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Emma takes the last swig of of her vodka tonic and slams it back on the bar with a sigh. Glancing at her phone once more and realizing it is now 30 minutes past the agreed upon meeting time, she huffs and punches out a quick text.
Thanks, Rubes. Guy was a no show.
Shit. Sorry, Em. Want me to come meet you?
Yeah. Bring me a change of clothes? I don't wanna wear this stupid dress all night.
Got it. Be there in a few.
She waves the bartender over to order another drink, hoping to alleviate some of the tension settling in her shoulders. Just as the bartender places the drink in front of her, Emma hears someone slide onto the stool next to her.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," she mutters under her breath before taking a sip, preparing to turn around and give her date, now 45 minutes late, an earful. "You do... oh god, I'm so sorry," Emma sputters out when she realizes the person sitting next to her is not, in fact, her date.
The woman next to her arches a perfectly sculpted eyebrow and gives Emma a once over before speaking. "Stood up?"
"I... yes? How'd you know?" Emma asks, taking a moment to look over the woman while she orders her own drink (scotch, neat). She's dressed in black slacks, a white button down, and pinstriped vest that clings to her perfectly, accentuating an almost indecent amount of cleavage that takes Emma a few seconds longer than appropriate to scan past. She blinks several times in an attempt to stop staring and finally drags her eyes back up to meet deep brown ones.
"A good guess," the woman says, bringing her glass to her lips and taking a sip before elaborating. "The dress doesn't seem your normal style, your body language screams irritation, and you started to scold me the second I sat down."
Emma has the good graces to at least look at bit ashamed at the last one. "Blind date," she confirms. "My friend set me up but the date was a no show."
"Lucky for me then," the woman says, a coy smile playing at her lips. "Regina Mills."
"Emma Swan," she says, reaching over to shake the woman's hand. "So what brings you here at," she pauses, checking the clock on her phone. "7:15 on a Wednesday?"
"Long day at the office," Regina says by way of explanation. "My son is at a class retreat, so I thought I'd unwind a little."
"Son?" Emma asks, surprised.
"Henry," Regina says, the mega-watt smile on her face enough to make Emma smile right back.
They lose themselves in conversation, Regina telling stories of Henry and her work as a District Attorney, and Emma telling her about her own job as well as the long string of disastrous first dates she's had thanks to her two best friends - Mary Margaret and Ruby - setting her up with terrible people.
"Sorry," Emma says when her phone buzzes and interrupts their conversation. She removes her hand from where it was casually resting on Regina's knee and picks up her phone, swiping the screen to read the message from Ruby.
I'll leave you two to it. Details later, woman!
Emma blushes and switches off the phone's screen before looking up to the window to find Ruby giving her two thumbs up and a bright smile.
"Do you have to go?" Regina asks, swallowing the last of her second glass of scotch.
Emma shakes her head and smiles at the other woman, deciding to go for it. "How would you feel about having dinner with me?"
The smile she's rewarded with is answer enough. "I'd love to."