Blue skies. Clouds lazily drifting by. The ocean blue crashing against white sand shores full of people; their voices were in a collective hum that could be heard over the seagulls that flew overhead. All of these things were devoid of Hadley Foster as he was present in the world created by the author of the book that he held in his hands. It was a literary classic - of course, as he would be reading nothing less.

The ice in his drink was slowly melting, suddenly causing the ice to fall into each other causing a small clinking noise. In response, Hadley reached for the drink and brought it to his lips as if he was subconsciously instructed to. In that small moment, his eyes had diverted from the book in hand to take in the surroundings of his reality. He was sitting alone at one of the pier restaurant's tables taking in his state of solitude. It had been a couple of weeks since the University had released professors and students alike from the spring semester, and a month since he had last been in the company of his significant other.

A mental image of his wife of many years had appeared in his mind's eye. Her smile, once something he'd found ethereal, was now something that was disoriented as the uneasiness that swelled in his chest whenever he thought of her now. This feeling of uneasiness that rested in his chest was a feeling he had become familiar with over the past four years. Nearly two decades of companionship was now dwindling down to nothing but frivolities in terms of his wife. At times he felt as though he was nothing but another accessory to her; just like the accessories that often hung from her neck or earlobes for sometime before they were discarded as nothing when she was tired of them.

But that's why he was in Mexico, to clear his mind of the stressors that resided at his home in the States. Finishing the liquor in his drink in one smooth intake, he closed the book in hand and tucked it under his arm as he made his way to the pier restaurant's bar. Thankfully the pier wasn't too busy this early afternoon but he had no doubt that it would soon become crowded with vacationers as the afternoon wore on. Hadley sat his empty glass on the bar and ordered the same drink once more, this time deciding to close out his tab as this drink would be his last for the time being. It would be unseemly if he became intoxicated early in the day. He was far too in age to do such a thing.

@LunasRose

"Do you know what you want?"

Wasn't that just the eternal question for everyone? However, in this particular instance, it held no real magnitude. Nor should it. Chloe and Marci were on their summer break. Beautiful cornflower blue skies stretched out before them, and the stress of finals and other University drama were safely nestled in their small corner back home. This wasn't the time to dwell on the philosopies of life, no. It was a time to unwind and have a little fun. And that's exactly what the girls intended to do.

The pair were sat on the overtly funky metal seating that dotted the pier by the aptly named, 'Bare Foot Bob's.' After just two days, it had already become a firm favourite. Still, today they weren't drinking. They'd felt far too delicate that morning, and being the sensible sort - they were opting out for the time being.

"I think I'm going to go for the burrito, what about you?"

Chloe was a shock of blonde curls. They were unruly, and no matter how much she tried to tame them, they never complied. A pair of dark green eyes looked out from a sun-kissed complexion, and her petite stature combined with her curves, made her rather easy on the eyes. A small silver ring adorned her left nostril, and the young woman was sporting a pair of distressed blue denim shorts, with a pale pink cropped t-shirt. A trusted pair of leopard print converse on her feet, and her matching sunglasses pushed up into the riot that was her hair. It was a beachy look, but one that suited her.

Marci groaned in distress and put her menu down, "I just can't. I still feel like the pier is rocking." The redhead buried her face in her hands, causing her companion to snort in amusement. "You need to learn to handle your drink." And with a smirk, she reached out and bopped her friend on the head gently with the novelty seagull table number. Which was in fact rather ironic, seeing as truth be told, it was Chloe that struggled to handle the booze.

"Shall I get you some water?" The perkier of the two asked breezily as she stood, brushing herself down before she grabbed her wallet.

"Yes, water. I need all of the water." Marci retorted, still hiding her pink eyes from the sun. And with a an exasperated yet amused roll of the eyes, Chloe sauntered into the bar. Mexico felt familiar, and in all honesty - she was rather tempted to stay. After meandering her way through the pretty small crowd, she waited patiently - naturally not in too much of a rush to get back to the mess that was Marci outside.

Perfect.

