Blue Eyes and Double Shots
After dinner the night before, Kat had Dylan drive her to her house on the Robertson's property, after promising the boys she would take them all to a movie the next day then out for lunch.
Kat rolled over in her bed, hearing her phone going off yet again. Maybe I shouldv'e waited until today to tell them I was here instead of last night. She loved her two friends from Ellijay, Audrey and Sarah, but she hadn't got to see them the last time she was in town so they were dying to catch up. They had both wanted to go out to lunch with her, but she politely declined, telling them she was taking her brothers out. So they were playing phone tag, working out plans for later that night. They wanted to take her to the new bar in town that opened the weekend before.
Kat hit the ignore button under Audrey's picture, looking at the time. It was 9:02am. She would sleep for another hour before she got up and took a shower to get ready for the day. She layed her head back down and closed her eyes for a few seconds. Then her phone went off again, letting her know she had a new text.
"Ughh." Kat tapped the screen on her Droid to view it so that the reminder wouldn't keep going off, then laid back down.
A few minutes later it went off again, with a message from Sarah.
Well I guess sleeping in isn't happening today. She thought as she threw the covers off herself and grabbed the phone off the bedside table. She opened Audrey's message, replying to hers then doing the same to Sarah's.
Kat walked into the bathroom and took out two towels and set them by the shower while leaning in to turn it on. The girls texted a couple more times before agreeing that they would meet at their favorite seafood restaurant, Jolly Roger, that evening before they went to the bar.
After Kat had taken a long, hot shower to kill some extra time, she stepped out wrapping the towel around her body while drying her hair with the other. She looked at her phone while getting her blow dryer out from one of the drawers by the sink. She had two new messages and luckily they weren't from Audrey or Sarah this time. They were, however. from her twin brother Scotty and there was a quick one from Leon. She opened Scotty's first.
'Tell the boys I said hey, dylan texted me last night saying you got there early. Give kay a kiss for me. Love ya'
'Love u too. Still in europe?' Kat replied. Pulling the brush through her dark brown, layered hair, save for the dark, vibrant red ombre she had halfway up the length, which was a few inches past the top of her shoulders.
'Yeah. We were supposed to pull out yesterday but they want us here keeping an eye on another group theyre trying to get more info on. Said we'll be back by the end of the week cuz theyre sending in another team' Scotty replied after a few minutes.
'Ok. Be safe' Kat sat her phone down, after replying to Leon's text. Saying she had gotten there fine and Kay wanted to know when she would see him again.
'Tell her, maybe next time they come to visit us haha' He'd replied.
Kat blow dried her hair, then put on a little of her blush and lined her eyes with her dark eyeliner before calling Kay's house to let them know she was going to head over after she got dressed. Phil had answered the phone so he passed on the message to the boys.
Kat pulled on her black Converse shoes while she walked out of her house with a white t-shirt on and a pair of gray skinny jeans. It was atleast 60 degrees outside in Ellijay already and it wasn't even noon yet, so she had slid a black hair tie on her wrist to put her hair up later if she needed to. It was March, but it was turning out to be a warmer one instead of cold, like the year before. She walked over to her dark red 2010 Dodge Avenger and unlocked the driver's side door. She'd bought this car, brand new, to keep here on her last visit. Blake was excited when she had told him over the phone on the way back to Kay's. The only selling point he had heard was that it was called an "Avenger", and he loved the comic books.
She drove the couple minutes from her house to Kay's on the Robertson's property to see a shirtless Dylan laying on the hammock in the front yard. She parked her car and they exchanged "Hey's" before she made her way inside.
She could hear Blake and Kaleb in the back room playing Xbox and see Sam sitting on the couch with Phil.
"Where's Kay?" Kat said as she walked over, running her hand through Sam's short blond hair.
"She ran to the grocery store, she'll be back after while." Phil said, looking up at his niece before turning back to the television.
