A Place Beyond The Horizon Ch. 01

"I'll take it," Aidan replies, sitting down in the free chair.

The pub is busier now, and he can feel the buzz of the crowd. It's drifting towards late afternoon on a Friday and it seems that the locals are abandoning work for the week, knocking off early to enjoy a bit of sun. Across the bar, he hears a squeal.

"Oh, hello," Hardy says, turning, "Looks like the entertainment's arrived."

Aidan follows his line of sight. At the bar, he can make out four or five women, one of whom has a white lace veil over her face and a sparkling tiara pushed into her long black hair. She looks about Aidan's age, all of them in their late twenties or early thirties, dressed in party frocks, each holding a glass of champagne. The dark-haired woman next to her is carrying an ice bucket. They make their way to a long empty table with a 'reserved' sign.

"That's the difference in the sexes right there," Hardy says, "Hens have it all planned ahead. Tables reserved, outfits co-ordinated. The bucks are probably somewhere else in a mangled heap by now."

He raises his eyebrows to Flint.

"Oh, really?" Flint replies, "You really think you have a chance?"

"Not solo, obviously."

"Fuck. You're mad."

"He who dares wins, Flint. Plus, we have a secret weapon."

"Your dick? Neither secret, nor a weapon, mate."

"No, fuck off. I'm talking about...."

Hardy gestures towards Aidan.

Hardy smiles. "The Aidonator," he announces.

Aidan frowns. "You really think?"

"Sure. Like those icebreaker ships in the Arctic. Aido goes in and we slipstream behind him."

"Or maybe we just have a beer," Flint counters.

"Fuck, man. Life is too short."

There is something about the way Hardy says it, the way his eyes lock onto his friend. Flint doesn't reply, but Hardy isn't letting him off.

"C'mon," he says.

"Ask him. He's a major part of your plan," Flint fires back, gesturing to Aidan.

Hardy turns his attention to Aidan, but he leans back, just the hint of a sly smile on his lips. He cocks an eyebrow.

"They call him Mr. Smooth," Flint intones, "Don't get sucked in."

But Hardy's just waiting now. Aidan knows he's being played, he can still feel the buzz from the beer, but there's something in Hardy's expression, something deep.

"I'll tell you what," Hardy says, "I'll do a recce, scout out the terrain, get the round in. How's that? Give you boys a chance to think it over."

He gets up from his chair, leaving Flint and Aidan alone. Flint shrugs.

"So, what generally happens from here," Flint begins, "Is he keeps going on about it until I cave and then I accompany him towards the ladies."

Flint takes a sip of beer, and continues, "Then he flames out, then we sit back down. It's usually all over in about fifteen minutes, and then he's got it out of his system."

"And that's what you guys do?" Aidan asks.

Flint raises his glass. "Professional wingman. Pleased to meet you."

Aidan smiles, but he has to admit to himself that his stomach is churning. It's not the prospect of talking to the girls that has unsettled him, it's the prospect of maybe being successful. It feels like cheating, he acknowledges, even though it's no longer cheating. Rosa was a long way away, behind him. Why on earth get on the plane if he didn't intend to move forward?

Hardy returns, three beers braced in his fingers, and places them on the table. He slips back down into his seat.

"Well?" he asks, "They look ready for a convo."

"A what?" Aidan asks.

"Conversation. They're just sitting there, waiting for the night to start. Flinty, c'mon. Aido."

Flint looks across at Aidan, making it clear that it's Aidan's call. Aidan regards them both, steadily. He can see the energy bubbling up in Hardy, and it's calling out to him.

"Let's go," he says, without thinking.

Flint's assessment turns out to be accurate. Hardy ploughs in with a corny line about asking which one of the girls is the bride-to-be, despite it being obvious from the veil on the woman with the long, straight black hair. As Hardy launches into it, Aidan finds himself stepping in, smiling apologetically. The woman who bought the champagne has dark, shoulder-length hair and deep brown eyes, and for a moment, as he's sweeping the table, his eyes lock with hers and he stops. He finds himself staring and he looks away. Not like Rosa, but similar enough. Fuck, he hadn't been expecting that. He recovers enough to wish them a good night out, and the boys retreat to lick their wounds.

Their table is gone, taken by two girls and their boyfriends, so Aidan finds himself standing on the balcony with Hardy and Flint.

"Fifteen," Flint comments.

"What the fuck?"

"Well, fourteen and twenty-five seconds."

Flint holds up his watch, grinning.

