A Knight of Chivalry (On-Hold)

Chapter 3 - Part 2

Sage and Dawn stood by the bar, both not saying a word, the polished counter being the only bridge between them. When someone had occupied the stool Louise left with their partner, Sage went to make their drinks before he turned towards the woman who was his brief accomplice.

Dawn was in a daze. She knew the stunning woman had insulted her with those words, but she couldn't bring herself to be indignant. Why would she? It wasn't like the man – Sage, she found with surprise delight – was her boyfriend. They were both pretending, but she was still surprised at how quick the man caught on to it and played along.

She only felt relieved that they both got out of that awkward mess with the gorgeous but arrogant woman.

But now, it seemed she was caught in another uncomfortable situation. This is what you get what helping out a stranger, Dawn. Now, deal with it.

"Wow." She let out a nervous laugh, while trying to meet his gaze. She cast them down the moment their eyes met.

Looking around her, Dawn set herself on a stool and tried to calm her nerves. I need a drink!

"Um, can I get something that's refreshing, please?"

Sage noticed the tremor in her voice and thought she was really nervous. He nodded and went to make her something that could distract her from it; sharp and refreshing, it was sure to make people forget what ever plagued them, if not momentarily.

She watched him fixed the cocktail before he pushed it towards her with a smile. "There you go."

Dawn muttered a thank you, took hold of the cool, copper mug and set it on her lips for a sip. Her eyes widened as the flavours set in; the lime and ginger blended really well, and she brought her gaze up to Sage, and breathed, "Wow that's very...invigorating. I like it." She continued to take a few more sips of that. "Thank you."

Sage grinned and nodded his head. "New at this?"

"This one? Yeah. I usually stick to beer and rum, but this is..." She mulled it briefly before finding the word. "Otherworldly. What is it?" Then, her smile turned sheepish when she said, "As you can probably tell, I'm so bad at this."

"Moscow Mule. You're not the only one." Sage shrugged at last in a helpless way, grabbing a glass that a patron had left and began his routine.

Dawn laughed, her nose scrunched cutely, something that Sage tried not to focus too much on.

She made a sound of understanding before saying, "And I don't buy that at all. But it worked, and I feel less like a fool now, so thanks again."

He kept his grin. He could tell the spirit had done its job; she was slowly unwinding. Usually, he would give patrons like her a less crisp one, and if they were novices, he'd make them something like an Old Fashioned, unless they asked otherwise. Sage was taking his bet on her, and something told him to go with a different route.

But what was this? Just moments ago, Louise tried to get him in a conversation and he wanted nothing to do with her. Yet, with this woman whose name he still didn't know – you don't need to, his mind told him pointedly – Sage didn't feel like his shoulders were tense.

Then, as brief as that conversation felt, the previous incident that took place started to creep in their conscious and the easy going vibe they had between each other slowly dimmed.

Thought that too soon, huh. Sage tried not to think of how bizarre this whole thing was and tried to say something.

Hey, thanks for the help back there. By the way, I don't know if you remember me, but I helped you in that awful situation a while back and now I don't know how to make a conversation without feeling like a pre-pubescent boy.