Chapter 3
About half an hour had passed and Sophie was still occupying the same stool in the bar, the only difference being the barmaid that she had been flirting with earlier had now become a lot more friendly with her and was currently whispering filthy suggestions into her ear.
As Sophie smirked lifting her glass to her lips and taking a sip of the now warmer liquid, out of the corner of her eye she noticed that stunning blonde again, she wasn't certain how long it had been since she returned to her seat but suddenly now she couldn't hear the words that were being whispered in her ear any more. She became, yet again, transfixed on the person further along the bar. She couldn't put her finger on why she was so mesmerised by this woman; she'd seen gorgeous girls before, she'd dated beautiful women, but there was something about this one that almost made her go to mush, all her usual confidence leaping right out of the nearest exit.
Someone less intimidated by the blondes looks was now chatting to her; a man with light hair, early thirties who was wearing a suit, his tie loose round his neck and a pint in his hand. Punching mate.
The voice in her ear came back into focus, "How does that sound to you?"
"Hmm?" Sophie turned her head looking blankly at the girl. "Umm.. Could I actually have another drink? You've made me go all dry at the mouth" she said sweetly.
The barmaid smirked and nodded before walking away. The brunette rolled her eyes and peeped back over to the blonde, her eyes scanned over her figure and she couldn't help but bite the corner of her bottom lip. She could've sworn she missed her chance to talk to her but as she moved from her stool and took a few steps towards the ladies toilets she overheard the man and woman's conversation.
"No really, I'm alright, I was just about to get going anyway," the woman mustered as she hooked her bag over her shoulder.
"Oh come on darling, just have one drink with me eh? I can't let a gorgeous specimen like you walk out the door" the tall man replied.
Specimen? Am I some kind of urine sample now? She laughed politely, "honestly, I'm fine, I need to get going."
"Don't be like that sweetheart" he hushed, running his hand down the girls side.
Sophie's eyes narrowed at his action and any confidence that had left her swung straight back into action. She moved back to her previous place and picked up her coat before approaching the couple stood at the bar. "You ready babe?" She asked, directing her question at the woman she had been unable to tear her eyes from for the best part of the evening.
Both people she was now stood with looking at her blankly.
"Early start an' all that" she tried widening her eyes slightly at the blonde.
"Err.." The other girls mouth bobbed open slightly as she tried her best to catch on to whatever the hell was happening.
"Wait.." The guy interrupted. "You two.. You're together?"
Sophie raised one eyebrow, "yeah."
"Yes!" The blonde agreed a little louder than intended. "We are.. We are together. Yes, we are."
The brunette bit at her bottom lip trying not to smile at the other girls eagerness to escape, grateful that the mans question had been able to help the mystery woman catch on to Sophie's ploy.
"And," Sian looked at the other girl for help.
"But.." The man spoke again.
"Sorry to be a parter pooper baby," she pouted running her own hand down the blonde's back, glancing at the man stood with them. This is the most perfect spine I've ever known. Okay melt, fucking concentrate. She pushed ridiculous thoughts to the side, remembering to keep the act up, "but we've got that dinner with me parents tomorrow and I really do think we should get a good nights sleep before facing that," she insisted, throwing in a fake laugh to be more convincing.
As the blonde attempted to counter-laugh, the man couldn't help but look puzzled, his eyes darting between the two women in front of him. "But, you were talking to that barmaid five minutes ago?"
Shit. SHIT. He's much more observant than I gave him credit for. "Oh, err, Abbie?" Sophie queried beginning to panic. "No!" She playfully slapped his arm. What am I doing?! "Abbie's just.. Well Abbie is.. She's.."
"A friend!" The blonde finished her saviours sentence.
The Webster girl nodded for longer than needed after the woman helped her. "A friend, yes, my friend." She stood on her tiptoes suddenly, trying to find with her eyes the red-head behind the bar, "Abbie?"
Before the barmaid had even turned to her Sophie continued the charade, "we're off now, see you soon! Moi!" Her insides churned. Moi?! Fucking Moi?! When the hell did you become your big sister?!
