The Thrill of the Chase

Five

"Rory! There is someone at the door for you, how many times do I have to tell you I'm not your concierge?" Shrieked Paris, "What are you looking at? Come in, I'm not holding the door open all night for you." Paris finished, marching off into her bedroom as soon as she had the dorm room door closed.

"Thanks Paris!" Rory's voice called from what I assume is her bedroom. "I'll be out in two minutes."

"No rush," Robert shouted back, before taking the opportunity to have a look around Rory's space. He looked at the standard dorm kitchenette, before looking into the living room, with its fancy but comfy couches, Robert wondered who owned them, they looked expensive, and he didn't recognise Rory's roommate. Turning Robert took in the state of the art entertainment system and the mountains of movies. He checked the titles, there seemed to be some of every genre here, he really hoped that they were Rory's, it would give him more in common with her.

"Worried I'll take long enough that you need to put a movie on?" Rory asked from beyond him, the sound of her voice being enough to make him jump.

"What?! No! I wasn't waiting long." Robert protested, turning around to greet Rory. He took in the sight of her in dark skinny jeans, tucked into high heeled knee high boots, with a silk tank top and a blazer over top, her hair falling loosely in dark chestnut waves. "Wow, Rory, you look gorgeous."

"Thanks," Rory answered, a blush flashing across her face. "You look good too," she replied honestly, taking in his black jeans, with a white long sleeve button up shirt, with the sleeves rolled to his elbows to make it look more casual. He had a black leather jacket over his arm as well.

"Shall we?" Robert asked, gesturing towards the door, leading Rory with a hand on the small of her back.

"Sure, lead the way Mr Goldman." Rory replied, as they left the dorm, "So where are we heading to?" Rory asked, taking Roberts proffered arm.

"This way, we are taking a cab. I was going to drive but then I wasn't sure if I would want to drink so I figured a cab would be best," Robert babbled, almost nervously. Reaching the taxi, Robert held the door open for Rory to slide across, climbing in beside her, he told the driver. "One for the Road please."

"Is this a new kind of cab with drinks, or is this some cool guy's place I've never heard of?" Rory asked, as they watched the streets zoom past.

"It's a pub that I like to go to sometimes, they have open mic nights on Tuesdays, and I thought you would enjoy coming with me. Sometimes they have really talented people, and it's awesome to discover them, and then sometimes the people are truly awful and it's fun to heckle them!"

"Okay, you can never meet my mother, and yes that does sound like a fun night." Rory said, with a smile.

"Not that I want to, just yet anyway, but why would this mean I shouldn't meet your mother?" Robert asked, confusion all over his face. "Oh looks like we are here," Robert said, climbing out after paying the driver.

"Because my mother loves to heckle! I think the two of you might be a combination that I couldn't handle." Rory replied as they walked down the street to a divey looking bar.

Robert led her into the bar where they quickly found a booth closer to the back, enabling them to still be able to talk while people were on stage. "So before it gets noisy in here, did you want to order separate meals or order all the appetizers and share them?" Robert asked, grabbing the menu from in front of them, and opening it to the appetizers to show her the options.

"Oh my God! A man after my own heart, all the appetizers please, as long as you will not judge me for how much I am about to eat?" Rory answered, excited by the prospect of someone other than her suggesting a giant order of food.