Boycotts and Barflies (7 page)

school. As much as Grace hated to admit it, sometimes she would just let the  machine pick up in order to be spared the pain of chatting with her mother. “I’m fine. Were you teaching?” Susan asked quickly. The other annoying thing  ab out talking to her mom was that she turned into a fast talker whenever she  called. Susan could talk at the speed of light just to get the conversation over as  quickly as possible, all in the hopes of saving fifty-seven cents on her phone bil

.

“Yes, I just got home. So, what’s up?” Grace waited for her to get to the point of  the day’s call. Perhaps her old art teacher from high school had died and she  was going to read the obituary, or even better, it could be a wedding  announcement for someone she’d hated  in high school, and probably someone  who Grace knew for a fact had slept with half of the football team.

“You’ll never guess what happened. One of my old friends that I haven’t seen in  forever called. She’s moving to Spokane. Isn’t that great?”

Flipping through her mail, Grace could hear the excitement in her mother’s  voice. “Wow, Mom, that’s great,” she mumbled as she glanced down at her Visa  bill. Damn, all that shopping with Meg, Grace thought.

Susan started her speed -talking again, but Grace missed the first part of her  wild rambling because she was busy waving the bill at Meg, pointing at the  total. Grace started paying attention again when she caught the words, “My  friend’s son … Portland … date.”

“Whoa, Mom. Stop right there. Listen, there’s something you should know. I’m boycotting boys for a while.” There was silence on the line, then hysteria. “Mom, why are you crying?”

“So who is it? Is it Meg or Bianca?” the woman asked between sobs.

“Meg or Bianca what, Mom?” Grace was confused by Susan’s over the top  reaction. Damn, I really should pay attention when she fast talks.

“Which one of them turned you into a lesbian?” she sobbed into the phone. Grace burst into laughter. “Mom, Meg, Bianca, and I ar e not lesbians, I swear.  We’ve just been dating too many losers, so we’re taking a little break from  dating men for a few weeks, but not forever, OK?” Bianca laughed as she  walked in on the middle of Grace’s bizarre conversation with her mother.

“Well, when this silly boycott is over, I’m going to give you his number. I gotta  go to yoga class. I love you!” Before Grace could say good -bye, the line went  dead.

Meg giggled. “So, now she thinks we’re lesbians?”

“Apparently. Maybe I should have let her keep thinking that. At least she  wouldn’t give my number out to any guys for a while.” Grace sat down on one  of the kitchen bar stools and expectantly looked at her friends. “So, what’s on  the agenda for this evening, ladies? I don’t have a class to teach until late

tomorrow.

Do you want to go out?”

Meg jumped to her feet, clapping. “I know the perfect place! We can get a bite to eat and dance and  ”—

Bianca interrupted with a smirk on her face. “And see the guy you haven’t stopped talking about since you met him last night? Is that where you want to go?” she asked suspiciously.

With a shameless smile on her face, Meg started jumping up and down whining. “Please, please, please, please …”

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“See, this is what happens when you go out to  a bar with one of your clients  instead of us —you fall in love,” Bianca said sarcastically as she batted her  eyelashes and put her hand over her heart.

“Come on, Bianca, let’s go check out Mr. Wonderful, a man she can’t date for  another three and a half weeks,” Grace teased while Meg continued pleading. “Fine,” Bianca said grudgingly. “But there better be some other cute guys there  for me to look at, because if I have to watch you make goo -goo eyes all night, I  may throw up!” Meg picked up a pillow from the  couch to launch at Bianca, but  the redhead took off for her room before it even left her friend’s hand.

After an hour filled with showers and general beautification, they were ready to hit the town. Bianca was in a short red dress that showed off her incredible legs. The dress accentuated her hair which she kept long and poker straight.  Meg wore a long sweater with a pair of leggings, and a few new magenta streaks in her black hair when she emerged from the bathroom. Grace had been physically forced into a  black patterned miniskirt, with a black, off the shoulder top and a pair of knee high black boots. They had put hot rollers in her hair to accentuate the curls, so her long ebony locks had some extra spring in them as they headed out the door.

