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SUMMER LOVIN CONTEST 2018
Summer Lovin'
themes: warm weather, summer activities, bikinis, etc.
Kris Kristofferson: "Just let me enjoy this 'till it's over, or forever. Please don't tell me how the story ends."
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I may have never had a love in my life, but I am loving life. Playing guitar and singing brings me a steady supply of women with legs that won't stay together. There are several that I've been with multiple times but they tend to get pissed when they see me leave with someone else. I don't have shoulder length hair but it certainly isn't short. For whatever reason women love to run their hands through my hair when we are having sex. I'm told I have a baby face and that I should grow a beard. NOT going to happen. I don't have any tattoos but I do have a scar across my left arm from some drunk a few years back.
My name is Ignacio Thomas. Even my parents didn't call me Ignacio. I've always been Nacho. You'd think I had some link to Spain with this traditional Spanish name. I don't. Apparently my parents loved some novels written by an author with that name.
I bought this bar when that hurricane scraped the coast about ten years ago. There's some debate as to whether the hurricane caused damage or made improvements. This area of town had decayed to the point of being an eyesore. Now, with all the scrape offs and new buildings, my investment has more than paid for itself. I renamed the bar a few years ago. It's now known as 'Dreams On Tap'.
The bar is located on water front property. Most call it ocean front but technically it's on the gulf. I've got a volleyball net and several tables set up on the sand. I love summertime in the panhandle of Florida. I can sit all evening admiring the bare legs and feet of the ladies. Call it a fetish but there's something about a woman's legs and feet when she's kicked off her shoes. If that's not enough to love, there's always the fairly common butt cheek peeking out of the too short shorts. Add some bare navels, the occasional nip slip, and how can you not love summer.
I usually come in around five. I've got a really sharp gal who runs the place. Vicki was one of my early groupies but, since I hired her, I've kept it completely professional. She's a few years older than me and has turned into my older sister. She is my guiding light. She runs the bar as if it was hers. I pay her a pretty good salary. She makes the wait staff wear t-shirts with the bar's name and this little tease at the bottom 'You don't have to be crazy to work here. We will train you.'
I had a falling out with my family when I was in college. They were caught forging documents to get financial aid for my sister. According to them 'everybody does this'. After several heated arguments, I walked out and have never looked back.
I made my money in the stock market as a day trader. After surviving several years of living on the financial edge, I had one fantastic six month stretch. Right or wrong, I banked my profits and bought this bar. Markets fluctuate and I grew tired of getting flucted. My mental state is almost normal again.
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I'm not very smooth with women. I've had two failed attempts to get serious. The first one, in high school, probably doesn't count. Your body is so racked with hormones that what you think is love is only the lust of the moment. Girls aren't any different than boys. If someone gets you on the right day, a kiss or compliment leads to unplanned problems. The girl of my high school dreams, the one who was saving herself for me on prom night, found herself under the football bleachers with three boys. I was still a virgin, but they weren't any longer. Telling me it was a mistake was supposed to smooth things over. It didn't and I never spent another evening with her.
The second failed attempt was the year after I graduated from college. By then I had become very shy around women. It's not like I was ever confident around them, but as the months ticked off, I was frustrated by my inability to start or maintain a conversation with a woman my age.
Teri was a very confident woman. She wouldn't leave me alone. I was in her bullseye and she was on a mission. I was ripe for the picking. Having a woman aggressively pursuing you was overwhelming to me. Although I had a few one night stands in college, I really thought this was different. I always used a condom as I certainly wasn't ready for a family. My world crumbled when Teri told me she was three months pregnant. I countered that we only had sex with me wearing a condom. Condom must have failed she claimed. There was something in her attitude that I found odd so I took a stand.
"If I'm the father I'll take care of the child. As evasive as you've been I don't think I am. When can they perform a paternity test?"
I was called every conceivable combination of four letter words. The prenatal non-invasive DNA paternity testing was relatively inexpensive. I was being a smart ass when we examined the results together, but her response haunts me to this day.
"Well dear, or ex-dear I should say, I'm not the father. You DO know who the father is don't you?"
I was expecting some profanity laced response but instead "Wow, I'm not sure."
So nowadays I smile and nod my head when a lady tries to strike up a conversation. If they are my fuck buddy for the evening, I seem to be able to order them around without being concerned about a commitment.
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Every once in a while I join in the discussions at the bar. Tonight it was about Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II.
"He's a wimp. He has no personality at all. She dominates everything. He has no voice and is just her puppy."
Back and forth it went with Vicki and the guys at the bar bashing the Prince.
Vicki fanned the flames "Face it guys, until you live the life of a kept man, you have no basis for your bravado."
"Marry me Vicki and let me live off of your stash of gold."
Vicki snapped her bar rag at the ass of the guy who had proposed "I have standards. How about you Nacho, could you be a kept man?"
"Just shoot me. I have to have an identity."
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I love to pick guitar and sing. Like my love life, my singing and playing is out of tune and out of time. I perform in the bar when the mood hits me. There are several regulars who like to join in the jam sessions. I have a piano near the stage area for those occasions when someone with that ability wants to join in. One guy brings an upright bass while another plays saxophone. A couple others play guitar and a lady showed up one night with a trumpet. It's a lot of fun and some of those nights last until the wee hours of the morning, long after booze sales have ended.
The first time I saw her was the end of March. Only the indoor tables were usable. It's pretty cozy and there's no dance area when we have the patio doors shuttered.
They stand out like Shaq walking along the streets of Tokyo. The women who aren't here to hustle or be hustled. This one wore a striking mid-calf black skirt with a very shimmery silver blouse. Her dark heels were short. She clutched her purse like a smuggler leaving the scene of a crime. She glanced around and decided on a table for two in one of the better lit areas.
She chose to sit such that she could see the front door. I suspected she didn't know who she was meeting. You don't check out everyone sipping a drink if you know the person you're meeting.
The waitress flung the coaster napkin in front of her and nodded after hearing her order. The first vulture circled but was sent away with his tail feathers ruffled. The waitress returned with what looked to be a rum and coke. I made my way to where she was sitting. She checked her phone and her lips tightened.
"Excuse me miss, but you'll have to leave after your meeting."
Dazed "Why? I'm not doing anything."
Her long flowing blond hair, the pleasant smell of her perfume, and her beautiful green eyes had my full attention. She was quite plain looking. There was nothing physically to grab your attention, yet the confidence she exuded let me know she was something special. I think it's the way she was able to look me in the eyes and not back down.
"I know that, but a lady like you isn't used to being in a place like this. How long has it been, if ever, that you were in a bar like this at this time of night?"
"I don't know. Maybe when I was in college."
"Exactly, you have no idea how easy it is to drug someone who's completely out of their comfort zone. I don't want you to become another statistic."
"Who are you?"
"That doesn't really matter. I'm guessing you're meeting someone you've only talked to over the phone. Perhaps a private investigator. Now why would a beautiful creature like you be doing that?"
Tilting her head in renewed confusion "I AM meeting a PI. How did you know that?"
"I see the white stripes where rings used to shine. You've recently stopped wearing them. That tells me you already know the contents of the report the investigator will deliver. Probably means you're looking for something to present in court, or perhaps trigger a provision in a nuptial agreement."
Fighting back a tear "Yeah, I know he's having an affair. My attorneys want to go for the kill."
"Well I have to run. The live music starts playing at the top of the hour. Your guy has ten minutes before it gets too loud to even think much less talk."
"I don't know your name? I'm Alisha. Don't go."