The least (or perhaps most) enjoyable date of Olivia Blink's life — Part 1: The Bar

"What is this place?"

Brian's eyes were wider than Olivia had ever seen them as they pushed the heavy wooden doors at the entrance of Loco Lime, and made their way inside. Explosions of color adorned the walls in a mural that was two parts pseudo-Mexican art and one part psychedelic acid trip. Strings of multi-colored papel picado swung overhead, and the air was thick with a mouthwatering array of scents and aromas -- lime, salt, tequila, grilled chicken, spicy sauces, and more.

Olivia led Brian down the initial corridor, pushing through dense crowds of patrons lining the bar. The back wall of the bar was lit from behind in vibrant colors, illuminating the seemingly endless varieties of tequilas they had to offer. Neither Olivia nor Brian knew much about tequila, but simply from the assortment of bottles, all different shapes, sizes, colors, and labels, this gave the impression of a tequila heaven.

This is definitely outside of Brian's comfort zone, she thought. He probably couldn't even imagine a place like this. Olivia looked around. And if tomorrow, there's another creepy-ass story about my life and it features a tequila bar, that will be some damning evidence against my would-be-boyfriend. She turned to look at Brian, a wave a doubt and distrust in her mind. She didn't like seeing him this way, but she was truly beginning to believe that he could be the answer to all her questions about the TikTok thing. Maybe this is too much, maybe I should just confront him and get it over with? she pondered. Then she looked around Loco Lime again, and got excited by the potential adventure. Oh, fuck it. Whether it's him or not, let's at least live it up and have a good time tonight.

"I don't know!" Olivia shouted, knowing she had to raise her voice for Brian to hear over the din of the crowd and the background drone of salsa music. "I've never been here before. But doesn't it look fascinating?"

Brian shrugged. "I'm just ... surprised." He was clearly out of his element, and trying valiantly to mask his predictable discomfort.

Olivia nudged through a small gap in the crowd at the bar, and managed to make enough space for she and Brian to plant themselves opposite one of several bartenders working, this one a young Latina woman with bold tattoos along her arms, and a high ponytail rising from an otherwise shaved head. She gracefully slid two cocktails to a pair of customers to Olivia's right, and then fixed her eyes on her newest patrons.

"What can I get for you?" she said with a smile, her eyes twinkling.

"We've never been here before. What do you recommend?" Olivia replied.

The Latina woman's smile broadened. She leaned back, and lifted her head to make a bold proclamation to her team. "Loco Lime -- first time!" she shouted, getting the attention of her coworkers, who replied with a chorus of cheers. She leaned back toward Olivia. "Welcome to Loco Lime, where first timers do shots!"

"Shots?" said Brian. He knew what they were, but was asking out of trepidation for what was in store.

"You bet," the bartender said with a wink. "Don't worry -- you'll like it." She reached down under the bar, and in an instant, had three shot glasses lined up in front of Olivia and Brian. She followed with a small dish of salt and a bowl of lime slices.

Olivia's eyebrows went up in excitement. "Three? That seems like a lot!"

The bartender laughed as she squeezed lime juice on the back of her hand, and then grabbed a pinch of salt and sprinkled it on the same spot. "One for you, one for your man, and one for me." She swung around behind her and scooped up an unlabeled bottle of clear liquid. "Pour!" she shouted to no one in particular. The other folks behind the bar cheered again, and Olivia started to understand the routine and the energy here.

"I don't know that I've ever done a shot of tequila in my life," Brian muttered.

Olivia was too busy squeezing lime onto her hand and following with salt (trying to imitate what the bartender had done), and didn't bother giving Brian any response.

"Let's tear down that wall!" the bartender said with a sly smile. She filled the three glasses, and picked one up, eying Olivia and Brian. "Drink up, friends."

Olivia eager took up one of the glasses and leered at Brian, daring him to follow suit. This is the beginning, she thought. He couldn't possibly have imagined any of this, and if it shows up in barbaroni2727's account on TikTok tomorrow, well, then I'll know. She stopped, realizing that she didn't really have an exit strategy. There was no next step in her mind, no actual plan as to what she would say, what she would do. Still, if it was Brian, then at least she would call it out, and maybe that would be enough to get him to stop.