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When the girls entered The Vault, Grace noticed that it looked like any other  bar they had been to over the course of their boycott. The dance floor was on  the lower level, with the tables wrapping around on the second floor in a ‘U’

shape. The long bar was against  the far back wall with a two -story blue lit wall  behind it. The place had a very cool vibe once you were inside. Meg led the way  upstairs to a table where they could sit but still see both the bar and the dance  floor. Grace watched as Meg leaned over the rail and peered toward the bar. Bianca caught the puzzled expression on Grace’s face and laughed. “She’s  looking for Mr. Wonderful. Apparently, he’s one of the bartenders.”

Grace chuckled when Meg flopped down into the chair beside her. She could

tell by Meg’s expression that he wasn’t there. “Well this sucks! No eye candy for  me to look at while I eat,” Meg pouted.

Trying to sound encouraging, Grace said, “It is still kind of early, Meg.

Maybe he’ll be here later.” That seemed to do the trick because a smil e

returned 46

to her face when Grace tugged on one of the magenta streaks in her hair. “Love

the color.”

The menu they found on the table had an extensive selection of mixed drinks.  Grace was still scanning it when their server came over to the table. “Hi, I’m  Vicki and I’ll be your server. How are you ladies doing tonight?” she asked. Grace looked up and saw a beautiful woman standing confidently next to their table, slipping coasters onto it. The first thing that anyone who looked at her would notice was the mane of purple hair she wore with pride. After the hair, it was impossible to ignore the numerous facial piercings that adorned her skin.  Even with all the hardware decorating her face, she was still gorgeous, and her smile miraculously made her seem less intimidating.

All of a sudden, Meg blurted out, “Cool piercings. How many do you have?” “Eighteen, but you can only see twelve of them,” Vicki said with a wink.

Meg’s eyes got wide. “Cool,” she said again in awe. “Did they hurt? Because I cried my eyes out when I was a kid and got my ears pierced. I can’t imagine how much it hurts to get your eyebrow pierced.”

“That wasn’t the most painful one I have …” She grinned as she watched Meg’s eyes get big with understanding. “So, can I get you ladies something from the bar?”

Meg almost popped out of her seat. “Oh, can you get me that tall, blond, gorgeous guy that was working last night? The one with the ponytail? I’ll take him with a few maraschino cherries on the side.”

Grace smacked her hand to her forehead in embarrassment while Bianca

growled, “Meg, please.”

Fortunately, Vicki was very laid back and appreciated Meg’s exuberance.

“Oh, Ry. Yeah, he’s a cutie. He’ll be here in about a half hour. That’s the early  shift.” Vicki patted Meg’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, honey, I’ll let you know when  he gets here.” Meg started grinning from ear to ear and wriggling in her seat. When she saw Meg’s enthusiasm, Vicki felt like she should let the girl know  what she was up against. “Of course, I should tell you, that he and his

buddies—the other two bartenders—they’ve sworn off dating girls from the

bar. Normally, I wouldn’t share that bit of info and I’d let you make a fool out of

yourself, but for some reason, I kinda like you …”

“… Meg,” she answered, offering Vicki her hand.

“Yeah, I like you, Meg.”

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“Well, I like you too, Vicki, and you know what’s ironic? The girls and I are in  the middle of a boy boycott until the new year, so we can’t date them either!

It’s perfect!” Meg beamed in satisfaction.

Vicki just laughed. “Yeah, it is perfect. I can’t wait to see this one play out.

OK, let me get you some drinks and I’ll be back to take your order.” Vicki wrote  down what they wanted, and then headed down to the bar.

When their server was out of earshot, Bianca ripped into Meg. “What the hell  was that? ‘Bring me the guy from the bar’? Have you lost your mind?”

“Oh, come on, Bianca. I know I can’t date him so calm down. There’s no harm in  just window shopping. It’s like visiting the puppies at the pet store.

You go and look at them, and they’re so cute, they make you smile. They get all  excited to se e you and they lick your hands and face, then you go home without  one. I just wanted to look at the puppy. Is that so wrong?” she asked with her  best pouty face.

“Yes, Meg, that’s wrong on too many levels to explain right now,” Bianca  laughed. Grace just nodded her head in agreement.