The bartender seemed to take his time making drinks now that he had more customers. Not that Hadley particularly minded. He had nowhere to be. He had nothing but time, more importantly, the time he had was solely for himself. Taking time for himself and making time to take long trips had been something that was becoming a bit of a routine. At first, it was few and far between that he would go off on his own solitude retreats, but now they were more commonplace. So much so his wife, although noticing his frequent vacationing at first, didn't even question his leave of absence now, no matter the length of time.

Hadley's drink was placed in front of him where he now sat at the bar but his attention was taken off of it when he caught a glimpse of leopard print sunglasses and a mess of blonde curls. It wasn't uncommon for him to observe those around him, especially when his attention was drawn in by another's features that made them stand out from the rest of his surroundings. The woman who sauntered in the bar was young, he presumed she was at most the age of twenty-two. Hadley forced his eyes away from her, knowing it made women (or anyone for that matter) uncomfortable to be openly looked over, but just a glance was all he had needed.

She was pretty, the type of pretty that stood out among the generic sort of pretty. But what made her more than the generic sort of pretty? It could be many things. It was possible that it could be the blonde curls that were a "perfect messy" that made her stand out. There were not too many girls her age with a head full of what seemed to be natural blonde curls just strolling around. Or maybe what made her different was how her tan skin seemed to glow regardless if they were inside and away from the sun's rays. Hadley took a sip of his drink. One hand resting over his copy of The Scarlet Letter and the other letting his glass linger at his lips as the young woman came closer to the bar.

These sort of things were something he shouldn't ponder over. After all she, without a doubt, was the same age as most of his students. A man of his age even having any interest in a woman her age was typically frowned upon, nevermind it being completely fruitless. As if anything would come out of it. His eyes went down to his hands, in particular, his left hand which was ringless. Typically he wore his wedding band where ever he went seeing as he was seeking solitude and not any sort of company, but today he went without it to remind him this was his time to breathe.

"What can I get for you?" The unexpectedly Australian accent drawled from across the bar. Chloe, who was terrible at making any kind of decision, scanned her eyes across the board.

"Can I get a bottle of water and a..."

Argh, why were there so many choices.. A momentary panic surged through her, but she managed to rein it in admirably. "Mocha, please."

Smooth, real smooth.

The dude grinned as he grabbed the bottle of water from the chiller. "Feeling a little jaded?" He purred, which made Chloe chuckle. "Yes, but the water isn't for me." And with a good humoured waggle of her eyebrows, she glanced out of the window to make sure Marci hadn't fallen off of the pier, or anything equally as dramatic.

"Ah, the redhead." He acknowledged knowingly. "Never seen anyone fall over quite as spectacularly as her before.." The blonde trailed her eyes back to the Australian with an eyebrow perked in amusement. "A class act, isn't she?" Luckily for Chloe, Marci didn't remember her antics from the previous night. If she had, there was no way she woulda' convinced the girl to go back.

Was he flirting? Chloe didn't even ask herself. She was the sorta' person who rarely ever noticed. Well, unless it was blatantly obvious. Boyfriends? There had been a few, but she didn't feel compelled to be with someone just for the sake of it. No. Marci however, was a regular revolving door of love interests. Was Chloe picky? Not really - she just found the majority of guys a little dull. Especially the ones she'd met at Uni. One thing on their minds, and nothing between their ears. Besides, she'd noticed the guy with the book nearby. He was far more appealing.

"So, you here with anyone else?" He asked nonchantly as he slid the coffee towards her, "Like a boyfriend.."

"Like a boyfriend?" Chloe replied, clearly entertained by the question, "Now, why would I want to go and ruin a perfectly good vacation by doing that?" The jackass side of her also wanted to ask what he classed to be 'like a boyfriend' .. But she didn't. Although, if you were able to read people well, you could probably tell she was restraining herself.

"You know, could I get a Danish too.."

Way to shut him down, Chlo.

Hadley's brows had risen with a smile that was growing on his lips. "Ouch. What a blow to pride." Was his response after the young woman had ordered another item to distract the bartender who was just smoothly, and underhandedly, rejected.

