"Okay, okay," Marcus grinned, "I'm better now, sorry. Man, you know how to make my day better."

"I'm glad you're getting some enjoyment out of my predicament, Marcus. This makes it all worth it for me," I muttered sarcastically.

"Okay. Let's focus. Try your pickup on me," Marcus encouraged. "And maybe try and ask something to get to know the other person. You certainly know how to talk."

I shook my arms to get my anxiety out and let out a long breath. "Hey," I wiggled my eyebrows at him, "How you doin'?"

He smiled and patted my head, "See, you're all set."

The waitress approached at this point and handed us some pretzels. "You guys doing okay?" She asked.

"We're doing great, thank you," Marcus replied, smiling at her.

She leaned forward and placed her elbows on the counter, "I couldn't help noticing you were trying to get those guys' attention. Don't worry about them. You're hot. You could land anyone in this bar."

Marcus took a sip of his drink and coughed vigorously at that moment, spluttering his drink.

"I'm Amy," she reached her hand out for me to shake and I did so enthusiastically.

"It's so nice to meet you, Amy. This guy," I jabbed my finger at Marcus, "doesn't agree with you. And if I'm being honest, neither does my history. But I appreciate the compliment. I'll take it and I'll relish in it," I grinned happily.

"Hey, that's not true!" Marcus placed his hand over his heart dramatically.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Tell that to my bruised ego. You're a hell of a bartender, Amy," I grinned lifting my peachy keen to my lips to take a sip, forgetting about how much I actually hated the drink.

"Thanks," Amy smiled. "I'm in school so hoping bartending doesn't last me forever."

I shrugged, "Abraham Lincoln was a bartender before he was president. You're on the right track."

"How do you know that?" Marcus asked incredulously.

Homeschooling, I wanted to mutter. Years and years of homeschooling. My brain was filled with random facts, which left much less room for things like social skills.

"You've made my day," Amy laughed.

Marcus' phone lit up and he pulled it out of his pocket, "Oh shoot, this is the station. Give me a sec," he stated as he walked to a quieter corner of the pub.

"So this is where the party is," a voice sounded beside me. I swivelled to see an attractive man sliding into the stool beside me. He was wearing an aqua blue button down shirt and jeans.

He gestured to Amy and at his empty cup, "Beer."

Amy shot me a look before refilling his cup to the brim. He took a loud slurp before turning to shoot me a smile. "Hey," he grinned. "I'm Edward."

I took a sip of my drink. Why do I keep forgetting I hate this goddamn drink? I pushed it forward. I glanced at Amy, wondering why she wasn't responding to Edward and she gave me a look.

I turned to Edward. He was still looking at me. I'm such an idiot. "I'm Mabel!" I shot out excitedly.

"Nice to meet you," He chuckled. "So, are you here with anyone, or...?" He trailed.

"Oh no," I gushed, "I'm not here with anyone. I mean, I'm here with Marcus but he's just a friend. Friend is laying it on thick. He's barely that. I'd consider him more a guide or a Mr. Miyagi to my karate kid if you will. If that. Honestly, his advice is questionable at best. I'm going to shut up now." My cheeks flared wildly.

He laughed, "You're cute, Mabel."

"Sorry about that," Marcus stated, sitting back down next to me. "The station needs me to take a shift tonight. Do you mind if we head out?"

"Oh, I can drop you off, Mabel. It'd be a shame to cut our conversation short," Edward stated, placing his hand over mine.

He's touching me.

"Um," I squeaked.

Marcus eyed him up and down, "No that's fine. Take your time, Maybie. We'll leave when you're ready."

Edward continued to stare at Marcus before he turned his attention back at me, "Well, do you want to go somewhere more private?"

I looked at Marcus who still had his gaze set on Edward and back at Edward who was waiting for a response. "Sure," I replied, hopping off the stool.

He led me to a booth and I slid in on one side. He slid in next to me and cushioned himself uncomfortably close to my body. This is just flirting, Mabel. Get with the times.

My brain was in overdrive. "Crazy weather today, right?" I nodded my head as I took a long sip out of my awful tasting drink. He nodded his head in return. "You look great. I like shirts. Er, this one in particular, I mean. The cut is super straight. You don't see a lot of people wearing aqua anymore. Maybe the colour should make a comeback?"

Flirting — check.

Now, moving onto gentle touches. I slapped his shoulder playfully, but heard an 'oomph' from Edward.

Gentle touches (somewhat) — check.

"Thanks," he laughed.

