"You better at least be home for Christmas this year." Regina pouted as she enjoyed her first drink.
"Yeah, do you know where you'll be yet?" Sarita wondered.
"Not yet." Lacey shook her head no and took a long pull from the ice cold bottle of beer she had been lusting after for weeks.
"Ohh, check out the guys in the corner by the window." Regina gushed.
"I'm too old for that shit, Reg." Lacey ignored her.
"Seriously, I'm sure they'll do just fine without our help." Sarita rolled her eyes.
"They look like they're around our age. Damn." Regina's never-ending boy crazy eyes tracked whomever she had set her sights on.
"What happened with you and Scott anyway?" Lacey asked, "I thought you two were still together?"
"We're not exclusive." Regina shrugged.
"Does he know that?" Sarita joked in the deadpan way that only she could.
Lacey laughed and shot a quick glance toward the guys. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious. Regina might be boy crazy, but her taste was discerning enough that Lacey knew they'd be worth the look.
The man facing her was shorter, dark hair and a gorgeous smile. The taller one had longer hair that was swept back into an irregular bunch at the back of his head. He was wearing a dark bomber jacket covered with different patches that she couldn't quite make out, dark jeans and boots of some kind.
The shorter one was every guy Regina had ever dated and she was sure that's who she had her eye on. The taller one though, Lacey couldn't see his face but he intrigued her nonetheless.
"Told you." Regina knew her best friend. Just then the shorter man made eye contact with Lacey as she ogled them and he nudged his friend to turn around, "Busted." Regina giggled.
Lacey looked away and quickly looked back just in time to see the taller man's face. He was so handsome, stubble, giant brown eyes and as soon as Lacey smirked at getting busted, he revealed the brightest smile she'd ever seen. He seemed to illuminate the dank, dark corner of the the shitty bar.
Lacey couldn't help but smile back like a clown before turning around to mind her own damn business. Lacey took another sip of her beer and then realized her friends were staring at her.
"What?!"
"Holy shit." Regina smiled, "I can't believe I just witnessed that."
"Seriously, love at first sight much?" Sarita was also dumbstruck.
"Uh, yeah, no." Lacey rolled her eyes, "They're cute, Reg, but—" She shook her head no.
"Cute? They're hot and you know it."
"Fine, they're hot. Whatever. I'm not looking for more of whatever disappointment life has waiting for me over there."
"Ouch. Dismal." Sarita commented on Lacey's brooding nihilism.
"I'm just saying, I'm done with the one night stands. I'm done with lazy relationships and the guys who are okay settling for where they fall. The next time I'm going there it'll be with someone who has a job and wants more. Someone who puts in the effort. I guess I want the romance."
"Don't write off the one night stands, sometimes you just gotta get fucked." Regina shrugged and tapped her glass against Lacey's bottle in solidarity of what she believed to be true.
"One of them must have money if they're drinking here. Beers are like eight bucks." Sarita noted, "My money's on the shorter one, the taller guy looks like a bad boy—"
"Bad boys can have money too, don't be like that." Regina took another look, "Bad boy is wearing two hundred dollar boots and if my slightly buzzed fashion eyes are working tonight that bomber jacket is Saint Laurent and costs like fifteen hundred dollars."
"Who sews band patches onto a Saint Laurent jacket?" Sarita took another look.
"Someone who's mentally unstable. He's not a bad boy at all, he's mentally unstable. Rich and crazy—" Regina gave her scathing review of his fashion choices.
"Regina! Jesus, stop. I don't care. I just don't care."
"Hey, hey!" Their obnoxious server returned with a tray of drinks, "These—" She set a super frilly ridiculous drink down in front of each of them, "Are from the two guys in the corner over there. Enjoy." She walked away before they could say anything.
"Yay, free drinks!" Regina was beaming and waved to the guys while she happily began sipping it down.
"If our server brought them over they're probably not laced with shit, right?" Sarita slowly slid one over to herself while she weighed if she felt like risking getting assaulted tonight.
Lacey didn't touch hers. She didn't turn around to thank them. She hadn't wanted anything from them so she didn't take anything, especially not a bright blue liquor monstrosity with some sort of pink sugared rim. She didn't care how free it was.
"You're not going to drink it?" Regina asked hoping she'd score two free drinks.
"All yours." Lacey slid it toward Regina and finished her beer.
"Now that our server has been by we won't see her again for another half hour." Lacey slid off the high stool she was straddling, "I'm going to grab another beer. Be right back."
