I glance at it again. It doesn’t look like anything special. It looks like an old-time saloon, complete with a front porch and wooden slat siding covering the whole front side. There are some windows on the front that are decorated with shutters, and there’s a tin roof keeping the elements out. It sort of looks like a cliché.
“What do you and your college buddies come here for?”
Brendan’s face splits into a huge grin. “Mostly to binge drink and then get thrown off Benji twenty million times.”
“What?” I look to Andrew with unease, hoping he will give me some guidance. Thiswashis idea.
Brendan jumps to his aid. “Don’t worry, Emma! You’re going to love it! They have this drink called the trough that you share with multiple people. It’s pretty cheap and gets the job done fast, which is awesome! I don’t even know what’s in it, but it’s delicious, super easy to slurp down.”
“And who’s Benji?”
“Oh yeah, Benji is the mechanical bull out back. You’ll love him!”
My eyes nearly pop out of my head when I hear his words. I turn to Andrew again. “What are you getting me into? Is this a bar? None of us are twenty-one,” I point out as if that isn’t already commonknowledge.
Andrew pulls his ID out of his wallet. “Yes, I am,” he says coolly, handing it to me.
I take a look at his Alaska driver’s license. “You have a fake?”
He nods. “Brendan does too.”
“I don’t,” I state, still confused.What is going on in his brain right now? I know we said we wanted to live, but I didn’t mean break the rules and all our bones!
“Don’t worry about it,” Brendan eases. “It’s super easy to get people in here. The guy probably won’t even ask for your ID. That’s why a lot of college kids come here.”
Again, my eyes are bugging out of my head. “You want me tosneak in?”I give Andrew pleading eyes, silently begging him not to make me do this.He knows me! He should know this isn’t my scene.
“It’s not sneaking in. You’ll walk right through the door,” Brendan shrugs.
“I don’t think I can do this. Can you just take me home?”
Andrew reaches for my arm, gently pulling me away from Brendan for a moment. His face softens. “I’m sorry, Em. I should’ve told you before, but I thought you might chicken out. I just thought this would be something fun we could try, a new experience. I’ve always been too afraid to come here and ride Benji when Brendan’s tried to bring me in the past, but I thought with you by my side, I might be able to overcome my fear today.” He pauses for a moment to inspect my face before jumping in again, “And you don’t have to drink! I already made Brendan promise he wouldn’t pressure you. I won’t be drinking because I’m going to drive us home. All you have to do is come inside and be my cheerleader.” He smiles hopefully.
I toe at the ground, kicking a loose piece of gravel. I pull my lower lip in and drag my teeth over it. “You promise I won’t get in trouble for coming in?”
He immediately turns to Brendan for his expertise, knowinghis word is only so meaningful when he hasn’t been here before either.
Brendan nods. “Yeah, the bouncer, Jimmy, is super cool. Honestly, even if you showed him your real ID, he’d still probably let you in. I don’t know how this place is still in business, but it’s great!”
“Okay, let’s do it I guess,” I murmur with little confidence.
Andrew’s face breaks out into a huge grin, and he pulls me in for a kiss. Somehow that little piece of affection fills me with more confidence to walk into this bar and cheer for Andrew while he faces his fears.
“This is great! We will just go right up to the front. Jimmy’s a couple of years ahead of us, but he did track with Andrew and me in high school.” Brendan explains, excitement radiating off him, just like it is for Andrew.
“This is going to be so much fun, Em! I promise you’ll have fun tonight!” Andrew insists, kissing me again, this time just a quick peck, and he grabs my hand to lead us toward the front doors of Yeehaw’s.
At the door, a huge man, standing easily another two to three inches taller than Andrew, guards the door. My stomach does a little flip. I hate getting in trouble, and this guy looks like he means business.
When he sees our faces, his lights up. “Well look what the cat dragged in! Hey guys!” He gives each of the boys that weird universal bro handshake-hug thing and turns to me. “Who’d you bring with you?”
“This is my girlfriend, Emma,” Andrew introduces me with pride.
I give Jimmy a shy smile and reach my hand out to shake his hand. Instead, he goes in for a hug, giving me a surprisingly gentle pat on the back. When we pull apart, I reach in my pocket to grab my ID, but he just ushers us right on in, stamping our hands as we enter. “Have fun you three!” With aglance at the watch on his wrist, he adds, “The band should be coming on within the next half hour.”
Walking inside, I see the place is actually kind of cute. There’s a neon blue sign over a stage at the front that says Yeehaw’s. On both sides of the stage, there are picnic tables and a bar beyond that. Off in the corner, there are pool tables and what looks like a jukebox.
“No way!” I exclaim. “Is that a jukebox? Does it work?” I practically buzz with excitement.
