One Shots

Slippery When Wet

Phoebe's keys jingled as she twisted them in the lock and opened her front door. The apartment was dark as she stepped in, and she switched the light on as the man behind her entered timidly and shut the door behind them. She could tell he was nervous. She knew from the moment they met in the bar that he wasn't used to this sort of thing, and it made her wonder why he had tried in the first place. However, here they were.

Andy looked around as he walked into the main room, swallowing back the anxiety he felt. Maybe having a drink would have calmed his nerves, but he resolved that just because he was back in the dating / fling game didn't mean he had to give up his sobriety. Besides, water looked just like vodka so this girl wouldn't know he hadn't actually had anything to drink.

Setting her keys and jacket down on her kitchen counter, Phoebe turned and looked at Andy. She almost laughed at him. "Can I ask you something?" she called as she walked into her kitchen, grabbing two glasses.

He was unsure if he should follow her, so he took a few steps forward but didn't enter the kitchen. "Uh, yes," he mumbled.

She came back to him with two small glasses of something clear, and Andy immediately assumed it was vodka because of his "drink" at the bar. He took it to be polite as they sat on her couch. She sort of looked at him as she took a sip, watching him stare nervously into the glass as he swished it around. Rather than ponder, she instead mentioned, "It's water."

Andy's eyes were wide as he looked up at her. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. Rather, she spoke, "When I kissed you earlier I didn't taste vodka on your breath, and I would have. Being sober in a bar is certainly an interesting way to pick up girls."

He just blinked, trying not to let his sudden blush bother him, and not knowing how to respond. He took a ginger sip and confirmed that it was water before he took a larger sip. She continued and said, "I hope you don't mind but mine is actual vodka."

"No, I don't," he said simply. He watched her take another sip as she stared back at him through her dark lashes. Her bangs rested just beneath her eyebrows and almost hooded her eyes, but even shadowed he could tell they were jade green. When she didn't speak again he asked, "What was your question?"

"Oh. I was wondering why you decided to start hanging out at bars to pick up girls."

Again Andy was taken aback, his blush definitely showing this time. Was he always this transparent? He took another sip to keep from stammering, and he could tell she kind of liked the way she made him squirm. He deflected the question, instead trying to make her laugh it off. "Am I that obvious?"

She sort of smiled as she held her glass in her lap. "Not outright, although staring at me until I started a conversation was an interesting move," she teased, and when he blinked hard again she had a small laugh. "I go to that bar a lot and I've never seen you. Probably because you don't drink."

He shifted on the couch as he lowered his glass to his lap also. Looking down, he tried to come up with a response that didn't expose him completely. He didn't want to mention the ugly break up that happened over a year ago, or the fact that he was generally too anxious a person to meet people in social settings, let alone women for situations that could be considered social. He cleared his throat before he said, "I haven't been in the dating scene for a while. Bars seemed like an old standby."

"Oh god, am I going to be your first lay after a break up?" she laughed. She took a long sip and finished her drink as Andy just stared at her. Rather than feeling embarrassed this time, he felt a pang of anger. Sure, he wasn't necessarily a bold man when it came to strangers and trying to sleep with them, but he certainly wasn't a fragile thing to mock. This girl knew nothing about him and yet took every opportunity she could to make him feel small, and he hated that.