thornton sighed. She knew Rosemary was right. Jack would want her to open her heart to find love again. And Little Jack was missing having a father-figure in his life. Her dad was being a wonderful Grandfather to him, far more involved and loving than he was when she was a child.

"I dated Lucas for a year remember?"

How could she forget? He'd swept in with his grand gestures, but never seemed to want to get to know the real Elizabeth, and from what she'd told Rosemary, he wasn't particularly good with LJ either. "Yeesss, you did. Maybe he was the bridge you needed to show you that you can move on? But he wasn't your forever. He wasn't the right one for you. Or Little Jack. You deserve someone who sets your heart on fire!" she finished with a flounce only Rosie could do.

Elizabeth gave her the side eye. LJ was still at her parent's home in Hamilton, giving her time to settle in to her new life for a few weeks before joining her in Hope Valley.

"Please? Let's go out. I'm not going to force you to meet guys. I promise, but at least come have a few drinks and some fun. Maybe some of the other girls will be there, and I can introduce you to them before school starts? Please?"

Sighing to herself, Elizabeth gave a little nod "OK. One drink. Maybe two"

"Yessss" squealed Rosemary "You won't regret it. Now, let's find you something to wear" as she grabbed Elizabeth's hand and pulled her towards her bedroom closet.

Across town...

"Nathan...man, you gotta come out tonight! We've got 2 days off before night shift starts. Come and have some fun - we'll have a couple of beers and shoot some pool"

"Lee, I dunno. I'm just not feeling it you know?" Nathan Grant tried to deter his partner and best friend.

"Don't tell me you're still cut up about Faith? I didn't think you were serious about her?"

"I know. I don't know. I wasn't really. Maybe I'm just not good at this stuff?" Nathan sighed. He wasn't serious about Faith, but he'd thought at the start, that it had the potential to develop into more.

"So, what, you're giving up on love?" asked Lee.

"Yeah, maybe I should" Nathan swallowed. It wasn't truthfully what he wanted. He wanted someone to share his life with. And he knew his niece Ally wanted it too. He'd been her guardian now for 6 years since his sister passed away. She'd often point out pretty women to him or try to get him to talk to women in the grocery store, or at her hockey games. Nathan cringed to himself thinking about some of those awkward encounters - he didn't have the confidence of Lee just to speak to strangers, especially women who he'd get tongue-twisted around. Not that the women who met him ever minded. They got tongue-twisted too - with his piercing blue eyes, his slightly crooked smile and his tall, toned physique honed with hours in the gym keeping fit for his job as a police officer.

"Who knows? Maybe you'll meet someone tonight?" prodded Lee "Just come and have a bit of fun"

Nathan knew he wasn't going to hear the end of it, and it had been quite a week with the Tolliver Gang ramping up some of their activities around town. He could probably do with zoning out for a bit.

"OK. Ok. One drink. Maybe two" as he picked up his phone to text his mum to have Ally stay for the night.

"Yes man!" Lee slapped him on the back "let's hit the showers".

They quickly showered and changed, Nathan choosing to wear jeans and a white Henley with the top couple of buttons undone. He raked his hands through his mop of hair trying to get it to stay in place, but there was always a wayward bit at the front that fell on his forehead.

xxxxxxxx

Rosemary and Elizabeth were touching up their makeup when her phone rang. It was Little Jack facetiming to say goodnight – as they'd been doing since she arrived a few days ago. "Hi mumma!" he called out bubbling with happiness. He was thriving on the individual attention in Hamilton.

"Hi sweet boy, how was your day?" Jack proceeded to tell Elizabeth all about his day building forts with Aunty Julie and making biscuits with Sandra, the Thatcher's cook. She smiled adoringly as LJ finished up "I gotta go mumma, it's bedtime".

"Ok my boy, sleep tight, I love you" "Love you mumma" he called out as he passed the phone to Aunt Julie to finish up the call.

"Thanks Julie"

"Woah! Look at you! Got a hot date or something?" she teased taking in Elizabeth's makeup. She didn't often wear much makeup, so Julie had noticed immediately.

