I sat at the shiny bar top at one of the newer watering holes on Adams Street in Scranton, nursing my gin and tonic. The rustic wooden and stone décor was comforting and inviting. It was a small establishment, but most of the tables were taken. It was a typical Friday night crowd and I was glad for the upcoming weekend. I teach fifth grade at one of the elementary schools, and my class decided to make today a bad day. Was it a full moon? Was it because school was almost over? Maybe both…
I let my finger lazily trace over the outside of the glass, causing the condensation to fall to the cardboard coaster advertising random liquor.
"You look like you've had a rough day." A rough but friendly voice popped up from behind the bar. I looked up to see a large, balding man give me a sympathetic smile as he wiped glasses. "That's a very astute observation." I replied giving him the best smile I could muster.
"Es…" His eyebrows furrowed together at my word choice, and it was then I knew I had to drop the teacher talk.
I held out my hand for him to shake before he could hurt himself from more thinking, "I'm Kate."
His large hand shook mine, it was warm yet firm, "I'm Kevin."
We got to talking about our professions, and I found out that Kevin was a co-owner of the bar and previously worked as an accountant for Dunder Mifflin. I recognized the company because they were the paper supplier for the school district. The staff had been on a TV show that aired on PBS, but I hadn't seen it. I'm lucky to just be on season three of How I Met Your Mother. Kevin excused himself and began stocking liquor on the shelf against the wall, his broad back facing me.
A small camera crew came into the bar and set up in the corner of the bar, which I thought was odd. I was going to say something to Kevin, but then suddenly a large group of guys walked in and headed straight to one of the occupied tables. I glanced over my shoulder and realized that a couple of them were pretty cute. One was taller with shaggy brown hair and a grey sweater, but when my gaze zoomed in on the wedding ring my internal signals glared red. The one standing closer to me with the dark blue button down and dark jacket was definitely catching my eye…and I was in luck, no wedding ring. His dark brunette hair was swept to the right, and my fingers immediately itched to run through it.
Whoa there Kate, calm the hell down! I thought to myself. I immediately looked back down at my drink and took a large gulp, having an internal scolding session. I realized the camera crew was filming the group of guys, and became intrigued.
I heard Tall and Shaggy ask something to the one with dorky glasses, "Is that Mose?"
"Yes it is!" His friend replied, excitedly annunciating every word. "I am here for my bride!"
I looked over my shoulder again, not being able to help it.
A high pitched gremlin-like giggle came from the table, "Well first buy us a drink!" He started chanting, which got his table to start chanting. Dorky Glasses began doing some kind of jig, which got a guy with a Lincoln beard to jig as well.
"Very well, drinks on me!" A cheer erupted from the gremlin's entourage. "Bartender!" Dorky glasses exclaimed, walking beside me and then making a funny noise as Kevin turned around to face him. Dorky's eyes were bugging out- obviously he knew Kevin.
I took another sip from my glass, this was about to get good, and I had a front row seat.
"Well, well, well, well, well. That's six wells. Did I get that number right, Dwight?"
Oh Kevin, honey… I thought as I mentally shook my head. I was starting to see why he wasn't an accountant anymore. At least Dorky had a real name now.
Wasn't much of an improvement…
"I heard you bought a bar, Kevin."
"Yes I did- this one. Now, get out!" He motioned toward the front door. Man, Kevin got serious in a hurry!
Dwight turned to Gremlin and Tall and Shaggy, "Why did you pick this place?" Gremlin pointed to Tall and Shaggy, who moaned at him.
"You?" Dwight asked. "You did this as a prank. My own bestest menshe."
What the hell is a bestest menshe?!
Tall and Shaggy replied, "Nope, not a prank. I think it's time for you to bury the hatchet."
Dwight scoffed, "Waste of a good hatchet."
Tall and Shaggy muttered, "Okay just…talk."
Dwight turned back to Kevin, who by now had crossed his arms defensively. "Well, w- "
"I heard you say well the first time." Dwight interrupted him. He sat on the stool next to me and they began talking about when Dwight fired Kevin, and I became a little guilty listening in. My drink was becoming more and more interesting.
Tall and Shaggy was talking to the camera guys, which I later found out was called a Talking Head.
"It was nothing personal. It's just that you were terrible at your job!" Dwight argued. "You're just saying that to make me feel better." "No really, you were terrible at math, and organization, time management, personal hygiene…your internet searches were so filthy we had to throw out your computer!"
"Is that all it was?" "That's it." Kevin reached for Dwight, "Come here!" They hugged over the bar. Dwight's face was squished into Kevin's but I could still hear him say, "I miss you Kevin!"
"I missed you!"
