Ones We Regret

Chapter 21

Westminster, London
Alira

"Oh yeah?" I blink and ask for the thousandth time this evening. I smother a yawn by turning back and motion the bartender for another drink. I know that one more drink is gonna cost me dearly but I'm too far ahead of that. Wise-ass Alira had departed hours ago along with Tess and the reckless one had replaced her instead. I internally sigh and blame Tess for making me stuck on this blind date I wasn't even remotely happy about. The bar is actually pretty amazing. A huge rectangular dark walnut elm wood countertop covers a part of the bar. Upholstered burgundy coloured barstools line the countertop which is filled with half a dozen customers. The wall of the bar is well-appointed that it includes atleast a dozen coolers, ample wine racks, storage drawers, shelves. The understated light grey tone highlights the luxurious marble splashback. The bartender, a man in his thirties, who also owns the bar mans the bar counter whereas several other waiters and waitresses attends the other customers seated on dispersed tables. The conversation is low and the scent of wine, fine whiskey and the sour scent of lemon and cherry fills my nose.

The guy, Evan, isn't bad looking at all. He's a redhead, tall with striking light blue eyes and a constellation of freckles on his nose. He's a tech guy in some company which he told me in a proper detail but I had been too busy staring at my glass and nodding. He pushes his octagonal shaped glasses up his nose and gives me a cocky smile and I internally cringe. I notice that his jaw is not square just like Darius' nor are his cheekbones sharp like his. Darius is all perfect angles and symmetry but Evan is....not. His nose is wide, his round eyes too perusing, his lips thin which he keeps licking after every few seconds as if nervous. I force a smile back and avert my eyes to take another sip of my drink and pluck a cherry from the toothpick using my lips, trying my hardest not to think about how I was comparing him to Darius. His eyes immediately fall on them and he licks his lips again. I chew very slowly, aware of his eyes on my mouth which I ignore but I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable from his gaze. I stare behind my back and eat the cherry before moving back towards him.

Tess had fulfilled her promise of a drink and a hot guy, but I hadn't asked for a date. She had driven the car after the party had ended and drove straight here, no explanations provided and had led me straight to him and bought me an Old Fashioned and left. A large glass of wine had already made me a bit tipsy but mixed with my present drink, I know that a little carelessness is going to cost me dearly. I look back and grimace when I see the bartender already adding the cherry stick in my drink. Too late to cancel that drink now.

A throat clears near me and I look back at Evan. He slides a hand into his red hair to remove the curly strands from his forehead as I take another sip of my drink. "So, are a you a virgin?"

I choke and cough out, my eyes wide with disbelief as I stare at the man in front of me, the grip on my glass turning white-knuckled. Even if I had been full-on drunk and close to passing out, I still wouldn't have expected that question and I when I'm drunk I literally expect for the sky to be green and the grass blue. I'm pretty damn sure I looked like a fish in that moment, staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes and parted lips, an incredulous laugh slipping out. He pats my back and I use a napkin to dab my lips and save myself a few precious seconds to answer him. "That is none of your business." I pass an irritated glare in his direction and a side of his lips tip up. He arches a red brow as if to say isn't it?, amusement and lust churning in his baby blues. I blow out a ragged breath as if it would somehow calm the raging inferno inside me. I try to soften my tone and try again. "I meant to say that I didn't know about this date. I don't date actually. ," I say the word like it's poision, "and isn't that a very weird question to ask to a person you've just met. I think I was pretty clear that this isn't a date when I sat here beside you and you were okay with that. Most people wouldn't ask that."