Tonight, Not Again

When Adrienne and I walked into The Blue Palm, Riley and Carmen waved to us from the bar. They told me that they would buy my first four drinks, as if that was an incentive to sway me from sleeping with a complete stranger. Hell, it would only help me sleep with a complete stranger.
I graciously accepted my first offering, cranberry vodka. Riley and Carmen ordered their fruity daiquiris and Adrienne got a martini. At first it was fine. I was drinking, talking and listening to god-awful music. By my second drink, things seemed to cool down. I knew I wasn’t a flirt by any means, but when I smiled at a guy a few seats down and he got up and left, I knew I was in trouble.
As the girls filtered out to the dance floor I started to lose hope. I’d found a new target, but then his girlfriend found him too. When my third drink came I was absolutely miserable. When I walked in, the only thoughts about Brett on my mind were ones of damnation. Now I just felt lonely. Lonely and pathetic, sitting at the bar waiting to catch the eye of someone with less morals than myself.

“Oh well,” I muttered, signaling the bartender for another drink. My cell phone said it nine forty-five. The night was going to be a long one.
When I looked up from tearing my cocktail napkin to shreds, Carmen waved and beckoned me to the dance floor. I declined—I wasn’t a mover, or a shaker, and quite frankly was not in the mood to make myself look like a fool.
Gradually the club filled up. I’ve heard that clubs always get busy after nine. A techno beat filtered through the stale, perfumed air and the dance floor began to get crowded. I casually pulled out my cell phone again. Nine fifty.

“This isn’t exciting enough for you?”
I choked on the harsh liquid and looked at the man beside me. He had just accepted a beer and took a sip. A small smile formed when he caught my expression.
“I’m sorry?”
He chuckled and set down his beer. “What I mean is, that was the third time I’ve seen you look at your mobile in the past twenty minutes.”
“Oh.” I nodded, taking a swig of my drink. “Yeah, I’m not really into this. My friends just sort of…scattered.” I waved my hand for emphasis. I didn’t think it was appropriate to tell him that I was looking for someone to sleep with.
“Me neither. I’d rather be at an actual bar. One where I’m a little concerned about the health code violations, but allowed to smoke in.” He pushed his hair out of his eyes and smiled.
“I can’t tell whether or not you’re mocking me.” The man shook his head and polished off his beer. “And I don’t smoke.”
“Well, I wasn’t. And I do.” He offered his hand. “I’m Rob, by the way.” His hand was rough and warm, and his smile was to die for. I kicked myself in the shin, reminding myself that I was supposed to be looking for someone like him tonight.
“Zoey.”

Rob nodded and went back to drinking his beer. I casually watched as he settled against the counter and scanned the crowd. He looked so familiar but I couldn’t quite place him. I jogged my mind for the customers I’d waited on the day before, or any one that I could have seen on campus. Nothing rang a bell.
My fifth glass was empty and I began looking for my friends again, feeling buzzed enough to dance (despite my inability to catch on to any rhythm). Carmen’s curly red hair bounced as she bopped around. As I was about to get up and boldly ask Rob to join me, a woman rushed toward us. I was about to shriek—she was charging at me like a bull—but then I realized she made a beeline for my possible dance partner.

“You’re the guy from Twilight!” Rob nodded, his jaw clenching ever so slightly.
She asked for an autograph and he obliged, smiling graciously as he was probably taught to. He didn’t look bothered, just embarrassed. When she walked away, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked at me. Me and my wide-open mouth.
“I knew you looked familiar, though now I can’t believe I didn’t realize it sooner!” I pointed at him excitedly.
“Do you want an autograph too?”
“No, that’s fine.” He looked taken aback, which made me worry. “I didn’t just bruise your ego, did I? Because I’ve got a friend over there who really—”
“Ha!” He started laughing and shaking his head. I was surprised. “No, don’t worry about it.”
“So, what brings you here, Mr. Pattinson, if you hate it so much?”
“Don’t say that too loud, I really don’t want to be mobbed tonight.” He smiled and rolled his eyes.
“No, of course not. Sorry.”
“No reason to be.” Rob looked at me considerately. “But uh, my friends dragged me here—out of love, or so they claim.” I nodded because I understood completely. We sat in silence as the few remaining by the bar moved out to the dance floor.

My mind began wandering to what Brett and I would have been doing at that moment; probably watching a movie. Well, I would be watching the movie and Brett would be complaining about how predictable everything was. But I needed to focus onto the task at hand. I shifted all of the energy that I had been using to mentally kick Brett in the balls over to getting Rob to be my date. Or whatever you called it.

“So how’d you get here?”
“My friends thought it would be fun,” I sort of laughed at the irony. And then I hiccupped. “I just broke up with my boyfriend, so they thought it would be good for me.” With this mention, Rob seemed to choke a bit on his beer.
“What happened?”
“Er, he was cheating on me.” Rob made a face. “In my bed.”
“Are you kidding?” I watched as he traced shapes in the condensation from his beer bottle. “Jesus, that’s rough. I’d like to offer an apology on behalf of the male species.” I nodded my gratitude.

