Earn My Trust

Chapter 4 - First 'Date'

"It's the perfect place for a first meeting." Lisa grinned as she put on her mascara in the bathroom mirror back at Hannahs flat. "Martin and I will sit on the balcony, giving us a bird's eye view of you and Robin."
She slipped her mascara wand back in the case with a flourish and turned to face Hannah, who was applying her eyeliner to her bottom lash line.
"Ok..." Hannah mumbled, concentration set on her face. "Do I look alright?"
She hadn't dressed up, as it was only drinks, but she had worn clothes that flattered her figure. She wore a simple, figure hugging, pale blue t-shirt and tight jeans that were grazed but not entirely shredded at the knee. She liked these jeans. She liked the way they made her legs look skinny, even when she wore converses like she was tonight.
Bea had been overwhelmingly happy to have a sleepover at nanna and grandads, and Hannah felt relieved, albeit a little guilty, that she could finally have a night out on her own.
"You look understatingly gorgeous." Lisa confirmed, approaching her and turning her back round to face the mirror. "Now, for your hair, I'm thinking a waterfall ponytail?"
Hannah grinned back at her and took in Lisa's statement makeup. Thick cat eye liquid eyeliner complimented her eyes and really made her look sexy. Her lips were given a coating of neutral lipstick, and she wore a simple silver choker that lined her collarbone, with a dangling red jewel in the centre. Her short blonde hair was carefully brushed, and she had added a little butterfly hair clip to keep her side fringe out of her face.
Her outfit was a little more revealing than Hannah's. She wore high, pencil heeled black shoes, tight skinny leggings, and a long black vest top, the neck line just about low enough to glimpse her cleavage at the right n
"You look stunning, Lees!"
"Pfft." Lisa waved away her compliment as she grabbed the hair clip and roughly bunched Hannahs rich, auburn hair up, twisting it a little before securing the clip in place. "Technically, this is our second date. Therefore, I'm allowed to hint at what's hidden beneath the clothes, but not too much. If this man is respectable and truly interested in you, he's going to really appreciate your outfit!"
"Here's hoping he is the respectable man he says he is, and not some fake dickhead wanting to get his end away!" Hannah muttered under her breath as her friend moved away to start gathering up her makeup. She put her own eyeliner and mascara in the small bag she had for cosmetics, before taking a deep breath in and mentally preparing herself.
"Ready?" Lisa asked, following her out into the hall towards the front door.
"Yeah." Hannah looked round and grinned at her as she picked up her keys and phone. "I'm ready."
Thirty minutes later, the two friends got off the train and made their way through the Saturday afternoon crowds towards the Beer House.
They had purposely arrived half hour before the time their dates were meant to start so they could assess the crowds and get the perfect seats. Hannah would be sitting at the bar, while Lisa would be meeting Martin on the balcony above them.
They order some drinks for the wait and go their separate ways, taking their respective places like a well rehearsed play.
Fifteen minutes later, Hannahs phone pings twice in quick succession of each other. She quickly picks her phone up and sees there's a message from Robin and Lisa. She opened the message from Lisa first.

Lisa - Martins here and I've told him that you're here too, just that I'm keeping a close eye on you. He says he's game 🤣

She rolled her eyes and gave a small chuckle while she opened the message from Robin.

Robin - I've just got to the station. I've got you some flowers so you'll know its me.

Her stomach did a weird somersault of excitement and she slowly raised her eyes from her phone to await her first look at Robin.
Her heart was hammering all over the place, and she began to worry whether this had been such a good idea after all.
She was meeting a stranger! A stranger she had only just started speaking to not even six hours ago! What was she thinking?
Just as she was thinking about bailing, a man appeared at the bars entrance, holding a modest bouquet of red roses.
Her jaw dropped when she saw him, and she froze in place, taking in the sight of him.
His blonde hair made him look like he belonged in Baywatch, the surfer bangs flopping either side of his forehead, he had a cute button nose and his ears stuck out slightly, but his eyes!
