Page 8 of Spreading Her Wings

She dropped into her usual seat across from my desk and crossed her legs. “What aday, you know? It was definitely a Monday. I can see why people go to happy hour so often.” Sasha laughed, using her thumb and pinky to symbolize pouring something into her mouth.

“So let’s go to happy hour,” I said. My couch was calling my name, and I couldn’t wait to change out of the skirt and heels I wore and into a pair of sweatpants, but here I was suggesting we go out. I’d never go to a bar this early in the week.

Sasha looked at me like I was speaking another language. “Are you serious? You want to go to a bar on a Monday?”

“Sure!” I shrugged. “I actually recently learned about this bar not too far from here that we could go to.”

Would Auston be working? Would his friends recognize me? At work, I didn’t look anything like I had at the party. The leather pants and tank top I had worn Saturday were replaced with a knee-length pencil skirt and a long-sleeve blouse. I chuckled.

“Okay, sure. Let’s do it.” She leapt to her feet.

Sasha and I walked out of the office. Maybe I should have directed us to a different bar for our drinks. Auston probably wouldn’t be working, though. When Andy lived in Grand Rapids, Mondays were always their night because he was off. We would go, sit in the back, and have a couple of drinks. It’d be fine.

I told myself I wanted to go because I liked the environment, but I wasn’t convinced. When we pulled out of the parking garage, it was too late to change my mind.

As I walked in, Pour Decisions looked a bit different. There were no tablecloths on any of the tables, just the sheen of the semi-sticky layer from the history of drinks spilled over the years. The lights were still pretty dim, but there were no large gatherings of people spread around the bar. Some of the tables were littered with people, but for the most part, there were a few people at the bar itself who must be regulars and the rest of the place was empty.

“This is… interesting?” Sasha observed, looking around the run-down bar that was nothing like anywhere we’d gone in the past. She lingered on a table of women putting small costumes on what appeared to be dead rats and shook her head before looking away.

I shrugged. “It has a pretty good vibe, I think. Everyone is so original. Want to grab a table over there and I’ll get us a couple of drinks?” I pointed to the tables along the back wall that would be the farthest from the bar and the rats.

When I looked at the bar again, I breathed a small sigh of relief. Simone and Ash were there, but not Auston. Looking at my business attire, I wondered again if they’d recognize me after meeting me just once when Simone wiggled her fingers in a wave.

“Hey girl!” she said when I stepped up to the bar. “What are you doing here?”

“Just came to get a quick drink with a girlfriend. It was a long day.” I laughed, shrugging.

Before I ordered anything, she was making a tequila and soda with lime. “What can I get for your friend?”

“She’ll take a vodka cranberry.”

Simone nodded, pouring her drink and sliding both to me. I had her open a tab in my name, and she tilted her head but didn’t argue. “Here you go, babe. I won’t lie, it’ll be nice getting to see you around once in a while now that Auston isn’t hiding you from us.”

She giggled as I walked back to the table, and when I slid into the booth, Sasha was staring at me. “Okay, but really, this bar?” Her eyes were frozen on a group of older men with long beards who wore torn flannels and dirty jeans, like some mix between lumberjacks and a biker club.

“I just like it. I think it has a good small-town-without-being-in-a-small-town feel, nobody is judgy, and the drinks are cheap.”

While Sasha told me about her latest account and the issues she was having with the client, I stared at the spot where we’d stood on Saturday night. The spot where I’d planted my lips on Auston’s in an effort to convince his friends we were dating. I traced my bottom lip with the tip of my nail.

When I looked back, I realized I had missed Sasha’s question. “I’m sorry. What’d you say?”

She rolled her eyes but smiled. “It doesn’t really matter. It’s the same shit I’ve complained to you about for the last week. I’d zone out too.” She chuckled. “Here’s to hoping the rest of this week goes fast, huh?”

With a couple of gulps, Sasha finished her drink. She looked pointedly at mine, and I slurped through the straw. Before I could ask if she wanted another round, she was on her feet and heading towards the bar.

Simone poured us fresh drinks, saying something that made Sasha laugh.

“You weren’t even going to say hi?”

My shriek drew stares from the tables around us as I put my hand over my heart. “Auston, you scared me!”

“Hey, kitten,” he said with a grin. “Did you miss me?” He raised an eyebrow as if to point out that I was in his bar on a Monday, somewhere I’d never been before coming last Saturday.

I rolled my eyes. “I just wanted a drink.”

“Well, imagine my surprise when Simone walked into my office and asked me why I was letting my girlfriend open her own tab.” He brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and a chill traveled down my spine. “You don’t need a tab when you’re at my bar.” His voice was low enough that only I could hear him.

“I’m not actually your girlfriend.” I kept my voice muffled and looked around the room. He laughed.

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