The bar was hopping as it usually does at Friday Night Happy Hour. Terry's Tavern was located in a great spot downtown, at the corner of Mega-Banker & Uber-Attorney streets. All the up-and-comers came to Terry's after work, from both the legal and financial professions. It was like the neutral site for the white collar worker bees to commingle after a long week of endless negotiations, dispositions and meetings. Alex was parked at a great seat at the end of the long granite bar counter, showing a small smile as he mentally congratulated himself for being so quick to get here just before the crowds started to rush in and create the usual Standing Room Only predicament. Sitting beside him was Carlos, the Tavern's barback, busboy, waiter and all-around guy that always seemed to be there whenever Alex stopped in. It was a smart move to sit next to Carlos -- he wouldn't be moving until the place started to get busy, and this was a way for Alex to "hold" a seat for his buddies without being obnoxious or arrogant. Alex knew Carlos would not get up from his chair until he absolutely had to, and it always was just about the time the rest of the gang came in and were standing around Alex. Carlos was on his cell phone, conversing in Spanish with what Alex guessed was Carlos' wife or girlfriend, and the conversation didn't sound friendly. Alex turned his back to Carlos and faced the rest of the tavern, as if to give Carlos some privacy, and to hopefully signal that either Carlos take it somewhere else or Alex gets a drink quickly so as to dullen his senses enough to tolerate it. Just then, he heard a glass being set on the bar in front of him, and he turned back around. "Hey, Guy", came the words so sweet to Alex' ears. Her name was Marta, and she was Terry's regular bartender, especially when it came to important (translate: money-making) shifts. Marta looked like she stepped out of a Greek travel ad -- she was average height and weight, had a smooth olive-colored complexion with thick anc curly raven black hair, and she was well-endowed but she never dressed to accentuate it. She was a wiz when it came to remembering "the usual" drink orders of her regular customers, and she was easy on the eyes, but it was her smooth, velvety voice that Alex noticed the most. She met him with his Dewars and Tonic, with a lime wedge, just the way he liked it. "Thanks, Doll", he responded, "I've been thinking of this baby all day". Marta smiled while her eyes were darting all around -- she was assessing the incoming crowd and saw that it was going to get busy, but she wanted to be sure give some attention to one of her better customers while she had a few seconds. She was not a fool, she knew where her bread was buttered, and Alex was one of her better-tipping customers. Plus, she knew he would be coming in with friends and they, too, would be taking care of her as long as she was there to take care of them -- besides, Alex wouldn't let his friends stiff her of her tips. Alex enjoyed talking to Marta when it wasn't busy -- she had a great head on her shoulders that went very well with her quasi-flirtatious personality, and he considered her equal to a good friend, even though they never spent a minute outside of work. He would wonder at times how she would be outside of this environment, and he loved the mystery she presented. He knew she was married but had no children, and rarely spoke of her husband, good, bad or indifferent. "Tough day at the office?", she asked, focusing her maple brown eyes just on him. "Same as it ever was", he responded, and she laughed as she quickly walked to the other end of the bar to fill more orders. Alex took a long, slow sip -- he always enjoyed the first sip of the night, as if it was the perfect remedy to wipe away the sins of the world...or of the work-week.
Next to show from the office was Jake, followed by Kristina. Jake was Alex' best friend, but he wasn't well-liked by many guys in the office. What made Jake unique was that he was the type of guy that was ready to push the envelope and always on the make; he had a great way of talking to women that held their interest, which didn't always go over well with boyfriends or husbands of Jake's targets, but it was a trait that Alex always envied. Jake thought Alex made a great wingman, and there were a few times that Alex was needed to pick up the pieces (when things didn't go so well with Jake's flavor-of-the-night) or be the reliable ride home (when things did go very well and Jake was too busy or drunk to drive). What Alex didn't know was that Jake used Alex as bait because the girls always seemed to flock to Alex and his good looks, which was something that Jake did not possess. Once the girls showed up, Alex was in over his head 9 times out of 10, and Jake, with his womanizing personality and silver-tongued charm, was there to clean up. It was a friendship that worked for both of them...for now.
Alex waved to them from the end of the bar, and Jake, after turning around to show Kristine where Alex was, let Kristina go in front of him as they moved through the crowd. "Typical", though Alex -- it was a move he'd seen many times. Jake used the opportunity to check out Kristina from behind while also checking out the rest of the crowd in the bar. Alex slightly smiled and thought, "that's my boy", then showed a bigger smile to Kristine as she shoved her way through the sea of pinstripes and worsted wool. Kristina was a paralegal for a top law firm, and she clearly dressed the part in her Brooks Brothers blue business suit separates and a button-down white silk blouse. The petit-sized suit went well with her long, straight strawberry blonde hair and green eyes. She was your typical Girl Next Door and was a workout princess, but she worked equally hard to be taken seriously in her job. "TGIF!", Kristina shouted to Alex as she gave him a quick hug. He noticed she smelled great as always; it was not your usual perfume, and he thought he recognized it but it never came to him. It was part sweet and part exotic, as if it was a portal to a naughty side of her that you would not immediately expect. Alex turned back to the bar to get Marta's attention, but Marta had beaten him to it -- Jake's bottled Budweiser was already on the bar, along with Kristina's Bourbon and Coke with stemmed cherry. Alex wondered how many drinks will it take before Kristina does her obligatory tie-it-into-a-knot trick with the cherry stem, which was something all the guys (and a few girls) enjoyed watching. Jake winked at Marta as he hoisted his beer -- Alex noticed that she caught it and gave him a wink and a smooch right back at him before hustling off. Alex shook his head slightly and laughed before turning back and lifting his glass to his friends for the first toast of the night. The fun was just about to begin.
