Thread: The Point of No Return (The_PG&Malicious Lullaby)

The rest of her shift seemed to go swimmingly. She did it all like it was second nature. She was more efficient at this job than she was at the law firm as a runner. But then again, she had been working at this bar since she was eighteen, bartending since she was twenty-one. It was easier to mix drinks than to run files all around. Besides, here, there was no Bree Larkin to give her a hard time. Here, there were just jovial and drunk customers, Bridget and Scott who made life so easy and she was allowed to have drinks after she got done with her shift all for the very reasonable price of for free. Whenever Mr. Pratt would need a refill or wanted a new drink altogether, Esther tended to him diligently. She continued with her other customers and she always loved the ones who built a tab. They ended up tipping the most because she took such good care of their bill and she never messed it up. Plus, she tended to dock a drink or two which was usually the real reason she always got really great tips. It sort of compensated for the freebies she was allotted to give away and not a cent of that compensation went to the bar. It went to her completely and her spending money fund. Which mostly meant groceries. By the time he ordered another round but another round not just for him but for the house, she was nearing the end of her shift, which she was pretty thankful for but at the same time, kind of dreading it. It meant she was going to go home alone like she always did but this time, she did have the advantage of being met by Rumple at home. Of course, unless someone decided to kill him too in case curiosity tried to kill the cat or something. Hopefully that wasnt the case. She hoped maybe to cuddle with the little feline so she could pretend she was cuddling with someone, as opposed to her body pillow. Although she wouldnt dock it, her body pillow had been there when not even Abby could be there. Still though, she was kind of torn about how she felt, almost being done with her shift and it just meant either she would sleep or she would toss and turn in her bed with or without Rumple and have vivid visions of what she saw in Abbys place. She didnt like the thought of it already but it seemed there was still hope for the night. Just as the game came to its end, the winner being declared, she had been leaning against the bar a little bit by her hip. Her hands were placed on the counter and what pulled her out of her own little mental reverie was when her hand had been clasped. She looked down at it just as Mr. Pratt pressed a kiss to the back of it and her cheeks flamed. Well shit, that was perhaps the closest to sex she had gotten in a really long time. That was the closest thing to some sort of male affection that she didnt meet everyday. Her issues with men were all related to what Chad did. They were best friends in high school and eventually developed feelings for each other beyond a friend level. They started dating around junior year and were together and happy until college happened. In college, she thought it was going to be perfect. But then he had started cheating on her and it became pretty clear that the guy she knew to be her best friend wasnt that same guy anymore. He somehow digressed. Since then, her trust and faith in men seemed to be a bit shattered. Her expectations and standards sky rocketed and sure, she had some hook ups here and there, went on dates but she knew she never wanted to see them again after the night. It usually ended in sex. Yes, she always broke that cardinal rule about having sex on the first date. In her mind though, while it was the first date it was also the last date. Why not get some pleasure out of it? The fun in that ran out when it became clear she wasnt getting anywhere closer to fixing her loneliness. So she just stopped altogether, the desire for sex there but not enough to make her want to do the one night hook ups again. It wasnt worth it. Not when her bed was still lonely and her body pillow proved to be a better cuddle-buddy and bed mate than an actual man. It was very clear to her that Mr. Pratt had just kissed her hand, complimented her again and even suggested riding home together because he was very much quite obviously drunk. Perhaps it was why he was even doing or saying any of what he was saying, because he was drunk. It then occurred to her that he was her boss. Not directly but he was her boss boss boss. It was a part of his firm that he owned and he was a senior partner in that she worked in. And if any of the partners whose last name was part of the firm name wanted to fire her, Mr. Pratt included, they didnt need to talk to HR or Bree Larkin about it. They could just do it because at the end of the day, they had the final say. HR was simply more for the paperwork aspect of it all than anything else. However, her loneliness and the fact she really didnt want to go home and wonder if she was going to sleep or not, made it easy for her to push that little detail aside. Instead, she smiled softly, her cheeks still reddened in a soft blush and she leaned down on the counter. By doing so, it gave him an even better view of her cleavage in the top she wore but it also allowed her to do some up close and personal flirting. Her hand slid over his that clasped her other hand and she tilted her head. How about this? When I get off work, Ill have a beer and then we can leave. No worries about a cab. I can drive us. She said softly. But that wasnt the end of it. No, she wanted more. Not to just drive him home or anything like that. No, she wanted to not be alone tonight. And maybe Abbys spirit wouldnt hate her for engaging in her best friends ex boyfriend or ex man friend, for just a night. One night. Then they could go back to work and being as distant as possible. But one night and shed at least be able to get through everything else. The funeral, the investigation, anything pertaining to Abby. Andrather than dropping you home, maybe I could find a way to entice you to come to my place tonight. Tomorrows Saturday after all. She said softly, figuring he wouldnt have as much work that needed to be done like during the week. She looked down now at their hands, watching as her fingers seemed to absently stroke the back of his hand, like a feather light soft touch. Maybe youd like to stay the night? She looked up at him now, her eyes filled with hope and also a certain need. If anything, just the company of a warm body beside hers, maybe wrapped up together for a more comfortable nights sleep. Rather a warm body besides yours, tangled up together after getting tangled up in the sheets! Oof, her subconscious was a snarky bitch. Truthful and full of the zero inhibitions that always plagued Esther, but nonetheless, a snarky bitch. Perhaps tonight would be the night she actually listened to her. Cuddling sounded nice. Getting tangled up in her sheets naked and becoming hot, sweating messes sounded so much better.