Vicki returned with three drinks, all fruity and colorful, just how the girls liked  them. Before she left, she took their food order and put a red reserved plaque  on the table.

“What’s that for?” Grace asked, having never seen  one before.

“Oh, that’s so you ladies can go down and dance while you wait for your food,  or … mosey down to the bar later … if you wanted to for some reason, and that  way no one will take your table,” Vicki said with a warm smile.

“Wow, thanks.” Grace was touched by the gesture.

“I like you ladies. You seem … nice.” She smiled at her own private joke then  headed off to her other tables.

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“Well, you heard the lady. Let’s go dance, girls!” Bianca exclaimed as one of her  favorite songs started pulsing through the club.

The girls ran down the stairs and joined in the crowd that had gathered on the  dance floor. Bianca and Meg had been teaching  Grace new dance moves as part  of her ‘raising your standards’ education. She was getting to be a pretty good  little dancer if she did say so herself. Grace’s erotic gyrations and hip shaking  looked almost as attention grabbing as Meg’s.

The trio spent the  next twenty minutes dancing under the flashing lights of the  club. Men weaved in and out around them, occasionally joining them for a 48

dance, then moving on. Bianca even accepted a phone number from one of the

guys they  met on the dance floor.

As they sat down back at their table, Grace sucked down her Cosmo. She was so

hot from dancing, she wished she had a glass of ice water, but another Cosmo

would probably quench her thirst as well. Bianca and Meg finished off their

drinks too, and when Vicki arrived with their food, the girls quickly ordered

another round of drinks.

Grace didn’t realize how hungry they all were until she looked up saw both  Bianca and Meg were already done with their food. The only things that remained on the table were a few stray bread sticks in a basket. Like an answered prayer, Vicki appeared again, grinning from ear to ear, with a fresh tray of drinks.

“Here you go, ladies. Meg, yours was made special by your favorite bartender.”  Vicki gave her a wink as she placed the glass in front of her and walked away.  Meg jumped out of her seat and flew to the rail, her eyes scouring the bar.

Grace knew from her high pitched squeal the moment Meg found him.

Curious to see what all the hype was about, Bianca an d Grace ran over to take a peek. From a distance, with his long blond hair and thin build, he looked strangely familiar to Grace. Before she could figure it out, Bianca started screaming, “It’s him. Oh my God, it’s Wiener Guy!” She waved her finger wildly down toward the bar.

“Where? Are you sure it’s him?” Grace asked, trying to follow her bouncing finger.

She leaned over Grace’s shoulder and pointed to the second guy behind the bar. With his dark, spiked hair and light scruff across his chin, Grace’s eyebrows shot up in recognition. “See, he has a black eye!” Bianca whispered excitedly.

As Bianca and Meg started rambling, Grace stood frozen in place. She wasn’t listening to a word they said. Her eyes were fixed on the third person behind the bar: the perfe ct male specimen with the baby blue eyes from the gym.

Completely shocked, Grace stumbled back into her chair and grabbed her

Cosmo, downing it in one gulp. Bianca and Meg watched with confused expressions on their faces.

“What the hell is going on with yo u?” Bianca asked.

“Those guys … I kind of know them. Bianca, Wiener Guy is the guy that asked for Playboys at the library. And Meg, your lover boy, Ryan, is one of his friends, and the third guy down there … he’s the guy from the gym and the 49

library … the one with the sexy eyes that makes my skin tingle whenever I  think about him.” Her head started to spin and her heart started racing. Grace  didn’t know if it was from the shock of seeing them or the two Cosmos she had  chugged in the last twenty minutes.

Eager to catch a glimpse of the guy that had Grace all flustered, Bianca sprung  to the rail and checked out the guy from the gym. “Grace, he’s hot! Why didn’t  you go have coffee with him?”

“Because we have a stupid boycott in effect, Bianca! That, and I figured he was  way out of my league,” she said sadly, glancing down at the bar in time to see  his gorgeous white smile as he talked to his friends.

“Oh, stop it, Grace, he’s definitely in your league! He’s just the  kind of guy you  should be going after, if we weren’t boycotting guys right now, that is,” she said  as she returned to her seat.