Kevin pulled away and began filling beer steins with the bubbly, frothy beverage as Dwight handed them out to the Gremlin's entourage. "You've had your drink! Now, where is my bride?" He exclaimed.
The Gremlin made his weird giggle again, "The trunk."
"What?!" Tall and Shaggy cried out. "Follow me!" The Gremlin escorted Dwight and Tall and Shaggy to the parking lot.
"How's it going, Kevin?" A rich voice asked as the matching body sat down on the stool that Dwight had previously occupied. He sat his beer in front of him on the bar and shook Kevin's hand. I tried to control my breathing- it was Hot Hair Guy. I quickly downed the rest of my drink in nervousness.
He and Kevin shook hands, "Probably better than you, Andy. I can't believe you went viral!"
Andy sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in slight annoyance, and I couldn't help but bite my lower lip.
"Need another drink, Kate?" Kevin asked me. Andy's attention turned to me and I felt a blush as I nodded, my words failing me.
"And who is your beautiful friend, Kev?" Andy asked, and I could feel my cheeks on fire. I looked at Andy and saw that he had a warm and friendly smile.
"I'm Kate, nice to meet you." I shook his hand cordially, but inside my stomach was doing summersaults. "I'm Andrew, but everyone calls me Andy."
"Or Baby Wah-Wah," Kevin muttered as he set my new glass in front of me and took my empty.
Our handshake was going on a little longer than normal for an introduction, but honestly I didn't want it to end.
We began talking about ourselves- he seemed relieved that I hadn't seen the Dunder Mifflin documentary or a capella reality shows he was on. I wondered why it bothered him so bad, but didn't want to press the issue.
"Are you going to the panel tomorrow?" Kevin asked Andy as he was restocking beer bottles. Andy looked a little apprehensive, and the nurturing side in me took over as I placed my hand on his arm. "What's the panel about?" I asked soothingly, and he turned to me, eyes meeting.
God he has nice eyes…
He looked down at my hand, but made no attempt to remove it. He finally let out a breath, "It's a kind of 'where are they now' catch up since the doc finished airing. Honestly, I left a little disgracefully. I burnt my bridge with the company while I was regional manager, of which I was never really good at. I was at such a low point then…it was embarrassing. It's kind of hard to want to face that all over again."
"Well, it'll be what- a couple of hours? And then that'll be it. You can put that chapter of your life to rest, and then drive back to Cornell and keep doing what you're doing now." He nibbled at his thumbnail on his other hand, not daring to move the arm with my hand. "Well, that's not exactly…it. Dwight, the guy who was sitting by you before…he's marrying my ex-fiance this weekend."
"Oh shit," slipped out of my mouth before I had time to think about it. I cringed, "Sorry that was inappropriate." Surprisingly, Andy tilted his head back and laughed.
"I think you summed it up pretty nicely, actually."
Tall and Shaggy came over from being out in the parking lot, "Andy we've got to head back. Mose locked Angela in the trunk."
"Ah geez…" Andy rolled his eyes with a sigh before downing the rest of his beer. "Kevin, thanks for the beer, buddy. I'll see you in the morning." They shook hands as he got up off the stool, and my hand fell into my lap. I'm pretty sure my heart did the same.
Andy looked down at me, not sure what to say next.
I smiled, trying to mask my disappointment, "Well good luck with everything, Andy. I know you'll be great."
He smiled and pulled out his phone, "Can I call you sometime?"
"Yes." I grabbed his phone without thinking and programmed my number. Handing back his phone, he grabbed my hand and kissed it tenderly. "It was lovely meeting you, Kate. Let's try to get together before I go back to Ithica."
"Absolutely," I replied shyly. He winked at me quickly before walking out with Tall and Shaggy, who patted him on the back. It was faint, but I thought I heard him give Andy a 'Way to go buddy'. Watching him walk out, I bit my bottom lip before turning back to the bar where Kevin was giving me a shit-eating grin.
"What?" I asked, trying to mask my embarrassment. I chugged my drink in two gulps. He snickered, "Nothing, nothing at all."
I threw down a twenty on the bar and stood up, grabbing my clutch from the bar. "Thanks for everything, Kevin. Have a good night." I smiled at him, despite his continuing look.
"Want me to talk to him for you?" He offered. "NO! I mean, no it's okay. He said he'd call sometime."
I really hoped he would.
The Frank Sinatra Pandora station crooned from my TV as I tipsily folded laundry at my small dining table a few hours later. My condo was the perfect size for me- an upstairs with three bedrooms, a garage for my car, and a living room just big enough for my grading couch. I was getting into the song (as well as my second glass of Pino) and almost didn't hear my phone ring from the kitchen counter five feet away from me.
