"Mark, I'm gonna be late for work, did you see my keys?" Roger asked looking around the loft.
"They're on the counter in the kitchen." Mark said looking up from his camera.
"Thanks. I gotta go. Are you guys still coming to the bar later?" he asked looking over at him as he shoved his wallet into his back pocket.
"Yeah, we'll be there as soon as Joanne gets off of work." he said putting his camera down on the table.
"OK, I'll see you later then." Roger said going towards the door to leave.
"OK Rog, see you later." Mark said getting up to go to the kitchen. Roger had been working at a bar near the loft since Mimi died a year and a half earlier. He wanted to get another band together, but writing the songs were not coming easily for him. He needed to do something in the mean time.
"Hey Rog." Nick said as Roger entered the bar.
"Hey Nick. How's it going?" he asked taking his leather jacket off before going behind the bar.
"It's going. It's been slow, so hopefully you'll have an uneventful night. I'll be back as soon as I can." he said putting his jacket on as Roger began wiping down the bar.
"OK Nick. Take your time. I should be able to handle it on my own." Roger smiled as Nick left the bar. There were only a few people sitting at the bar so Roger went around to the jukebox and pumped some money in to play some songs.
"Hey Roger, you gonna play some of that heavy metal you like so much or are you gonna let us hear some Johnny Cash today?" an older gentleman asked smiling at his friend next to him.
"When have you ever known me to play Johnny Cash, Bill?" he asked laughing as a young, beautiful blond entered the bar.
"A guy can hope can't he?" Bill laughed drinking his draft beer.
"Don't touch the jukebox, you two." he laughed going back behind the bar where the young woman sat. "What can I get you?" he asked looking down at her.
"Stoli neat and keep 'em coming." she said putting a 20 on the bar as she got comfortable on the bar stool.
"Are you OK?" he asked pouring the stoli into a glass and putting it in front of her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you a therapist or a bartender?" she asked downing the stoli.
"Sorry. Do you want another?" he asked looking down at her.
"Yeah, another one would be great. Listen, I'm sorry, I'm just having a really bad day and I don't want to talk about it." she said looking up at him as he poured her another drink.
"No problem. But if you want to talk, I'm a good listener." he smiled looking down at her. "I'm Roger, by the way." he said holding his hand out to her.
"Hi Roger, I'm Adrianna." she smiled reaching out for his hand.
"So do you want to talk about anything? I may not be a therapist, but bartenders are pretty close." he smiled looking down at her.
"Nah, just boyfriend problems. Actually ex boyfriend problems. Nothing I can't handle. Thanks Roger." she smiled looking up at him before taking another drink.
"Oh, sorry to hear that." he told her wiping down the bar again.
"Don't be. It's for the best." she said downing her second glass of stoli. "So, does that jukebox play anything good or just this heavy metal shit?" she smiled looking up at him.
"See for yourself." he smiled gesturing towards the jukebox.
"OK thanks." she smiled hopping off of the barstool and rushing towards the jukebox. "Who's got money in here?" she asked looking back at the bar.
"Look at heavy metal boy over there. He won't let us play anything decent." Al smiled looking over at Roger.
"Decent is a matter of opinion." she smiled turning back to the jukebox starting to press buttons.
"Now I'm scared." Roger laughed looking over at Adrianna who was bouncing up and down excitedly picking songs.
"I have a feeling you should be." Bill laughed looking up at Roger.
"Oh joy." Roger smiled leaning on the bar.
"SHOT THROUGH THE HEART AND YOU'RE TO BLAME. DARLIN YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME." Adrianna sung at the top of her lungs as she twirled around the room. "I love this song." she laughed dancing over to the bar for her drink.
"Bon Jovi. Of course." he laughed watching her sway to the music.
"What do you mean, Bon Jovi, of course? Bon Jovi rocks." she smiled drinking her drink again.
"Adrianna, they're a hairband." he laughed looking down at her.
"So what." she squealed looking up at him. "They're still great." she laughed before drinking her drink.
"If you say so." he laughed watching her dance around the bar.
"Come on Roger. Dance with me." she laughed looking over at him.
"Oh no. I don't dance." he smiled looking over at her.
"Don't be a chicken Roger. Dance with me." she called out twirling around the room.
"Maybe you should sit down. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." he smiled looking over at her.
