First Taste Of Red

(Hey there, this is one of the first stories I wrote that I put effort in so I apologies. Even my friends thought I was ESL, lel. Because of this, I do appreciate any form thoughts or problems about it down at the comments.)

"Come on man, have a Blue Moon."

I turned to face Jacob. "Nah, I just take a glass of rum and coke." I replied.

"You got to do a little living Nathan. How about I spot you tonight and drink something new with me. Less liquor because I got to wake up earlier than usual tomorrow." pleaded Jacob.

"I don't feel like it. Not in a great mood after the shit that just happened today at work." I reply with a small sigh.

"Alright, any specific rum you would like with your coke?" questioned the female bartender.

I took a quick look at the woman, she was pretty. A short brunette with a pixie cut and emerald eyes and freckles to boot, holy shit she's really cute. Fuck, just answer the question.

"Ummm, surprise me. Nothing too expensive mind you." I confirmed.

"No problem, and that with a Blue Moon." assured the bartender with an amused smile.

"I guess that's fine with me." reply Jacob in a slightly disappointed tone. "So, was it that bad with Jennifer huh."

"It wasn't my fault that collapsed, I grumbled. "I just took the load off and then, bam! Two shelves are down, and the manager is throwing a fit at me instead of replacing those shelves long ago. Guess we've been too busy with the amount of orders from the pandemic."

"Sounds like a good excuse for the manager to hit on you." chuckled Jacob.

I scoffed at the joke. I've been in a depressed mood all day from my shift at the warehouse, but meeting up with Jacob after work is refreshing. I originally wanted to just go home, stream some movies and pizza on the side. But a close coworker of mine heard about the shitstorm that happened today and decided to take me out to Berne's Brews to cool off. It was quite a busy day for everyone there.

It's 11pm and now it's getting a little rowdy in the building. I looked around and noticed that most of the chairs have been seated and the environment is quite lively. The pub is quite spacious with the green walls, red ceiling, and padded wooden furniture. "I didn't expect many people to party here." I observed.

"Yeah, tonight it's the 49ers vs The Patriots. Then again, people have been too cooped up at home and need to stretch their legs once and awhile." answered Jacob. "Speaking of parties, you could use one of your own. In fact, you're single right?"

"Yea. What about it?" I narrowed my eyes.

"You know..." Jacob gets closer. "You need to laid. Is there anything you enjoy outside besides being indoors?"

I thought for a moment, "Well... nothing pops up really..."

"Then I gotta get you laid man!" Jacob exclaimed. "Let me set you up with another coworker or friend of mine. Hell. Let's make this more interesting and hit on someone here."

A pair of hands settle down a glass of liquor and a beer bottle in front of us. "Here's your guy's rum and coke and a Blue Moon." smiled the bartender. "Tell me if yall need anything and I'll come by to help." She then turns away to serve another customer that just filled the seats on the row of chairs we're at.

Jacob smiles and grabs his bottle and takes a quick sip, still eyeing that bartender. "You know, you should try her. She's not bad and seems quite friendly."

I sigh and lift my drink for a sip, taste is as expected. A strong bitter taste of some unfamiliar liquor mixed with an undoubtable bubbly sweetness. Followed quickly is a burning sensation throughout my mouth and throat yet weakened through the dilution of the cola. "Hmm, not bad." I thought. I swallowed and let out a small grunt from the aftertaste that soon came after.

"Nah, I don't want to think about it."

"Why not?" questioned Jacob. "Is it your confidence?"

I sighed again and looked away from Jacob. "Just not feeling it tonight." I'm not sure if a black haired, 5'10, "charming" nobody could get some attention.

Jacob catches notice of this and snorts. "I can see, how about a couple tips for tonight. Go up to a girl and just be nice, but not too nice. Otherwise, you're a simp and she probably play you like a fiddle. But be confident, start the conversation, and just listen if she talks. After that, tell her what she wants to hear and that's the hook."

I chuckled, "I've heard shit like that all the time. Should I also add? 'Just be yourself,'" I chipped in.

"Well yeah that works, and girls dig that." Jacob replies with a slight smirk on his face. He eyes at the bartender serving up a pint of beer. "Hey, busy tonight after?"

She looks back at us and replies with a soft chuckle, "Sorry boys, my schedule is full." as she serves the beer to the customers seated in front of her.

