Chapter Text
It was really chilly out. Like really chilly.
As you quickly strutted inside your car, you tossed your tote bag to the side.
Shivering to the chilling air vents as you started the engine, you let out a stressful squeal in retaliation against the cold. With the doors and windows rolled up completely, you wondered how it was possible for the heat from earlier to dissipate in under 30 minutes. You brought your mitten hands to your mouth, desperately heating them with your breath.
“One last stop, then home.” You groaned, feeling absolutely wiped from today’s exhaustion. “Let’s go.” You said to absolutely no one as you drove off.
The roads weren’t too bad though. Small pile ups here and there on residential roads, but you luckily didn’t have to take those areas as much.
After a good 20 minutes, you arrived at your destination and turned your car off. You could already feel the heat around you dissipate once again to the bone-chilling weather outside. You grabbed your tote bag and channelled out another blood-curdling squeal before bolting out of the vehicle. You then ran inside the building to take cover.
Shaking and dusting the small specs of snow off your boots, you entered the lobby area of the bar. With the intense liquor smell lingering just beneath your nose, your gag relax winded you in the process. You couldn't wait to get out of here after dropping off this bag.
You desperately scanned around the bartending area for a particular person, one you so desperately know as…
“Beth!” You chirped loudly for her attention, waving at blonde. She turned around, smiling and gesturing you over to her bartending booth. “I got’chu yo' stash!”
Though when you arrived, you whistled with a 'yikes' look.
Never a dull moment with her as you watched the endless orders piling in. Her hands were definitely tied, but you still watched her effortlessly multitask several different cocktails onto the serving tray. Still, to this day, you don't know how she does it.
You took a seat, expecting this to be a longer stay than anticipated.
She laughed, shaking her head at your witty comment. “Well, by stash, I hope it’s gingery this time…” She joked, pouring a glass of whiskey for the next customer.
“Well, I actually followed the recipe this time.” You frowned, looking at the tall blonde. “These gingersnaps are bangin', I promise.”
“Cheeky.”
You gave her an unamused look before plopping your tote bag onto the counter. “How’s it going tonight though?” You gazed over your shoulder at the full house. “Looks busy as heck.”
She nodded, retrieving the tote from the counter and stowing it into the cupboards below the countertop. “Great crowd tonight, I’ll say.” She pulled out an empty glass, tossing in a couple of ice cubes before filling it up with your usual mocktail. “Could be slower though.”
“Why?” You asked with a cheeky grin, popping an elbow on the counter, resting your chin into your palm. “Missing your man?” You teased, taking a sip of the heavenly sweet drink she gave you with an 'ahhh'.
“Haaah, haaah.” She mocked, giving you the finger. “Tommy’s great.”
“He has a name.” You bantered back, taking another blissful sip. “Glad he’s viable.”
She rolled her eyes at you. “I know, it’s been a while since I’ve dated.” She said, popping several shot glasses onto the next empty tray. “But I really like this guy.” She was sentimental, and you were listening, but you gagged at the same time as you watched her pour the tequila and vodka into the empty shot glasses.
“I know, just messin’ with ya.” You took another sip. “So… When am I going to meet this lucky man? It's been a couple of months.”
“Funny you mention that.” She chuckled, eyes now glossing over to the people standing behind you. Her lips curving into an excited smile. “Right about now.”
“W-What?” You were taken back by her comment.
“You both made it!” She cheered, greeting both of them with a side hug, then proceeding to wrap her arms around one of the man’s neck. She exchanged a sweet and passionate kiss with him. “Thought you guys were lost trying to find this place in this weather.”
“Holy moly.” You muttered under your breath as you surveyed the hunks.
“Now why would we give up free alcohol?” The man with his arms around Beth laughed, giving her another peck on the cheek. His attention then turned to you. “This must be the lucky mate you’ve been chalking up about.”
