She looked around the bar and spotted her friends. Not being the bashful type, they were seated around the bar, harassing the bar tender. He'd known them since they were earning barely enough for food, let alone drinks. Two years later, they were all doing better and he now loved their tipping habits. It was probably why he always reserved seats for the bunch when he knew they were coming.
Squeezing past a couple of suspiciously smelling young guys, she grimaced as she fit herself into a space between Tylor and Peter.
"Hey there!" Tylor almost shouted and Marci frowned at her before planting pecks on her cheeks. Peter did his best to hug her with what little space was left. Turning to the bar, she found Solo had already brought her drink over plus an extra one.
"Tequila from me." He smiled shyly and there was a whoop from her friends. It was no secret that while Solo the bar tender liked the girls in the group, he had a special fondness for Marci.
She smiled appreciatively and drowned it the way he'd recommended. Like a real Mexican, no lime, no salt, just straight up tequila. It burned down her throat and she literally felt it land in her stomach. Thank goodness she'd had all that pizza at lunch time.
"Sit here." Pete said, getting off his stool and lifting her onto it. She hated bar stools but her friends loved it. Now that she was on this particular seat, she could say her hellos to the rest. Mila was showing signs of a mood swing, Natalie was her usual gorgeous self, already being chatted up by a group of what looked like three accountants for the government and Melanie was squinting at the bar, trying to decide her next shot.
"Can't we find other seats? I hate this stool stuff, my feet just hang off. It drains all my blood into my feet!" Marci complained to the rest as she took a huge swig of her beer. This elicited another glare from Natalie, Queen of everything Ladylike. Marci smiled at her and blew her kiss, throwing a questioning glance at the group as she did so.
"No way! We love having you at the bar. Solo serves us real quick and we get loads of free drinks thrown in as well." Natalie said taking an elegant sip of her brightly colored drink and smiling benignly at the nerds still vying for her attention.
"Yeah, what would he do with all the barman's tots if we didn't help?" whined Tylor. Like she needed anymore alcohol. By the looks of things, she was two seconds away from inducing hangovers just by fumes.
"Hey, be nice to Frodo!" Pete said with a laugh and led the way to a secluded corner of the bar. It had a couple of empty seats. Marci jumped off the bar stool and followed suit. Sitting herself in position she could not only see the bar, but the main entrance as well, she waited for the slow migration from the bar. Natalie was last to arrive, leaving a disappointed looking bunch of nerds behind.
"This is much better....we can totally cruise the bar right in our seats!" Tylor said plopping herself next to Marci. With Natalie, Pete and Mila finally settled in, they ordered a bottle of tequila. It was sent with a drink for Marci, again from Solo.
"You should let him touch your tits at the very least. I mean, the poor guy uses all his tips to buy you drinks.....pay up Marci!" Natalie said with an evil gleam and went off to the bathroom.
The conversation was like any other conversation they usually had while shooting tequilas like it was requisite accompaniment to the conventional drinks they had.
Marci looked around to see who was out this warm Friday. Malindi was alive, the tourist season just beginning and the school kids all home from the various countries they attended college in. Malindi was one of those summer home type towns. Tiny, inexhaustibly warm and with no particular rules as to when and where to party all week. It was fabulous.
"My, you have grown...." A drawl next to her ear. She jumped and spilled her beer on her top. Turning, she looked at the man talking to her. She could not for the life of her place him. He was handsome, granted. But then again, bar lighting was designed to fool both men and women into thinking people had really good skin tones.
"Uhm.....do I know you?" she asked, an irritated frown starting to form on her face as she felt the beer seep into her chest. No bra tonight, Natalie would absolutely chew her head off if she wore the strapless top with a bra. The rest of the group hadn't even paid her attention after they gave the drawling man a brief glance. The kind that would lead to a Spanish Inquisition the moment he left.
"Oh...you make me bleed Marci. I was under the impression you had an immense crush on me." He laughed. Apparently he wasn't really whispering because her friends now turned their full attention on them. She wanted to do something. Maybe say something witty and walk off to the bathroom. Or deny knowing him and turn back to her rink like he was an apparition. She hated being hit on while her friends watched. They never let an awkward moment go, they had to make it absolutely embarrassing.
"Drew!" Natalie quipped as she came back from whoever it was she had gone. It was definitely not a bathroom break. Too long, Marci thought and made a mental note to ask her about that in the morning. If she remembered. The rate at which the tequila bottle was approaching "half empty" was not placing much confidence on short term memory cells.
Drew was a crush alright. Only, he never ever looked like this man talking to her.
"Hello Beautiful." He said and walked around to hug Natalie. It gave Marci time to study him and put her alcohol hazed brain to use. He looked good. Deliberately deceptive lighting or not. Tall, lean and crew cut hair. When he and Natalie were done with the kisses and hugs, Tylor did a whole gaping fish thing then threw herself into his arms as well. Clearly her friends liked him. Except Pete. And the memory flooded back in such a rush she chocked on her beer. More spill on her top. Darn!
Drew, the one she'd last seen about ten years ago, was tall, skinny, artsy haired and a certified geek. He'd never have drawled into her ear. And he'd never have had the amount of confidence the apparently new Drew was. She did have a crush on him, like eons ago. She had been into the introverted intellectuals then. That hadn't changed much though she was a little more flexible now. It was not absolutely necessary for one to discover a cure fro something before she went out with them anymore. She'd grown up somewhat she thought.
Drew shook hands with a less than enthusiastic Pete and then turned his attention to her. He smiled. Nothing, absolutely nothing, kills like a man who smiles at you like he is genuinely and appreciatively pleased to see you. Drew's smile was both and more. She saw what Mila liked to call "the glint in the milkman's eye". Blame the tequila, she smiled, somewhat smugly.
The last time this man had seen her, she'd been a very young – and little – girl to say the least. She was all of 16, self absorbed and certain of her intellectual ability. This is why she had thought he would fall for her like a ton of bricks. At the time, she hadn't known he had a good number of years on her. Even when she did find out that he was 25, she was certain he'd look past her (teen) age and the law as well. She was after all, a rare thing to find – smart, decidedly "hot" and witty. What more could any man want?
An age mate. He told her as much. Advised her to try dating her age mates (as if! They were so shallow!) and dated her neighbor. Not a good choice Marci had thought at the time. She was right. Next Door Neighbor broke his heart apparently and she never did see him after that. He'd gone to college and that was as much as she knew about that story. In time, she'd forgotten him or at least put him way back on the burner. Now he was here, and by the looks of it, demanding attention. Nice! Sweet even!
"Hey Drew. You look different." She said quietly as Pete moved up so that he could sit next to her. Natalie was gone again and Mila was still trying to decided if she should completely PMS or try to have some fun. Quiet night for her Marci guessed.