The blonde girl in front of her looked really confused now, knowing full-well that the girl in front of her did not seem like the 'Moi' kind-of-person. But she was thankful for anything that would get her out of the conversation she had found herself stuck in.
Sophie wanted the ground to swallow her up, she had never felt so embarrassed and all she was trying to do was a good deed. Clearly this woman didn't want to have a drink with this random, yes, it was a bonus to get to hear her sweet voice that went with her stunner of a face and sexy figure but it was all getting a bit much. "Right, come on darling" she began again eyeing the other girl, before gritting her teeth slightly with a wide smile, "stop fucking about."
Sian wanted to laugh but was too worried to give the gam away and instead looked up at the tall gentleman in front of her. "Ooh, that's my cue!" She sang before straightening her face to a more sincere look. "It was lovely to meet you Colin."
"Clive," he corrected.
"Clive, yes."
"Must do it again" Sophie said before pulling on the other girls hand and leading her out of the bar.
Both girls were giggling by the time they'd got outside to the dark and cold November night. "Honestly, thank you so much. I thought I was gonna be stuck there forever!" The blonde cried.
As her laughs calmed Sophie gave a small shrug, "well I hadn't done a good deed yet today, so I thought this was my chance."
"Oh right," the blonde smiled adjusting her coat with her free hand. "Do you make sure to do a good deed every day?" She asked turning to face the brunette as they stood outside the building.
Whatever Sophie was about to say completely left her mind as those blue eyes locked with her own. She didn't know how they had so much control over her mind and why her thoughts went fuzzy every time the blonde looked her way.
After a moment of silence the woman in her leather jacket smiled gently, the other girl just watching her. "Can I have my hand back now?" She joked, squeezing the brunette's gently.
Sophie was broken from her daze as she felt the sensation in her hand and dropped it quickly, "yeah course." She feigned a smile, wishing she'd made the most of the contact. What the fuck are you doing? Because you're playing everything but cool right now. She's just a girl. A beautiful one. With hair like the sun and eyes that.. Did you actually just compare someones hair to the sun? What is wro.. Oh her lips are moving! She's talking! Pay attention! Sophie cursed her inner monologue as she finally picked up the sound of the woman opposites voice.
"..parked in the shopping centre, so I'm that way" Sian continued, gesturing behind her.
The brunette watched the way the other girls lips moved, the way they were so perfectly rounded with each word that left them. Before becoming mesmerised once again and really not wanting this woman to think she'd just been rescued by some kind of lunatic that had escaped the asylum, she forced her mind to try and catch up with the words that were being spoke to her.
"I'll walk with you" the words rushed from her mouth before she had time to think of her response.
"You parked that way too?" The blonde enquired.
"Urrr no, but it's dark and my heroic's can't end here can they? Wouldn't be much of a tale," she tried. Could you be more obvious?
Sian smiled warmly and gave a small nod turning away. Okay, cute as well as gallant. For a girl. She felt the other woman's presence next to her as they began to walk in the direction of the shopping centre. This whole exchange had been a unique one, she had started the evening in a conflict and had come to drown her sorrows after a long day of working. She hadn't wanted to speak to anyone other than to order drinks. She'd had a couple of men approach her whilst she sat at the bar, but they hadn't been as persistent as the last and had just taken her polite 'no thank you' as it had been meant.
Now she was walking back to her car with a complete stranger, nevertheless one that had not only gone out of their way to help, but had made her feel immediately comfortable around them. Sure, the brunette seemed a little quiet now that they were alone but not so awkward that it made you want to curl up and die. She found it endearing that the other girl was suddenly shy now that they were alone, after she had been nothing but confident inside the bar.
Sophie could smell the other girls perfume and she'd decided in that moment that it was her favourite scent, everything about this girl was making her feel comfortable yet nervous at the same time. Obviously how stunning she was made her immediately attractive but there was something else that caused her to feel shy and even a little intimidated. She couldn't shake the feeling that she'd had about the blonde since they'd first locked eyes, and how instinctive it felt to want to know more about her was making her hands feel clammy, even on this cold November night.