"How am I gonna hurt myself? I'm only dancing." she smiled looking over at him as he came from behind the bar to go to her.
"You keep spinning around like that, you're gonna get dizzy and fall down." he said reaching out for her as she stumbled into him.
"Well if you were dancing with me, I wouldn't have to spin around so much." she laughed leaning into his chest.
"OK, why don't I bring you over there so you can sit down?" he asked as Mark, Collins, Maureen and Joanna entered the bar.
"Ooh goody, more people." she laughed as he led her back to the barstool.
"Hey guys. Why don't you sit down over there?" he smiled looking over at them as he helped Adrianna sit down.
"Roger, you're being rude. Aren't you gonna introduce your friends?" she asked looking up at him.
"Sorry, Adrianna those are my friends. Guys this is Adrianna and she's gonna sit down now." he smiled looking down at Adrianna.
"Hi Adrianna. Having a good time, I see." Collins smiled looking over at her.
"Yeah, I'm great." she smiled picking up at her drink.
"I'm Collins." he smiled sitting next to her.
"Hi Collins. Do you like Bon Jovi? Roger doesn't. He won't dance with me." she slurred looking over at Roger who went back behind the bar.
"Yeah, Roger's not much of a dancer. Unless there's a mosh pit. Then he kicks ass." Maureen smiled looking over at her.
"I have a feeling he can hold his own." she smiled looking over at him as he poured drinks for everyone.
"No, I'm not much of a dancer." Roger said looking over at her as he set the drinks on the bar.
"We'll see about that." she smiled looking up at him as she drank her stoli.
"Slow down Adrianna. You're gonna wind up giving Collins a run for his money." Roger smiled looking over at them.
"Oh my god, I love this song. Who played the hairband music?" Maureen smiled looking over at Roger.
"Ask Tiny Dancer over here." Roger smiled gesturing to Adrianna.
"Tiny Dancer? I like that." she smiled looking up at him.
"Well it just fits you." he laughed looking down at the bar as he wiped it down again.
"So who wants to dance?" she smiled looking over at Mark, who was sitting quietly on the other side of Collins.
"Oh no, I don't dance." Mark said pushing his glasses up onto his face.
"Come on Mark. Dance with the lady." Roger teased looking over at Mark as he drank his soda.
"Yeah Mark, dance with me." Adrianna smiled hopping off of her stool and taking Mark's hand.
"I'm really not a good dancer." he said as she held his hands swaying to the music.
"You're doing great." she smiled as he twirled her.
"Smooth move Mark." Collins smiled as everyone watched them dance in the middle of the bar.
"Looks like Mark's got some moves." Joanne smiled looking up at Roger as Maureen watched them.
"Yeah, looks like." Roger said as he turned around to wash some glasses.
"Come on Roger, it's a slow song. You can't screw up that much. " she smiled looking up at him as she rushed to the bar.
"No, I shouldn't. I have things to do." he said looking down at her.
"Oh come on Roger. I wanna dance with you." she smiled taking his hand and leading him to the dance floor.
"Yeah Roger, dance with the little lady." Bill smiled looking over at him.
"But I can't dance." he said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and began moving to the music.
"That's OK. I'll teach you. This won't hurt a bit." she smiled looking into his green eyes. He wrapped his arms around her waist and began to move with her. "You're doing it." she smiled looking up at him. As they moved together, he stared into her bright blue eyes.
"Um... yeah. I should get back to the bar. Thanks for the dance." he smiled looking down at her before going back to the bar.
"Why did you stop? You two looked really good together." Maureen said looking up at Roger.
"Because I'm working Maureen. Do you need a refill?" he asked looking down at Maureen ignoring her.
"No, we're OK. Adrianna's cute, isn't she?" Maureen said looking up at him.
"She just broke up with her boyfriend. She's on the rebound." he said looking down at her.
"So what? Roger, you really need to take a chance." Maureen said smiling up at him as she drank her beer.
"I agree kid. I don't think I've seen you smile this much since I've known you." Al said drinking his beer.
"You two I don't need." he smiled looking over at them.
"What? We didn't do anything." Bill laughed looking over at him.
"Yeah, just drink your drinks. This is a bar, not a dating service." he smiled looking over at Adrianna and Mark. She was trying to teach him how to dance.
