It had taken some convincing from her friend Bethany, but finally Katie agreed to meet her old friend at the Iron Kettle Brewery for drinks and live music. Mike was excited to go. He and Katie had never been before. In fact, it had been a while since he and Katie had gone out to a new place. Mike loved meeting new people. He also loved music and beer, so tonight was a win all around for him.
As Katie pulled into the parking lot, Mike's gaze fell to her legs, which were covered in thin, nearly see-through black tights. Her black skirt and purple blouse with long sleeves hugged her body and highlighted her figure. It drove Mike wild when Katie dressed up, especially when she wore eye liner and glossy lipstick. Mike smiled.
"What?" Katie said, playfully. The look in her eyes told him that she knew she looked good. Mike was glad. Katie had seemed down lately. Distracted. But as she got ready to go out tonight, she had been happy, almost carefree, dancing back and forth, lightly singing under breath as she tried on her clothes.
"Nothing," Mike said. "You look so beautiful. So hot."
Tonight felt special, but Mike kept it cool. He was interested in hanging out with an old friend of Katie's, but what he really looked forward to was going home and fucking his girlfriend. Looking at her perfect legs, Mike imagined returning to her place, Katie pushing him against a wall, falling to her knees, and taking him in her mouth. He couldn't wait.
"You look hot too." She smiled at him. Mike had worn a slim-fitting pair of khakis and a button up shirt. His short hair neatly framed his face. He had spent a lot of time in the sun this summer, and his face was tan and littered modestly with freckles. He hoped he looked good for Katie. He wanted to make a good impression on her friend.
Katie had been pretty tight-lipped on details of her friendship with Bethany, but Mike understood they hadn't spoken in a few years. They weren't even Facebook friends. Mike suspected that would change after tonight. Katie would have a few drinks and it would be like no time passed between them at all.
"You ready?" Katie said, getting out of the driver's seat.
"Let's do it!" Mike said.
They walked to the entrance holding hands. The brewery had been converted from an old iron factory, and several sections of the exterior were original brick. Mike ran his fingers along it as they walked to the door, imagining the history that had happened here, from the masons who laid the brick to the workers who had given so much of their lives to this place. He wondered who had been the last person to leave, to lock the door, to close the place down before someone imagined new life for the building as a hot night spot.
Inside, the music had started already, and the old building seemed to shake from the noise. Mike saw Bethany leap up from her table and make a beeline for Katie. "I'm so glad you made it!" She hugged them both. "We saved you some seats."
Bethany led them to a table where Mike at least recognized one person - Grant from the park. They man-hugged and sat together while Bethany squeezed in close to Katie. The two quickly became the life of the party as Bethany regaled everyone with stories of the shows and venues the two of them had shared.
It was tough to hear over the noise, and as the beers came and went, Mike felt himself drifting from the conversation. It seemed like the rest of the group was as well, and soon Mike found himself talking to Grant about their games that morning. Eventually, Katie excused herself to use the restroom, and Bethany slid between Mike and Grant.
"So tell me something about yourself," Bethany said. "Who is this man that swept my friend off her feet?"
Mike told her briefly about his job and how he met Katie, but he kept his guard up. It seemed odd to him that Bethany asserted herself as Katie's friend so easily. He didn't know for sure, but it sounded like there had been a reason for the two to part ways.
"Are you still working in theater?" Mike asked. "Are you with another company in town?"
"Hold on," Bethany replied, looking down at her phone. Mike glanced down and saw Katie's name on Bethany's screen. He looked away quickly, not wanting to invade his girlfriend's privacy, even if she was texting her old friend from the bathroom.
Bethany's lips curled into a slight smile as she typed a reply and looked back up at Mike.
"Sorry about that. What were you saying?"
"Do you still work in theater?"
"No, I'm an RN in a cardio unit at Mercy Hills."
"That's great. Did you always want to be a nurse?"
"Well, not really, but I - hang on, so sorry." Her phone buzzed again and she typed
furiously, her smile growing. She stood and looked around, scanning the crowd. Her eyes widened for a moment, and she sat back down.
Mike looked in that direction. Standing, he realized he should slow down his consumption of beer. The band was in full swing, and the music was beginning to smother everything around him. Katie had been gone for a while now, and he hoped nothing was wrong. She hadn't texted him so he assumed she was okay, but he wondered if he should go look for her. Just as he was about to climb out of the tight circle of chairs, he spotted Katie. She was holding a beer and talking to someone. Mike couldn't see his face in the dim lighting, but the man was tall and had broad shoulders. Katie looked up at this man and swept one foot back and forth in front of the other, swaying slightly to the music.
"Do you know who that is?" Mike asked Bethany. "Is he with one of your friends?" Jen and Sarah had left the table as well, and Mike wondered if one of them was introducing Katie to their boyfriend.
Bethany shook her head and typed on her phone.
Mike watched as Katie pulled her phone from her purse and checked it. She immediately looked over at her boyfriend and old friend and waved. She said goodbye to the stranger and hurried back to the table. The man remained where he was, looking down at his beer. He never left the shadowy high-top and didn't glance in their direction.
"Hey, sorry about that," she said. She kissed Mike on the cheek. "You'll never guess who I just ran into."
Oh, Mike thought. That must be Ian, her ex-boyfriend. He imagined seeing Ian would make her uncomfortable, but she had swayed before him so gracefully - in the same carefree manner she had gotten dressed that evening.
"Who?" he said, deciding it best not to immediately guess it was her ex-boyfriend.
"Blake," she said. She tilted her head and looked up at him as though she was worried what his reaction would be.
"Blake?"
"From the game this morning."
"Oh."
Mike felt a pang in his stomach. Today had been the first time he had played against - or even met - Blake. But Grant told him that Blake, a few years younger, had been a local star when he played high school basketball. The name Blake Davis did sound familiar, but Mike thought that it was because it was so plain - and vanilla.
He shook his head. "What were you guys talking about?"
"Well, it turns out his sister was in our production of Hamlet last year - Christy Davis. I don't know if you ever met her, but he says he recognized me from Facebook - turns out I was in one of her profile pictures for a while. How crazy!"
Wow, Mike thought. How crazy.
"Anyway, he said his sister is auditioning for some shows downtown. We were just talking about that."
Bethany nodded, smiling.
"I was also telling him," Katie said, "about some of the things we're doing in the community -" she turned to Bethany - "like our mentoring program, our school assemblies, river clean-ups, and all that. I said Christy should get involved."
