The Concept |r. blaney|

one: the princess & her suitor

Cadence was smiling down into a glass of alcohol, her reflection dancing in the copper liquid and gazing back up at her due to the lights flashing down on her from the small stage inside the bar. Her brown locks tumbled down her back, over her flowy red dress. Her lips that matched her dress were spread into a gentle smile as she glanced up at the stage where a group of boys drunkenly sang karaoke.

She, unlike a group of middle aged customers that had since left, was enjoying it. They were youthful and chalk-full of energy and even some rhythm. That's not saying she had to fan her face at the musical talent they all possessed, but they each had an intoxicating personality that drew her in. She appreciated their confidence, at the very least.

"See?" She heard, her blue eyes moving over to her two friends. "You're smiling. Coming out tonight was a great idea! Tell me it was a great idea." The woman with golden locks beamed brilliantly. Cadence rolled her eyes, lifting her glass in the air.

"I will be damned, Jules. It was a fine idea," She remarked with a tight-lipped smile. Julia smiled triumphantly as she glanced at her younger sister, who had insisted on joining them to the bar for open-mic night. 

"I think the lead singer even has his eye on you, KK!" Naomi smiled brilliantly, her bright white teeth being displayed as she peered over at the stage. Cadence glanced at the boys dancing around, spilling their beer and laughing through the words of some country song she'd never heard before. One of them, dressed in light blue jeans and a white and red shirt tucked into them basically had another boy in a headlock. He wore a black baseball cap, brown hair peeking out of the back. He was grinning wide, his eyes light and seeming to be trained on her.

She raised a brow, glancing between her friends before looking back to the boys. The man, who Julia's sister had been referring to, had since let his friend go and replaced him with a bottle of whiskey. "Yes, an alcoholic. Am I drooling?" Cadence asked, sarcasm readily dripping from her words as Julia began to laugh. She'd since turned away, bringing the brim of her glass to her lips.

She knocked back the bitter liquid, humming as it left a burning sensation down her throat all the way to her stomach. She sighed, placing the glass on the table. Her eyes wandered to the empty chair beside her; per usual, her smile fell into its usual frown. 

Julia glanced at her younger sister, realizing the woman across from them was doing it again. She was thinking about him again.

She wondered what he would say. She felt comfort in the fact she pretty much knew what he'd do. He would encourage her to drink a glass of water to avoid a hangover the following morning. His hand would be in hers or on her shoulders, massaging the stress from the day away as he whispered silly jokes in her ear or called her beautiful. He'd collect her hair to one side and press a kiss to her neck, then to her chin, until she couldn't take it anymore and had to physically turn to kiss his lips.

She never, ever could get enough.

The empty chair, the silence that followed, and the lack of warmth from his hand in hers made her heart ache. She pursed her lips, deep red painted nails tapping on her exposed leg. 

She was so lost in thought, she hadn't heard the chaos behind her come to a halt and be replaced by a steady, energetic tune from the radio. She hadn't noticed the three boys who'd been singing had dispersed-- so much so that when a man plopped down in the empty chair beside her she jumped.

He was facing her, a smile on his face. Cadence parted her lips in shock, eyes racing to Julia Naomi before Julia had tugged her sister away with a devious grin. She was about to scold her when the man beside her took his hat off and set it on the table, his hand raking through a whole lot of messy curls. "I'm Ryan." He told her, his words sloppy to match his grin. 

"Cadence..." She cleared her throat, glancing over her shoulder at the empty stage before she swept a neat curl behind her ear. "Nice job up there. Looked like fun."

"Yeah, total rockstar material, huh?" He asked with a light chuckle. She giggled softly, gaze moving down to his hat that had concealed all of his hair. She glanced back up and couldn't help but smile a little bit wider. He was quite attractive, with a sweet smile and bright green eyes. His brown curls were tucked back, messy in a strangely appealing way. His facial hair had been well kept, making him appear much more mature than he seemed on stage.

"Totally. Got the moves and everything." She joked and he grinned, glancing behind her at the empty stage and the handful of people dancing to the mainstream tune in front of it. 

"C'mon, you haven't seen anything yet." She watched as he got to his feet, evidently having much more energy than her. Either that, or his liquid courage was seriously giving him the charismatic boost. He offered his hand, his smile widening as he laughed at her shocked expression. "Come dance with me, Cadence."

"I can't really dance..." She quickly tried to form some sort of excuse. She sighed as she glanced over at Julia and Naomi, who were watching her in amusement. She glanced back up at Ryan and shrugged a shoulder before taking his hand. "So you gotta lead."

"Yes, ma'am." He told her, holding his head high as if she were royalty and he was a suitor who had to sweep her off her feet now or never. She grinned wide, her full cheeks rising as she followed him out onto the dance floor. Her tall black heels had them standing closer, her just a few inches shorter.

She hadn't expected to be spun into his chest-- and certainly hadn't expected to laugh and grip onto him. He didn't seem to mind her hand sliding over his shoulders while the other remained in his hand. They danced around others, neither having much of an idea on what they were doing.

It resulted in a lot of accidental toe-bumping and an excessive amount of laughing that could really only be audible to each other over the bustling bar and thumping stereo. 

By hour two, Ryan and Cadence were considerably more intoxicated. They were tripping over each other, although they had perfected a simple box step dance together. His friends had stumbled down to them, telling Ryan they were leaving and that they would leave him there if he didn't hurry. Ryan had pulled away from Cadence, the drunken brunette biting down on the inside of her lip as she looked around for Julia.

She spotted her fast approaching, obviously also ready to go. "Hey girl. You dizzy yet?" She teased, glancing at Ryan who had turned away from Cadence.  

"I'm fine, no thanks to you." She mumbled, gaze pointed in a playful form of scolding. Julia smirked as she swept a strand of blonde hair over her shoulder just as Ryan turned back to the pair with a smile. 

"She's great," Ryan laughed softly, surprising both girls when he reached out and took her hand in his, sliding something into her palm before pressing a kiss to the back of her hand as she drunkenly laughed. He too chuckled, dropping her hand as he stepped back toward the exit, pointing at the girl as she turned the paper he placed in her palm over to display an array of numbers. "I am going to see you again, Cadence."

"Take care, Ryan."