I wasn't sure how to dress for our little rendezvous, as she refused to tell me where we were headed. The girl spun my head in circles sometimes. I assumed, however, that if we were going somewhere fancy, she wouldn't screw me over completely by not telling me to dress properly.
Kyle was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a beer when I walked into the kitchen.
“Hey, man, how's it going? Want to have a beer with me?”
I checked the time on my phone and decided I had enough time for a beer. I sat down at the table with Kyle while he went to the fridge to grab me a beer.
I cracked it open and took a long swig. The cool liquid tasted delicious as it slid down my throat. There was nothing like a cold beer to make a day complete.
“So what are you up to, man?”
“I'm picking Natalie up and we're hanging out.”
“Oh yeah? Where you guys going?”
“I have no idea.”
“Is this finally a date?”
I laughed. “Again, I have no idea. She's taking me to what she calls her 'favorite place,' but she won't tell me where it is.”
“That girl likes to fuck with your head, man. Why do you let her?”
“’Cause I like her. She challenges me. I'm bored to death with some of the girls, man, aren't you?”
Kyle shrugged. “I don't know, but I wouldn't be putting that much effort into a girl unless she was fucking me daily, that's for sure.”
I laughed. “Well, that's probably why you're single and alone on a Friday night.” I shrugged, too, when he looked up at me, surprised.
I chugged back my beer, no longer interested in discussing Natalie with him.
“I'll see ya later, Kyle. Have a good night.” I set my empty beer down and headed for the door.
I pulled up to Natalie's apartment, and she was already waiting outside for me. I sighed with relief when I saw that she was wearing ripped jeans and a faded Pearl Jam T-shirt. We were obviously not going anywhere fancy, so my attire would suffice for the evening. She slipped into the passenger side and buckled herself in, finally turning my way with a big smile.
“You look fantastic, Natalie. Very edgy.”
She smiled. “Well, you don't look too bad yourself.”
“So, where are we going?”
“Don't worry, I will be your guide.”
She gave me driving instructions that brought us downtown. There were many bars and pubs on the main drag, close to the un
iversity. She had me park there, and we both get out of the car to walk. We walked for about half a block before I found myself in front of a dive bar that I used to go to before I was legal enough to drink.
“This is your favorite place? You're kidding me?”
“No. My dad used to take me here all the time. He wasn't supposed to, of course, but I had an interesting upbringing. He taught me to play pool.”
“Are you any good?”
She laughed. “Of course I am, hot shot.”
We walked into the bar, and not much had changed over the years since I had last been there. It wasn't the kind of bar that had ever been concerned with checking IDs, which was probably why Natalie was able to come into the bar with her father when she was young.
We found a booth and sat down. I knew there wasn’t any point in grabbing a menu; it wasn't the kind of place where you grabbed food. If we got hungry later, I would take us to a burger joint to get some grub. A waitress stopped over at our table, and actually recognized Natalie.