Someone handed the naked woman a herringbone jacket as she stepped off the stage on legs wobbly from adrenaline and vodka. She blushed again as she clutched it to her bare, floppy breasts and the thunderous applause briefly rose in volume.
"See?" I said to George, "Things are getting interesting."
George rolled his eyes as he finished his expansive yawn. "Oh whoopee... I got to see a drunk thirty-something woman with big tits take her clothes off. I could have got the same from you back at our room without having to spend two hours in this shit-hole bar."
I sighed. "I meant, things are
starting
to get interesting. You'll see."
"Jeeesus," groaned George. "It's after one in the morning. I'd fall asleep right here if these chairs weren't so damned uncomfortable."
I was running out of patience with George's attitude and I struggled to remain positive. "Just give it a little more time... I've heard things get really wild once all the squares clear out."
"Fuck, Carol, I teach science to dead eyed middle schoolers and you're a paralegal at a realty company.
We're
the squares here. Let's just go."
"Just a little while longer..."
"Christ almighty!"
I remained quiet as we waited for the next act to come forward from the crowd of hipsters and weirdoes that packed Gronkie's Pub, home of what was rumored to be the wildest open mic night of Claire Beach City's annual "Alternative Lifestyle Festival" (or "Freak-Fest", as it was usually called on the tee-shirts, banners and etc.). Not for the first time this weekend, I was wishing I had broken up with George before this trip. But, like the chronically optimistic fool I am, I had hoped that being around crowds of genuinely interesting people would spark something exciting in my admittedly bland boyfriend of the past few months. Plus my ex had the kids this weekend and I wanted to get away from the suburbs and see some of the 'wild' side of life (while also getting some beach time and working on my tan, 'natch). Fat chance with a guy like George; it was like taking your grandmother to see a hip-hop concert.
So, silently, in my mind, right then and there, I broke up with him. I'd let him know when we got back home. No reason to make the drive back more unpleasant than it needed to be.
I turned to him and smiled in relief at having made up my mind. He pretended not to notice me looking his way. That made it even easier. Thanks George, you turd.
"Ladies, Gentlemen... and
Otherrrr
," began the mustachioed, baritone-voiced MC in his usual way. "Our next act is Derrick Coleman, and tonight he's going to read a selection of his
poetrrrry
..."
The crowd erupted in boos as a chubby, hirsute young man made his drunken way to the front while clutching an iPad that was showing an awful lot of heavily indented text.
George turned to me. "That's does it. I'm leaving."
"OK," I said, relieved. "See you later."
George stared at me in disbelief. "You're going to walk back to the room from here? By yourself?!"
"It's two blocks. I'll manage."
"Wearing
that
!?"
I looked down at myself. True, my blue party dress was quite tight and showed off a scandalous amount of cleavage and thigh, but I'd been wearing it all evening without getting hassled or groped. Although the crowds at the Freak-Fest were a generally odd-looking bunch the vibe was definitely live and let live.
"I'll manage." I repeated.
"Well...whatever," he said. "Enjoy getting gang-raped." And with that he stood and pushed his way into the crowd. He should have thanked that crowd as he moved to the door. If they weren't in the way I would have thrown my gin and tonic right at the back of his head. Hard.
I seethed a bit as the bearded kid on stage tried to read his poem in a timid, slurry voice over the catcalls and jeers from the drunk, impatient crowd. Not only was I angry at George, I was beginning to wonder if I'd been lied to about the crazy shenanigans that allegedly took place around there. And, beyond that, even if the crazy shenanigans were forthcoming, what was the point if I was all by myself?
And to think, I'd actually entertained fantasies that George would take this opportunity to emerge from his stodgy cocoon, maybe even exhibit some interest in getting up on stage to show these tattooed and oddly coifed weirdoes that suburban squares can get freaky too. Not to brag but we were a good looking couple; wasn't it conceivable he could be tempted into showing off a little... or maybe a lot?
As I said before, I can be such an optimistic fool.
My mood grew sour. I slumped in my seat. Errant locks of my long dark hair fell across my face. I let them droop there. I was no longer in the mood to flash my blue eyes at attractive strangers or purse my lips suggestively as I sipped my drink. I only wanted to hide the ugly self pity I felt dancing across my face.
"GET OFFA THE STAGE YOU FAT FUCK!" Shouted a cherubic hipster girl beside me with green pigtails and a face full of piercings. I was tempted to join in. I was also tempted to slap the bitch. I realized I was not having fun.
Time passed like this. The guy on stage curtailed his reading and returned sheepishly to the crowd. Some skinny joker with a bunch of neck tattoos took the stage and started doing a strip-tease to the same song the woman had just stripped to ('Night Train', if you must know). He got a lot of laughs but I wasn't in the mood for his shtick. I started wondering if maybe I should just leave; maybe George was right; maybe I was the uncool one here and I should just get used to it.
"Hey," came a voice -- a male voice -- over my shoulder. "Would you, um, mind some company?"
I turned and found myself face to face with a young guy of obviously bi-racial parentage. His skin was pale like badly over-milked coffee and speckled with tan freckles, his facial features were almost classically beautiful but for his thickish lips and flattish nose. His eyes were a beautiful light hazel and his hair a nappy frizz of medium reddish brown curls that he wore in a short, droopy afro. He wore a sleeveless shirt so his lithe, muscular arms and wide shoulders were on full display. He had tattoos, the usual generic tribal stuff but he hadn't overdone it.
"Please!" I answered.
He smiled a smile that melted me more than a little as he plopped down into George's spot.
"Malcolm," he said, extending his hand.
"Carol," I said, taking his hand.
He pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed it. It was a pretty cheesy move... but I'll be damned if it didn't melt me a little bit more.
"My, my - aren't you a forward one," I said with a irrepressible giggle.
"Well... I saw your date leave and I thought..." he trailed off.
"Don't worry about him. We just broke up, although he doesn't know it yet."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
"Usually it's the women who storm out."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Things get crazy up on stage. A guy who's had a few too many suggests something wild to his girl. She slaps his face and leaves."
"Oh really? Is that what happened with your date?"
Malcolm laughed. "Not exactly. She didn't bother to slap me."
I laughed. "What on Earth did you suggest?"
"I hate to say... we've only just met."
"Ooo, that
does
sounds interesting. Now you have to tell me!"
"Well... you know what happens up on stage here when it starts to get late, right?"
I laughed again. It was one-thirty in the morning and apparently it had yet to "start to get late" in his estimation. Holy crap this Malcolm guy was young.
"I've heard stories, but I was starting to think they weren't true," I said.
"This is my third year coming here. Trust me. They're true," he said with a significant nod in my direction. "But anyway, I suggested to my girl that we get up on stage and... you know...
perform
."
"And she wasn't into it."
"Not at all. And I'd thought she was so cool."
"But not cool enough, apparently."
"Yeah, apparently," he said with a crooked frown. "So what happened over here to make you break up with your guy without telling him?"
"Not so fast, mister... I'm still curious.
Specifically
, what did you suggest to your girl?"
Malcolm looked a little flustered. It was adorable. "Well, I suggested that we get up on stage together and, you know...
do it
."
I drained off the last half of my gin and tonic as I thought about that. I looked the kid over. No doubt about it: he was a fine looking boy. He also had surprisingly large hands. I wondered if that meant other parts of him were disproportionately thick too. Hmmm.
"Gosh," I said.