Richie, Alicia, & Daphne - Disastrous Date Who: Richie, Alicia, & Daphne When: 7 pm, Saturday Where: Swish & Flick What: Alicia picks Richie up for their date and Daphne crashes...martinis, cherries, and olives! oh my! Status: COMPLETE
No one had ever picked Richie up for a date before. Ever. Now that it was happening, he couldn't say he minded much. Sure, it felt sort of wrong and improper, but he was lazy. His laziness trumped all, and he sort of--okay, really--enjoyed the aggressive side of Alicia, anyway. The martini side. When it came to proposing, if it came to proposing, he would do that. Probably. This was just a drink. Or a few drinks. But not too many. They had that three month agreement, after all.
"You're almost late, Martini," he said to himself as he looked down at his watch as he waited.
Alicia had gone crazy going through clothes for Saturday. Sure, she had been a bit put off by what Daphne had said she had done, and it gotten under her skin, but if Richie liked it...
And so, she had decided on a short skirt, black in color, a pair of black heels and a fitted top, pale green in color and sleeveless. There. That was good. Some make-up, some wavy hair and she was hurrying out of the flat with her purse and shaw in hand.
If she hadn't been able to apparate, she would have been running quickly awkwardly in heels. Popping in just a bit from where she was picking Richie up at, she smiled and came up to him, giving his side a light poke.
"Miss me?" Flirty, playful and fun. That was what Daphne had done. She'd give a try. For now.
"Do I really need to answer that?" he asked, eyebrow raised.
"No. I guess not." She gave him a smile, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Sorry I'm late. I got caught up with some things. You know how girls are." She chuckled and slipped her arm around his. "So, what are you going to drink first? I think I'll start with a glass of red. Then move on from there." If she moved on at all.
"You're right on time, Martini," he said as he took her arm. "Red? At Swish and Flick?"
"Martini--oh! Right. From the martinis from last time. It's cute." She went quiet for a minute and waved a hand, shaking her head. "I'm kidding, Richie. Why don't you pick my drink for me. You have brilliant taste from what I remember from our last date."
"From what you remember?" he asked, his eyebrow now raised in an almost permanent position. "Have more to drink than I thought? You didn't seem to have a hangover the next morning."
"The alcoholic count in martinis is much higher than it is in wine. You know I'm a wine girl. It's rare that I enjoy a martini or two, so I don't hold them well." That would do. It would have to. Being feisty and flirty was already becoming much hard than she thought it would be. Daphne just had to go and make her not her for one evening. And Richie had to like it.
Women.
"Let's...just not talk about that night. I wasn't myself and thinking about it, I'm so embarrassed over it." Not that that would really make the subject get dropped.
"No problem," he said, slowly, confused. "I'll just... apparate us to Swish and Flick," he said, and then he did.
She wasn't sure if it was the apparation or just the anticipation of how the evening would go, but her stomach was already twisting in to tight knots. She kept thinking back on her conversation with Daphne and everything the other girl had said and it wasn't settling well with her. She didn't want to be like Daphne, but she didn't want to bore Richie. She was sure she'd be nothing compared to how Daphne was in her body.
"You're looking a little pale," Richie said as he lead her towards a table in the back. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine. Apparation must have gotten to me." She gave a weak laugh and waved a hand. "It's fine." She cleared her throat and sat back a bit in her seat, offering him a smile. "So, what do you suggest?"
"A Cherry Bomb?" he suggested. "If you're feeling up to it."
"A Cherry Bomb it is then!" Alicia flagged down a waiter and ordered two, with extra cherries. That was easy. Things would be fine. She was worried for nothing.
"So..." She casually leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand, elbow resting against the table. "How goes grading all those papers? Must be terribly boring, hmm?"
"You want to know a secret?" he said, mirroring her movements and leaning forward as well.
"Is it a good secret? Because those are usually the best kind to know." She idly twisted a strand of hair around her fingers.
