“Oh, so you’re leaving tomorrow?”
She nods as we turn the corner. “Yeah, my flight leaves from LaGuardia in the morning.”
A sudden hint of sadness seeps into my lungs as I realize this is the one and only time I have with this girl. Would I like to explore this some more? Most definitely. But let’s face it, I live here and she lives in Chicago. I can’t even hold a relationship with the girl living in New York. Long distance is not for me and I’m from being ready for it.
“Oh, wow is that it? Are we here?”
I break my trance and stare in front of us. “Yeah that’s it. We’re here. The high line park lights up the sky with holiday lights as Bridgette gasps with awe and wander. “Wow, this is amazing!”
We cross the street, heading toward the entrance of the park and pause, facing each other.
I smile at her. “So, are you meeting your friends here or something?”
She nods. “Yeah, actually at Salinas. A couple co-workers and I are having some drinks before my departure tomorrow. They actually live here in the city and work at our New York office.”
“Got it. Well….uh.” I freeze not knowing what to say. Do I ask for her number? I mean…usually I don’t need to ask. Girls just give them to me.
She peers at me with her big brown eyes as I get lost in the wonder of what could be if I just asked her.
Before I could she blurts out. “Listen, I know you may have plans later, but I could always see my co-workers when they visit Chicago. It’s not a big deal. I was thinking maybe we can go grab a drink or something.”
My brow arches with shock as I take in her offer. “Yeah, yeah of course.”
She smirks genuinely. “Yeah? Cool. You wanna just grab a drink around here?”
I shake my head and lead her away. “Nah, these are all tourist traps. Come on, I know the perfect place.”
Bridgette follows as I lead her a couple blocks away from all the tourist bars. A few minutes later we arrive at Porchlight, one of the best bars in town.
I hold the door open for her allowing her to enter the bar. The dim lights cascade across the wooden floor as bar hoppers fill the space. I unbutton my coat and pull the zipper down, allowing me to breathe in the crowded room. I grab Bridgette’s hand, pulling her toward the bar.
My eyes locate a couple of empty stools so I haul ass, not wanting to lose the seats. I pull Bridgette forward, motioning her to take the seat next to mine.
She follows, removing her coat and places it on the back of the stool. “Wow, this is a cool place.”
“Yeah, it’s the best. I love it here.”
“Hey Rob! How’s it going man?”
The bartender, Emilio, shakes my hand and I greet him. “Hey man, what’s up?”
“Not much. Still tending bar if that’s what you’re asking.”
The both of us laugh and I glance over at Bridgette. “Hey Emilio, this is Bridgette.”
The two of them shake hands and she greets him. “Nice to meet you.”
“Same. What are ya’ll drinking tonight?”
Immediately I spit out, “Jack and Coke.”
I peek over at Bridgette expecting her to say some fruity drink.
“I’ll have the same.”
Her choice completely shocks me to my core and I have to mentally pick my jaw up off the floor.
“You drink whiskey?
She shrugs her shoulders. “Yeah, so?”
I blink away the shock. “Nothing. It’s just – I never met a girl who doesn’t drink something pink.”
She snarls at my statement. “Well, sounds to me like you’ve been talking to the wrong type of girls.”
Her statement resonates with me. Maybe she’s right. I have been the wrong type of girls all along. Even my girlfriend of six months. She had a little bit more depth to her but overall the same type of woman.
Emilio hands us our drinks and we both take a sip. The whiskey slides down my tongue as I engulf its rich taste.
Bridgette downs hers and slams it on the bar. “That was delish.”
I smile. “Another one?”
She nods and I call over to Emilio for another round.
“So, what’s your favorite movie?”
Her question catches me off guard as I pause to think. “Well, lately I’ve been really into anything science fiction, but my all-time favorite would have to be Rocky.”
Her brow arches. “Rocky, seriously?”
“Why not? It’s the classic underdog story.”