As the older girl pulled her leather coat further around herself she spoke, "so, can I ask your name?"
"Sophie," the brunette shocked herself, answering a question simply without having any thoughts protruding and making her feel like an utter idiot.
The blonde nodded again, waiting to be asked back, but when she wasn't she added, "I'm Sian."
Sian. Best. Name. Ever. Sophie cringed inside realising she hadn't asked the other girl back. Your name, that's really all you could manage?! She hated the effect this other woman had on her, making her revert back to how she would've behaved in school. She felt she had to muster some explanation as to why she was not on top-form. "Sorry, I'm in a world of my own today. Ever so slightly hungover" she managed to get out smiling.
"Ohhhh okay" Sian started. "That explains it. Late night was it?"
"Yes. And a very boozy one. It was my birthday yesterday."
"Nice. Happy Birthday" the blonde replied cheerily.
"Yeah, went in a bit hard. Being the big quarter of a century an' all that" Sophie joked.
"Twenty-five eh? I wouldn't have said older than twenty-two." Woah. What the hell was that?
Sophie blushed slightly, a feeling she wasn't used to. That was a definite flirt. Wasn't it? Maybe she's just being nice. As they continued to walk the brunette stole a glance at the girl next to her and she was sure she saw her eyes had widened slightly at her own words, but couldn't fully tell as she was looking down at her feet. "Charming and gorgeous." You said that out loud you fucking dingus.
Sian looked at the girl next to her who was now blushing even more. Why do I feel like I'm back at bloody school?!
Sophie cleared her throat, not knowing if the thought she had spoken out loud had been taken so well. "So yeah, not really on the ball today" she said returning the subject back to her hangover.
Sian couldn't help but smile at the other girls awkwardness. She's really fucking cute. Her head snapped back to her feet. STOP! Say something for crying out loud. Nothing flirty. A joke. Even a limerick at this point! "I'm just glad you got your shit together enough to save me from that bloke's carnal intentions" she joked, bumping the side of her upper-arm with the brunettes. Did I not just say don't flirt? Sian was trying her best to wrestle with her mind, but her mouth was saying things quicker than her brain was processing them and she couldn't comprehend why. Why it felt so easy to want to flirt with this girl. Why she wanted to take every opportunity she could to look at her. Why it felt so natural to be this comfortable with a stranger. And why she'd already memorised the blue of her eyes. She'd never behaved this way with another woman before. Not alone. Yeah, she'd joked with mates, even kissed girls on nights out but nothing more.
Flirty touch or friendly touch? Sophie's mind was running like it was trying to work out pi, trying to decipher what every little move made or thing said meant and it's intention behind it. She'd never found girls difficult to work out. She almost always knew when someone was flirting or liked her, but Sian wasn't giving much away.
As they approached the entrance to the multi-storey car park Sophie felt a little disappointed that their interaction was about to end and she hadn't made more of the opportunity. "Here we are then.." She stopped in front of the door glancing over at the blonde, hoping for a further excuse to talk.
Sian looked towards the door and then back at the brunette, "where's your car?"
"Oh, my friend drove me to town, I don't live far."
You're not walking" Sian insisted, it was intended as more of a question but her tone wasn't a posing one.
A small smile tugged at the corner of Sophie's lips, as she could hear the slight worry in the other girls voice. "I'll be fine, like I said, it's not far."
"I can give you a lift to wherever you need to go."
"Really?" Sophie asked hopeful. Normally she'd be polite and turn someone down for fear they'd be going out of their way, but she'd wanted an excuse to spend more time with this woman.
"Yeah course" Sian giggled. "I can be heroic too" she countered raising her eyebrows as she pushed her way through the entrance door.
Sophie smiled biting her bottom lip as she followed the girl into the lobby and over to the lift. As Sian pressed the button, she posed a question, "do you always give strangers lifts?"
"No, but, I need to repay your kindness in some way" she reasoned.