His eyes were a warm chocolate, piercing and brooding, but there was a hidden emotion in them that Hannah couldn't quite put her finger on.
He wore comfortable, faded black jeans, with brown boots and a crisp white shirt, visible under his brown leather jacket.
She arched an eyebrow once her first look was complete. Not exactly what she would have been attracted to if she had seen him out and about, but he was good looking.
Ethan felt like a fool, standing in the entrance of the bar holding the bouquet of roses he'd bought in the hopes he'd make a good first impression, considering how expensive a single red rose was nowadays!
He glanced around the bar, trying to see if he could scout out who Hannah was without her introducing herself.
He looked up at the balcony and his heart stuttered to a halt!
Martin!!
Fuck, this wasn't good!
What if Martin recognised him through his disguise?!
Martin seemed too engrossed on speaking with the strawberry blonde woman he was with, but he did notice the both of them kept glancing down at the bar below them.
He swallowed hard and tore his eyes away from his personal assistant to take in the people around the bar, when he noticed a beautiful woman, with gorgeous auburn red hair staring at him with wide eyes of the clearest blue he'd ever seen.
She was dressed in a plain, pale blue t-shirt and tight torn jeans with converses, looking like she was stuck in the nineties.
He found her extremely attractive, but he couldn't approach her now. He was supposed to be on a date with Hannah!
He took another look around the bar, trying his best to let his eyes graze over the tempting woman, and saw a couple of women watching him.
They sat together and were eyeing him like a hawk, biting their lips and giving him the kind of attention he'd expect this Hannah to give. But why did she have to bring a friend?!
Taking a deep breath, he approached the two women, stepping past the gorgeous woman he'd much rather pay attention to with great difficulty. She was just so enticing.
"Good evening, ladies." He put on his best grin and leaned his elbow on the bar as he spoke to the obvious money grabbers. "Could one of you possibly be Hannah?"
The nearest of the two gave her slutty friend a raised eyebrows look before leaning towards him, giving him a view all the way down her low cut top.
"No, but I could be if you wanted me to..." she drawled, licking her lips in a seductive manner.
His skin crawled with disgust, and he fought with himself not to turn tail and run from her when he felt light tapping on his right shoulder.
He twisted his head round and saw the red-haired beauty, her cheeks tinted in a light red as she smiled bashfully at him.
"Sorry, but um... I'm Hannah." She smiled shyly, lifting her phone to show him the screen of their messages.
His heart kicked into overdrive, his stomach was in knots, and his mind swam!
This was Hannah?!
This beautiful, understated woman before him was his next target?!
His jaw fell open, and all he could do was stand there in awe!
He just couldn't understand it!
Why would she hide behind an extremely basic profile with no picture? If she had filled it out properly, she would have been snapped up quickly by any man!
Hannah stood there awkwardly, unsure how to react to Robin gaping at her with such a shocked expression. Had he really thought she'd be like those slutty crows behind him?!
"So... yeah..." she said lamely, unsure what else to do to snap him out of his stupor.
His consciousness crashed back to earth with a harsh bump.
Damn, she was something!
He shook his head to clear it and began stammering, suddenly losing the arrogant confidence he usually had.
"Yeah... er, w- we... I mean... j-just, wow! It's just... y-you look... incredible!"
Hannahs cheeks heated up even more at his nervous stuttering, and she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Thanks... you don't look how I expected, either." She joked cheekily.
He let out a surprised laugh, his cheeks beginning to turn a darker shade than hers before he held up the flowers to her.
"These are for you..." he mumbled awkwardly.
Her smile widened further, and she took them from him gracefully.
"They're beautiful, thank you." She gestured towards where she had been sitting. "Shall we?"
He nodded and quickly raised a hand in apology at the unimpressed women behind him. He quickly followed her to the seat next to hers and pointed at her glass.
"Want me to get you another?"
To his complete astonishment, she shook her head.
"I'll get my own, thanks." She explained, somewhat distantly.
Oh fuck, he was in unknown territory now!
"W-well, at least let me buy you a drink as an apology for thinking one of those tarts was you..." he grimaced guiltily.