“Yeah but he loses in the end. What was the point of all that training and he still lost.”
I shake my head. “It’s not about the win. That movie had it all. A great plot, some kickass fight scenes, a phenomenal score, plus Rocky got it in with Adrienne. You can’t beat that.”
Her beautiful laugh chimes throughout the bar. “Okay fine. I’ll give you that one.”
“What’s your fave movie?”
She winces at my question. “Promise not to laugh.”
I cross my heart. “Scouts honor.”
She whispers, “Titanic.”
I shut my mouth, trying real hard not to break my promise. My lips clash together as I force myself to look away, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
She huffs. “Fine, you can laugh.”
I let go, exploding into a loud uproar. “Ha-ha!! Seriously, Titanic? Come on! I bet you had a thing for DiCaprio.”
“Who doesn’t? The man is gorgeous! Besides, it’s such a beautiful love story.”
“Love story? Everybody dies.”
She slaps my arm. “Not everybody. Rose lived.”
I show her up. “Ah…as I recall. Kate Winslet got super old and died in her sleep. So…yeah. Everybody died.”
She huffs. “Fine – no point in arguing with a lawyer.”
I nod as I take a sip of my drink. “You got that right.”
I can tell she’s slightly annoyed but it’s fun poking at her. “So, tell me. What movies on your Netflix list to watch?”
She glances up toward the ceiling, clearly thinking. “Hmm...well, I can’t remember the list to watch. But I’ll tell you what I just finished watching this past weekend.”
“That’ll work.”
She counts on her fingers. “Okay, so I watched Clueless, a couple episodes of Scandal, and Bridget Jones’ Diary.”
“Alright, typical chick flicks.”
She downs her second drink. “What do you typically watch?”
“Me? Well, I don’t watch much because my schedule can be hectic. Last weekend, I spent it in D.C. trying to get a client to come on board with the firm. But, I did watch The Martian recently. That movie was phenomenal.”
“YES! I love that movie. Matt Damon rocked it.”
I smirk. “A Matt Damon fan I see?”
She rocks her shoulders. “Yup, and proud of it.”
“Alright favorite food?”
She slams her hands on the bar. “Easy. Lasagna.”
My eyes shoot open. “You too!”
She brushes her hair out of her face. “Who doesn’t love a good serving of lasagna?”
I nod. “Yeah, and who says we’re gonna end up together because we both like lasagna?”
She pauses. “Depends on the lasagna.”
I bust out laughing. “Yeah, depends on the lasagna.”
We both laugh in unison and god, this girl has completely blown me away. In just spending a couple hours with her, she has definitely rocked my world. I don’t know how I’m ever supposed to let her go.
“Hey, I just wanna say something.”
She listens attentively, leaning in closer.
“Listen, I just want to say that I’m glad you got lost. Because I’m having a really good time tonight getting to know you. I didn’t think my night would go this great to be honest. And it’s all because of you.”
She smiles wide as her lips curve. My eyes travel to
them, wishing I could press my lips against them at this very moment.
“And I feel the same. I’m having a great time and I thank you for showing me a little hospitality on my last night.”
Those words hit me hard. Last night. I don’t want her to leave.
I need to keep my mind away from that so I tear my eyes away from her and find an empty pool table.
I peer back at Bridgette. “Do ya play?”
She follows the direction my eyes are hinting toward. “Pool? I don’t think you’re ready to get your ass kicked. I play a mean game of pool.”
“Ah, really? Well, alright missy. It’s on.”
We hop off our stools and head toward the pool table. I hand her the cue stick and start pulling out the balls while she grabs the rack. She places each ball in the rack, lining them up for the break.
I grab the cue ball and place it on the table, lining it up with the rack. She lifts the rack, careful to not mess up the stack of balls.
I nod toward her. “You wanna break?”
She smiles with confidence. “Sure.”
As she lines up, I holler to Emilio. “Emilio, another round.”
