Fiona O'Reilly (cailin_rua) wrote in the_dome, @ 2013-10-16 18:18:00 |
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Entry tags: | 04-12-2017, fiona, fiona and nic, nic |
Afternoon Chatter
Who: Nic and Fiona
Where: O’Reilly’s Pub
When: Afternoon
Nic had slept in with Micah, glad there hadn’t been an emergency that morning because he needed the sleep. When it was finally time to get up, he went down to the station and discovered there wasn’t much to do. In a town as small as Delphi, there wasn’t always an emergency. And that was how Nic ended up at O’Reilly’s, his preferred hang out location, since the other restaurant in town was owned by his cousin and didn’t serve beer. It really wasn’t Justin or Zania that kept him away from Eatzy’s, but the beer that called out to him. Last night had been good, but rough, and he felt like he deserved a drink. “Can I get a beer, please? Whatever’s fresh on tap.”
Fiona had been manning the bar herself all morning, and would most likely be doing the same for a good majority of the day. With all that werewolf business having occurred, she could only assume that her brother and cousins who were immediately affected by the full moon were taking the day to rest. Considering the time, it at least hadn’t been unmanageably business for just her.. though, she was hoping that someone would come relieve her, eventually. The idea of being trapped in one area for the entire day was dreadful. She glanced up when she heard a request for the freshest beer on tap, realizing she had slipped off into her own little world of thoughts. “You got it. 16 or 20 ounce?” She took a step closer to him, hand hovering below the bar to grab whichever sized glass he would elect.
That should have been an easy question. Usually he’d say 20 oz, but in the middle of a work day? He should really stick to 16 oz. Those extra 4 oz. could make a hell of a difference if a call came in. “Sixteen,” he answered, then took a look around. “Where is everyone today? Usually Eily’s around.”
Fiona grabbed the correct glass without having to take a look to be sure, stepping back to pour him his beer. She glanced over his shoulder at his question. “We were all supposed to go on vacation, but they forgot me. I’m pretty much the kid in Home Alone right now.” She knew stating before a group that the majority was resting because of family woes and concerns over a werewolf curse, or sorts, would not have been her best decision in life. She moved back and set the beer down on a coaster before him, following with a napkin. “I don’t believe we’ve officially met. I’m Fiona.” She gave a friendly smile, knowing she definitely recognized his face from the previous times he had been in.
“It’s not easy to take a vacation when we can’t get out of the dome,” he said with a smile. Nic knew that two of the O’Reilly’s had been bitten and that they’d become werewolves. He’d seen them down at the camp during setup, along with Eily. But she hadn’t been there last night, so he expected to see her around today. He wanted to make sure everything was okay, even if he knew things had been fine with Micah. “I’m Nic,” he said, picking up his drink. “Eily occasionally rides with me on the ambulance. Are you also an O’Reilly?”
Fiona looked to the side with a faux concerned expression. “Do you think they moved without telling me, then? I was really looking forward to setting up the house with a bunch of cardboard cut-outs and playing loud music and.. chasing away robbers.” From what she could remember, that seemed to have been the gist of the movie. That’s what she took from it, anyway. “Pleasure to meet you, Nic.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t neglecting the few patrons lingering about before turning to look back at him. “Indeed, I am. Quite arguably the funnest you’ll meet.” She rested her hands against the edge of the bar, leaning some of her weight forward. “So, you cart people around in an ambulance?” Questions were formulating in her mind by the second, though she couldn’t decide which she wanted to get out first. “How often do you have to do that?”
“If they did, then I’m a bit impressed. Not at them for leaving you behind, but that you had cardboard cut-outs all ready to set out,” he grinned. He remembered the movie well enough. It wasn’t one that he missed, but he’d watch just about anything these days. “Nice to meet you, too,” he said, then took a sip of beer. “I do when they’re hurt, which isn’t all that often, except for this last month. Eily was helping me because my partner got killed and I was working alone. She became my driver.” And was still on call for whenever he needed her. “It comes in waves. Today’s a quiet day, so the ambulance hasn’t done more than drive around the block.”
“I have a lot of time on my hands.” Fiona said with a sigh, a grin finally breaking through. Her mind immediately moved to the next question, only half paying attention to the mention that Eily got to drive it. “How fast does it go? It has to go pretty fast to rush people to the hospital, right?” She tapped her foot against the floor, contemplating how much fun that could be. It had been forever since she had been in a vehicle, or it felt that way. Screw saving lives when there was fun to be had! “Do you have it all the time?”