I caught the call just before it went to voicemail, not paying attention to the screen. "Hello?" I answered, ashamedly almost out of breath. "Kate? Hi, it's Andy. Uh, did I catch you at a bad time?" "No, no. I'm just home folding laundry with Pandora on, I guess I turned it up too loud." I grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned down the volume.
"I'm sorry for calling so late, I just…I want to talk to you more. You've been on my mind since I left the bar. I hope I'm not being too forward." "Absolutely not, I would love to talk more. Would you like to come over here for a drink?"
"Sure, what's your address?" "126 Kellum Court." He didn't say anything for a minute, and for a moment she thought their call got dropped. "Andy?" "You're kidding me right?" "I'm sorry?"
What the hell is he going on about?
"126 Kellum Court?" He repeated like it was the most incredible thing ever. "Yeah…?" "How long have you lived there?" "Just a couple of years, I bought it from a guy who was moving with his wife to Colorado. It was a really sweet story."
"Wow, what a small world." He replied, though it seemed mostly to himself. "Andy, what's going on?" "I'll explain when I get there. I'm not too far away. I should be there in ten minutes."
I spent my remaining alone time putting my laundry away in my room upstairs. As I put my last pair of panties in the drawer, the doorbell chimed downstairs. Going to the door as gracefully as possible, I smoothed my hair down before opening the door.
I was greeted with Andy's phone being held out, showing a picture of himself and a shorter man with dark hair. They were both in what looked like an office conference room at Christmas time. "This was my boss, Michael Scott."
The name sent off a bell in my mind. "Michael Scott! That's who I bought the condo from!" Now Andy's reaction made sense. He grinned and put his phone in his back pocket. I noticed that he had ditched his jacket and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. I about died on the spot.
"Please come in," I stepped aside as he crossed the threshold and shut the door behind him. He looked into the living room and grinned. "You certainly decorate better than he does." He gave me another wink before stepping down into the living room. He looked to the left and into the dining area, his eyes glazing over for a moment, obviously re-living something in his mind's eye.
"Can I get you a glass of wine? Bourbon? Beer?"
"You drink bourbon?" "Yeah, all the cool kids do." I grinned and poured him a snifter. He raised his glass to me, and I grabbed my wine that was left on the dining table. "To the classiest lady I just luckily met." Our glasses clinked together, just as "You'd Be So Easy to Love" came on Pandora from the living room.
"Let's go sit out on the patio- it's such a lovely night." I suggested, pushing a curtain away to reveal the sliding glass door to the small backyard. He agreed and we made our way outside with our drinks. I kept the door open a crack so that we could still hear the music. I had an old fashioned porch rocking chair that was for two, and we settled in. My heart was speeding up a bit, and it was then I could smell his cologne. It was wonderful- I was beginning to fall under a spell.
We continued to get to know one another, talking about our childhoods and past relationships. We laughed, we got deep at points…like when he would talk about his parents and brother. Somewhere along the night, his arm ended up resting on the back of the chair, behind my shoulders. A cool breeze blew past us, causing me to shiver slightly despite the heat from the alcohol consumption.
"Getting cold?" He asked, boldly wrapping his arm around me. I looked up at him just as he was looking down at me. The bright moon played shadows on his face, but those eyes still shone through the darkness. "Kiss me?" I questioned back, and bit my lip as soon as I said it. Shit! Way to scare him—
Andy's hand cupped my cheek, pulling my lip from my teeth and running his thumb delicately over my lower lip. His own lips soon took the place of his thumb, and I flew to Heaven. He tasted of Bourbon and a slight hint of peppermint. His lips soft, and he knew how to use them. I couldn't lie- I hadn't kissed a guy in probably a year, so I was getting worked up in a hurry. My fingers found his hair, and my earlier wishes came true- his brown hair was full and thick and silky. I hoped other parts of him were, too.
His other arm wrapped around my back and we became enveloped in each other. My head rested on his arm and our kisses deepened. His tongue expertly searched my mouth as my nails lightly scratched at his scalp. Andy pulled back and we caught our breath for a moment, smiling goofily at one another.
"Wow," I panted, my hand moving to the nape of his neck. "Yeah, no kidding…if I may be so bold m'lady, you're so smoking hot." "Oh, please be bold, Andy." I whispered, getting drunk off him. His lips attached back to mine and we continued the dance for several more minutes. I couldn't take much more without going to the next level- I had an itch that needed scratching.
I pulled back just so that our lips barely touched, and I placed my hands on his cheeks while looking him in the eye. "Let's go upstairs," I whispered to him. His eyebrows rose in surprise, but then I could feel the grin grow on his face. "Are you sure?" He whispered back.
I didn't answer, but grabbed his hands and lead him upstairs.