Who: Sara and Liv What: First meeting When: Today Where: The Double Tap Warning/Rating: Low/none Status: Complete
It was Sara’s first day alone behind the bar, and she had to say, she was liking it. She always worked better when she didn’t have someone breathing over her shoulder, watching her every move. Dan seemed easier than some of the bosses she’d had in the past, and so far she thought he seemed like a good guy. Definitely not a creep, at the very least. But that didn’t mean she didn’t still enjoy the freedom to run things how she wanted.
Like, maybe sneaking the occasional free drink to the cute girl who’d just shown up at the end of the bar. Her hair was dyed white, and her eye make-up was a little dark, but Sara liked them on the alternative side. Sara put down the pint glass she’d been cleaning, and approached her. “What can I get you?” she asked.
Dan had mentioned he got a new bartender. Liv had yet to meet them. Now that her and Dan were living together she didn’t stop by the Double Tap every day like she used to. But she still tried to make it over there at least once a week. Of course though she just missed her boyfriend and instead was greeted by the new bartender. The new female bartender. Good thing she wasn’t on jealousy stalker brain anymore.
“Yeah,” Liv replied with a small smile to the new bartender. “I’ll take a jalapeno margarita. Dan teach you how to make them?”
“Dan doesn’t need to teach me anything,” Sara said, with a wink. A jalapeno margarita wasn’t a common drink, but it was one that she still knew how to make. She threw in a bit of an extra flourish, nothing too showy but still showing she knew her way around a margarita shaker, and then poured out the drink, garnishing it with one of the jalapenos Dan had behind the counter. She wondered if he had this drink as one of the usual specials; it wasn’t very often when she’d worked at a bar that had the jalapenos right behind the bar.
She placed the margarita glass in front of the woman. “This one’s on me,” she said, smiling.
Liv was oblivious to the fact that this woman was flirting with her. She was too busy wondering if she would be a good match for Leon. She was on a mission to set her best friend up on a date. But it had to be with the right person. He needed to get over his ex, and Liv really just wanted to see him happy again.
Once the drink was made, Liv took a sip. “Not bad,” she commented with a smile of her own. “Not as good as Dan’s though.” Her boyfriend had perfected the margarita after making it so many times for her. He knew just how she liked it. “It’s on Dan,” Liv added. “He always lets me drink for free. Girlfriend perks,” another smile. “Speaking of, you seeing anyone?” Not the most subtle segway, but whatever it worked.
Sara tried not to let her disappointment show on her face when Liv mentioned that she had a boyfriend. And not just any boyfriend, but Sara’s boss. In the past, Sara hadn’t had much of a problem hooking up with people in relationships, but as far as she knew, she hadn’t done anything like that since she’d screwed things up so royally with Laurel and Ollie.
But then, the woman was asking if she was in a relationship which was a little confusing. “You know, normally you ask a girl’s name before you ask if she’s seeing anyone,” Sara said, with a bit of a flirty smile.
“Right,” Liv replied with another sip of her drink. “Sorry.” She was getting ahead of herself here. And if she truly wanted to find the right person for Leon, he should at least try making a good impression on them herself. “I’m Liv,” she added introducing herself. “And you are?”
“Sara,” Sara said, with a half-smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Liv. To answer your question, yes, I’m single.”
That was all Liv needed to hear. “I have a friend you might want to meet. If you’re interested.” Liv paused to take a sip of her drink. “He can be a bit grumpy sometimes, but he’s actually a big softie.”
Sara couldn’t help but laugh, leaning against the bar. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had someone ask me out on a blind date so soon after meeting me before.”
“What can I say,” Liv said with another sip. “I like your vibe. And Dan liked you enough to hire you.” She did trust her boyfriend’s judgement.
Sara was most used to girls not trusting their boyfriend’s judgement and being jealous of her instead, which was something she couldn’t necessarily blame them for. She didn’t really have the best track record when it came to that sort of thing. She decided right then that she liked Liv. “How about you tell me about this guy?”
Well that was something at least. Liv was making progress. Maybe she would find a date for Leon after all. “I work with him,” Liv replied. “He’s a cop. Good at his job,” though she wants sure how good he would be without her. “Likes pizza and beer. Is a bit rough around the edges but has a good heart.”
“A cop, huh?” Sara asked, a little subdued, memories of her father rising to the surface. She’d never been able to make things right with him before he’d been killed; she hadn’t even been able to make it to his funeral, not having found out about his death until after the fact. “But who could say no to a guy who likes pizza and beer?” she added, trying to sound a little more upbeat.
