[gravesend] cornerstone. [tara]

Tara rolled her eyes at him, but smiled. "Hopeless," she repeated firmly, and then after a beat, she conceded, "But handsome."

But she was so busy with trying to sort out the end of the game, listening to the commentator on the catch and the stats she rattled off about the time of game, goals per game for each player, and more, that she didn't quite understand what he was apologizing for. She glanced at him quickly before her gaze darted back to the field. "Sorry for what?" She wondered if he was one of those people who apologized for everything even if it wasn't their fault. She sighed and then took a deep breath as she turned back to him and charmed their plates into her hand before giving them to one of the suite attendants to take care of, tabling her curiosity on the final play until later when she could nag her brother about it.

She had other plans for now, it seemed. Tara grabbed her small crossbody purse, sliding the gold chain over her shoulder, giving her roommate a wink before she looked back at Will and nodded towards the door. She felt his hand at the small of her back and their arms brushed ever so often as they weaved through the ecstatic and slightly drunken crowd. Tara led him to a lift with one security guard beside it who nodded at her and called the lift up and they stepped in, the noise of the fans dimming to a hush as they made their way down.

She leaned against the side, her hand on the railing as she gazed at him. "What did you say you do again?"

Will grinned, the skin around the corner of his eyes crinkling in mirth. He nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll take it," he conceded but he still felt guilty. Tara looked at him and in turn, he pointed at the pitch. "You missed the Swish," he explained, meaning the snitch but trusting that she'd understand. He didn't really get it but he assumed it'd be the same as missing a goal in the ninetieth minute in football or an impressive conversion in rugby.

He was glad to get away from the crowds, though. Will felt stupidly lucky at that moment. He was with the prettiest girl in the stadium and while he'd come close to messing it up, she'd somehow humoured him.

His eyes were large as Tara led him deeper and deeper into the belly of the ground, looking over his shoulder curiously as the celebration seemed to be getting further and further away. There was a guard standing by the lift and Will swallowed, nerves tangling up in the pit of his stomach as he smiled at the other man. He did not smile back. Unperturbed, he followed her into the lift and turned to face the front, catching sight of his reflection in the doors. He looked crazy.

"I didn't," he said with an easy smile. "I own a publishing house," Will explained, as though that wasn't a huge deal. "Family business," he smiled again. "But you," he began as he turned to face Tara, his hands sliding into the pockets of his trousers. "You didn't tell me what you do for a living, either." If he had to guess, he'd say...some sort of high flying city office job. It was a good thing that she hadn't asked him to speculate.

The.. swish? Her lips quirked, but she just shook her head at him. "It's fine, I'll just nag Niles about it later. I'm really good at it, it's like its my job." She batted her eyes before she sailed out the door with him, just a flick of her dark hair.

The lift jangled down, a few paper airplane memos, one with player stats from the first half of the game, the other detailing concessions that were still available zipping above their heads, but Tara took more time in looking at him instead of the traditional face-forward lift protocol. She batted one of the little airplanes away from her head as her brows raised. "Which one?" she asked about the publishing house. She didn't really know that many, or any, but maybe the name might sound familiar. She nodded as he mentioned the family business and wondered if he had a love/hate relationship with it too.

She shifted her weight to her other foot, bringing her a tad closer as he turned to face her and gave him a one-shouldered shrug. "Guess," she simply said with a growing smile, mostly just to tease. The lift stopped a second later with a ding and the doors opened on the bottom floor. A guard at the bottom of the lift looked to them, but then relaxed when he saw who it was. She nodded toward Will as she stepped out. "C'mon, this way."

They were in the underbelly of the stadium now and she led him easily down wide halls and a few twists and turns, not whispering a word as to where she was taking him. She did glance back at him a few times to see his reaction, but she hid a smile as she turned back round. "Here we go," she finally said as she pulled open a door and then squinted against the daylight as it opened right onto the center of the pitch. The grass was green beneath her shoes and the stands soared above them, the three golden hoops gleaming at either end of the pitch. She walked out, down the line at the exact center of the pitch in the stadium that was now emptying. It was not the sort of access your everyday fan had, if ever. And of course, she wanted to know what he thought.

Tara walked backwards as she looked at him. "So what do you think?"

Niles? Will frowned. Oh Christ, was that her boyfriend? His heart sank. That was par for the course for him lately. Anyone he was interested in wasn't interested in him. Or they were dating or married or occasionally, both. He nodded. "I can tell," he joked but his smile was tight lipped before he caught himself. "Let me know what Niles said," Will offered, not giving a flying fart in space about the stranger's opinion but not wanting to seem rude about it.