"Not that I was eavesdropping, miss." That's when his eyes moved to train on her face just after he'd taken the last sip of his drink.

Yes, it was hard not to hear what was being said between the two considering they were both in such close proximity. At first, Hadley thought their conversation was normal, and of course, the bartender was being more chatty than what he probably needed to be, even more so since their conversation indicated they had been acquainted since the night before. Apparently, she and her friend had a good time, and possibly too good of one as it seemed her friend was hungover. That was something he did not miss from his earlier years.

It wasn't until the bartender questioned if the young lady had a boyfriend with her, did they have his full attention. His lips had tugged into a frown as he had looked down into his drink that was ready to be finished off at the time. That was quite bold of the bartender to ask such a thing so forwardly. Hadley would even go so far as to say it had been rude of the younger man. Yet it seemed that the blonde could handle herself well enough to detour any unwanted attention. Her rejection was so well worded it had even taken him aback.

Had it not been for the tone of her voice, a man could've easily taken her words of rejection as an invitation out of foolishness. But at that time, he didn't even have to look at her to know she was not interested in the bartender's advances. Hadley almost felt sorry for the younger man. Women were a lot more straight forward now than they were when he was younger but rightfully so. As a man, he knew what sort of intentions one had with a pretty girl like her.

"I always eavesdrop." Chloe retorted with a cheerful smile, "Especially in a bar, it's one of the best places. You never know what you might find out." There was no smokescreen with the young woman, what you saw, was what you got. You didn't like it? Move on. It was no skin off her nose. Besides, she was the daughter of a Lawyer. He'd drummed into her from a young age that you should listen to everything, because you never knew when you might need it. The blonde turned to face the mystery man.

On closer inspection, it confirmed her suspicion that he was in fact, rather attractive. That said, she wasn't exactly sure what it was about him. It was terribly hard to pinpoint it. The eyes? It could well have been. Either way, she found herself to be increasingly intrigued by him. Dangerous indeed.

The Australian chap huffed back and slid her pastry across the marble worktop with a huff. Apparently, she was now no longer interesting to him. It was tempting to laugh, but Chloe bit her bottom lip.

"Thank you." She smiled sweetly, handing over her money, before flicking her focus back to Hadley with a delightful smirk. "I think you're right about the pride thing.."

Was she a jackass? When she wanted to be, but who wasn't? For the most part, she was relaxed and interested. Everything stirred curiosity within her. History, literature.. New people.. Everything. It was that zest for life that allowed her to be so blunt and to the point. Life was too short to waste trying to please people. Of course she was sweet. But she didn't pander to whims.

Hadley chuckled, "Well, I suppose you're right about that." It was true that one could find out many things about a person at a bar. Loose-lipped talk was always inspired by an alcohol induced state of mind. The woman's smile seemed to have reached into her eyes, which were a shockingly deep green. There were few people with green eyes that shade. Had they had speckles of brown in them they could've rivaled his own eyes. She certainly was unordinarily pretty, like a sunflower standing tall and bright in the midst of average roses. Hadley scolded himself in the back of his mind for this comparison. It was only human nature that his eye would appreciate others' beauty but that did not mean it was a valid excuse to think of others so shamelessly as he did of this young lady.

It appeared the bartender's pride had been fairly damaged. Perhaps a few more years in trying to sweep women of their feet and he would become less green behind the ears and become more tactful in trying to gain their affection. Hadley left his glass alone on the bar for the bartender to take as he leaned back in his chair casually, he had turned just enough to face the blonde. Her interaction with the bartender was - interesting to say the least. It was as though she had found amusement in his reaction rather than being condescending in her victory or just downright irritated. "Hm, it seems that I am but I only know from experiance." Hadley said, his eyes flickering over to the now busy bartender. "Maybe next time he would be more... considerate when trying to gain favor from a young lady." Hadley gave the young woman a smile. "Ah, I'm Hadley by the way."

He introduced himself, figuring it would be rude not to. The man stretched out his broad hand for her to shake if she wished to do so. "How is your friend holding up?" Of course, he only knew she had been in not so good of shape due to him overhearing the blonde's conversation with the bartender.

