Raise The Bar

Sierra's eyes widened, "Wh-What? No, I am, I am a team player!"

 "Well, it sounds like you don't want to pay. If any of us lost, we'd pay up. Do you think it's fair that only you should get out of the penalty?"

 The co-workers were all nodding, letting out words of confirmation as they agreed.

 Sierra bit her lip as she pulled out a coin purse from her pocket. There was a low-limit credit card and about fifty dollars in cash.

 It wasn't entirely true that she COULDN'T afford to pay for drinks, but it was an expense that she didn't include in her tight budget.

 She was good with her money, and the thought of using it to pay for drinks was hurting her.

 Azul glanced at Sierra's coin purse, and back at the blonde co-worker who was dressed as a sexy devil.

 He rolled his eyes and scoffed as he stood up.

 "How about I pay for all of your drinks? Sierra here showed me a good time in the Haunted House, I'd like to repay the people who made her go through it."

 Despite his kind sounding words, his eyes shot a sinister glare at them.

 The blonde examined her perfectly manicured nails as she considered his proposal her mouth twisting and contorting as she thought.

 "Mmm….nope! It's Sierra's turn to pay. Maybe you can treat us next time." Just like before, the others standing behind her agreed.

 Azul smirked and wrapped his arm around Sierra. "Alright, Sierra will pay. Allow me to join? The more the merrier, right?"

 Sierra looked up at him and just as she was about to protest, her co-workers agreed.

 As they walked towards their cars, Azul placed his hand on the small of Sierra's back, leading her towards his.

 He opened the passenger door to which Sierra hesitated.

 "What's wrong?"

 She looked over at her co-workers who were gathering in their cars and then back at his.

 "I don't know you….I'm not sure it's a good idea to get into your car…."

 If there was anything she knew, it was that getting in a car with a stranger was a dangerous idea. What if he took off and kidnapped her somewhere? What if he was tricking her and this was all a ploy to get her alone?

 "Would you rather go with them and I'll meet you there?" He asked, understanding her hesitation.

 He was positive if she knew everything there was to know about him, she would absolutely not get into his vehicle.

 Sierra looked back at her co-workers, about to go towards them, but they were all driving off already.

 Cold air brushed against her skin and sent shivers down her spine; the temperature was dropping the longer they stayed out there.

 She took a deep breath and ran around to take photos of his license plate, sending them to one of her co-workers before she climbed into his passenger seat.

 'Smart girl,' he thought to himself as he got in the driver's side, 'quite the intriguing one.'

 It didn't take them long to get to the nearby bar and the parking lot of empty cars told them that her group was already inside waiting.

 Azul stopped her as she grabbed onto the car door.

 "Wait a minute."

 Sierra paused and looked back at him with a puzzled look on her face.

 He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

 "Take this," he said, offering her one of his credit cards, "You shouldn't be paying for them."

 Her big brown eyes widened, and she shook her head, "Oh no! No, I can't take your money! It's okay!"

 Azul took her coin purse out of her hand and put his card inside, "I insist. Consider it my thanks for entertaining me tonight, Sierra."

 "I….I prefer to be called Sira. I don't like being called Sierra."

 "Alright then, Sira, thank you for entertaining me tonight."

 She flashed him a smile, "Thank you. Are you sure though? About this?" She raised her coin purse and wiggled it.

 Azul's heart fluttered upon seeing her smile, and he didn't hesitate to return it, "Yes. I'm sure. I'm not the type to do things if I'm not."

 The two then got out of the car and agreed that Sira would present the card as if it were her own.

 Already, her co-workers were sitting at a booth with a bunch of drinks. As she and Azul approached, the blonde from before frowned.

 "Oh, Sierra, we're SOOO sorry. There's no room for you! It looks like you're going to have to sit somewhere else."

 Azul placed his hand on the small of Sira's back again and held out his arm, motioning for her to go to the booth next to them.

 They slid in and Sira placed her elbows on the table, pouting.

 "Did you want to sit with them?" Azul asked, folding his arms on the table and laughing at her pout.

 "No, I just thought tonight was going to be different. Now all I want to do is go home."

 "What do you mean?" Azul inquired.

 Sira sighed and leaned back against the booth.

 "I just started at this job a few weeks ago and they've been so awful to me. It's been miserable. I hate scary stuff….but they said tonight would be a team building exercise so I came, hoping we could improve our work dynamic."

 Her co-workers were laughing and cheering, clinking their drinks together in the booth behind.

 Azul glanced over at them before returning his gaze to Sira.

 "So, they tricked you into going into the Haunted House, huh?"

 Sira nodded in confirmation.

 "They know I hate scary stuff….I thought they'd stay with me, but they ditched me pretty fast…."

 "Why don't they just quit? Are your financials that bad?"

 Sira shook her head, "No, no! My finances are fine, I'm good with my money. I'm just keeping myself on a really tight budget. I'm not exactly qualified for this job and it pays really well! If I continue on the path I'm on….I'll achieve my dream within 10 years!"

 "And what dream would that be?"

 There was a sparkle in Sira's eyes as soon as he asked.

 "You know Fountain Garden Apartments? I want to live there"!

 Azul raised his eyebrow, "Oh?"