Promises We Meant to Make

Henry wasn’t sure how he ended up in the predicament at hand. He remembered telling Alina that he’d allow her to take him to another strange nightclub or unusual bar, but the words “birthday” and “party” never escaped his mouth. Yet somehow, Alina had managed to convince Henry to accompany her to a friend’s private birthday party at a local pub.

He had to admit, the venue was much more casual and welcoming than most places he’d been forced to go. The walls were paneled with a dark wood, but decorated with cliche beer and football signs. There wasn’t a strobe light or fog machine to be seen, and the bartender wasn’t a cross dresser or stripper. Henry decided he wouldn’t mind returning to Leo’s Pub if asked.

Another comforting observation for Henry was that the most unusual guest was in fact Cassie, Alina’s bizarre roommate. This week, her hair was dyed jet black with just a few pink highlights; it was a nice contrast to last week’s bold blue.

Alina squeezed Henry’s hand and gave him a smile. She always knew when his mind was wandering off.

“So, is it common for the birthday girl to be late to her own party?” Henry asked Alina. He and Alina had arrived at Leo’s an hour ago. He knew they were coming early to set up a little, but the rest of the guests arrived shortly after.

Alina rolled her eyes in the childish way she always did. “It’s a surprise party, silly. She’ll be here any minute. Right now she thinks she’s just meeting me here for drinks, and she knows I’ll be expecting her to be late.”

As she explained this, her eyes kept darting to the door with impatience. Henry reached out and ran his fingers through Alina’s golden hair. “I’m sure you’re right.”

There were enough people lounging around Leo’s to make it look as if it were a normal business night. Few faces were familiar to Henry, and the ones that existed were but vaguely so. They were college kids, of course. Henry had no intention of befriending any of them. He was content with his work pals and the few casual friends he had.

Alina examined the party herself, feeling proud of putting it together without Naomi finding out. Her friend was adamant on not having a party for her twenty-second birthday. She claimed there was no point in celebrating age after one’s twenty-first birthday. Alina didn’t see it that way.

She’d invited all of her and Naomi’s shared friends, ordered a cake, balloons, and even rented Naomi’s favorite place to hang out for an informal party. It suited Naomi perfectly.

Alina’s hand was resting on her cell phone, but she hadn’t realized it until it buzzed violently with a new text message. “She’s here, everybody! Get ready!” Alina beamed and pulled Henry’s arm so that he too was facing the door.

Like clockwork, the entrance opened and every person in the pub, including the bartender, screamed “happy birthday!”

Henry studied the girl that just walked in. She was obviously Alina’s friend Naomi, but she wasn’t like the other friends of Alina’s that Henry knew. The tall brunette had stunning green eyes and her hair was cut into a sexy bob. She was wearing a khaki trench coat that covered her entire outfit apart from the tall black heels. Henry wondered if she was the kind of girl that always wore heels.

The look on Naomi’s face appeared to be of sincere surprise. She shook her head, but smiled as she walked toward Alina. The taller girl had to bend slightly to wrap her arms around Alina’s shoulders. “You little bitch! I said no party!”

“Well I thought I’d have more fun this way,” Alina laughed.

Naomi noticed Henry and held out her hand for him to shake. “I’m Naomi. I think you’re the only person here I don’t know.”

“Henry. Happy birthday.”

Naomi sized him up, and then winked at Alina. “He’s even cuter than you described.”

Alina giggled and shushed Naomi.

“Well, I suppose I should start making my rounds,” Naomi said with a sigh. “I just adore the perks of being the birthday girl.”

Henry watched as Naomi went off. She walked with a breezy confidence that drew Henry in, and as Naomi spoke with each of her friends, Henry felt unusual. It was almost like he was jealous of everyone she was talking to. Finally, Naomi stopped navigating through the room and sat down at a booth with two guys who looked like teenagers.

Henry motioned to the young men. “Who are they?”

Alina followed Henry’s glance to the booth where Naomi was seated. Alina raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow. “That’s Tommy and Rudy. Why?”

“I feel like I should go introduce myself or something.”

“Why is that?”

Henry shrugged. “You put all this effort into planning this party, and now you’re practically babysitting me because I don’t know anyone. I know you want to go hang out with Naomi, so I’ll try my best to fit in.” Henry smiled easily and Alina grinned back.

“You know I don’t feel like I’m babysitting you, but I really appreciate it.” Alina pecked Henry on the check and stood up.

Henry hung his arm around Alina’s shoulder as they walked across the room. Naomi was seated next to the boy Alina called Tommy’s right, and Rudy sat across from them picking at a plate of French fries.

Henry removed his arm from Alina’s shoulders and stood awkwardly at the edge of the table. Alina scooted in next to Naomi and looked at the empty space next to Rudy for Henry to sit. He sat down as both of the guys at the table stared at him.

“Guys, this is Henry,” Alina said for him.

Both of the boys introduced themselves and Alina explained they all shared a history class. Henry was starting to regret his decision. He was never any good at small talk.

