Save Me- Lex -Bar
1921 Words
Avery laughs as we’re sitting inside Pete’s Place having a beer.
“I can’t believe you ate that whole burrito,” he says, taking a swig.
“Slow down speed racer, I don’t want to carry your drunken ass home,” I smile at him.
He smiles back as we stare at each other.
Thunk. We both jump as a bottle hits the table top.
“Hey bitch.”
I look up at Micah. She works at a bakery in Dublin with this cool chick named Sidney.
“Who’s your friend?” she asks, sitting down.
“This is my neighbor, Avery. Avery, this is Micah.”
“Actually, my name is Bryan. Avery is my last name,” he holds out his hand to shake Micah’s.
She raises her eyebrows and accepts his hand.
“He has manners. Nice.” She winks at me and smiles at him.
“How about you and me get a room, baby?” I feel lips on my neck.
“Yeah, go ditch your wife,” I smirk.
I look over and Bryan is wiping beer off of his mouth that has spilled.
“Miss your mouth?”
He looks at me with shock.
“Wade, this is my neighbor, Avery. Avery, this is the bassist of Michael’s Sin, the band that we’re here to see. Where’s your b***h, Wade?”
Wade shakes Avery’s outstretched hand. “Manner’s?” Wade says. “She’s grabbing some beers. So…neighbors eh? Nothing else?”
I look over at Bryan and red is staining his cheeks.
“He has a girlfriend,” I say, trying to help him off the hook.
“So?”
“Her name is Stacey,” Bryan supplies.
“Totally missionary position type of name,” Micah says.
I burst out laughing as Bryan looks stunned.
“What’s so funny bitches?” Amber comes up and kisses my cheek. “Oh yum, who are you?” She walks over and kisses Bryan on the cheek too. He instantly blushes.
“This is my neighbor, Bryan Avery. Avery, this is Amber, Wade’s wife and singer of Michael’s Sin.”
“Maybe we can change the band’s name to Bryan’s Sin?” she purrs.
“Oh my God,” I roll my eyes. “He has a girlfriend and you’re married.” I point to her.
She musses Bryan’s hair and goes to sit on Wade’s lap. “You ever have a threesome, Bry?” she asks.
He stares at me with wide eyes that say “What the hell have you gotten me into?”
“His girlfriend’s name is Stacey,” says Micah.
“Missionary position only, eh? Tough break,” Amber shrugs and turns to kiss Wade, full tongue.
I lean over to Bryan, “They’re very affectionate.”
His face is bright red. “Yeah, I can see that.”
“You whip out his d**k and I’m outta here,” I say to Amber. She opens an eye and winks at me.
“Do you ever not look hot?” I look up and it’s Spike, the drummer.
“No. I always look hot,” I smile at him.
I kissed him once, but that’s all. He’s such a player and I want to settle down. I want someone to watch movies with, someone to cry with, and someone who will bring me soup when I’m sick, you know? Spike is so not that guy.
“Nice hair,” I gesture to the pink stripe on his head.
Bryan looks up. “Pink?”
“Yeah, what of it? And who the hell are you?” he says, taking a seat.
“This is my friend, Avery. Bryan, this is Spike, the drummer.”
“What’s up with the pink, Spikey?” I ask.
“I like pink. It’s my favorite color and it reminds me of glistening flesh as a woman gets aroused. Yeah, baby, you know what I’m talking about,” he winks at me.
I face palm. “I can’t believe I associate with these people.” I remove my hand and look at Bryan who’s still clearly embarrassed.
“You gay or do you like chicks?” Spike asks.
“I have a girlfriend,” Bryan says quickly
We all say ‘Stacey’ at the same time and laugh. Bryan actually laughs too.
I look at my watch, “It’s almost show time.”
Lee arrives and says, “Hey guys,” lifting a hand to wave.
He’s the laid back one of the bunch. He’d probably get along with Bryan the most, I think.
Oh my God, I’m including this guy in my life already and we barely just met. What the hell?
Spike pops up from his chair and jumps up and down, shaking his shoulders. “It’s gonna be a killa show tonight!” he claps his hands.
“Yeah, go get em killa,” I take a swig of my beer.
“Hey, you wanna hook up after the show?” Spike asks me.
“Uh, let me think about that. No.”
Everyone laughs.
I look over at Bryan and his eyebrows are raised up high.
“I’ll have to get the young man home after a few songs,” I nod my head in his direction, “Curfew and all,” I wink at him.
Amber stands up and stretches. Her baby-doll t-shirt lifts up a bit to show her stomach.
