The nightclub was subdued and fairly quiet when Nick arrived. Lively rock music was playing from the speakers scattered throughout and the thin haze of cigarette smoke was just beginning to thicken. Nick scanned the bar area for a place to sit and saw many unoccupied seats. He checked his watch and he was early. Nick looked up to find a large, burly man wearing a light blue polo shirt and jeans approach him.
"ID, please," he said pleasantly, but with authority.
Nick didn't think he looked under 21, but he wasn't going to debate the point.. He reached into his back pocket for his wallet and produced his driver's license for him. The bouncer studied it for a few seconds before handing it back to him.
"Five dollars cover charge," he said.
Nick nodded and put his license away before pulling out a Lincoln and giving it to him.
"Enjoy your evening," he said as he stepped aside.
"Thanks," Nick replied. He walked past the man and headed for the bar, taking a seat to the left side where he could watch the entrance for his date.
"What can I get you?" Nick looked up at the voice and saw a cute brunette wearing a thin white blouse and black slacks waiting patiently for his reply.
Your phone number? Nick kept his thoughts in check, reminding himself that he was going to have a date. "Smirnoff Ice," he said with a friendly smile. She smiled back and walked away to the other side of the bar. She bent over slightly to pull a bottle out of the cooler. Nick eyed her with interest, but looked towards the empty stage when she brought his drink to him.
"Here you go, that'll be $3.75," she said. He looked back at her and noticed rings on her left hand. His interest waned dramatically. He never messed with married women and he thought it would never be a good time to start. He handed her five dollars and told her to keep the change. Nick had brought plenty of money with him and he didn't plan on drinking much that night. He hoped his date wasn't a fish who would drink herself into oblivion. The only thing he hated more than drunken men were drunken women. But, his sister-in-law insisted Shannon was a "nice girl"so he would give her the benefit of the doubt.
Nick didn't mind blind dates and would go out on one occasionally. At 27, he wasn't ready to settle down and he only dated for companionship, not commitment. He tried to let his dates know this from the start so that there was no confusion about his intentions. His relationships rarely lasted more than a few months and they usually split amicably. But, of course, there were some who thought they could change him and help him realize that they were the only one for him. When subtle hints didn't work, Nick resorted to the blunt truth to get his point across, and then their feelings would get hurt.
Nick never felt sorry for them and would move on. What else was he to do? Why would they start to get serious with him when they knew he had no intention of being more than friends with them? He truly didn't know if he would
ever
want to get serious with someone again. He remembered what happened to him before and he saw what it did to his brothers and his other male friends. He wanted nothing to do with it, at least for now. Nick could honestly say that he knew of no one who was completely happy in a committed relationship. Oh, they may say they were, but if they were totally honest with themselves and with him, they would admit they weren't totally, completely happy.
He had twice tried that route before and each time was disastrous. Things went well for awhile in each case, but after that, they became clingy, demanding, and possessive. When he tried to reestablish his independence, the resistance with which he was met was stifling. After the second time, he swore he wouldn't get serious with a woman unless it was on his terms and when he wanted it to happen.
Nick had talked to Shannon a couple of times in the past week and she seemed pleasant enough. They decided to meet at O'Reilly's since it was close to both of their homes and they were familiar with it. Besides, if the date turned sour, he could always enjoy the live music that started after ten o'clock. He took a swig of his drink and checked his watch. She would be there any minute, he thought.
O'Reilly's was a very nice neighborhood bar that featured live music on Friday and Saturday evenings. It seated perhaps a hundred and was usually crowded on the weekends once the music started. Besides the music, they had three billiards tables and four electronic dart boards. Their food was mediocre, but the atmosphere made up for it. Besides, if they were hungry, there were numerous eateries nearby. It was a mutual choice for them to meet after dinner since Shannon said she preferred her own cooking to a restaurant. When she said that, Nick thought she was going to invite him to her home for supper, but the invitation never came. She described what she was going to wear that evening, so hopefully, they'd recognize each other when she arrived.
It was now past eight o'clock and Nick frowned. She was late. Nick was always very punctual and didn't care for people who weren't. He thought it to be rude and irresponsible and unless there was a good excuse, he was turned off immediately.
Nick took another drink from his bottle and glanced at the bartender again. She was quite pretty and Nick liked the way she moved. She was busy filling orders for the waitresses as she moved to and fro, up and down the area behind the bar. It was too bad about the married part.
It still wasn't too crowded as there were maybe twenty-five people there. There were three other patrons at the bar, Nick noticed, one of whom looked like a vagrant. He was wearing army fatigues and a knit hat even though it was quite warm for a May night. He was disheveled and had a duffle bag placed on the chair next to him. Unfortunately, the bag fell to the floor numerous times. Slowly, he would reach down, pick it up, and place it on the chair again. This happened three, maybe four times as Nick watched in amusement. Finally, on the fifth time, he reached down for the bag and kept going, falling to the floor with a dazed, perplexed look on his face. The bartender stopped what she was doing and watched as the bouncer moved to the man. He whispered a few words in his ear and helped him to his feet. With his hand around the drunk's upper arm, he guided him to the door and out into the fast approaching darkness.
Nick's eyes caught the bartender's as the scene ended. He shrugged and smiled, all the while sipping on his drink. A faint smile crossed her lips, but she then turned her attention back to her job.
Nick nursed his drink as he scanned the crowd. There were two couples at each of the billiards tables and two out of the four dart boards were occupied. The televisions were showing sports; baseball and basketball. There were many empty tables, but Nick knew it would fill up as it got closer to ten o'clock.
He sensed her presence nearby again, her soft perfume wafting under his nose. He looked left to see the bartender standing in front of him.
"Can I get you another one?" she asked pleasantly.
Nick looked at his bottle and saw he still had 1/4 of it left. He looked back at her. "No, thanks," he said. "I'll finish this one first." Her eyes were a very dark brown, almost black, but there was warmth to them.
"Okay, just let me know when you need another one." She smiled warmly again and went to the other side of the bar before he could say anything else.
Nick had seen her once or twice before, but she had never waited on him until this evening. He was definitely interested as he continued to observe her while she worked.
As the time went past eight-thirty, Nick decided to cut his losses and leave. It wasn't the first time he had been stood up and he figured it wouldn't be the last. He emptied his bottle and swivelled the chair to his right to exit.
"Going already?" a female voice said to his left.
Nick stopped and turned back to the voice to see the bartender sitting in the chair next to him. "As a matter of fact, I was," he replied. She was looking at him and her eyes were asking him to stay.
"I'm off duty. Why don't you keep me company for awhile?"
"Sounds like a reasonable request," he smiled. He sat down next to her. "Can I get you something?" he asked.
She laughed lightly. "I work here sweetie. I'll buy the drinks." She called to the new bartender, "Hey Joe, give me a coke and another Smirnoff's." Joe nodded and began to fill the order.
"Thanks," Nick said.
"No problem. What's your name, by the way? I'm Renee." She extended her hand to him and he took it lightly.
"Nick. Nick Wilkinson."
"Glad to meet you. I've seen you here before, haven't I?"
"Yeah, a few times, I guess."
Joe came with their drinks and Renee gave him five dollars. Joe smiled to her as he walked away. Renee sipped from a straw, leaving a pink imprint from her lipstick. Nick left his bottle untouched.