“The ambulance? I tend not to speed it around town. If I want to go for a ride, I hop on my bike,” Nic said with a shrug. He hadn’t really tested the ambulance’s top speed, especially since gas was hard to come by. It had gotten more use as of late, but that didn’t mean he was racing through the streets of Delphi. People had gotten used to the lack of cars and he was likely to run someone over that way. “Sometimes I have it, sometimes one of the other guys has it. We’re not big enough to support multiple vehicles.”
Fiona’s thoughtful expression was real this time, slowly nodding as the difficulty of taking the ambulance around for a joy ride settled in. Looks like it would be another night of drinks and harassing her family. “Are we talking pedal bike or fun bike?” She moved on to the next topic that caught her attention, oblivious to the fact that she could easily put someone in the spot of feeling like they were being interrogated. Luckily for her, most people who were at the bar didn’t mind talking about themselves. If anything, it just made her seem like an incredibly attentive bartender.
“Motorcycle,” Nic laughed. “But I have a pedal bike, too.” Most people did. It was a mode of transportation that didn’t require gas and was quiet, which had been a bigger deal when zombies were around. It seemed like a crazy idea to bike down the streets past them, but if they were quiet enough, then the zombies never knew they were there. “I haven’t taken it out in a while. There’s just been so much going on that I’d kind of forgotten I had it.”
Fiona’s eyes lit up. A motorcycle could be better than an ambulance, there were more things that could be done on it and with it. “I would be more than happy to take it off your hands.” She eyed his glass to see how he was doing before looking back up to him with a smile. “I wouldn’t want it to distract you from saving peoples’ lives in your ambulance, y’know?” She knew he wasn’t going to just hand his bike over, but there was nothing stopping her from making an attempt at getting to ride on it with him.
“It’s not for sale,” Nic said. He might not seem like the kind of guy to ride a motorcycle, but he wasn’t going to give it up. It was fun to take it for a ride every once and a while, usually with a girl on the back. Or Micah, if he could talk him into something like that. He seriously doubted his boyfriend would be into him giving cute girls rides on motorcycles. “It’s more for off-duty fun, or emergencies that need me on the scene when someone else has the ambulance. What would you do with a motorcycle, anyways? Have you ever ridden one?”
Fiona quirked a brow. “I’d ride it. What else is there to do with it?” She had been on motorcycles several times, but had never actually driven one herself. It was better that way, she would probably get herself in an accident by pushing the bike to its limits. “What’s a girl gotta do to get on the back of yours?”
“Hmmm, let me think about that one a little,” Nic grinned, taking a sip of his beer. “Probably need to take my boyfriend for a ride first, then we’ll see.” He took another sip of beer, sure that he was blushing the moment the word ‘boyfriend’ slipped past his lips. He wouldn’t mind taking Fiona for a ride, but he didn’t know her well enough to be comfortable with that quite yet. She wasn’t a friend, so it felt too much like flirting.
“Go get your boyfriend and take him for a ride, and then by the time he’s all winded, I’ll be done working and we can go!” Fiona wiped her hands together like she was cleaning them of hard work. “Problem solved.” In all honesty, she wasn’t half as interested in flirting as she was in getting a ride on that motorcycle. He was definitely attractive, but it had been long enough since she had been able to go excessively fast on anything that she was absolutely distracted with the idea of that.
Nic laughed, her answer chasing away any nervousness that came from declaring Micah his boyfriend. “Okay then,” he grinned, not even sure he needed to give Micah a ride first. He just wanted it out there that he wasn’t interested in anything else, just in case she got the wrong idea. “Is this a normal thing for you? Hit up any guy with a bike?” he asked, joking. He knew there were a few other guys around the dome that had them, but he didn’t see them out that often either.
“If there were more, then yes. It would definitely be a normal thing for me.” Fiona spoke with no shame, always very open about what she wanted and what she thought whether or not other people would like it. Thankfully, this conversation was pretty light. “The only other guy I know with bikes would be my cousin Aidan.. and he doesn’t let me get anywhere near either.” There was a tinge of annoyance in her voice at the thought, though she couldn’t blame him in all reality. Saying that Fiona had a habit of being reckless was an understatement, and her family knew that well. “But don’t listen to him. He’s quiet, and you can never trust the quiet ones.”
