Run, Forrest, Run!

[hadleyfraser]

Hadley grinned as Kit put the whiskey down in front of her. She grabbed the little glass and swallowed every drop of the amber liquid inside without flinching, and she did it before Kit had finished his. She slammed her shot glass down a split second before Kit did, and she grinned even wider.

"I refuse to have a shot battle with someone I know can't beat me. It wouldn't be fair." Hadley could definitely hold her liquor. She may have been a church going girl, but she'd been raised on communion wine and so she knew how to drink.

When Gavin ordered the next round, Hadley smiled at him. "And what, pray tell, is a snake bite? Sounds toxic," she added with a wink. She was enjoying herself immensely.

"Alright," she said, deciding to throw down a gauntlet of her own. "First person to get me to tell him my name wins a shot of Johnny Walker Red, on me. Go."

She leaned back from the bar and surveyed the players in her little game. This was going to be a good night, she could tell.

[GAVIN BROOKS]

Gavin cocked a brow when this tiny woman declared she could pretty much drink Kit Rathbone under the table. She clearly didn't know who she was dealing with. Even Gavin, who could rival Kit in size, couldn't come close to functioning the way his boss could with half the amount of booze. Gavin thought perhaps Kit was actually made up of 10% Jack.

"I don't think you know what you're getting into." He warned the girl, not wanting her to push herself so far that she got sick, or worse. Gavin tried to be responsible when working. When people got out of hand, he cut them off and had no problem doing so. He would rather someone walk out pissed off for not getting served than passing out and needing an ambulance to get their stomach pumped. In the long run, they would thank him.

"Alright first person to get me to tell him my name wins a shot of Johnny Walker Red, on me. Go."

He knew it wasn't the shot that would make either boy work for her name, but rather the challenge of it. They wanted her like a prize, and she knew it. Nothing short of a little testosterone infested cavemen battling for meat.

He gave Kit a little smirk, as if t say game on, brother and then turned to the lady, elbow on the bar. "How 'bout we dance?" He offered, wanting to get her away from Kit. It was cheating a little, but hey, Kit was the one who gave him the break and according to the clock on the wall he had at least twenty minutes to get this girl to spill before Kit was ordering him away!

[hadleyfraser]

Hadley let Gavin twirl her out onto the dance floor, and she was pleasantly surprised when he caught her in his arms with ease as she spun back into him. He was a fairly good dancer, it turned out, and she couldn't help but smile when she caught a whiff of his cologne. It smelled expensive.

"So," she said, her eyebrows arched a little in surprise as they two-stepped around the floor to a Dierks Bentley song, whose lyrics talked about how Diamonds Make Babies. "Do you always hit on the girls at the bar, or am I just special?'

The pair moved deftly across the floor is a wide circle, along with four or five other couples who didn't seem to know quite which foot went where. "You've done this before," she said, referring to the dancing. "You're the only one out here not looking at his feet in terror." She cracked a grin and winked.

"So," she said again, "you gonna try to guess my name, or are you giving up already? I'd hate to see the grin on Cowboy's face if he were to win. I don't think I could stand the smugness. The room might actually explode with it." That is if it doesn't burst into flames from how hot you are, she thought silently to herself as she gazed into Gavin's eyes.

[KIT RATHBONE]

Kit found it amusing that this girl thought she could drink him under the table, considering he had been drinking since the early afternoon. But he didn't bother to tell her she was wrong. He simple got to work making the drinks that Gavin had ordered and the money barely touched the counter before Kit swiped it up and tucked it into the breast pocket of his shirt.

At the sound of a contest to guess this girl's name he knew all he had to do was get her drunk enough. But Gavin was going to be a little pecker and swept her off to the dance floor, leaving him stuck behind the bar. He gave his employee the stink eye and set the drinks down on the bar top and decided that not all was fair in love and war. Now where was Joey? Or Tony? What the hell was his name?! "Hey useless!" He called out catching his other employee just kind of leaning against the wall. "Nobody said you could take a break get back here and start mixing cocktails!" He demanded of the moron. He needed to stop hiring people just because they had someone vouch for them. The only person he had hired on a whim was Gavin and so far he was the best bartender he had in the place.

Kit threw a rag in the useless man's face and jabbed a thumb in the direction behind the bar as he walked out from behind it himself. He wasn't about to let Gavin win this one, especially since he knew Gavin was currently fooling around with plenty of other women. Kit liked to fool around but he didn't do it with the local patrons. Because they always kept coming back and he wasn't in the mood for the uncomfortable awkwardness that followed after a one night stand.