She nodded as she walked to the game room at the end of the hallway. She looked inside at Blake and Kaleb playing what had to have been Call of Duty. She knocked twice on the door frame and both boys looked behind them at her quickly before returning to their game.
"You boys ready? The movie starts in about 45 minutes, it will take a little while to get there."
"Yeah, just a minute." Kaleb said without turning around.
"Hurry up," Kat said as she smiled while turning back to the living room. She took a seat next to Sam on the couch. He leaned over and put his head on her shoulder, so she tilted her head to rest it on his.
After several minutes, the two youngest Carsen's came out of the back room, ready to leave. Kat told Phil they would be back later on this afternoon and to tell Kay she would feed them lunch so not to worry about making anything. The 4 of them walked on to the front porch and towards Kat's car.
"Dylan, put your shirt on and let's go!" She shouted in her brother's direction, who still hadn't moved from the hammock. He lazily swung his legs over the side while pulling his t-shirt on and started for the car.
The ride to the movie theatre in East Ellijay was quiet other than the 5 siblings singing a few Motley Crue and AC/DC songs on the way there. Except for the occasional giggle, because Dylan liked to change or make his own lyrics up to make people laugh.
After they had paid for tickets and got a couple concession buckets of popcorn and drinks, they made their way to their seats.
"Did you see when that saw almost chopped his balls off! Ow!" Kaleb was saying as they made their way back to Kat's car.
"Kaleb..." Kat said as she rolled her eyes.
"Come on Kat, that even made you cringe for a minute." Dylan elbowed her with a smile while cupping himself through his pants.
"Stop it...It was a really good remake though, I have to say." Kat said unlocking her car with the small remote. They had went to see the new version of The Crazies.
"So where do you guys want to have lunch?" Kat said as they all piled in the car and fastened their seatbelts. There was a chorus of "Taco Bell's" from the younger boys and an "I don't care" from Dylan.
"Taco Bell? You guys don't want to like, go in somewhere and have a nice, sit-down meal?"
"We can sit down in Taco Bell and eat..." Kaleb looked at her.
"Well I meant...Nevermind, Taco Bell it is." She knew there was no point in arguing with them. They were as relentless as she was when their minds were made up.
After they all had lunch and gotten back to the Robertson's house, they all hung out outside for a couple hours. The boys played with Kay's dogs while Kat put her hair up and went to help her pull weeds in the new garden. About 15 minutes later Kat's phone started ringing. She took it out of her pocket and saw Audrey's name.
"Hey girl, what's up?" Kat answered her phone after she took the gloves off her hands.
"Hey! We're meeting at Jolly Roger in two hours. I have to pick up Sarah cause her car's in the shop. We'll probably be there before you so we'll meet you there." Audrey's voice sounded over the phone.
"Alright, I'll leave here in a few so I can go get ready then. See you soon." They said their goodbyes and Kat hung up, putting her phone in her pocket.
"Go on, dear. I can finish up here. Have some fun tonight." Kay said smiling up to her. Kat smiled and kissed her Aunt on the cheek before walking towards the boys to tell them she'd see them sometime tomorrow. Dylan was sitting on the picnic table top, with his feet on the bench, cleaning one of the .22LR's Phil had around the property that they often used to shoot small game. He put his favorite gray Remington 597 .22LR in his lap when he saw her walking towards him.
"You wanna come out with me and the girls tonight? Audrey's gonna be there. You know she thinks you're hot." Kat smiled and raised her eyebrows at him while making her voice sound a little higher when she said the last word. Dylan smiled at her.
"Nah. Willie wants me to go to the store later to help restock after they close up."
"Well Saturday you're coming with us when we go out. We'll get drunk together before I leave Sunday." She said, pointing at him while she walked backwards towards her car. Dylan just laughed and shook his head, going back to his gun.
"Okay. Call me if you need a ride!"
"It's Thursday. I don't think I'm gonna drink that much!" She yelled as she got in her car.
