by J. L. Beck
Shrugging my shoulders, I start getting dressed. There is no point arguing with Anna. She’ll just end up getting her way in the end.
Thirty minutes later, I’m dressed and even have on makeup. Anna has also showered and gotten ready. When she comes back to my room to get me, I can’t help but wish I had her fashion sense. Anna is about 5’6”, with long, wavy brown hair. She has beautiful clear blue eyes, a ski jump nose, and lips that always look like she just finished a marathon make-out session. When I first met her during freshman year of college, I wanted to hate her immediately. But, you just can’t hate Anna. It wasn’t possible. She’s just too friendly and outgoing.
Anna has her hair up in a high, bouncy ponytail, and is wearing dark jeans with a pair of black ankle boots paired with a form-fitting black sweater with a black, white and gray scarf around her neck. Standing next to her in my green sweater and jeans, I feel almost frumpy, even though she’d picked out what I’m wearing. She smiles hugely at me and says, “We are going to be the hottest girls at Drench tonight. You ready to go?”
“Let’s go get this over with. You know how much I hate meeting new people.” I say as I grab my phone and purse,
Anna links her arm with mine, and winks, “You’ll be fine. We’re going to have a blast tonight! Even if I have to get you drunk to do it.”
I roll my eyes, “I’m not getting drunk. We have to work tomorrow, and going in with a hangover my first day would not be a good first impression.”
“Spoilsport!” She exclaims, laughing. “Alright, no getting drunk, but it’s still pretty early, so you can have a drink...or twelve.”
I just shake my head. “Come on you lush,” I tell her, pulling her behind me out the door.
It’s early enough on a Sunday evening to find on-street parking about two blocks away from Drench in downtown Nashville. Being from Manhattan, this is nothing like the Broadway I know, but there’s still a lot going on here. It is just starting to get dark out and the strip of buildings are lit up with hundreds of crazy colors and lights.
“Come on,” Anna exclaims, and jumps out of the driver’s seat. By the time I convince myself to get out of her little Bug, she is standing outside my door, practically vibrating with excitement.
I shut my door, and Anna grabs my hand, dragging me down the sidewalk. I’ve never been to Nashville, and even after living in New York, this strip is a sight to see. I’m not sure where to look first. I want to see everything. We walk by places I’d only seen online when Anna first mentioned the idea of me moving here last month, like Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, and The Stage on Broadway; establishments I’d told her were on my list of places I wanted to go, but she walks right past them.
She finally slows down, almost stopping, and tugs on my hand. She waves her arm in a grand gesture, “This is Drench... I bet everyone is already inside waiting for us. Let’s go!”
I look where she’s pointing and see the word “Drench” spelled vertically above a lit up martini glass, that looks like it’s spilling liquid down and around the entrance. It looks amazing!
This is it. Once I step through that door, I’ll be entering another new phase of my life. The people on the other side of that door are going to be my co-workers as of tomorrow. God, I hate meeting new people. I am so nervous it feels like a herd of butterflies has taken up residence in my stomach. And yes, I know it’s not a herd, but I can’t think of what to call a bunch of butterflies. I’m currently trying to concentrate on not throwing up before we get to the table where everyone is waiting.
I don’t realize I’ve come to a complete stop until I am bumped into from behind. “Oh, excuse me sweetie, I didn’t realize you’d stopped,” a soft voice says. I turn to see a younger, petite girl with pink and blonde hair wearing an apologetic smile as she looks at me. I am so lost in my thoughts, I don’t even respond. Her brows scrunch in confusion, and Anna lets out a long-suffering sigh.
“You’ll have to excuse my friend, it’s her first time in Nashville. She’s a little awestruck.” She says with a small laugh.
The girl smiles at me and says, “No worries. It’s definitely an experience. I hope you enjoy our little town.” She winks and moves past us, taking the girls she’s with into the bar.
