Just One More Drink 2

Rick didn't know why he still came to open mic night. Every other weekend, one of the dozens of student life organizations that seemed to seep through Green Valley College's campus like the mold in the old locker room put it on in the student union, usually right after the dining hall closed for dinner. Rick always ate dinner late, and it wasn't like there was much else to do in Green Valley on a Friday night, so he would usually grab a table near the back of the lounge and guzzle free coffee until he got ticked off enough to leave.

It's not like he thought the music was bad, not objectively. It was just all so basic. Someone would get up with an acoustic guitar, croon something poppy or sappy about love, and bask in the applause. That's what made Rick more pissed than anything else: the reactions of the crowd. Everyone acted like it was the best thing they had ever seen.

He would have loved to have gone up there and shown them what real music was, but he had been rejected soundly the first, and only, time he tried. The organizer had taken one look at Rick, with his long black hair, a denim jacket covered in band patches, and carrying an electric guitar in one hand before shaking her head. "I don't think this is quite the right venue for you."

She was right, of course, but it still sucked. There were only so many chances to perform in a place the size of Green Valley, even with how good their music program was. So much of it was dedicated to choral performances, or jazz combos, or the orchestra. There wasn't a lot of space for heavy metal, outside of a couple of the rougher bars downtown that townies went to.

Rick had played at them a few times, when the stars aligned. He was part of a band in a very loose sense, but it was really more like a group of friends that happened to jam while they drank a lot of cheap beer in his garage. He was on guitar, of course. Alex was on bass, Dave on drums, and Mike sang okay, when he wasn't hammered.

They were alright, when they got their shit together. That didn't happen very often. The name changed about as often as the weather, but lately they were going by Big Jug of Cheap Wine, after Mike's favorite libation that he usually brought on stage with him.

The room broke out into applause and Rick half-heartedly joined, draining the dregs of his styrofoam cup of coffee before tossing it in a nearby trash can. He was about to drift out of the lounge, towards the main foyer and back to his house, but he realized he didn't recognize the next performer. Even though there were five thousand students on campus, there usually weren't a lot of new faces at open mic night.

She looked young, and there were hot pink highlights streaking her otherwise dark hair. Rick muttered to himself as she took out an ornate classical guitar out of a case. "Cordoba, huh?" It was an uncommon sight here, pretty much anything with nylon strings were, and he ended up taking his seat back, leaning forward on his legs. Whoever she was, she smiled at the crowd and waved, strumming the strings a few times before starting to play.

Rick realized he was wrong. It wasn't a classical guitar, but a flamenco. He didn't realize until she started to play in the distinctive style, and the carefully trimmed nails on her right hand made it more clear. He found himself nodding along to the song for a while before he recognized it. "Holy hell." Someone shushed him, but he ignored him. She was doing an honest to God flamenco guitar cover of Electric Eye, by Judas Priest.

The intro was soaring, but when she finally kicked into the song for real, he was blown away. Twice, actually. The first was how she seemed to have rearranged the song all on her own. The second was when she started to sing.

Up here in space

I'm looking down on you

My lasers trace

Everything you do

It wasn't what he expected to go with the song. Gone were Rob Halford's throaty growls and soaring, operatic wails. In their place was something that almost sounded like it belonged in a coffee shop, but more powerful. Her voice filled the room. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

He was hanging on her every word and lost himself in the music before it all came to a sudden conclusion. She strummed the last notes with a flourish and looked up with a grin. There was the same level of polite applause that followed any performance, but Rick stood up and whooped, clapping as loud as he could. That drew a few stares, especially from the people that just knew him as the surly guy who sat in the corner, but she noticed, nodding at him with a quick grin before she got up to put away her guitar.

That was unusual, too. Most people did more than one song, but then again, most people didn't play like she did. There was always a brief lull between performances, so as the chatter started back up, Rick made his way over to the side of the stage, where the mysterious woman was tenderly sealing the clasps of her case. She looked up at his approach, and he held up a hand in greeting. "Hey. Just wanted to say that was awesome."

Still kneeling, she reached out her hand. Rick shook it as she smiled. "Thanks. I appreciated the cheers." Her fingers were tough and calloused, but her palm was smooth. "I'm Jen, by the way."