"Ah. Too bad." Jacob looks at my amused reaction with his own sorrowful but playful face. I take another sip of my drink while he scans the room of potential dates for me. It was filled with mostly mixed groupies, but there were a few mixed duos and were mostly men. But he eventually spied a duo of women at the corner of the bar. "I spy a potential hit at the corner, one o'clock pair."

Slouching forward slightly and my head down, I lifted my eyes to take a quick look at them. One is a womanly blond with free-flowing curly hair, wearing a cool colored sweater and jeans, seemingly in her mid 30's. The other wore dark hair in a side-sweep fashion at chin-length with glasses, covered by a navy jacket and dark pants, late 20's I think.

"They don't look too bad. I guess I could count on my wingman for tonight's mission?" I questioned.

"You bet!" Jacob exclaimed. "A few more beers and I'll be ready. You should have a little more for the upcoming battle." He proceeds to down the beer left in the bottle and grabs the attention of the bartender for another.

We continued to drink our fill until our glasses became empty. I carried on with a few more orders of rum and coke until I began to feel tipsy. Jacob, recognizing this, ordered a basket of chicken wings to carry on the night. The delicious wings did help and soon filled my stomach alongside a glass of water, further diluting the alcohol within me. I continued sipping my drink, creating a tug of war dance over my senses.

Inside Jacob's pocket his phone emits a country tune, interrupting our night out. He checks his screen, eyes furrowed, then answers in a gleeful tone. "Yep, Jacob here, something wrong pops?" I couldn't hear the conversation due to the frustrated shouts of football viewers and drunken cheers of a nearby table.

I turn my attention to the duo in the corner to still find them there, enjoying their drinks and full of conversation. They occasionally turned their eyes to other people, seemingly commenting to those who drew their attention. Not surprisingly, they were noticed by a nearby group of drunks, one of whom came around to talk to them. At the start, it seemed to go well for him. They responded positively, even laughing at whatever charms he threw at them. A few minutes later, the blond responded to him and wiped the smile off his face. His face became visibly upset and replied to her in confusion. This conversation continued until the man's body finally stiffened and turned around, walking back to his table of friends, frustrated to no avail.

Unexpectedly, the black-haired woman notices and catches my eye. I panicked and instinctively, but softly, turned my head and lowered my eyes into my drink. Oh god, did she notice? I didn't dare to look back for the fear of embarrassment and the stupid possibility of offending them. I took another sip and waited a minute to pass to sneak another peak at them. As soon as I raised my eyes the blond was staring back at me and winked.

Ah fuck, I shouldn't have done that. Panicking once again, my mind is racing to for a proper response to not further embarrass myself. I settled on smiling back and a nod to which the blond flashed a devilishly smile and broke off contact back towards her friend. I exhaled in relief, and returned my attention back to Jacob, still on the phone and very annoyed. Jacob closed his eyes and nodded and softly sighed.

"Yea, yea, I'll be there." Jacob relented, holding back his own frustration. "Sorry Nathan, something came up with my old man. You're gonna have to go solo, but I'll make it up to you another night." Jacob winked. "But really, my bad. Next time?"

I chuckled, "Whew, thanks captain, mission aborted!"

Jacob erupted in laughter. But his eyes focused and serious, "But seriously, you need to get laid, have a good time other than your virtual girlfriend, waifus, or something."

"But I already have a girlfriend! Here, let me introduce her." I held out my right hand towards him.

Jacob swipes my hand away and snickered. He then pulls out his wallet, pays our tab, and says his farewells to me and to the kind bartender, leaving me to my lonesome. I look back at my half empty glass in contemplation. Should I shoot my shot and risk embarrassment in front of the entire pub?

I looked back at the corner to find them still in their seats. But not for long as the blond got up and walked over to the bartender. She had a better view of me now and gave me a quick smile. Resting her phone and purse onto the counter, the blond grabs her wallet to pay the bill. I took some glances while her attention was at the bartender.

"Hey Jackie, thanks for the extra shots." thanked the blond.

"For the help a couple nights ago Alex, it was a great experience and hope for more next time." Jackie responded cheerfully with a hint of impatience.

"Definitely, I'll tell you when we get the time." Alex responded in an excited tone. Both women quickly said their goodbyes and left the pub.

