Chapter 10: Ten

“Hey girl,” Cassie sounded from the living room. She had recently picked up saying a sing-songy ‘hey girl’ at all times of day, to everyone. She had even said it to our landlord. I got out of the cozy comfort of my bed and walked outside to our small common space to see her. She was lounging on the couch, scrolling on her phone. She looked up at me. “Remember the guy I met that day at the club?”

I nodded, barely remembering.

“He just texted me. He wants me to come there for a drink.”

I blinked. “He’s inviting you to the same club? That’s not very gentlemanly.”

She shrugged, “He was really cute. I think I want to go. Please come with me!”

I made an exaggerated face, yawning dramatically, “I don’t know, man, I have a paper to write. Its due in two days.”

“Oh come on, Wills!” Cassie frowned, “It’s your duty as my best friend to help me get laid.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, yeah, but what will I even do there? You’ll be with him, and I’ll be on my own.”

“Oh yeah, whatever do single girls do at a bar?”

I flicked a smile. “Fine, I’ll come, but I’m leaving early.”

Cassie nodded, grinning. I shook my head, withdrawing to my room again to change my clothes. I wasn’t in the mood to dress up, and I wasn’t in the mood to meet anyone either, so I put on jeans and a simple top.

We met at the door and took a cab to the place. Cassie talked about the guy she had met and what they had been texting about. At one point she asked about Declan, aka ‘the hot guy you hooked up with’ but I lied and told her he hadn’t texted me yet. “What a dick,” Cassie had muttered. “It’s okay, there are much better guys out there.”

Since it was a Thursday, the bar was sparsely populated. This was the kind of place that was a bar on the weekdays and a night club on the weekends. Most of the crowd tonight was older people, some in their work clothes. When we walked, Cassie immediately spotted the guy she was supposed to meet. She gave my hand a little squeeze. We both walked over to the table he was sat at. He looked older than us, maybe in his late twenties. He was dressed in formal work clothes, blue shirt and grey pants. When Cassie approached, he took her hand and kissed it. Cassie introduced us, and he offered to grab me a chair, but I declined.

“I’ll be at the bar,” I spoke to Cassie, giving her a low thumbs up, and she smiled in response.

I grabbed my bag and walked to the bar, taking a seat on a high stool. “Can I get a pink gin with tonic?”

The bartender placed my drink in front of me, and I started a tab. I had a feeling I was going to be a here frequently. I slowly sipped on my gin. It was a little sweet and I knew I would be tipsy when I had a second drink. Sometimes it felt good that I was such a lightweight, I didn’t have to spend that much money to get drunk.

As I was nursing my drink, I began to check my Twitter feed on my phone. While I scrolled, I drank, until a voice appeared behind me.

“Its not nice to see a beautiful woman in a bar, alone on her phone.” I whipped round, and came to face a man in a suit. He was a little short, but he was cute.

He had long, shaggy hair and he wore glasses. I wasn’t in the mood to meet new guys, but I still said, “I’m here with a friend. But she met a guy,” I nodded towards their table. The guy had now moved his chair to the other side and they looked like they would start making out any moment.

“Lucky me, then,” The man said to me, “Mind if I join you?”

I shook my head, and he took the high stool next to mine. He ordered himself an old fashioned, and asked the bartender to put all my drinks on his tab, too, which I declined.

When his drink arrived, he took a sip first, and then he spoke to me. “My name is Christopher, but please call me Chris” he said, “I work in tech. I live in Summer Boulevard. And I think you’re really pretty.” He smiled at me expectantly, “Your turn.”

I blushed a little. “My name is Willow. I’m in grad school. I live nearby campus, and I think you’re kind of cute, too.”

His eyes gleamed in the dim light. “What are you studying?”

“Economics.”

“Lovely, I minored in Econ. You’re a smart girl. And a pretty girl. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m hoping there isn’t a man in the picture?”

I licked my lips, shaking my head. He grinned lightly. “I’ve had a bad day, but its much better now.”

“Oh?” I asked. I didn’t want to hear about his day. “What happened?”

He cocked his head to the side, “Ah, just work stuff. My code didn’t run.”

A smile watered my lips. My mouth twitched, but I couldn’t control my laughter.

“What’s funny?”

“Its such a tech bro thing to say.”

He shrugged, “Well, I guess I am a tech bro.”

I looked at him closely. He did look like a tech bro. But he was cute in many ways. His eyes were soft and kind. His lips were thin, but pink. He looked like he took care of himself.

“Well, you’re a cute tech bro.”

He was about to say something. His mouth opened, but no sound left him. He was looking behind me. I turned around to see what he was looking at.

Declan.