The crowd that night was rather lackluster. There was a large variety of different people there but none seemed to be of importance. Scanning crowds like this was one of Daniel’s specialties. He liked to keep aware of the people around, always looking for an opportunity to get closer to people that had influence whether he knew them by face or simply by the clothing they wore. Since the [i]Devil’s Share[/i] was also near his old college, quite a few other old classmates frequented it and he was never against seizing the chance to speak with them about work. That being said, it was also a great way to check out women too, namely if there were any that he wanted to introduce himself to. 

It had been a while since the last time he had had any type of relationship, be it as small as a one night stand or more serious venture. Work had taken up a good deal of his life that getting out like he was now wasn’t common. Despite telling himself he’d stick with his friends, he couldn’t help but at least take a look at his possible options that night. His gaze was soon drawn away from the crowd as a soft clink made him turn to see the bartender set his glass down in front of him. 

“Did you want to open a tab?” the other man asked as he slid the jack and coke over to him. 

Daniel paused, debating how much he planned to drink, before nodding his head. He dug into his pocket for his wallet and pulled out his credit card, familiar with the process at the [i]Devil’s Share[/i]. “Yeah I’ll go ahead and open a tab.” he said, handing over his card. The man nodded his head and accepted it before turning to put the card away. Daniel wasn’t planning on ordering a ton of drinks but he knew his friends could rope him into changing said plans. He’d rather not have a hassle with payment when he was wasted. He lifted his drink to his lips and took a small sip before he’d have to return to his friends. Just as he was planning to step away from the bar, a new voice surprised him. 

“Ayyye! Daniel!” Turning around he spotted Eric walking over to join him at the bar. The other man had his usual goofy, broad grin on his face. Of course that was the only way Eric could ever sneak up on someone. The dude was big, both tall and muscular, someone who could easily be intimidating if not for his usually goofy demeanor. Of course, his goofy demeanor was also a product of being apart of a frat for his four years of college, something Daniel believed most people could pick up on from first meeting him. 

“Hey Eric, I didn’t know you were coming to this thing too.” Daniel greeted his friend with a small smile. It hadn’t been that long since the two had crossed paths. In fact, Eric was the one person Daniel saw almost regularly due to their work places being located only down the street from each other. 

“Of course! I had to celebrate the two taken people in our group getting engaged. It’s sort of a big deal.” Eric smirked as he slid up besides Daniel at the bar, subtly flagging the bartender down as they spoke. His smirk faded a bit as he looked at Daniel with a little more seriousness. “So how are you feeling about all this?”

Daniel raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”

Eric rolled his eyes and leaned against the counter. “Oh come on Daniel, I know you and Brandy used to date. Surely it’s got you bummed!”

Daniel paused before laughing at Eric’s assumption. “Dude we dated in high school and I broke up with her because we sucked as a couple. I’m happy that they’re happy, nothing more.” he explained with a shrug. He eyed Eric as he turned to order a beer from the bartender. “Are you upset?”

“Well a little.” Eric admitted rather honestly. “Not over Brandy of course but you gotta admit, this engagement reminds the rest of us of how single we are. I mean, when’s the last time you’ve even slept with someone?”

Daniel shook his head. “I’m not discussing this at our friend’s engagement party.” he said with an amused smirk. 

“Fine, fine.” Eric sighed, holding up his hands defensively. As his gaze strayed, a new light flickered in his green eyes.  He nudged Daniel’s side eagerly. “Buuuutttt I say we ditch the engagement party and go fishing. There’s a lot of pretty faces here tonight.”

“You’re a terrible friend.” Daniel scoffed. “Brandy would kill us. Specifically me first and then you.”

“Oh come on! Brandy won’t even notice we’re gone and you know Trevor wouldn’t give a shit.” Eric encouraged. “I mean look at them! Annahita’s here so her and Brandy are going to be talking all night. And Trevor’s got Jamie. Let’s slip away for a bit and see what our options look like tonight. If it goes nowhere, then we can go back.”

Daniel wish he could say he wasn’t interested but mingling with a few pretty faces did sound more enticing than sitting around and drinking while the couple talked about their future wedding. Though he cared about both of his friends, it did seem like a waste of night for him. As he placed the glass back down, he eyed Eric before letting out a sigh of defeat as he caved. It was his first night out in a while, he wanted to make the most of it. He’d just have to make sure to throw Trevor a killer bachelor party when the time came. “Fine… We can slip away for a bit.”

“Great!” Eric beamed and without skipping a beat, nodded his head towards two women towards the other end of the bar. It seemed that Eric had set his sights on them long before he had even brought the idea up to his friend. [i]You sly, goofy bastard…[/i] he thought amusedly. Daniel was a bit quick to recognize the one woman as the one he had eyed coming into the bar. They already were accompanied by two men from what Daniel saw. “Let’s introduce ourselves to them.” 

“They look preoccupied with those other two guys though.” Daniel pointed out as he picked up his glass. 

Eric snorted. “So? Those two guys are pathetic.” he mused mercilessly as he picked up the whiskey that the bartender had set down. He paused to open up a tab as well before turning back to Daniel with a mischievous smirk. “I’m pretty sure one of them had a unibrow. Can you not compete a guy with a unibrow, Daniel?”

Daniel shot an annoyed look at Eric. Personally, he found it a bit rude to simply cut in but there was a clear hint of challenge in his friend’s voice. And Daniel wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. Especially when he believed the odds were stacked so highly in his favor. He had only been trying to be polite when it came to the other men around them. But if Eric wanted to make it into a competition, then that no longer mattered. With another look towards the women, he eyed the dark headed girl from the end of the bar before looking back to his friend with a smirk. “I can but that’d be too easy. I’ll handle the other guy, you can deal with unibrow.”

Eric laughed, thrilled by his friend’s sudden change of attitude. “Alright, fair enough. The redhead’s more my type anyways.” he used as he picked up his drink to follow his friend. Daniel now took the leading in casually moving down towards where the two women were. He assumed that they weren’t in over their heads with inserting themselves. From the glimpse he had gotten of the other two men, they didn’t appear particularly threatening, both look and strength wise. Sure the one was muscular but he wasn’t quite as large as his friend, Eric. If he tried to intimidate either of them, it would sooner be met with laughs than them backing down. Provided the women they were talking to took more of an interest in Daniel and Eric than them.

The competition side of it all made Daniel more willing to step up. So as they reached their side of the bar, he wasted no time in stepping up to them. “Hey,” he greeted, flashing a charming smile—something he was rather skilled at—with his gaze solely focused on the woman in front of him. “mind if we join you guys here? The bar’s a bit crowded tonight, hard to find an open spot.” he asked, smoothly lying through his teeth. Behind him, Eric stood with a flirtatious smile, shamelessly casting a wink towards the red haired woman.