Bad Sun Rising

     As she moved back to her table, under the pretense of getting her cousin's camera, Cass could vaguely see his shadow out of the corner of her eye. Inwardly, Cass groaned. Couldn't she have one night alone with her friends? Her friends were out there, almost literally tearing up the pub, and here Cass was, needing her space. There was just too many people, and while she loved all her friends, and she felt she met some nice new friends tonight, she still needed just a minute to herself.  Also, she didn't want to be front and center in the crowd when Derrick really did back flip off the bar. 

 

     Convincing herself he was just headed to the bathroom, she slid into the booth, leaned back against the cushion and sighed. Even with her eyes closed, she could sense something was wrong, another presence, so she opened them, just in time to stop a beer before it slid off the table and sloshed all over her. Did this creeper think she was going to take a drink from a stranger?

 

     Eyes flashing, she looked up at him, ready to say something, but then noticed the young waittress standing at the edge of the booth. She looked like she was in her final year of college and Cass remembered what it was like to be that young, so full of promise and everything seemed to be so important, even small mistakes. The waittress' mouth made a perfect circle, before she remembered herself and started, "I'm so sorry. That just got away from me."

 

     "No, no, it happens," Cass's tune quickly changed snd flashed the younger woman an encouraging smile. There was no use crying over something that hadn't even spilt yet. 

Ryan smirked, because he saw the change happen in Cass's mind. She was ready to tell a creeper to get lost and then caught herself before she traumatized the pub's newest employee. Casually, he leaned against the cushioned wall of the booth, as if it was natural for him to be here with this woman. Her dark eyes stared at him as if he was crazy, but at the same time, he could tell she was struggling to remain polite. For most of the night he had watched her politely shoot down man after man, and he was determined to put in a valiant effort before the same happened to him.

 

     "I noticed you like the darker brews, the ones that taste like candy," Ryan told her. He'd hoped that it would have caught her off guard. "And that you don't like guys who ask if you'd like a drink."

 

     "So you didn't ask?" Cass finished for him, looking less than amused. In one look, Cass had him pegged. Mr. Tall, dark haired and handsome, who probably had a nice side, probably loved puppies, but she wasn't interested in knowing him for a night, or being his three am call. He had admitted to watching her and her feelings towards this came out in one word. "Creepy."

 

     "I also noticed that you like to look for reasons to turn us down," Ryan replied. He didn't know where his smirk was coming from, as this was not his usual personality. Something about Cass was bringing it out in him, just some feeling that he he had to make her notice him. Even though he wasn't a quiet person, he also wasn't the kind to comandeer all of one's presence. All he knew was that he had to get this woman's guard down somehow, and he wasn't going to do it with the same moves all the other men before him had tried. 

 

     At the very least, he'd succeeded in angering her, which was a form of noticing, albeit an unproductive one. 

 

     "Am I supposed to be happy that some guy I don't know has been watching me that closely? I assume this is you proving that you are the most courageous hunter who will have my head above your mantle?" Cass returned heatedly. The nerve of him was sending her blood pressure through the roof. She was not looking for reasons, rather, he was handing reasons to her on a silver platter. Just because he had an interest in her, she wasn't obligated to return them.

 

     "No," Ryan replied and she raised her eyebrows. 

 

     "No?" She repeated. That was all he had to say to her allegations? Then why wasn't he leaving? Couldn't he take a hint?

 

     "I don't have any one line zingers to snag your heart and if all those other men couldn't sex or romance a yes out of you, I sure can't," Ryan answered. "So I'm going to go with honesty." 

 

     He took a sip of beer while waiting for her to order him away. When she didn't, he took it as a positive sign. Continuing on, he asserted, "I'm not looking for a dirty, naughty love affair, or some quick fun between the sheets. I'm not looking for a fifteen minute lay, besides, you are better than that. I'm tired of one night stands. I'm tired of just meeting girls and going on one date, spending one night together and then never seeing them again until I get a three am text one night, four months later, asking for  some cheap hotel room on the bad side of town that's really not sanitary."

 

     "That's oddly specific," Cass replied. "What do you want?" She bit her tongue. The hell did she ask that for?

 

     "I want pasta that's to die for at a nice restaurant. A monday movie or a friday night at a comedy club would be nice. I want someone to go on random road trips with me and to plan trips abroad with me. I want to go home and not be alone in bed and I don't want the person in bed to be a stranger. I want someone to share secrets with and someone with whom I can create new secrets. I want someone to challenge me to be the best version of me and someone to grow with me and I want someone to experience life," Ryan told her, "But for now, I'll settle just for coffee and I'd like to have that cup of coffee with you, because I think you want those things too."

 

     For a minute, she was quiet, seeing if he was done. Part of her wanted to blush. Perhaps what he said wasn't on the same level as Shakespeare, but it was certainly honest. Still, why her?

As if he could see the question in her mind, Ryan went on, "The first thing I noticed about you was your smile. It was bright and beautiful and since I saw it, I can't see another woman in this place. But I know you aren't the kind to take a leap of faith. You aren't the kind to just trust."

 

     "I'm not?" she returned tersely. "Because I don't want to go home with a guy I just met, I'm untrusting? Because I don't want my number floating around a bunch of horn dog men I met in a bar, I must be absolutely cutoff."

 

    "I didn't say you were wrong," Ryan pacified and she hated that. If he kept this up, she might actually have to say yes. She'd have to remind herself that having no reason to avoid something was not a green light to go ahead and do it.  Ryan continued, "But you aren't trusting, or you would have gone out with that tall, buff blonde hanging over you earlier. That guy was candy wrapped sex and if you could turn that down, you're here for something else."