"Chloe." The blonde retorted breezily, her attention once again fixing to her friend. "She's a little delicate." And that was putting it mildly to say the least, "Entirely self inflicted though. But she'll bounce back, she always does."

Marci was a little like a Jack Russell dog in grit and determination. However, at that point, the redhead looked up and saw Chloe. She grimaced, holding her hands up in a triangular home sign, and pointed behind her. The blonde nodded and waved in recognition. It would appear that the morning had taken its toll already.

Now what did she do with the rest of her day?

"So, are you on vacation?" Chloe asked, curiosity getting the better of her as far as Hadley was concerned. The young woman pulled herself up onto a bar stool and investigated her pan au chocolat. Hadley. The name was repeated silently to herself. Even that was attractive. Hell, maybe the heat was getting to her.. But meh. What harm was there in being curious?

Chloe huh? He had repeated the name in his mind, being sure he had a good mental image of her face to put to her name. When it came to names and faces Hadley was good, better than most really. It was a blessing and a curse because he would remember people even when they would forget about him. The biggest blessing out of that part of him was that it helped him a lot as a professor.

Hadley gave an amused sigh, "Is that so?" He said to her comment on her friend being delicate. Immediately he assumed that her friend was the sort to not be able to hold her liquor that well, as there were some who were too enthusiastic after a few drinks. "She should have a beer - that would take care of it quickly. Or so I've heard. " Hadley never tried the whole "hangover cure" by drinking a beer or taking a shot the next morning to help fight off a hangover but, he has heard from some it's effective. If that person's body could handle that in the first place but that option was gone as he noticed her friend signal to Chloe she was leaving.

Must have been one hell of a hangover. Hadley was empathetic towards her. " That I am, I've been here for a week now." The man replied, elated that the girl had chosen to stay and chat with him. Though he was curious as to why she had instead of going with her friend, not that he was complaining. "Are you as well?" Hadley assumed she was but for all he knew she could live here in Mexico.

"You could call it a vacation." Chloe nodded as she took a moment to study her pastry, "But you could also call it a celebration. The end of exams - the first year of College was a brute." Well, sorta' brutal. Chloe was one of those intelligent type of people. Intelligent, but frustratingly lacking in concentration and focus at times. As a child, people often labeled her as flakey - but that wasn't true. It was merely an inability to stay interested. That's why she liked literature. It was always changing.

"Although, judging by Marci and her retreat, I'm willing to wager that the celebrations will be put on hold." A small laugh escaped her flushed pink lips as she looked back to Hadley. However, it was rather obvious that she didn't mind a slow down in the more raucous side of things. Party animal, she wasn't.

Ah, so she was taking a break from University as well. At first, he thought to say the same, to tell her that he was also taking a break from University and that he was a professor at one. His eyes glanced over her once more, studying her to see if she was anyone he could've seen in passing on campus. How big of a coincidence would it be if Chloe was actually a student at the same University where he was a professor? Hadley wasn't the sort that was good with numbers but he was guessing the odds were slim, slim to none in fact. Yet he refused to test them. That and if it was her first year of college...

It meant that surely she was younger than he thought she was. An uneasiness filled him. To think that he had looked at a freshman in college, a blossoming young woman, the way that he would look at his own wife, or other matured women. That explains why they came to Mexico to celebrate, seeing as the legal age to drink here was eighteen. "Well, congratulations on finishing your first semester of college. Now that you know what it's like, it won't get any easier but at least you will know what to expect." Hadley had a tone of amusement in his voice.

For a moment he'd caught her glance but dared not to hold it for too long. "Now you have the afternoon to yourself, or I should say, at least until the celebrations are to resume, how do you think you'll occupy yourself?" Hadley wondered how the young woman would answer; he wanted to know if she had even given any thought to what she would do with her newfound solitariness.

The bar was crammed, and the music was so loud that you could practically feel the air around you pulsating. A local band, playing it's set had proven to be incredibly popular with locals and tourists alike. Chloe and Marci were there, taking in the nightlife. It was hot and uncomfortable. Some might say stuffy, but the atmosphere alone was enough to encourage you through any mild discomfort.