She let slip a giggle but still shook her head. "It's fine, honestly. Neither of us knew who we looked like. Perhaps we did rush into this a little bit."
He huffed a chuckle in agreement. "Yeah, talk about a blind date."
Her giggle grew to an adorable hearty laugh, and he found himself drawn in by her.
If he had thought her anonymous profile had been interesting, she was all the more intriguing in reality.
He ordered himself a pint and cast his full attention on her.
"So, Hannah... tell me about yourself." He began then mentally slapped himself.
This was supposed to be a date, not a fucking interview for a job! What kind of opening line was that?!
She shrugged. "There's not much to tell, really." She said before inwardly cringing.
She was supposed to be giving Robin a chance, but she was inadvertently closing herself off out of habit.
"Sorry," she backtracked, playing with the straw in her drink as a distraction. "I've not been on a date in a very long time. I suppose I'm out of practise?"
He nodded in understanding. "It's alright. I guess I didn't really give a good first impression. I never would have expected a woman as gorgeous as you would agree to meet up with me." He finished, smirking slightly.
She giggled again. "Smooth, very smooth."
"Alright," he said, clapping his hands eagerly. "Why don't you start then? Ask anything you like!"
"What, like the game twenty questions?" She cocked an eyebrow, mirroring his sneaky smirk back at him.
"Oh, fuck no!" He laughed shaking his head. "Aren't we too old for those kinds of games?"
She laughed along with him. "It's what I've read in romance novels." She shrugged.
"Ah ha! So you like to read, ok. Good. We're getting somewhere."
He gave her a smouldering grin, and she felt herself relax a little.
"Yes, I do. It's about the only thing I get time to do, really."
"Overworked?" He guessed.
"Oh, no, no. I'm - "
She stopped dead. She didn't want to tell him she was a single parent on the first date. Not because she was trying to hide Bea away, but more because she wanted to get to know him as a person before she introduced him to any of her family.
"I'm just tired all the time. Being an adult is exhausting, you know?" She lied quickly.
He frowned. He didn't miss the fear that flashed across her eyes when she stopped midway through her sentence but decided he wouldn't push her. Even though he really wanted to know what was going through her mind.
"I hear that." He said, taking a deep draft of his beer. "Sometimes it can be the only escape from reality."
He placed his glass back on the bar and caught her staring at him. Once again, his face reddened.
"Wow, that was deep. Sorry!" He grimaced comically.
She laughed and lightly tapped his forearm that leant on the bar, mockingly reassuring him.
"It was. Very philosophical. You didn't seem the type when I saw you."
"And I obviously thought you'd be a completely different type altogether."
After that, the conversation seemed to ease between them.
She asked him about his job, and he loosely said he just deals with a lot of money on a daily basis for a client of his.
She told him she was a payroll assistant at a small firm close by, and she lived close to her parents in South West London.
They spoke about their favourite places to visit in the capital - his being the roof top garden bar near Canary Wharf while hers was the bar they were sitting in, their favourite food - his being barbecue ribs and hers being battered prawn tails with sweet chilli sauce, their all time favourite movie - both said Lord of the Rings but his was Fellowship of the Ring while hers had been Return of the King.
Neither of them had really expected the evening to turn out so enjoyable and... well, easy!
They didn't drink heavily, talking for ages before one of them noticed their drinks ran out a while ago. He offered to buy her drink every time they ordered at the start until he finally relented and stopped offering, allowing her to order her drink first, pay, and then he would order his.
It was ultimately refreshing for the both of them. While both had expected worst case scenario - Hannah expecting him to indulge her with drink then attempt his move, Ethan expecting her to try and rinse his bank account clean and order the expensive cocktails on offer - the evening turned out to be pleasantly fun.
They had just ordered another round when Robin's face seemed to pale, and Hannah felt a tap on her shoulder.
Lisa grinned widely at both of them, Martin smirking with his hands deep in his pockets just behind her.
"Sorry to interrupt," Lisa said, not looking sorry in the slightest. In fact, she was absolutely delighted that the evening had gone well for her friend.