He nods, listening to my order. My eyes return to Bridgette as I watch her bend over to break. My eyes focus on the gorgeous woman before me as she bends lower toward the table. Her tight black skirt hugs her waist as her thick purple blouse lightly touches the table. She has on black tights to keep her legs warm and all I can think about is taking them off and running my hands up her smooth legs.
I tear my eyes away from her, forcing myself to get a freaking grip. Physically, she’s not what I go for. She’s short, has dirty blonde hair, and she’s thick. But damn, if this girl doesn’t stop bending over, I’m gonna have to go to the bathroom for a quick second and deal with this.
She breaks the rack, shooting a solid colored ball into the top corner pocket. She squeals with excitement. “I got solids.”
She lines up at her stance, bending down again, sending me into a silent torture. I watch as she positions her fingers on the cue stick, gently moving the stick forward and back. She turns to face me and smiles teasingly.
God, she knows what she’s doing to me.
“Hey, hey. Focus on the cue ball. No teasing.”
She pouts, “What? I have no idea what you mean.”
I roll my eyes and watch as she pulls the stick forward, coming into contact with the cue ball and slamming two solid balls into the nearest packet.
Damn, she’s good. Time to play dirty.
She aims for another hit, positioning the cue ball for her next target. I study her stance as she aims and just as she pushes the stick forward, I cough very loud, causing her to lose focus. The cue ball hits the solid but nothing falls into the pocket.
She stares at me with a mental death grip. I playfully clear my throat. “Ahem…sorry. I had a tickle in my throat.”
She huffs. “Sure ya did.”
At that moment, Emilio approaches with our drinks and I grab Bridgette’s, handing it to her. She takes a long sip from the straw, surprising me she’s not even the least bit tipsy right about now.
“You sure can hold your liquor.”
She smiles while walking toward the corner with her drink in hand. “I love a good whiskey. I’ve grown accustomed to it.”
“I bet you have.”
I take the cue stick, readying myself for my first shot at this game. I ready my stance, leaning against the curb as I position the stick, aiming for the left center of the cue ball. With a yellow striped ball in view, I aim for the left side pocket.
I strike the cue, hitting it in the perfect spot as the ball slides into the pocket. I glance over at Bridgette, “One for me.”
She giggles. “You’re still behind.”
“That’s what you think.”
I aim for my next hit, positioning my stance. Bridgette walks closer to the table, placing both hands on the rails. I peek over to my right, watching her closely as I know she’s up to something. I just love her competitiveness. It’s goddamn attractive and makes me want her even more.
I set up my shot as I catch her leaning over, exposing some cleavage. I’m not the only one that plays dirty. Forcing myself to look away, I focus on the cue ball.
Just as I’m about to strike forward, she quickly moves closer to me, reaching her hand over to touch my arm. My body jolts as our skin contacts and the stick hits the cue ball fiercely, causing it to jump forward and fly off the table.
She bursts into laughter as I stand there shaking my head. I look at her playfully. “You made me scratch.”
She presses her hand on her chest. “Me? Nuh uh, I was just admiring your stance. Studying you to better my skill.”
“Yeah, you know what you’re doing and damn good at it too.”
I retrieve the fallen cue ball and hand it to her as she prepares to kick my ass in this game. Just face it, she’s already one. I nod to myself as I watch her get another ball into the pocket.
Minutes pass and I still haven’t had a turn. She’s cleared the whole damn table accept for the last ball. The eight ball.
She turns around the table as if she’s a lioness hunting her prey. She lowers her body against the rail as she stretches her arms across the table, eying the eight ball. Her fingers wrap tightly around the cue stick as I catch her licking her lips.
What I would give to kiss those pink luscious lips right now.
She nods toward me. “Eight ball, corner pocket.”
She steadies her stance, breathes deep, and pushes the stick forward, cascading the cue ball to magically hit the eight ball in the perfect spot. The ball spins forward, curling along the pool table as it heads straight forward to the corner pocket.
