still trying to figure out what he said. “What was her name again?”
“Sandy or Mandy. Something like that.”
He got in his car and drove away, leaving me standing there completely dumbfounded. What the hell had I just agreed to?
I walked into the bar dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. I figured that if we were meeting in a dive bar, I didn’t need to get dressed up, which went against everything I believed about dating. However, since my brother set this up and basically coerced me into doing it, I wasn’t too concerned how this whole thing turned out.
I glanced around the bar, seeing mostly scantily clad women and men dressed in biker gear with tattoos covering their bodies. I didn’t care much for tattoos. I liked my body to be as natural as possible. Plus, I had seen way too many people that regretted things they had tattooed on their bodies.
The lights were dim and the bar was smoky. No one in this town cared about smoking bans in public spaces and nobody bothered to call the cops about it. I coughed from the stench in the air and waved my hand in front of my face to clear the smoke. I stepped toward the bar and gave a nod to the bartender, Jake. I knew him well from high school and still hung out with him occasionally.
“Eric, never thought I’d see you in here. What can I get you?”
“Just a beer. I’m supposed to be meeting someone here.”
He pulled a glass and filled it from the tap, his eyes going to the corner table. “That woman came in alone. Keeps looking around like she’s expecting someone.”
“Thanks, man.” I put some money on the bar and walked over to the table. She was about thirty, maybe thirty-two at most. She dressed nicely, I supposed, but definitely a little more…wild than I was used to. She had on short shorts and a plaid shirt that was tied at the waist. Her cowboy boots had splashes of teal in them and she had a cowboy hat that looked like it had seen a few rodeos. Compared to the other women in the bar, she was fully clothed.
As I got closer, I saw that her hair was brown and hung in loose waves down her back. Her large, green eyes flicked to mine and danced with a light I had never seen before. Her smile stretched wide across her face, shining so bright that it took my breath away.
She stood up and walked over to me, jumping into my arms and wrapping her legs around my waist. “Hey there, good looking. You must be my date.”
I swallowed hard and cleared my throat, setting her down on the floor and taking a step back. “Eric, and you are?”
“Kiki.”
Figures. Andrew couldn’t remember her name and I get stuck with a Kiki.
“Kiki?”
“Well, it’s Katherine, but that’s so boring and I wanted something that was full of life.”
I was already regretting stepping out of the house tonight. This woman was nothing like me. What the hell had Andrew been thinking setting me up with a woman that went by Kiki?
“Well, Katherine, how about we take a seat and I’ll buy you a drink?”
“Sure. Let’s get some food too. The nachos are amazing,” she said, biting her lip as she rolled her eyes heavenward.
“I’m not sure I want to eat anything that comes from here.”
“Oh, live a little. What’s a little salmonella between friends,” she grinned.
“I have a business to run and I can’t afford time off because of food poisoning.”
She threw her head back in laughter while I stared at her like she had a third head. What the hell was so funny about that? “You are so funny, Eric. Chrissy was right. You are definitely going to be a good time.”
Was I in some alternate universe? What the hell was she talking about? I was probably the last person on the face of the earth that anyone would say was funny. In fact, my brothers always referred to me as a wet blanket. The only time I really let loose was when it was just the seven of us.
“Anyway, what is it you do, Katherine?”
“I work over at the Children’s Hospital in Kankakee.”
She signaled to Jake and he nodded back to her. “What do you do there?”
“I’m a nurse.”
“Oh, I didn’t expect that from you.”
“Why? Because I’m out having a good time? Did you think all nurses were boring and stayed in on Friday nights?”