Rick shook her hand again in a quick motion and dropped it. "Nice to meet you, Jen. I'm Rick. Seriously, that was like nothing I've ever heard, especially not here."

Jen chuckled. "Let's just say I'm glad somebody got what I was going for." She gestured to the crowd, and yet another guy getting an acoustic guitar prepped on the small stage. "Is it always like this?"

He nodded, looking at the crowd with her. "Pretty much. I don't even know why I still come other than the off-chance something surprises me. Kind of like you did tonight." Jen picked up her case and walked with Rick towards the back, where she lay it gently against a wall before pouring herself a cup of decaf. As Rick poured a cup of the regular stuff, he half expected Jen to be gone when he turned around.

She wasn't, but she did look ready to go. The next singer had started and she rolled her eyes when he flew into an Ed Sheeran song, huffing some air out of her nose when she saw Rick do the same. He saw an opportunity, and took it, gesturing behind him with his head as she nodded. They left the lounge walking side by side back into the main foyer of the student union, dotted with couches, tables, chairs, and benches.

There were a few students here or there, studying or flirting or staring at their phones, but it was mostly empty. Aside from the echoes of the song coming from behind them, there wasn't much noise besides quiet conversation and the clack of a pool game somewhere around a corner. Rick took another sip of coffee. "You a big Priest fan, then? I saw them on a tour a couple of years ago."

"Oh, for sure. Rob Halford is, like, my idol."

"With the way you play? I figured it would be K.K., or something."

It was hard to tell, but Rick was pretty sure Jen blushed. "Well, thank you, but I don't think I'm quite at his level."

Rick laughed heartily. "Well, I'm sure as hell not. We can try though, right?"

Recognition slowly grew on Jen's face. "THAT'S why I recognize you. You played at the Spotted Owl a couple weeks ago, right? Big Jug of Cheap Wine?"

He shook his head, not to disagree, but in shock. "Heh, yeah, that was us. You were there?"

"Yeah, you guys sounded great. Especially your solo on Cry for the Nations. How long did that take you to learn?"

"All together? About a decade." Jen's laugh just about made him stop in his tracks. Where the hell had this girl been hiding for the past three years? "You know, I'm surprised I haven't seen you around before. There's not a lot of people who appreciate a Schenker solo."

They had reached the bank of doors separating the student union from the quad. Rick hustled forward to hold the door open for Jen as they walked out into the night. Spring had finally broken through the grip of winter, and the trees were filled with the red buds that heralded leaves. It was a little chilly, but comfortable enough without a heavy coat.

Jen drank the rest of her coffee in one gulp and chucked it into a nearby trash can. "I just transferred here after Christmas, actually. My boyfriend finally wore me down."

"Oh, uh, cool. Yeah, I mean, Green Valley's a good school." He tried to mask the crestfallen look on his face and did a pretty bad job. Jen had the grace not to mention if, if she noticed.

"It's definitely more intense than Wayland State was, so I've been a little busy catching up. That's why I only played one song tonight. I don't have a ton of time to practice right now."

This wasn't going the way that Rick had planned, but Jen really could play, even if she had a boyfriend. He had been going to ask if she wanted to grab a drink, but that didn't really seem right now. "Speaking of practice, would you ever want to jam sometime? Me and some friends usually get together to play every Saturday night, unless it's finals or something."

Rick tried to act casual as he took another drink of coffee, but he wasn't looking where his mouth was and it spilled on the sidewalk. "Shit."

Jen laughed again, but he didn't feel as embarrassed as he should have. She hesitated. "I don't know about that, Rick."

Rick summoned up all his bravado, like he was up on stage in a show. "It's chill, I promise. Does your boyfriend play? Bring him too."

She shook her head. "Will doesn't have a musical bone in his body, but...maybe. What's your number?"

Rick thought he was being smooth, but for all he knew, Jen was just trying to get rid of him. They exchanged numbers and Jen hiked her case up again. "Nice meeting you, Rick. I'll see you around?"

He waved at her. "You too, Jen. I'll let you know next time we're playing." He turned and started walking the other direction, towards where he had parked before class.