Was Chloe drunk? A little, but not enough to not be in complete control of herself. The characteristic curls were pulled back into a ponytail, and the blonde was sporting a pale green midi dress. The type of jersey material that clung to your curves, but still let you breathe. With a dipped but not revealing neckline, it stopped just above the knee and had a classy, yet entirely beach babe vibe to it all.

"Let's get another drink.."

Marci took a firm hold of her friends hand and the pair meandered through the crowd. The redhead was now fully recovered, and looked like an entirely different person with her hair straight and blue eyes bright.

"It's so busy.." She mouthed to Chloe, who nodded her agreement as they finally reached their intended destination.

"What's your poison?!" Marci asked as she rifled through her purse for some pennies to pay with.

"Rum." Chloe replied without missing a beat, still half watching the band as she spoke. "It's always about the rum."

"What are you? A pirate or something?"

"Perhaps." Chloe smirked playfully, "I always fancied myself some of those boots..."

Later that evening Haldey had gotten a call from an acquaintance, informing him that he too was in Mexico on vacation. His acquaintance had suggested that the two of them catch up over a few drinks, maybe even explore Mexico city's nightlife. Interested in the drinks and the time to catch up with a familiar, Hadley agreed but politely declined in the suggestion to explore the nightlife. That wasn't particularly something he was fond of even when he was younger but he would end up giving into his acquaintance's persistence later that night.

Haldey was casually dressed, not as casually as he had been earlier that day in his button-up white collared shirt and tan khaki shorts. No, this time he wore a nice but casual navy blue button-up dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up his arms midway and had the first few buttons of the shirt unbuttoned exposing a bit of his chest. A deep tan leather belt was wrapped around his waist through the belt loops of soft tan slacks, which reached the tops of a pair of casual leather oxfords that matched his belt.

His acquaintance whom he had not seen in over ten years seemed perfectly comfortable with the close proximity of the inside of the bar and the heat that came with it. "Come on, after a few more drinks you'll be alright." His friend had said over the sound of the band.

Typically, Hadley wouldn't be too sure about those words but part of him was hoping they would be true in this case.

"You had me fooled for a minute there, Hadley. I thought you had completely changed since college, but yet you still aren't a fan of huge crowds are you?" Adrian, his companion, had said as he ordered his drink, nearly having to yell to do so.

"No, sadly, some things do not change." Hadley had responded easily, his eyes moving to the band and then over the crowd. For a moment he caught sight of curly blonde hair but Adrian had gotten his attention before he could get a good look to see if it was the young woman from earlier that day. Pushing the thought away, he ordered a drink. Gin and Tonic. That too had not changed from his college days. Apparently, Adrian had taken note, not that he had any room to say anything as the bartender had slid him a glass of whiskey, neat.

"I'll drink to that." Adrian said, some things that didn't change were accepted on some occasions.

As the two went to mingle into the crowd Hadley, pushing through the crowd, came across the same head of blonde curls he'd thought he'd seen earlier. A redhead accompanied her too. "Hey, Adrian, hold up for a moment." His friend had paused, following the direction of Hadley to the blonde he began speaking to. His brow furrowed confused, one of his students maybe?

Hadley had slid over to Chloe, using the excuse that it would be rude to not say hello as they had conversed so easily earlier in the day. When in reality he, unadmittedly, was curiously drawn to her. "Hey! Chloe, I see your celebrations have continued?"

When the blonde turned to see where the voice was coming from, she smiled cheerfully when it was Hadley that greeted her. "Hey!" Not that you could really hear anybody with the speakers so damn loud. Chloe felt rather sure that her ears were bleeding on some internal level, but it was an amusing spectacle to see people leaning into each other just to be heard. "She's made a miraculous recovery.." The young woman added with the slightest hint of a smirk. At such close proximity, she couldn't help but notice how good he smelt.

Marci spotted Hadley and waved, naturally she had no clue who he was, but her buddy sure looked comfortable around him so that was good enough. Besides, the redhead was a little loose in the men department, so she wasn't really in a position to judge. Chloe on the other hand, didn't like to get tangled up in all that crap, and preferred the quiet life that wasn't littered with one night stands.