He laughed. "Not really, but I'll tell you anyway. I've stopped grading the papers. Either a student does it for me, or I scan them for key words. I figure that as long as they're not writing that muggles use their toasters in their bathtubs, there's no reason to mark them down, and no reason to grade."
“Sneaky! Very nice tactic, though, Mr. Bradley. Although I’m sure there are plenty of parents who are thrilled that you’re making sure their children do no such thing.” She laughed and tilted her head slightly to the side. “So, it gives you time for other things, yes? Like…I don’t know, a visit or two? Maybe three?” She raised a brow in question, lightly tapping a finger against his nose.
"If you're asking me out on another date, I accept," he said as the waiter returned with their drinks.
“Well that’s certainly good to know. I was worried you might be getting bored with me.” Alicia sat back and gave the waiter a polite thank you once he left the drinks. Alicia gave hers a good once over before taking a breath. At least it looked good and it smelled good. Thankfully she liked cherries and all.
Licking her lips, she picked the cherry, by its stem, from her martini. Letting a few drops of liquid drip off back in to her drink, she smirked and held it out to him. “Here. For you.”
Richie opened his mouth in response, like he had during their previous date when they were sharing meals.
Oh right. The feeding part. Well, it was cute. It was. At least, she hoped it was. She placed the fruit in his mouth, only tugging the stem back and off when he bit down on it.
Okay. It was sort of cute. At least he looked cute doing it and that was really all that mattered.
“Good?”
"Delicious," he said with a wink. "Do you have plans for that stem?"
“Well, I could be boring and set it to the side, but, where’s the fun in that, right?” And holding it up, Alicia popped it into her mouth. She was going to tie it in to a knot. Even if it took her a few minutes. She’d never been particularly good at it, the few times she had tried, but it was still fun to try.
Unless you ended up swallowing it in the process. Which she had done and immediately started coughing into her hand.
Oh hell.
"It's harder than it looks, isn't it?" a voice interrupted as Daphne appeared next to Alicia, leaning over the bar clad in a red halter dress with her black hair in waves down her back. An amused smile, lit her face as she watched the scene with interest before plucking a cherry from one of the drinks. Holding it up above her, she bit the fruit from the stem and pulled the stem into her mouth - pulling it out perfectly tied a few seconds later and lying it on the napkin between her and Bradley. "Don't feel embarrassed, really. It's a lifestyle, not a hobby." With a wink she turned back to the bartender. "Vodka martini, dirty. Two olives."
"Can't get a date on your own?" Richie asked, arms folded across his chest as he stared back at the intruder.What was with all the girls in the wizarding world? They'd gone batty, the lot of them. "I wouldn't drink that," he said then as the bartender handed Daphne her martini.
Alicia felt her face turn even more red with Daphne's sudden intrusion and immediately let out sigh, turning her attention to the perfectly tied knot. She was tempted to throw it at the other girl, hopefully to have it land in her hair and get stuck there. But she didn't. She had to be the better person there after all.
"Dirty? And olives?" Alicia made a face, shaking her head. "That just sounds repulsive."
"The choices here are so banal," Daphne said with a shrug at Bradley, holding up her swivel stick with the olives and pulling one off with her teeth, glancing at Alicia as she swallowed it. "Olives are very good for you, Spinnet. And martinis? The best. But only if they're shaken, not stirred," she clarified.
"Are they? Really?" Alicia nodded and stood turning to Daphne. "Could I steal one then? Just one. Just to see how good it is and all. I'm sure you wouldn't mind seeing as I'm sure you could easily get another with just a smile."
"Wait, stop--" Richie said, holding his hands up between the girls, a look of pure confusion on his face. Hadn't Alicia ordered the exact same drink the other night? And where did Greengrass come from anyway? "There will be no cat fights on my watch unless you plan on introducing jello and or pudding."
