Page 20 of Drunk Girl

“Comedies, mostly, sometimes a good action flick will interest me, how about you?”

“I don’t usually watch many movies, but when I do, I tend to gravitate toward comedy, as well, followed closely by a good romance or drama.”

“I love movies. Growing up, Kaiden and I would go to the movies almost every weekend together.”

“Sounds fun. Have the two of you always been close?”

“Yep, my best friend since I can remember. We had a few years that we annoyed each other more than we liked each other, but nothing more than just normal brother shit. He hated having to include his younger brother in stuff, and I hated the fact that he was older and got to do shit I didn’t. But once we were both teens and past the adolescent stage, we were pretty inseparable. It sucked when he left for college and I was still in high school. I moped around for the first month or so after he left.”

“That’s great that the two of you are so close. I always wanted a sibling. Tiffany is the closest thing I ever got to having a sister.”

“I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for my brother. Our close bond has sure helped with our business relationship, as well.”

“I bet. Whose idea was it to open a bar?”

“Both of ours. We knew we wanted to be our own bosses, and he has a business degree, with a minor in accounting. I dropped out of school after I got my associates degree in business. Didn’t feel the need to continue on to my bachelor’s degree when I was going to be focusing on the front of house side of things. When the city started the revitalization of the downtown area, and offered up the tax breaks to businesses, we knew that was going to be the perfect location to open up, and man, were we right. It took us a few months to renovate and get things so we could open, but we’ve been busy since day one.”

“That’s so awesome. I bet it was scary opening your own bar in such an up-and-coming part of town.”

“Knowing that so many other businesses were committing to the area, as well as developers for housing, we were optimistic that it would pay off, and it sure has. We were profitable within our first few months of opening.”

“Have you guys thought of opening other locations?”

“We considered it, but we’re happy with keeping it just the one spot. Part of our appeal is the location. We get the patron looking for a laid-back place to grab a drink or two with some friends after work, the young couple looking for good, affordable food that isn’t a drive-thru, and we get the sports enthusiasts, looking to watch the game while surrounded by others looking to do the same thing.”

“That’s awesome that you guys can cater to so many people.”

“It really is, and it’s one of the reasons we’ve been so successful.” He pauses. “So, you and Tiffany have been friends since you were little, correct?”

“Yes. We met in second grade, when I started at a new elementary school after yet another move my mom and I made. We’ve been inseparable since. Thankfully, when we moved again after that, we stayed within the school boundaries, so I didn’t have to switch schools.”

“What does she do for a living?” he asks.

“She’s a second grade teacher, and her fiancé is an engineer for the Department of Transportation.”

“Cool, have they been together for a long time?”

“They’re high school sweethearts, have known each other most of their lives.”

“When are they getting married?”

“Late September. Tiffany wanted a fall wedding, which doesn’t bode well with a teaching job. So, they’re getting married on a Saturday and that following week is fall break, so they’ll have a week to take a honeymoon.”

“Oh nice.” Just then, the doorbell rings and he gets up to answer it. “Hungry?” he asks a few moments later, as he sets the two pizza boxes down on the coffee table in front of us.

“Starving!”

He walks over to the kitchen and looks in the fridge. “Can I get you something to drink? I’ve got pop, water, beer.”

“What kind of pop do you have?”

“Pepsi, Sprite, or root beer.”

“I’ll take a root beer,” I tell him as I open the two pizza boxes and inhale the garlic-infused, carb-loaded yumminess that is in front of me.

“Here ya go.” Nick hands me the bottle of root beer, along with a couple plates and napkins. I place two slices of pizza on a plate and hand it over to him, then do the same with my own.

“Thanks,” we both tell each other at the same time.

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