“I knew I wasn’t the only one,” Nic said, trying to recall if he’d met Aidan before. Maybe. There were so many O’Reilly’s that it was hard to tell sometimes and Nic tended to remember the girls more often than the guys. “But yeah, I wouldn’t let my cousin touch my bike either.” Mostly Zania, though he had no idea if Justin would be interested. Nic didn’t know him near as well. “I’m not sure you can trust the loud ones either,” he said with a little laugh. “Though maybe you have a better idea of what kind of trouble they might get into.”
Fiona glanced over her shoulder as if looking to spot the person he was speaking about then turned back to look at Nic with an expression of faux shock. “Oh! Me?” She grinned and shook her head. “This is me well behaved.” And that was pretty close to the truth. She tried to control her shenanigans as much as she could when she was behind the bar just for the sake of not single handedly tainting the pub’s reputation. “So what do you like to do for fun, besides taunt us non-bike people with your ride?”
“Well, sometimes I ride it,” Nic smiled. It had been too long since he’d pulled it out, though. Way too long. “I don’t know. Come down here and get a drink. I like to cook. Play cards.” He hadn’t done much of that lately, but he knew it was still a skill he had. Growing up in a restaurant that ran a poker game in the back room had it’s advantages. For Nic, it meant he knew how to gamble like a pro. It was one of the only places that he was a good liar. “I play the guitar and the piano, but I don’t think there’s a piano in the dome. What about you?”
Fiona's next glance over her shoulder had been legitimate this time as she caught sight of someone approaching the bar in her peripherals. She nodded to Nic with a smile, pushing herself to an upright position. "Hold that thought, One Percenter." She turned and moved to the other corner of the bar to whip up a little rum and coke action for the patron. She grinned as she caught sight of her eyeing Nic from across the way, taking a few steps back before turning fully to return to her previous conversation. "I think you've got an admirer." She indiscreetly thumbed back to the girl, leaning back on the counter. "I do whatever I can to not go crazy in here. Use that imagination of yours." She pursed her lips. "Have you been to one of the poker nights my brother hosts here before?"
Nic took a sip of his drink as Fiona tended to another patron, glancing her direction as she did so. When Fiona returned, he couldn’t help but sneak another look, always curious as to who might be checking him out, even if he wasn’t really interested. Not now anyways. “If I wasn’t in a relationship, maybe,” he said with a little smile. Girls always caught his attention easier than guys. Micah was a special case. “My cousin’s working on setting up a club. You might like a place like that,” he said thoughtfully. “No, I haven’t. Which one sets them up?” It might be fun to play a little poker, so long as he didn’t get in over his head.
Fiona looked pleased with Nic’s answer. She also enjoyed being involved with both boys and girls, and never understood why more people didn’t at least try it. Who didn’t like to spice up life with a little variety? She reached her hand for a shot glass, deciding she had been well enough behaved so far in the day to treat herself to a little something. She reached for the closest liquor available, glancing up from the glass. “I would love a place like that. When’s it opening?” She set the bottle down, throwing back the shot she poured herself with ease and tapped the shotglass on the counter. “Lochlan. I pop in from time to time, I’ll have to let you know when the next is happening.”
“I’m not sure. I know she has the space now, but she has to get it setup. I’ll ask her and let you know.” It had been a while since he’d spent some time with Zania, being mostly touch and go lately. He’d seen her at the werewolf encampment, probably there to check on Justin, but otherwise they hadn’t really talked. “Let me know, but if Lochlan’s playing, then I’m not sure it’s a fair game,” he said, sliding his glass across the counter and tapping the top, asking for another. “He’s got some advantages that I don’t. But I won’t tell other people that.” Lochlan and Patrick could both hear heartbeats now, which made it difficult to really bluff. Nic was sure he could do so with a human, but with a werewolf? Probably not.
Fiona hadn’t expected that answer out of Nic, and the quirk in her smile reflected her surprise. “Ah.. I hadn’t even thought about that.” She didn’t know who knew exactly knew all of what was going on with her her family and anyone else affected by the recent outbreak of werewolfism, so she chose not to elaborate much more than that. There was the chance that he had been speaking of something entirely different, after all. She reached for his glass, moving back to the selection of beers available on tap. “Same?” She glanced over to him, hand hovering until she received a yay or nay.