"Come on Mark, this is a great song." she laughed looking up at him as she jumped around.
"I need to rest. You're wearing me out." he laughed escaping back to the bar. "Next shift. She has a lot of energy." he laughed drinking his beer.
"Yeah well, downing 5 stoli's will do that to you." Roger laughed looking over at her as she danced by herself.
"5 stoli's? Oh yeah, she's drunk." Collins laughed watching her.
"Yeah, I better get her before she hurts herself." Roger said coming out from behind the bar.
"Hey Roger. Are you ready for another dance?" she smiled looking up at him.
"Come on Tiny Dancer, you should sit down." he smiled putting his arm around her waist.
"OK. You know Roger. I like you calling me Tiny Dancer. It's cute." she smiled as he put her on the barstool.
"Yeah well, I think your dancing days are over for now." he smiled looking down at her.
"I'm just trying to have fun. Why are you trying to ruin my good time?" she asked looking up at him.
"I'm sorry Adrianna. I just don't want you to get hurt." he said looking down at her.
"Fine. Um, I'm gonna go for a cigarette." she said looking up at him as she got off of the barstool.
"I'll go with you. Bill, don't be stealing any beer, huh. I'll be right back." he said looking over at him as he led Adrianna outside.
"I'm sorry. I just needed to let loose, you know? I've had a rough time lately." she said looking up at him as he handed her a cigarette and lit his lighter for her.
"That's OK. I understand about having a rough time. I've been having a rough time the last 5 years. So what did your boyfriend do?" he asked looking down at her.
"Ex boyfriend. I broke up with him this morning. We were ending anyway. I mean, we weren't happy and we grew apart." she said looking up at him taking a drag from her cigarette.
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking." he said smoking his cigarette.
"He was cheating on me with his secretary. I caught them in his apartment. Isn't that the most pathetically ironic thing you've ever heard? I mean, I'm a secretary and he has an affair with his." she laughed as tears came to her eyes.
"It's OK Adrianna. He's a jerk. You're better off without him." he said looking down at her.
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just really burned out and maybe a little drunk." she said sniffling before wiping her eyes.
"A little?" he laughed looking down at her.
"Ha ha. I shouldn't be dumping this on you. I really should be getting home. I need to sleep this off before I get myself into trouble." she said looking up at him.
"Why don't you let me get Collins to walk you home? You shouldn't be walking alone and I can't leave here." he said looking down at her.
"Yeah, maybe that's a good idea. Am I gonna see you again?" she asked looking up at him.
"Yeah, you'll see me again. We're friends, right?" he smiled looking down at her as she threw her cigarette into the street.
"Yeah, we're friends. I'll give Collins my phone number. You can call me, if you want." she smiled looking up at him as he tossed his cigarette.
"OK. I'd like that. Come on Tiny Dancer, let's get your stuff." he smiled opening the door for her.
"Thanks Roger. I appreciate you taking care of me like this." she said looking up at him.
"No problem." he said following her into the bar. She got her bag and her coat on while Roger talked to Collins about walking her home.
"So tell me about Roger." Adrianna said looking up at Collins as they walked to her apartment.
"What do you wanna know?" he asked looking down at her as he held on to her waist to make sure she didn't fall.
"Well, I mean, does he have a girlfriend? Is he a serial killer? Stuff like that." she asked laughing as he looked down at her.
"No, he doesn't have a girlfriend. No, he's not a serial killer. He's just a nice guy who's working in a bar until he gets his music career going again." he smiled looking down at her.
"What do you mean again? Was he in a famous band or something?" she asked looking up at him.
"He was in a band called the Well Hungarians a few years back until he fell on some hard times." he said trying not to say too much.
"I saw them. That's him? He looks so different." she said looking up at him.
"Yeah, but I better let Roger tell you what happened." he said as she pointed to the building to their left.
"OK, well this is me." she said looking up at the building as she rifled through her purse for her keys.
"Listen Adrianna. Roger's been through a lot and it would be unfair of me to tell you. I know he would want you to know, but he really should be the one to tell you." he told her taking the keys to help her open the door.
"I understand Collins. Thank you for everything. Why don't you come upstairs? I need to give you my phone number to give to Roger." she smiled as they started up to the third floor.
"OK Babygirl." he smiled following her up the stairs.