He casually walked out onto the dance floor and seemed to just sort of mesh in, dancing with no one and everyone at the same time before he was able to get close to Gavin and miss no-name. He came up behind her, waiting for her to do a spin. He was going to sneak himself in there and take over. He wasn't going to lose this. "Hello again, Toots." He said with a big grin spreading across his lips.

[GAVIN BROOKS]

He bit his lip when the girl asked if he hit on girls on a regular basis. He didn't do it every shift. In fact, he'd only picked up two girls at the bar so far, not including this one. She would be lucky number three. "You're pretty special." He told her, since he didn't always try to pick them up. Was he always nice and flirty? Of course! Girls, especially ones that wanted him to remember them, left nice tips. He flirted when he could. He still had a living to earm!

"You've done this before, You're the only one out here not looking at his feet in terror." Her words brought a little grin to his face and he slid his hand on her waist as necessary for the dance.

"You forget I'm here almost every night. Kit's got a guy who comes in now and then teaching the line dances. I've seen 'em do it a dozen times at least. Plus, I'm naturally full of rhythm and grace." He teased pushing himself closer.

He'd nearly forgotten he needed to guess her name when she brought it up. "..I'd hate to see the grin on Cowboy's face if he were to win. I don't think I could stand the smugness. The room might actually explode with it." He chuckled. "Oh, baby, you have no idea how smug that man can be." Kit was a good guy in Gavin's books. Maybe not so much in other people's, but in his eyes he kind of liked the prick.

"Lemme think. You look like you would have a delicate name. Classic, like...Charlotte ooorr... Penelope." He wrinkled his nose. "I really hope it's not Penelope. And if it is...uhh... well on you it would be real nice!" He saved with a little laugh. "Maybe something more nature-y? Like Heather or... Willow?" There were a million names to choose from!

He spun her around and suddenly she was gone. He stopped and looked around, eyeing Kit pulling her away.

Touche, boss. Touche.

[hadleyfraser]

Hadley had just opened her mouth to say something to Gavin when suddenly she was looking into Kit's face. Smooth, she thought involuntarily. Kit had whisked her away from Gavin before she'd even noticed he was standing nearby, and now he was spinning her around the dance floor with just as much ease as Gavin had. Hadley began to wonder if they saw this little game as an actual competition, or if maybe she was playing with fire.

"So, Hoss," she said with a teasing grin. "Got any guesses? I'll give you a hint- your buddy was way the hell off with Penelope." She grinned, laughing internally at Gavin's association of delicateness. Ha!

If it was possible, Kit turned out to be an even better dancer than Gavin, but he lost points for calling her toots. That wasn't her first choice of nicknames by any means, but she'd roll with the punches on this one, at least for tonight.

"So Cowboy, what's your poison?" she said, disengaging from his arms as the neared the bar. She twirled gracefully right onto a barstool and wiggled her empty shot glass at him. "Cuz I'm thirsty, and it seems like a gentleman would have done something about it by now." She wiggled her eyebrows at him teasingly.

[KIT RATHBONE]

Kit didn't like to dance. In fact he hated dancing. He hated any activity that wasn't drinking pretty much. But it didn't mean that he couldn't dance. He just opted out of it most of the time. In fact he was glad that some of the locals weren't there yet. If Cheyenne saw him on the dance floor she'd probably give him hell.

"Got any guesses? I'll give you a hint- your buddy was way the hell off with Penelope."

Kit couldn't help but give Gavin a smug look before turning his attention back to Haldey. And before he knew it they were moving away from the dance floor back to the bar. Of course, somebody had to work and that somebody was Kit. As usual. He wasn't about to guess for her name. He had a better idea, and when she asked him about getting her a drink he reached for the shot glass that she'd just been wiggling at him and set it upside down so that the opening was now face down.

"Well I'd love to keep serving you. But as far as I've seen nobody has carded you. And since you do have that young look to you, gotta make sure you're of age." Kit reached his hand out and gestured for her to deliver the license. Gavin had tried to play dirty? He was clearly playing with the wrong man then, because this was playing dirty.

