Country Boy laughed. “Unofficially, her inability to get a man isn’t our fault. Officially, no comment.”
“Okay that’s it for tonight. Tune in next week and we’ll answer more of your emails. We’ll have two special guests that you won’t want to miss. I’m City Boy—”
“I’m Country Boy…”
“And I’m Los Cabos.”
“And this is Date Night with the Lost Boys,” the three of them said in unison.
I turned off the podcast and looked at my best friend. “Wow.”
With wide eyes, she just stared at me in disbelief. “Did they really…?”
“They really did. The fact that they dedicated time to me on their show is laughable.” I checked the time and then reapplied my lip gloss. Grabbing my keys, I slipped out of my car. “And it lets me know that I was right about them.”
“It’s no wonder that they keep their faces covered up in all their publicity shots. City Boy is going to get his ass kicked one of these days,” Meghan stated, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
“Absolutely.” I agreed as we made our way to the front door of the bar. “But you know what this means, right?”
Wiggling her eyebrows, she answered, “That you’re getting free publicity and that’s going to make you even more successful.”
I stopped in my tracks. “I didn’t even think about that.” Laughing, I started walking again. “I was just thinking about how I know there are people who agree with me who listen to their show. Hopefully they will start holding The Lost Boys accountable as well. And maybe the Date Night listeners who didn’t see their toxicity before, will see it now and will be more mindful of the way they talk to and interact with women.”
“And also, you’re about to get a lot more eyes on your work ahead of your first Re-Mix article!”
I dug my ID out of my bag as we approached the door. “They may have thought they were calling me out, but they were calling attention to my future articles and to the toxicity of their messages.”
Moving her shoulders to the music, Meghan nodded. “This is a win, win for you. Screw them. I can only imagine the stuff they would’ve said if Carlos didn’t issue their official response.”
I rolled my eyes. “Carlos is a piece of work.”
As we entered the moderately crowded bar, she asked, “How do you feel about what Carlos said? It sounds like what he said when you guys were at Re-Mix.”
“Exactly.” I nodded as I scanned the room. “So, I still feel the same way. Just because he walked me to my car doesn’t change anything.”
Lowering her voice as we headed to the team tables, she continued, “I don’t know how to feel. He didn’t talk shit about you like Country Boy and City Boy did, but he didn’t defend you either.”
“Trash adjacent.”
She looked at me. “Are you okay though?”
“Absolutely.” I winked at her.
“Cool. I’m going to be at the bar while you work.”
“You look hot,” I confirmed as she struck a pose.
“As do you.” She blew me an air kiss and then strutted away.
I went to the sign-up sheet and found a group that didn’t have five people yet. After writing my name, I grabbed a nametag and looked for the Sharks. Turning I nearly collided with the man rushing by.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” he apologized, face twisted in horror. “I didn’t get anything on you, did I?”
Glancing down at my outfit and then back to his handsome face, I smiled. “Nope. Nothing got on me.”
His eyes quickly swooped up and down my body. “It would’ve been a shame if I messed anything up. You look incredible.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
“I would shake your hand, but…” He held up the three drinks in his hands. “I’m Mark.”
Mark had shoulder length dreadlocks that were neatly pulled back into a ponytail. His pearly white teeth flashed brilliantly against his mahogany skin tone. He was a few inches taller than me. And with his slim build, snug fitted button-up shirt, and thick rimmed glasses, he was giving me nerdy vibes. And I liked it.
“I’m Akila.” I pointed to his nametag. “You’re on the Daily Double team, I see.”
“I am. But had I known you were coming, I would’ve left my friends behind to become a Shark.”
I laughed. “Well, now I’m your competition.”
“We have five minutes until we start Singles Trivia. If you haven’t signed up, there are still a few teams who need players,” a woman’s voice carried over the hum of the relatively busy bar. “Five minutes!”
“I need to find the Sharks,” I mentioned, looking around for people with similar nametags.
“You’re actually at the table next to me. My friends and I have a team and then two other guys. Follow me.” He leaned over and whispered, “Let me know if you want me to kick one of the guys I don’t know off the team and replace them with you.”
I giggled. “I don’t even know if I want to be on your team.” I quirked my perfectly arched eyebrow. “How do I know you aren’t dead weight?”
He chuckled. “You’re right. But hopefully I can prove to you that I’m an asset and not a liability.” Pointing to the table to my right, he continued, “These are the Sharks.”
I looked at the table of two men, two women and smiled. “Hi!”
“And this is Daily Double.”
I looked to my left and my face froze momentarily.
“Guys, this is Akila. She’s a Shark,” Mark introduced me to his friends before pointing to a pretty, petite woman with large eyes. “This is Tess.” He hesitated when he pointed to the last guy. “And this is… I’m sorry, man. What’s your name again?”
“Carlos,” I blurted out, my entire body on edge.
“Hello, Akila,” Carlos replied, sitting back in his chair.
“You two know each other?” Mark asked.
Staring into the depths of Carlos’s eyes, I rolled my shoulders back. “No.”
The mostly male Daily Double team reacted with “damn” and “oh shit” as I made my way to the only empty chair at the Shark table.
