{"id":1111,"date":"2012-12-11T06:00:55","date_gmt":"2012-12-11T14:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=1111"},"modified":"2012-12-10T20:39:01","modified_gmt":"2012-12-11T04:39:01","slug":"season-8-episode-4-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=1111","title":{"rendered":"Season 8, Episode 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Willow perused the beautifully stocked shelves of her local wine merchant. She loved this store, with its eclectic mix of crowd pleasing varietals and slightly more obscure labels. She would often get lost in here, reading the lofty descriptions and tasting a drop or three (the owner had come to know her quite well by now and always had a dusty bottle tucked away somewhere that he would insist she try).<\/p>\n

But tonight, her heart just really wasn\u2019t in it. In fact, Willow was in an uncharacteristically petulant mood. She had run out of excuses for not having dinner with Fred and Marjorie, and had eventually succumbed, agreeing to meet them tonight at Marjorie’s house. Marjorie was, apparently, going to make with that bloody gazpacho that Fred hadn\u2019t shut up about. Willow knew it was petty to be so vehemently opposed to a woman who she really didn\u2019t know, but there had been something about Marjorie that she had immediately disliked when she met her at the bank.<\/p>\n

And to make matters even worse, Marjorie had invited someone else she knew – some guy – as an ill-disguised attempt at finding a date for Willow. Fred had been slightly embarrassed about it, but had persuaded Willow to come with an open mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know,\u201d he said. \u201cYou might end up actually liking him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow had decided at that very moment that she would absolutely not like this person, regardless of any extraneous factors.<\/p>\n

Glancing at the time, she saw she was already running late. She stopped in front of a Cabernet she knew was passable – and cheap – deciding she wasn\u2019t prepared to go for anything fancier for a dinner she didn\u2019t even want to go to in the first place. It was obviously very popular choice, because there was only one bottle left. Before she could reach out and take it though, an arm came from behind and plucked it off the shelf.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey,\u201d Willow said turning around. \u201cI was going to buy that!\u201d<\/p>\n

The man who was holding the bottle looked at her in surprise. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought you were browsing still.\u201d<\/p>\n

The frown on Willow\u2019s face softened slightly. Even her stony heart and disagreeable temperament couldn\u2019t miss the fact that this guy was gorgeous! Crisp green eyes, tanned skin and short brown hair. His clothes were trendy without being pretentious and when he smiled at her, he displayed a set of Americanly white, uniform teeth. Very conservative looking, Willow decided, like he\u2019d just stepped out of the army. But there was definitely something\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cHere,\u201d he said, thrusting the bottle towards her. \u201cTake it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fine,\u201d Willow said. Apparently he was a gentleman too! \u201cReally. I\u2019ll grab something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI insist.\u201d He practically took her hands and wrapped them around the bottle. \u201cBut on the proviso that you can suggest anything else.\u201d His voice had a slightly flirtatious edge to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the occasion?\u201d Willow asked. The playful tone of her question wasn\u2019t intentional; apparently, that was what her speech did when she was talking to a gorgeous man. Wasn\u2019t she meant to be sullen and cranky tonight?<\/p>\n

\u201cJust dinner with friends,\u201d he said, shrugging. \u201cNo big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow looked over the shelves with a serious eye, casting sidelong glances back towards the man. He was watching her with a small smile. \u201cThis one,\u201d she said finally. \u201cIt\u2019s delicious. One of my absolute favourites.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy aren\u2019t you buying it then?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Willow smiled and lowered her voice conspiratorially. \u201cBecause I don\u2019t really want to be going to the dinner party tonight that I am, and I am being particularly spiteful and making my wine choice accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughed a warm hearty laugh. \u201cIt\u2019ll be our little secret then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Willow said. She paused, half waiting for him to say something else, quite glad when he didn\u2019t. She didn\u2019t know if she was ready for dating again yet. \u201cWell\u2026 have fun tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou too,\u201d the man said, looking more than a little disappointed when Willow walked off without another word.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Fred opened the door. \u201cWillow! I\u2019m so glad you could make it. Come in, come in.\u201d He ushered her inside, taking her coat and the proffered bottle. \u201cMarjorie is in the kitchen and Bryn isn\u2019t here yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow followed her host down the hall and made small talk while Marjorie put the finishing touches to the famous gazpacho. The doorbell rang.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat must be Bryn,\u201d she said in a sing-song voice, looking pointedly at Willow.<\/p>\n

Willow grimaced and took a big swig her glass of wine. Bryn walked into the kitchen and Willow nearly choked on her mouthful of wine. It was the guy from wine shop!<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must be Willow,\u201d Bryn said, obviously trying not to laugh at Willow\u2019s shocked expression. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to meet you. I\u2019ve heard a lot about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can I get you to drink?\u201d Fred asked.<\/p>\n

Bryn handed over the bottle he was carrying. \u201cI might have a glass of this,\u201d he said. \u201cCame highly recommended.\u201d He looked at the open bottle that Willow had bought with her and then at the in Willow\u2019s hand. \u201cYou should finish that and try this one,\u201d he said. \u201cI have a feeling you might like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The night, as it turned out, wasn’t a complete disaster. Far from it. Bryn was excellent company, and Willow almost managed to block out the intense – and unfounded – feelings of animosity towards Marjorie.<\/p>\n

After they had imbibed the requisite amount and made the right small talk, Willow decided it was time to go. There was only so much of Fred fawning over the bank woman she could take, after all!<\/p>\n

\u201cI should head home,\u201d Willow said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll walk you,\u201d Bryn said, standing up. They said their thank-you\u2019s and stepped into the chilly night air, walking in silence the four blocks to Willow\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is me,\u201d she said, scuffing her toe self-consciously on the ground.<\/p>\n

Bryn nodded slowly and looked towards the house. He moved a step closer. Willow\u2019s breath caught in her throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a really great time tonight,\u201d Bryn said. \u201cI hope it wasn\u2019t as horrible as you thought it was going to be?\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow smiled. \u201cNo.\u201d She was feeling a bit giddy from the wine and, she had to admit it, the company. Not since Robert had she felt like this about someone. She didn\u2019t want to be, but she was desperately attracted to this man. Bryn smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that had come loose. His eyes were soft and kind and she felt as though she could have melted right into them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWillow, I\u2026\u201d he trailed off, looking down at the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Willow asked.<\/p>\n

When he looked back at her, his whole expression had changed. His eyes were deadpan, and they looked straight through her. \u201cNothing.\u201d He said. \u201cI should go. Goodnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with that, he turned on his heel and marched off down the street.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Willow perused the beautifully stocked shelves of her local wine merchant. She loved this store, with its eclectic mix of crowd pleasing varietals and slightly more obscure labels. She would often get lost in here, reading the lofty descriptions and tasting a drop or three (the owner had come to know her quite well by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1111"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1115,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111\/revisions\/1115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}