I could think of much better ways. Sophie, remove mind from gutter please. Her thoughts were almost sounding like her sister Rosie. "But I could be an axe murderer for all you know." Oh smooth, so now you're gonna kill her.
Sian smirked as the lift reached the ground floor and the doors opened in front of them. As they stepped in she pressed the button to her floor and spoke, "well I don't see an axe, do you?"
"Excellent observation."
Sian giggled as the lift doors closed and she pressed her back against one of the walls, her hands behind her. The brunette mirrored her position, and all she could think of was the way Sian's laugh made her heart feel almost as if it was leaping. Is that not the best sound in the world?
The blonde bit the inside of her mouth as her eyes grazed over Sophie's figure, and unfortunately not discreetly enough as it hadn't gone unnoticed by the other girl who could feel the heat rising in her body suddenly hot at the thought of those blue eyes raking over every inch of her.
Sian's eyes worked their way slowly over the body before them right back up to the blue sapphires that were staring back at her and she swallowed the lump that had developed in her throat. That may or may not have gone unnoticed there. Play it cool. You're just sizing her up. No worries. Arching her back to remove her hands, she shoved them in the pockets of her coat and tilted her head locking eyes with the woman opposite, "reckon I could take you anyway."
Yes! Take me! Take me right here, right now. Sophie tried to muster a sentence between every impure thought now going on in her head, but every phrase she thought to say back was pure filth.
The lift chimed and it's doors opened as they arrived at the fourth floor, Sian pushed herself from the wall and gestured with her head to the doors, "come on."
Sophie watched as the other girl left the lift and took a deep breath trim to calm herself down after the intense staring match she'd just been put through. She pushed herself away from the wall and followed the blonde into the car park and for the life of her, she couldn't help but watched the way the blondes hips swayed as she walked. Jesus Christ. Give me a break.
Sian fumbled in her bag for her keys as she walked across the car park, glancing over her shoulder to check the brunette was following. As she pulled them out she turned her back and pressed the button on her key and heard her car unlock, and walked round to the drivers side.
Sophie was only broke from her gaze from the other girls figure when the car blocked her view. She looked over the vehicle, "very nice."
Sian smiled, "know a lot about cars?"
Sophie smiled and shook her head, "not really. But my Dad's a mechanic and I know full-well this would be one him and his work mate would be arguing over wh got to test drive it for the M.O.T."
The blonde returned the smile and rolled her eyes as she got into the drivers seat closing the door. Sophie followed suit and sat in the passengers side, both girls buckling their seat belts and getting comfortable in their chairs.
The sound of Adele played through the radio, and Sian reached turning the volume down slightly. Sophie noticing it was on Bluetooth she eyed the other girl, "bad break up was it?"
"Huh?"
"The Adele blaring?"
"Oh, no."
"Someone die?"
The blonde looked over at the brunette amused, "no I just like Adele."
"Oh. And there's me thinking you were a cheerful soul."
Sian mocked shock, "I am a cheerful soul!"
Sophie shook her head, "no cheerful soul listens to Adele."
The blonde lifted one eyebrow as she began to reverse the car from the parking space, "and there's me thinking you may have hidden depths."
Sophie gave the girl a knowing look like that the blonde had used her own words against her, "touché."
As Sian drove through the car park she spoke again, "so, where am I headed?"
"Coronation Street. Do you know it?"
Sian hesitated, "urr, yeah I think so." She clicked the button for the drivers window to descend and took the yellow chip from the cup holder, then hung her phone out of the window and double-clicked the side to pay. "You lived there long?" She continued as she waited for the barrier ahead to rise.
"My whole life. Only moved out on my own last year, and I'm still only across the road from me mam" Sophie answered as Sian drove ahead.
"You're close with your family then?"
"Yeah I guess, my mam, dad and sister all live on the same street, we're just in three different houses" Sophie sighed. "I live with my sister, and trust me that was not an easy decision, but it was the opportunity to live across the road from the pub and kebab shop that made me stay."