Rick didn't look back. It figured. What were the odds a cute girl who could play like that would be single? Next to nothing, probably. He chucked his cup away and stuck his hands in his pockets, slowly settling into a foul mood. The quad, and the myriad trees, bushes, and benches dotted between the classroom buildings, was busy.

Some guys were throwing a frisbee in the fading light. There was a couple talking quietly, sitting on a picnic table with their feet on the bench. A bearded professor was smoking a pipe under a gnarled oak tree, reading some sort of thick tome. Rick sighed, walking quicker to his car.

It was a newer Mustang in dark gray, a high school graduation present from his dad. It wasn't very practical, particularly with how severe the winters were in Green Valley, but he refused to get another car. He clicked the door open and slid in, letting the engine roar to life as he backed out of the half-empty parking lot and made his way home.

He was splitting a rental house with three other guys about a mile off campus. It wasn't really far enough that he had to drive, but he hated walking, and it felt like a waste not to use a car like this as much as he could. He cruised down the sleepy streets near campus and inched closer to downtown, pulling left onto River Street and parking in front of the garage in the driveway of a big, old house with an enclosed porch wrapping around one corner. They called it Big Blue, on account of the size of the house and the faded powder blue vinyl siding that seemed like it had been wrapped around it for decades. It probably had.

Rick hopped out and yawned, wishing he had more coffee. The wooden steps creaked as he walked through the porch and through the front door. Alex, the only bandmate who lived at the house with him, was cracking open a can of beer. There was a grilled cheese sandwich sitting on a hot pan on the stove next to him, and Rick could tell it was starting to burn. "Alex, man, you gotta flip that."

Alex took a long drink of the PBR as he rushed over to grab a spatula. "Shit. Thanks, Rick." He hadn't burned the house down yet, but Rick would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about it. He always joked that Alex shaved his head so he wouldn't burn off his hair on the stove, but it suited his bulky frame.

He opened the fridge and took another can of beer out of the carton, noticing it was almost empty. "Dude, we're already out? The weekend just started!"

Alex chuckled as he flipped the grilled cheese, ignoring the fact the bread was already black on one side. "Chill, man. Tony and Greg went to Kroger on a beer run."

Rick sighed in relief as he popped open the beer. "Good." Beer always went quick in Big Blue. "Hey, there was actually a decent act at the open mic tonight."

"Bullshit. She was probably just hot."

He snorted. "I mean, yeah, but she could actually play. She did, like, this trippy acoustic cover of Electric Eye. It was incredible. She's a transfer student. Name's Jen."

"Uh huh. She turn you down?" Alex flipped the sandwich onto a plate and turned off the stove, letting the sandwich rest as he picked through the messy drawers for a knife.

He leaned against the wall and glared at Alex, who laughed at the look on his face. "Not quite. She just has a boyfriend."

"I'm sure she says that to all the guys."

"Fuck off," Rick said with a smile. "Anyway, I thought I might invite her to come jam tomorrow night. Sound cool?"

Alex cut the sandwich and immediately bit into it, ignoring the fact that it was still hot enough to burn the roof of his mouth. He became fairly resistant to pain when he was tipsy. "Can she like, really play, or are you just trying to get into her pants?"

"No, she's like, actually good."

Alex shrugged as he resumed eating. "Fine with me. Tell her to bring beer."

As if on cue, the front door swung open. Tony grunted as he hefted another thirty rack of PBR on the counter, while Greg was trailing with a handle each of cheap vodka and cheap whiskey. He waved at them with the whiskey, his face split in a wide grin. Between his straw-colored hair and jovial, country attitude, most people pegged him as a bumpkin. A bumpkin that happened to be double majoring in math and physics. "Howdy, fellas."

Rick eyed the haul. "You guys doing another bonfire tonight?" Greg and Tony were both members of Zeta Mu, one of the fraternities up on Greek Row. They often hosted things on the weekends to get around the arcane restrictions around alcohol that the college imposed on most frat houses. When the weather was good, that usually meant a bonfire.

Tony nodded as he cracked open the case and took out a beer, not caring that it was still half-warm. For all his binge drinking, he kept himself in pretty good shape, even outside of football season. "Shouldn't be too big, but you never know."

