ceciliasking:
thesimonjames:
While this wasn’t something she would advise herself to keep doing, especially since there was this whole things with Andrew going on and she didn’t want to give him the wrong impression, there was also this side of Cecilia who kept telling her to keep on living her life–because Andrew was different and he wasn’t going to freak out on her just because she’d gone out for drinks with a client–right? God, she’d hope so. Still she brought it up to him as they closed everything up at the shop… just in case. Just like she’d sent him a message when she’d gone to Paige’s for dinner. Wow, she was thinking too much about this… again. It was just drinks. Friendly drinks. Simon was nice, so–yes. Friendly drinks. Besides, from their previous conversation, she didn’t notice a tone of flirtation, which, eased her mind a little.
Cece asked if Andrew could take her backpack home and told him she’d be meeting him afterwards, which was becoming customary for them… to sleep at each other’s places. After sorting everything out, she called an Uber, giving the address of the place Simon had picked and made her way there. Lucky for her, it wasn’t hard to spot him because the bar wasn’t crowded. She approached him with a smile and waved a little when he noticed her presence. “Hey you. Hi. How are you doing?” Cece didn’t really know if she should go for a hug, so she decided against it, simply joining him at the table Simon had picked for them. “Nice bar… do you come here a lot?”
Simon’s attention had been completely centered on his phone as he waited for Cecilia to show up; it was Champions League season and Real Madrid was playing. Usually, he’d be sprawled out on his couch, yelling at his tv, but tonight was important enough that he could justify having other plans. It didn’t mean that he could bring himself to miss the game completely, though -- Simon had been a fan of the beautiful game long before he’d even considered making it his full-time job and that would remain the same even after he retired. When he noticed her, though, he set the phone down, straightened his back, and returned the wave awkwardly, a half smile on his face. “Hey, I’m alright.” He shrugged at her question, the smile on his face growing slightly. “I haven’t been in town long enough to have a usual place.”
That would have been different had he been back home. In Orlando, there were two bars he’d frequented -- one had been a personal favorite, and one had become a favorite of the Lions because of its proximity to the stadium. After a few after home game meetings there, it had become the team’s unofficial second home. Since arriving in Boston, Simon had visited a few places but none of them felt quite the same. He raised a finger to catch the bartender’s attention in order to order a beer before he turned his body so that he was fully focused on Cecilia. “Thanks for coming. I know this is random, and probably a little weird for you. I hope I didn’t pull you away from anything important.”