Lacey nudged her way over to the bar and did her best to flag down one of the bartenders to order her own refill.
"I guess I messed up already."
Lacey turned to see the taller man standing right next to her. She looked further over her shoulder at the shorter man now snuggled up to Regina at their table and Sarita giving her the bored-as-hell death stare. She couldn't help but smile and raised one finger to tell her she'd be right back.
"Of course you'd think that." Lacey couldn't help it, she was tired.
"I'm sorry?" The man leaned closer as if he didn't hear her but Lacey knew that he did and just didn't expect what came out of her mouth.
"You think that buying a drink is some sort of grand gesture in this game you're playing." Lacey added rather than repeating herself, the bartender showing up just in time, "I don't play games."
"It is a game, isn't it." He asked himself and looked down at his own drink, "I wish it wasn't like that but I never know the right way to just start talking to strangers." He admitted, "We are strangers, right? I feel like I know you from somewhere."
Lacey was surprised to hear him say that. Usually when she shut down these lazy things she'd be met with a hostile man-baby that would call her names or demand the drink back. She decided that if he could control his ego this well she'd hang on a moment and see if there happened to be something more to him.
She paid for her beer and turned toward him, taking a few steps together toward her table before she paused to take a fresh sip. Time's up, she thought when he hadn't taken another chance.
"It's not up to me to teach you how to talk to strangers, but I'd say that if you're lazy enough to start by sending a drink, I'm guessing that you're just hoping someone will think you're some prize they've won and since you spent thirteen dollars on this fancy drink they definitely owe you something and you'll dictate how you get paid back." Lacey lashed out gently, her searing thoughts not matching her calm demeanor, "If I'm wrong about that, then the only advice I can offer is maybe pay attention to what the other person is drinking first?" Lacey shrugged and walked away, beer in hand.
Danny followed behind her a bit deflated to collect his friend.
"Laceyyy, this is Cole." Regina gushed and got back into their conversation about something fashion related that Cole seemed to have a mild interest in.
"Lacey." The taller man said to himself as if to burn it into his memory.
Lacey was done.
Lacey surveyed their table, Sarita was warm and relaxed and at the bottom of her free drink. Regina had made it through her free drink and was now half way through Lacey's. Lacey chugged the rest of her new beer and set it down. It was time to go.
"Ready?" Lacey asked, the girls knowing exactly what that was code for: we're all fucking leaving together right now.
"Aww, what? It's still early, you gotta leave now?" Cole whined, clearly being one of the guys Lacey had just described to the taller man a moment ago.
Lacey dragged her fed-up-with-this-shit-all-of-the-time eyes up to meet the taller man's as if he would wrangle his own friend while she worked to wrangle hers.
"Ready?" Lacey announced again and the girls slid off their stools and grabbed their shit.
Cole chased after them and worked quickly to get Regina's phone number.
"Cole, let's go man." The taller man finally said, also reluctant to say goodbye.
"Hang on a second, I want her number." He fumbled through his phone to add a new contact.
"Let's just leave them alone." The taller man tried again, watching Lacey as a loathsome smirk crept onto her face.
"Danny, fuck off." Cole dismissed him and finally got Regina's number saved into his phone.
Danny.
Lacey and Danny just stared at each other while they waited for their friends to pry themselves apart. They hadn't exchanged numbers, but learning each other's names secondhand like that seemed different and a little fun at the time.
"You're welcome."
"Oh shut up, you didn't save me from shit. Cole was cute." Regina said as she fried her hair with her flat iron the next morning.
"I'm just saying, that guy was in full predator mode." Lacey said matter-of-factly.
"What was up with his friend? What did you guys talk about?"
"Oh, yeah, just that he's a total loser basically."
Sarita laughed as she stared out the window and drank her coffee.
"He was so cute Lace, he didn't act like a total asshole like the guy last week—"
"Yay, congrats to him for being not an asshole? Is the bar that low now that he gets praise just for not being an asshole?"
"I'm just saying, you two seemed to have a connection and I'm never wrong about that."
"I have to agree." Sarita chimed in, something she never really did.
"Anyway, Cole texted me, we're going out tonight."
"Don't bring him back here you know the rules." Lacey reminded her.
"Yes, mother. When we fuck I'll be sure to impress his roommates with my moaning at his place."
"Good. Have fun."
"I'll find out about the other guy—"
"His name is Danny and don't bother. I'm not interested."
"You remembered his name but you're not interested?" Regina's eyebrows were all the way up.