He looked alarmingly hot in that shirt though...

Stop it..

"Is that your friend?" Chloe asked in curiosity, leaning in a little as she pointed, but smoothly turned it into a wave when Adrian looked up. If he wasn't the dudes friend, he sure was interested.

Chloe’s smile gained one in return from Hadley while he noted to himself that she had a smile that could light up a room. There was no doubt that Chloe was very warm and charismatic, surely she had a large social circle. When it came to people like her, others seemed to gravitate to them. Yet this was all just an assumption, he reminded himself. He didn’t truly know this girl and you could only learn so much about a person from one meeting.

“She looks ready for round two,” Hadley commented as Chloe leaned in to ask him about Adrian, who had waved back at Chloe before raising his drink to her. With a nod he leaned in to speak,

“An old acquaintance, Adrian is his name, surprisingly enough he managed to pull me out of my comfort zone.” Standing so close to her he noticed how the dress she wore complimented, not only her coloration, but her curves as well. The man took a sip of his drink, doing anything to distract himself from thinking things like those.

"She's always ready for round two." An amused roll of the eyes followed as she flicked a momentary gaze to the band. They were awesome, no denying that - but did they have to have their amps up quite so damn loud?! When Hadley confirmed that Adrian was indeed a friend, she chuckled."You aren't a clubber, then?" She teased in good humour, before whispering in a conspiratory manner.. "Me neither, truth be told. I like bars.. And I love bands.." And with an endearing head tilt she added, "Bands that aren't quite so shouty, or so fond of their distortion peddle.."

It was strange, but interacting with Hadley felt so natural. That was always a dangerous thing. When you were comfortable, your normal reservations went straight out of the window. But was it actually a bad thing? No adventure happened through being reserved.

"Besides, it's good to step out of your comfort zone." The blonde gave the male a gentle, yet no less playful nudge to elbow, "You don't want to get stuck in a rut. There's no fun in that.."

Chloe and her red-haired friend must have been close due to the playful nature in which she spoke of the other girl. It seemed Chloe might play the more level headed role for the duo but just because she wasn't in the crowd seeming to enjoy herself more than one could enjoy themselves at an event like this, didn't mean anything. Ah, she hit the nail on the head with him in her questioning his choice of night activities. Hadley gave her an apologetic smile, "Unfortunately for Adrian, no."

He was glad, however, to hear she wasn't the clubbing sort either. They had something else in common then. The more she spoke, the more he felt himself clicking with her. She was easy going and easy to talk to. There had even been curiosity that had peaked in him when it came to her that made her all the more interesting. "I couldn't agree more." Hadley said, having to lean closer than maybe he would've normally as it was getting harder to hear over the singer, seeing as they were in the climax of the song.

The man raised a brow, a smile coming to his lips. Now she was sounding like Adrian when he was trying to convince him to explore the nightlife with him. They both were gently coaxing him out of his box. "Adrian said something along those lines earlier today." Part of the reason why he had come to Mexico was to come out of the deepest part of his comfort zone, to get away from what was familiar and stagnant. "It took him the better part of an hour to get him to convince me out, "

"But you're both right," At that point, the band began to quiet down as they went on to pause only to transition into another song, "Besides it appears that stepping out of that box can be quite rewarding." What he meant by that was kept to himself. It was his way of saying he was happy to have ran into her again.

Adrian had come up to the two with a woman, maybe late twenties, trailing along behind him. "Hey, I'm going to get another drink, or two, " The brunette, dressed rather scandalously in a tight black tube dress that covered her just enough for her to be decent, giggled. "I'll meet you later? Say an hour?" Hadley nodded, he knew the man couldn't go any longer than an hour with out taking a time out for a cigarette. Not that he could blame him. He used to be just as bad until he managed to slow down a couple of years ago.

"Try to get him to loosen up a bit, yeah?" Adrian spoke loud enough over the music for Chloe to hear, before winking at the two of them and leaving them to themselves once again. The brunette smiled at the two before being pulled along by Hadley's friend. She had to have been a local.

