#hawkeyeluke

Naturally, I’d forgotten what the girls I came with looked like the minute I wandered into the pub. I lost them almost immediately, but it didn’t seem like a bad sign to me. In fact, somewhere inside my drunk little head it felt like it was fate. I didn’t have many encounters with fate, so I just stepped in time to the drumming of my heart beat and went wherever my feet dare to carry me.

I found myself standing at the bar, signalling for my umpteenth drink of the night. He smiled a pearly white smile and nodded, and as I gazed to the side while I waited, that’s when I saw him. Tall, beautiful tanned skin and dark hair that matched thick eyebrows that were furrowed together.

“One more, please.” I said to the barkeeper as he reappeared with Jack and Coke. He nodded with another smile, and I quickly looked back to the handsome stranger to make sure he was still there. He was, and I couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol oozing through my veins or if my heart really did skip a beat.

The bartender slid another glass beside mine and I took it promptly, whisking away into the small crowd to go above and beyond what I usually did. I could barely see straight let alone get my head around how and where I found the confidence to sidle into the only spare barstool in the entire pub and say to the most beautiful person in the room,

“Don’t smile, your face will crack.”  

He turned to me, his frown even deeper than before.

“Excuse me?” His voice was some kind of rustic and deep, and it suited him. I had to fight with myself not to swoon. I quirked an eyebrow, offering a cheeky smile.

“Your face.” I said, and my words, surprisingly, weren’t as slurred as I thought they were going to be.

“What about my face?” He asked, his frown relaxing slightly and his eyebrow doing a little quirk of its own.

“Stale-face is a very serious condition.” I teased. “I brought you this in the hope of finding a cure.” I slid him the drink that matched mine, and by some miracle he smiled. Just a small one, the kind that twitched on the corners of pink lips as he fought it.

“I don’t have much hope.” He played along. “I’ve been living with it my whole life.” I grinned up at his great height, even where he stood leaning against the bar counter.

“I dunno,” I tilted my head. “Looks like it’s working already.”

Sure enough, the tall stranger couldn’t fight it anymore and his lips spread into a grin.

“Alright, alright, you win.” He chuckled, and if I didn’t know better I could have sworn he was leaning toward me just a little. “How can I ever repay you?” I gave a quiet giggle in return, mostly to myself, as he sipped on his drink and I sipped on mine.

“Oh, I didn’t bring you this to be repaid.” I said calmly, sipping on my own whiskey while The Stranger watched me with careful eyes. He called my bluff.

“Sure.” He mocked with a sidelong look. “Because why does anyone buy someone else a drink in here?” I laughed loudly at that one, taking another drink before looking back up to gorgeous brown eyes.

“Alright fine,” I said, and I watched him perk up and listen closely. This time, he definitely leaned closer. And I leaned back. “I need a favour.” He actually looked a little bit shocked at that, confused even. His head tilted to the side, eyes narrowing at me but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he let me put a hand on his shoulder and followed my gaze as I gestured back toward the front of the pub.

“My ex just walked in.” I said pointing to one of the long leather couches where a tall, lanky blond was currently lounging and drinking a beer with friends. It took a minute for him to notice who I was pointing at, but when he did, his arm slipped out from under my palm and he leaned in close next to me so he could wrap me under it. “And I don’t really want him to know that I’m still single – we had this huge, nasty break up a month ago. So basically, if you pretend to be my boyfriend real quick, I’ll pay your entire bar tab for the night.”

“Him?” He asked, pointing to the laughing boy on the sofa.

“Yep.”

“The blond?” He pressed. I nodded again.

“Yeah, that’s him.” I felt as My Stranger looked down on me with an expression I couldn’t quite identify. His eyebrow cocked at me and I just nodded with a small, tight-lipped smile.

“Let me get this straight.” He paused for dramatic effect, and I could see that same smile from before twitching in the corners of his mouth. “You’re telling me – and you expect me to believe you – that Niall Horan is your ex-boyfriend that you don’t want to know that you’re still single after your big, nasty break up a month ago?”

My heart was drumming so hard I could feel it in my throat, but I managed to give a small nod through that same tight-lipped smile. He chuckled lowly in my ear when I didn’t say anything.

“You didn’t even ask for my name.” He told me, lips brushing against my ear. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I felt a shiver run down my spine.

“How important is your name, really?” I murmured back, and I felt his breath tickle my neck as he laughed.

“Touché.” He said. He turned his head, both of us looking over to the couch across the bar where Niall was being approached by a group of girls. They were drunk and giggly and all of a sudden, they pointed over in my general direction and the celebrity leaned to the left to look around one of the girls. He waved and My Stranger waved back, and then blue eyes made contact with mine and winked.

“Do you two know each other?” I asked the brunette who was standing above me, face closer than I realised. His lips were right there, within reach. I was very well-behaved and kept my eyes locked on his.

“How important is that, really?” He mocked my words, a smirk spreading on plump lips. I scowled, jokingly, making him chuckle. “We might have toured once or twice.” I made a small ‘ah’ face before pulling my bottom lip between my teeth. “Did I spoil your plan, sweetheart?” He asked with another cheeky grin. I just shrugged coolly, playing it off while I tried not to let my cheeks blush too furiously.

“Who said I had a plan?” I asked, and watched as his tongue darted out to moisten his bottom lip before he, too, pulled it between his teeth.

“You looked like you had a plan.” He said, very matter-of-factly. “But I’ll tell you what, I’ll make it up to you.” I didn’t even realise it was possible, but he leaned in even closer, his hand that was around me finding my waist, the other finding my thigh and tracing absent patterns.  

“How do you propose on doing that?” I asked, just as blasé. He pulled me at the waist, our sides pressed up nice and tight. I shivered again as his lips found my ear one more time. He even dared to nibble on the lobe gently.