The inside of the bar is fantastic. Polished wood is everywhere. There’s a bar on each side of the huge room, and tables surrounding a small dance floor. Well, small is relative in this case. It’s small compared to the size of this place. Anna’s searching the room for her friends while I stand there gaping in awe. I’ve never seen so many cowboy hats and belt buckles in one place. As she spots them across the room, she pulls me over towards them. I see a long table with five people chatting easily with each other - three guys and two girls. When we get to the table, Anna introduces me to Toby, Ben, Alex, Brandi and Terra. “Toby and Ben cover the big Nashville events. Weddings, Fan Fair, big name concerts and such. Brandi,” the girl with blonde and brown streaked hair who gives me a quick wave, “covers gossip, and Terra,” she points towards the girl with short dark hair, “covers restaurants.”
“Hey, what about me?” The guy with spiky brown hair asks Anna.
“Don’t worry babe,” Brandi says, “She didn’t forget about you, you just don’t count.” Which makes everyone, including me laugh.
“Alex is Brandi’s fiancé,” Anna tells me.
“Oh! Congrats!” I say to Brandi, who grins and tells me, “We’ve been engaged forever. I don’t think we’ll ever actually get married. I’m having way too much fun with the registry’s.”
Alex rolls his eyes and replies, “Right, because after all, how many small appliances can one couple have?”
At that, everyone cracks up again, and I relax enough to sit down. I’d barely put my behind in the seat when I hear Anna mutter, “Well, hello handsome!” under her breath.
A tall muscular man with messy blonde hair and eyes that look almost golden in the dim light stops between Anna’s chair and mine. I swear he looks like a mythical God. His hair is definitely of the “I just pleasured a woman up against the wall” variety.
“Evenin’ ladies,” he drawls with a slight southern accent. “What can I get you to drink tonight?”
I look around the table and notice Anna and I are the only ones without a drink. How long has everyone else been here?
Anna smirks at the guy and says, “I want something sweet, fruity and just a little dirty.”
One corner of his mouth lifts, and I see a dimple on his cheek. “Sweet, fruity and a little dirty, huh? I have just what you need.” He tells her with a wink.
“I bet you do!” Anna says, winking back at him.
“And what about you darlin’? What would you like?” He turns his golden eyes and dimple on me. The seductive way he asked doesn’t sound like he’s asking for just my drink order.
I feel my face get hot, and know it’s as red as my hair. “Um,” I stammer, “I’ll just have whatever she’s having.” I sound like an idiot. At this point, I want to either crawl under the table or run out of the bar. Both options are equally tempting.
His half smile turns into a wide grin. He knows exactly what he is doing. “You got it,” he says and straightens. Before walking back to the bar, he says, “By the way, my name’s David, so if you need anything, just give me a shout. It’s still pretty quiet in here.” With that, he turns and leaves. The view of his backside is just as attractive as his front.
“Mmm, that man makes jeans and a dress shirt look good!” Anna says, not moving her eyes away from his behind.
I smack her on the arm, “Anna!”
“What?” she asks indignantly. “You know you were looking at his ass too.” I blush, knowing it’s true, and turning to the others at the table, she asks, “Where’s Bastian?”
Ben snorts, “Where can you always find Bastian? Work of course. He’s making sure everything is ready for tomo
rrow’s issue. You had to know he probably wouldn’t show. He doesn’t ‘hang’ with the little people.”
Anna scoffs, “That issue was ready to go when we left hours ago. He’s such a perfectionist!”
They continue to talk while I zone out and study everyone at the table. Ben’s a handsome guy with blonde, highlighted, surfer-boy hair, pale green eyes and an easy smile. Watching him and Toby, you can instantly tell they are more than work partners. Toby is as dark as Ben is light, with shaggy, inky black hair - think vintage Bieber hairstyle - and eyes so dark I can’t tell where his pupils end and his irises begin.
Alex has short, spiky, light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. It’s obvious by watching him and Brandi that he adores her. And from the smirk on his face, and the flustered look on hers, he is clearly trying to get frisky under the table. It’s so much like Matt and I were in the beginning that it makes my heart ache for what used to be.
I am brought out of my trance by a hand placing a bright bluish-purple drink in front of me. “There you go,” his voice says. I jump, and the hot blonde guy... David?... puts his hand on my shoulder. “Sorry darlin’, didn’t mean to startle you.” He says with a knowing smile.