“Not everyone will,” Nic pointed out. He wasn’t going to say too much, well aware that there were people around who could overhear. He also wasn’t sure how much Patrick and Lochlan had shared with the other members of their family, so he didn’t want to go into detail on aspects they hadn’t touched on. What he knew, he knew from Micah. “I might be interested anyways, so give ‘em my name.” And hopefully he wouldn’t lose too badly. “Yes, please,” he said in reference to the drink. One more he could handle, and then he’d probably have to stop, just in case a call came in.
“I will.” Fiona gave a nod and poured him another glass, returning it to him with a curious eye. “So how exactly do you know about all that?” She didn’t specify what her question was about, trying to be as vague as possible incase there were eavesdroppers about. She assumed he would know she was speaking in regards to the topic of werewolf abilities since it was still a pretty recent comment from him, though.
“My boyfriend, Micah, got bitten. He’s a doctor at the hospital, plus I came to help Eily when Lochlan got attacked.” And knew about Patrick for the same reason. There was a lot of overlap in who went into the hospital and who he picked up, and those he didn’t bring in himself he knew about from Micah. Or Eily, in this case. They’d seen each other down at the werewolf camp during setup.
Fiona hummed a thoughtful note, trying to recall if she knew this Micah he was dating. She typically was good with matching names to faces, but she wasn’t able to pull anything up from her memory. Either way, it was nice to have some confirmation that he was on the same page with her in that regard. “It must be exciting to be with someone with such a primitive side.” She grinned, pouring herself a second shot. She would have to take a break for a bit after this, or else she would start pouring rounds of drinks for free and that was frowned upon by her cousins. “What’s he like? Micah?”
“Um, yeah,” Nic said, a bit surprised by her statement. He thought he could agree with her on that, except when Micah had gotten all possessive and bitey. A little rough was okay, but Nic didn’t like being bitten. It was definitely a side of Micah that he wasn’t used to. “He’s a good guy. Charismatic, but he has moments where he’s almost shy. I think it depends on his environment. He wants to help people, which is something we have in common. And I think we both have a bit of a wild side that we try to reign in.” He was guessing there, but he was pretty sure he was right on the mark.
Fiona tilted her head back for her second shot, appreciating the liquid as it warmed her in all the best ways. She smiled and let out a light laugh, returning the bottle to its original spot. “Why would you ever try to reign that in? Wild is fun!” She placed her shot glass in the dirty dishes bin beneath the bar’s counter. “Do me a favor. Next time you see him, throw him up against the wall and just.. have fun. No thinking, just wild, hot fun.” She spoke the last sentence with a dreamy air, wishing she was able to be in that kind of position right now.
Nic laughed and shook his head, unable to believe he was having this conversation with a virtual stranger. She didn’t know him or Micah, and didn’t know what kind of crazy things they were willing to do… or how their sex drive had gotten the better of both of them in the past. “It can also get you into trouble,” he pointed out, though he’d definitely enjoyed fooling around at the hospital behind locked doors. “We’ll see. If the mood is right, sure.” But if not, Nic wasn’t going to do anything that might jeopardize their relationship.
Fiona wore a soft grin, eyes sparkling with mischief. “We all need a little more trouble in our lives.” She couldn’t get enough of it. It was what kept her sane, oddly enough. “Screw the mood. Make it right if it isn’t.” She tapped at his glass, playfully. “Drink up and you’ll be ready to go, I’m sure!” She crossed her arms against the bar and let out another soft laugh, “Okay, I’m done. I’ve been told I’m a bad influence.”
“In the middle of the day? I’m sure he’d love that,” Nic laughed, imagining Micah’s expression if he burst into the ER and pulled him off to another room. That would be a bad idea. He’d need to wait till Micah got home otherwise he could interrupt saving someone’s life. “A bit of one, sure, but that’s okay for working in a bar. I might not be able to take you up on your advice, since I’ve got a few hours of work left, but we’ll see.”
Fiona contemplated if she should be serving a man who technically was in charge of saving lives right now, or at least had a hand in it. He seemed fine.. and even if he didn't, who was she to judge? She shrugged her shoulders in an exaggerated manner. "Suit yourself!" She smiled, itching to have just one more shot, but she knew better than to give into that urge. One shot would lead to two more and so on, and it was still fairly early on in the day which means a nap would follow. Snoozing in the office would probably land her in some shit, considering it was just her right now. "How about you work the bar for a while and I'll go patrol the streets. Justice will be served! Because that's what ambulances do?" She giggled, those two shots beginning to settle in nicely.