"Are you providing either?" Daphne asked with an arch of her eyebrow, handing the martini with the one olive to Alicia without a glance. "Because my contract explicitly states that when propositioned with food fights it must be included," she said with a shrug, winking at the bartender and ignoring the couple once again. With a smile and a tilt of her head, she leaned across the bar, one stilettoed foot kicking back and up. In no time, another martini was in her hand.
Alicia brought the glass to her nose and then took a small sip and immediately made a face. It was positively awful. Well. That settled that, then. "Here. I can provide something if you're so interested in food fights." And, with that and a tap on Daphne's shoulder, Alicia dumped the rest of the dirty martini on Daphne's dress. "Oops. So sorry about that."
Shrugging, Daphne plucked the swivel stick with the last olive off the top of her head and tossed back her vodka soaked hair. "You're so easy, Spinnet. Hardly a challenge getting you worked up," she said with a slight smirk, the darkening of her grey-blue eyes the only indication of her ire. Ignoring the other girl, she sucked the olive from the stick swallowed it whole before raising her eyebrow at Bradley. "Have fun," she bid him with a wink, the sarcasm dripping from her voice. And then she was gone, still wet with vodka and olive juice, but uncaring as she slipped back into the dancing crowd.
Richie blinked. And, then he blinked again. "Uh," he said, still in a state of shock. "Did you just..? Are you feeling all right? Should I take you home? And, I thought my Gryffindor 5th years were bad."
Alicia was staring daggers at Daphne's fleeting back and was only pulled from her leering gaze when Richie finally spoke. It slightly startled her for a moment before she shook her head and smiled. "No. I'm fine." She moved her chair closer to his and lightly tapped her martini glass against his. "Just fine." She took a quick drink, the cherry one actually tasting good compared to the other drink and leaned over, giving him a firm and cherry-flavored kiss. "You don't have to sleep on the sofa tonight if you don't want to." And she smiled, stealing another cherry from her drink and ate it with a chuckle.
"Oh no you don't," Richie said, regaining his composure. "I'm not falling for that one, little miss. I remember our wager."
"Wager?" Alicia blinked, looking up at him and then shrugged. "What is that wager again? Remind me?" She didn't remember hearing about a wager.
"Nice act, Spinnet," he said, mimicking her earlier motion and tapping her on the nose.
"I'm serious!" Alicia gave a bit of a pout. "I don't really remember a lot of what I said during our last date. I'm sure it wasn't even that an important of a wager. So let's just forget it, yeah?"
"You said you would pull this," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Really, is there something in the martinis?"
"I wouldn't be surprised," she muttered with a sigh, shaking her head. With a glance down at her glass, she pushed it off to the side, suddenly not all that thirsty anymore. "I think that's enough for me tonight. Feel free to have another, though. My treat, of course."
"Nah," Richie said, reaching for her hand. "Maybe I should get you home."
She took his and, leaving a few Galleons on the table, nodded. It was probably best to get home even if it was still early. "Sure. That's fine." She was quiet again as they left before letting out a long sigh. "I'm sorry. For what happened and all."
"Not a big deal," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and Apparating them back to her flat with a Pop. "But just answer one thing, yeah?"
"What's that?" she asked once they had safely returned to her flat.
"Are you sure you don't have a twin sister?"
Alicia laughed, wrapping her arms around him and shook her head, hugging herself against him. "I'm absolutely positive that I don't. But it's clear why I don't drink martinis, isn't it?"
"Yeah," he said, though a part of him missed the Martini girl from Thursday. "I'll pick you up for our next date, how about that?"
"Only if you remind me about our wager. If you do, I'll consider taking Viktor out and we can go flying for a bit. Fair enough?" She was hoping he would say yes. She need to get this wager out of him since she was sure she'd never get it out of Daphne.
"We can worry about that in the morning," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Let's get you to bed now."
"All right." Alicia grinned, shaking her head and headed back to her room. At least things seemed to still be somewhat okay. She just hoped it would stay that way.