Once inside her house, Kat stripped her gray skinny jeans and t-shirt off since they had dirt on them from the garden, and walked to her bathroom to turn on the hot water in the sink. She walked back to her bedroom and opened up her bag to pick out what she would wear to the bar that night. She never really unpacked when she came to visit since she usually only stayed for a few days. She pulled out a black Jack Daniels tank top and her favorite pair of skinny jeans that were the same red as the ends of her hair and car. She threw them on the bed and went back to the bathroom to wash her face and arms so she could then redo her makeup for the night. After she was done and dressed, she slipped on her black leather boots that came a few inches above her ankles, that were open more on top so she could push her jeans in them. They had straps around the front and silver buckles on the side, with a slight heel. Bringing her height to a whopping 5'2" instead of her normal 5 feet tall. She was always teased about how short she was. But what she lacked in height she sure as hell made up for in toughness and attitude.
It was 5:30pm by the time she decided to leave, it would take about 20 minutes to get to the Jolly Roger restaurant, and the girls were all supposed to meet there at 6. It wouldn't take long for Audrey and Sarah to get there since they lived in town. She grabbed her black hoodie incase in got cold as night set in and sent Audrey a text letting her know she was on her way before she put her phone in her purse and got in the car. She threw her hoodie in the passenger's seat.
She was almost at the restaurant when she saw the cars in front of her slowing down and going around two cars that were pulled off to the side of the road. She saw a man in a sleeveless shirt, a plain black leather vest and a buzz cut yelling at a younger man in a brown flannel who was obviously changing the other guy's flat tire. You'd think he would be a little more appreciative. Kat thought as she drove by. She saw the younger guy just shaking his head at the older man.
She could see Audrey's car in the parking lot so she knew the girls were already at the restaurant. She locked her car and headed inside. She said hello to the hostess and told her her friends already had a seat. They always sat in the same booth every time. She could see the back of Audrey's head and Sarah's smiling face as she walked up. Sarah glanced up from her conversation with Audrey and saw Kat walking towards them.
"Oh my God!" Sarah got up and gave Kat a hug, who was passed right on to Audrey for another.
"We missed you so much!" Audrey said as she released her. The girls sat back down and started talking and catching up. They talked about work and men. How Sarah and her boyfriend of a year had broken up when she caught him cheating.
"I knew that boy was trouble," Audrey said. "I'm not getting into anything serious again for awhile. I'm just going to enjoy the single life." She smiled as she took the lemon slice off the rim of her glass and sucked on it.
"Yeah, I don't want to jump into anything again too soon." Sarah said while she picked up an onion ring. "How about you Kat? You still haven't got a new beau?"
"Oh, I have a boyfriend. He runs me all over the world every few weeks." Kat raised her eyebrows as she played with her straw.
"Oh God, that damn job stresses you out, girl. You just need to get laid. You haven't had a boyfriend in almost 3 years now because you're always all over the place." Audrey said. Making it sound like the worst thing in the world. And oh, how Kat wishes it was the office job she told them she had working for the government. Document keeper, that had to travel to keep up on security issues. They didn't know the half of it. "Let's find a hottie at the bar tonight and take him home." She handed her friend an onion ring.
"I'm not gonna fuck some random guy I meet at a bar. I need to be in a relationship with someone for that. I've never even had a one night stand." Kat took the onion ring from her friend.
"Well hey, if he's any good get his number, it doesn't have to be a one time thing." Audrey shrugged.
"Audrey, she isn't you!" Sarah defended her friend. Audrey was always trying to pick up men when they went out. She was very pretty so it wasn't that hard. And she could play the games just as good as the guys.
"Besides, I don't need a man. My vibrator works just fine back at my apartment." Kat smiled as she took a bite. Audrey and Sarah started laughing.
"I hear that." Sarah said, nodding her head. Bringing on another round of laughs.
"So tell me about this new bar." Kat said after they placed their orders for their main meals.