Beth chuckled, extending the welcome by bringing both men closer to you. “This is (Name).” She gestured with a sweet smile, coming around you with a gleeful hug by the shoulder. “My long-time friend.”
“Tommy Riley, pleasure.” He extended his hand for a shake. “Finally get to put a face to the name Beth talks so much about.”
You accepted his greetings.
Tommy then gestured to the man looming behind him. “This is my younger brother, Simon Riley.”
Your gaze landed on the somewhat bundled up man. How mysterious he was and not as vibrant as Tommy. They were total opposites in how they presented themselves.
Simon wore all black, with what you had just assumed to be an interesting choice of winter gear. An off-black hoodie he wore underneath his black leather jacket. A black balaclava worn over his head, but tucked warmly with his hood (from his hoodie) over top. And of course, a black pair of straight cut jeans that really brings out the length of his legs. He was drenched in the colour black... It was pretty charming, but in a mysterious way.
Simon gestured a quick wave at you before walking off and taking a seat at the lounging area together with Tommy.
“They’re here for the game tonight.” She chuckled, walking back to her station to fill up the two empty glasses she grabbed from the rack. “Then Tommy and I are heading out...”
She motioned you over to the lounging area, not taking ‘no’ for an answer. You awkwardly trailed behind as she assured you again for the impromptu invite. "Join us, it’ll be fun." She then set out both glasses onto the tray, taking it into her hold.
"If I had known I was meeting your man today, I would have dressed better." You pouted, trying your best not to dwell too much on your simplistic attire. You let the blonde pull you by the wrist with her other free hand. “I look like a teacher.”
”You are a teacher.” She laughed, making her way down to the booth and taking a seat. You followed suit as she handed out the drinks.
.
.
As the evening went on, you learned quite a bit about Tommy.
He was definitely an inspiration, a great public speaker from the way he talked, and made quite the impression on you with his battle against addiction. He shared with you that he was once a victim to drugs in high school, sold his soul to the devil in the recent years to upkeep his dope.
But he is now proudly half a year sober.
What an amazing conquer.
He even brought with him his 6 month sober chip to show around. You can see how much that chip meant to him. Quite a journey, and honestly, you were so happy and glad that Beth matched with such a resilient and wonderful man. He was so down to earth, almost like a golden retriever.
As the evening grew late, the couple bid their goodbyes halfway through the game. They had planned to go somewhere together privately. This left you alone with Simon.
Oh, the cold and hard gazes he gave you when you muttered a little bit too loud to yourself, frankly because you were trying to distract him from the game.
The entire night, this man didn't bat an eyelash at you. Actually, he didn’t give 2 bollocks about you this whole evening. He seemed way more into the football game on the screen than to socialize with you. Though, he did banter here and there earlier with the group, but that was it. You can tell that he was an avid football watcher, but damn, it wouldn't hurt if he had flashed his attention over to you. After all, you guys were going to be mutual friends.
So you insisted on doing something about this.
You purposely took a couple of sips out of his glass to irk him like a total brat. He didn’t react nor did he comment when you started taking more and more sips. He watched you gag half the time as you seem to forget it was whiskey. But he doesn’t flinch, he just kept his eyes on the screen, sometimes on you.
You were pretty drunk by now.
Going from mocktails to cocktails to shots, you were drunkenly mistaken by the number of drinks you could stomach. You confidently thought you could handle a few, but 3 became 6, 6 became 8, and 8 became several sips of his whiskey.
The amount of liquid courage you garnered in the past hour though was baffling, but here you are. You were no longer seated in front of Simon anymore, but next to him, glaring at the man with all your might.
He finally looked at you, chin resting into his palm. “What?”
“Y-You.” You hiccupped. “You’ve beeeeeeen soh… quiet.” You scrunched your nose, deliberately trying to intimidate the man, but also looking for the right words to say. “Allllllll niiiight!”
Again, no reaction from the man.
He just glances back up at the screen.
This irritated you.
