“What?” she exclaims, sitting up straight on her stool and brushing her hair out of her face. Her eyes are wide and she’s staring at me. The man from across the bar is approaching quickly, coming up behind her.
“He’s right behind you. Oh my gosh, he’s cuter up close. Seriously, this always happens to you. Stop messing with your hair, you look fine.” I hurry the words out and bat her hand away from her face just in time for the man to approach us.
“Ladies,” he says smoothly, smiling widely at the both of us.
“Hello.”
“Hey.”
We both reply, trying to be polite. Rae’s hands are wound tightly in her lap and she smiles between the newcomer and me.
“You two look like you’re having a good time tonight. I’m Leon.” He extends a hand towards Rae but she doesn’t take it. Instead, she stares up at him awkwardly as if she’s been somehow put on pause. What the hell is happening to my normally confident andoutgoing best friend?
“I’m Hanna,” I cut in, taking his hand and giving it a shake. “And this is my friend, Rae. Say hello, Rae,” I encourage, bumping her on the shoulder.
“Hello, Rae,” she says quietly, mouth hanging open. This gets him to laugh and his smile only grows as he looks at her. He may be shaking my hand but his eyes haven’t left hers.
“I was wondering if you wanted to dance?”
The question seems to spark something in her, bringing her out of suspended animation. “Oh, me? Dance? Oh, no. I don’t dance.”
My face screws up as I look at her. “What the hell are you talking about? Dancing was your idea—ow, Rae, you’re hurting me.” I sneer out the last part as she’s taken my hand and is now squeezing it so hard I can feel the blood circulation being cut off.
“Besides,” she continues, giving him a polite but dismissive smile, “I can’t leave my friend. It’s just the two of us and we follow the buddy rule. You understand.”
Leon presses his lips into a line that tells me he doesn’t believe her but is a nice enough guy to not push anything she doesn’t want. “I understand. You’re a really good friend for staying with her.”
He takes a step closer to her stool so much so that he bumps into her knee. She squeezes my hand tighter when they make contact and I swallow my wince so as to not ruin the moment.
“Mmhmm,” she hiccups, giving him a sharp nod.
“If you change your mind, I’ll be over there.” He points to where he was sitting on the other side of the bar and the two of us follow his finger before looking back at him. “But in case you change your mind tomorrow, or any other timeafter tonight, call me. I’ll save that dance for you whenever you’re ready.”
He pulls a card from his jacket and hovers it in front of her, waiting for her to take it. Seemingly frozen yet again, I snatch it from his hand and smile at him. When Rae doesn’t say anything after a moment, Leon bows his head and walks back to where he came from. Once out of ear shot, I rip my hand from hers and look at her, dumbfounded.
“What the hell was that? He’s probably the most attractive man you’ve ever interacted with and you completely clammed up! What do you mean you don’t dance? Youlovedancing, especially with charming men like him,” I declare.
Out of everyone I know, my best friend is the kind of girl who loves having the spotlight on her. Whether it’s from a cute man or an impressed professor, she isn’t one to shy away from attention.
“I think I just met my husband,” she exhales, watching Leon make his way back to the other side of the bar.
“Youwhat?”
She nods, looking almost defeated.
“I think I just met my husband,” she repeats. I stare at her wide-eyed and chalk up her proclamation to one too many shots.
“Ohh, okay then, Mrs. Leon. Well, when you’re ready to propose, here’s his number.” I hand her the card I’d taken from him and she gazes down at it as if it’s a saucy love note he passed to her in history class.
Before she can say anything, fresh drinks are pushed in our direction from the bartender. “From the handsome gentlemen across the way,” she explains. Her head nods behind her and sure enough, Leon is on the other side smiling back at my friend. When she meets his gaze, he winks at her and lifts his glass in her direction. Tucking herchin, she looks bashful for a second before taking a glass and handing it to me.
“Yep, definitely my future husband,” she says as we clink them together and both take a sip.
An hour or so later, she and I are well beyond our limit and laughing over anything and everything. The people walking by, how loud the music is, how funny we think the rugby players on TV look when they hold their teammate up in the air to catch the ball. Everything is funny to us which is normally an indicator that it’s time for us to go.
“Come on, Rae, we should get a ride and go home. It’s late and we’re ducks.” My tongue feels like a cotton ball in my mouth making my words come out muddled.
“Ducks? Baby, we’re not ducks, we’redrunks,” she calls out, laughing into my lap.
