Beneath Her Depth

Still feels like it

As he got closer to her, his eyes could not help but fall on her now-reddened cheeks. She bit her lip as her hand continued to scribble. Once again, he was in awe of her concentration until, when he was just one step away from her, she closed her binder and surprisingly met his eyes. It almost felt like she knew he was approaching.

Her gaze on him became softer than before. He could tell the alcohol had affected her further. And another surprise hit him because, besides their locked vision, her smile had turned softer and wider.

“Hey,” she said, greeting him in a low, soft voice.

He nodded in response before saying, “Would you like another one?” keeping a blank face, washing off all the amusement he had never felt before in this field of work.

She shook her head twice before saying, “No, I’d like pure Coke this time,” and handed him her glass once again.

He simply nodded to her as he took her glass and walked away to fill it up with Coke after disposing of the melted ice. Soon enough, he walked back towards her, only to see her putting her coat back on, ready to leave.

As soon as he placed her glass in front of her, she took it right away, bringing the glass to her lips and drinking it in one go. He was left in confusion, zoning out while watching her finish it all.

“Thank you, see you around, Rence,” she said, placing the glass on top of her bill.

But that’s not all she left behind; she left the man she called Rence in a daze as she let him see her biggest, drunkenly cute smile.

He watched her walk straight away from him, exactly how she had come in, as if those four glasses hadn’t happened at all. Once again, she announced her departure from the place, leaving heads turning from where she had just walked until the sliding doors closed behind her, disappearing from everyone’s eyes.

Including Rence’s, whose attention kept shifting from the sliding door to the glass with a money bill left by her.

One hour after she left, the bar closed. Like the routine it was, he stayed to clean up the bar, which did not take too long. As soon as he finished cleaning the place and began turning off the lights, he paused and glanced at the spot where she had been sitting, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“That was a first. Looking forward to the next time,” he mumbled to himself before turning off the last light and exiting the bar with his first unsuppressed smile of the night.

End of flashback

“Rence!” a woman’s voice took him back to the present.

He couldn’t help but smile at the sight in front of him. The very same woman, after six months of knowing her, he is now laying his eyes on her looking at him, whispering his name, even though he clearly knew she wanted to shout it but couldn’t while glaring.

“Oh, you’re here again to ruin your liver?” Rence whispered back, teasing her by feigning irritation.

‘Nothing has changed except her clothes,’ he thought to himself, laughing inside as he looks at her, waiting for her retort while she stood in corporate attire in miniskirt that just emphasized her not too thick legs making that curve, rare eyeglasses and hair in a bun on top of her head. Looks like someone ready for a few rounds of her usual drink.

He watched her settle in without saying anything back to him. The irritation became real as she remained quiet. Taking a deep breath, he walked away from her to deal with another customer.

When he came back to her, she had both hands on sides of her cheeks, covering the devilish smile she is giving him.

“Such a tease,” he mumbled to himself.

‘Nothing really has changed. She’s still the same tease she was half year ago. I just did not expect all the things that have unfolded throughout the time we got to know each other and became friends. I wouldn’t have expected that what I said that first night would have come true: that I would be seeing her a lot from that point,’ he thought to himself as he ignored what she had just done and started preparing her drink instead, keeping his stern, blank face.

As per usual, she watches Rence prepare her drink, waiting with anticipation on her face — so little, but still there. Patiently sitting back in the chair she claimed on her first night in the place, her perfect legs crossed over one another, her attention is fully focused on the glass that soon comes to her. Rence, putting it down in front of her, mouths, "Thank you, handsome," accompanied by her almost wicked, teasing smile.

Rence, who seems to have seen enough, only does what seems manageable. He looks back down at her, letting out a sigh before rolling his eyes, which earns nothing but soft giggles from her. She takes the glass between her lips and gets her first sip of the night.

With that, her unwinding begins. She indulges herself in something only her mind knows and no one else. Be it looking around or just staring at one thing, even tracing the rim of the glass while her mind dwells on things she never speaks about.

This can be seen by the way Rence observes her from one corner of the counter. She’s so immersed in her thoughts that she doesn’t notice what’s happening.

"Usually, she sways her eyes my way, making a face for staring at her — but not tonight," Rence thought to himself. "Another night when her mind is so deep, she almost seems to drown in whatever it is. I’ve watched her drink every Saturday night for as long as i have known her, while she works so hard in her double life before this time of day. And even with all those times and alcohol, I’ve neither seen nor heard anything that could change that. She’s so good at taking care of herself" he added.

This somehow became part of his Saturday night routine: watching her, trying to catch which part of her might come out unconsciously that he couldn’t see when she’s with him outside this place.

Meanwhile

Everyone has seen the interactions between the two. Though Rence has exited their sight, their focus remains on her. But not the men who have been patiently waiting for her to arrive — they watch Rence, perhaps weighing themselves against him, because they thought such thing could never happen, as it has been silently established that it can’t be done. The woman to have such connection with someone.

And a woman in one corner of the bar who seems to be doing the contrary as her focal only sees no one but Rence. She’s been watching him all night long like every single time she’s in this place. And seeing all of it, she wears a pained expression. No trace of wonder nor insecurities just simply pain as she drowns herself with her margaritas.