Lost in the Waves

Chapter 3 : The Bartender

“You really don’t remember me?” The stranger asked incredulously as he raised his brows at her.

“No, am I supposed to remember you?” She replied, raising her brows back at him.

“I guess since we just met hours ago?” Now he was the one confused.

“WHAT?!” Amalia yelled that even the guy winced.

“To refresh your mind, yes we just met hours ago, in this very spot, going to the very same floor- the lobby.” He stated as he stared deeply into her trying to convince her that they met earlier.

“You were so engrossed in your phone you didn’t even bother pushing a button for your designated floor.” The stranger added and Amalia just opened her mouth, stunned at the new information and he closed it for her which surprised her even more, making her stare at the stranger for longer than necessary.

He was wearing a plain white ¾ sleeved polo which was open all the way, pairing it with white loose pants and brown sandals. One can clearly see that the stranger was hot, given how his polo hugged his muscles and the chiseled chest which was practically waving at Amalia for it to be licked. Amalia’s mind was already going crazy just looking at it.

“What?” The hot guy asked which snapped her back to reality.

“Hmmm?” She hummed, although being back at the present, Amalia was still in a state of daze, not having recovered from her dirty daydream.

“You said ‘lick’ out loud practically drooling. Now, now miss, are you liking what you see?” He taunted as he smirked and slowly moved towards Amalia like a predator.

“I said what now?” Amalia, now horrified, realizing the situation she was in started to blush profusely but still tried to keep her cool. “Though you are attractive, I was actually ogling at your necklace. I seem to like it.” She said in a steady voice or at least she tried to and stared at the necklace dangling on his neck. Now that she mentioned it, it’s actually beautiful. A black rope cord is used as a necklace with a small seashell pendant tied in the middle.

“Are you really serious about that or is that just an excuse to get away from the fact that you are practically drooling over me?” He continued to tease her which turned her cheeks even redder than before.

“I’m serious.” She tried to say it in a straight face but laughed in the end in which the stranger responded with a laugh on his own. And as if the universe had its timing, the elevator dinged, signaling for them to get out and head for the lobby.

“Well, that’s our cue to leave.” With that, the guy walked out first and went out straight to the exit.

“I’ll see you around.” It was her turn to step out of the elevator and go outside.

Amalia arrived at the bar a few minutes later where the party was held. It was already packed, different ethnicities mingling with one another as they drank together, some even dancing with the strangers, perhaps closer than one would like. She tried to look for her so-called date, the blonde surfer she met earlier who she drew along with his peers. She didn’t really expect anything from that surfer stranger she met while widening her art style, but she was still anxious to be ditched. In the crowd, she saw someone who looked similar to Calvin, grinding with a foreign woman who only wore a pair of neon orange bikini, contrasting to her black skin tone. Just as she predicted, she’d be ditched in no time. Amalia thought it was better to leave all the negative emotions emerging behind and shrugged it off to gain her confidence back.

‘She looks like a model, maybe Nigerian. Nevertheless, she's goddamn pretty.’ Amalia ogled at the sexy woman and focused on her physique, mentally taking a shot with each part of her as she danced with the suspected Calvin, thinking that she will be one of her future masterpieces. When she got what she needed, she proceeded to go to the bar and wait for Calvin, passing the Calvin look-alike and the sexy model who danced dirtier than before. She was now near to make out if the guy was really Calvin and thought to just take a look to ease her curiosity.

Amalia was not shocked to see the man before her, she never expected this one to be a real date anyway, given her history of dates. She mentally scoffed and told Calvin, 

“My, my, I thought this was a date since you told me you will wait for me at 9 tonight, but then again, maybe all you wanted was to just wait and if I didn’t show up in time, you’d find some other chick to fill the blanks. Guess I was right. Nice meeting you, Calvin, was it? Glad to see you found someone hotter than me when I was just late for a few minutes- 5 minutes to be exact and it took you less than that to find someone else. Happy dancing you two.” Amalia blew a kiss and said good luck to the sexy model. She walked the remaining distance with sass and sexiness mixed together as if she was seducing someone while wearing a sexy smirk on her face, but deep down she was pissed as hell thinking that another was added to her list of crappy dates and the previous one was not even considered a date. She inhaled deeply and kept her cool, thinking not to ruin her night as it was still so early.

When she reached the bar, she sat with a thud, her facade completely off. She closed her eyes to remain calm and thought of cute fat cats. ‘Cute fat cats, cute fat cats, cute fat cats.’ A set of eyes as clear as the blue sky was her first view. For a second she got lost in those swirls until he opened his mouth.

“You look like you need it.” He handed her a scotch. 

“Thanks, I was actually gonna order one, but you beat me to it.” She took the glass of scotch and whirled it around before taking a sip.

“I guess by now you remember me.” He said with a smile as he leaned on the bar table.

“Excuse me, do I know you?” She asked with the most confused face she could ever muster.

“This is the third time we met today, and I really can’t believe you don’t remember me. By this time I could pretty much reckon you have a short-term memory loss.” He rambled on and on as Amalia slowly took a sip of the scotch.

“Hmm, I don’t know, maybe you’re not someone worth remembering.” She smirked and sipped again. They both chuckled at that statement.

“Ha-ha, nice try.” The guy leaned in closer, leaving only the glass of scotch between them.

“Ezio.” He paused to wait for her reply which earned him a raised brow.

“The name’s Ezio. You?” He slowly said, restraining himself from rolling his eyes.

“Amalia.” Amalia never bothered to give a fake nickname, seeing that the guy she met at the bar was a bartender and that he would probably know her name sooner or later, what with all the drinks she would soon drink. What occurred a while ago, made Amalia want to get wasted for the night.

‘I’ll get wasted for once in my life, besides, nobody knows me here anyway.’ Or that’s at least what she tried to convince herself of, for, in all honesty, she had been delaying the booze ever since she arrived, trying to focus on her secret goal. With that, she downed her last drop of scotch.

“Well, that was fast. Should I get you another one? It’s on me.” He said as he wiped a newly washed glass.

“Sure. Thanks.” Ezio then went on to get another bottle of scotch which Amalia practically chugged all up in less than 15 seconds.

“Must be a rough night huh? Should I get you another one? Still on me.”

“Yes, please. And hell, I didn’t realize rough would show up at 9:15 in the evening. I mean come on, it's niiineee p.m!” She scoffed as she emphasized at nine p.m. and Ezio just chuckled at the gesture then handed Amalia her third glass of scotch for the night.

“I guess I owe you a dance or three by now,” Amalia said as she downed her third glass and stood up from her seat.

“Are you being serious right now?” Ezio looked at her in disbelief, stopping him mid-way from wiping a wine glass this time.

“Do I look like I’m bluffing?” Amalia countered, her cheeks starting to show a hint of red from the alcohol.

“Well, you did down three scotches in a row.” He stated matter-of-factly which earned him a come-on-look from Amalia.

“Fine, I guess you do owe me one- or three.” He finally gave in and signaled his co-worker to cover for him. He took off his bar apron and walked to the side to meet up with Amalia.

“Ready to fire up the dance floor?” He asked as he led her through the dance floor where Calvin and the sexy model were still grinding.

“Always,” Amalia replied winking, letting Ezio guide her through the crowd and find a spot where they can dance.