behind the wheel

~17: George~

//tw: alcohol, mature language

Tea time.

That's what time it was every time I was here.

I sat at my usual spot at the side of the bar, sipping on my tequila and chatting with the bartender, Fundy.

"-and then I just left."

"You left him there? After you kissed him? George..."

"I know, I know! I'm an idiot." I took another drink miserably.

"You're not an idiot, hun." Fundy patted my shoulder. "But now I know why he doesn't want to race tomorrow-"

My head snapped up. "What? He doesn't want to race? Because of me?"

Fundy formed his mouth into an "o" shape, unsure of how to respond. "I don't know why... but it would make sense because the last time he got all hung up on a guy, the exact same thing happened. Except the guy was straight."

I cringed. "That's... really sucky..."

Fundy looked up at me, wiping a wine glass with a rag. "Yeah. But you're not straight, and you're wayyyy more attractive than that other guy was. Trust me. So I think once you show up and apologize, it'll be fine."

I smiled and laughed some. "Was he really that bad-looking?"

Fundy gave me a look that said 'Ohhhhhh hunny you don't e v e n know'.

I laughed more and picked up my drink from the counter, surveying the rest of the bar.

"Have you seen anyone we know come in tonight? I'm thinking about dancing and I don't want to end up leaving with the wrong person."

Fundy looked me up and down. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

I looked at him. "I really need to take my mind off of this shit. Plus, dancing never hurt anybody." I flashed my biggest grin, hiding the fact that dancing could, in fact, hurt someone.

Badly.

"Fine. But I don't want you to end up in the back sobbing because of another one of those guys' stupid actions."

I thanked Fundy, downing the rest of my drink and the hard whiskey that was waiting for me. Fundy knows me too well.

I made my way to what I was pretty sure was the middle of the dance floor and started to move a little to the music. I knew someone would come up to me eventually. I'd been doing this way too long to know if they wouldn't.

Eventually, I could feel my head fill with fuzz and I started dancing by myself in my own little bubble as my favorite song started to play.

//his song is I Wanna Be Yours by the Arctic Monkeys ;D

I looked up as someone took my hand and turned me to face them.

I could sorta make out their facial features, but not enough to realize that the blonde-haired beauty was more than familiar.

"George? Is that you?"

"Mhm! How do you know my name, mystery man?" I smiled brightly and wrapped my arms around the "stranger's" neck.

"U-um... I-I um..."

"Shhhhh. Let's just dance. I love this song." I rested my head on his shoulder, starting to sway with him as I felt arms wrap around my waist.

We stayed like that for a while, letting the music fuel our movements. It felt like we were the only two people in the bar.

I hadn't had this kind of experience in a long time.

"This is nice..." the person holding me said, resting his head on top of mine.

I nodded a little, sighing in content.

Too soon, the song ended, and we pulled apart.

I grabbed the hand of my mystery man. "Wanna go get something more to drink?"

"Uh... sure..."

I laughed quietly, pulling him towards the bar. "You're adorable."

"Thank you..."

I sat down at the spot I had been sitting in earlier, wrapping the arm connected to the hand I was holding around myself and leaning on the "stranger".

I flagged down Fundy, giving him a grin and asking for two beers.

Fundy seemed to give me a look of pure shock and surprise, but I was too out of it to even begin to understand what the look was for.

Looking back at the person standing next to me, I handed him his beer. "Here ya go!"

He took the beer and smiled. "Thanks, George."

"Don't mention it, cutie." I cracked open my own, taking a drink out of it and nodding my head to the music in the background. "Having fun?"

"Yeah... this is a lot better night than I expected when I came here." I could almost hear the smile in his voice.

Giggling, I replied, "I'm glad! It can be really fun here when you're with the right person."

He nodded. "That's very true."

I looked back up at him again, admiring the features of his face that I could make out. "You're really pretty, y'know that mystery man?"

He laughed a little and squeezed my hand. "So are you.."

I blushed a little. No matter how long I had been here, compliments were still rare. "Thank you..."

"Don't mention it, cutie." He grinned at me, seeming to be a lot more laid back than when he got here.

I laughed and leaned back into him, resting my head on his chest. "You're also a really good dancer. Most people I dance with are all over the place."

"I try," he said confidently, tucking my head underneath his chin.

I tilted my head back and gave him a look. "Don't get too cocky, mister. That was just swaying. You haven't seen dancing until Sway by Michael Buble comes on."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

I gave him a confident smirk. "Yeah."

"Well. Let's hope that song comes on soon."

I giggled. "If you want the song, you have to go up to the stage and request it, dummy."

tilting my head back down, I downed the rest of my beer, setting the bottle down on the table and turning around in my stool so I could face my mystery man.

Smirking back at me, he simply stated, "Bet."

I was suddenly pulled from my seat, laughing as the mystery man dragged me towards the stage.

"You are the craziest person I have ever met." I let go of his hand as he hopped up on the stage and went to give the DJ a request.

When he got back, he pulled me into his arms to dance to the song he requested. "I will make sure to live up to that title." He shot me a wink.

I rolled my eyes a little, even though an amused grin rested on my face.

"Shut up and dance, stranger."

-

Woot woot dnf hehe. I missed them, and I'm sure y'all did too. I have racing plans for the near future, so stay tuned! My writing brain turned this story into less of a racing au than I intended, so my apologies for that, but I hope y'all are still enjoying :D