YouTube

Most of the men in the bar were around 70-years-old, so it wasn't usually a breeding ground for budding relationships, but this kid was no more than five years older than me and as I said before, he was cute.

Darlene read my mind, nudged me, and gave me an encouragement wink. I rolled my eyes at her. I obviously wanted to talk to this guy, but I have always been terrible at approaching men. So, I just sat there. He seemed pretty preoccupied with his phone anyway.

Luckily, I wasn't the only one to pick up on this. "Look at this kid," said one of the older gentleman sitting at the bar. "Kids these days, they're always on their cell phones! Never any human interaction!" I laughed to myself and looked down at my drink. My new crush was laughing also. "You got two beautiful girls here," continued the man as he motioned to me and Darlene, "but you're sitting here on your phone!"

Now I was blushing. Then I realized that this senior citizen in a leather jacket was an angel sent from heaven. I channeled my minimal alcohol consumption into courage and managed to mutter a question. "Yeah, what're you looking at anyway?"

He looked up at me and smiled. "Just some YouTube videos, want to see?" he asked.

I nodded and walked around the bar to where he was sitting. Darlene continued drinking the and making playful small talk with the other men at the bar. I always admired her ability to interact with literally anybody in any situation when needed. Best. Wingwoman. Ever.

His name was Justin and he showed me a few YouTube videos. I had truthfully seen two already and I didn't think they were particularly funny, but I laughed anyway. Oh, what us ladies do for the possibility of love. As Justin was showing me the fourth video, a text popped up on his screen that read 'I'm here.'

Justin sighed. "My friend's here to drive me home, but it was great to meet you." Even though it was nice to meet Justin, I wasn't ready to just let him walk away. I wasn't certain that bonding over a few YouTube videos would secure me another encounter.

"I'll walk you out," I insisted with a smile. I looked over at Darlene and mouthed, 'one minute.' Once we were outside, Justin spotted his buddy's car across the parking lot.

"Well, I've never been this happy about my car breaking down before," Justin said with his hands in his pockets. "Can I see you again?"

I took a moment so I didn't seem too eager before coyly nodding. I put my number in his phone and as I handed it back to him, our hands touched. That was all it took. Justin leaded down, brushed my hair away from my face, and gave me a soft kiss on the lips.

"Good night, Caroline," said Justin before walking away. Oh, it was a good night!

Room to Breathe

I plopped into the car seat and let out a heavy sigh.

"Long day?" asked Darlene with a smirk.

"Long semester," I responded as I put my head between my knees.

It truly had been. I went to school three nights a week, which wasn't too bad, but on top of a full time job it took its toll on me. The classes required a lot of readings and papers. After handing in my final paper last week, all I wanted to do was lay in my bed for days without moving.

But, I refrained. I forced myself to throw on some leggings and a long t-shirt to go with Darlene to The Shop. The Shop is a small, hole-in-the-wall bar across town. Nobody's ever really in there besides some regulars, but they serve popcorn and I never have to worry about dressing to impress there. I felt bad because I hadn't seen my friends too much over the past few weeks, so after Darlene prodded me for days, I finally agreed to go out with her.

"So what's new?" asked Darlene as she drove away from my house.

I lifted my head up and remained silent for a moment before answering. "Literally nothing," I replied. I mean, school and work kept me busy but it hadn't exactly been exciting. My love life was non existent. Mike and I hadn't talked since the coffee shop, even though I often found myself opening up a new text message to him with my fingers lingering over the keyboard. We couldn't talk, though. We both knew it was too hard. Maybe if I had time to go out or something I'd be able to meet someone new. Summer time, bring me a fling!

"What about you guys?"

"You know, same old" Darlene began with a shrug. We sat in silence for a few minutes. Wow, had things really been that boring the past few weeks?

We arrived at the bar and ordered a pitcher of beer. She started to tell me about Anna's new coaching gig and how Jessica met some guy at school.

"He's a total frat guy," Darlene said while pouring us each a glass of beer. "He's 21 and on the baseball team. I don't know what she expects to come from this."

I nodded and took a sip of my drink. It was so comfortable at The Shop. My friends would hang out here because we didn't have to worry about crowds or waiting for drinks. There was a pool table and darts for the guys. I looked around and admired the familiar, grungy scenery. Suddenly, a tall, cute guy walked through the door alone and sat down at the bar. He ordered a drink and took out his phone. Before looking down, he caught my eye and charmingly smiled at me. I smiled back.

Darlene and I had planned to have one pitcher, catch up, and be home by ten. That was the plan, until we met Justin.