"It opened up last weekend. It's really nice. It's pretty big on the inside. Big bar, some machine games, a couple pool tables, some dart boards. Jukebox in the back. And an area for a live band. They've got some stools up at the bar, but they've got some tables and booths in there too. I think it's the nicest place in town. And the food there is good too." Sarah said.
"And their daquiri's, best I've had anywhere." Audrey chimed in, and she'd been to her share of bars. She moved to Ellijay from Philidelphia, where she is originally from.
"Nice. Sounds like an awesome step up from where we usually go." Kat said.
"Yeah, it really is. The Pour House, you can only go to to pretty much drink and order some crappy food. And this place doesn't look like a trashy bar inside either. It's pretty cool."
"So I'm guessing our bar-top dancing would probably be frowned upon at this establishment?" Kat asked with a smirk causing the girls to laugh.
"Oh hell, I don't think the male bartenders would mind." Audrey winked.
The girls laughed and talked until their food came. Kat loved having these girls nights with them. She didn't have many close friends in DC which is why she came back to visit whenever she could. The only person she was honestly really close with there, was Leon.
The girls made it out to their cars with Kat saying she would follow Audrey. They were already in town so it hadn't taken long to get there. Another reason Audrey loved the place already, it was a two block walk from her house. Go figure. She shook her head while she got out of her car, parked next to Audrey.
"You didn't mention it was so close to your house." Kat said as they walked to the front entrance.
"Oh I forgot, isn't it great?! I just walked here last weekend and Sarah met me here. I never have to worry about being drunk and needing a ride home now." She laughed.
"Geez. Well it's still a week night, let's wait til Saturday to go hard on the paint. I don't feel like having to drag your ass to your house." Kat smiled as she opened the door.
She could hear the music before they walked inside. It sounded like a pretty decent rock band was playing that night. She took a quick look around before they made their way over to a booth. She wasn't paying attention to most of the patrons, so she was oblivious to the fact that most of the men in the room had turned to take in the 3 pretty girls that had just entered. So she certainly didn't notice a beautiful pair of blue eyes paying more attention to her than the rest of them.
As soon as they sat down, a man in a black button down shirt and apron around his waist came and asked what they would like right away.
"3 Budlight's." Audrey said.
"They sure are on it for as busy as they are." Kat said as the man walked back to the bar.
"This isn't as bad as it was last weekend. But it's 8 o'clock. Give it another hour and people will start clearing out." Sarah said, looking at the different mixed drinks on the menu sitting on the table.
Now that she was sitting down, Kat was able to look around the place more. It was very cozy inside. Dark walls, dark furniture and the lights weren't very bright. It was dark over by the area the band was playing, except for the spotlights shining on the stage, and the different lights that moved around the small dance floor in front of the band. The area right at the bar was packed, she couldn't see any open barstools at the moment. She looked behind her to see the back of the place, where the big game room obviously was. It was a lot brighter back there. She could see two nice pool tables in the middle of the floor with a Jukebox on the back wall, some arcade games to the left and an open area on the right where she assumed the dart boards were, but her view was blocked by the wall. Looking towards the pool table, she could see several men playing, and among them was the older man with a buzzcut who was yelling at the man changing his tire earlier. If she would've looked at the bar a few seconds before, she would've caught the man in the brown flannel staring at her, but once he had noticed her checking the place out, he turned around.
Kat was finishing up her 3rd beer and getting ready to order a mixed drink when she decided to get up to go to the bathroom almost 2 hours later. The bathrooms where in the back room with the games, so she caught the attention of all the men that were back there.
"Hey Red, how bout you come be my lucky charm for this next game, huh sweetheart?" The man with the buzzcut said to her with a big grin on his face.
"Maybe next time." Kat smiled as she walked into the bathroom. The man just laughed and elbowed his buddy as they went back to the game. Usually the women just ignored him or told him to fuck off at the bar he usually went to. If they weren't the local sluts anyway. Maybe they would start coming here more.