“We were just talking about the possible new football program at UNCW,” Naomi filled him in.

“Oh, that’s cool. I didn’t know they were talking about starting a team,” Henry replied.

Tommy chuckled. “That’s probably because we won’t. It’s just an idea the school has been throwing around. I personally think it’s stupid. The last thing we need is UNCW focusing more on athletics than academics.”

“You only say that because you’re too small to make any team,” Rudy shot back.

Tommy scoffed. “Shut up, man. You think you’d be able to make it because you played quarterback in like, elementary school.”

“It was middle school!”

Henry laughed and spun his Bud Light around, reading the label.

“Henry played football in high school,” Alina nudged Henry with her foot.

Henry took a sip of the beer in his hand. “Yup.”

Tommy leaned forward. “What position were you?”

“Defensive tackle.”

Both Tommy and Rudy narrowed their eyes in confusion, but Naomi was the one to speak up. “Aren’t you a little too skinny to play defensive tackle?”

Henry and Alina both chuckled. “I never said I was first string.”

The conversation shifted to another topic, and Henry couldn’t have been happier. Talking about his high school years made him feel queasy. He had left that life behind years ago, and hated looking back. He knew there was no real reason to hate his life back in Ohio. He had everything a teenage boy would ever want out of life, but there was always something missing: the freedom that he needed to stop being the golden boy. The overachiever. Perfect.

“Have you and Alina been together for long, then?” Tommy asked.

No one was really expecting the question. It kind of came out of nowhere, but Alina was quick to jump on it. “No, no, no! Henry and I are just friends.”

Tommy shrugged absentmindedly. “Could have fooled me.”

Rudy sat up straighter in his seat and looked at Alina with a smile that made Henry feel uncomfortable. He knew that smile. He had perfected it. “So, you’re single then?”

Naomi looked at Henry and grinned knowingly. Henry wondered how much this stranger knew about him and Alina. Alina’s eyes shifted to Henry with a pleading look that begged him to say something to get her off the spot.

“She sure is,” Henry sneered and Alina kicked him under the table. Henry could see it now. From this point on, Alina was going to hate her history class. Henry was already loving it.

In no time, with the aid of a few drinks, Henry was able to ignore his lack of enthusiasm towards making acquaintance with Tommy and Rudy. The more he was with the four of them; the more he noticed how different Alina seemed. She was quieter, more reserved. The self-assurance she showed when she was with Henry was almost nonexistent. Naomi, however, bubbled with confidence and charisma that kept the group hanging on her every word.

Henry looked at the three empty beer bottles in front of him. The bartender hadn’t been around in a while. Standing up, he asked the table if anyone else needed anything before he went to order. Everyone shook their head no, and Henry crossed the room back to the bar.

The bartender was busy on the far side of the bar, so Henry took a seat and waited. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to find Naomi.

“You look like you need some company.”

Henry smiled. “Sure.”

Once he saw Naomi, the bartender skipped down to take her order. “Two Bud Lights, please,” she said, then turned to Henry. “That is what you’re drinking, right?” Henry nodded, and then took a bottle from the bartender.

“You know, Henry, I’m really glad you came tonight,” Naomi said.

“Me too.”

Naomi opened her beer and took a sip. “I mean, I’ve heard a lot of stories about you, but here you are in the flesh. And might I add that you’re quite entertaining once you start talking.”

Henry chuckled. “Thanks, I suppose.”

Naomi didn’t stand up, so neither did Henry. She carried on in the same animated way at the bar with just Henry as she did at the booth. Henry wondered if maybe she was speaking to him the entire time. Or maybe she was just a really friendly person.

It took Henry everything he had to return casual eye contact while she spoke. He knew as soon as he stopped trying, his eyes would dart away in the awkwardly nervous way the he noticed happened to other people, but never himself. He wondered if it would be too obvious if he looked somewhere else other than her eyes. Her lips, maybe? The way she spoke made it easy for him to get lost in the movement of her mouth.

“Henry?”

Henry saw her lips form the word, rather than hearing it out loud. He realized it would probably be easier to watch her eyes from there on out.

“Yeah?” he mumbled in response.

“Do you think you and Alina will ever end up in a real relationship?”

Henry blinked in shock. The question shouldn’t have been unexpected, but to Henry, it probably would always be. He knew the thought of him and Alina wasn’t completely unfathomable; he’d tried to picture it to himself on more than one occasion. Still, trying to picture a future with Alina and actually doing it were too separate things. He hadn't been able to form the image in his head for a long time.

Henry took a drink from his new beer and sighed before he answered, "No."

The expression on Naomi’s face looked as if she were expecting or even wanting that exact answer. “Then who do you see yourself with?”

Henry shrugged. He really didn’t have to think of his response to this question. “Probably no one.”

Naomi nodded and walked back to the table to join her friends. Alina and Naomi shared a laugh at something someone said, and Naomi continued on like she hadn’t even spoken to Henry.