strawberry blond ᡣ𐭩 challengers. [ on hold ]

nine - lost in japan.

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.˚

[ 2016 ]

phoebe wasn't sure how she wound up at a bar in the middle of new york during the u.s. open.

she originally planned to turn in early as she knew her coach would wake her up before sunrise for an early practice. she was participating in the semi final in two days and, though he was sure she was capable of winning, he wanted her to be at the top of her game. she was drying off after a long shower and somewhere along the way, she ended up walking ten minutes from her hotel to some cozy dive bar.

she was going to hate waking up tomorrow.

in one hand, she nursed a tequila sunrise, her second of the night. she sipped at her drink as she scrolled mindlessly on her phone. she received an influx of texts and social media messages, all sharing a similar theme:

happy birthday, phoebe!

she received a few calls from her family, wishing her a happy twenty-seventh birthday. her coach was much more relaxed than she thought he would be, given that this was the u.s open. she was grateful for the break and being able to talk to her family. it was rare that her and her parents were free at the same time, so she cherished all the moments that she share with them. and, of course, she got the chance to speak with patrick. the two spent a few months apart due to the complicated schedule that phoebe's training, touring, and sponsorship events created. the two texted plenty, often sending each other videos if something out of the ordinary happened, they just wished they could see each other more often.

she responded to a chunk of her messages, reposting a few of the posts and stories she was tagged in before turning her phone off and placing it face down. she finished her drink before resting her head on the bar counter, tapping her fingers as she lost herself in her thoughts.

there was a firm tap on the counter by her tucked head. "long day?" she lifted her head to see a new bartender, slightly older than the one that originally made her drink.

handsome, too.

he had an olive complexion with shaggy black hair pushed away from his face. he was tall, at least six feet as far as phoebe was concerned. he had a nice amount of facial hair, she noticed as she registered that he did ask verbal question.

"yeah, something like that," she sighed out with a quirk of her lips. he spared his own half-smile and phoebe swore she never seen a pair of rounder eyes.

"what's got you out here at this time of night?" he asked, drying off a few glasses before looking at her empty one. phoebe noticed his accent—british. "and do you want another of what you were drinking?"

phoebe paused for a few seconds, blinking a bit as an arrogant thought crossed her mind, wondering if he knew who she was. if he did, he was good at hiding it. she assumed that every business in the area knew that the u.s. open was happening near by, seeing as they would need to prepare for a boost in business. she was featured of one of the banners outside of the arena and she doubted that this bar wouldn't play the matches given the magnitude of the event. she did not want to come across as conceited, but she had a hard time believing that he was clueless as to who she was.

she cleared her throat with a tilt of her head, eyes dancing around the bar as she avoided his eyes. "it's my birthday. and yeah, if you have the time."