Tuesday Afternoon
Irish Pub

So, I was out west on holiday, and had some time to kill between when my rental car was due back in, and when my cousin finished work. I decided to stow my bags and explore the downtown. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately - read on...) there was no place downtown with baggage lockers. I was going to hit a movie, but nothing was open for matinees, so I hit the pub to grab a pint and contemplate my next move.

There were about four tables full in the place, and I sat at the bar. The bartender, an HB 8.5, with lovely big green eyes, and incredible legs was all smiles. We struck up a conversation, as bartenders tend to do on slow afternoons. I pitched my SOB story about baggage storage to her, and she offered to watch them for me, and dished out a bunch of tips as to her favourite places to see. In this time, I found out she's a flight attendant too, and though she wouldn't be on my flight later in the week, she spends a lot of overnights in my city, and complained about knowing no-one there.

It was around that point that a rather sketchy dude wandered in, and asked to use the phone. He did briefly, and then asked for $2 for the parking meter, and laid some long story on her that I didn't really pay attention to. When he left, I gave her even odds on ever seeing her money again. She said he had the best tall tale she'd heard all day, so gave him the money to get rid of him.

I stepped off on my downtown adventure for a couple of uneventful hours, and when I returned, she welcomed me back with a big smile. I put $2 on the bar as soon as I sat down. "Recognize this?" I asked. She stared blankly for a minute, picked it up... "Who, the Queen or the polar bears?" I just smiled at her... and it suddenly dawned on her. "Noo!! No way!" I told her I ran into the guy randomly on the street, and had told him that she had sent me to get her money back.

I didn't like lying, and the risk of being caught out was huge, but it's not lying, it's just flirting, right?

Anyway, I dared, and I won. This made her day. A little bit later when her best friend came to meet her at the end of her shift, she told the whole story excitedly. Before I left, she slipped me her number and email. I returned the favour, as she's the one who'll be in my town randomly.

I guess the lesson to be learned here is to find a way to stand out beyond the average bear. Have a few interesting stories to tell, find some things in common, and you don't even have to go into routines. It's possible that if I didn't have to meet up with my cousin shortly thereafter, I could have made it a same-day date, heading off with them for dinner or something, but I'm happy with how it all went overall.