Unfortunately, it was directly facing Carlos.
I sat down and introduced myself to my team. They added my name to our answer sheet and we made small talk. After explaining to my team that the Daily Double team was howling because I declined to join them, I happened to look up.
My stomach flipped.
Licking his lips and shifting in his seat, Carlos was staring directly at me.
Oh shit.
When our eyes locked, I felt it deep in the pit of my stomach. Our attraction to one another was undeniable, but I thought since we clearly didn’t like each other, it wouldn’t be so intense. But even after everything that had happened, there was something about him that my body couldn’t deny. Somehow, even after listening to him and his friends, he made jeans and a perfectly fitted white polo shirt look like the sexiest outfit in the room.
But it was more than that.
A buzzing noise grabbed my attention and I focused my energy where it belonged—on the game.
“Welcome to Singles Trivia Night at Pop’s Bar! I’m your host, Ellie, and we are going to kick off this fresh new event with a few ground rules. There will be two rounds. Only people playing can answer the questions, so those of you at the bar, keep your answers to yourself. First round, you write your answers down. Second round, the top three teams compete by buzzing in. And if need be, there will be a tie-breaker, and the best and brightest will compete for world domination.” She paused. “Just kidding. First place prize is a twenty-five-dollar gift card for each member of your team. Now just be mindful that everyone playing Singles Trivia is single, so make sure you’re scoping the scene. It’s clear that everyone over here looks good…but who has the brains to match? Are you ready?”
I smiled at my teammates. “I’m ready.”
Ellie hit a button that made a loud, buzzing noise. “The first round is a good
one… Music from the nineties!”
Everyone cheered.
Regardless of age, everyone seemed to appreciate the music from the nineties.
“Question one,” Ellie began. “Smells Like Teen Spirit was by who?”
“Nirvana,” the older brunette with the pixie cut answered quickly before writing down the answer. She looked up. “You agree, right?”
Excitedly, we agreed.
“Question two…Who burned her football player boyfriend’s house down?”
“Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez,” I answered in unison with the adorable Shark next to me.
“Question three is a little harder,” Ellie teased. “A Whole New World was featured in Aladdin. But which singer joined Regina Belle in making that song a classic?”
“Peabo Bryson,” I whispered excitedly. “My mom loves him.”
Ellie continued, “Question four… Which song warned you to sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight?”
“Enter Sandman,” I blurted out, hearing the song Alex learned on guitar when we were kids. “Metallica.”
The brunette with the pixie cut nodded even though the others looked unconvinced.
“Question five…” Ellie yelled out. “A rap star lost his battle with AIDS in the nineties…”
“Oh, it’s the dude from NWA,” the adorable teammate whispered, closing his eyes. “Easy E!”
Ellie continued, “…He was known as Easy E. What’s his real name?”
The tone and shift in the room was immediate because the questions were definitely getting harder.
Leaning forward, I grinned. “Eric Wright, Easy E.”
“Question six…” Ellie’s voice boomed over the microphone. “Not many people go from drummer to front man and lead singer, but this nineties artist did it. He happened to be part of two different iconic bands that ruled the nineties.”
“It could be a lot of people,” the quiet Shark fretted, running his hand through his hair. “I watched this thing about Sheila E the other night. I don’t know.”
“Is it Travis Barker?” the brunette wondered.
I had no clue.
“Dave Grohl,” the brunette gasped. “It has to be.”
“Oh! Yes! Yes!” the quiet Shark agreed, nodding profusely.
My team cheered, slapping each other’s hands and bumping fists, and we almost missed Ellie dole out the next question.
We answered question after question, feeling confident as we approached the last of twenty. Ellie’s scorekeepers came around and collected all the answer sheets and then calculated the winning scores. Even though those who didn’t move on to the next round were able to mix and mingle, I was having a good time with my team. Also, my competitive spirit was thriving in the environment.
Music played as we laughed and talked, waiting for the points to be tallied. People moved around to the bars, grabbing drinks and food before returning for round two. The adorable Shark was on his way back to our table with a couple bottles of water when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mark waving at me. Grinning, I gave him a friendly wave back. I tried to stop myself, but my eyes inadvertently shifted over to Carlos.
I froze.
A dull ache formed in the depths of me as I watched him watching me. He was turning a beer bottle in his hand as his gaze fixed on me. He didn’t smile as our eyes met. He wasn’t embarrassed to be caught staring. He just continued to look at me as if he were seeing me for the first time.
I swallowed hard.
Ellie cleared her throat in the microphone, startling me. “Time for round two… can we get the Sharks, Daily Double, and Bee-Hive to the front?”
Squealing, I tore my eyes away from the handsome man a few feet away from me and celebrated with my team. We slapped hands and cheered as we made our way to Ellie.
In a lightning round of sorts, we answered questions about history, pop culture, TV shows, sports, and science. We had eight points, Daily Double had eight points, and Bee-Hive had two points. There was only one more question and we needed to answer correctly for the chance to win. All eyes were on us as the entire bar seemed to be invested in the competition.
