Fairytale

 Last night was girls' night. We decided to go to Goodwill and buy absurd extravagant dresses for a night of bar hopping. We both managed to find a dress for one another. We also took a wander to the book section. Funny enough both my books were romances, tales of love and loss. Maybe I was already allowing myself to foreshadow my fate. We headed home to get ready. 

We were nearly ready to go as we blared music and painted our faces with fantasy. I slipped into my red gown that even had a bustle and train. I wore red, she wore black. Looking at our reflections in the mirror we smiled at what stared back at us. Luci and Lillith were ready to paint the town. 

I decided our first stop had to be Moscow. As we entered the establishment, people greeted us with a different demeanor. One that made me feel like a woman of femme fatale. As we wined and dined, I planned the evening loosely asking if the evening suited my friend. She smiled approvingly. I decided it was time to move to the next location. The Hog was calling, or maybe the bartender and his charismatic energy seemed to call me in. 

Hog was made of smoke and glass.  I don't know if it was the atmosphere or the energy surging through the night but within a moment she came alive. I was back, and ready. Ready to be everything and nothing. 

I decided we should end the evening at Reid's. The land of hockey and pucks. As we walked in we weren't greeted with jerseys, instead we were greeted with cowboys. Tim McGraw was in town and he brought all sorts of people out. As country music pumped through the bar, people immersed themselves in alcohol and conversation. My friend and I decided to wander through the land of yee-haws. We met characters of all sorts. From bold, to insecure, to loud. I allowed my eyes to roam, and graze among the cattle. I smiled but turned away from the hunger in certain men's eyes. After all, it was girls' night. Reid's was coming to a close. We left... but then there it stood...

 one last ride. 

For some reason, I grabbed hold of my friend and decided to make one last stop. One last hooray of the night. 

As we entered, the place was crammed with people. My friend found a table and sat, and I headed to the crowded bar. Luckily someone left and a small space opened up. I slid right in. The loudness of the bar muffled my voice. So all I did was sit and stare at the bartender. To my left, I could feel his presence before I even saw his face. I felt his eyes on me and before I could even say hello. He asked, "What ya drinking?" I realized he was talking to me. I stated my order and he placed it to the bartender. I gave him a nod of gratitude. We spoke, but I knew I had to get back to my friend. I took another glance at him, and I didn't want to go. Yet, I didn't want to linger. I knew he came with his friends as well. So I headed back to the table. As we sat and observed the scene around us, the guy who bought my drink headed straight to our table. I took all of him in. Tall, lean, and had a boyish charm about him. He was everything I usually never went for. But there was this ease, this pull that I was craving. 

He sat at our table as if we were not merely strangers but friends. We chatted, simply stating our simple pasts. Neighborhoods, high school, age, and so on. I couldn't help but keep my eyes on him. His eyes were a contrast to the dim bar. They were of youth and light. I couldn't look away. But for him, I think he felt caught. He would glance a look my way but shyly look away. what was he hiding? He soon went back to his friends and I decided to go to the bathroom. But before I entered, I was caught by another. It was a friend of mine that I hadn't seen in a while. We spoke and caught one another up on life updates. While we chatted, I felt his smile and the graze of his touch on my shoulder. It was quick, fleeting, I almost thought I made it up till my friend asked "Is that a friend of yours?" I smile. "I'm debating if they should be." Then I headed to the bathroom. 

Bathrooms in a bar on a Saturday night, are the best. They are a place of sanctuary and compliments. Strangers become best friends within a second. As I smiled and checked myself in the mirror, pushing some strands of hair back, I knew this night was everything I needed. 

I headed back to my friend while she was still nursing her drink. Then a booming voice broke above the loudness of the bar. "GET OUT." The night was ending, but I needed one last thing. Him. I decided to be bold and strode over to him, I knew he also could feel my presence. He turned and smiled. For some reason, I pulled him close. I wanted to kiss him. He was a tamer, and I was a lion. He was polite as if I was only pulling him to whisper good night, and I knew. So instead I smiled and walked away. 

We headed home.  I removed the dress and makeup. I was pulled back to reality. I smiled at the reminisces of the night. My friend headed to bed. I was wide awake, due to the red bulls I had managed to switch out from the whiskey sours my friend insisted on buying for me. I was wired, so I decided a walk would help. 

The coolness of the night was a seduction of delight. I watched as the city lights dazzled the sky. A notification dinged on my phone, and there he was. Smiling I responded with a photo of the view. He asked what I was doing, walking I simply stated. He said he was coming. Sure I thought in doubt. It was past 2 am. But within minutes the presence of him was back. As I looked over my shoulder there he stood under the street lamp illuminating over him. 

That morning we talked of the simple things, we walked and it was everything and nothing that I needed. Someone who didn't know me didn't know my present or past. He just was. We walked over the bridge, and before I knew it he was in the middle of the road, wanting to cross to the other side. No cars, but I chuckled at him. "playing chicken?" I wasn't sure what I was referring to... was it the cars or was it the way he couldn't look at me in the bar, or the way he pulled away from my directness. I pushed the thoughts away and followed. He was younger than me, and an artist. He was the most refreshing person I had ever met. He was real and honest. As we walked back we watched the reflection of the moon dance across the river. We soon stood where he parked his car. I knew he would leave. So I decided to walk away. But then I felt it. His eyes were on me, I was so close I could feel his warmth radiate off of him. He looked down, and I pulled away. He thought it was rejection when in truth he was taller than me and I needed to reangle my height.  He spoke the words and asked like a gentleman, and I allowed him to pull me in for a kiss. He was soft and lush. He was divinely perfect. He pulled away too soon. 

I stood there watching as his taillights faded into the darkness. 

He was the fairytale I never knew I needed.