It was sometime after lunch, Phil was pacing back and forth twiddling the piece of written on napkin between his fingers. He was debating calling her. If he did, was it just for fun or would he end up more interested than he already was. He had avoided meeting girls really because he was always working and didn't want to be leaving a loved one behind. But he could get the image of a girl with fire engine red hair off his mind.
"Ah shit" he breathed heavily and picked up his phone.
He punched in the numbers and waited for it to ring. It rang about four times before he heard the pick up.
"Hello, it's your dime." her mixed accent drifted down the line.
"Ah yeah, Hi, It's me Phil, from this morning." I just sounded like a total douche bag, he told himself silently.
"Ah my caffeine loving wrestler" she quipped.
"The one and only."
"Listen Phil, I am here until at least dinner," she started, "but some friends and I are going down to the The Rockin' Rose, you know that place?"
Phil knew of it. It was restaurant/bar with a sort of alternative rock n roll nightclub out back. They played pretty much everything from rock to punk to metal. Hell he was sure he'd heard Venom being blasted out of there once or twice.
"I know the place. Gotta tell ya I'm not a drinker though."
"That's fine, neither am I. Caffeine and sugar are my only vices." She laughed. "Well, that and dark and handsome wrestlers calling me up at work." She teased.
Phil was so glad he wasn't standing there, feeling his face go warm. He couldn't stop smiling.
"Meet me there at eight thirty then."
"Deal." He replied.
"See you then."
"Later."
And he hung up the phone. He exhaled hard. That wasn't so bad, he thought. He tried to think of the last time he went on a date. It'd been a while. But this one. He just couldn't pass this one up. He changed into sweats and spent a large majority of the afternoon training.
Phil ate and changed. He left the apartment by eight. He took his time walking through the Chicago streets. He could see his warm breath in front of him. It was a cool night again. At least it wasn't snowing. After about twenty five minutes he was walking in the door of The Rockin' Rose. He weaved through the front restaurant, down the barside and through the back curtain. There was a door girl there. Phil paid admission and had his leather jacket hung in coat check. Phil had worn a simple black Devildriver work shirt and black jeans underneath. Passing another curtain, strobes and laser lights met his eyes, he had to take a minute to adjust.
Once in the nightclub, Phil weaved his way through the crowd. A few people recognized him and approached him. They shook hands and he signed the odd thing or two. It was mostly idle chat and the odd 'you're my favorite' line. He got to the bar and immediately recognized an old friend behind the bar.
"Phil Brooks, what brings you down to the Rose?" The larger brunette man behind the bar shook his hand and without a say so handed Phil a small bottle of Pepsi. He was big enough to be a bouncer, but preferred to be inside and in on the action. The man's cut off shirt revealed tribal tattoos and his eyebrow ring had a little skull on it.
"Hey Dallas, long time no see."
Phil leaned up against the bar while Dallas served a few people. After a few minutes, Dallas was back and threw a hand towel over his shoulder.
"So really dude, what brings you down here tonight? You ain't come to hang in a few months."
"I'm actually meeting someone here tonight. And yeah, I've been pretty absent. I've been on the road like non stop."
"Yeah we try to catch your show when it's TV. So. Is this person female?" Dallas inquired with a sly grin. Phil smiled.
"Yeah man."
Dallas served another person. As Phil looked around the room and glanced his vision across the dance floor, he caught a sight of bright red hair. She was dancing and jumping around. She spun in his direction and spied Phil leaning back against the bar talking to the bar tender. She smiled. So he showed up, she thought. She waved off her two friends, then ducked and weaved through the flailing bodies. Phil caught her moving out of the corner of his eye. He pretended not to see and tried to play it cool. At least that was the plan until he felt her slender arm drape across his shoulder and her body leaning against him. He turned his attention to her.
"Hey there." He greeted, trying not to notice how she filled out the leather vest she still wore or how low the now black jeans she adorned sat on her hips. She pulled his arm around her back and stayed leaning against him.
"Hey there yourself. How long you been standing here?"
"Long enough."
Syn noticed he was trying hard not to look her up and down and stare. She didn't mind though. She knew what she had and wasn't ashamed of it.
"It's ok to look" she whispered in his ear.
"No it's not" he replied with a smile.
"Aw why not Punk boy?" she teased.
"Because you're gonna make me think very bad things."
"Oh Bad things are fun though" she cooed and smiled at him.
"You're the kind of girl Mom warned me about aren't ya?"
"Yup" she agreed matter of factly and he laughed.
She winked and grabbed his hand and pulled him through the crowd to her little circle gathered in a corner. He didn't so much as watch where he was going, more that he just watch her rear moving. Bad Phil, he reprimanded himself silently. She pointed out a blonde brother and sister pair named Billy and Marie. The one with black dreds was Tyler. A girl with short black hair and a nose ring bounded up to Tyler and flung her arms around him, who apparently was his girlfriend Bonnie.
It was a small tight knit group. Phil introduced himself. It was clear by the look on their faces they recognized him. They said nothing about it though.
The music was nice and varied. In about an hour they had played everything from The Clash to Psyclon Nine. And somehow it worked. Syn seemed to enjoy it, happily bopping on the spot next to Phil. She was true to her word and didn't seem to be drinking anything other than Red Bull. Lots of it. After meeting her this morning did she really need that much caffeine? A slower song played. He wasn't sure by who. But Syn knew it and pulled him out on the dance floor with her.
"I'm a little rusty on the dancing thing" He whispered in her ear.
"Just stick close to me" she replied.
Her slender arms crawled up his arms, over his broad shoulders and pulled in around his neck. He allowed his hands to rest lightly on her hips as they swayed in time.
"See not so bad after all" she said after awhile.
"Maybe it's just the company I'm with" he said looking into her hazel eyes.