“Not a fan of cops?” Liv asked picking up on Sara’s tone. But then she went on and her eyes lit up. “Exactly,” she agreed with a smile. “He comes here a lot too. We’ll probably stop by after work tomorrow.”
“No, it’s not that,” Sara said. “Actually, I grew up with them. My dad was a cop.” But that wasn’t important. What was important was that next bit of information that came out.
“Wait, you’re not talking about Leon Orcot, are you?” Sara asked, remembering the name from the business card taped to the back of the bar. “Somehow it seems like a bad idea to go on a date with my new boss’ best friend-slash-unpaid bouncer. It seems to me like that sort of thing is a surefire way to get me fired down the line.”
“I wasn’t aware he had that title,” Liv replied. If anything she thought she was Leon’s best friend. Or at least closer with him than Dan was. But whatever. “But I get it. If I meet anyone else I’ll keep you in mind,” she promised. Yes her main goal was to find someone for Leon, but she could help other people too.
“What was it like growing up with a cop for a dad?” This was the second person she had recently met that grew up with a cop for a father.
Sara shrugged. “Just repeating what the boss told me,” Sara said, wondering if she hadn’t caused some sort of problem. Maybe Liv thought that she was Dan’s best friend. Awkward. “I appreciate it,” Sara said. “Though, if you’re going to do that, you should know I generally prefer women.” Not that she didn’t, and hadn’t, dated men before. But they were certainly less in number than the women she’d been with.
Sara snorted. “It was… something. I think I was the kind of daughter that would make any cop father go nuts. I dated a lot of delinquents, shoplifted a lot…” She’d even learned how to steal a car at one point. “But dad always bailed me out if I go in trouble. For minor things, at least. I think if I ever crossed the line he would have locked me up and thrown away the key.”
“Noted,” Liv replied. She had no problem setting up a woman with another woman. Actually that sounded fun. Maybe she would look for Sara and Leon at the same time. Hopefully she wouldn’t find the same woman to be a good match for the both of them though.
“You know,” Liv said with another sip of her drink. “You’re the second person that told me something like that.” Was Leon the only one with a cop for a parent that actually wanted to be a cop?
“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” Sara said. “It’s not always easy having a cop for a parent, and not all of them are as loving as my dad was.” Really, she couldn’t have asked for a better father, police officer or not. “I imagine it’s close to having a preacher for a dad.”
“You know,” Liv said thoughtfully. “I can see that. The pressure of having to be ‘perfect’” she used air quotes for the word perfect. “Makes you want to go another way.” Liv herself was always a perfectionist, though that had nothing to do with her mom putting pressure on her. It was just how she was. Rebelling was never an option.
“Exactly,” Sara said. “My sister, she was born for the life, I think. She ended up becoming a cop.” And here Sara was, slinging drinks in a bar. She couldn’t regret travelling the world for five years, not really, but coming home sure drove home how few marketable skills the last half-decade of her life had given her.
“Yeah?” Liv asked with a raised brow taking another sip of her drink. “She live around here?” It wasn’t like Liv knew every cop in the area, but she did know a good amount that worked for the Irvine PD. Though she wasn’t sure how likely that was.
“Yeah,” Sara said. “Laurel Lance.” Unfortunately, Sara didn’t know much more than that. She and her sister hadn’t exactly kept in touch over the last few years, and what Sara had seen of Laurel since she came back hadn’t really centred on Laurel’s career.
If Liv had taken a drink she would have spit it out just then. As it was she almost burst out laughing. “Good thing I didn’t set you up on a date with Leon,” Liv said assuming Sara knew they were partners.
Sara looked at Liv, confusion written on her face. “Oh?” she asked. “Do they know each other?” It seemed likely, if they were both police officers.
“Yeah,” Liv replied. Okay so maybe Laurel didn’t talk about her work much. Liv couldn’t imagine not talking about her work. But then her work was basically her life. “They just became partners.”
“Oh,” Sara said, a little embarrassed that she didn’t know that, but trying not to show it. “Oh yeah, I really don’t think Laurel would have appreciated it if I went on a date with her partner. Dodged a bullet there.”
“Yeah, plus it’d just be awkward if it ended up not working out.” Not that Liv was planning on whoever she matched Leon with not working out but still, it was Leon. “Anyway it was nice to meet you. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around a lot.”
“It’s nice meeting you too,” Sara said, grinning. “And I expect you will.” If she was dating Dan, there was a pretty good chance that, at the very least, Sara would see her at the end of her bar. “Top you up?” she asked, nodding to Liv’s drink.
“You know it,” Liv replied handing her drink over. She liked Dan’s new bartender. She just hoped having Sara around didn’t mean Dan was going to be using the extra time at his ‘other’ job.