Sian giggled, "classy too! My my, I must remember to mind my P's and Q's."
Sophie sat up in the passenger seat feigning surprise, "how have you only just clocked I'm classy?"
"Oh I dunno, " Sian began as the car broke at the traffic light. "Must've been the barmaid with her tongue in your ear that threw me off" she joked, looking over at the brunette.
Jealous? If not, why not? Sophie's tongue pushed against the inside of her cheek and her eyes moved to the passenger window as the blonde began to laugh at the face she was pulling. "Her tongue was not in my ear, thank you" Sophie corrected. "She was just very conscious of customer relations" she tried.
The blonde looked back at the lights, waiting for them to turn green, "I don't doubt her customer service skills are impeccable."
"Well yes, actually they were" Sophie crossed her arms over her chest as she watched outside her window.
Sian laughed lightly, "you've not done bad tonight, starting with a brunette, then a red-head and leaving with a foxy blonde. Which, by the way, we do have more fun."
Sophie looked over to the drivers side and began to realise this girl had paid a lot more attention to her than she first thought. As the blonde began to drive again, Sophie couldn't help but notice how bright her smile was and the way it lit up her whole face, she was sure it was the best sight she'd ever seen. And much of a contrast from the first smile they had exchanged which was purely out of politeness. Before her mind had any control over what her eyes were doing they dropped down to the blonde's legs, she couldn't see them that well due to it being night time, but every now and then a shine from a street light would let her mind wander away.
As the silence became clear to Sian she glanced over, "I was only joking about the barmaid."
Sophie was still occupied perving, but she had just made out what the other girl said. She rapidly changed the direction of her eyeliner, "no, I know. I just didn't know you were paying such close attention."
The blonde could feel the Webster girls eyes on her, and she hadn't intended to make it so obvious that Sophie had caught her attention much earlier than when they had began speaking. She cleared her throat hoping to break the tension that had suddenly crept up on her. "Do you always have that effect on women?" She enquired, already having an idea of the answer, she only had to judge how she was thinking about the girl sat a few inches away.
The brunette watched as Sian focussed on the empty road ahead and Sophie could feel that the other girl definitely wanted to know the answer. Wondering whether to be honest and risk scaring this person off because she may think she was some kind of player, or push as to why the blonde was suddenly so interested in her love life, she held the silence for a moment.
Sian had certainly picked up on the younger woman's hesitation to answer her, but she didn't want to change the subject because she was intrigued. She wasn't blind, she knew the girl sat next to her was gorgeous, any person with working sight would know that. But there was something else that drew the blonde in. Something that immediately piqued her interest when she'd first laid eyes on her. Her mannerisms. Her smile. How her eyes shone ever so slightly brighter than any others she'd ever known. The way she laughed. And those lips. Jesus Christ. You're going on like you fancy her. Oh. My. God. No, don't be bloody stupid.. Do you though? Are you attracted to another woman? Or is this one of those girl crushes you're supposed to have on celebrities? Her mind was suddenly flustered with her own thoughts. Her instant attraction to Sophie had been obvious to her body but her mind was finally starting to catch up and she couldn't understand what was happening. She didn't fancy women. She didn't look at other women like that. Oh, but those lips.
"Do you always have that effect on women?" Sian's question was filling Sophie's mind. She didn't want to say yes and lose her chance by writing herself off as a serial dater, but she didn't want to lie about other girls either. She wanted to know what was going on in the blondes mind. What effect she had on her. If any. "I don't know.." She began, "..do I?"
Sian again glanced over at the brunette, the other girls face a serious one. Please don't tell me she could hear what you were thinking just then. Sophie had to feel it too. They'd spoke about basically nothing in the last fifteen minutes and yet there was this heat between them, this connection that both of them were feeling. As she turned her head back to the road she decided to break the tension, "well I suppose you have a certain charm."