And as it sinks inside, she spins with a smile and does a little victory dance.
“Whooohoo!”
I shake my head watching her cute little dance. “Man, you kicked my ass.”
She laughs, “I told you I would.”
“Now, I know for future reference.”
I grab her cue stick and place them both back in the spot where they belong. Emilio hollers from the bar to all of the patrons. “Last call!”
I glance at my phone as soon as he says those words. Last call? It can’t be that late. Shit, it’s almost two in the morning.
I catch Bridgette heading back toward the bar to get her coat and I follow behind.
She turns to face me. “Hey, I need to head out. I have to get up early for my flight. I didn’t even realize it was this late.”
My shoulders slump. “Yeah, I guess we lost track of time.”
I motion for Emilio to close out my tab as I hand him my credit card. She whispers toward me. “Thank you for that. I could have paid for own drinks.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
I put on my coat just as Emilio hands me back my card. Bridgette buttons up her coat and grabs her purse.
Before she turns, I place my hand on her arm. “Wait, why don’t we exchange numbers or something? I don’t know; keep in touch.”
She offers me a small smile. “I don’t know Rob. I live in Chicago and it’s not really a smart idea to start anything. We were just hanging out, ya know?”
“Come on, you gotta give me something. Facebook?”
She hesitates for a moment before surrendering to my request. “Okay fine.”
I giggle inside like a damn high school girl. “Alright, what’s your last name?”
She smiles wide. “It’s Andrews.”
I pull up Facebook on my phone and search for her. Within a few seconds, I find her profile. Her profile pic is a beautiful picture of her in front of the ‘Bean’ in Chicago. I hit the ‘request friend’ button and place my phone in my pocket.
“There. Now I can Facebook stalk you.”
She laughs. “Stalking is fine. It’s the poking that gets under my skin.”
I usher her outside as I
say goodbye to Emilio. The cool chill startles me as my body adjusts to the freezing temperature.
Bridgette puts on her gloves as I glance at my text messages. Ten messages from Samantha. Ugh.
“Well, I had a great time tonight.”
I turn to face Bridgette. “Me too. Hey, where are you staying at?”
“At the Marriot on Lexington. Why?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Maybe we can split a cab. I’m headed uptown anyway.”
She nods. “Sure.”
I hail a cab, hoping to find one soon because it’s freaking freezing outside. Within a matter of minutes, I find one and we both hop inside.
The cab driver asks, “Where to?”
I chime in. “Yeah hi, we have two stops.”
The cab driver nods, indicating he understands.
Bridgette speaks up. “The Marriott on Lexington Avenue.”
The car pulls away from the curb as we make our way back uptown. The ride is quiet as I keep my face turned toward the window. I have the urge to hold her hand but I know that’ll make her uncomfortable and that’s the last thing I wanna do right now.
I glance at her direction just for a quick peek and find her staring out the window. Her gorgeous round face reflects off the glass as I watch her eyes staring out into the city around us. Her long dirty blonde hair flows past her shoulders. My eyes travel south stopping at that skirt of hers and my mind starts to think of ways I can get her out of it.
I shake away my imagination as I let out a deep breath and return to looking out my window. We ride the cab in silence until it stops in front of the hotel. She opens her purse, grabbing her wallet.
I raise my hand. “Don’t, I got this.”
Her eyes sparkle at me. “No, that’s not fair. You paid for everything tonight. The least I can do is pay for my own cab fare.”
I place my hand on hers, assuring her that I can handle this. “Trust me, it’s okay.”
She places her wallet back in her pause and hesitates before returning to my gaze. She pursues her lips, carefully choosing her next choice of words.
“I had a great time tonight, I really did.”
My eyes stare into hers, trying to decipher her body language. Should I kiss her? Wait, why the hell am I asking. I should just do it.
Christmas in the City II Page 27