 

    "And I bet you're going to give it me?" she smiled sweetly, but there was a dark edge to her voice. "So let's hear it." 

 

    "The hero of every great story has to overcome challenges in order to reach his destination," Ryan replied. "Hercules had twelve labors."

 

     There was that smile that he was already falling in love with. Amusement lit her eyes and she said, "You want to play me for a coffee date? Like it's the fourteenth century and you can just joust for my affections? Should I go get myself a champion, or am I allowed to play for myself?"

 

     "Atalanta did," Ryan returned. 

 

     "I don't know who that is," Cass answered. 

 

     He grinned wickedly. "Guess I've the advantage then." When she just stared at him, he relented, "Atalanta was an ancient greek princess raised in the wilderness because a prophecy said her husband would kill her father, the king. When she finally made her way home, her father was displeased that his daughter was a wild child, raised by mother nature to be a huntress. He still loved her, so he tried to marry her off, as was his fatherly duty. She said she wouldn't marry any man who couldn't best her in anything she could do and what she was best at was running."

 

     "I like running," Cass interjected. 

 

     Teasingly, he said, "Oh, I'm so shocked. So surprised I think my heart is going into cardiac arrest. I might need CPR. I might have to be resurrected with mouth to mouth."

 

     Though she blushed and looked away, she smiled. "Shut up. Did she win?"

 

     "Many men tried, but one was so enamoured with her that Aphrodite couldn't turn her back on him. She gave him three golden apples. During the race, he threw them three times. The glitter of them in the sun caught her curiosity and made her stop long enough for him to get ahead. He needed all three chances to get ahead."

 

     Cass scoffed. "Bull. You expect me to believe that this great althlete was distracted by something shiny?"

 

     "So you agree," he said. 

 

     Suspiciously, Cass asked, "Agree that what?"

 

     "She couldn't give in of her own free will, so she came up with excuses to let him," Ryan told her. 

 

     She exhaled. " Well, this is different. Better than hey, babe. Think your mouth has an appointment with my dick. Which is why I turned down the hot blonde, by the way. I do prefer a little more finesse to my wooeing and yours has such a unique approach."

 

     Chuckling, Ryan responded, "I'll take that as a positive sign."

 

    "Though we don't exactly have twelve strokes until midnight," Cass replied with a light in her eyes.

 

     She was intrigued, he could tell, but he wasn't sure if she just wanted a chance to prove to another stuck up man coming on to her that she was better than him. Oh, Atalanta, you shall fall. 

"Theseus only had to do six labors," Ryan told her, "Let's do seven. We'll need a tie breaker, in case fate has us evenly matched."

 

     Blinking, Cass turned and dug back into her cousin's jacket. Monique always had a pen on her. As she pulled it out, she also reached for a napkin. "So what will these labors entail?"

 

     Incredulously, Ryan asked, "Are you writing this down?" 

 

     "Of course. This is a proper bet and we're going to need a contract," Cass replied. She almost looked professional with her hair pulled back into a high pony tail, pen poised in hand, her posture straight and attentative, if not a little forward. If only she wasn't writing on a napkin in the middle of a pub.

 

     "A contract?" Ryan echoed. He'd had most of this planned until she threw that one at him. 

 

     It was so hard not to smirk at catching him offguard. "Absolutely. I'm assuming if you win this bet, I get coffee with you?" Cass asked, drumming her fingers on the table and coyly avoiding his eyes. "But what do I get if you lose? You're asking me to take a leap of faith that you and I will develop some sort of relationship, if you win. Never seeing you again, for starters, does not compensate the time I spent beating you at this game, and second, the cost isn't the same. According to you, a leap of faith is against my nature, but you just stop hitting on me? That's not the same degree of severity at all."

 

     "Okay, so what do you want if I lose?" Ryan asked carefully.

 

     Shrugging, Cass said, "Obviously, a leap of faith. I haven't thought of anything yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something clever." Putting the pen back to paper, she asked, "So what will these challenges be?"

 

     "I think we should leave that up to our judges," Ryan replied, "You get two friends, I'll get two friends and one of the pub staff will be the neutral tie breaker."

 

     "Fine," Cass said, casually. It's not as if the pub staff had an actual job to do. "You'll need one friend to be notorize."

 

     "Seriously?" Ryan laughed. Cass nodded. He took another sip of beer and said, "Alright then. Let the games begin."

 

     As her pen flew across the napkin, Cass asked, "By the way, what is your name?" 

 

     "Ryan Arden- Dr. Ryan Arden," he answered, quickly adding in the doctor. Usually, women gave him points for being a doctor. He waited, but she said nothing. "And you?"

 

     "Cass," she answered simply, with a soft smile, sliding him the contract to sign. 

 

     Cassandra Bellamy and Ryan Arden hereby agree that if Ryan completes the majority of seven labors that will later be determined, then Cassandra will agree to a coffee date. If Ryan fails in his task and Cassandra wins, then Ryans owes one leap of faith, also to be determined at a later date. Who wins each game will be determined by five judges, two friends of each contest and a poor, unsuspecting pub staff member who really just wanted to come to work and make a living.

 

     Beneath the paragraph was her signature. 

 

     "Fine, but I'm just going to add in," Ryan's voice drifted off as he wrote, but he continued as soon as he signed his name to the napkin, as if it had any legal value, "If you kiss me before midnight, or whenever the night ends, then you automatically forfeit and I win."

 

     A chuckle got stuck in her throat, as if she couldn't believe that she'd find cause to kiss him by the stroke of twelve. "Done."