“You have a tattoo on your stomach?” Bryan asks Amber.
“Uh, yeah??? Don’t you have any tattoos?” she asks.
“No.”
“Keep hanging around with this one and you will,” Amber blows a kiss to me and I flip her off.
“Hey, what do you do for a living, Bryan Avery?” Wade asks.
“I’m an eighth grade teacher.”
Everyone at the table stops to stare at him. Spike starts laughing. “You’re a f*****g teacher?”
Bryan looks uncomfortable. “Yeah.”
‘‘No, disrespect man. I just don’t know any teachers.”
“None taken. I don’t know any musicians.”
“Well, now you do,” I nudge Bryan with my shoulder.
He looks into my eyes for a moment and smiles.
“So, you don’t want to hook up later then, Lex?” I look up at Spike, whose gaze flickers to mine and then Bryan‘s.
“Definitely NOT.” Everyone at the table laughs again. “We’re only staying for like three or four songs and then we’re gonna take off, ok?”
“K, babe.” Amber and Wade both give me a kiss on the cheek.
Spike tries to kiss me, but I lean back away from him and end up half-climbing in Bryan’s chair. I feel his hands come up around my waist to balance me on the chair.
“Whoa, just wanted a kiss,” Spike frowns at me.
“Uh huh.” I raise my beer to my lips. “Have a good show.”
“Nice to meet you, Avery,” Spike says and shakes his head at me.
After they all leave, Bryan and I are the only two left at the table. I look over and notice that he’s spinning his beer bottle in his hands.
“You want another?” I ask.
“I really shouldn’t,” he says, looking around the bar. The band is getting ready to set up on stage.
He looks at his watch.
“You late for something?” I ask as I gesture to the waitress to bring me two more beers.
After a couple of minutes, she brings them over and sets them down. I pay for them and pick one up, pointing to the other for him.
“I really shouldn’t,” he says again, eyeing it like he really wants it.
“Are you driving?” I ask.
“No.”
“Then have a drink.” I take a swig of mine.
He continues to look at the bottle.
I raise my hand to my head, palm out. “Oh God! Peer pressure...”
He laughs, shaking his head and picks up the beer. I clink my bottle to his and give him a wink.
“Are you having a good time?” I ask, folding my hands under my chin, watching his face.
His eyes are darting all over the room. I can’t tell if it’s because he’s paranoid or just taking it all in because it’s new.
“It’s different,” he says, taking a deep drink.
“Bad different?”
He looks at my face and says, “No. Not bad. I’m just…” his voice trails off.
“What?’
“Out of my element here,” he looks around and then to his clothes. “Look at how I’m dressed.”
“Next time we’ll spice up your wardrobe. You can wear an Asics t-shirt with Nike shoes or vice-versa, that’ll make you look tough.” I smirk at him.
“Next time?” his bottle stops midway to his mouth.
“Sure,” I shrug. “If you want to keep hanging out. I mean, if you have a good time and want to see more bands, or whatever, we can hang out some more. Or maybe we can get Stacey to come along.”
He frowns and puts his bottle down.
“Did I say something wrong?” I ask.
“No. It’s just. It feels weird to be, you know, around other people that don’t know like her and I.”
“You’re a teacher, right?”
“Yeah?” he looks puzzled.
“Do you think that maybe you could reword that sentence so that it sounds a bit more like something from the English language?” I reply, swinging my fingers around to prove my point.
He laughs and wipes his hand over his face. I swear that I heard the word ‘s**t’.
“What was that?” I ask, leaning over to him.
“Nothing,” he laughs again. “I just meant that I normally go out and do ‘couple’ things.” He holds up his fingers like quotation marks. “All of my friends know her and her friends know me. We all do stuff together. I’m outside of the friend zone now. It’s a new experience for me.”
“You must be drunk,” my eyes narrow.
“Why do you say that?” he asks, taking a drink.
“Well for one, you’re slurring. And second, that was the most that I’ve heard you say all night.”
He laughs again and then says, “I’m not slurring.”
But sure enough…he is.
He’s adorable when he’s lit. I can’t believe that he has a girlfriend. I can’t believe how much I like him. And mostly I can’t believe that I’m stupid enough to allow him to hang out with me, knowing that nothing will ever come of this.
Fucking glutton for punishment.
I stand up and say, “Let’s go find a sweet spot on the floor.”
I reach my hand out to his. He takes mine and stares at where it’s linked for a moment before standing up and grabbing his beer. I lead him onto the floor, in front of the stage. We get jostled a bit, but I don’t let go of his hand and he doesn’t let go of mine.
- Writer