"I didn't ask for his name, Cole said it. Sorry I remember useless shit." Lacey shot back.
"You need to stop fighting your happiness." Sarita said sagely.
"I'm being real and I'm done wasting time with those guys."
"And yet time keeps passing by." Regina added.
Lacey thought about that for the rest of the day. How dare society make her feel pressure about all of the time she's losing by not having a partner in her life. Is life worthless without one? What had she worked for all through college and up through this point in her life? Was it all to show someone she found at some shit bar? Hell no.
She was living, she did shit for her. It would take one hell of a person to come along and make it seem worthwhile to add them to her life. Right now she didn't need a damn thing, but damn it, she did miss some stuff.
She missed intimacy. Not sex necessarily, just that feeling of knowing someone on a deeper level. She missed someone caring to know more about her too. She didn't need a partner, but she would be lying if she said she didn't want one. Living her life and being fulfilled by her own choices was freeing, but romance, romance was missing.
Regina: He's late
Lacey: There's a surprise
Regina: I really liked him though :/
Lacey: You've known him for ten minutes
Regina: How long should I wait?
Regina: Nm he's here! Love u
Lacey: Love u
Lacey and Sarita relaxed and watched some bullshit on tv for a couple hours before Sarita had head out to start her shift bartending. Lacey walked her to the little bar on the corner, feeling the need to be up and ready incase something went sideways with Regina. It was getting late.
Lacey: You good?
Lacey's phone rang right after she sent her text, it was Regina.
"Hey girlie, I am out, do you want to meet me?" Lacey blurted out.
"Uh, hi, Lacey?"
Lacey heard a man's voice and her heart dropped to her feet, adrenaline replacing the worry she had held for her friend for the last couple of hours.
"Who is this? Cole?"
"Hey, yeah, this is Cole."
"Why are you using Regina's phone?"
"Regina's—not available." Cole said with a tinge of something that sounded an awful lot like guilt.
"Excuse me? Where is she?!"
"Calm down—"
"You're telling me to calm down right now?!"
"Regina's fine, Regina's fine, okay? Well, I mean, she's passed out at my place. Can you come get her?"
"She's passed out?" Lacey began walking faster, not even sure if she was heading in Cole's direction but she wanted to be there now.
"We played a drinking game with my roommates." Cole answered like it was business as usual.
"A drinking game? How old are you?"
"Twenty seven."
Lacey rolled her eyes as she walked, they were all the same age which made this even more sad.
"What's the address?" She sighed.
Lacey had to take an Uber across town to Cole's address. The neighborhood was much nicer than where the girls lived. She hopped out and ran up the steps to the building. The concierge gave her a pass to use in the elevator to get up to the ninth floor.
The door to Cole's apartment was propped open a crack and Lacey went right in, past Cole, past Danny and past some other guy who has his arm around another girl in the corner. She spotted Regina on the couch, thankfully all covered up in a blanket and snoozing away comfortably.
Once she knew Regina was alive she spun around and shot Cole a seething look, she was mad.
"I told you she was okay—"
"Why did you let her get like this?!"
"She lost." Cole shrugged and looked at Lacey like she was speaking another language.
"She really didn't have a lot to drink, I think she was just tired. She seemed tired." Danny backed Cole up.
Lacey's eyes darted to Danny and pinned him there in quiet contempt.
"Seriously, she drank more last night—" Danny added calmly.
"If I find out something else happened here I'll kill you."
"Whoa, whoa, nothing happened—" Cole held his hands up, "Regina's cool, we had a great night and she fell asleep."
"Hey, hi sleepy head." Lacey rolled her friend over and pulled her to sit up.
"Lacey!" Regina hugged her, "Wait. I fell asleep?" She looked around, definitely embarrassed.
"It's cool. Ready?" Lacey gave the signal that they were absolutely leaving right now before they got stuck in whatever pending house of horrors this really was.
"Yes." Regina wanted to crawl away and die somewhere. Had she been snoring?
Lacey helped her over to get her shoes on, the guys giving them space since they seemed to be acting like caged animals.
As Lacey reached for the door Cole finally spoke up.
"Can I see you again sometime?"
"I don't know—" Regina squinted and Lacey tugged her along.
"I'd really like that." Cole tried again.
"Text me I guess."
"Bye Lacey." Danny said warmly, his goddamn velvety voice enraging her. How was she supposed to be mad when these two buttwipes were being totally nice?
Lacey pulled Regina through the door and they took off.