Hannah wrinkled her nose awkwardly before mentally preparing to do the introductions.
"Robin, I'd like to introduce my friend, Lisa, and her date, Martin." She winced apologetically.
Martin stepped forward and offered Robin his hand to shake, a wide grin on his face that seemed too overly friendly to Hannah.
Ethan felt like his stomach had been plunged into ice-cold water.
He had been having such an easy time of it, and this bastard just had to be dating her friend, didn't he!?
"Alright, fella." Martin winked at him. "Nice to meet you."
Ethan plastered a hopefully friendly smile on his face and shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you too," he muttered, holding back from trying to crush his hand.
He knew! That wanker had clocked onto who he was!
Lisa giggled a little and put a gentle hand under Hannah's arm.
"I'm sorry to tear your date away, Robin, but we do need to get home. Our last train is leaving soon."
Ethan and Hannah blanched at her and quickly checked the time on their phones.
Shit, she was right! It was quarter past midnight!
"Fuck!" Hannah cried, launching to her feet and grabbing her bag along with the bouquet of roses.
She paused just as the friends started to make their leave and gave Ethan a warm smile over her shoulder.
"I had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you." She said pliantly.
He grinned back at her. "So did I. I'm looking forward to another, hopefully one without the Cinderella interruption next time?"
She laughed and waved goodbye, following close behind Lisa. The both of them kept their eyes on the men until they reached the barriers.
Martin took in a deep breath through his nostrils.
"So, Robin..."
Oh fuck!
"... care to explain what's going on here?"
Martin may be his personal assistant, but he was also the closest friend that Ethan had managed to keep after his break up with Bianca.
Ethan made completely sure the girls could no longer see them, before pulling the wig off and glaring at him.
"First off, how the fuck did you know it was me?!" He demanded coldly, getting out of his seat and picking up his jacket.
He knew damn well that Martin was going to follow him all the way back to his place, interrogating him along the way.
Martin laughed.
"Your eyes and that fucking jacket!" He explained, laughing harder. "Seriously, bro, don't you own any other jackets? You stuck out like a sore thumb to me! Couldn't believe you'd go this far to hide who you are!"
Ethan scoffed back at him, taking the lead as they left the station and walked back to his flat in Knightsbridge.
"I can't believe this!" He groaned, rubbing the side of his face. "Why the fuck did you choose to have your date there anyway?!"
Martin jutted his thumb back at the station. "Lisa's idea. She suggested meeting up again, but didn't tell me she was there to watch over her friends first date in seven years until I'd got there."
Ethan stopped walking and stared at him. "She hasn't been on a date for seven years?!"
Martin shook his head. "Nope. But surely you talked about all that? First dates are there to clear the air and get to know each other after all."
Ethan scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "We didnt exactly talk about that, really..."
Martins grin melted into understanding.
"You didn't want her to know who you were because of what Bianca did..." he guessed.
"Kind of? But it was more we were just... I dunno, I can't even explain it. We just talked about everything and nothing at the same time and it was... fun."
Martin nodded wisely, slapping a hand on his shoulder. "They're the best kind of starts to a relationship..."
It's not exactly the relationship you're thinking, buddy, Ethan thought to himself.
He had so many answered questions, and not the usual questions he'd be thinking after a typical date. Originally, he'd be thinking how long will it be before he couldn't take much more? How can a woman drink so fucking much in an evening? Or even, would she openly offer to have a threesome if she thought it would secure her place with me?
Instead he was asking who the fuck is she? He had found out so much about her, yet none of it was significant and it frustrated him to no end!
"You didn't let on to Lisa who I really was, did you?" He snapped, narrowing his eyes at his friend in warning.
"No, but she did keep asking me why I was chuckling a lot. Told her I felt like Big Brother to knock her off the scent.. are you going to keep up the disguise?" Martin shoved his hands back in his pockets as they continued walking.
"For now." He admitted.
"So you're going to see her again?"
"I have to..." Ethan sighed, rounding the corner and seeing his flat come into view. "I have to know what she's all about..."