Doubt That

Jack

The bar was very full. The local band were setting up which was clearly the draw to my little safe haven of a pub.

A couple next to me were giggling away about some lame joke he'd told. She was tall, leggy, had gorgeous waved auburn hair and was stunning. He had forgotten to shave so had tufts of grey stubble appearing, was wearing a stained polo-shirt and looked more like a tired technician than the guy she would take home. She was drunk.

Mandy flirted effortlessly with customers, then shot them down with some of the best comments I've ever heard. I always tried to remember them but never could.

I watched as a man in a crisp red shirt approached the bar to my left. He had one too many buttons undone, dark brown hair was gelled and sprayed into one of those posh boy hairstyles and his chinos looked more expensive than his shoes. He has one of those annoyingly perfect jawlines and excellent cheekbones and to make things even worse he also had dimples.

"Could I have a diserano and cranberry please, darling?" He pushed a note towards Mandy.

Almost posh. Definitely gay.

"How much were this chinos?" I gestured towards his trousers.

He moved over to me and leaned in before speaking, "one-hundred and eighty pounds."

My eyebrows raised without my brain telling them to.

"Joking. Sixty pounds from topman."

I blushed slightly and smiled back at him, then whispered in his ear, "Nice, but I never would have worn that shade of red with them."

The man smiled a very sexy, very flirty grin at me.

"I'm pushing boundaries all the time. It's what I do for a living. Eli," he held out his hand and I shook it.

"Jack."

The mysterious stranger Eli spilled his guts after a couple of drinks. He had a degree in marketing but then reapplied to do a design course in fashion. Explained the confidence I thought. He was 29, a Virgo (not that I know what that means) and was pretty god damn hilarious.

"Why is it that the most interesting people always have the most boring jobs?"

I blushed. Something I'd been doing all night. I wasn't used to this level of confidence.

"I haven't seen you here before."

I brought the conversation down to a comfortable level. Flirtatious comments and eye sex had never really been what I excelled at.

"I only moved here a few weeks ago. It's my first night out in a long time so I'm behaving badly. Apologies for any inappropriate remarks on my part."

"You're doing just fine," I gulped the last of my beer down, trying to hide the unpleasant feeling I revived from it.

"I love meeting people!"

I burst out laughing as he shouted it loudly at me.

"I mean it! Whether this night goes terribly and I blow it with you or if does go my way, I'll be grateful to have met someone new. I'm only just beginning to realise how much people shape who we are and every experience, every meeting with a new person gives you a new perspective on life. And I appreciate that."

He was intense. Very intense.

"You know you sound like you're on drugs right. Or maybe even a 10 year old girl on drugs."

We both laughed, spilling our drinks and drawing attention to ourselves.

Eli had a trusting face but his smile and laugh were so cheeky that you kind of got swept up in him, not sure what to do. I couldn't get my head round him, he sort of moulded into a whole bunch of categories and it was hard to know how to react and how to treat him accordingly. I couldn't use my book for conversations I'd developed over the past few months.