This was like dealing with an avoidant child. The way he doesn’t even bother to respond or acknowledge you.
So what do you do?
You shifted your weight onto to the man, closing the distance between you both. Your thighs now taking quick pecks against his as you cocked your head confidently at him. Your fingers now finding its way up to the collar his jacket, tugging at it with an intimidating stare.
“You d..didn’t even answer t-the question e-earlllier…” You burped in his face, forgetting your table manners. Luckily, he was wearing a mask. “L-Like how c-could y…you…”
Simon shifted his gaze from the screen to you, feeling annoyed with your blubbering mess. He wasn’t a fan of the tugging, or the invasion of his personal space. Though, because you were a friend of his brother's girlfriend, he put up with it.
He cringed, but not too hard as your hands now made contact with his shoulders now, attempting to get the man to face you with his body too.
He scoffed at this response, intrigued by your sudden bravery, but he does turn. “And why does a kindergarten teacher need to know?”
Despite the mask concealing most of his face, you could feel his intimidating gaze boring into yours.
You hiccupped, pushing yourself onto him more, thanking the liquid courage once again as you angled your head up. This turned into what you thought was a staring contest.
And it was.
Because he did not budge.
30 seconds went by.
He did not flinch.
You were so upset by this. Childishly upset by this stoic man.
So what do you do?
You turned your head away from the man and dipped your head towards the ground due to an unforeseeable event. Nausea building inside your chest and the disturbed content in your stomach welled up.
The liquor was finally catching up, it didn’t sit well inside.
You vomited everywhere.
Safe to say Simon held you back by your arms before you merged together with the pool of upchuck. He groaned, pulling you back up and checking to see if you needed anything. He also motioned a server from afar for a glass of water. He grabbed a couple of napkins from the holder and wiped your lips, as gently as those calloused hands could be.
He peered over your shoulder to check in on you, seeing that your eyes were now dozing off as your body weight leaned against his. He could hear you groaning while watching your fingers drew circular motions against your temples.
“Need me to call a cab?” The server asked, setting down a glass of water on the table. Simon shook his head, and grabbed it. “I’ll get Beth—”
“No need.” He looked down, watching as you started to tilt your head back against his chest. “The couple’s celebrating something tonight. Don’t need to bother them.” He paused, grabbing ahold of your waist to secure his hold on you as he introduced the tip of the glass to your lips. “Just let them know I’ll take her back to my place tonight.”
The server nodded and left, leaving him feeling a bit bamboozled by tonight’s event.
He knew about meeting you, but never thought he would literally be babysitting you. It was supposed to be a night out with his brother, girlfriend, and girlfriend’s bffl bullshit type of deal. He expected tonight to be chill, few friends over drinks, watching the game together, and then saying goodbye to everyone when the couple leaves for their night entourage.
But that didn't happen with the exception of the latter half.
He sighed as the apparent snores started to set in. You were knocked out.
He wasn't the type to just go through a lady's purse, but he figured you had probably drove here. So he rummaged through your purse that was on the table in search for your car keys. This left him with a chuckle as he glanced down at the brand of your car. You didn't seem to fit the type to own a modded sports car, but you sure were full of surprises today.
He hoisted your arm over his shoulder. His other arm securing your waist up from the booth, dodging the pile of vomit at the same time. As he realized your weight was sliding off him, he frantically held onto your wrist tighter. He then realized a support carry was not feasible with him being that much taller than you, he might as well just dislocate your shoulder. Instead, he just scooped you up in his arms and left to find your vehicle.
"Hmm..." You mumbled, tucking yourself closer to his chest, finding the comfort in his arms. "... C-Cold..." You subconsciously shivered to the slight breeze hitting your neck and cheek.
This wasn't a typical scenario. Simon definitely didn't expect this. But here he was, laying you down in the back, adjusting the driver's seat, and taking off for the night.
He swore he wasn't kidnapping or stealing a car.