Distracted by the whirlwind thus far and the velvety silence of the lift that enveloped them, Will took a second to answer. "Write Hand Press," he admitted with a lopsided smile and an eye roll. He knew the name was silly and cheesy but it was effective. It was memorable, which was a plus in an already saturated profession. "We're not huge or well known but we do okay," the publisher said modestly with a shrug before his dark eyes widened in panic.

"Er," he stammered as he laughed nervously, a hand coming up to rest on the back of his neck. This was one of his very worst nightmares. It was tied for first place along with someone asking him to guess how old they were.

Will cleared his throat as he looked at Tara through dark lashes. "City job?" He offered vaguely. He didn't know her at all but she looked like she was usually in control. Strong, smart, sexy. "Magazine?" He went on, digging himself further into a hole. "Sports pundit?" He smiled before the lift doors dinged! open and he let out a breath of relief. Thank Merlin for that.

The guard looked at him and Will smiled in what he hoped was an affable way, not a terrified one. Tara could have been leading him somewhere quiet to murder him but he still trotted after her like a lost puppy. Tara wasn't saying anything and he didn't think it was right to break the silence. His eyes looked up at the ceiling as they wound deeper and deeper under the stadium and he must have looked panicked because the pretty brunette turned her head and smirked at him.

The door creaked open and Will's jaw dropped. "Oh wow," he breathed out as he followed Tara into the ground, a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun as he gazed up into the were the crowds had departed. He didn't say anything for a while and simply stood still, soaking it all in. He didn't really like Quidditch but he wasn't stupid enough not to recognise that this was a privilege.

"I think it's bloody mad," he laughed as he dropped his hand, turning around in a slow circle to look upwards and feeling dizzy suddenly. The seats seemed to stretch all the way up to the sun and further. Will's hands were on his hips - Honey would love the opportunity to be in his position. A theatre of dreams. The only people who were allowed on here were players and staff, a miniscule minority compared to all of the fans that had previously been packed into the stadium.

"I have no idea how I'm going to top this for our second date," Will announced casually as he smiled at Tara, hands in his pockets as he strolled past her and towards the hoops, mesmerised.

"I'm sure you'll get to meet him," Tara assured him. "My brother never leaves games. So many stats and plays to review," she drawled, mimicking the way her brother emphasized just how important his job was. Sure, sure, she'd heard it all before. She wasn't that impressed. Unless of course she needed the deets on what had happened with the winning play. She wouldn't mention the why of how she had missed it. She didn't think Niles would be as impressed with Will's dimples as she was.

"Ohhhh," Tara said as he mentioned the name of his publishing company, sounding like she recognized the name before a second later she flipped it around with, "Never heard of it." She grinned unabashedly at him, her eyes glinting. "But might not mean much considering I'm not the biggest reader," she said softening her candor.

Tara wasn't so sure why it was so fun to tease him, perhaps because it was so easy, but she enjoyed seeing him squirm as he tried to guess her profession. His guesses were each met with a "nope" or a "not even close" and then finally a "saved by the lift" when the doors opened and she had sailed out, still not answering his question.

I think it's bloody mad. Tara grinned as she took him in as he was taking in the experience of it all. It was a rare opportunity, being center pitch in an emptying stadium, and that novelty that had worn away from her was coming back in familiar waves as she saw it through his eyes. "But in a good way, right?" she teased.

She slid her hands into her back pockets as she took a few steps, feeling the sponginess of the grass beneath her shoes and the sun on her cheeks, noticing the digs in the field around where the kick offs happened at the start of the game. Tara glanced up at him, surprise making her brows fly up as he strolled past her, and she let out a shock of a laugh. "Second date?" she called before catching up to him. "Who said anything about a second date?"

Hell, this wasn't even a first date. Not really. But then she smirked. "Better think of something good."

Oh. Niles was her brother. Will was thankful her back was turned because the blush that suffused his cheeks was bright red. He cleared his throat and nodded along, as though he wanted to meet her brother (he didn't) but he probably should if he was going to get a crash course in Quidditch. His mouth was dry and it felt like he was being suffocated by a tie before he remembered that he wasn't wearing one.

His warm brown eyes lit up as Tara sounded like she knew his company before an icy dagger plunged deep into his heart soon afterwards. It was like he was on a rollercoaster - up then down - but he gave a laugh of disbelief. Will couldn't say that he was offended but his head was spinning. "Ah," he nodded knowingly. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the norm recently. "At least I know not to get you books for Christmas," he joked with an easy smile.

He watched her leave, in a daze, as he followed. He didn't even know what was happening. Was he so starved of affection that he was willing to follow a complete stranger around all afternoon? The short answer was yes. The long answer was that he wanted to know what she did for a living, what she liked and didn't like, her favourite colour, if she had any tattoos, what she wanted to accomplish in life but it all seemed too intense, especially since he'd just met her.