“I’m a fireman and a paramedic, not a policeman,” Nic grinned. “But if you want me to work the bar, I can do that. Doesn’t mean I’m handing over my keys.” He’d worked as a bartender when he was younger and could handle it, especially in a place like the pub. It was far more laid back than a full service bar would usually be. “Do you know any first aid?” he asked, as if this was truly up for consideration. After two shots, he didn’t think she was in any condition to be helping people, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t ask.
Fiona lifted her hands in an excitable manner, “Why didn’t you mention this before! You fight fires, too?” She let out a laugh, glad Nic had decided to drop by. He was proving to be fun company, not like some of the other melodramatic patrons who tried to whine her ear off. “I am excellent at applying a band-aid.” She spoke very seriously, as if band-aid applying was a legit thing. “And don’t even put me near a bottle of alcohol. The rubbing kind.” She held out her hand. “So hand ‘em over. I’ve got this.”
“When there are fires, yes,” he laughed. He supposed it didn’t look like it, since he generally just wore his black scrubs. He only pulled the fire suit on when it was necessary. “You sound like you’re well on your way to becoming a doctor, but I can’t hand the keys over. You’ve been drinking,” he pointed out, nodding to her shot glass then added his own addendum. “Beer doesn’t count, so I’m fine.”
Fiona was about to counter that he had been drinking as well, but he had that covered. She pointed her finger at him, scrunching up her nose. “Touche, sir Nic. Is Nic short for Nicholas?” She allowed herself to drift from the previous conversation to the topic of names, because she liked knowing at least the full basics about people she met. It was kind of habit now, getting to know people in this way had made her life much easier prior to the dome and zombies and general chaos. It was light conversation that slowly built enough trust to learn the kinds of things people wanted, and who could supply those.
“Nope,” he said, shaking his head. “Nic is short for Nicodemus, which is why I go by Nic.” Because what were his parents thinking? At least it was a real name. He’d gotten off easy compared to his cousin. “Do you have a middle name?” he asked, since he doubted Fiona was short for anything.
Fiona raised her brow, repeating Nicodemus to herself before verbalizing it aloud to avoid stumbling over it. “Sir Nicodemus sounds pretty official. Or, like a rap name. You could rap while you fight fires and drive people around in your ambulance.” She snapped her fingers. “That’s your angle, you’re welcome.” She wasn’t sure what exactly he needed an angle for, but it sounded right in her mind. “Siobhan.” She gave a light tug of her red locks, “Irish girls are the best, you know.”
“I don’t know that I’m that talented, but I’ll give it a shot next time we have a fire,” he said. He could just imagine the looks he would get if he started rapping in the middle of a fire. If it wasn’t too dire a situation, he was sure he’d get a few laughs. “Fiona Siobhan O’Reilly. I like it,” Nic smiled. “And what are you the best at?” he asked with a smirk.
“Maybe I’ll start a little one so I can witness Sir Nicodemus’ debut.” Fiona teased lightly, though it certainly wouldn’t have been the first time she had played with fire. That being said, she wasn’t a pyromaniac, so she knew how to keep things under control. Or rather, she didn’t have the desire to see things burn. “Ohh, thank you, boyo.” She put on her best thick Irish accent, a smirk planting itself on her lips. Lochlan’s may have sounded more authentic, but hers wasn’t too far off. “What am I not the best at?” She glanced upwards in thought then slowly shook her head. “Yeah, nothing’s coming to mind.. what do you think I’d be the best at? I’ll confirm or deny.”
“Don’t you dare,” he warned with a laugh. While he was joking around, he really didn’t need her to go start a fire, so he hoped she wasn’t serious. He never knew with some people. “Hmmm… I’d be willing to bet you hold your liquor better than the rest of the O’Reilly’s.” It was the most tame thing Nic could come up with, his mind having fallen into the gutter when she posed the question like that. If he hadn’t been with Micah, he would’ve taken it in another direction, which probably meant he needed to stop drinking and get himself out of the bar before he got himself in trouble. Fiona was fun, but she could also be dangerous.