“Funny thing is, I told you that I thought you’d like the Playboy before we even  knew he was Wiener Guy. His name is actually Jack, and he is most definitely  your type, minus the ass grabbing and the facial hair. He’s got an incredible  body and seems really laid back,” Grace said, looking at Bianca with a smile.  Then she turned to Meg and gave her a little more information. “And Ryan is  really cute and nice, too, Meg. He was the first one to recognize me from the  library,” Grace laughed encouragingly.

Peeking over the rail, they spied on the guys as they began their shift. Grace  watched Bianca evaluating Jack. The smirk on her face  told Grace that he had  caught her eye, but the ass grab incident would be hard for Bianca to put aside  unless the guy did some major damage control.

“I think I have a newfound appreciation for facial hair,” Bianca sighed as she  watched Jack twirl a bottle  of vodka in his hand.

“Like what you see, ladies?” Vicki laughed when she found the three of them  hanging over the rail, gawking at the guys.

“You’re just the lady we needed to talk to. Do you have a minute to sit with us?”  Meg begged, patting the seat bes ide her.

Vicki shrugged her shoulders, sat down, and started chomping on a bread stick.  “What do you need?”

“For starters, how well do you know them?” Meg asked as she leaned in, like  Vicki was about to share her deepest secrets.

“Well, I’ve known them for a year, I guess. They’re nice guys —smart,

employed, and all with college degrees. They’ve dated girls they meet at the  bar, 50

but it rarely goes anywhere. Michael’s big trick is he gives a ‘dud’ the number

to a pizza joint instead of his real phone number when she asks for it. Then a  few weeks ago, for some odd reason, they swore off barflies—that’s what they  call girls they meet in the bar—and are now on a ‘quest’ to meet nice girls.” Grace started laughing. “I guess that explains why they were trolling for girls in  the library when I met them.”

Vicki’s jaw hung open. “They went to the library?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard the half of it,” Bianca chimed in with a laugh.

They spent the next ten minutes telling Vicki all the different run-ins they’d

had with the guys over the last week. She almost lost it when she heard that  Bianca was the one who gave Jack the back eye.

“He told me he got into a fight with some drunk guy at the football game.

What a liar!” Vicki roared with laughter. “Oh, and by the way, Grace,” she  pointed at the bar and grinned, “the guy from the gym? His name is Michael.” Michael … that’s a sexy name . She glanced down at the bar for a little peek. Michael was bent over, wiping his hands on a towel under the bar. The muscles  of his back were rolling under the tight black shirt he was wearing, making  Grace’s heart kick into high gear.

“So Vicki, would you like to help us have a little fun with the boys?” Meg’s eyes  twinkled as she rubbed her hands together like a villain in a movie.

“Oh, I would love to get them. Ever since this crazy bet went into effect, I’ve had  to be ‘pretend girlfriend’ and fight off all the barflies throwing themselves at  them while they’re at work. You know how many kisses I’ve had to blow at  their sorry asses? How can I help?”

They all put their heads together and decided that they would put their plan  into action tomorrow night. Vicki confirmed that the boys would all be working

then and she would be there to help out too if the girls needed her. There was  one last thing Grace needed to do before they left for the evening.

“Vicki, can you go down there and tell Michael that a friend of Suzy’s wants his  number? Just make sure that Jack and Ryan are distracted when you do it, OK?” “You know he’s going to give you the number to that pizza place, right?”

Vicki asked, unsure what exactly Grace was up to.

“Yeah, I know. I just want to see where he likes to get his pizza from.”

Grace’s face gave away a hint that she might  have ulterior motives in asking for  the number.

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Vicki picked up on it and grinned. “I knew I liked you girls for a reason.

They aren’t going to know what hit them.”

The three women watched breathlessly through the railing as Vicki sauntered down to the bar on her mission. “Michael,” Vicki said as she scooted down to his end of the bar. Jack and Ryan were under the bar checking the connections to the kegs.

“What’s up?” Michael asked while he was digging a couple of beers out of the ice chest to fill an order.

“I have a customer requesting your phone number, big guy,” she punched his  arm playfully.

