Only Once

Chapter 7

"You look lovely," Scott told Karen as he picked her up. Her blonde hair was held together in a loose bun at the back of her head. The hairstyle looked good on her, Scott observed. Some of her hair was freed, falling in stands, it did a good job at frame her face. She dressed down compared to her normal work attire, as was Scott.

He opened the passenger's door to his navy Chevy Malibu, shutting the door when Karen was situated. He walked breezily around the front of the car. Sitting down, he began driving with no particular destination in mind.
"I was thinking we could do something to unwind from work," he offered.
"We could go dancing!" Karen smiled at him, her youth showing.
"That's fine by me. I'm new to the city, do you know any good places?"
"Keeping going down the street, and turn left at the next light," Karen told him, pointing. "There's a place called conspiracy a few blocks from here."
As they drove, Scott followed her directions. He would've preferred she informed him of upcoming turns sooner, but nonetheless his mind was free of Isabelle for the first time in what felt like forever.
"So why's it called conspiracy?" Scott asked, curiously. Karen shrugged.
"That's probably a conspiracy theory all on its own," she joked, earning a laugh from him.
When they arrived at the place downtown, the line extended far a ways down the street. Scott struggled to find a parking spot, after searching for a good fifteen minutes, he was finally able to park the car.
The two walked to the line and began to wait. It seemed to be moving much faster than it had appeared to be from the car. Scott felt out of place, a majority of the people in line seemed to be younger than him. His clothes made him fit in though, although he was not dressed to go dancing per se, he wasn't dressed poorly. He wore fitted dark wash jeans and a grey sweater. Karen beside him was dressed more appropriately for the activity. She wore a small multi-coloured dress with a pair of white heels. She looked good.
But not as good as Isabelle.
He cursed himself, hoping he'd be able to keep her off his mind for at least a majority of the night.
When they got to the entrance, only Karen was required to show identification. Apparently, Scott no longer had the ability to pass as someone under the age of twenty-one. He didn't think he looked that old; he wasn't balding or greying and he had a normal amount of small wrinkles on his forehead. Nothing out of the ordinary for someone who was turning thirty within the year. However hard he tried to ignore it, the age gap between Karen and himself was obvious, nagging at his insides.
The pair walked straight to the bar, ordering drinks. Scott a beer, Karen some frilly drink with a cherry placed on top. Carrying their drinks, they looked for an empty place to sit. The place was packed, bodies swayed back and forth making it more difficult to manoeuvre through the club. Grabbing her hand, beer in the other, Scott led Karen through the crowd. They had to stop occasionally to wait for the bumping and grinding in front of them to clear out of the way. Karen seemed amused by the dancing, Scott however was just annoyed it was taking so long to cross the floor to find a table.
After making their way through the drunk, sweaty dancers, the two sat at a raised table.
"It's really loud in here!" Scott yelled over the music, the bass so powerful it was shaking the floor. He took a sip of his beer, setting the glass on the small, round table.
Karen laughed, oblivious to Scott's annoyance.
Maybe I'm getting to old to go clubbing.
"So, how long have you been working for Mr. Conway and Luther?"
"Almost a year now, it's not a serious job though. I'm still in the midst of completing school and they allow me to work to fit my schedule. I'm hoping they'll offer a permanent placement when I graduate in a few years," Karen said, twirling the straw in her drink.
"What area do you want to go into?" Scott asked, half interested.
"Criminal, defending."
Scott nodded.
"It's a high paying strand, once you get good," Scott commented, smiling slightly at the girl's ambition.
"That's what you do, isn't it?" Karen shouted over the noise.
"No," Scott paused, looking her in the eyes. "I'm the one who puts criminals away."
"Maybe we'll be on opposite sides of the court one day," she smiled at the idea. He smiled too, the loud music and people not bothering him as much anymore.
Karen looked around, her eyes traveling to the floor.
"Do you want to dance with me?" He met her eyes, they reminded him of Isabelle's. They were blue, looking at him, expecting. He couldn't stop himself from saying yes, and followed her out to the middle of the crowded floor.

"Thank you for asking me out," Karen told him as they got to his car.
He nodded. "I'm hoping we can go out again sometime."
He noticed her eyes were slightly glossed over, whereas he was completely sober. He made sure to only have the one beer, and after being at the club for a few hours he was completely sober.
"I would like that." She smiled as Scott rested a hand on her thigh.
"I'll drop you off to your apartment."
Karen tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth.
"Or we can just go to your place."
Scott shuck his head.
"Not today, Karen."
He felt as though whatever was forming between them should not be so quickly complicated with sex, he had learned his lesson. His lesson still followed him, bothered him and was engaged to his boss.
Scott continued to drive along the streets, turning and stopping when he needed to.

Maybe he had lost focus, maybe he just hadn't noticed the other van running the red. Possibly, Scott had been focused on Karen instead of the constant image of Isabelle that seemed to be implanted in his mind. Whatever it was, it made everything go black and feel numb.