› @competitively _ hey there, stranger.
realistically, he should have known this to be a probability once joe had found out they were to be in the same place around the same time. ( naturally, because joe was here to watch what beth did best, though he would claim not to be there for her. ) & yet he’d thought perhaps the people too many ; the city too big --- he should have known better. should have expected this. stranger things have happened, after all. this, really, was more of a guarantee waiting to happen. to think otherwise was nothing sort of arrogance.
“ beth, ” he greets warmly as she slides onto the stool next to him, graceful as ever. it’s been a while could be his follow up, but that would simply be stating the obvious, & neither of them need to waste their breath doing so. the dregs of amber liquid in his glass start to lighten as the ice slowly melts, & if he’d been thinking about finishing up here any time soon, those thoughts are now far from his mind. “ let me buy you a drink to celebrate your win. ”