Finishing the can with a long swallow, Rick chucked it into the trash. "Cool." He grabbed two more cans out of the new case and went upstairs. All of the bedrooms were on the second story, and Rick's was the furthest back, looking out over the backyard and the fire pit. He elbowed the door open and sighed in relief, glad that the weekend was finally starting in earnest.

Rick's bedroom was dominated by music. Besides his guitar and an amp in the corner, he also had a whole corner dedicated to his growing vinyl collection. He knew just what he wanted to play tonight, searching through the shelf until he saw the metal eagle on a red and yellow background. Judas Priest's Screaming for Vengeance, of course. Rick hadn't managed to find an original pressing, but the reissue was good enough for now.

He set it on the turntable and turned the speakers on, settling into a plush beanbag chair as he cracked open another beer. Rick leaned back his head as the guitars started to wail on The Hellion, leading right into Electric Eye. He had to admit Jen's cover wasn't quite as good as the real thing, but then again, what was? Rick relaxed into the bean bag, letting the music wash over him. He thought of breaking out his guitar and trying to play along, but right now, he really just needed the music.

Rick had finished one can before the first side of the album was done, flipping it and starting on the second can. As Devil's Child faded out, he could hear noisy conversations from the backyard. People had started arriving for the bonfire. With the album finished, Rick cracked open his window. The conversation was louder, now, and he could hear the crackling of the fire, just barely starting to light up the night. He stuck his head out, looking over the small crowd to see if he recognized anybody, stopping almost immediately as he looked at Valerie. He tried to bounce his eyes away, but she must have noticed his gaze, turning and waving at him with an innocent-looking smile.

Rick sighed internally and waved back. He had been thinking of going down to the fire, until he saw her. Even after they stopped sleeping together, Val was still friendly to him, superficially. She had been a fixture at the Big Blue all of last semester, some friend of a friend of Tony's, and they had started hooking up pretty quickly.

She was like a fireball. She could outdrink Rick, and most anybody else, without breaking a sweat. She had the same energy in bed, too, and she wasn't aiming to be tamed. She was kinky as hell, and almost good enough in the sack to put up with the rest of her bullshit. He didn't miss her fits of rage, or her weird mind games, or the time she had thrown one of his records (a faded copy of Iron Maiden's Piece of Mind) out the window after he refused to drive drunk to McDonald's for her.

But he did miss her body. Val was built like a willow tree, with long and swaying limbs. She was tall, and skinny, and her ass was a little flat, but she was built solid and smooth. He knew the chances were better than fifty-fifty that if he went down there, she'd end up back in his bed. Again.

Rick decided to split the difference. When it was nice enough to go on the roof, Rick kept the screen out of the window so he could sit out there without much trouble. He crawled out headfirst and settled carefully on the tiles. The roof wasn't that steep, and he was only ten or fifteen feet up, but a fall's a fall.

He heard a few shouts of greeting, including one from Val, and he waved without direction towards the ground. He heard Andy shout "Heads up!" and had just enough time to react to a lobbed can of beer soaring towards him. He caught it with a fumble and everyone cheered. He raised the can in a silent salute and cracked it open.

The sun was down in no time. He left a couple of times to piss, but he spent pretty much the whole night sitting on the roof. Andy kept throwing him more beer when he hollered, so really, it was almost as nice as being down there. Rick was yawning before too long, leaning his back up against the side of the house when he heard footsteps in his room. It was too dark to see inside, but he stuck his head towards the window and shouted anyway. "Hey, who's there?"

There was a moment of silence before Valerie popped her head through the window with a wide grin. Rick's heart leapt in his chest, but he tried to keep a calm look on his face. Val was wearing a tight dress with a revealing neckline which left little to the imagination, particularly when she was half hunched over in the window to the roof. Rick's heart leapt in his chest a little, but he managed to keep a calm look on his face, when he wasn't sneaking a peak at her cleavage.

If Val noticed, she didn't say anything, but the way her eyes seemed to laugh at him made Rick think she had. "You planning to mope on the roof by yourself all night?"

Rick shrugged, glancing back towards the backyard. The fire was still burning, but low, and most people were grouped in little clusters of two and three. It was winding down. "Who's moping?"