"Are you guys ready to do this?" Scott yelled as I pulled us up to the curb and threw the pickup into park. I flipped off the lights and turned the ignition off, and all three of us jumped out of the vehicle.
"Damn straight," Nick said as he slammed his door and pulled on his old, beaten up KU hat. We walked the half block down the sidewalk to the local bar. The night was crisp and clear, a perfect night to be outside in one of our backyards tossing back some beers and catching up. But as it was, we were dropping into the hottest spot in our tiny hometown to see everyone else who was back for the Easter weekend. Scott, Nick, and myself hadn't seen each other in a few months since all of us were away at school, and it was a long trip between KU, MSU, and UT. But, I hadn't seen a lot of my old classmates for a few years so it was a good excuse to hit up the local bar and catch up with everybody. And, who knows? We usually figured out a way to turn our nights into stories when we went out. Tonight could hold some promise.
Scott walked up to the bar and ordered us a pitcher as Nick moved to the pool table in the back. Nobody was on the table, which was surprising, so we dropped in a few quarters and pulled out the balls. Scott found his way to the back and handed us our glasses.
"So tell me about this new chick you're with, Brandon," Scott said.
"New chick?" Nick interrupted. "I haven't heard anything about a new chick, man."
"Yeah, I met her down at school," I told them. "She's actually really awesome. Pretty laid back about stuff, smart, hot - you know."
"Oh yeah?" Scott responded. "She as hot as Anne was?"
Nick interrupted again, "Now Anne was hot, man. I can't believe you guys broke it off."
"Anne was hot. But I'm telling you. This girl is way hotter," I boasted.
"You guys ever do any crazy shit?" Scott asked.
"Not really, I guess. Pretty much the same as with Anne. Mostly just sex," I responded. "I've kind of given up on girls doing 'crazy' stuff anyway. If you find a girl who's into that kind of shit, she's probably done it with a dozen other guys."
"I don't know, man," Nick chipped in. "It might be worth it. There are some freaky girls out there."
We fell right into our old routine of talking about girls, classes, and our craziest drunken stories.
***
A couple of hours later, after we had managed to empty our fourth pitcher, Nick went up to the bar to grab his round.
"It kinda sucks that there aren't any waitresses in here," I observed.
"No kidding. Enough people come in here. They could probably keep a couple on hand on a Friday night. Might even sell more beer," said Scott.
I leaned over the table to take a shot on the 6-ball.
"Dude, guess who just walked in," Scott whispered. "Anne. She's looking good."
I stood up from my shot and peered over to the front door. Anne had indeed walked into the bar with a couple of her old high school friends, Keri and Ashley. Scott was right too. Anne did look good. But not any different than she had when I was dating her a few years ago. Just good.
It's something I've noticed before. No matter who you are dating, there's always someone who looks different than your current girlfriend that starts to become hot. And Anne had that look tonight. The whole time I was dating her it was always the petite, brunette girls that were catching my eye. Girls that look exactly like my current girlfriend. But Anne was not a petite brunette. She had some great curves. She reminded me of a farmer's daughter. Golden blonde hair. Bright blue eyes. Big smile. And a chest and an ass that didn't stop. At least now. I distinctly remember not thinking that way when I was dating her. It always seemed that she was too curvy.
As I stared across the room at her and her friends, she caught my gaze and her face lit up. I saw her lips mouth, "Oh my god." She started across the bar while Keri went up to order some drinks for them.
"I did not expect you to be here," she smiled as she walked up and gave me a hug. "I thought you'd be down in Texas."
"Well, I didn't expect to see you either," I stated. "How are things?"
"They're great. We just stopped in to have a drink before the bar closed. I always forget it closes so early here. I'm used to the two'o'clock closing time up at school," she said.
"I know what you mean," I answered. "Let's go sit and have a drink. These guys can hold the table."
"Yeah, that sounds good," she replied.
Scott and Nick both cracked smiles when I glanced back at them. I know exactly what they were thinking, but there was no way. There was no way I was going to cheat on my new girlfriend. It didn't make any sense. She was hot as hell and I was probably going to end up marrying her. Cheating on her would provide one night of pleasure, and in exchange would ruin the relationship with the woman of my dreams. Besides, even if I had wanted to, Anne wouldn't go for it. She wasn't that type of person.
"So how are things with you?" Anne asked.
"They're great actually. Classes are going well. I've met some cool people down there. Got some good leads on jobs after I graduate," I said.
"Wow. Going really well then," she stated. "How are Nick and Scott?"
"Oh, they're fine. Up to the usual stuff. You know Nick and Scott," I returned.
She responded, "Yeah, I guess I do." Out of nowhere she started cracking up. "You remember the time when Nick got the blue Chevy stuck in the ditch trying to pull Katie and Ashley out of the snow?"
"Oh yeeeahhh," I started laughing. "We had to call you to steal your dad's truck to come pull us out because we couldn't call the cops or the towing company."
"You guys had a little too much to drink that night," she kept laughing. "And then after we got Nick's truck pulled out, you guys all tried to push Katie's car out of the snow."
"That's riiight. Scott slipped in the snow and she floored it and nailed him in the face with the snow," I started crying I was laughing so hard.
"Too funny," she said as she caught her breath. "How did Scott get away with that anyway? His dad is always up late."
I wiped my eyes, "They went to the 24-hour station out on the interstate and he dried himself off with one of the bathroom dryers. His dad never had a clue."
"Oh that's right. Nick drove him out to the interstate and you came with -- ," she stopped short.
The memories came back in a flood. She had taken me home that night since it was getting late, but we had stopped a couple of miles away on a deserted country road first. It was one of the more memorable times that we had been with each other. Her dad's truck had the huge club cab, with plenty of room in the back seat to stretch out. And we had made use of all of the space. It may have been the single best sex I had ever had. The windows had fogged completely over. We were sweating rivers. And we had somehow found synchronization with the suspension of the truck as it rocked slightly back and forth.
I snapped back to the present. "Anyway."
"Sorry," she said softly as she looked up from the table. "That was a little awkward. Soooo... how's the dating scene now? You dating anyone?"
"As a matter of fact I am," I responded.
"Well, tell me about her. What's her name? What does she do?" Anne replied.
"Her name is Jenny, and I met her down at Texas. She's studying exercise science," I said.
"I like the name Jenny. Are things good? I mean, do you guys get along and all?" she asked.
"Yeah, we get along great. She's a really fun person. Not too daring, but she's really laid back about stuff," I said.