After Alex left, I noticed the phone she left behind on the counter. How could she completely forget such an expensive iPhone behind? "Hey, is Alex a regular here and her friend a regular here?" I questioned.

Jackie studied me for a moment, then noticed the phone left behind. Noticing the situation, Jackie grins, "Ah yes, a couple times a month, usually on Thursdays. I'll give the phone to her friend, unless you'd like to do that for me?"

I paused for a second and gulped deeply. This is a good opportunity and I'd be stupid not to try it. So I downed my glass, grabbed the phone, and lifted my unsteady legs towards the unknown girl in the corner. Every step I took made me more nervous than the last. What should I say? Do I try to ask her out later? No, calm down, I just gotta act natural, just have a normal conversation, and progress naturally. The woman's attention was on the football game with a bored look on her face. The moment she heard my approach, it seemingly changed her mood instantly.

"Hello miss, I believe your friend left her phone at the bar."

"Oh my, I'm pretty sure she'll be missing it soon. Thank you, umm..."

"Nathan."

"Ah, Nathan, my name is Joan. This would save my friend Alex a lot of time tomorrow as she needs to get up early despite wanting to hang out here quite late. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen you here."

"Yeah, it's my first night here at the pub. Quite nice actually, what makes this place so attractive to you?"

"I haven't been here for long, but I quite like the beer that they brew here. Not to mention I've been getting close to the people who run the place."

"If the beer is all that it takes to make you a regular, then it must be something."

"Yeah, it's called the Berne's Special. Here, have a sip of mine."

Joan grabs her pint and hands it to me, which I take without hesitation and sipped it. It has a slightly bitter taste, yet sweet and a little nutty.

"Hmm, not bad. I could surely use a small change in my drinking pallet."

"That's nice, would you like to grab a seat with me? Unless you came here with a friend or two."

"Oh, that's no problem, my friend had something come up recently." I took Alex's former seat opposite of her.

"What do you usually drink?"

"Ah well, don't laugh but I'm not too big of a drinker myself but, I usually take a rum and coke."

This made Joan burst into laughter. It made me a little nervous as I kinda started to heat up and feel my face turn into a slightly different shade. Joan eyes me mischievously.

"It sounds like the boy couldn't get rid of his first drink at the party."

"Ah well, I just like being used to what I feel comfortable drinking you know."

"I see, you're not really a drinker, are you?"

"Right on the mark. Now that's a little embarrassing." I began to calm down a little more as I started to get into the rhythm. Its precedingly well and Joan is quite nice and starting to hope. Let's see how far I can go and if she has any other plans tonight.

"It's just that drinking can be quite expensive sometimes. So, its normally water and occasionally soda."

"You know, you could use a drinking buddy that can help you out with this particular problem. I have a decent size collection of liquor at my place if you're willing to taste it tonight."

Oh shit. I did not expect this conversation to proceed so smoothly. Wait, this is probably moving a little too quickly.

"Oh really? Sorry, I don't want to intrude and waste some of your precious alcohol..."

"I don't mind. They're just sitting in my cabinet at home. Besides, I could use a little excuse to drink some of it, there's a few I haven't even tasted at all. We could also return Alex's phone along the way."

"Are you sure?"

"Aww come on, I'd be awfully lonely tonight with just me and my bottle."

"Ok, do you want to leave right now?"

"Yes, I also came here with Alex's car. I hope you don't mind sharing a ride."

"That's not a problem."

We proceed to leave the pub, but not without a very familiar goodbye between Joan and Jackie. Outside waiting for us was my old reliable 2006 Honda Civic, although I was a little worried about her opinion of it. I unlocked the car and opened the passenger door for Joan.

"Oooh, a gentleman we have here."

"After you, my lady."

"Hah hah, and a real comedian too."

After Joan took her seat, I went inside to start up my car. Turning the keys, the engines roared back into life. I smiled, glad that I can count on my ol' reliable. At the same time, Joan had set up her phone for directions. During the drive, we chatted and shared a bit about each other. Turns out, Joan had arrived in Seattle in February to work for a financing company. I shared a bit about myself, lived here my whole life, traveled a bit here and there. Following the directions of Joan's phone, we entered Mercer Island and headed further south. Eventually we came to two blocks of large, recently built high rise apartments.

"Well, this is it, surprised to find an apartment complex around here?"

"Yeah, and it looks pretty nice."

