Learning to Cope

Ch2 Page 18

Andrew:

"Hey, honey! Are you ready to get drunk?" Ashley yells as she takes a seat in my car. "I won't be getting too drunk, I need to drive." I state "sounds responsible." She laughs. She has her hair down, with some intense makeup and she's wearing a sparkly green and blue cocktail dress.

When we pull up to the bar, it has dark wood paneling on the outside and a long reach-around porch with some tables. there are string lights all over the building and a blue backlit neon sign reading 'Out Cold Pub'. "This place looks fancy" Ashley chirps. "August works here. I'm excited to see him." I smile, I put on a nice shirt and slacks just in case this is a high-end joint. "You really like him, huh?" She asks in a motherly tone. " I really, really do."

When we walk in, there are several steps down to a whole bunch of tables. the bar wraps around in an 'L' shape and there are decorations covering every inch of the paneled walls. There are two pretty girls working behind the bar but I don't see August anywhere. is this the right place?

We sit down at a small round table in the far corner, there are big televisions hanging on the walls with the new year's countdown displayed. "This place looks nice!" Ashley beams. She's definitely taking a peek at all the men. There are some pretty cute guys here, maybe I'll try to get laid tonight instead of kissing August. He doesn't seem too into me anyway.

One of the bartenders walks over, She's wearing a bikini top with an American flag design on it as a shirt and some really tight jeans. She's got a pixie cut and she looks bored. "Hey, How are y'all doing tonight?" She shouts over the music.

After Ashley orders, some food and lots of drinks the bartender looks to me "I'm just here for a friend, is August here?" I ask. "He's on break right now, he should be back any minute." She smiles and goes down a short hallway leading to the kitchen.

I wasn't wrong, he does work here. good. Although, now that I'm looking around, most of the waiters and bartenders are hardly wearing a shirt, if any. "Why are so many people topless?" I whisper. "It's a big night for tips, I've heard a lot of people show more skin to get better money. or it's a topless bar, who knows."

"Hey!" I love his voice. I look up and August is walking towards us with a tray of food and colorful liquor. He has on blue jeans and a black button-up shirt with most of the buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. I can almost see his belly button. His hair is pulled back into a small ponytail again with a few loose curls in front of his face. He's so beautiful.

"Hello? Earth to Andrew. Are you okay?" He asks, waving his hand in front of me. "S-sorry, I spaced out." I was definitely not imagining a million and one things I could do to him. "You're looking really good August." Ashley winks. He laughs "it's 20 to midnight and I'm not nearly drunk enough!" Ashley yells. He sets the food and drinks on the table and smiles. "I gotta get back to work, but I'll be back to check on you."