The Boy I Knew

I'll be Around

"It's so good to see you, Mill." He said, still smiling. Him calling me that made me shiver. I never let anyone call me Mill or Milly. Because that's what he used to call me. Anything that reminded me of him, I tried to avoid. I looked down and kind of blushed.

"You too." Was all I could say at this point. I'm still in shock. Part of me wants to just dive over this bar and jump his bones. The other part of me wants to protect myself, because Brandy's right, I don't know who he is anymore. He could have moved to California and became a complete jerk. But as I stare at that sweet, kind smile, I can't help but push my thoughts away. How bad can he be? He still seems like sweet ol' PJ to me....But why did he leave without even telling me? No, that's in the past.

"Um....Could I maybe get that Jameson on the rocks now? And whatever you want to drink." He asked with a shy smile. He sure knew how to sweet talk you. But it wasn't just that. He was genuine, and respectful, but had his way of getting what he wanted also.

"Sure" I said as I grabbed a glass from under the table and turned around to put ice in it. Just then, Brandy grabbed the glass from my hand. She put ice in it, poured in some Jameson, and slammed it on the counter in front of him.

"There PJ. You can walk away now." She said sternly, leaning with both hands on the bar, glaring at him. He chuckled and grabbed his drink.

"Brandy Lawson. Glad to see you're still a peach." He remarked, smiling sarcastically. I stifled a giggle.

"PJ Clapp. Glad to see you're a big time celebrity who wears Ray Bans indoors to protect your ego." She remarked back, tilting her head and giving him a sarcastic smile. He claps his hands together and laughs.

"Here." He says, raising his hands to his face and taking the sunglasses off. He folds them up and hangs them in his shirt. Just what I needed to see; those fucking eyes. So soft yet so deep and easy to get lost in. I stare at them for a few seconds before he catches me. He looks at me back, his drink glass raised to his lips again. He smiles, his smile just barely peaking over his glass as he takes another sip.

"You didn't get yourself a drink yet." He said putting some money on the bar. I smiled and grabbed a shot glass and poured me a vodka shot.

"Brandy I'll buy you drink too if you want one." He offered, just being nice.

"No thanks, I don't want your handouts." She says snidely. This takes him aback. He raises his eyebrows and shrugs his shoulders.

"Okay then, just tryna be nice, I guess." He says, unbothered. I gave her a look like "What the hell". She glared at me. PJ raises his drink up in the air.

"To old friends!" He proclaims. I raised mine to his and we clinked glasses. I downed my shot and he finished his whiskey.

"Another Jameson please." He requests, pulling more money out. He hands it to me along with the money he put on the bar before.

"Here just keep the change on both of those." He says smiling at me. I smile back.

"Thanks PJ." I said back. Brandy grabs the Jameson and pours him another.

"Here, now don't you have someone else to go bother?" She jabs at him. I give her another dirty look. She just shrugs at me like she doesn't care.

"Well, I suppose I can go find some friends. But I wanted to ask you Camille...." He starts, looking up at me.

"What time you get off?" He finishes, looking at me with slight puppy dog eyes. My heart skips a beat. Brandy looks at me wide eyed, as if to tell me to shut the conversation down immediately.

"Um....I close tonight." I answer his question. He nods slowly. Brandy throws her arms up and groans at me, walking away. I look at her walking away, then back at PJ.

"Okay well I guess I'll just have to stick around here then. I'd love to uh, catch up." He says with another smile. I get a nervous smile and tuck some loose hair behind my ear. I need to relax and quit jumping to conclusions. He probably really just wants to talk and catch up.

"Um, okay, yeah sure....I mean, you don't have to stick around, it'll be kinda late." I say back. He shrugs and shakes his head.

"I got all the time in the world, darlin. I'll be around." He says standing up with a smile. I was leaning forward, my elbows on the bar. He grabs his drink from the bar. Before he walks away, he leans in slowly and gives me a little peck on the cheek. I couldn't help but smile as my stomach erupted in butterflies.

"Okay. I'll be here." I say. He raises his glass and smiles.

"You might wanna start me a tab sweetheart." He says, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet.

"Here" he says tossing the wallet to me. It hits my chest with a thud as I catch it.

"Pick a card." He says turning around to walk off.

"Get you some drinks while you're at it. And don't forget to tip yourself!" He yells to me, holding a finger up. He goes and starts playing pool with some guys. By now I was starting to realize how my night could possibly end....