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She was taking another bite of her sandwich when Julian’s words turned a bit too forward for her in that moment. Or maybe she was just reading into it something more than what he meant, but that smile was dangerous, and she knew all about dangerous smiles. Her cheeks flushed; eyes downcast as she finished the food in her mouth as quickly and politely as she could. Placing her hand in front of her mouth she asked, “so this is a date?” her eyes looking up though her head stayed tilted toward the floor. She swallowed her bite and set her sandwich on the plate, taking a moment to regain herself. “Because most of my dates aren’t quite so forward as to invite themselves to my place before we’ve even gotten dessert.” Not that she had had many dates recently, nor that there was time for dessert. She checked her watch under the table and confirmed her suspicions, her lunch break was nearly up.

To have the sort of freedom where you could just wander from camp lot to camp lot without any itinerary or scheduled plans seemed unreal to Rhia. Her life had been far too structured for far too long to ever be able to adjust to something like what Julian was describing, but boy did it sound amazing. “When I was little, I used to sleep in the back garden so I could watch the stars at night. I thought that if I could wish on a shooting star, it would give me whatever I wanted. Sadly, I still do not have a pony, so I think the stars might be broken, but they’re lovely to look at regardless.”

"What indeed,” she giggled as Julian nipped at her neck playfully. His compliments were working and Rhia held her head a little higher as they headed to the bar. They stayed near the edges where there were less people and it was easier to move, and soon enough they were at the bar. Rhia waited for the bartender to finish up with another witch, and turned to Jules. “So how do you know the bloke hosting?” she asked, sure he had told her but not quite able to recall. She wanted to be ready in case there were introductions, and not put her foot in her mouth and embarrass them both. The bartender looked their way and Rhia leaned forward, pulling out of Jule’s grip for a moment as she said, “rum and coke, please.” Rhiannon turned quickly back to Jules to continue their conversation as soon as he had ordered his own drink.

Rhiannon was not unfamiliar with putting her foot in her mouth, at least in her personal life. At work, in the courtroom, she was generally on point, if not a bit soft spoken at times, but she could argue her case quite well. Of course, she did research and planned out her line of questioning, her arguments, and her statements beforehand. Normal conversations did not permit planning beforehand, and that was where Rhia often got herself into trouble. There would be plenty of rewriting the conversation later, however, as she no doubt would spend an agonizing amount of time in her head coming up with every alternative question and comment to their current conversation and then berating herself for every little misstep she had actually made. At least Julian seemed to strong enough to not dwell on her mistake aloud. His hands turned over and for a moment their palms were touching in a much more intimate manner than she normally would have attempted so early on in a date. Or in a not-date, whichever this was better classified as.

The waitress came and Rhia pulled her hands back to her side of the table. Julian ordered his meal as Rhiannon looked down over the menu in front of her quickly. She already knew what she wanted but she liked to have a last look just to be sure. "A tea and a steak sandwich for me, please." She had a long day of work ahead of her, and she just didn't have the time to pretend she was the sort of girl that could be sustained by salads and light dressing.

A four year old seemed awfully young and Rhia wondered exactly how long Julian and the child’s mother had been separated. Or were they still together and Julian was being a pompous cad flirting shamelessly with her when he had a doting wife waiting at home for him? Perhaps that was the real reason he hadn’t reached out since the gallery. Rhia hid her suspicions with a smile as she listened politely. “No children, myself. And no husbands.” Thankfully, she’d managed to dodge that hex, though not without enduring a little trauma. “I came close once, but life had other plans.” Merlin’s beard, why was she bringing up Collin on a date? Did this count as a date? It had been so long she’d nearly forgotten what it was like to be out with a bloke, but regardless, she didn’t need to be talking about Collin to Julian or anyone. “Do you get on Tristan’s mum? It must be hard having to share him.”

Her head was still pounding but it was becoming less noticeable as Rhia had something else to focus on now. She smiled. “If I say no, are you going to hold me potion captive?” she asked teasingly, still chewing on her lower lip in attempt to stop from grinning. “I’ve about 45 minute left before I need to be back, but won’t you be missed here?” She hadn’t seen anyone else in the quiet little shop but perhaps there was someone else in the back room to watch the store. Unless his version of ‘making it up to her’ was just a roll around the back stock room, in which case she wasn’t interested. Not that she wouldn’t love a tumble with the handsome bloke holding her potion hostage, but she wasn’t interested in someone who just wanted a quick shag and then to forget she’d ever existed. She’d done enough bystanding in relationships in the past to last a lifetime, and she had no intention of being used like that ever again.

She was still an hour from her lunch break when her headache hit. She’d been staring at parchment work all morning, trying to make heads or talons of this case she’d been working on for weeks now and having no luck. The legal precedents set by former administrations seemed to have no bearings in the world of today. Rhia was beginning to think her choice of career was a mistake. People being locked up simply because they refused to wear an armband or as a muggleborn worked for the Ministry. She tried to keep her in her own lane, but what was the point of fighting if the Wizengamot weren’t even going to listen to the testimony she presented them? The pounding behind her temples was in full bloom come her lunch hour, so Rhiannon apparated to Diagon Alley and headed straight for Slug and Jiggers to pick up a bottle of tension relieving potion.

The bell over the door chimed as she stepped inside, and she let the door swing shut of its own weight as she scanned the aisles looking for the pain relievers. Finding what she needed, she carried the blue bottle up to the counter and set it down for the clerk to ring up, blinking a few times and then smiling when she realized she knew the man. “You never called,” she said matter-of-factly, giving him a look. His name was Julian and he had hit on her at an art gallery several weeks ago then never rang. She smiled and then looked to her handbag to find her coin purse. He wouldn’t have been the first bloke to ghost her, and likely not the last. She didn’t hold any grudges, though she was the teensiest bit disappointed as the days stretched on and her phone continued to be silent. She pulled a few coins from her bag and placed them on the counter.