sycamore - home free

the bass and the beatboxer

night begins to fall over the sky as i pull into the parking space in front of the blue moon bar and restaurant.

a text from tim lights up my phone.

'are you here yet?' it reads.

i reply with a yes and a thumbs up.

the wind almost blows my glasses off as i step out of the car. it's a pretty chilly winter day, the weather has changed drastically over the last couple weeks.

a bell jingles on the top of the glass door as the people in front of me open it. the warm air hits my face suddenly, fogging up my glasses.

damn, now i can't even see them.

i remove my glasses and attempt to look around.

this isn't better than the fog.

a hand grabs my arm and i flinch, turning around to see who it is.

"oh hi tim... sorry about that."

he chuckles and takes my glasses from me, wiping the condensation off.

"you're blind as a bat without these."

i take my glasses back from him when he's done, suddenly i can see the guys sitting at the large booth in the corner.

"come on, we were just about to order."

adam pats the seat next to him and tim files in after me.

a menu lands in front of me as tim nudges me.

"what are you gonna get?" he asks, taking a sip of his water.

i flip through the menu to the dinner options. the burger section catches my eye.

"probably a burger, one of these." i say pointing to the first 3 on the menu. "i haven't eaten since the bagels, i'm starving."

"you're not the salad type then?" he asks with a laugh.

i'm not sure how to feel about this question.

"i like salads still, just not today. i need some protein!"

the waitress comes to the table, taking our orders, and smiling at austin before she leaves.

"oh austinnnnn, i think someone likes youuu." i say teasingly.

they laugh at austin's predicament as my laugh stops short, feelings tim's elbow nudge me again.

"yea we come here a lot, pretty sure she tries to discreetly flirt with him every time. it's not very discreet." he says laughing into his cup of water.

around 15 minutes pass and all our meals come out, nice and hot.

the lighting in the restaurant and bar is quite dark with a few warm lights and the tv's playing some sports highlights.

this environment really gets you in the mood to drink.

"adam, what's that?" i ask referencing the glass of brown liquid on ice.

"whiskey i think? i don't know, chance got it and didn't like it." he says, shaking the ice around in the glass. "i don't drink that much anyways."

the ice clinks in the glass every time he takes a sip. i nod in agreement.

the bartender hands out our drinks at the table, mine in quite a large glass. im not sure what it is, i wasn't sure what to get and tim suggested it.

it kind of looks like iced tea.

condensation from the ice on the outside of the glass dripped onto my hand as i picked up the drink. i bring the straw up to my lips to take a sip.