Last Call (3 page)

“Like an old man?” Candace grimaced, scrunching her face like she smelled something bad.

“No, you halfwit. Old school! Frat boy, old money. We need to find someone who can rival Daniel. We need a Jack or Bobby.”

“Wait a minute,” I spat out.

“Jack or Bobby?”

“Yes - as in Kennedy.” Sara was clearly getting fed up with the questions. “A good ‘ole boy. Like a Kennedy, but without the womanizing and drinking habits, of course.” She winked at me.

“Ohhh.” Ding, ding, ding, she figured it out, ladies and gentlemen. “Perfect. So how do we do this?”

“Wait a minute,” I yelped louder.

“No way, Savannah. You’re gonna leave this to us. Give us a few days and we’ll come up with someone perfect for you.”

Sweet baby Jesus. I think my friends have become as bad as my mother.

“You guys…” I implored as they huddled next to each other, plotting. Candace picked up an empty notebook off the table to start making notes. “Seriously, I’m sure I can find someone from my classes. Scott Tipton, maybe.”

“No,” they barked. “We’ve got this. Besides, you have finals to study for next week. Girlfriend, we’re gonna have you a handsome future senator for a date by the time your classes are officially over.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I mumbled, but they weren’t listening. They were plotting my love life like a mathematician plotted stats.

Friday - April 19, 2013

Eight weeks until “The Wedding”

Celebrate

“Ladies and Gentlemen, a toast to junior year being in the books,” the sentiment was shouted loud for all to hear.

“Amen!”

Shot glasses clanked together as I stood with a small group of friends at The Garage in celebration of exams being over. Riley downed his shooter from across the bar, saluting us as ‘Get the Party Started’ by Pink began to blare through the speakers. Candace whooped, grabbed my hand and yanked me onto the relatively empty dance floor. Sara was fast on our heels, pulling a few of our friends in her wake.

“It’s our last year, and we are
so
going to make this one the best.” Candace laughed as she began to bounce around the floor.

The bar scene had never been my thing, and I awkwardly tried to blend in with my more hyper friends. Typically, The Garage was a great low key place that catered to Indie musicians from all walks of life. Located above the bar was a small restaurant that was always bursting at the seams because of their amazing food, which made The Garage a perfect place for drinks while you waited for your dinner table.

Open mic nights were pretty big with many of the music students at school. I’d come to watch several friends play, but typically I was out of there by the time the club set started coming in around ten-thirty Thursday through Sunday night.

Not tonight, though. Sara, Candace and I went to dinner and then promised Riley and a few other friends we would come by to celebrate the end of another year with them. I tried to beg off, but Sara and Candace insisted adamantly. I was pretty sure the tall and handsome Jax had something to do with that.

Sara purred all of Jax’s accomplishments to me when we first walked into the bar, while he just stood there looking uncomfortable at her praises. He was cute - more than cute, actually - with his curling thick waves flopping around all over his head as he danced with Sara.

“He’s cute,” Candace called over the dance mix Riley was playing. It was like she could read my mind.

“Yeah,” I acknowledged, knocking her with my shoulder. “Amazing he should
happen
to show up, huh?” I teased over the loud music. She winked at me and motioned towards the bar, raising her hand to signal she was going to buy another drink.

More than ready to leave the floor I started to follow, but she held her hand up to stop me. Like a perfectly choreographed number, I watched as Candace tapped Sara on the shoulder to pull her away. Sara, in turn, waved Jax in my direction and nodded her head vigorously.

Awkward smiling ensued as Jax moved my way. As if on cue, Riley threw on ‘Get Lucky’ by Daft Punk and soon the floor all around us was full of giddy co-eds celebrating.

“Hey,” he shouted over the crowd; his hips moving in that typical guy-dancing way. He didn’t look bad on the floor, but he was obviously not a dancer.

“Hi.” I smiled and turned towards him as bodies began pressing up against my back. We couldn’t really talk above the loud music, so we shimmied to the music and shared smiles throughout the song. Craning my neck I searched for my friends and was irritated, but not surprised, to find them standing by the bar watching us.

Dang matchmakers.

“Can I…?” Jax’s mouth opened and closed, but I couldn’t hear him as a gaggle of girls beside us erupted in laughter.

“What?” I called back; leaning in closer. I shook my head as he tried to speak again. It was way too loud.

Finally he leaned in and shouted near my ear, “Can I buy you a drink?”

“Sure,” I mouthed back at him and started towards the bar. What the heck, right?

Covering the entire expanse of the building, the massive bar was hopping with customers. The barstools were all taken, so we stood behind a few patrons waiting for our turn to get served. I looked up to see Candace and Sara conveniently make their way back across the room to some couches placed in the corner, where several friends from school sat around and chatted.

As we stood there waiting, I eyed Jax covertly; trying to get a take on him. He wore brown leather casual shoes with dark jeans and a blue polo shirt. Nothing flashy.

While waiting for our turn to order, a group of ladies sidled their way through the crowd; a thick cloud of perfume gagging me as they pushed by. I eyed them as they passed and recognized the predatory-like capacity they possessed. Since the bar was known as a popular hangout for college students, a group of women who looked to be in their mid-forties with four inch heels and a pound of makeup screamed COUGARS.

“You want to grab an empty table while I go get the drinks?” Jax motioned to the bar height tables scattered around the bar area.

I pulled my thoughts away from the ladies on the prowl. “Oh sorry, yeah,” I replied, telling him to order me a Coke. His brows pulled together in question at my drink request, but he smiled.

Finding one empty bar table at the far end of the mahogany bar, I took a seat. Jax stood patiently amongst the other patrons waiting for his turn to order. There were two male bartenders at the moment; both wearing all black and looking extremely busy. The girl employees were walking around the bar in their tight jeans and cropped tops, offering up shooters and taking cash for bottles of beer.

