I was sitting at the table, utterly oblivious to the eyes that had followed me since I entered the bar. The band playing was one I had seen before, your standard couple duo - a gentleman on the guitar and her girlfriend singing into the microphone and stomping her cowgirl boot to the rhythm. They were decent to listen to, made for excellent background music or a good distraction when there was no one to talk to. This was the later - the friend I had come out to meet up with was busy talking to other people, his puppy wandering around the outdoor patio looking for scraps and giving her paw as an offering. I called out to her, feeling a tad lonely in the midst of a fairly busy night, and she happily trotted over. I hoped down from my high chair and offered a french fry in exchange for kisses and affection. Thats when she approached.
"Cute dog! Whats her name?" Came a voice, there was an accent I couldn't place - or rather almost a lack of accent.
"Brightness!" I said, looking up to meet the eyes of a beautiful woman. She had colored hair, long and wavy underneath a reverse ball cap, her eyes lined with black and a neutral color on her lips. She wore a band tee and ripped jeans, her knees poking out as she knelt down to pet the puppy with me. Something about her was familiar, like I had seen her somewhere before.
"She yours?" she asked, giving a warm smile and meeting my eyes.
"uh... no. But i'm basically like her godmother." I quickly looked back to the happy puppy, almost the same size as me despite being less than a year old. I could feel my cheeks warming under her gaze as I offered Brightness more affection.
"Brightness! Kisses?" I cooed, as she went through her array of tricks for yet another french fry. But, adhd as ever, a new patron entered the patio and she dashed off to greet him. I must have pouted a little as the young woman laughed at me.
"I'm not as cute as her, but I can give you kisses." My eyes jumped up to hers and I rose quickly, blatantly blushing.
"that was smooth." I said , offering my hand, "I'm Lisa."
"Nice to meet you again." She flashed me another smile, sharing my hand and then ever so quickly turning it and bringing it to her lips. Bewildered, I just stared at her in awe - was this actually happening?
By then, noticing another body had appeared at the table, my friend turned his attention towards us. dropping my hand down, she trailed hers across my back as she moved behind me towards the table and into the chair next to me.
"Whats up dude?" she offered as a greeting. "Got yourself a pretty girl." There was a slight edge to her voice, not aggressive but assertive.
"She was just getting to meet Brightness," I interjected, knowing that he often became aggressive if he felt like a stranger was challenging him. Somehow, I felt that she wouldn't have cared either way, as her hand was still at the small of my back. My exposed skin tingled under her fingers.
"oh! yeah. She's gorgeous" he said, having had a few beers in, he was in a more mild tempter and thus took the comment for his puppy with pride and turned back to his previous conversation. Before i could say anything else, a server approached with my drink and another round of french fries.
"want some?" I offered, and grinning, she moved towards the plate.
"Don't mind if i do."
****
I got back into my car, grinning ear to ear. A girl had never blatantly flirted with me like that, much less when I was with him. I looked at my phone excitedly, although I felt foolish, why would she text me back so quickly after only just meeting. She had texted herself from my phone while we spoke at the bar, and I knew it would probably be tomorrow at the earliest that she would remember it. I couldn't control my excitement when the phone buzzed, her name appearing with the song recommendation she told me to listen to on my way home. I pulled it up in my youtube app and sent her a screenshot. Shaking my head in disbelief, I plugged in my phone, turned down the dark road, and headed home.