"You were fucking timing me?" Hardy blurts.

"Never."

"If you had been pulling your weight, we'd have gotten on better."

"Really? 'Which one of you is the bride?' you said. That was your opener. You might as well have said, 'I have herpes.'"

Aidan listens to them bicker, but it's good-natured. They're bouncing off each other, giving as well as they get, but Aidan is distracted. The bride's friend: the way she looked at Aidan as he apologised, the long brown hair, the soft smile.

"Just your type."

Aidan blinks. "Uh?"

"I was saying," Flint continues, "That other one. I reckon she was just your type, Aido."

"Not my type?" Hardy interjects.

"Of course she is. Your type is just breathing and upright. Though the latter is optional."

"You're such a fuck knuckle."

"And that's why you never score," Flint replies, "You're let down by your lack of eloquence."

Aidan glances past them, back to the table. It had been a rush, and he can still feel a strange excitement bubbling. He feels an odd prickling sensation behind his ears and he catches the woman with brown eyes watching him. Hurriedly, she looks away and through the minutes that follow, she doesn't look back.

"There's a bar along the seafront," Flint is saying, "We can change the scenery."

"You mean now that we've been seen to go down in flames here."

"Exactly."

"Fuck it. Okay. Let's just finish these."

Aidan hands Flint his beer. "Can you look after this? I need a piss."

Flint nods, and Aidan makes his way to the toilets. It takes him a couple of minutes, but as he's making his way back to the boys, he diverts on impulse towards the girls' table. The dark-haired woman has picked up the empty ice bucket and is taking it back to the bar, so Aidan trails along behind her. She puts it down on the bar and makes a gesture to the barman to get a fresh bottle. As she waits, Aidan slips into the spot next to her.

"Hi," he begins, and she turns to him. "Sorry if we made you uncomfortable earlier."

She wrinkles her nose then shakes her head. "Nah, don't worry about it. Kelsey loves the attention."

Aidan smiles. "Yeah, I seem to have one of those too."

She smiles back. "Pain in the arse, aren't they?"

"Yeah, look, sorry. I just wanted to say I hope you have a nice night."

Aidan is about to turn away, but she smiles again, stopping him. "You're not a local, are you?"

"No. I just got in this morning."

"You must be buggered."

"Uh, I... I guess."

"Oh shit. Tired, I meant," she gasped, bringing a hand up to her mouth, hiding a smile. "I didn't mean that you'd had, uh, anal sex."

"I knew what you meant. Even sleep deprived."

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I can relate. It's no sleep 'til bedtime tonight. Kelsey's got us booked into a club in the city."

"Big weekend then."

"It's the festival of Kelsey's wedding. This is week two. I can't wait for it to be finally over. I'm gonna be a wreck."

"You just here for the weekend?"

"Yeah, up from Melbourne. There are more of us flying in. We've booked a table at the wharf tomorrow night."

She rolls her eyes. The barman brings over another bottle of champagne and she pays.

"A dozen of us. It's gonna be a nightmare."

She picks up the bucket, but doesn't leave. Aidan finds himself staring at her again.

"Uh, I'm Aidan, by the way," he stammers.

"Are you now? Okay. Maybe I'll see you at the wharf tomorrow night, Aidan."

She turns away, but then looks back over her shoulder, smiling coquettishly. "I'm Katriona. Kat. Nice to meet you."

Before he can reply, she's weaving back through the crowd to her friends. Aidan watches her go. Finally, he heads back out onto the balcony to re-join Hardy and Flint.

"Fuck me, you are a dark horse," Hardy says as Aidan approaches. "They might start calling you Mr. Smooth instead."

"What are you...?"

"Your good work at the bar. Whatever you said, she came back to her table with a smile on her face."

"You saw that?"

"Oh mate, I see fucking everything. Nice technique, going in for another pass. Paid off."

"You think?"

"Fuck, yeah. Stick with me kid, and you'll do okay."

Flint laughs, "Oh you are so full of shit."

"I am many things, Flinty boy," Hardy replies, "But full of shit I am not. I have a superpower, and I vest it on those around me."

He's grinning now, fuelled by bravado and alcohol. Flint grimaces.

"Dear God," Flint replies, "And what's this superpower?"

Hardy reaches out to wrap his arms around the shoulders of Flint and Aidan.

"I'm the god of second chances."

---

[Next chapter: Hardy and Flint set Aidan up with an opportunity to approach Kat. The night leads Aidan in an unexpected direction.

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