Things Can Only Get Better

He was surrounded by grey. Grey walls, grey carpet, grey suits. Even the clouds outside were grey, well he assumed they were since his cubicle was the furthest from a window. The forecast had called for rain all day, which went well with how he was feeling.

Brian took stock of his life as he perused Reddit, trying to look busy incase his jerk of a boss caught sight of him over the cubicle walls. At 29 years old, he was the oldest entry level employee at Company A. He couldn't really remember the name of Company A and didn't really care. All the companies in his industry were just reviving doors and he was sure to walking through the next anytime now.

His current job allowed him enough money to live in the shitty part of town in a studio apartment. His Honda Civic was on its last legs, but he didn't have the money to replace it. Hopefully he could avoid getting mugged when he started using the bus, but he doubted that. He wasn't very fit, probably a little on the fat side. He had been this way for the majority of his life, causing some serious self esteem issues, which in turn caused a lot of social issues.

He didn't have many friends growing up, and even fewer as an adult. He liked the idea of playing sports, but his self esteem and physical condition, or lack there of, made that an impossibility. He also liked the idea of dating girls, but that was a no-go for obvious reasons as well.

That's not to say he never had dates. He had a few in college, but it never went past the first date, and never into the bedroom. The only time he had seen a naked woman in person is when he took his tax refund to the strip club and made some girl named Candy's night.

That last thought made him chuckle. It was a fun night and Candy took care of him, well made sure he had all the lap dances he could afford, but a fun night none the less.

His happy mood didn't last long though. He was lonely. He was sexually frustrated. But mostly, he was lonely. He had to do something about it. But what? It's not like he could just go up to a person and start a conversation. What would he talk about?

As he clicked over to the next subreddit, he quickly scanned the room for signs of his boss. What he say was a group of his coworkers gathering their stuff in preparation to leave. They were talking quite loudly about the bar they were going to to celebrate the end of the week. Curiously, he glanced down at the clock to see he still had 15 minutes till the end of the day, but the group was already walking out the door.

"I would be fired on the spot if I tried that," Brian mumbled to himself. He wasn't really mad at the group, most of them were quite friendly towards him when he was to interact, but he was jealous. Why can't he do things like that with a group of friends?

That's when it hit him. He knew where they were going, well he was pretty sure the whole floor knew where they were going with how loud they were being. He could just show up there after he got off and plead ignorance if they asked how he knew where they were. And having the friendly members present would definitely help. Perfect.

Brian logged off and shut down his computer right on time, which was a first. He was actuality excited about his trip to the bar. Maybe he could make some friends, someone he could actually talk to. This was a great idea.

**********

This was an awful idea. What the hell was he doing? Was he just going to sit down next to them like it was something he always did?

This and many more thoughts crossed his mind as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dim interior of the bar. It was surprisingly refreshing with the AC bring a welcome relief from the humid heat outside.

His heart pounded loudly in his ear as he scanned the patrons, looking for a familiar face. As he was about to concede defeat and go home, a hand toward the back of the room shot up and caught his attention. It was quickly followed by a loud " Brian!"

The man attached to the hand and owner of the voice happened to be the friendliest of his coworkers, something that helped Brian calm down a touch. Brian remembered his name as Rick as he slowly made his way through the mess of tables and chairs toward the group.

"Hey Brian, what's up man!? Good to see you outside of the office. I keep meaning to come over and talk to you, but you alwats look so busy. Why don't you pull up a chair and stay for a few rounds, I would like to get to know ya." The genuine smile and upbeat tone instantly calmed Brian down as he took a seat next to Rick. The other faced around the table were a mixture of friendly and disinterested, with a few disapproving sprinkled in.

That's alright Brian thought, as long as Rick stays cool, this won't be so bad. The table already had one round before Brian got there, but a second was ordered quickly thereafter. There were multiple constrains conversations going on at once, but the general mood seemed positive. Rick and Brian talked about themselves with Rick driving the conversation and Brian comfortably following along. After an hour or so, others joined in and the conversation turned my playful with jabs and jeers flying in all directions.

The drinks kept coming and the table kept drinking, except Brian. He was being a little more frugal so he was still on his second. But despite his lack of a buzz, he was having a lot of fun. He was definitely the oldest at the table, but he never felt like he was too old or out of touch with what was in. He contributed to the fun where he could, granted not much, but he still felt proud of what he was accomplishing. He could really get used to this.

**********

Several hours after arriving, the group had gotten pretty hammered. Brian had successfully held a decent buzz most of the night and was pretty pleased with how it went. He had already started thinking of going home, but didn't want to be the first to leave, so he sat patiently waiting for the first victim.

As he laughed at a joke between two friends, Brian became aware of an energy building within the bar. It started as hushed whispers but quickly grew to excited chatter all around him. Members of his group caught on and were looking around in search of the source. First one, than several of the group spotted the cause and joined in the whispering. Brian wasn't close enough to get all that they were saying, but he got enough.

Authors Note:

Hi all. I'm still really new to writing. I am exploring different perspectives and different ways of writing. I appreciate any and all constructive criticism or even unconstructive. I plan on this being a straight forward male/female romance, but you are welcome to add anything you want.