Three Weeks Later

[Sammy]

“So let me get this straight,” Luis takes a large drink of his frothy IPA, the sides of the glass dripping with condensation as he sets it down on the table next to our basket of corn chips. “This goddess of a blonde comes up to YOU, you, Little Sammy Salazar, buys you a drink, drags you into a bathroom, and does wicked things to you in said bathroom for three hours and you didn’t even get her name?” he shakes his head in disbelief. “You’re cute and all but I call bullshit. Pure m****a. That’s like porn movie crap.”

He wipes the foam out of his goatee with an absent-minded hand before scooping some carne asada with a warm corn tortilla and taking a large bite. “Next you’re going to tell me that you lost your virginity to a sexy pizza delivery girl?”

“Actually, she was my first,” I admit bashfully.

“Nah, bro,” Luis almost chokes. “No way. Pretty boy like you I’m sure you cracked your first nut at what, twelve?”

I pick up one of the textbooks I purchased this afternoon as exhibit #1. It’s about 4” thick with tissue-thin pages. “The Great Speeches of Ancient Greece by Thucydides” is scrawled across the spine, in Greek. Pushing my wire-thin glasses up the bridge of my nose in emphasis I say “Nerd. Remember.”

“Duuuude,” Luis laughs. “Do I need to do that romantic comedy thing where I pull off your glasses and show you a mirror? Or can you just take a look around and see how all the ladies in this place have been eying you since you walked in?” Luis does a sweeping motion with his hand as I grab a few chips and dip them into our shared bowl of pico de gallo. I look around. I don’t see what he’s seeing. “I mean seriously, I’d be jealous right now except I know I’m hot.” He flexes his right biceps showing off an impeccably formed muscle. This guy spends his afternoons at the gym and it shows. He kisses his arm for effect and I try not to snort salsa out of my nose.

“You’re crazy,” I roll my eyes. “Nobody ever notices me.”

“Except for some crazy hot older blond woman with a body that would make Jesus sin?” He laughs. “Suuuuuure. You know you don’t need to lie to impress me. I already think you’re cute.” He winks at me and for a moment I’m not sure if he’s kidding or not. “I mean, look at how that hot little redhead in the corner has been sending you signals all night,” he points at a group of gothic lolita punks in the corner in their oversized baby doll dresses and exaggerated makeup. Each one has a different brightly colored wig on, but the one with the bright red curls and French maid dress is staring directly at him. When she sees me watching her, she winks one heavily lashed blue eye, before turning to the other girls and giggling.

“I dare you to go up to that girl,” Luis nudges, “And just say hi,” he points with a half-eaten tortilla, brandishing it like a wand.  “You know, for science,” he nods at my oversized textbook.

“I’m a historian,” I respond, deadpan.

Luis rolls his eyes. “Okay, then for the history books.”

“What do I get if I do this?” I raise a single chocolate brown eyebrow over my wire-brimmed glass.

“What are we, like 12?” he chuckles, shaking his sandy curls.“Fine, you do this and you don’t end up with at least one phone number and I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the week.”

“And you’ll buy me a beer,” I add.

“Fine!” he throws his hands up. “Whatev’ bro. And if I win, you are going to buy me a beer every night this week.”

Standing up, I adjust my shirt and walk over to the girls. I look back at Luis and he gives me two thumbs up. He’s almost as annoying as my older siblings.

“Greetings,” I raise my hand in an alien salute. He said I had to say hi, he didn’t say it couldn’t be extra nerdy. “I come in peace.”

The dark skilled girl with the purple bob snorts. “Okay, Space Boy.”

“Welcome noble traveler,” the redhead looks up at me, winking. “You’re welcome to join us for a drink.”

“Stacey, don’t encourage him,” a slender girl with almond-shaped eyes and long orange ringlets hisses. “You can’t keep this one, you already have too many strays at home.”

The fourth girl, a gorgeous Latina with a bright blue wig, holds out her hand. “I’m Veronica,” she announces. “And this is Stacey, Sabrina, and Jude,” she introduces her crew. “We're about to head over to the bar across the street and play a set. Are you interested in being our “groupie” for the evening, tag along with our band?” She smiles.

“I need to get ready for school tomorrow,” I lie, feeling a bit out of my depth as four pairs of gorgeous eyes stare at me like I might be dessert. “But maybe next time? I just came to say, hi.”

“Ah, well then here is my number,” Veronica pulls out her phone and taps it against mine.  Each of the girls does the same. “Call us if you change your mind. Maybe we can form a study group or something,” the girls all nod. “See you at school, Space Boy.”

“Bye Space Boy,” the call after me as I walk away.

“So…” Luis wiggles his eyebrows at me.

Reluctantly I show him my phone.

“All four?!” he laughs.

“And I think they invited me to an orgy,” I shake my head. “I’m not 100% sure.”

“Dang,” he grins. “You know what that means?”

“Tell me?”

“You owe me a beer.”

I walk up to the bar and P**e, our roommate, hands me another beer without me asking, chuckling as he watches the whole scene play out.

I reach to grab the beer when out of the corner of my eye I see a tall blonde in a red dress walking out the restaurant's side door. My stomach clenches. It can’t be. What are the odds that I’d see the same woman again three weeks later and three hundred miles away? Blinking, I miss the drink and it slips through my fingers, crashing to the ground in a mess of foam and glass.

“Ah, P**e! I’m so sorry, let me…” I stupidly try to clean it up with my hands.

“Dude, stop, I got this,” he comes around the bar. “What’s wrong, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I think that maybe I did,” I laugh. “I need to go check on something.”

He waves me away.

Getting up, I rush to the side door. Opening it, I look outside.

The street is silent. Not a single person or car. There are lights on at the bar across the street, but no sign of my mysterious blond.