"No, no. No date. Rosemary's dragging me out"

"Well, don't let me keep you. Go have fun! Don't do anything I wouldn't do." She laughed teasingly "Actually. I dare you Elizabeth!" she winked.

"Byyeee Julie" Elizabeth rolled her eyes in response and pressed the end call button. Her younger sister was the biggest flirt she knew and had had a string of boyfriends in Hamilton. She lacked no confidence when it came to men. Just the opposite of Elizabeth really.

"OK. Let's go before I change my mind" Elizabeth directed as she grabbed her lipstick, tossed it in her handbag and closed the door to her townhouse.

Rosemary wasted no time once they got to the bar, ordering them both a shot of Tequila and a cocktail at the same time.

"Rosie!" groaned Elizabeth.

"C'mon Beth, live a little" as she raised her glass. Oh, what the hell, Elizabeth thought, you only live once. On Monday the school term would start, and these nights would be few and far between.

"Bottoms up" she said, downing the tequila hoping she wouldn't regret it in the morning.

"Should we get a booth, or go play some pool?" Rosemary asked, hoping by giving Elizabeth the choice she'd relax some more.

"Pool" Elizabeth answered. Having something to do would help her not feel so self-conscious.

Across the bar...

Lee grabbed a couple of beers for he and Nathan and headed to the pool table where Nathan was setting up.

"I haven't been here in a while, it's, pretty crowded" Nathan noticed as he looked around. With Ally in his care, Nathan wasn't one to hit the bar scene very often, although Lee was more of a regular here at the Queen of Hearts.

"Nah, not really, a lot of the regulars from what I can see, but I'll do a sweep next round"

"A sweep? Lee. Let's just hang out, we don't need to meet anyone tonight" Nathan didn't want to force anything.

As they walked to the pool table next to the guys, Elizabeth went to set up, while Rosemary slipped past Lee to grab the cues. Lee couldn't help but notice the pretty blonde in her red dress with shining eyes and he watched her return to her friend. Rosemary caught him looking out of the side of her eye, pretending not to notice and flicked her hair as she turned to Elizabeth to flip the coin to see who would break.

Lee took a deep breath and grabbed his beer from the table, smiling to himself, noticing that the blonde had checked him out. No sweep necessary he thought to himself.

Nathan had his back to the girls' table & bent over to line up his shot. As he bent his arm back, he knocked Elizabeth's elbow, sending her drink flying to the floor. Elizabeth gasped as it spilt, and Nathan spun around to see what he'd knocked in to.

"I'm so sorry" he exclaimed as he realised what had happened "Are you ok? I'll ju-just go get some paper towel" spinning on his heels to head to the bar, not waiting for an answer and groaning to himself about how clumsy he could be. He raced back with some paper towels and started mopping up the spill, as Elizabeth bent down to help him. As they finished Nathan put out his hand to take the paper towels from Elizabeth "Here, give me those" he said as he glanced up at her for the first time as she did the same.

Oh. He thought. Those are some blue eyes.

Oh. She thought. I could drown in those eyes.

She passed the towels over to Nathan, and as she did, their fingers touched sending a bolt of electricity up each of their arms.

Elizabeth's breath caught a little. Nathan swallowed, his mouth drier than it was a moment ago, she was pretty.

"Um, I - I guess I owe you a drink?"

"Oh, no, that's ok, I can get it"

"No", he shook his head, "It's the least I can do" he tilted his head towards the bar as an invitation for her to join him.

Elizabeth glanced back at Rosemary who gave her a little smile of encouragement and fanned herself dramatically. As Nathan and Elizabeth moved towards the bar, Rosie moved over to introduce herself to the man with the handsome dark features who she'd caught checking her out just moments before. She never struggled to speak to anyone new.

Following behind Nathan, she took in his height and the breadth of his shoulders. As they got to the bar, she took a step to be beside him allowing herself another glance at his face. She liked what she saw. Nathan leaned over to the bartender "Can I please have a...um" he looked at Elizabeth, "what are you drinking?" he finished asking.