I am instantly embarrassed. “You didn’t,” I snap. “I just wasn’t expecting someone to be in my personal space.” I know I sound defensive and I’m embarrassed by my overreaction.
He removes his hand. “Well sorry princess, I tried to get your attention, but you were in your own little world,” he says with a defensive edge to his voice. “It won’t happen again.”
“Mmmm David, this is amazing!” Anna moans. It sounds like she is auditioning for a porno, but it takes David’s attention away from me and I’m grateful. “What is this drink called?” Anna asks as I take a huge gulp of mine. “It tastes like grape Kool-Aid.”
I hear him say with a laugh, “That’s my famous Blue Balls.” I start choking as soon as the words ‘blue balls’ come out of his perfect mouth. This night can’t possibly get any worse.
“Well honey,” Anna starts in a voice full of laughter, “I will gladly drain your Blue Balls.”
The entire table, including David, bursts into raucous laughter and Terra fist-bumps Anna, “Chica, that was classic!”
David shakes his head and turns back to me. “Let me know when y’all are ready for another round. There are other people here who need me too.” He smirks and I stutter out an okay while trying to keep from making eye contact with Mr. Perfect again.
After three of David’s ‘Blue Balls’ concoctions, I’ve loosened up enough to move to the dance floor with everyone. Anna’s been trying to get me out there since she’d “drained her first blue balls of the night” - her words, not mine, I promise.
Rhianna’s “Cheers” starts playing right as Anna and I enter the dance floor and she immediately abandons me to grind on Brandi and Terra, holding her arm up like she’s toasting us all every time “Cheers to the frickin’ weekend” plays. She looks so funny acting out the song that I am almost doubled over with laughter in between Toby and Ben twirling me around. Alex had told me earlier that his dancing is scary, so he was content watching us from the table.
When the music changes, Anna moves back over to me and I somehow end up sandwiched between her and Ben. I had completely forgotten about my earlier embarrassment with David until Ben leans down and whispers, “Don’t look now, but Hottie Bartender can’t take his eyes off of you.” Of course, my eyes immediately snap up to meet his hooded gaze. He’s leaning with his elbows on the bar talking to a dark haired guy, but he’s watching me.
I unconsciously lick my lips to re-wet them and can see his eyes darken clear across the room. A shiver goes down my spine and Ben whispers in my ear again, “Damn girl, the two of you are making my panties wet. And I don’t wear panties!” And just like that, the connection is broken as the mental image of Ben in a pair of women’s panties has me dissolving into laughter again.
Finally at almost ten thirty, Anna has danced and eaten enough to sober up and drive us home. I head to the bar to settle our tab, and David is the only one behind it. He looks up from wiping the bar down as I walk up to him.
“I’m ready to cash out our bill,” I say, struggling to look up at him. He’s easily six inches taller than me even though he’s wearing low-heeled cowboy boots.
“Sure thing darlin’,” he says, giving me my total. As I hand over my debit card, I risk a glance up at him and he’s looking right into my eyes. As cliché as it sounds, it felt like we were the only two people in the bar. He breaks the connection first to run my card, and when he hands me my copy, he says, “Have a nice week Lyric.”
I look at him warily, “How did you know my name?”
“Well, it’s on your card and your receipt,” he says raising an eyebrow. “Is my knowing your name a problem? If so, I can forget it.”
Well, that stung a little. “No,” I say hastily. “It’s fine. I just wasn’t thinking.”
With her epically perfect timing, Anna appears next to me, “Come on Chickie, work comes early tomorrow.” Turning to David, she says, “See ya soon, Hottie Bartender!”
With that, she links arms with me and leads me to where everyone else is waiting near the door. When we walk outside, Toby and Ben each kiss my cheek and say they’ll see me tomorrow, and Brandi and Terra hug me, insisting we do lunch one day this week. I agree as Anna and I head to where the car is parked.
