And that was where his brilliant contribution to the evening ended. Because he turned, saw Savage (and friends), and literally stopped mid-word.
Me
MEGAN HE JUST
Megan
What??
Me
I CAN’T EVEN
Megan
USE YOUR WORDS
Me
THERE ARE NO WORDS
Megan
That bad?
Me
That GOOD
Megan
I’m calling Brad.
Me
DON’T YOU DARE
Here’s the thing about seeing someone go from “hot neighbour who drinks almond milk” to “man who could end your whole existence without blinking”—it does things to you. Inconvenient things. Inappropriate-thoughts-in-front-of-co-workers things. If The Wine Club had seen him, they would’ve upgraded their theory from “undercover romance novel research” to “definitely some kind of sexy vigilante situation.”
Savage didn’t raise his voice. Didn’t move. Just stood there, head slightly tilted, looking at the guy like he was deciding between various options, none of which ended well for Drunk Guy.
“Right,” said Drunk Guy, suddenly the most sober person in Brisbane. “I was just leaving.”
“Good choice.”
The bartender got a nod. Drunk Guy got an escort to the door (courtesy of Savage’s friends). And I got . . . that look. The “I know you’re watching me” look. The “yes, I just handled that without breaking a sweat” look. The “we’re still not finished” look.
I managed to turn back to my co-workers, who were all staring at me with their mouths open.
“So,” Karen said, “THIS explains why my spreadsheet showed you suggesting The Valley for drinks with a 96% higher enthusiasm rate than your usual ‘rather die than socialise’ response. Tell me, do all the bikers in Brisbane look like that, or did you have insider information about this particular specimen?”
I’m definitely never telling her anything ever again.
Current status: Hiding in the toilet updating this blog, taking a break from trying to explain to my colleagues that no, I don’t actually know Savage that well. Which became significantly harder when he walked past our table ten minutes ago and said, “Evening, darlin’,” like he didn’t just remind everyone in a 5km radius why they call him Savage.
Me
HE CALLED ME DARLIN’ IN PUBLIC