Brian slowly picked up a wedge of lime and weakly squeezed a few drops onto his hand. Olivia took up another pinch of salt and tossed it toward Brian, smirking at him. Through a dubious glare, he picked up the third glass and looked at Olivia, then at the bartender, then back at Olivia.

"¡Arriba, abajo, al centro, pa'dentro!" the bartender said, waving her glass up, then down, then back out to Olivia and Brian. She quickly licked the salt from the back of her hand, tossed back the shot, dramatically laid the glass back onto the bar (top down), grabbed another wedge of lime, and bit down on it, chasing the shot with a quick burst of lime juice.

Olivia lit up at the energy behind the bartender's toast, then lifted her own glass up and down (a small bit of the liquid splashing out onto her hand). She licked her other hand (for the salt), drank the shot (wincing from the strength of the powerful liquor), and quickly bit into a lime wedge.

Reluctantly, and at a much slower tempo, Brian licked his hand, and then sipped at the shot.

"Don't forget the lime, mi amigo," the bartender said, nudging the bowl toward him. Brian stared into the bartender's eyes, wary, but took a lime and gingerly bit into it. "That's the spirit!"

Olivia slapped Brian on the back. "Yeah, that's the spirit! Look at us, trying new things!"

"Tequila shots are new?" the bartender asked.

Olivia laughed. "For us, yes."

"Well," the bartender said. "You could up the ante a bit." She smiled as if she was hatching some kind of elaborate scheme. "You know, there are other ways people sometimes do shots."

Olivia's eyes widened. The notion of taking this to a deeper level was surprisingly exciting for her. For the first time, she began to wonder about the TikTok stories, and if maybe they weren't something to be frightened by, but rather an inspiration, and maybe even a goal.

"Like what?"

The bartender grinned. "You could take the shot off each other."

"How's that?" Brian was dubious. He didn't even want a second shot. He hadn't even wanted a first shot.

The bartender turned and looked down the bar. "Hey, someone come do a shot with me!"

It was unclear if she was talking to someone in particular, as all the other bartenders looked up, talked with each other, and then finally a second young woman wandered down toward Olivia and Brian.

"Whatchu need, Bella?" the new bartender said, glancing at Olivia and Brian, and then looking back at her coworker. The glance was brief, but had a hint of flirt to it, and Olivia couldn't help but smile -- and in no small part to learning her own bartender's name, Bella.

Bella gestured to Olivia and Brian. "Daisy, these fine folks have just taken their first ever shot. And for their second, I was suggesting they share the experience."

Daisy was shorter than Bella, with short, bleached hair, heavy eye makeup, and two nose rings in one nostril. "You know I always like that sort of thing!" she said, wiggling, delighted to be part of the story.

"It's like this," Bella said.

She put her hands on Daisy, supporting her on one side as Daisy tilted her head and body, stretching her neck. Bella leaned over her, and kissed her neck, her tongue moistening the skin, and from Daisy's physical reaction, was quite pleasing.

"And then ..."

Bella reached her fingers out toward the dish of salt on the bar, picked up a pinch, and gently sprinkled it on the wet part of Daisy's neck.

"Also ..."

She took a fresh lime wedge, and handed it to Daisy, who placed it carefully between her teeth, the fruit side of the wedge facing out.

"Sorry to make you wait, Daisy, but I need to pour." Bella took up the bottle and replenished the three empty glasses on the bar. "And finally, it's like this."

She picked up one glass, and then turned to face Daisy again. She leaned over her and licked the salt off her her neck (the lick was even more sensual than the initial kiss had been), threw back the shot, and then, cradling Daisy's head in her hands, leaned in to take the lime with her own teeth and tongue, inevitably and more than a little erotically allowing the lime transfer to also serve as another kiss, this time lips to lips. Finally, Bella pulled the slightly chewed lime wedge from her own mouth, and dropped it into her empty glass.

"Ta da!" She smiled at Olivia and Brian. Turning toward Daisy, the smile shifted slightly -- what had been pleasant and casual for her customers became something more knowing and intimate for Daisy. "Thanks for helping out."

"Anytime, babe," Daisy said as she turned away and sashayed back down the bar to her own clientele.

"Damn, that's fucking hot."

