Disclaimer: This story was inspired by Sam Smith's album In the Lonely Hour. The title of each chapter comes from the song it was inspired by. It was originally written as fanfiction, but I switched up the names and such of the characters. I don't own any rights to Sam Smith or his album. The story contains adultery and LGBT themes. Later chapters will contain NSFW material. I'll mark the chapters appropriately. Let me know what you think!
Chapter One - Not the Only One
The next day had come and gone. That night, Daena had put the food away and went to bed early. She had really wanted a drink after her interaction with her husband, but she decided against it. It didn’t feel right, no matter how early in her pregnancy she was. He had come in late that night and slid into bed quietly beside her. The next morning, he was gone before she woke.
She had no idea where he could have run off to so early on a Saturday. She told herself that it was to get in extra hours on the case he was working. She went about her day as she had planned. Laundry, a little cleaning and some research for work. When the evening rolled around, she had given up on expecting him to come home. She needed to get out.
“Hey Hun. What’s up?” Elizabeth answered her phone.
“Go out with me tonight” was all Daena said.
“Okay. Be ready in an hour. I’ll come get you.” Elizabeth didn’t need to ask any questions. She already knew what was going on with her best friend. Both women got ready to go and she was at Daena’s house right on time.
“Did you tell him?” Elizabeth broke the silence on the drive to the bar.
“No.” Daena kept her replies short, but polite.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Liz tried again.
“No.” Daena shook her head lightly and stared out of the window.
“Okay. How about somewhere different tonight. Somewhere nobody knows us?” the blonde asked.
“Sounds good.”
The King’s Den definitely wasn’t their usual scene. Both women took the room in with interest on their way to the bar. It was slightly crowded, but not overly so. It looked decent enough to stay for a few drinks. The moment they sat down, they were approached by one of the bartenders. She was tall, thin, had long dark hair with a pink streak throughout.. Liz ordered a simple rum and coke, while Daena declined any drinks for now.
They sat in a comfortable silence until Elizabeth was approached and asked to dance. She looked to Daena, who gave her a small smile and nodded. Daena didn’t mind if Liz had a little fun. She needed to get out of that house, she just didn’t want to be out alone. She turned back to the counter when she heard a glass being placed next to her. She looked at the shot in confusion before she looked up to the pair of green eyes looking at her.
“I didn’t order that” was all the brunette said.
“It’s on the house.” Green eyes smiled softly at her before moving to help another patron.
“Thank you.” Daena said quietly. She continued to eye the shot. It wasn’t that she wanted it. It was just currently something for her to stare at as she was once again lost to her thoughts. She didn’t know, nor did she really care, how much time had passed.
“It must be bad.” Green eyes had returned and pulled her out of her thoughts.
“Excuse me?” Daena questioned.
“A woman like you coming to a place like this to get away... It must be bad.” the bartender replied. Daena took in the woman before her. She had lovely green eyes, wavy golden blonde hair, and an athletic, yet feminine build.
“You know nothing about me.” She replied as her eyes traveled back to the shot glass.
“I’m sure I could guess a few things.” The blonde smiled
“Like what?” Daena could have and normally would have told this woman where she could stick her assumptions, but at the moment she welcomed the distraction from her thoughts. This time the bartender took in the brunette in front of her. She was generally good at reading people.
“Well... You’re successful and driven. I would guess a career in law or politics. You went to a good college, graduated top of your class. Fell in love, probably while in college, and married shortly after. Things are a bit rocky at home, which sucks considering you...are pregnant...” Daena’s eyes widened slightly at the blonde’s last statement. How could she possible guess that?
"You gathered all that just from a glance?" Daena replied skeptically.
"You can learn a lot about a person just from watching them." The blonde spoke confidently.
"So you were watching me?" Daena cocked a brow, causing the other woman to blush slightly.
"Yes, well, watching people is kind of a habit that develops the longer you bar tend." she replied as she began to make another drink. Daena hummed and stared at the shot glass once again before asking another question.
"How did you know I was pregnant?" She kept her eyes on the shot.
"Despite looking like you could really use a drink, you haven't touched your shot. I figured either you were in AA or you were pregnant... The latter seemed more feasible.” She finished and traded Daena the new drink for her shot. Daena eyed the new drink questioningly.
“It’s virgin. Here’s to things getting better.” The blonde raised the shot to the brunette before knocking it back. She winked at Daena before walking off to return to work.
“Cheers.” Daena whispered to herself before taking a sip of her drink. It was good. Elizabeth returned to her side shortly afterwards. Daena nursed her drink and listened to her best friend talk about this new guy, Maxwell. They hung out for about another hour, just chatting about nothing important. In the back of her mind, she wondered if the blonde bartender was still watching her. She didn’t dare turn to check though. Not until she was heading out of the bar behind Liz. She gave a final look back at the bar, brown eyes locking almost instantly with green.
“You have been watching her all night, Jules.” The brunette bartender stood next to her coworker and friend.
“Yeah” was all Julia said as she watched the other women leave.
“So you noticed the ring on her finger...” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, Lena. I noticed the ring.” Julia sighed. She still hoped to see the brunette again.
You're the one designed for me
A distant stranger that I will complete
I know you're out there, we're meant to be
So keep your head up and make it to me
- Sam Smith
I created a cover!
Original Image Credit