Complexity

Chapter Three.

She parked outside the bar, taking a quick glance around at all the parked vehicles before she got out. Once out of her car, she made her way to the front entrance, peering through the windows. There were a lot of people, making her feel uneasy about staying that long. She headed into the building, the door jingled as it opened. She looked around, trying to spot anyone she knew. She couldn't seem to spot anyone so she decided to sit down at the bar.

The bartender walked over, her messy ginger hair spilling out of its bun, "What can I get for you?" Her warm smile was welcoming, making Jean feel not so bad.

"Uhh...Just a Coors Banquet, please and thanks." Jean's voice shook a little, even for a detective, social interactions weren't her thing.

The bartender nodded before walking off to get her the drink.

She shortly came back with it, setting it down on the bar, popping the bottle cap off of it for Jean.

"There ya go, miss."

Jean gave a thankful nod before the woman walked off, leaving Jean and her open bottle of beer alone.

As she sipped on it, she kept glancing around, a bit uncomfortable by the unfamiliar group of people crowding the place.

"Fish!"

Jean jumped a little, startled, before turning and seeing Corrick sit beside her.

"Didn't mean to scare ya, my apologies." He chuckled awkwardly.

Jean gave a faint smile, taking another sip from the bottle.

"You alright? You seem...iffy?" His concerned tone clashed with his normal friendly one.

"Yeah just...A lotta people I don't know." She tapped her fingers along the bottle, nervously.

Before Corrick could speak, Jean butt in, "Hey, have you seen Reichter? He said he might come by."

Corrick frowned a little, knowing how much Jean loved Reichter, "No, I haven't. Probably for the best anyways, he's a huge jerk. I don't know why you married him, Fish." He shook his head.

"He isn't that bad..." She paused, correcting herself, "He wasn't always this bad."

Corrick nodded before patting Jean on the shoulder, "Well, I'm gonna go see who's all here. I'll see you around, yeah?"

"Yeah." She faintly said, not realising Corrick had already wandered off.

For a little while, she sat there, slowly sipping away at the drink. She sighed, not liking how awkward it all was. She decided she'd just go home, sliding a few dollar bills on the bar before getting up and walking out of the building. She dug through her purse, grabbing her car keys. She reached her car but stopped, she didn't want to go home already. She glanced around before looking out at the forest nearby, the night sky and stars shining through the branches, giving it a cold but beautiful look. She looked out at it for a few minutes, only a set of footsteps startling her, changing the direction of her gaze.

"You alright?" A deep man's voice called out from behind her, causing her to turn, a bit off put.

"Huh?" She didn't recognize the voice, wondering who would be asking her that sort of question.

After looking around for a few seconds, she spotted the body which the voice came from, a bulky, probably 6 '0-6' 2, Vietnamese guy. Strands of his jet black hair fell out the sides of the brown Stetson hat sitting on his head. Stubble lined his lips but in a way where it looked as if he was put together, not unkempt. She didn't recognize him but she was certainly taken aback by the sight, never seeing this dude before. He had this warm energy to him, a safe energy.

"Yeah uhh...I'm alright." She squinted, still confused about this whole ordeal.

He took a few steps forward, keeping a good distance between them so it wasn't such an awkward gap.

"You're out in freezing weather, wearing a small black dress. Now, I don't wanna be judgy 'n such but, you look like you're not from around here. It's a bit worrisome to see, ma'am."

That line caused her to chuckle a little, "Oh, no. I'm from here. Born and raised, actually. I uhh...Was here for a get together."

"Huh, interestin', so was I."

She wondered what job this guy could work that would make him be invited to this type of thing.

"Sorry, I'm being rude, aren't I? I'm Dominic, Dominic Nguyen." He held his hand out, waiting for her to shake it.

She stared at his hand for a moment, contemplating before reaching out to shake it.

"I'm Jean, Jean Fisher. Most just call me Fisher though." She gave a warm, yet awkward, smile.

His eyes lingered on her for a few moments, taking her in. He blinked a few times, coming to.

"I work for the county's livestock, ya know, working on ranches and all that fun stuff. I'm the commissioner."

A cattle cop? Hah.

"I'm a detective for the county's Criminal Investigation Division."

He was taken aback by those words. A detective? She really was something else.

Jean caught herself staring at the man, gazing even. She looked away, embarrassed.

What was up with this guy? She was married, she shouldn't even really be talking to someone that isn't her husband.

Dominic cleared his throat, "I should uhh...I should let you go, haha." He awkwardly chuckled.

"Oh! Yeah, right." She turned back to her car, walking to the driver's side door, slipping the key in.

"It was nice meetin' ya, Jean." Dominic smiled

"It was nice meeting you too, Dominic."