The younger man at the bar had seen the exchange between the two, but couldn't hear what was said over the music. He went back to his new beer. He'd been stealing glances at her since she got here.
Kat came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and the man sitting at the bar didn't look over at her. But she could see him. She could tell from the side of his face and his shirt that he was the one helping the guy that tried hitting on her. As she walked out of the game room he looked at her and saw her staring at him. She gave him a quick smile and he turned back to his beer.
I think I'll talk to him...I gotta go up there to get my drink anyway. Kat started walking to the bar. He could see her walking his way out of the corner of his eye. Oh great. Don't ask why I've been looking at ya the whole time. One of her friends musta caught me. He thought. She walked up to the bar and the man sitting in the barstool next to Tire Boy gave her a smile and scooted over so she could get through. Kat leaned against the counter next to him making him look up at her from his beer.
"Was that you I saw you on the side of the road earlier changing that guy's tire?" Kat looked behind her towards the pool tables before looking back at the man in front of her.
Daryl looked to where she glanced at his brother before looking back at her face.
"Yeah, that was me." He said, taking in her eyes. The black and gray eyeshadow she had on, along with black eyeliner made her eyes pop against the dull colors. They weren't quite blue, but not quite green. Kind of a perfect mix of the two colors that kept you guessing what they actually were. And had a darker ring around the iris.
"He didn't seem very happy that you were helping him." Kat smiled at him. He was almost too distracted by her that he didn't hear what she said.
"Uh, yeah. Somehow, it was my fault that he blew his tire out." He said.
"Can I get you something to drink, miss?" The bartender leaned towards her so he could hear over the music.
"Yeah, Jack and Coke, please." She smiled at the bartender before turning back to the blue eyed man.
"Is he a friend of yours or something?" She asked.
"Older brother."
"Ahh." Kat looked back at the man's brother at the pool table who was laughing at something one of his buddies said. The man at the bar took the chance to take a quick look down her. She was a tiny thing. But he liked her clothes. He didn't think he'd seen anyone around here wearing red jeans and had hair like hers. "If any of my brothers were yelling at me like that I woulda kicked their ass."
Daryl smirked. "You ain't that big."
"Hey!" Kat turned to look at him and brought her eyebrows together, pretending to be mad, despite the smile on her face. "I may be small but I pack one hell of a punch. Had to learn to make up for it somehow."
Daryl's smirk turned into a smile.
"You been here before?" He asked, taking a swig of his beer.
"No, first time. I'm here with two of my friends." Kat said as she pointed to the table she had been sitting at, not knowing he knew exactly where she had been the last 2 hours. "Well, there's one of them anyway...Where is..." Kat stopped as she looked around. "Ahh. There she is. Looks like someone's getting lucky tonight." Kat spotted Audrey all over a young guy by where the band was playing.
Daryl looked over to where she was looking. He had seen her friend before, but didn't know her name. She had been to Jake's Bar a couple times, the bar him and his brother frequented since it was closer to where they both lived.
"Here you are, miss" The bartender set her drink down in front of her.
"How much?" Kat asked the guy as she took a sip of her drink.
"Ah, for a beautiful girl, this one's on the house." The guy winked at her.
"Thanks." Kat smiled. Daryl shot a look at the young man behind the bar before he walked away, then looked back to the woman in front of him. She was gorgeous, so he couldn't really blame the guy.
"Hey bitch!" Kat heard Audrey yell, making her way towards them with the young guy in tow. "I'm leaving. Sarah's gonna take my car since she doesn't have hers. I'll talk to you tomorrow." She said when she reached them, before pulling Kat in for a hug. The band had just finished playing so the music had died down at this point.
"Alright, text me."
"This is Brendan." Audrey pointed to the guy next to her, who smiled.
"Hey," Kat smiled with a short wave of her hand, she recognized the guy now that he was up close, Audrey had "seen" him before a few times. But that was the end of the conversation as Audrey led them away.