Snapping back into reality, he looked over at Tara before he laughed. "It's great," he assured her. Even though he wasn't big into the game, he wasn't daft enough not to acknowledge the fact that this was a huge deal.

The fear that he might have pushed too far became a reality and he winced. Tara was at his shoulder almost instantly and he opened his mouth to apologise for being so presumptive. Will needed her to know that he wasn't usually like this. He was trying to be more assertive, to stop apologising so much, for being so weak but he didn't think that his particular brand of reinvention was necessarily the right one for him.

Instead, he grinned, relieved that she didn't seem too offended. "No pressure, then?" Will asked with a good natured smile. He waited a beat. "So...that's a yes?"

At least I know not to get you books for Christmas. Tara grinned. "Yeah, probably not," she agreed easily. Books were not her first choice and she wasn't the type to coo and graciously thank someone for a shit gift so it was for the best.

"Good," she added with a quirk of her brows. "That was the only acceptable answer," she teased. She wasn't even sure why she had brought him down here honestly. Merlin knew some of the guys she had dated for months hadn't set foot on the pitch and she hadn't even thought to give them special treatment. Maybe it was because of that look in his eye, yeah the one he had now. Hmm. She got a little distracted as she gazed at him..

No pressure? Tara met his gaze as she turned back to him, her hands still in the back pockets of her pants and she took a step closer, pausing, letting his question hang there between them just because. "Hmmm, depends on what you have planned. Any ideas?"

Will was sweating. He'd never been particularly good at "playing it cool". He definitely wasn't nonchalant. In fact, he was very chalant. He was so uptight that even when he was asleep, his jaw was clenched. However, Tara grew closer and he could smell her shampoo in the breeze. He blinked. She was making him work for it and he was both amused and simultaneously crushed.

At least Tara hadn't said no. She also hadn't said yes but Will took that as an encouraging sign. He offered her a smile, trying his hardest to focus on her face instead of how her backside looked in those trousers. "A few," he added coyly. His usual date of going down to the pub for a game of darts had been relegated.

Will had no idea what she was into and he was unwilling to make an assumption. Was she a restaurant or a bar girl? Museum or nightclub? "How do you feel about aquariums?" He asked Tara, eyebrows arched for a second before he grinned, clearly kidding. Sort of. He liked aquariums but they weren't pre-teens. There was no other thing for it; he'd have to bite the bullet and let her in on his secret place. And it wasn't a euphemism.

"I can't tell you, I'd have to show you," Will began with an easy smile. "You'll have to trust me."

Why was it such a delicious feeling to see him squirm? Tara wondered if he knew he was so transparent. Maybe not, but she didn't mind it at all. Her smile grew as his did and tilted her head, silently asking for more details as he admitted to having a few ideas. She hoped he wouldn't disappoint because she found herself oddly anticipating it.

An aquarium though? She wrinkled her nose a bit. She didn't much like seeing those giant, majestic creatures in tanks, but then again, she did like seeing the sharks. But he was already pulling her mind elsewhere, her brows raised high as she smirked at him. "Wow, now that's a tall order," she told him, hating the idea of a surprise. She would almost prefer the aquarium, but maybe... "I bet I can find a way to get you to tell me," she dared as she took a step closer to him, only a few inches between them.

And then something over this shoulder caught her attention. "Oh fuck, let's go unless you'd like to meet my parents," she said before she grabbed his hand and started pulling him back the way they'd come. She'd been avoiding her parents for a week or so and while she liked to toy with Will, she certainly wasn't about to feed him to the wolves.

"Oh?" Will asked, a hint of caution in his tone. His first thought was torture before he realised, belatedly, that he thought Tara was flirting with him. A zing! shot up his spine, making him stand a little straighter as she drew herself closer to him. Tara was a smart girl. She probably had hundreds of people wanting to date her so Will was under no illusion at how lucky he was that she was spending her time with him.

She was pretty. Beautiful, cheeky, gorgeous, stunning. He stepped closer, his hand reaching out with the intent to place it on the small of her back and draw her in closer with a smile but the bubble burst. "Oh," he said again, this time much flatter and with a frown as he turned his head but found himself tripping after her all the same.

"One day, maybe," he informed Tara as she frogmarched him away, his eyebrows raised in question before he laughed. Truthfully, no. No he didn't. He was great with parents. Mums loved him and dads felt relaxed around him but it didn't mean that he wanted to be introduced right away. Third or fourth date, possibly. "So," he began as they left the pitch, him still having no intention of removing his hand from hers. "For the surprise. Thursday night?"

[end!]