Cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise [Farley]

“Farley Hoskins! As I live and breathe.” Ashley said, approaching the girl. His smile was wide and friendly, slinging an arm over her shoulders. “So nice to see you! Congratulations, by the way, you’re pretty tough competition. Can I buy the winner a drink?” He offered, still grinning.

It had taken him longer than he was proud of to remember how he knew that pretty brunette on the other side of the trivia game. She had his look to her, familiar, and when he finally realized that she was actually his ex he was very ashamed. How could he have forgotten her so much? She looked a lot different than she did when he was dating her in school, but he could still tell who she was. He puzzled for her name, but finally remembered. He wouldn’t let her know that bit. Of course, as far as she knew he knew who she was the whole time. Right?

Ashley was no stranger to pub games, and trivia night was just another one of them. He was actually surprisingly good with random information, so he was pretty stuff competition. Of course, Farley had been a worthy rival. She had won the game, and he was proud of her. Winning wasn’t a big deal to Ashley. It was more about the game for him.

“You look great, by the way. Did you change your hair? I like it.” He smiled. “So…. Firewhisky? Cocktail? Beer?” He asked playfully. “Let me buy you something at least.”


@Farley Hoskins

"It's sumo."

The men at the bar looked at Farley as if she'd grown a second head. "The national sport of Japan. It's sumo," she insisted. There was some muttering going on between them and she wanted to shrink a little bit. They shot her a glance and begrudgingly accepted her answer after discussing other options. One of them asked how an American would know that and she opened her mouth to protest but a hush descended on the bar as the answer sheets were collected and the quiz master totted up the scores.

Anxiously, Farley tapped her nails against the bar as she chewed her lip. Quiz night at the George & Dragon had become a frequent thing. She daren't call herself a regular yet but at least the barman knew her name. Well, sort of. He called her Farrelly, which was close enough. Greg, the quiz master, took the microphone and announced there was a tie and that question would determine the winner. Farley's stomach turned.

No one on her team was looking at her. Phil had his head in his hands in despair, Mike had left his bag of crisps untouched and Matthew wasn't making eye contact with anyone. "So," Greg's voice boomed around the pub and she finally looked up. It was so silly. Her heartbeat was racing and she could hear her blood pounding in her ears. "What is the national sport of Japan? Team Agatha Quizbie put hockey and Smarty Pints have answered sumo." To be funny, Greg then made a drum roll sound. "The answer is sumo! Smarty Pints win!"

There was a beat of silence then the team erupted. They were on their feet, dragging Farley up with them. They whooped and hollered, bouncing around and pulling her into an embrace that felt like a tornado. They eventually released her and Phil clapped her hard on the back warmly but roughly, slamming her into the bar as he ruffled her hair fondly. ""Ah, you're okay for a Yank," he said warmly as he downed his pint. "What does that even mean?" Farley asked morosely as she rubbed at her ribs, only to jump as someone else touched her.

She'd seen Ashley the moment the door swung open some hours before. She hated to admit it but he'd broken her stride. His skin was warm and he didn't smell like he used to. "Hi," she greeted him with a smile, laughing gently at his compliment. "Thank you. What can I say? I love sumo," she joked, her skin tingling where he'd touched her. They'd bumped into one another months ago in New York and she remembered fragments - a record shop, she'd flirted, he hadn't flirted back, there was a power cut and she'd had a minor meltdown. Sexy.

She turned bright pink as she reached up to touch the ends of her hair. "Just cut it a little," Farley told Ashley, pleased that he'd noticed and even more that he liked it. Farley had been a victim of the Ugly Duckling Syndrome and only really blossomed after graduation.

When asked if he could buy her a drink, she held up the envelope that contained the team's prize - a drink voucher. "I'm okay, thanks," she explained, only to have it snatched from her hand playfully by her teammates as they started a Conga line through the pub. She blinked. "A white wine would be lovely," she asked, shaking her head but amused. "What're you doing here?" She asked Ashley, realising it was just as odd to see him here as it was her.

Ashley felt guilty for taking so long to notice her. It wasn’t that he was in the habit of forgetting his ex-girlfriends as much as they had never properly dated, not technically. He remembered a few hot nights while they were in school, flirting and playing and kissing and more, but he hadn’t ever taken her out on a proper date really. Just kind of… group things with her friends and his buddies, where they had gotten closer than the others. She had really glowed up since the last time he saw her, not that he ever found her necessarily unattractive. She carried herself better now. She seemed to know what to wear and how to do her hair. It came with coming older, he guessed. He would have been embarrassed of Ilvermorny him, too, he figured.