The brunette gave a small but warm smile, she should've known by how they were dancing around their flirtations that Sian wasn't going to give her a straight answer. Straight. Ha! She knew there was something between them, she couldn't be the only one feeling the tension. A short walk and a ten-minute car journey so far and she'd never felt an attraction like this before. Just go for it Sophie. The worst thing that can happen is she says no. Oh god, please don't let her say no.
As Sian turned her car into Coronation Street she slowed down on the small road and parked up outside the Rovers Return. She glanced around the small street, it was deserted, the houses were lit behind their curtains and there was some noise coming from the pub, but there was no one on the streets. She looked over at Sophie who had just undone her seat belt and offered a smile, "have you really got an early start?"
Sophie let out a small laugh and nodded, thinking back to their earlier escape plan in the bar, "yep, bright and early for college."
The blondes smile faltered slightly, "but I thought you.."
Sophie smiled, "I'm a tutor." She was amused as Sian looked relieved, "don't worry, you have picked up a teenager. Twenty-five remember?"
Sian let out a relieved chuckle, "thank god."
"I am flattered that you think I could pass for that young though."
The blonde raised her arms and tilted her head, "I wasn't lying when I said you could pass for twenty-two."
The Webster girl smiled warmly. Fuck, she's cute when she's being cute.
"Sooo.. a tutor eh?"
"For my sins," Sophie nodded.
"What subject?"
"English Lit."
"Oh wow, proper Shakespeare stuff then."
"Didn't expect me to have brains AND beauty, did ya?" The brunette questioned raising her eyebrows.
The older girl put her hand over her heart, "I expected nothing less Sophie."
Okay, now I love my own name.
"I wish my job was as fun as yours." Sian continued, "I'm a flamin' barrister."
Sophie leaned back in her seat, "woooahhh."
The other girl giggled at her reaction.
"Check you. And you're saying I have brains."
The blonde sat at the drivers wheel unable to hide her proud smile. "Yeah, I kinda smashed it," she laughed. "Took me five years to get there though."
Sophie glanced their surroundings before tilting her head back against the headrest looking at Sian. "Well judging by the car it was worth it," she joked.
"Ha! This is on finance, I'm only in my first proper year of full-time work, and I'm working every hour to make an impression. I basically want to be a judge."
"Wow."
Sian shrugged, "that's the goal anyway."
The two women sat in the car for a further twenty minutes, chatting about their jobs, Sophie's passion for English Literature and how the brunette she'd been sat with earlier was actually her friend Katy and not a date as Sian had assumed. They'd laughed and admired one another through sneaky looks when they though the other wouldn't notice. There was an ease about their interaction and it had felt like they'd known each other for longer than a mere evening.
Sophie still hadn't worked up the courage to ask her the question she wanted to. Would this woman want to see her again? Could she get her number? Marry me. Just look at me again with those eyes.
As if Sian had heard Sophie's thoughts out loud she turned to the other girl, "so, probably need to get going.."
Sophie nodded, her eyes watching the other girls face a little disappointed. "Or.. we could get a drink?" She suggested nodding her head in the direction of the pub outside Sian's window.
The blonde followed her eye line. There was no denying she wanted to spend more time with the other girl but as she looked over the pub she knew she could be playing with fire. It's just a drink. One tiny little drink.
Sophie's anticipation and Sian's hesitation was broken by a bang from outside of the car. As they both looked ahead they saw pretty lights in the sky exploding apart.
Sophie rubbed her forehead, "I forgot, it's fireworks night, don't doubt it's rammo in there."
As Sian looked over at the other girl, the disappointment was clear on her face. The sadness Sophie was portraying without realising made her heart ache a little, and so she contemplated her options; end the night here and possibly never see this girl again. This girl who had done things to her without even trying. Made her feels things she wasn't sure she'd felt previously. Had made her brain go completely haywire, confusing her yet making sense all at the same time. Or, she could spend just a little more time with the brunette, just to see if things could become clearer in her mind. There was no denying she was enjoying the night and what could be the harm in continuing it for a bit longer?
As Sian looked back out at the night sky, watching another firework disperse mid-air, she began buckling her belt again. "I've got a better idea."