"Ah, and there he goes." It was obvious Hadley was amused as he knew he failed to hide the smile behind his glass. "It seems I've been traded in for someone more desirable." He mused.

"I'm not surprised that he's ditched you.." Chloe purred effortlessly as she swigged down the rest of her rum. The blonde held her glass in her hand, but pointed after Adrian with a finger, "She's much prettier, and you'd look absolutely terrible in that dress." With a smirk, she waggled her eyebrows. Was she a little mischievous at times? No doubt about it. Was she ever going to change? Absolutely not. No chance. Never.

Hadley was entertaining on many levels, or at least, Chloe thought he was. He seemed admittedly rather uptight, but he also had a sense of humour. A sense of humour was incrediy important. Especially for someone as sarcastic and sassy as Chloe could be. She didn't want to be worrying about upsetting someone the whole time that they conversed..

"He says that you need to loosen up? How many gin and tonics will that take?" The eyebrow perked in mild intrigue, but in all honesty, Hadley wasn't the bad sort of uptight. Chloe couldn't quite put her finger on it yet, but she did enjoy his demeanour.

"Where's Marci?" The redhead had disappeared from view, and Chloe scanned the horizon with a chuckle, before offering a nonchalant wave, "She always shows up.. Besides, she's doing us a favour. She's a nightmare drunk."

Nothing Chloe has said seemed to phase Hadley, in fact he had laughed at her response. She was quick witted with her sarcasm. Honestly it was a lost art of communication but Hadley found it refreshing that she knew that lost art well. “I have to agree with you, far too revealing. I would prefer to wear something more flattering like a fit and flare.” He dead panned but there was a hint of amusement in his time due to the smile he wore.

Finishing off the Gin and Tonic he acted as if he was actually contemplating how much more he had to drink before he felt drunk. “Four more.” The statement came out so bluntly it would’ve been hard to tell if he was being serious or not. Either way he wouldn’t let himself get too far gone, not in public. Not to the point where he had no grasp of himself.

Though sometimes he was envious of people who let themselves go to the wind so easily, it seemed like fun. Chloe’s friend being an example, he was sure she was in the crowd somewhere. When he looked around he didn’t notice Adrian in sight either. Something told him they’d surface later when it came time to leave. Hadley shook his head , “ I’m sure no worse than another.”

“I’m going to have another drink, or two. Maybe a few shots if you’re interested?” Hadley raised a brow at her, a small smirk forming on his lips as if he were challenging her. He was told to loosen up after all so why not?

"Shots? I guess I could let the no shots rule slide just once.."

The no shots rule existed to prevent anything disastrous from happening. But hell, Chloe wasn't even that drunk, and she was still perfectly in control of all of her faculties. It was rare for her to let herself go completely. There was just no need for it. Alcohol wasn't some secret gateway to having fun.

En-route to the bar with Hadley, who should pop up? Aussie bar-dude. She should probably find out what his name was really. Bar dude ft a little impersonal.

"Hey!" He was off duty, cutting a casual style in a blue polo and some khaki shorts. "Having fun?" He clearly enjoyed his own appearance a great deal.

Chloe waved, "Yes, but you're the wrong side of the bar.." She joked, to which he chuckled and nodded, "I know right. Want to dance?"

"Nah, I don't really do dance.."

"Ahh, come on. I bet you can cut some shapes..." He wasn't really familiar with the word, no.

"I can, but I'm not going to." Besides, the guy really creeped her out. The way he looked at her, it was just uncomfortable. And well, sleazy.

He reached out and gave her hand a tug, "You'll enjoy it. Stop playing hard to get."

Chloe frowned at that point, and removed her hand from his, "I said no... I don't want to dance with you."

"But why not?"

Why did she even need to explain herself?

"You're kinda' a spoilt brat.." The Aussie drawled..

The blonde opened her eyes wide, a little shocked by the personal attack. A brat? That's the last thing she was.

"A brat because I won't dance? You have issues.."

"It's just one dance!"