“Okay, okay. No fires.” Fiona waved her hand at him, then brought the hand to her chest as if she was touched by his thinking she could outdrink the rest of her family. It was a compliment in her mind. “I would say yes, but I’ll have to re-evaluate after going up against the special ones now.” She knew she didn’t need to elaborate who or what she was speaking about, content with keeping their vague code to the basics. “Name something else! This is fun!” She waited with a bright smile, forsaking even glancing around to see if anyone was waiting on a re-fill, or anything. She could be a great bartender when she applied herself, but she also could kind of be a terrible one too.
“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. I bet you’re right. They can probably drink more than they used to,” Nic said thoughtfully. He’d have to test that with Micah, though it made sense. The werewolves seemed to have a higher metabolism, which meant it would be harder to get them drunk. “Let’s see…” Nic said, trying to think of something else that might amuse her, but wasn’t sexual in nature. Why did his mind automatically go there? “Are you a better thief?” he asked, not sure if she was a thief at all, which made it an amusing question.
Fiona fluttered her lashes, flashing a deer in the headlights look without a second thought. “I’ve never been in a speck of trouble in my life. Do I look like someone who would steal?” She pouted softly, though it was all a ruse. She may not have been a thief, but she wasn’t a stranger to questionable activity. Nic didn’t need to know that, though. Not yet. “I guess you did find something I’m not the best at.” She ran her finger over the counter, pushing a coaster idly towards him. She glanced up to see if her innocently sad act had had an effect at all.
“I think, these days, chances are you have,” Nic said, though not judgmentally. Things were different than they used to be and while stealing was frowned upon there hadn’t been any law enforcement outside the domes. People took what they needed and what they needed was sometimes someone else’s. “Is that your innocent act?” he asked. “Because if you hadn’t been playing the bad girl from the beginning, I might actually believe it.” But now? Not a chance.
Fiona let out a laugh, shattering the squeaky clean image she had been trying to project. “I would hate for you to see me outside of here if you thought that was me being a bad girl.” She lowered her voice as she leaned closer in towards Nic, “You have no idea how bad I can be.” Yup, it was good that she stopped when she was ahead with that last shot, her mouth running off like it had a tendency to do with a good buzz. She pushed herself back to how she had been standing previously, resuming as if she hadn’t just thrown a flirtatious bomb his way. “Your turn. What are you the best at in your family?”
“I have the feeling you’re on good behavior, considering you’re at work,” Nic pointed out. He knew how that was, though he had just as much trouble behaving when he didn’t have to. Like today. Nothing crazy was going down, so he was having a few drinks. This wasn’t exactly him getting wild, though. “Oh, I can imagine,” he grinned, perfectly capable at coming up with ways in which she could be bad. Nic wasn’t always the good boy he was at the moment. “Well, I’m probably the best cook, which isn’t all that exciting, nor is it impressive if you know my cousins. And I might be the best poker player. Definitely not a thief. I’d get my hand cut off if I tried.”
“Well, cooking is kind of impressive. Unless you really like scorched, rubbery food, I wouldn’t eat anything I made if I were you.” Fiona mused, lifting a finger. “Look at that, there’s another thing I’m not the best at. This conversation is kind of a downer.” She sighed, though it wasn’t a reaction to anything in particular. “We will play poker sometime, and I’ll show you the O’Reilly that is without a doubt, the most fun and entertaining, is yours truly.” She dipped for a small bow.
Nic doubted he’d ever be in a situation where he had to worry about Fiona cooking for him, but he’d keep it in mind just in case. “Can’t be the best at everything,” he smiled, finishing off his second beer. “And sure, I’m down for poker whenever, especially if it’s both fun and entertaining.” He thought he could probably beat her, but that wasn’t really the point. Sometimes it was just good to get out and have a good time. “I should probably get back to work,” he said, laying some money on the counter to cover the tab plus tip. “But let me know if you do set up one of those games. If you win, you might score that ride on the bike.”
Fiona grinned and nodded her head, lifting a hand to bid him farewell. “It was nice to meet you, Sir Nicodemus. Win or lose, I’m keeping you to that bike ride.” She shot him a faux stern look, “And don’t you forget about being hot and wild with your boyfriend. It’s important.” Another grin penetrated the previous expression, collecting the money he had placed then gave a nod of appreciation to him. She walked it to the register, scanning the bar and confirming she really hadn’t been a negligent bartender, after all. If the rest of the day was going to be this slow, she told herself she’d make up the time lost by finding something really worthwhile and fun to do. She didn’t know how exactly, but she would find something.