Olivia turned to her right to see a young man, 30-something, his eyes focused down the bar on Daisy, his body slumped forward against the edge, his fingers clutching a half-finished beer.

Bella chuckled. "You want a shot?"

"Do I get to do it off you?" he asked. "Or your friend?"

Bella laughed again. "Sorry, pal. It's not that kind of bar."

The man stood upright. He was quite tall, which surprised Olivia. She watched as he rose, and held his balance against the bar. He took a long swing of his beer, finishing almost all of the glass.

"Yeah, that's okay," he said before finishing the beer. "Just saying -- it looked good."

"Tasted good, too." Bella smiled. She turned back to Olivia and Brian. "So, you ready for round two yourselves?"

"Do it, man," the stranger mumbled as he pushed himself away from the bar. "It's like college all over again. You'll never be younger than you are right now." He made vague eye contact with Brian. "Seriously, dude. You got a hot lady here. Do what she wants."

Brian glared back. This whole evening had left him fairly uncomfortable, and even though the man wasn't causing any trouble and seemed to be on his way out, something about the vibe still turned him off.

"Yeah, Brian. You got a hot lady here." Olivia patted her boyfriend on the chest. She echoed the stranger's words, but she was focused on Brian.

Bella poured fresh shots for both of them. "So -- who's going first?"

Olivia and Brian stared at each other -- he was wary, she was excited. Olivia waited, eager, hoping Brian would take the initiative. The longer she waited, the less excited she became, and the more obvious it was that he was too out of his element to be adventurous.

"In a minute, I'm going to do the shot myself," Bella said. "Off her."

Brian blinked, but still didn't even argue. Olivia gave him a scowl, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the other stranger behind her.

"If he's not gonna do it, it looks like you got two other people here who might." He smiled and gave a look to Bella. Then he realized he was probably being too forward. "I mean -- I'm just kidding. Half kidding." He took a breath and faced Bella directly. "Could I get a beer, please? Anything dark. Surprise me."

Olivia craned her neck for Brian. "Here. You're supposed to lick my neck." She leaned toward him. "Come on, Brian. Do it."

"Liv," he said, glancing around, clearly uncomfortable.

"What's the big deal? You've kissed my neck before."

"In public?"

Olivia sighed. "Who cares?! Come on, it's totally not a big deal."

Brian looked back at her. "Okay." As he leaned forward, he saw Olivia's eyes light up a little, and hoped that she was enjoying all of this more than he was. He licked her neck, then gave it a little kiss. His hands against Olivia's legs, he pushed himself back, and looked at her.

"Better than nothing," Olivia said. She slid the bowl of salt toward him. "Now the salt."

Brian picked up a pinch of salt, and attempted to sprinkle it on the wet bit of Olivia's neck, some of it sticking, some of it trickling down her front. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry!" Olivia exclaimed. "It's just salt. I don't care!" She grabbed a lime wedge and put it between her teeth, and then pushed the remaining shot glass toward Brian. Through the lime, she said, "now drink!"

Brian gingerly took up the shot glass. He stood up and, as if he were performing the scripted steps of building an Ikea bookshelf, he licked the salt from her neck, drank the tequila, and leaned over his girlfriend to claim the lime from her lips. As they met, face to face, Olivia put her hands around his neck and held him closer to her. He bit into the lime, his lips grazing hers, though neither of them was able to make it into much of a kiss (the way Bella and Daisy had done). Still, the body shot was complete. Brian stood up, chewed the lime a bit before depositing it into the empty shot glass.

"Yay!" Olivia said, clapping. "Very good. Very good indeed."

She looked at Bella (who had just returned with the stranger's beer). She looked at the stranger, who nodded. And she looked at Brian. Initially, she thought, Well, he did something he doesn't like to do and didn't want to do. Okay. And then she stared at him a bit more, remembering some of her plan. And if he really hated it, there's no way he could write a fantastical version of this story somewhere. Which means that either he's half-faking it right now and actually enjoyed this ... she paused, mid-thought to consider the options. Or it has nothing to do with him.

"Ready for part two?" Olivia asked.

Brian looked at her, stunned. "Part two? Of what?"

"Of our date, silly!"

Olivia settled the bar tab with Bella, quickly paying a portable card reader with her phone, and then grabbed Brian's hand and led him back out of the bar.