NINETY

Her gaze raked over him quickly, she took in his outfit; a perfectly fitting dark blue suit and glowing leather shoes, an outfit way too serious for the time. She arched a brow at him slightly, her expression told him that she was in no mood to be flirted with, especially not by some overly dressed rake.

"The drink." He said to clarify.

She nodded. It did slap a bit, but it was exactly what she needed.

"I noticed." She replied.

Returning her gaze to her drink, she took yet another sip, a rather long one. She was sure she'd need more eventually.

"Rough day?" He spoke again.

It was that obvious huh? She didn't want to talk about it though, especially not with some random dude in a bar. She turned to face him once more, the look in her eyes begged him to let her be, yet he completely ignored the look, his penetrating gaze remained fixed on her face as though he wanted to memorize every fleck of her eyes.

"Kalià." He said under his breath, and she questioningly arched her brow once more causing him to chuckle lightly. "Beautiful."

"Thanks." She said simply.

"You've been crying." He pointed out, and her mood became even more wretched.

"Please stop talking to me." She said quietly, bitterly.

"I apologize for making you uncomfortable, it wasn't my intention." He spoke immediately. "Allow me to buy you another drink; it's the least I could do since we've both had a shitty day."

She said nothing more, she could tell that he wouldn't stop talking to her regardless of what sge did. He made his order in smooth Greek before returning his attention to her.

"First time visiting Greece?" He asked her.

She merely nodded.

"For business or pleasure?"

"Pleasure." She replied quietly.

More like as a means of escape.

"How long have you been here?" He asked.

She blew out a resigned breath; she might as well talk to him and let him distract her.

"Two days." She replied before taking another sip of her drink.

"Interesting. You couldn't have possibly visited all the great places in two days." He pointed out. "Why don't you let me show you around tomorrow?"

She scoffed, she couldn't help it. Did he really think it would be that easy? Did he really think she would be that easy?

"No, thank you." She replied flatly.

He chuckled once more, a rather rich sound now that she was paying attention.

"You need not worry about being kidnapped, I'm a gentleman." He told her.

The bartender returned with his drinks, he set one more in front of her before moving away.

"Are you here alone?" He asked.

Was it normal to ask so many questions?

She shook her head.

"I'm here with my dog." She told him though she knew that wasn't what he meant.

A smirk curved his lips and he shook his head.

"You have a sense of humor, Love." He said.

He picked up his glass and took a small sip, and as he stared ahead, she saw for a brief second an exhausted look in his eyes, one which almost resembled the one in her eyes. A shitty day indeed.

"Rough day at work?" She asked him.

His gaze returned to hers and he shrugged.

"You could say that. I just stepped out of a business dinner." He told her. That explained his outfit.

"How did it go?"

He took yet another sip before setting the glass down.

"Here's what we're going to do; I won't ask about your shitty day and you return the favor." He proposed.

Touchy subject? Fine. However, it would have been better if she was at a bar merely because she was trying to get over a shitty day. Nonetheless, she nodded.

"Fine." She agreed.

A moment of silence stretched between them before he spoke again;

"You'll find Greece quite fulfilling." He told her. "With the right tour guide, this will be a visit of a lifetime."

Men....

He had only just met her yet he was volunteering to be her tour guide.

"I see." She responded simply, uninterestedly.

He inclined himself in his seat to face her fully before crossing one regal leg over the other. He stared at her, watched her as though he found her interesting, intriguing even, as though something about her was new to him.

And because she had never been one to be bothered by direct eye contact, she stared into his eyes while arching her brow slightly.

"Forgive me for staring." He said after a moment. He shook his head. "Something about your eyes tells me you're a woman with great depth."

She averted her gaze from his immediately. His words suddenly made her feel hollow, as though the depth he spoke about was the aching emptiness in her soul. She raised her glass once more, and this time she didn't lower it till it was empty.

He merely smirked, but that look flickered in his eyes again.

"Where are you from?" He asked her, a lighter topic.

It took a moment to recover from the slap the tangy taste left on her tongue. It took a moment for her to force the painful thoughts aside. It took a moment to pull herself together.

"Turkey." She replied.

"Interesting. I've been there once, wonderful place." He told her.

Her gaze flickered back to his, and she realized her vision was a little blurry from the tears stinging the back of her eyes. He seemed to notice the tears in her eyes and he cleared his throat quietly.

"I've never been there." She said.

He arched a brow.

"No? Where have you been all your life then?"

"New York." She replied.

His gaze raked over her form once more and he nodded agreeingly.

"Where are you going visiting after Greece?" He asked her.

She shrugged. She didn't know yet. Dragging in a deep breath to calm herself, she blinked a couple of times to clear her eyes.

"I don't know." She answered honestly.

He took a sip from his glass as he nodded consideringly, as though he was thinking about what she had said.

"How about you visit Turkey?" He suggested. "Immerse yourself in your roots a while."

That made sense. It sounded okay to her. She nodded.

"I will." She replied. "Thank you."

"I have a friend there; she wouldn't mind being your tour guide." He offered.

A faint smile curved her lips and she merely nodded. She realized her head was beginning to feel a little fuzzy from the cocktail, blowing out a breath, she brushed a lock of hair from her face.

"Exhausted?" He asked her.

She nodded. She was exhausted, not just physically.

"Time to turn in for the night then." He suggested.

She nodded once more. She began signalling for her bill when he shook his head.

"Don't worry about it." He told her.

"I can..."

"I know." He cut in smoothly.

She stared at him for a moment longer before nodding once.

"Thank you." She replied.

She pushed her seat back and stood up, and perhaps she staggered a bit; she hadn't realized the drink had taken such an effect on her.

"Want me to walk you to your room?"

She may have been tipsy but she knew better. She shook her head.

"No, thank you." She replied immediately. "Goodnight."

He didn't insist, he merely nodded.

"Goodnight."

With that, she turned around and walked away while trying her very best to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.