[GAVIN BROOKS]

Gavin had no choice but to step back as Kit took over. He wanted to win this; not because he cared about the girl, but because he wanted to win. He internally chastised himself for turning into such a pig. What, he was a young, single bartender now and that made it okay to act like this? His mother had certainly raised him better, but he shoved the thought from his mind. He would never hurt the girl, or any girl, intentionally. She had been the one to want them to guess her name, she had even offered drinks in exchange. She knew what she was getting into and he could walk away with a clear conscience. He had done nothing immoral. Yet.

His break was coming to an end and he still had yet to succeed. When Kit got her back to the bar, he made his way over as well, just in time to hear his boss win, or attempt to win.

"Well I'd love to keep serving you. But as far as I've seen nobody has carded you. And since you do have that young look to you, gotta make sure you're of age."

"Oh, now that's real cheap, Kit." He shot at his boss though there was an air of humor in his tone. "C'mon, you're not gonna let him win that easy, are yah?" He asked the girl on the stool, leaning his elbow on the bar and watching her. "He's fighting dirty." His eyes narrowed at Kit, though there was a clear smirk on his lips.

[hadleyfraser]

Hadley, whose mind was already a little fuzzy around the edges, handed over her ID without thinking about it at all. It was at the precise moment that Kit plucked it from her hand that Gavin came over and spoke, leading Hadley to realize her stupid mistake. "God damn it," she said, realizing she'd just handed Kit the grand prize. "Give that back!" She shrieked, lunging for the ID that he now held in his hand.

"You cheated," she said sulkily. She knew she'd lost the game, handing her name over that way, and she was perfectly happy to sulk and drink her feelings over it. "Well," she said, "it's your bar. Pour yourself whatever you want. It's on me. Just know that whatever you drink, you better pour me one too, because this is war, Hoss."

[KIT RATHBONE]

Kit held the ID just out of reach as he glanced at it. Sure, he might not have actually checked how old she was. She looked like she'd been drinking a lot longer than that night so all he wanted to see was her name. "Hadley?" He said and cocked a brow at her before he handed the ID back. He didn't know what kind of name that was or even if it suited her but at least he knew what it was.

His eyes turned toward Gavin and he gave him a smug I-just-kicked-your-ass-with-smarts look and then turned his attention back to Hadley. "Looks like I win." When she told him to pour himself a drink he just simply set the bottle of whiskey up on the bar top. It was his personal bottle. Hell, it even had masking tape across the back and KIT written in red marker so they knew not to serve it. The only reason he kept his own bottle was because he didn't like to bother with getting glasses dirty.

He pulled out another bottle, this whiskey a little stronger and poured her a double shot. After he slid the shot across the counter to her he eyed Gavin again, glad to see he was coming back around the counter. He needed to stop slacking and do some work!

"You better take it easy there, or you're going to make yourself sick real fast. Don't want to be mixing your drinks too much or it'll take your feet right out from under you." He scolded her a bit, knowing his alcohol. And he was sure she didn't just start with the hard stuff.

Kit reached out and clamped a hand down on Gavin's shoulder, trying his hardest to keep a straight face. "Next time.. next time." He knew he'd won. He might have fought dirty but he'd done it.

[GAVIN BROOKS]

The girls realization sets in far too late and Gavin is truly left hanging. He wants to pout, but men don't pout. He's disappointed, more because he lost. To Kit. And he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Kit would be rubbing it in aaaalll the time. His nose wrinkled as he looked back and forth between his boss and Hadley, which was apparently her name.

Jeez, he was way off!

Gavin glared playfully at the hand his boss slid on his shoulder, his winning words ringing loud and clear. I beat you. Hah hah, asshole! He might not have said those words, but Gavin knew Kit meant them. He could see it in his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She said. He smirked at Hadley. "You let the wrong guy win. You just watch that back of yours." He taunted and made his way around the bar. "I should get back to work. Wouldn't want to upset my ass of a boss." He teased coming behind Kit and giving him a hard pat back. "Watch out, buddy. You won't win next time." He said, walking past the pair to enjoy themselves while he busied himself with a couple of guys down at the other end of the bar. It had been fun while it lasted.

[hadleyfraser]

Hadley suddenly felt rotten for setting these two men against each other. That had been low, and definitely alcohol induced. How stupid, and how desperate of Hadley to have done what she had. "Sorry," she said to Kit, raising her shot glass in a gesture of apology. "I guess that was pretty lame of me." She shrugged, as if there was anything she could do now.

As Gavin walked away, Hadley slid a twenty into his hand as he passed her, glancing at him as though to say I know this won't make up for it, but let's pretend it will. And then he was gone.