"A Mojito please"

"A Mojito, thanks bud. And a couple more beers too."

As he turned towards Elizabeth, noticing just how pretty she was with her bright blue eyes, creamy skin and a wide friendly smile he reached his hand out to introduce himself.

"I'm N-Nathan. Sorry about your drink"

"Elizabeth" she returned "and it's ok, these things happen" noticing his smile as she shook his hand. There it was again. Sparks. She felt the start of butterflies in her stomach, ducking her head as she blushed slightly. Rosemary was right to fan herself. He was a babe, Elizabeth thought. Goodness.

"So, um, Elizabeth. Do you come here o-often?" Really Grant? That's the line you went with, he cringed internally.

"Really Nathan? That's your line?" Elizabeth teased him in response glancing up at him through her long eyelashes.

"S-sorry" he said affirming to himself that he really wasn't good at this.

Elizabeth chuckled, bumping his shoulder playfully. She thought it was cute that he didn't have game. If anything, it made him even more attractive to her. Lucas had had all the game in the world.

"It's my first time". She answered, smiling brightly at him, causing Nathan to relax a bit. Her smile made him realise she wasn't just pretty. She was beautiful. Probably the most beautiful woman he'd seen in a long time, and he felt his heart rate increase just a little.

The bartender handed over the drinks and Nathan reached over to pay. As he did, she was struck by his toned, tanned forearms, pulling her lips in with womanly satisfaction at this man beside her. Elizabeth caught herself by surprise. She hadn't responded this immediately, this strongly, to any man since Jack. Lucas had had to convince her to give him a chance. She turned to head back to the table ahead of Nathan, giving him the opportunity to admire her from behind as she walked - her long shapely legs in view in her short pretty pink dress, hugging in at her waist and accentuating her tight little bum and Nathan figured she worked out to keep herself in that kind of shape. It piqued his interest further, and he found himself imagining what she would look like with a little less clothing on. He smiled to himself at the thought, feeling a tingle in his body, and looked to see Lee was grinning at him like an idiot as he got back to their table. Nathan noticed the blonde seemed to have joined in their game.

Lee introduced Rosie to Nathan, and he in turn introduced Elizabeth as she gave Rosemary the side-eye for just assuming they'd join the guys. "Should we get another tequila?" she asked, ignoring Elizabeth's silent admonishment and Lee jumped forward "I'll come help" leaving Nathan & Elizabeth to continue the game. They managed to chat a bit, despite their inherent shyness, Elizabeth uncertain she wanted to engage in much more, although he was so distractingly good looking, even in his simple outfit. She found herself wondering what undoing a few more buttons on his shirt may reveal, lightly blushing at the image of him with his chest bare. As Lee and Rosemary returned with the tray of shots, Nathan sunk the blue ball but missed his next shot, giving Elizabeth the win as she sunk the black in response. "Woohoo!" Rosemary celebrated, handing Elizabeth her tequila. This one went down a lot easier Elizabeth reflected, admitting to herself maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to come out. Especially because she had eye candy in the form of Nathan, catching him glancing at her several times. He'd look away quickly each time it happened, which she thought was cute, and she found herself looking at him probably just as frequently.

"You're one hell of a pool player" he smiled at her.

"Haha, there was a bar near College. Rosie and I went there a lot, and we won our share of free drinks" she answered, grinning at the memory of how many guys underestimated how well they could play.

As the night went on, they made their way to a table, having a few more drinks, talking a bit more about their College and Academy days. It was the easiest conversation Elizabeth had had with a man she'd just met, ever, she realised. She noted Rosemary resting her hand on Lee's thigh, turning on her charm. They seemed to be getting closer, with Rosie giggling more frequently and it was clear, at this point in time, they were pretty into each other, and she figured it wouldn't be too long before Rosie was ditching her. She wasn't quite the flirt Julie was, but she was confident in herself and with men.