“White wine, coming right up.” He signaled the bartender, who he knew personally, and was brought a glass of their standard white, but he hoped it was the variety she liked. If not, they could just get her something else. Something sweeter? He was given a double firewhiskey over ice, his usual. “Oh, you know, I’ve been all over here lately.” He admitted. “I’ve been loving it here, so many interesting people to meet… and meet again.” He flashed her a cheeky grin. “I’ve been thinking of getting an official transfer. I was traveling all around Europe and the States and even Asia a bit, but I’m mostly here now, so… it’s been hard to get around the transfer, honestly.” He admitted.

“I’m way more interested in what you’re doing this side of the pond. You marry some British guy?” He teased, peeking at her finger to make sure she wasn’t actually married. He didn’t see a ring, thankfully. He hated chatting up married women only to get into a fistfight with an angry husband. He didn’t necessarily mind if they were married, but he hated the drama that came with it.

“No, really, what have you been up to, Farley? I wanna hear all about your job and your travels.”

The white wine was delivered and she took a larger than necessary gulp of it. It was light and fruity and oddly strong - unless she was well on her way to becoming drunk and she hadn't realised. "Thanks," she added in a softer tone and offered a cautious smile. Ashley was already drunk and she didn't want to be rude but he made her uncomfortable.

He was travelling. She nodded. Farley remembered he mentioned something along those lines before she had her freak out months ago. "I'm jealous," she replied in a thinly veiled joking tone because she was jealous. As a teenager, she'd been filled with wanderlust and she'd made a list of placed she'd wanted to go - France, Italy, Scandinavia, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, the Caribbean - but here she was, in a dingy bar with someone who had smashed her heart several years ago, after just winning a pub quiz. Goals.

She didn't so much as laugh but exhale air in a snort at Ashley's joke. He was funny. "Small world," Farley added but not unkindly as she sipped her wine at a more reasonable place. He mentioned a transfer and she boggled at him. "You like it here?" Farley exclaimed in surprise, earning a few side-eyed glances from the regulars around here. She did not like it here. It was too intense. The heat was intense, then the rain was intense, then the traffic was intense. She was still figuring out if the term love was an affectionate one or a derogatory one. She guessed it depended on the tone used.

"I'm actually thinking about heading back home," Farley announced with a smile. "My contract here ends around Christmas but I'm hoping they'll release me a little earlier. Congratulations, though," she added belatedly. "I hope you get your transfer. London's a good fit for you."

Farley's already brittle smile drooped a little at the corners as Ashley asked if she was married. Quickly, she rested her right hand over her left to conceal her bare ring finger - she wasn't drunk or sad enough to tell her about the pre-English Ethan debacle and how she should be over it by now. "No," she laughed shortly. "Still holding out for Prince William," she joked with an eye roll.

Her job and her travels, Ashley insisted. She'd hand it to him, he was tenacious. "I haven't been anywhere," Farley admitted honestly. She was aware she sounded cold and uninterested but she was an uninteresting person. "Tell a lie," she corrected herself. "I've been to Cornwall. That was nice. I like the sound of seagulls."

She glanced over at Ashley and sighed before she looked away. She'd always been annoyed at how attractive she found him. She'd always wanted to touch that cleft in his chin. "My job's okay," she began, suddenly entranced in the way the wine in her glass slid up the side as she swirled it around absently. "Thankless. The boss is a bit weird." She frowned. Simon was polite but she sometimes asked questions that teetered on becoming too personal. He asked what he should buy his wife for her birthday and when she replied "diamonds", he said that Farley would look beautiful in them.

It was small and maybe she'd over thought it but his gaze lingered for a second or two too long. Farley cleared her throat and ruffled her hair, the locks sticking up at funny angles like a newly born chick. "Can't say I'm living the dream but it pays the bills," she added sarcastically. "I found a book shop I liked not far from my flat, so that was nice," she offered as she drank. "Which part of the city will you be moving to?" She asked Ashley interestedly, wondering if it was far enough from hers so he could find another pub to haunt.