L'chaim," Hadley said, raising her glass and offering a Hebrew toast before downing it. "Let's have another before I come to my senses," she said, feeling increasingly guilty.

[KIT RATHBONE]

"I guess that was pretty lame of me."

Kit blinked at the girl and stared at her not really sure what she was getting at until it clicked. His eyes darted to Gavin momentarily before they found their way back to Hadley and he shook his head. "You kiddin'? I just did you a favor." He said confidently, knowing he might not have been completely right but this girl had a sweet face. She looked almost innocent and like she didn't belong in the bar scene, but he wasn't going to turn anyone away who was old enough to drink.

"He's already seeing two ladies, and you don't want to end up number three. One of 'em is a good friend of mine and when the claws come out she's pretty dangerous." Literally. He thought to himself. He'd never actually gone out with Cheyenne but he'd seen her on her bad days and she was hell on wheels.

He'd taken his drink and drained it before he began pouring two more and setting one in front of her. Gavin was the bartender on duty tonight. Kit was supposed to have the night off but because of the half-ass job that the others did he had to work. There was no way that Gavin could do it all by himself, and there were still the books that needed to be done before the end of the month.

"So what sorrows are you drinking away tonight?" Kit's eyes landed on Hadley's before he tipped back the next shot of whiskey and then set the glass down. He'd pour all night long if he had to and it looked as if she was willing to keep taking the shots.

"Pretty women like yourself don't usually come to a bar to drink by themselves unless they're trying to drown something."

[hadleyfraser]

"Pretty women like yourself don't usually come to a bar to drink by themselves unless they're trying to drown something."

"I ain't trying to drown anything," Hadley shot back. "I just happen to really like Whiskey." She winked, and downed the offered shot. Her head was starting to feel a mite fuzzy, but she wasn't going to slow down now. Not after she'd given her name away to this very attractive bar owner. She felt like she had something to prove, not that she knew what it was.

"So, Kit, was it? How long have you owned this place? Didn't it used to be a gay club or something a few years back?" She wasn't trying to offend, she just wanted to make conversation. She remembered a flamboyant sign out in front of this same building catching her eye when she first moved to town several years ago. She seemed to recall it reading "The Boom Boom Room" or something similar.

Hadley held up her hand in refusal when an older patron, probably about sixty, offered to buy her a beer as he ambled up to the bar to order. "You're sweet, but I'm here with him," she said, gesturing to Kit and using him as an excuse to politely refuse the old man's offer of a beverage. To prove her point, Hadley snatched the hat right off of Kit's head and placed it on her own.

[KIT RATHBONE]

Kit picked up a clean rag that was hanging behind the bar and began to rinse out a few of the glasses that were piling up. The glasses always piled up quick and it was just easier to wash them once they were done with them so they didn't have a stack to do once the bar was closed. And doing them in the morning was too big of a pain in the ass. He poured her another drink and then dried a shot glass before setting it with the other clean ones.

"Careful. You're going to get yourself sick if you don't slow it down now." He warned and raised a brow at her cautiously. He didn't need her running around drunk and disorderly. Then again he'd probably cut her off before she got too bad.

"I just happen to really like Whiskey."

He snorted at this comment and shook his head. He knew the feeling. He loved his whiskey and would pick it over company any day. He was about to continue rinsing the glasses when the girl asked how long he'd owned the bar, bringing up the fact that it was a gay club before he'd taken it over. "Three and a half years. It was a fairy dive that didn't get much business and it went under. Got it for a good price. Had to gut out the whole place though. There used to be stripper poles on the bar." He shuddered at the thought of it. Kit wasn't a homophobe or anything, he'd had his fair share of gay friends, but the thought of a man in short shorts dancing on a pole wasn't appealing to him.

His eyes caught sight of one of the men coming up to talk to the girl and he smirked. It was old Earl. He was a regular and he always offered to buy the ladies a drink. But when Hadley said that she was there with him, Kit gave her a raised brow and then shrugged at the old man as if to say sorry without actually saying a thing. But when his hat was snatched right off his head he glared at the girl for a second, taken by surprise but then easing up. If he had a damn nickle for every time some flirty babe did that he'd be filthy rich.

He just shook his head and chuckled to himself before he began pouring some more shots for her. Six in total, in fact. He put the glasses in a line and tipped the bottle, pouring the liquid between all six glasses with very minimal spillage. "Have at it, this group is on me, how about that?" Alcohol was cheap enough to buy, he could spare a few drinks here and there.