"Alex lives here too, we should pay her a visit and return the phone."

We both got out and entered the building to find a well-dressed, short skirt female receptionist waiting for us behind the desk.

With a welcoming smile, the receptionist greeted Joan. "Did you have a pleasant night, Miss Joan? And you also brought a guess."

"Why yes, my friend Nathan who I've met recently. We'll be having a party in my room, so don't mind the noises."

"And handsome man indeed, enjoy the party Miss Joan."

Joan and I joined each other on the elevator and arrived on the sixth floor. Walking down the corridor, we approached room 605 to which Joan rang the bell. Following the bell were distinct light footsteps I've heard before. The door opened and inside was Alex, in a very flashy black nightgown decorated with laces and frills, smiling at Joan, then deeply into my eyes. This moment felt like a minute as my mind was focused entirely on her eyes, then down to her neck, collarbone, and everything. Her nightgown didn't entirely cover her ivory skin leaving small gaps of its soft exterior to leave the imagination running. Alex's breasts were even more exposed, allowing the lingerie to reveal itself from a darkness not worthy enough to conceal. It was an attire meant to please, vying for my attention, and it definitely did. I couldn't help but marvel at her hourglass figure attached with sender arms and thick thighs bare, waiting to wrap around something sturdy.

My eyes kept feeding the deadly monster of a body. It was only when Joan finally greeted Alex that I focused my mind, snapping out of it.

"I hope we didn't wake you."

"No, in fact I was about to, but remembered leaving my phone somewhere."

Joan extends the phone to Alex. "Well not to worry, our guest Nathan came here to return it to you."

Alex accepts it back. "Why thank you Nathan, I sure hope you plan to stay a while longer."

As I opened my mouth to reply, Joan quickly answered for me. "Unfortunately, Nathan also has somewhere to go tomorrow, so he mustn't stay for long after I show him my collection of alcohol."

Alex responded a little disappointed. "Tsk Tsk, next time I suppose. It was nice meeting you Nathan and I hope to see you again at Berne's." Alex finally closes the door, leaving us alone in the hallway.

"Welp, time for a good treat of alcohol."

"Lead the way."

Joan takes a few steps over to room 606, waving her arm in presentation.

"Welcome to my home." Opening the door, I take a step inside, impressed by what surrounds me. It had a modernist style, the living room was wide, filled with a wide coffee table surrounded by two long sofas and a large flatscreen tv. Next to them is a windowed wall overlooking small mansions, the beach, and further, the city of Seattle. A beautiful view. Joan leads me to the nearby marble kitchen that holds a wooden shelf filled with a variety of alcohol.

"As my guest, why don't you choose?"

"Why thank you."

There was quite a bit to choose from. Most were unopened to which I picked up a random sealed bottle of French red wine. Grabbing two glasses, I poured them both on the island table and presented one to Joan to which she graciously accepted and raised for a glass.

"To trying new things." Joan toasts, glass raised.

"To trying new things." I replied doing the same.

I took a sip and was welcomed with a burn, but interestingly also fruity and sweet. I had never tried red wine.

"Wow, Jesus, this is pretty strong."

"At least it would help you loosen up. You seem a little... tense."

"I am? Sorry for that, I don't normally hang out with people I just meet."

"No worries, just relax, enjoy."

I started to relax a little more. We continued to make some small talk, a bit about my work and daily life in Seattle. Pretty soon, the effect of the wine starting to make me tipsier. Still aware of my surroundings, I did notice Joan getting closer. Eventually, she came close enough to lean to my ears and whisper. "I'm pretty sure you had enough of that drink. You and I really know why we're here, to experience more than the wine in our glass."

Besides holding an exquisite drink in my hand, her voice was so much more intoxicating. Not knowing what to do, I didn't move an inch. My cheeks began to heat up, breathing became heavier, and something else was responding to every word coming out of her luscious lips.

"I know what you were thinking of my friend Alex next door, and I don't blame you. As a sexy succubus, neither of us can't take our eyes off, but I've got other plans. Plans with you."

Joan shifts her body behind me, one of her legs parting mine. Her hand moves onto my leg, slowly making its way over my rising boner.

"Looks like my little boy is getting excited. Look into my eyes."

I tilted my head to see her eyes like she asked. Her bright hazel eyes were captivating, it was hard to not look away. "Kiss me, Nathan." She commanded.