If at all possible, worse music began to play. Beside me, I heard Rob sigh. We each ordered another beer and watched the crowd. I contemplated my next move but being that I had no experience in picking up men, I couldn’t think of anything. I looked up from my drink and saw that Rob was staring at me. He was saying something too, but I was so lost in an alcohol-fused fog that I couldn’t quite make it out.
“What?”
“Do you want to get out of here?” His eyes were sparkling. “Somewhere more exciting?”

I hesitated—my conscience suddenly decided to show up. There was my golden opportunity. This [gorgeous] guy was asking me to leave with him. But did I really want to disappear with a total stranger? Yeah, he was a celebrity and yes, he was positively gorgeous, but how much did I really know about him? I took out my cell and checked the time. It was only five minutes to ten. Oh hell, who cared? I had pepper spray on my key-ring if things got out of hand.

…

“Where are we going?” I warily walked beside him, my hands stuffed in my pockets. He pulled the black beanie over his head a little more and smiled at me.
“Somewhere I think you’re going to like.” I tried to smile instead of grimace, but I probably looked like I was going to vomit.
“I’m not going to lie, you’re kind of creeping me out.” At this remark, he threw his head back in laughter.
“Seriously?” I nodded and he straightened up. “I’m sorry. I’m really, really not trying to. You just looked like you…needed to get out of there.” I looked at him, considering his words.
“Fair enough. How many blocks?” I nodded and smiled, digging my keys out of my bag. He glanced at a black car not too far from mine before opening the passenger-side door.

We ended up at a smaller bar where Adrienne and I went to watch live music. It was just on the outskirts of town, right between L.A. and Santa Monica.
“How did you know I liked this place?” I wondered what could have given it away; we’d barely said twenty words to one another.
“Honestly?” Rob shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the night sky. “It was a shot in the dark.” I scoffed at him and he chuckled.
“Good guess.”
“You’ve been here?” He eyes me suspiciously as he followed close behind me.
“All the time,” I nodded and kept walking. “My friends and I come here to watch the bands.”
It was a dimly lit eclectic bar. The kind of music played there was mainly singer/songwriter stuff or Indie folk—never anything too heavy, which was nice. Adrienne and I usually met friends from work on Saturday nights.
“We’ve probably seen each other.” We were stopped at the bar and I noticed he was watching me intently. I found it to be a little intimidating, with those blue-gray eyes boring into me.
“Oh, really?” I climbed up onto the barstool and ordered a shot of whiskey. I needed to relax. Rob raised his eyebrows and ordered two of the same.
“You’ve got to promise me you won’t tell anyone,” he drained the first glass in a second. “It’s my last refuge.”
I nodded, ignoring the burning sensation in my throat from the alcohol. A few people were on the stage setting up for the next set. I surveyed the crowd, wondering if anyone here realized that Edward Cullen was amongst them.
“Is it really that bad?” I turned back to see him fiddling with the two empty shot glasses. He concealed a burp and rested his head on his hand.
“Would it sound completely ungrateful if I said yes?” Rob smiled sheepishly and asked if I wanted another drink. “No, I love it—I just get so overwhelmed.”

As the night continued on I actually found that I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Not only was Rob incredibly easy on the eyes, but he held quite an interesting conversation. He was terribly down to earth for someone who made anything with estrogen weak in the knees. It was also taking my mind off a more depressing matter. Brett.

I was also finding how easy this one-night stand thing was.

“So what do you do?”
“I’m a student,” I sipped on the beer he’d ordered for me. “And I work at a coffeehouse in Santa Monica. I’m not really an exciting person.”
“I like coffee.” He answered thoughtfully, giving me a crooked smile. “What are you studying?”
“History. I’m double-majoring actually. History and Political Science. And I’m minoring in English.”
“What the hell are you going to do with that?” Despite his words, he looked intrigued.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I smirked, pressing my hand to me heart. “Pretty boy vampire was already taken.”
“Touché.” He tapped his beer bottle against mine. “So what, you want to go into politics, or something?”
“I’m not really sure yet. I’ve got a lot of options but I’ve always wanted to write.” Rob nodded, seemingly impressed.
“Do you live in L.A.?” Rob glanced at that stage. Three guys had started strumming on their guitars and a catchy rhythm wafted through the air.
“Venice Beach.” At this, Rob looked surprised. “My parents have a tiny beach house right in the middle of everything.”
“Oh, so you’re one of those kids?”
“No!” I shook my hands and laughed. “My mom grew up in the house. When her mom died, she and my dad bought it. We used to stay there all the time on weekends—I grew up in San Francisco.” I tried to gauge his response. “They stopped going and neither of my sisters wanted it. Now they rent it out to my friend and me. The only stipulation is that I have to buy it when I get a job.”
“That sounds like a rather nice deal.”
“Oh, it definitely is. I’m really grateful. I love it so much.” He nodded considerately. “What about you?”
“I’ve got a flat in L.A.—it’s not waterfront of course, but it’s not bad.”

The night went on and not once did I look at my phone for the time. We talked more about ourselves and ordered more drinks.
Sometime around midnight, we left. Together. And if I remember correctly, we were all over one another once we got back to the privacy of my car. After that it’s blank. I don’t even remember how we got there, but we ended up in my living room. I was unsure who had kissed who first, but one thing led to another and the rest was history.