Back to Strangelove’s

Sunday Evening - Strangelove’s Bar

The girls returned to the bar they had visited the night before. It wasn’t far from campus, so last time they had just walked. Tonight however, they’d take an Uber as Traci was finding it difficult to walk more than ten feet at a time in these ridiculous heels she was being forced to wear.

The place was quite a bit busier and noisier than it was the first time around, making it stuffier and hotter. Traci hated the noise and the crowd. All those people squished together so closely, talking over one another. It was taking everything Traci had to not turn around and bolt out of the place.

Not that Kelly would let her however. And even if Kelly did let her go, Traci had serious doubts about just how far she’d make it in her borrowed heels.

A text popped up on her phone from Tommy: what r u up to?

Just going out for drinks with my roommate, she typed back.

OMG r u being bad?

No!!! Just at the café. No alcohol!!! Tommy should know better.

Send me a pic! PLZZZZ sweetie!

This really wasn’t helping Traci’s anxiety. Not at all.

Kelly grabbed her by the wrist and dragged Traci toward the back of the bar. “I think I see an open spot!”

Approaching the table at just about the same time were two really tall, solidly built guys, each holding a drink. One was dressed in a gray hoodie and the other in a denim jacket over a plaid button-down shirt.

“This is awkward,” the guy in the denim jacket said.

Traci tugged at her roommate’s elbow. “Come on, we can find another table.”

“No don’t be silly!” The denim jacket guy motioned for the girls to come over. “Look, it’s a big enough table for all of us.”

“And this place is crazy busy tonight,” the other guy said.

The two introduced themselves Billy (hoodie-guy) and Dean (denim jacket-guy).

Dean motioned at the table again “So, what do you say, join us for a quick drink. Then we’ll be outta here.”

“Sounds good!” Kelly answered before Traci could say anything.

“Great!” Dean reached for the laminated menu at the center of the table and slid it over to Kelly.

Meanwhile, Traci glanced down at her phone to see if enough time had passed that she could escape guilt-free. But it had been barely 15 minutes since they arrived. There was also another text from Tommy: Aww no pic? with a sad-face emoji.

With a sigh, she held the phone out to take a quick selfie, making sure to line up the camera to capture herself only from the shoulder up. She didn’t need her boyfriend seeing that she was parading around in a tight top with her nipples poking out for the whole world to see. Just as she snapped the pic, Kelly nestled up against her with her tongue out.

Well that’s a dreadful picture, Traci thought to herself. A startled Traci looked back up at her from the phone with a half-blurry Kelly licking at her earlobe. Not in the mood to try again, Traci sent the selfie to Tommy with a message letting him know she’ll be out for an hour or so.

“Hmm let’s see what they have,” Kelly said. Her voice was very casual, as if she hadn’t just ruined Traci’s selfie. “I assume you’ll just be sticking to your iced tea again?”

Traci sighed again. “I was thinking a coke, maybe.”

Kelly snickered in response. “You’re a real wild one, you know that? That’s OK, they have a decent selection of food too, so it won’t be a total waste for you. But wow, do they have a shit ton of drinks!”

Dean leaned forward to make his voice easier to hear over the overlapping chatter in the bar. “You know what’s a good one to start with…try the Fruit Loops.”

Kelly scanned further down the menu, looking for the drink. “Don’t think I’ve heard of that one. What’s in it?”

“A little bit of Vodka, a little bit of—”

Kelly slapped the menu down and beamed. “Yeah, you had me at ‘vodka!’ By the way, I’m Kelly. And this is Traci.”

“Nice to meet you ladies.” Billy held up his drink in greeting. “Down for a night of fun from Williamston?”

“You know it!”

Dean clinked his glass against Billy’s. Dark liquid sloshed around. “Guess the word really is out on campus about this place?”

“The word?” Traci asked.

Dean took a sip before answering. “This place doesn’t bother carding their patrons. Once word got out, it became pretty popular with the college crowd.”

“Not that we mind,” Billy said with a grin that Traci thought looked a bit…predatory.

“Isn’t that dangerous,” Traci asked. “For the business, I mean?”

Dean shrugged, then finished his drink. “Probably got the right people paid off to look the other way.”

Billy finished his drink as well, and flagged down a server.

“So what do you guys do?” Kelly asked.

“Billy and I are firefighters,” Dean replied.

“Ooooooh…” Kelly’s voice was practically a purr. “Can I play with your fire hose sometime?” A drunken giggle punctuated her question. How many drinks has this crazy girl even had tonight?

Dean let out a hearty laugh. “I don’t know. My hose is pretty powerful. Might be too much for a tiny little thing like you.”

“What about you?” Billy leaned forward over the table, looking at Traci with that same grin from earlier. “Think you could handle a big white hose?”

Kelly leaned against her. “Of course she can! And so can I!”

Dean lightly slapped his hand against his friend’s shoulder. “Hey don’t be so crude, man. These are ladies!” But his voice lacked even a hint of sincerity.

They shared a laugh and put in another round of drink orders when the server arrived.