C'est La Vie

Things started getting better in the second hour of these drinks. Some who said they were just going to 'have a couple' started having a few more once they realised they were over the legal limit anyway, so they may as well cab it home. Some were also starting to get into the heavier alcohol, myself included once the awkward few drinks were out of the way.

Obviously it wasn't going to be a huge night, they only do huge nights for special occasions such as birthdays or service anniversaries, as Natalia told me. But she did say they were going to have a few and have fun, and it was just that.

"Alright, since everyone has been buying me rounds all night it's my turn! I'm going to buy everyone a round of shots. What does everyone want?" Ryan asked, standing up and fishing for his wallet in his pants.

"You know what? I'm good thanks. I'm going to finish my wine." Calleigh said, holding up her near-full glass of red wine.

"I'm taking you up on your offer, Wolfe. You never offer to pay. Get me a whiskey shot, the choice of whiskey is the bartenders." Eric said to Ryan.

"I'm getting tequila, is that what you want too?" Natalia asked me, turning to look at me and I nodded "Okay, make that two."

"Whiskey and two tequilas. That's easy enough to remember." Ryan said, and before he could turn to walk to the bar I jumped out of my seat.

"You'll need help carrying them without spilling them." I said to him when I appeared at his side as we walked back towards the bar.

Ryan smiled at me, but chose not to reply and the ten-second walk to the bar was in silence.

"You and your co-workers are really nice for letting me tag along. I hope I haven't been a burden, or you feel you have to tread on ice and screen your conversations because I'm the daughter of someone who's senior in your team. In fact, I probably shouldn't have accepted Calleigh's offer in the first place." I glumly stated, looking down at my feet in embarrassment.

I knew some of this feeling was because of the alcohol, but now that I think about it maybe it wasn't a good idea…

"Hey, don't think that way. Calleigh invited you out because she wanted us all to get to know you better, so we can all be friends in the future. We know Frank is a honourable person and would raise his daughter with good morals and personality. It seems we were right, you're a great girl and we all love having you here." Ryan reassured me, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"Do you really mean it? If you're just saying it because you don't want to hurt my feelings I completely understand but-" I started, but Ryan cut me off by putting a finger to my lips.

"Don't be silly. I mean it. Our friend Maxine who works as a DNA analyst in our lab is having birthday drinks next Saturday night. I'm inviting you to come along, I and everyone else would love to have you there." Ryan said to me.

"I would love to, but shouldn't you ask Maxine first? She is the birthday girl, it's her decision." I nervously said, approaching his invitation with caution.

"Okay. On Monday I'll have a word with her, but she'll say yes. She's a kind person, and if word got around she didn't allow Frank Tripp's daughter to come along no one would turn up. So don't worry about it." Ryan said, removing his hands from my shoulders for a second to just give it a pat before putting them back to where they were.

"Um, okay cool. Yeah that's cool, if she says yes I'll come tag along for a while. I um, I'm not trying to be weird here but I guess I should give you my number, just so you can give me the details and let me know what she says." I shakily said, my face heating up and nerves taking over as I was scared what Ryan would think.

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan. I'll grab my phone and give me the digits." Ryan said, moving his hands completely from my shoulders and I breathed out a little bit of breath I had been holding onto and felt my nerves begin to melt away.

He passed me his phone, and I entered my number as Ryan ordered the shots. When the barman was done I put his phone into his pocket for him, and I grabbed the tequila shots whilst Ryan held the ones for himself and Eric. I put the lemons slices on the top of the glasses and put the saltshaker under my arm.

"Got everything you need?" Ryan asked me.

"Yeah, just one more thing I need to do." I said to Ryan, nerves building up in me again as I debated whether to go through with what I was about to do or not.

I decided to go with it, and I tip toed up to align my lips with Ryan's face, to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for buying me a shot. I really appreciate it." I nervously smiled, when Ryan sent me a look of happy disbelief.

"No, it's okay. The pleasure is mine." Ryan smiled at me.

We turned to head back to the group, and every single person had a grin on their face. It was then I realised they had probably watched the flirting that had happened between Ryan and I. My face turned red as I took my previous seat next to Natalia and across from Ryan, and she raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she got her shot ready.

***

When I was receiving a call from Ryan Thursday evening, I nearly considered rejecting it. I was having a pretty awful day.

Whilst my job wasn't awful so far, they could be a little more understanding that I've entered a professional environment I've never entered before. I got an hour of training where they showed me how to do everything once and then expected me to do everything on my own. I hadn't been in trouble yet, but their patience was quickly wearing thin for numerous reasons and it was only a matter of time before I received a warning, even though I didn't understand how to do anything properly, and they got annoyed when I even asked.

Sigh, it's the knowledge from my old jobs I miss the most. I knew what I was doing, I knew how to get it done quickly and I did a damn good job of it.

The change of almost everything was getting to me too. Miami was completely different to my small town in Texas; to list the differences would be tiresome, because nearly every aspect was different. The stress of my new job plus adjusting to these changes was upsetting me.

I could pick up the phone and call my friends to speak about my feelings. My friends had a mixture of jealousy and sadness when I told them I was moving to Miami, and most of them begged me to stay and said I wouldn't like it here. I didn't want to hear 'I told you so' this early on.

Being upset nearly made me cancel Ryan's call, but my craving for human interaction made me answer it.

"Hey Ryan." I said with a weak smile in my voice as I answered the call.

I knew it was Ryan as he had texted me earlier in the week to say that Maxine had said yes and I had saved his number.

"Hey. I was calling you to let you know the details for Saturday night." Ryan said to me.

"Oh, cool. Just let me grab a pen." I said to him.

"Actually, no need. I'll text them to you. That's much easier." Ryan quickly said, and it sounded like it wasn't an idea that popped into his head just then. It sounded planned.

"O…kay…" I trailed off, unsure on how to reply.

"So, how has your day been?" Ryan asked me.