"So what do you do?" I asked nervously playing with the ends of my jacket.

"I'm an insurance broker," Edward replied, pride glinting in his eyes.

"That sounds like something I know nothing about," I admitted.

He grinned, "Well, it's a good job and I make good money so I can't complain. Actually, I just bought a new car. It's outside if you'd like to see it?"

I hesitated, looking back at the bar to see Marcus talking with Amy. It felt weird that I would have preferred to be sitting there, rather than sweating my pits out all the way over here. But what if Jackson asked me something similar? I needed practice, clearly.

And sadly, Edward was the closest thing I had to it.

"Sure," I piped up.

We slid out of the booth and he led me outside to a black BMW. "This is her. She's my baby. But there's room for two in my life," he winked at me.

I almost gagged. And that's not even an exaggeration.

Edward began to move so close to me that I shuffled backwards until my back hit the hood of the car. "I knew you liked my car," He smirked leaning in closer to me, in what looked like an attempt to kiss me.

"Er," I panicked. "You know what? I forgot something inside. I just want to go grab it." I yelled, ducking under his arms and scrambling away from the car, falling on the pavement and scraping my knee in the process.

I ran back towards the bar. Stupid. Stupid, Mabel. I bumped right into a wall, my nose taking the brunt of the hit. "Shit!" I grunted.

"Are you okay?" Marcus (previously known as the wall) asked. He placed his hands on my shoulders and bent down to inspect my face carefully.

"I ran into you, you goddamn wall," I muttered rubbing my (likely) broken nose in the process.

"Where's the guy?" He asked with concern, his eyes scanning the surrounding area.

"I left him in the parking lot," I replied, my eyes beginning to water from my broken nose.

He sighed, placing his arm over my shoulders, "Come on, let's go home."

"Why is your arm around me?"

"I'm trying to be supportive."

"Well, stop. You're being weird."

He removed his arm and opened the door for me. I climbed into the seat and pulled the mirror down to look at my possibly eternally disfigured nose.

"Did that guy try anything?" Marcus asked seriously as he got into the driver's seat. His fingers were frozen on the key in the ignition as he waited for my answer.

"Don't worry, he was just a lounge lizard."

"A... what?" Marcus asked.

"A lounge lizard. A ladies man. A social parasite."

Marcus shook his head as he turned on the ignition. "A lounge lizard," he muttered to himself.

Marcus and I sat in silence until something he had said earlier flitted back to my memory. "Hey, why did you say you were having a bad day earlier?"

Marcus shrugged and remained silent.

"Did you burn your dinner?"

He shot me a look but shook his head.

"Did you find out that you're adopted?"

He smiled, shaking his head.

"Did you accidentally run into a glass door?" He shook his head. "Well, you should be grateful. It hurts and it's super embarrassing."

"Don't tell me you walked into a glass door?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, one glass door," I laughed. It had been three. "Come on, you have to tell me. I just almost got kissed by a lounge lizard because of your advice."

"I'm sorry but none of that was my advice. You never leave with someone you just met. Ever. How do you not know that? That guy could have been a rapist or a murderer or a vegan," Marcus lectured.

"I'll let you lecture me more if you tell me why your day was so bad," I bartered.

Marcus clamped his mouth shut and proceeded to park his car. We entered our apartment building in silence, though my brain was in overdrive. I was already doing the man's laundry for three months. As someone with minimal actual skills (I'd come to realize, quoting movies was not a skill accepted by society), there wasn't much else I had to offer.

"Is your knee okay?" Marcus asked as he took in my bloody knee.

"It's fine," I shrugged. "I'm not gonna lie, I've lost a lot of feeling in it in the last ten minutes. You might see a one legged Mabel the next time I see you."

He rolled his eyes and opened his door, "I'll clean it for you," he gestured to his apartment.

I walked into his apartment, once again shocked by the amount of CDs and DVDs cluttered around his apartment. Who still had CDs and DVDs? How old was Marcus?

He pulled out a first aid kit from his kitchen and gestured to his sofa for me to sit. I plopped on the brown leather, stretching my arms as I did so.

"This is going to sting," Marcus warned before placing an antiseptic pad on my knee.

I grimaced as he dabbed gently at it, pulling back only to place a bandaid on the area. His thumb gently pressing it down onto my skin.

He looked up at me for a moment, "Today is the anniversary of my girlfriend's death."

>>

Two points:

1. Homeschooling does not make socially inept personalities. I have a ton of friends who have been homeschooled and make me feel like an awkward pariah.

2. Lounge lizard is a real word!