Chapter 3: Drinks after Work, Planning for a Girls' Night Out
We decided to meet at John Scott's on Linneagatan at 4pm. Pretty much everybody was able to leave work early. When I walked in Katarina was already there nursing a pink-colored drink at the bar.
"Hey you!" she cried out when she saw me approaching. The place was filling up with the usual Friday afterwork crowd--young business-types around my age, a few older couples my parents' age, and a group of 40-ish women sitting at one of the round tables.
There was only one other person sitting up at the bar besides Katarina, a non-descript old gray man in his sixties.
I gave Katarina a big hug then sat down in the seat next to her.
"It's Fr-i-day!" I returned.
"Yes! Get yourself a drink."
"What are you drinking?"
"Sloe gin sour."
"A what?"
"Sole gin sour."
"What's in it?"
"Well, sloe gin, simple syrup, and egg white. It's good, you should try it."
She offered me her glass. I took a sip.
"Ooo, it's really good."
"Order one."
I looked over at the bar tender, a dark-haired guy in his thirties. He noticed my glance and responded by walking over to me.
"Hi, what can I get you?" he asked with a pleasant smile.
"I'll have one of those," I started, pointing at Katarina's drink.
"Sloe gin sour," he replied.
"Yes," I laughed. "Sloe gin sour."
"Absolutely, it's a great drink. You'll like it."
I nodded. "Yeah, I tasted hers."
He smiled then turned away to go make my drink.
"So how was your week? How was Stockholm?" Katarina asked.
I brought my hand up to itch my nose and caught the lingering smell of cunt on my fingers.
"Ah, the usual. A shitload of meetings then a ton of work to do. We were stressing to get a promotional package done which I was supposed to deliver today."
"And did you?"
"Well, not exactly."
"Oh? What happened?"
"The guy who I was supposed to present it to didn't fucking show up for our appointment."
"You're kidding."
"I wish I was."
"Here you go, enjoy," said the bartender as he put the sloe gin sour down in front of me.
"Thanks, you're right on cue," I replied.
He winked.
I smiled back.
"You're flirting with him."
"He's cute but not my type, sorry."
"Is David coming?"
"Yeah, he'll be here. Should be here soon I would think."
Katarina raised her glass and said, "
Skål
."
"Skål"
We clinked glasses and I took a big drink.
"Wow, this is good."
"I love this drink, I'm glad you like it too."
"I needed this. It's been a hell of a week."
"That sucks you got stood up."
"Yeah, I was pretty upset at first."
"At first?"
"In the end I was able to run through it with his sales coordinator and she checked it out based on some notes he gave her."
I played back the scene of me masturbating in the toilet at Nyborg's office then pretended to scratch an itch below my nose to take another whiff of my scent.
"Okay, so not a total waste," Katarina replied.
"No, I guess not. That's the way it goes when you are a junior associate. You need to pay your dues before people start taking you seriously."
The front door opened and in walked some of our other friends. There was Per and his girlfriend, Yvonne. Per was a financial advisor at one of the large banks. I always found it ironic that he was a financial advisor since I never seen him dispense a piece of advice on any matter of value. The classic bullshitter, he was probably perfect for the job.
His girlfriend Yvonne was originally from Stockholm and carried with her an air of snobbishness typical of Stockholmers. Her cracks about the shitty weather here on the west coast had become a tiresome annoyance. They met while attending university here in town.
It wasn't that I didn't get along with her, she was just someone who was hard to get to know, she always kept her distance making it hard to connect.
They walked over to me and Katarina. I caught the trademark scent of Per's cologne.
Jean Paul Gautierre
. I rubbed my nose and took in the smell of my cunt once more.
"Hi guys!" Katarina greeted them.
"Hi ladies," Per returned.
Yvonne stood next to Per, her high, round breasts pushed out from her tight black sweater. Skintight cream-colored jeans showed off nicely the athletic curves of her thighs. I suppose she did have the body that matched the attitude.
"Hi," me and Katarina said in unison.
"Where's David and Peter?" Per asked.
"They're on their way," Katarina answered.
"Speak of the Devil," I interjected, seeing David now coming through the door.
He looked at me.
I smiled big.
"Hi babe," he said, then gave me a kiss.
"You made it."
"Yes, and I see you got a head start." He pointed at my drink.
"Wanna try it?"
"Sure, looks funny. What is it?"
"Sloe gin sour."
"Okay-y-y, never heard of it. What gave you the idea to order it?"
I jutted my head sideways toward Katarina then said, "Miss hipster over there turned me on to it."
"I should have known," he laughed.
Just then the bartender appeared in front of us. David ordered a pale ale, Per ordered a Redbull and vodka, and Yvonne a glass of white wine.
As soon as the bartender returned with the drinks, Peter, Katarina's boyfriend walked in.
"Sorry I'm late!" he exclaimed then nudged over to Katarina and gave her a kiss. Peter was a finance officer at Swedbank and spent a lot of time in New York City courting Wall Street types. He removed his long gray coat but kept the red wool scarf wrapped around his neck looking quite the Dandy.
"Sloe gin sour, huh?" he asked looking down at my drink.
"Yeah, I have these things after you turned me onto them after your last trip to New York."
"Oh, so it's you who's really the hipster!" David jibed.
"What can I say?" Peter replied while feigning bashfulness.
"So how are things with you, Yvonne?" I asked her right away before the usual uncomfortable distance manifested itself between us.
"Very good, thanks. It's been a busy week, but everything's fine. And you?" she returned with the "
and you"
part sounding more like a formality than genuine interest.
"Travelled this week. Stockholm. Just got back last night."
She nodded her head slightly. Despite her being from Stockholm she showed absolutely no interest in that particular fact of my life. Not sure what her deal was. She worked in digital communications at one of the insurance companies, so it wasn't like she was some high-falutin hotshot.