When we walk back into the apartment, Anna falls back onto the couch, pulling me down beside her. “So, you and Hottie Bartender huh? So much for ‘I’m not looking for a relationship.’ At least you picked the smexiest guy in the place!” Anna smacks me in the arm as she says this.
“Ow! What are you talking about? He’s a bartender. The more they flirt, the better their tips are. There was no ‘picking’ going on there.” I say with a scowl, rubbing the spot on my arm where she hit me.
“Uh-huh, sure hon, keep telling yourself that. Guys who are just flirting for tips don’t keep their eyes on you all night. And their eyes definitely don’t promise to murder the guy grinding on you every time he runs his hands over your body. I thought Hottie was going to jump the bar and attack him!” She is completely serious as she says all this.
“Even if he was looking at me like that - and I’m not saying he was Anna - it doesn’t mean anything is going to happen. I came here to heal, not to get my heart broken again. And getting involved with a guy like that is just begging to get it broken all over again,” I say, and even I can hear the disappointment in my voice.
Anna sighs, “Lyric, not every guy is like Matt. Yes, there are a lot of cheating assholes, but not every guy cheats. Lots of guys are faithful. You’re going to have to give someone a chance to prove that sometime.”
Okay, this conversation is officially too deep for 11 p.m. on a Sunday night. Especially when I’m starting a new job in the morning. Standing, I say, “I’ll think about it. But for now, I need my beauty sleep before I meet this perfectionist boss of yours tomorrow.”
Anna stands up too, and wraps her arms around me. Laying her head on my shoulder, she says softly, “I love you Lyric, and I hate seeing you cut yourself off from the possibility of something good, with a good guy because of what Matt did to you. This is your chance to start over, to be the Lyric you used to be. Promise me you’ll keep an open mind, alright?”
Smiling sadly, I tell her, “I’ll do my best. I promise.” Then, after hugging her a final time, I go to my room and shut the door, resting my back against it. The girl I used to be. I don’t think I can ever get back to her. Too much has happened in the past year and a half. Pain, loss and betrayal have forever changed me.
After washing off my make-up and changing into pajamas, I can’t stay away from my new bed any longer. I lie down, pulling the comforter up to my shoulders, and close my eyes, waiting for sleep to claim me.
I watch Lyric and her friend walk to the exit, unable to take my eyes off of her. There’s something about her, and I don’t know if it’s that she’s so prickly, or maybe it’s that she took such an instant dislike to me, but I can’t help but want to provoke her. She’s beautiful, but even more so when she gets all riled up and a blush covers her cheeks. Now I just have to hope I didn’t irritate her so much she doesn’t come back.
Jeremy comes to stand beside me, his eyes watching her warily and his arms crossed over his chest when he leans against the bar. “You’ve got it bad for her already.”
“I don’t have it bad for anyone. She’s just a customer.” The words sound false coming out of my mouth, and based on Jer’s snicker, he knows it. Turning my attention back to the bar I was cleaning when she came over, I avoid looking him in the eye. “Besides, between the bar and SarahBeth, I don’t have have time for a relationship.”
He laughs outright. “For someone who’s just a customer, you sure made the jump to relationship quick. She could just be a one-time bed-warmer.” Even thinking about her that way has me clenching my fists. “I’ve never seen you react like this to anyone,” Jeremy muses, “not even Amy.”
I grit my teeth at the mention of my ex. “Amy,” I sneer her name like it’s a curse, “isn’t worth any kind of reaction.” After everything she put me through, and the way she just left me not long after the death of my parents, Amy doesn’t warrant any thought at all.
“All right,” Jeremy holds up his hands and takes a step back. “Chill out. I wasn’t trying to compare the two of them. I was just remarking on the fact that it’s been almost seven years and you haven’t really dated anyone since things ended with her.”
I scrub the bar top much harder than I need to. If I’m not careful, I’ll have to reseal or replace it. “Again, I haven’t had time. SarahBeth is more than enough drama for one person’s life, and I damn sure don’t need to add some girl who wants me to put her above my sister. It doesn’t even matter that she’s technically an adult now. She’s all I have, and she’s the one that deserves all my attention.”
