My mind trailed off into the distance as the car made its way through the city streets. Rubbing my chin thoughtfully, I thought about the various possibilities that existed in a city such as this on a Saturday night. And to realize those possibilities, you just had to find the guts to speak your mind.
At least, thatâs what everyone kept telling me.
Thatâs, also, what I kept trying to tell myself. Tonight I was going to take a chance and my heart was pounding in my chest at the very thought of it. It was always hard explaining the hesitant nature of my behavior towards women, especially when my friends were always trying to pawn me off onto random girls.
I guess they thought they were helping me, but in the end it only made me feel unwanted. Unappreciated.
Surprisingly, something I should have been used to. But, in reality, getting used to such feelings was not something I was hopeful of.
âHey now, none of that crap!!â came Francieâs voice from the seat next to me.
âHuh?â I woke from my thoughts. âWhat are you talking about?â
âYouâre getting in one of those moods again.â She glared at me as she navigated the car through downtown Lexington.
Holding my hands out in a show of innocence I shot her with a sly grin. âWhat mood? I was just thinking.â
âYeah.â She said, raising her eyebrows. âJust thinking, my ass. Now perk up! Weâre here.â
Glancing out the windshield, I realized that we were parked directly in front of Atomic CafĂ©, and I immediately made me way out of Francieâs care. âOk, gimme your money and keys.â She ordered, holding out her palm.
âMy money?!â I questioned. I had already placed my keys and wallet in Francieâs glove compartment, but I wasnât sure where she was going, demanding my money.
âThatâs right, youâre money. Tonight youâre cutting loose. Period. So Iâm ordering your drinks.â
Complete shock overwhelming me, I stood motionless as Francie stripped the cash from my left pocket. Then I proceeded to follow her back into the farther reaches of the Café until we found our friends, already seated at a rather large table in the corner.
âWelcome to the party!â Sarah greeted us, gesturing towards two of the seats around the table. âSo, howâs he holding up?â She quizzed Francie.
âNot too bad, although he seemed to be getting into one of his moods in the car.â
âOne of his moods, âey?â Sarah smiled flirtatiously as she placed her hand on my arm. âWell, weâll be having none of that tonight!â And having said that she called the waitress over so that Francie could order me a drink. Smiling openly, I joked and teased with my two best friends as they cast their eyes around the bar, searching for yet another girl to try and pass me off to, like a hot potato.
Suddenly one of Sarahâs friends sat down in the seat next to her, cutting a knife through the current conversation.
âOh, Amy, whatâs up? These are my friends, Francie and James. Guys, this is Amyâ
Reaching across the table, I shook Amyâs hand, catching a suggestive glimpse from Sarah behind her friends back. Sighing inwardly, I humored her and Francie by chatting pleasantly with her friend, exciting a few laughs and chuckles from her before she excused herself to continue wandering the CafĂ©.
Turning as she left, Amy cast me a pleasant smile and a wave as she spoke. âHope to see you again some time, James.â And then she was gone. Immediately, Francie and Sarah began chatting like wild geese.
Bombarded, I was lost among a tirade of âOh my god, did you see the way that she looked at you?â and âWhy didnât you make a move, James?â Blushing outwardly I was glad that my friends had been fooled by my act. Donât get me wrong; she was a nice girl. Thatâs just not my style. And so it was that the evening went, my periodic lapses in forced conversations with friends of my friends broken up by shots of Tequila or Wild Turkey. Minutes became hours and hours became an entire night of slightly slurred speech, until I was almost ready to admit self-defeat and go home, before I caught a glimpse of a face that tickled the edges of my memory.
My brow creasing as I struggled to determine who she was, I received a few challenging stares from a few men and even a wink from one of Sarahâs friends that Iâd met. I quickly turned my gaze downward to my glass, in an attempt to avoid a misunderstanding, when I looked up and saw her staring at me in the same pointed manor that I was staring at her. The look of confused recollection that crossed her face was a welcome comfort to my own bewildered state of mind.
Taking the initiative, I slid the chair beside me from beneath the table and gestured towards it, hoping that she would at least give me the chance to figure out how I knew her. Just then I was âassaultedâ from behind as one of the men in the club came stumbling past me. Instinctively turning around, I pushed him off of me, giving him hell for not knowing his own limits as he apologized and stumbled back to his seat at the bar.
When I turned back around, I found that I was not alone. My âfriendâ had crossed the bar during my interaction with the drunkard and had slid into the seat beside me. Instinctively my eyes wandered downward, taking in the low-cut dress that she was wearing, barely covering the top of her thighs as she crossed her legs. In a demonstration of perfect timing the waitress showed up to take an order for two drinks, before we both stumbled through initial conversation. Out of the corner of my eye I caught periodic glimpses of Sarah and Francie from the corner of the bar that they had retreated to upon my âfriendâsâ arrival.
âJames! Oh my god, no wonder I recognized you!â She said with sudden recognition.
Again, creasing my forehead, I struggled for the name that kept bouncing across the tip of my tongue. She must have noticed my loss because she smiled and over-dramatically introduced herself, holding her hand out like a lady of the courts in old England. âMy name is Anna Cross.â
Suddenly it all became clear.
âHoly shit!! Anna Cross! God how long has it been.â The uneasiness shattered between us in a blink of an eye and we immediately leaned towards each other for a big, âold schoolâ hug.
âWell, I transferred out of Kentucky at the end of fifth grade, so that would make it . . . â
â12 yearsâ I gasped in amazement at how long it had been since Iâd seen my oldest and best friend. Sliding our chairs closer, we spoke to each other about what weâd been doing for the past decade. Smiling, when I told her of my interest in engineering, Anna patted me lightly on the cheek.
âI always knew youâd make it someday, James.â
More amazing though was the fact that Anna had fought her way up from a low-income family to get a full scholarship to UKâs Medical School, with her bachelorâs degree in Biology.
And with the reunion of my old friend came, too, the resurfacing of childhood fondness, now matured into something far more powerful. And from the way she was behaving, I could only hope that Anna shared the same feelings that I was experiencing for her. As the night progressed, our bodies drifted closer and closer, bridging the gap between our bodies with wandering hands and fingers; a random twist of her hair here, a playful tug at my goatee there.
And it was evidently driving my friends up the wall.
âJames?â Anna whispered inches from my ear.
âYes?â I questioned.
âIs there some reason that those girls are staring at us?â
Sighing, I didnât even have to know whom she was talking about.
âThose two have some stick up their asses about me getting hooked up with someone. Theyâre probably waiting for me to make a move or something.â