I happened to notice Carlos smiling at his pretty teammate. She was batting her eyelashes up at him and smiling with her entire face. I looked away and halfway heard something the brunette on my team asked me. Distractedly, I answered her. A high-pitched giggle grabbed my attention and part of me knew what it was, but the other part of me needed confirmation. My eyes darted to Carlos. I saw him smiling as he told her something else that made her toss back her head and laugh.
“What’s wrong?” the quiet Shark asked me, his hazel eyes wide.
Jerking my attention away from the flirting over on Daily Double, I lifted my lips into a smile. “Nothing.”
“You were frowning.”
I shook my head. “Just thinking about what the final question category could be.”
He appeared to believe me as he nodded. “I know,” he mumbled. “It could be anything, but I’m thinking the category has to be movies. I want to be impressive.” Gesturing to the blonde woman who was supportive but hadn’t really known any answers, he gave a tight-lipped smile. “If we win, it’ll give me a good opening line.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but the squeal of the microphone interrupted.
“Final question will determine our winner,” Ellie called out, inciting cheers from the ground, nervous rumbles from the contestants. “The category is… literature.”
My nerves spiked. I was both irritated and impressed by how many questions Carlos answered correctly. But with him being an English teacher, the final category felt primed for him to win.
I can do all things.
Ellie took a dramatic pause. “The Victorian-era romance novel series starring Misery Chastain was written by which author?”
There was a murmur in the crowd, but we were all silently looking at one another. The rest of the Sharks looked confused and then it hit me.
Unfortunately, Daily Double hit the buzzer first.
“Stephen King,” Mark answered confidently.
“I’m sorry,” Ellie replied with a pout. “No.”
I hit our buzzer without consulting with my group. They looked at me expectantly. All eyes in the entire building felt like they were on me. I quickly found Meghan in the crowd and my smile grew.
Throwing my arms in the air, I yelled, “Paul Sheldon!”
“I’m sorry…” Ellie stretched the word out, finishing with a dramatic pause. “The winners are the Sharks!”
The entire bar erupted in cheers and my adorable teammate spun me around before moving on to the others. We all exchanged pleasantries with the other teams and after receiving our gift cards, we were free to mingle with everyone else.
I was heading to the bar to get a drink and jot down some thoughts about my experience so far with Singles Trivia Night when I felt a hand on my elbow. Yanking it out of the grasp, I turned and looked to see who’d grabbed me.
“Hey, sorry,” Mark apologized, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’d called your name five times and I didn’t think you heard me. Just wanted to tell you congratulations.”
“Thank you.” I grinned with pride. “You guys did a good job as well! I guess that was good practice for your Jeopardy-bound friend.”
“If I’m keeping it real, your boy Carlos knew most of the answers. Apparently, he’s a teacher.” He gave me a look. “But I’m sure you knew that.”
I nodded, moving closer to the newly open space at the bar.
Mark moved right along with me. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s up with you two?”
I shook my head and pretended to be confused. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean, I caught him staring at you a few times, and the way you said you two didn’t know each other seemed deeply personal.” He lifted his hand to catch the attention of the bartender before continuing. “So, I’m just curious…”
“Curious a
s to why he was staring at me or curious about how we know each other or…?” I cocked my head to the side and waited for him to get to his point. “I’m not sure what you’re asking.”
“Well, it’s obvious why he was staring at you… you’re gorgeous.”
“Thank you.”
He placed his order with the bartender and asked for another bottle of water for me. He turned back toward me. “Are you two dating?”
My eyebrows flew up. “No. Oh no, no, no. Not at all.”
“Okay.” Handing me a bottled water and then sipping his rum and coke, Mark’s smile grew. “Okay, well that’s good to know. I—”
“Excuse me, Akila.” Carlos’s deep voice seemed to emerge out of nowhere as he slid up to the bar.
Something about the way his voice wrapped around my name made my insides tighten. Inhaling sharply, I fixed my gaze on him as he asked for a bottle of water from the bartender. Eyeing his profile, I spoke. “Carlos.”
“Congratulations.” He took the bottled water and then patted Mark on the back. “Even though we technically won, congratulations.”
I felt my eyes bulge. “What?”
“Mark here said Stephen King and technically, he’s right. Stephen King wrote Misery. So…” He lifted his hands and backed away.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be a sore loser.”
“Hey, whatever you have to tell yourself.” He smirked. “Enjoy your night.”
“I don’t have to tell myself anything. Ellie told the entire bar that the Sharks won. But you enjoy your night.”
He looked over at Mark and then back at me. “Okay, Akila.”
I curled my lip in disgust. “Okay, Carlos.”
Carlos looked at Mark. “Good luck.”
“Don’t ‘good luck’ him,” I hissed indignantly. “What is that even supposed to mean?”
“I’m going to let you two work this out,” Mark sighed before turning and walking away.
“Great,” I snapped, glaring at his handsome face. “Thanks a lot.”
“I didn’t do anything.” Turning, Carlos put his back against the bar and looked out into the crowd. “Anyway, you’re supposed to be reporting.”
Sweatpants Season Page 11