My lieutenant cut us loose at noon, and while the guys were fooling around, pressing to stay at work at liberty, I decided to drive 70 miles south to Kitty Hawk night just for some "Bang Bang Shrimp."
"You must be headed to Barefoot Bernie's," read a text from Charlotte.
Charlotte knew the drill with me and that delectable item, for I turned her to it time before.
"You be safe, and message me when you're settled," she added as she knew I wouldn't drive up so soon.
I had a change of clothes in the Jeep so I came out of uniform, and darted from base not even 30 minutes after the lieutenant told the division to leave the ship, rolling with ease via I-64, and connecting to the highway that darted from Virginia straight to the Outer Banks.
"There he is! You down here slumming again," Shirley asked as I sat at the bar two hours later. "Missed you, Bubba. How's life in Norfolk?"
Shirley was the lead bartender, a staple at Bernie's and someone who befriended me 10 years before, when I first got hooked on the place.
"Seems your timing couldn't be more perfect," she said before handing me a cocktail.
I'd look around to find a group of snowbirds, all Caucasian, salt and peppered bears who apparently were Steeler fans.
"Fan Club," Shirley mentioned.
The group of guys, perhaps 10 to 15, were jubilant to say the least after Shirley fed them libations. She noted the guys were regulars who came down from Pennsylvania every spring, and chose Bernie's as the business they identified with.
"See if you could be lucky with one of them," she said in my ear.
I gave her a look.
"Don't act like that," was her response as she started grinning. "You're down here for one reason and one reason only; and it has nothing to do with the shrimp."
She told no lies, but the snowbirds like that came down for the same thing. I enjoyed giving that "bang bang" to a guy stepping out on his wife, or some local fisherman who was undercover. The snowbirds were the perfect bottoms for they were lawyers, doctors, business owners, and so on with a heavy diet of dick on their vacations, so Shirley read me correctly.
"Always on the damned prowl," she said to me. "You know I always say, choose wisely."
I sat at the bar counter sipping my Screwdriver, occasionally looking over at the boisterous group, and at the televisions. Baseball highlights came on in front of me, then Shirley brought me my shrimp when she alerted me to one of the guys.
"Ginger, at twelve o'clock," she whispered.
A part of me was tickled on how she gave me an assist. Still, I turned my head to see a tall, red and white bearded guy who was shaved bald, wearing a jersey and black jean shorts. I looked back at Shirley as we made eye contact, then I turned my head back to the ginger as we caught eyes. He made all the checks in the block for me: masculine, hefty, and lively. He winked his eyes and continued to cut up with the other guys he was with: one being another chubby guy, with a full head of salt and pepper mane, a thick, longer gnome-like beard, and two other guys who didn't really pique my interest as much. The ginger stood up for me to see his muscular calves, and his ashy feet as he wore flip flops. He climbed off his stool and shuffled to the bathroom while giving me a view of a nice, juicy rump.
"Don't stare too hard," Shirley said as I couldn't keep my eyes from that direction.
I paid her no mind and decided to open a conversation when he returned from the restroom
"You a Steelers fan," I yelled at him.
That got his attention as he would sit with his buddies.