Chapter 1: Lily
Lily Svenson had been a sensible woman, once. She hadn't been the sort of woman who drank bourbon on weekdays. She picked up another one from the bar counter and tossed it back, feeling the burn all the way down to her stomach, then indicated for the barman to pour another.
The bar top was a brushed metal made sticky by spilled cocktails and sweaty palms. The lights above the bar were bright enough that Lily could just about make out her distorted reflection on the bar's surface. Her make up was still in place, that was good, but a few strands of blonde hair had fallen out of her tight pony tail. She tooked them behind her ear.
"You waiting for someone?" The young barman asked as he poured Lily's drink.
"Blind date," Lily said, wrinkling her nose.
"Huh. Who set you up?" The barman said.
Lily was surprised that, despite being barely into his twenties, the barman already had a weariness about him that reminded her or barmen she'd seen on TV. It suited the place though.
The James Joyce was an Irish themed bar sitting in the shadow of the much taller office buildings around it. The kind of bar that people came to after work to talk about how they hated work while sitting on high stools around oversized barrel tables. Lily doubted whether anything in here had actually come from Ireland.
"My friend from work," Lily said.
"You trust them with your love life?" The barman said.
"Not really," Lily said, smiling at herself.
When Steph had suggested that Lily should go on a date with Steph's friend, Lily had agreed only out of politeness because Steph was her manager. If it had been anyone else Lily would almost certainly have said no and she doubted that the sort of people Steph would have as friends were going to be the kind of men that Lily was attracted to. But here she was.
"Do you know what they look like?" The barman asked.
"Just that he'll be wearing a yellow shirt," Lily said.
"Yellow? That's bold," the barman laughed.
Lily nodded in silent agreement before drinking her third bourbon.
Lily saw Yellow Shirt before he saw her. He was tall with glasses and close cropped hair that seemed to have more to do with camouflaging a resceding hair line than style. He was scanning the room from the entrance with his hands tucked into his brown chinos.
Lily waved and he looked over, his eyes widening slightly as he saw her. He made his way over, shuffleing between stools and tables in the middle of the room rather than taking the less crowded path around the edge.
"Hi?" Yellow Shirt seemed to ask. "Are you Lily?"
"That's me," Lily said, extending her hand.
"I'm Martin, Steph's friend," Yellow Shirt said, taking her hand in a soft, sweaty grip. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize... I mean, you look different than I expected."
"Different how?" Lily asked with a frown that she hoped might hide her coy smile.
Yellow Shirt reddened like he'd never spoken to a pretty girl before and his eyes flicked down to Lily's bare, distance runner legs. It was the kind of reaction that Lily was used to and had dressed for. She'd worn a tiny, sequin mini skirt that, when she sat down, hid none of her long, thin legs. Her white blouse was only buttoned two thirds the way up revealing a hint of her pink lace bra. It gave the impression of easy access but Lily already knew this date wouldn't be going that far.
"I just wasn't expecting you to be so... so..." Martin stammered, his eyes flicking back up to meet hers.
"Pretty?" Lily suggested, her voice low and playful.
Martin blushed again, his eyes darting around the room as if he was searching for a way to escape. "I mean, I'm sure you're very nice. But I'm not really sure what Steph was thinking."