Jim and Rob had had a few too many Buds. They staggered into an old haunt they frequented many years previous. It had been left to run down quite a bit and the clientele were a mixture of airheads and slappers. The brothers had left their wives at home to talk about arranging a secret anniversary party for a cousin, Jim had arranged for Rob and Helen to stay overnight.
In the corner of the bar, a DJ played psychedelic rock music from the late 60’s and 70’s. Frank Zapper seemed to be his favourite as almost every other tune was a Zapper number. The carpeted flooring had had so much booze spilt onto it, it had moulded into the floorboards underneath. As they walked, they could feel the carpet stick to the soles of their shoes.
They ordered two Buds and stood at the end of the bar, scanning the poorly lit room. There were probably only thirty people in the place, of which about twenty five were men. Jim and Rob could feel eyes watching their every move.
“I bet they think we’re cops,” Jim shouted at Rob to overcome Zapper’s guitar solo.
Rob nodded, “Yeah, probably.”
“Who’s that at the end of the bar,” Jim pointed at a female. The brighter lights behind the bar shone on her face. He recognised her, but couldn’t quite put a name to the face.
“Dunno,” shrugged Rob as he took another swig of his Bud.
The brothers ordered a fresh round of Buds and decided to sit in the corner of the bar. As they sat, the female Jim thought he recognised joined them.
“Hi Jim, long time,” she said as she gave Jim a little kiss on his cheek.
“Hi,” he replied. His puzzled face let the girl know he had forgotten her name.
“It’s me, Melanie… Nigel’s wife; ex-wife.”
“Hell, Melanie, I didn’t recognise you. You done something to your hair.”
“Yeah, well,” Melanie went on to explain how she and her husband had divorced about a year ago and that she wanted to change her life, and to help her, she had to change the way she looked too.
“Sorry to hear that you’ve split,” Jim retorted. “When was the last time you saw Nigel?”
“Outside the courthouse; haven’t seen him since… and I don’t care if I never see him again either.”
Jim felt a little embarrassed. Nigel, when they were in their early teens, was Jim best friend, but by the time Jim had finished college, they had both, more or less, lost contact with each other.
“So, is there anyone else?” Jim enquired.
“Yeah. Gerald Thompson. Do you know him? He’s from Newark.”
Jim shook his head, “No, never heard of him.”
“Well, you haven’t missed much. He’s a bit of a waster. I only see him when he wants something.”
Jim thought he saw Melanie blush a little as she implied that she only met Gerald for the odd leg-over.
Another Zapper tune blasted through the speakers.
“Is that all he plays?” Asked Rob, trying to change the subject and join the conversation.
“He’ll play anything you ask him to. But when no one asks, he just plays the crap he likes,” Melanie told Rob.
Rob stood and after ordering more beers, requested the DJ to play some Bon Jovi tunes.
“Ah that’s better,” Melanie sighed as ‘Living On A Prayer’ came over the speakers. “This is one of my favourites,” she told the brothers, “Fancy a dance?”
She dragged Jim up from his stool and they danced on the sticky carpet. Jim had a few beers in him, but he could see that Melanie was even more intoxicated. As they danced, Melanie lost her balance and fell. Jim caught her as she fell into his chest, his arms around her shoulders. She stayed there for a few seconds, Melanie enjoying the firmness of being in a man’s arms, and Jim enjoying the feel of this woman against his chest. They resumed their dance and when the next tune played, Rob decided to join in the fun. The three gyrated to Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke On The Water’, joining in the chorus and playing air guitar to Ritchie Blackmoore’s legendary guitar solo.
After a few more beers, Melanie asked if the brother’s would mind them walking her home. When they found she lived en route, they agreed to escort her.
It had begun to rain, and the neither of the three wore coats. By the time they had reached Melanie’s place, they were soaked.
“You’d better come in from the rain and have a coffee or something,” she told the brothers.
The brothers agreed and entered Melanie’s apartment.
“Here,” she handed them a towel each, “take off your shirts, I’ll put them in the tumble drier. I can’t have you two catching a cold now can I?”
Jim and Rob removed their shirts. “You may as well dry this to,” he told Melanie as Jim dropped his denim jeans.
“Let’s have yours too,” she ordered Rob.
Returning to the lounge with three bottles of Bud, Melanie sat between the brothers on the large leather sofa. She wore a bath sheet. She too had removed her wet blouse and skirt.
“Here you are,” she offered the drinks.
“Thanks,” said Rob as he took the top off his bottle. “Didn’t think we’d get so wet.”
“Me neither,” Jim added. “This rain wasn’t forecast, that’s for sure.”
“It’ll clear in a short while, you’ll see,” comforted Melanie.
They drank their beers. Melanie yawned and stretched her arms above her shoulders. Her bath sheet slipped a little, revealing the top half of her breasts.
“Another stretch like that and we’ll get an eyeful,” said Rob.