Her lips twitched as she tried to suppress a smile. At least he had a sense of humour. That was already a step in the right direction. Maybe, if she was very lucky, sitting with such terrible company could salvage her evening.
The bartender approached, but before she could even open her mouth, the man beside her spoke again. Her brows lifted, Max blinking in surprise.
“That’s a dangerous thing to offer,” she pointed out. “Whatever I want. What happens if I want a whole bottle of top-shelf…forty-year-old whiskey,” she knew jackshit about whatever was considered ‘the good stuff’, but she was pretty sure older was better, “and…I dunno, fifty orders of nachos?”
She didn’t, obviously. But she was curious how he’d respond. Would he back out, tell her she was on her own, if that was the case, or would he double down?
What she actually ordered was a vodka-cranberry with a splash of orange juice. Sweet and tangy, the juice mostly hiding the taste of the vodka. Something she could get absolutely plastered off of, if she didn’t watch herself, but a couple of them wouldn’t hurt.
And it wasn’t like she was expecting him to pay for any additional drinks she had. Even one was unexpected.
“Thanks,” she says to the man as the bartender walks away to prepare her drink. “I appreciate it. But it does make me wonder: is this you being generous, or do I just look that rough?”
Max turned towards him a bit more, resting her own elbow on the bar. “Well, at least you’re honest about it. I’m pretty sure self-awareness is usually a plus.” As for ruining evenings, that remained to be seen. So far, he was managing to make hers a bit better—she would have to see if it lasted.
Grimacing, she looked away. “…Yeah. Something like that.” More like the universe showing her a whole bunch of shit she never wanted to see, but he was close enough.
She couldn’t help but smile slightly at his outstretched hand, snorting softly in amusement as she shook it, shaking her head. “Nice to meet you. I’m Max. It must be your lucky night—my day was impressively awful and I tend to have a habit of making terrible choices.”
She thanked the bartender as he placed her drink in front of her. Held it up in response to Damon’s in a toast. “Here’s to a hopefully interesting conversation then, I guess.”