the kissing gate | simanda ✓

2. bar

"Do you want to go get a drink with me, Simon?" Amanda blurted out and then seemed to blush in the darkness but Simon wasn't sure if she was or not.

"Sure," he replied. He walked to the gate with Amanda following him and he held open the gate for her while she went through. The gate clanged shut and they started to walk down the road together. Amanda placed her hands in her pockets as she walked on the sidewalk, her tears having stopped trailing down her cheeks. Simon walked beside her and Amanda was still obviously upset because it was the holidays and her husband, Chris, was no longer with her. He wanted to hold Amanda's hand to help comfort her but he felt like it would be wrong because Amanda was still grieving over her late husband although it had been a year and a half since he had passed away.

"I know a good little bar where we won't be bombarded by fans," Amanda said softly. "I've gone to it a lot."

"You've been drinking, Amanda?" Simon asked, completely in shock. All he had known was that Amanda liked wine, not that she was getting drunk. "How often are you drinking, Amanda?"

"Yes, I've been drinking. I've gone to this bar once a week, every week after I visit Chris' grave," she replied. "It helps dull the fact that I'm a widow now but I keep my alcohol limited because of my children."

"How much do you drink then?" Simon questioned.

"I only drink two or three shots. Just enough to give me that buzz but not enough that I'm not wickedly hungover in the morning and not enough that I would do anything stupid."

×

They walked into the small bar and Amanda was right, they weren't recognized and if they were, no one in the bar showed it. There weren't that many people at the bar that night most likely because they were trying to be with their families or out buying last minute Christmas gifts. The bar was small and Amanda went right to the small drink area and sat down at one of the bar stools. She was greeted by the bartender and the bartender did a double take at Simon when he sat down on the stool beside Amanda's.

"The usual, Mandy?" The male bartender asked. "Was this visit better than the other?"

"Yes, please, Darren," she replied. "Not really. I was still a wreck. I stopped crying quicker than usual because of Simon."

"So is this the famous Simon Cowell that I've heard about from you, Mandy?" The bartender, Darren, inquired.

"Yes, " Amanda replied.

Simon felt slightly uncomfortable that Amanda had talked about him with strangers although she seemed to be on friendly terms with Darren, the bartender. He had no idea what she even said about him to the bartender and was almost scared about what Darren had heard about him.

"What would you like, Simon?" Darren asked.

"Bottle of Corona, please," Simon responded. He glanced at what Darren poured out for Amanda and it was an amber coloured liqueur but he had no idea what it was. Darren placed the shot glass with the amber liquid in front of Amanda and gave Simon a bottle of his favourite beer, Corona.

×

Amanda had gulped down her shot and then began to talk to Darren, the bartender, again. Simon couldn't help watching Amanda talk to the bartender, feeling almost jealous that she was on such good terms with Darren that she was clearly flirting with him. He knew that he shouldn't have been having these feelings of jealousy that Amanda was flirting with another man when typically, if he was around, they would be flirting with each other.

Amanda was a naturally flirtatious woman and she did have a tendency to flirt with men, especially with Simon whenever they were filming Britain's got Talent. Simon knew that Amanda was just joking whenever she flirted with him when her husband had been alive and when she was grieving but last season of Britain's got Talent was different. It seemed like she wasn't joking around when she was flirting with Simon last season, like she had a crush on him and that was why she was flirting. Simon had broken up with his girlfriend around that time and noticed Amanda flirting with him and he flirted back with her, more jokingly than she was flirting with him. If Amanda had a crush on him, it was likely that her crush had developed because of their flirting.

Darren brought Amanda another shot and she downed that one while Simon was still nursing his beer. He finished the beer and asked Darren for another one, knowing very well that he was most likely going to get drunk with Amanda. Darren gave Simon the second beer and left Simon and Amanda alone at the bar counter, having gone into the kitchen.

Simon couldn't help but blurt out, "what have you told Darren about me?"

"You've been wondering that all night, haven't you?" Amanda replied with a question instead of answering Simon's question.

"Yes," Simon responded. "I want to know."

"All I've said is that we're good friends, we've gone out on a date together and I called for a cab to come and pick me up at 10 o'clock, and we work together. I've also told him some of the things that don't get shown on T.V. on BGT," Amanda said, almost slurring her words. She was already getting drunk after two shots, proving that she was most likely a lightweight with drinking.

"What stories?" Simon probed, encouraging Amanda to continue.

"You seeing David's cock on accident when I pulled down his underwear, David asking Alesha to be his girlfriend in the green room during season ten auditions and her saying yes, you being manhandled by David every year, how smutty David can get. Those stories that I'm not ever going to forget seeing at any time soon," Amanda replied, flagging Darren, the bartender down for another shot while Simon took a sip of his second beer of the night.

[_] hello guys! Simon and Amanda are going to be getting more drunk than this so something can happen. I can't wait for it to happen. What did you guys think of this chapter and what do you think is going to happen next? Bye until the next chapter!