A loud cackle-like laugh pulled me from my people watching. I glanced up to find one of the cougars draped over the bar flirting unashamedly with a bartender. Said cougar was wearing a skin tight red dress, and her boobs looked to be in immediate danger of toppling out of it. She was a pretty woman, with chin length black hair that looked to have been meticulously shellacked into place. Expensive gold earrings dangled from her lobes, and a gaudy gold necklace was trapped between her very full, very exposed breasts.

“Hey Savannah, what can I get for you tonight?”

A voice I recognized stopped me from gawking at the scene down the bar. Noelle, a girl from a study group I’d been in, placed a cocktail napkin in front of me and waited expectantly for my order.

“Oh.” I jumped, startled at the sudden interruption. “Hi Noelle. Um…my friend is waiting at the bar.”

“Honey, it’s gonna be a while by the looks of things.” She laughed. “What do you want, and I’ll go grab it?”

Thankfully, Jax looked over and saw us talking. I waved my hand, signaling him to come over as he wound his way to us. Suddenly my nerves started to get the best of me as I focused on his tall frame. This was starting to feel like a date. Crap.

“Wow. He’s a hottie, girl,” Noelle cooed as she watched Jax. “You two on a date?”

Damn, my cheeks were burning. “Simma down, girl. We just met.”

“Hi there, I’m Noelle. What can I get you?” she purred when he finally arrived at the table.

Her voice and attitude were confident. Of course they were. She had on the requisite skin tight, black, low slung jeans and second skin tank top that were required for all of the female staff here. She was a sexy girl and she knew it.

“Rum n’ Coke for me please, and a plain Coke for her.” His eyes dipped to the creamy flesh flashing above her v-neck tank for a quick glance. I couldn’t fault the guy for taking a peek at what was freely being offered in front of his face.

“Actually that sounds good - add rum to mine too,” I interjected, wanting to calm my nerves a little.

“Sure thing.”

With another quick glance at Jax, she scooted off to get our drinks. More laughing at the bar caught my attention, and I looked up and watched in fascination at the garish spectacle the women were making of themselves. I couldn’t help but notice the way the cougars were monopolizing the darker haired bartender with their flirting.

“So Sara tells me you’re an art major.”

Throwing the panting women out of my head, I tried to focus in on Jax. “Art History, yes.”

“Art History? What do you plan to do with that?” he asked as our drinks were delivered to us. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound rude.”

“Thanks.” I smiled at Noelle as Jax gave her cash. Taking a quick sip, I waited until she walked away before answering his question.

“The goal was to work in a museum.”

“Was?”

“Well,
is
,” I fumbled, not wanting to get into the complicated state that was my future career choice. “What about you? What’s your plan? You’re a senior now, right?”

“Actually, I’ve
been
a senior. One semester to go and then I’m done,” he answered, raising his glass in a mock toast.

I laughed and clinked my glass with his. “I’ll drink to that.”

“But to answer your question, I’ll be finishing up my degree in Economics after this fall. I’m actually heading off tomorrow for an internship for the summer. My dad has an old frat buddy who runs a financial think tank in New York, and he offered me a chance to sharpen my skills.”

Tomorrow? Well, shoot. I allowed myself a second of disappointment at not being able to get to know him better before he left. “Wow, that’ll be a great experience I’m sure.”

“So are you ready to get back out there in the celebration? Looks like Sara’s trying to land a plane to get your attention.”

I laughed once I visually located my boisterous roommate shaking her groove thang up against some guy. She was waving her hands as if she was air traffic control. I wiggled my fingers in a small gesture to let her know I saw her, and then glanced longingly at my drink. I didn’t want to leave it yet.

Eyeing me, Jax stood up, held out his hand and stated simply, “Take it with you.”

Best advice all night. We joined our friends on the floor for a night of dancing, drinking and having fun, as Riley pumped out more techno-crap than I’d heard in my entire life.

“Holy hell. Did you catch the new bartender, Candace?” Sara shouted over a stall in the ladies room.

“Did I ever. Hubba hubba. I want a piece of
that
.”

“Oh geez, you little hussies.” I grinned. Candace winked at me and slicked coral lipstick over her lips.

“Did you
see
him? No wonder the bar is so packed with desperate housewives. He is easy peasy, sexy squeezey.”

Sara came out of the stall fixing her skirt and spoke before I could. “Our girl has been too busy checking out Jax to pay attention to a hot bartender.” She wagged her brows suggestively at me. “Right, Savannah?”

“He’s nice.” That was all I was giving my nosy roomies for now. In all honesty, he was better than nice. We had danced the entire night, and he bought me two more drinks. His hands lingered on my back or hips lightly a few times as we swayed with the music, but he never overstepped his boundaries.

“Girl,” cried Sara as she grabbed me by my upper arms. “He’s more than nice. He’s like
you,
with a different set of tools. Jump on this one. I think you’re perfect for each other.”

We erupted into laughter as we opened the door to leave the restroom. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself, Sara. She just met the guy…” Suddenly she yelped, stopping abruptly in front of us.

My face turned cherry red when I spotted Jax standing not five feet away waiting on us. His hands were in his pockets and he was scanning the bar with his eyes. The perfect look of a person casually waiting on someone.

“Hey,” I called to him, stepping around my giggling friends when he looked our way.

“Hi. Sorry I’m stalking you outside the ladies room,” he spoke over the crowd noise.

“Eh, happens all the time,” I shrugged.

I turned to wave the girls off when he asked, “You want to get out of here?” My hand stilled and I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped as I looked over at Candace and Sara.