There was a part of Alicia that hadn’t planned on stopping by for the champagne tasting that evening but she had said a few weeks ago that she’d make an effort to make it. What she wasn’t looking forward to was all the questions on her love life. Alicia wasn’t too keen on the suggestions of setups from the sommelier that worked there. A lovely fellow who simply enjoyed trying to set people up.
Alicia found herself sitting down at the bar and looking down debating if she should message any of her male friends to see if they had a bit of free time for champagne, the Somm knew Roger wasn’t someone she was seeing, same with George and well, most everyone she was thinking about sending a message too.
Sighing she looked up and smiled as the first round of tasting was placed in front of her.
Pryor had decided to stop by Frizzante after he left the ministry for the evening. A good champagne tasting seemed like just the thing after a long, dull day catching up on paperwork.
As he looked around once he was inside, his gaze landed on Alicia and he wondered for a moment if he should say hello, before making up his mind to actually do it. He didn’t know her very well, but they knew some of the same people and he knew enough about what she was doing with her older sister to hold at least a passing respect for the woman.
“Evening,” he said, nodding a quick greeting to her as he stepped into the space next to her.
Alicia smiled when she saw who sat down next to her, she didn’t know him all that well but knew he was Perry’s older brother and always seemed alright. She didn’t know how many people Perry had told about their conversations but she had a feeling it might include his own brother.
“Pryor yeah?” She whispered softly. “Are you up for doing me a favour?” Alicia added in an even softer voice.
Pryor’s brow lifted as Alicia asked a question he wasn’t expecting. “I suppose that depends on the favour,” he whispered back. He didn’t know her well enough to be able to predict what was going to come out of her mouth next, but he certainly wasn’t opposed to helping her out if the request was something he could accommodate in good conscience.
“See the somm over there?” She nodded towards Rufus Watson, the man sniffing a cork who had poured her tasting. “He is notorious for trying to set me up and the last time I was here he tried to get me to talk to his nephew via floo, it was awkward, you Mr. Derrick are on a first date now.” She smirked. “If you think you could handle the challenge, of course.” Part of her had thought Perry would be a safe bet for this but Pryor was the one sitting there.
Pryor pretended to need to think about it, hesitating for a moment or two. Truthfully, it wouldn’t be hard to feign an interest in Alicia Spinnet; she was intriguing and he has to admit she was certainly beautiful. “What kind of man would I be to refuse a damsel in distress,” he quipped, keeping his tone low so they wouldn’t be overheard.
“Fancy yourself a knight in shining armour?” She teased with a laugh, but she was glad he was going for it, it’d save another awkward conversation. She was about to add another question when the somm in question walked over and looked between the two of them.
“Who is this?” He asked trying to look intimidating but the smile tugging at his lips was too much.
“Pryor Derrick,” Alicia answered. “Auror.” That seemed to cause Rufus to jump up and down on the balls of his feet.
“Well, let’s get the really good stuff,” and he shuffled off towards some bottles.
“Maybe I do,” Pryor whispered just before the somm approached. He raised an eyebrow at Alicia as the man shuffled off to get them the good stuff. “He really wants you to find a partner,” Pryor teased quietly. There was an amused smirk on his face.
“Something about a young woman knowing so much about wine and no one to share it with,” Alicia sighed. “He’s a bit older fashioned and thinks I’m getting too old to be allowed to be single, he’s a bit behind the times, but he’s a sweetheart.” She smiled fondly at the somm before looking back at Pryor.
Pryor couldn’t help a soft chuckle. He didn’t know Alicia well, but she struck him as someone who had a lot of people in her life. “I suppose he only wants the best for you,” he admitted. Despite his amusement at the situation, Pryor could see the somm’s heart was in the right place. It was nice to see. “And I suppose it is getting me the really good stuff,” he added, teasing again. This wasn’t what he’d expected for his evening, but he wasn’t really complaining, either.
“Pryor Derrick, are you using me to get to the good stuff?” She teased, after all she was the one using him as a date that she knew eventually she’d have to explain why she didn’t bring him back again. “It’s okay, mutually beneficial agreements work well for me.” Alicia laughed.