Beneath Her Depth

Try This For Once

“You wouldn’t need to drown yourself in margaritas if you had the nerve to pursue, or at least start, something that could end up that way instead of being jealous of it. You’re not inferior to her. You’re just as gorgeous as she is and seemingly smart. The only difference someone might point out is that you’re harmless, while she’s all danger, which every man in this room is exactly looking for.”

The woman’s mind raced as she stared at her margarita glass, which was about to be empty after one last gulp she took with the deepest sigh she had let out all night. Thinking of leaving, she turned around to gather her things, only to find her glass refilled when she turned back to the front.

Looking around in surprise, she tried to figure out who had placed the glass. She hadn’t heard or felt anyone beside her, and she had just been facing that direction for a moment, now facing it again. She sighed at the sight, realizing no one seemed to be responsible. Turning back to the drink, she found another surprise—a note beside her glass. She quickly scanned the room, almost snapping her neck to make it quick, but everyone seemed to be minding their own business. She sighed again and decided to read the note.

‘Hoping this would stop you from sighing, on the house.’

Her nerves hit her, a mix of surprise and nervousness, as it seemed someone had been watching her attentively—something she had never considered. Now, the urge to know who it was grew stronger. She looked around again, taking her time, watching the people around her, thinking and predicting things while twisting her neck once again.

Until her eyes landed on a certain someone’s side profile, and everything started moving slowly. The more she focused on the person, who was writing on another napkin, the slower everything around her seemed to move compared to others. Her heart began beating loudly—loud enough for her to hear it, despite the clinking of glasses, the soft music in the background, and the murmurs of people around her—all of which existed before this moment. In this moment, she couldn’t take her eyes off the side-profile owner. The sensation that had made her heart race so pleasurably now shattered it into painful pieces when the owner of the side profile did the exact same thing to someone else—the cause of her deep thoughts and sighs. It was as though she’d seen it done to her, but this time, it wasn’t her.

ALL THE WHILE,

Rence, who had been a busybody all night long, remained on guard, watching his best friend sitting there, with a solemn expression and complete silence, drowned in her thoughts. He saw her sigh, and through his field of vision, he saw another girl, sitting a few chairs away, do the same thing in sync with her. Another woman, one who also owned her chair tonight.

“Is this some kind of disease spreading tonight?” he mumbled to himself and couldn’t help but sigh. He then couldn’t help but sigh again in his mind when he realized what he just did. He thought about something he could do for these women, surrounded so closely tonight. Something only he could do. Well, not that there was anyone else but him behind the counter tonight, but still, he felt the need. They were his regulars, his solid people, who came for his service—the drinks he decided to make for them, something they both enjoyed in this place, whatever was on their minds.

He goes to make cocktails for both women at his counter. He thought about the two women sitting in front of him, the ones causing the gloomy mood in his bar. “But not tonight,” he mumbled to himself. He finished the first drink and walked to the end of the counter, dropping it in front of the woman who didn’t look like she’d bite anyone’s head off if they talked to her. He did it quickly, so fast that she didn’t even notice. Afterward, he remembered the note he had written for her, so he reached into his pocket and slid it to her in one quick move.

Next, he made another drink for the woman who had been ignoring the men hitting on her since he’d known her. Every Saturday night, if looks or words could kill, his bar would’ve been shut down by now because of her and the men who couldn’t take the hint. He sighed as he watched her. She was too lost in her thoughts to entertain the men who kept trying to talk to her. She was writing something down, which gave him a pretty good idea of what she was trying to escape from tonight. Her drink was just melted ice now, but she hadn’t noticed it yet. His mind wandered as he tried to think of the perfect drink to give her.

His hands started moving, full of excitement. His nerves were pumping as he thought about surprising the woman with something new she had never tasted before—something he would be serving her for the first time. “She will like this. She’s just so committed to the one she always has that she’s never really tasted anything like this before.” He knew she would end up liking it. It suits her mood and taste for tonight.

He looked at what his hands had made, just missing one last thing. The excitement couldn't be hidden from his face. “But before that...” he mumbled, followed by a pause. He then grabbed another napkin close to him and his pen from his pocket. This time, he was the one scribbling a note for another woman. His eyebrows furrowed at the thought, “This is like writing love letters to two different people.” He rolled his eyes before continuing to write on the napkin. Once he finished, the only thing missing, the one thing delaying the moment of truth, was some dry ice, so it could finally live up to its name.

He swiftly takes her empty glass and replaces it with something else, along with the note he prepared for her. Then he goes back to cleaning glasses in the same manner, while keeping his side vision focused on the woman who still isn’t reacting.

“This might take a lot of time,” he thinks to himself as impatience starts creeping in.

Or so he thought, until the woman flinched. She flinched in surprise and fright, covering her face as soon as she noticed the smoke rising from the glass. Holding her breath for a moment, her eyes went wide, as she stared at the smoking glass. Rence couldn’t help but turn his head and watch the scene unfold, doing his best to hold back the laughter that was bubbling up inside him. His stomach ached from trying to suppress it.

He was once again amazed by this woman. He couldn’t take his eyes off her until the moment she finally saw and read the note he’d left with her drink.

“Na, Try this for once. Breakfast on me. Mine or anywhere.”

The note made her smile. She picked up the glass, inhaled the smoke, then finally took a sip.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen this scene,” Rence mumbled to himself, smiling as he watched her take another sip, her face lighting up with pleasure. She looked at her glass again before raising it toward him in a silent toast.

“And once again, she seems satisfied. We might finally be getting somewhere after months of trying.” He whispered to himself, his voice filled with a sense of fulfilment, like it was something he’d been waiting for a long time.

Satisfied, he went back to work, fully concentrating again. He didn’t wait for her response; he wasn’t expecting one right away. He was sure he’d find another way to get it later. But for tonight, everything seemed to be changing for the better.