It was clear to Rosemary when she took moments to watch Nathan and Elizabeth that there was a fierce attraction between them by the way they stared into each other's eyes, the soft pink hue that seemed to be permanent on Elizabeth's cheeks and because she hadn't received a text from Elizabeth to get out of there. Nathan was finding it a little easier to speak to Elizabeth than he had other women, especially one he'd just met, and, he noticed that even the silences between them didn't leave him feeling awkward. Elizabeth allowed herself soft touches of thigh to thigh, or a gentle glance of her hand on his shoulder which gave Nathan the confidence to rest his arm across the back of her chair casually. At one stage she half-turned towards him to speak and he found his fingers softly twirling some of the hair at the nape of her neck. It was one of Elizabeth's favourite things and she gave a light shiver as he did. Eventually, Nathan leaned over to Elizabeth and invited her to join him in the beer garden outside. She could do with some fresh air she thought – feeling much tipsier than she had intended. Rosie gave her a little wink as they stood to make their way outside.

Elizabeth felt her heart begin to race as Nathan lead the way, noticing how many women looked at him as they passed by. Nathan, meanwhile, was noticing how many men were checking Elizabeth out and felt his jaw clench towards one guy in particular who was overtly ogling her. As they entered the courtyard, Elizabeth reached out for Nathan's hand to point out a table, and he turned to face her in response. He didn't release her hand, but instead looked down into her eyes giving her another of his trademark crooked smiles. She couldn't help but look down at his lips, finding herself wondering what it might be like to kiss him. Surprised at herself again, she forced herself to look up into his eyes, only to notice he was currently staring at her lips.

He took a breath. He wanted to kiss her.

She took a breath. She wanted him to kiss her.

The tequila giving him more courage than he was used to, he leaned down towards her, his heart beating loudly in his ears. She felt her stomach flip in response as she lifted her face towards him, taking a half-step closer, urging him silently. He cupped her face in his left hand and pressed his lips to hers.

Oh.

They were so soft. Warm. He could feel her hand tightening in his as she began to respond.

Oh.

He was strong and gentle at the same time. The butterflies in her stomach went into overdrive. She melted into the kiss, probing his mouth open with her tongue. Her response gave him more courage and he deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue into her mouth further, reaching his hands behind her back, interlacing his fingers, pulling her closer. He couldn't remember being swept away in a first kiss like this before. In that moment, he didn't care if she could feel his body responding. It wasn't like he had a hope in hell of controlling it. She reached up to run a hand through his hair, leaving her hand at the back of his head, pulling him closer. She couldn't believe how much her body was responding to his touch. If she'd had fewer drinks, she would have been a little more taken aback, but right now, it was all she could do to stop herself pressing harder against him to feel more. She couldn't remember ever feeling a first kiss so passionately before. Not even with Jack.

That's when she felt it. The vibrating of a phone in his jeans pocket. She didn't know if he was just ignoring it as they continued to kiss, or if he just hadn't noticed. The vibrating stopped. The kiss didn't. It was consuming them.

And then she felt it again. Someone was trying to get hold of him.

She pulled back a little. "Um, Nathan?" He kept his lips pressed to her. "Mhmm?" he responded lips still against hers.

"Nathan. I think your phone is ringing?"

"Oh. Right" he stopped, catching his breath a little as he pulled his phone out. "That sure was something" he said, his voice catching in his throat.

Elizabeth watched him, biting her lower lip, a little embarrassed she had been so bold with him. "Mmmm" she cleared her throat thinking it sure was sexy despite where they were.

She didn't mean to glance at his phone, but, as it continued to ring, she saw the screen light up with the name "ICE - Rebecca".

"Hello?" he looked at Elizabeth apologising with his eyes and a little smile at the interruption and then she heard him. "What do you mean?"

She half-turned to give him some privacy.

"OK. It's ok. Take a breath I'll be there soon. I love you"

She gasped. Who was he saying I love you to?

"I'm so sorry, I have to leave right now". She stared in shock as Nathan turned and ran towards the exit.