Michael’s eyes rolled wondering who was hitting on him now. “I have to say,  that’s very unlike you, Vic. Aren’t you supposed to b e discouraging girls from  asking for my number right now, oh great fly swatter?” he asked suspiciously. “Hey, she offered me twenty bucks. Even I have a price!” she said with a laugh. Michael grabbed a napkin off the bar and started to scribble down the number  for Mama Rosa’s when she added, “Oh yeah, I was supposed to tell you she’s a  friend of Suzy’s? I don’t know what the hell that means, but just passing along  the info I was paid to share.”

His hand stopped moving on the napkin. “Where’s this girl sitting?” Vicki  motioned upstairs and to the left. Michael spun around and started searching  along the rail to see if it could be her, the woman from the library and the gym,  the one he hadn’t stopped thinking about for days. As he searched, a small girl  with black hair caught his eye as she waved furiously at him, but she was alone. Probably a different Suzy, Michael thought to himself. He finished writing the  number then tossed it at Vicki.

“Next time, I want a cut of the money,” he snarled.

“Thanks, grumpy. You’re just too cute for your own good,” she said as she  tucked the napkin into her pocket and headed to the kitchen to pick up an  order.

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“Meg, get down!” Grace growled through her teeth as Meg gracefully dangled  herself over the rail and continued waving like she was on a parade float. “OK, enough. You’re laying it on a bit thick, don’t you think?” Grace tugged on  the back of Meg’s sweater sending her toppling to the ground.

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She laughed and came back to sit at the table. “He is really cute, Grace. I would totally approve if we weren’t boycotting boys right now,” she said with a giggle. Vicki came back up a few minutes later, laughing as she sat down. She slid a white napkin from the bar across the table to Grace. A phone number was scrawled on it with the letter ‘M’ above it.

“Here you go. I thought his neck was going to snap when he spun around to look for ‘Suzy’s friend.’ His first question was if  Suzy was with her. Good call having Meg wave. That threw him off. Then he just looked pissed and scribbled the number.”

Grace grabbed her phone and dialed the number written down on the napkin.  The voice on the line said, “Mama Rosa’s Pizza. Is this for pi ckup or delivery?” She snapped her phone shut and looked at her fellow conspirators.

“Perfect …”

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Chapter 6

G race, will you please stop being so damn stubborn and come out?” Meg rammed her shoulder into the bathroom door as Grace continued to hold it shut.

“No, I’m not wearing those pants you have in your hand. They hardly cover my ass, so if I bend at all  ”—

“If you bend, some hot guy will get to peek at your cute little butt. Would that be the worst thing ever? I bought an adorable thong you can wear un der the jeans,” Meg slid the lacy scrap of fabric under the bathroom door.

“I’m not wearing that either,” Grace yelled into the door.

“Fine, then go commando for all I care, but you will wear these jeans and this blue shirt. If not, I’m going straight to the bar and giving Michaelyour phone number and telling him that you want to have his babies!”

The door opened a crack. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me, Grace, just try me,” Meg growled, her eyes narrowed to slits,

emphasizing just how serious she was.

Grace flung open the bathroom door, ready to have a face-off with her

roommate, but then changed her mind. Their whole experiment was about

taking chances and she intended to throw caution to the wind for once and be

daring like her friends. “Give me the damn clothes.” She held out her hand in

defeat. Meg jumped up and down with joy, piling the clothes into Grace’s arms.

“You won’t regret this Grace, I swear!” she said as she clapped her hands  together happily.

“I already do, Meg, believe me.” Grace gathered the offensive clothes and  stormed off to change.

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A half hour later, the women gathered in the family room, all dolled up and  ready for a night on the town. Grace was wearing the low rise skinny jeans and  blue shirt that Meg had bought for her at the mall, minus the thong of course,  which Grace had lovingly flung back at her like a rubber band. Commando was  far better than floss for her rear.

“Not wearing the thong? How risqué of you, Gracie,” Meg giggled.

Meg was dressed in a short white baby doll dress with silver accents along the  braided straps and bodice. Her outfit was completed by a pair of strappy silver  heels. The flow of the dress made her appear even more graceful when she  moved. The pale shade of the dress accentuated Meg’s skin, making it look  absolutely radiant.