"Use protection!" Kat yelled before they walked out the door, causing several people to look at her. Kat just laughed and turned back to Daryl who was smirking again at what she had just yelled across the bar, not caring who was looking at her.
"I'm gonna go finish this with Sarah before I leave, I feel kinda bad Audrey just ditched her for a piece of ass." Kat giggled. Her 3 beers hitting her a little harder.
"She go off like that a lot?" He asked.
"Eh, sometimes. I know that kid though, so I'm not too worried about it tonight." Kat said as she looked back towards Sarah, who smiled. Daryl looked straight ahead again, taking another drink of his beer.
"Well, maybe I'll see you around." Kat smiled again as she stood up straight from leaning on the bar. Daryl nodded and gave her a half smile before she started walking back to her booth.
Daryl turned around and picked up his beer, bringing it to his lips. He sat there for a few minutes to finish his beer, before getting another and walking to the back with his brother. He looked towards her booth one more time as he made his way to the pool tables.
Kat downed her drink and talked with Sarah for awhile.
"Are you sure you're ok to drive home?" Sarah asked her after a few minutes.
"Actually, now I'm not so sure." Kat laughed. "I don't think I've had alcohol since the last time I went out with you guys come to think of it."
"God, that was like 7 months ago. Do you want me to drive you? It's no problem."
"Nah, Dylan's at the store. They should be done by 11. I can have Willie drop him off here and he can drive my car home." Kat said as she got out her phone to text Dylan.
"Well I'll sit here and wait with you, it's 10:40 now." Sarah said, sipping on her water she had got before pushing it to Kat.
A few minutes later, Dylan texted back saying their cousin Willie had just dropped him off so he was at her car.
"Let's go, he's outside." Kat said as she got up, Sarah followed.
Kat looked at the bar one last time and didn't see the man she had been talking to. She looked to the back around the pool tables and saw him looking at her. Resting his chin on top of his hands, which were on top of a pool stick he was leaning on. She gave him a smile before she walked out the door. He grinned, not remembering the last time a girl had come up to him by herself and just had a conversation with him. And a beautiful girl, at that.
Dylan smiled as he saw his sister walking towards him. He gave a wave to Sarah as she got in her car, and Kat tossed him the keys.
"Shut up, I haven't drank anything in awhile." Kat smiled at her younger brother.
"Oooh, Saturday should be fun." Dylan said as they got in the car.
"First time in a bar with you! Holy shit." Kat said. Dylan had just turned 21 a couple months earlier in January. Kat and her twin brother Scotty were 23.
"I know, right. Now we can do what we've been doing since we were 16, legally."
Kat laughed most of the way home, Dylan was obviously having fun with his slightly drunken sister. He kept telling her funny stories he had been a part of or one's he had heard. Kat missed this. Dylan was never home much when they all lived in one house. He couldn't stand being at home with their mother's boyfriend. So he would stay out as much as he could. She forgot how much she loved being around him. No matter how her day was, he'd always get her to smile. They had a lot in common so it was always easy for them to get along.
"Do you want to crash here? You can take the guest bedroom. I don't want you walking back to Kay's or waking Phil up to come and get you." Kat said as they got in the house.
Dylan nodded and yawned. "Yeah, I'm actually really tired. They had me moving a bunch of heavy boxes today and unloading the trucks for the past 5 hours."
"Alright, well I'll talk to you in the morning. Thanks by the way."
"No problem." Dylan said as he walked towards the guest bedroom that was right across the hall from Kat's room. Kat turned and locked the front door before going to her room and shutting the door. She walked into her bathroom and turned the sink on so she could take her make up off. As she waited for the water to warm up she put her hair into a messy ponytail and took her red skinny jeans off and threw them on the floor next to her. She would just sleep in the shirt she had worn tonight, she didn't feel like doing much more changing than what she had just done.
After her face was clean, she dug her phone out of her purse and set it on the bedside table before plugging it into the charger. She crawled into her "cloud" of a bed and was pretty sure she passed out the second her head hit the pillow.
