The bar was louder than Joy had been expecting. The clang of glasses could be heard from just about every direction, whether it be from a particularly rowdy group, a bus boy scooping discarded cups into a plastic tub as he cleared tables, or the bartender serving patrons. The lighting was a dim glow of amber, which gave off a warm yet slightly dirty feel. Chatter was in abundance, though clear words seemed indistinguishable. The voices were either slurred from too many drinks or muffled by the updated sound system attached to an old juke box in the corner.

She followed Louis as he weaved a path through the circular tables that littered the room. Self-consciously, she clutched her purse close to her body so as not to bump anyone. And perhaps for another reason as well. It wasn't the kind of place she would ever go to on her own. So why was she here now? Just because she had run into someone from her high school days? Not even a friend. Even acquaintance seemed to push it. They had run in different circles back then. So why had she decided to follow him? The truth was, Louis had struck a chord. When he'd called her out on her "boring night in," a part of her wanted to prove him wrong. She'd never thought of herself as having a dull life, but maybe it was time for a change. Maybe she needed to be spontaneous for once, and just see where it would lead her. Though, now that her spontaneity had lead her to this hole of a bar, she was wondering if maybe she had made a mistake. She turned her head back toward the door. The door that lead back to her simple, planned out...boring life.

"Umphf!" Joy grunted, a rather unappealing noise as she bumped into Louis. With her eyes on the door, she hadn't realized he had stopped.

"You know, I'm beginning to get the feeling that you like having your body against mine." Louis said with a smirk. "I might be getting a bit fond of it meself."

Joy glared pointedly at Louis.

"Remind me why I thought it was a good idea to follow you." Joy asked, beginning to lose her nerve.

Louis tilted his head to the side as if he was about to state the obvious.

"Well you know that old saying. You hate to see someone go, but you love to watch them walk away." Louis' eyebrows gave a quick suggestive jump.

"Aaaand I'm leaving." Joy turned, but before she could step away she felt a hand grasp the crook of her elbow. She looked down at the slender fingers curled around her arm. The number "28" inked into the middle and ring fingers. She turned her glare back on Louis.

"Oh come on. I'm just messing with you. Let's have a drink and, catch up." He grimaced and rolled his eyes as he repeated her earlier words. "On me."

She eyed him carefully. Who was she to turn down a free drink?

"One drink." She confirmed.

"After that, you're paying."

What a gentleman.

.

Sitting at the bar, Joy downed the remnants of her second martini, she was finding it much easier to "catch up" with Louis when her head was accompanied by a warm, alcohol-induced haze. She grabbed the toothpick she had been using to stir her drink and sucked the vodka soaked olive off with a pop as it passed her lips.

"So let me get this straight," Louis began as he raised a finger in the air, gesturing to the bartender for a refill. "You've got your master's, you had a full ride scholarship so you don't have school loans to pay, but you still work all the hours you can get. You live alone. No roommates, no pets. And this is the first night you've been out in over 3 months?"

"That's right." Joy giggled slightly as she started to suck on the end of the toothpick. The bartender placed a freshly poured martini in front of her. She happily placed her fingertips on the base of the glass and slid it closer to herself.

"Jesus, I'd be bored out of my mind! When do you ever have fun?" Louis asked as he finished off the last sip of his Old Fashioned.

"Hey! I have fun!" Joy defended, while trying to keep a straight face. "I went to a movie just a couple weeks ago." She stated matter of factly.

"I stand corrected. You, Joy Parker, are a wild woman." Louis' voice was dripping in sarcasm as he lifted his empty glass to her in a "cheers" motion. She squinted her eyes at him.

"Well, what satisfies your fun meter?" She challenged him as she leaned on the bar with her elbow, taking a sip of her drink.

Louis smirked and shook his head, "You couldn't handle it."

"If it's fun, why couldn't I handle it?" She crossed her arms in front of her, defiantly.

"My kind of fun, and your kind of fun, are two very different things, love. There's a reason why we were never really friends." His words seemed to be laced with an emotion Joy couldn't quite put her finger on in her tipsy haze. Could it be, regret?

"Hey, we could have been friends. But you were always just too cool for me, even though I was nothing but nice to you."

"Alright, fine." Louis suddenly stood, the movement causing Joy to jump. "Let's be friends, and I'll show you how to have real fun."

He pulled out his wallet and tossed down some cash, pinning it under the edge of his empty glass on the bar. He stepped back and held out his hand to her for the second time that night as she watched him curiously.

"What do you say?"

A/N: Who else wants to have some fun with Louis? Think you can handle it? 😉

DCMurphy