Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

The Bar

Rikki

We all walk into a bar, my arm is wrapped around Bianca's shoulders and she holds onto my hand. Jamie is with us, when those two girls are together it's really funny. We sit at a table and Bret and Bobby go to get drinks.

It's weird to be able to hold onto Bianca without the complete fear of CC murdering me. I always feel like he wants to kill me now, I mean I've dated girls with older brothers before but I've never been friends with the brothers before, I kinda got used to them hating me.

We all drink for a while just screwing around and getting really drunk, some of us (CC) more than others. By himself, he must've downed most of a bottle of Jack. He can't hold his alcohol worth a shit. Right now he's in the mists of trying to pick up this elderly broad.

"Hey sexy, you wanna---uh?" CC wonders clumsy.

"I wonder if she'll go for him?" Jamie wonders.

"She'd be insane if she did." Bret laughs.

"They have the same beehive hair do." Bobby smiles.

"Just one is blue." Bianca laughs.

"CC might get his ass whipped by a war vet." I admit and they laugh.

"I'd pay to see that." Bee admits.

"Jam, what happened between you and James?" Bret wonders, horn-dog.

"Uh, after we were married his band got signed to a smaller record label in New York. He got into some hardcore narcotics and hookers and I couldn't take it anymore." Jamie looks into her drink. "But oh well." She smiles.

"I didn't like him anyways." Bianca smiles trying to make her friend feel better.

"You and James were best friends in school." Jamie reminds her.

"And I hated you when I met you, things change, Lovely." Bianca smiles.

"Fair enough." She says. "How's stage freight?" 

"Nothing Jack can't cure." My girlfriend smiles.

"So nothing has changed?" Jamie laughs and Bee shakes her her.

"Some things aren't meant to." Bee smiles.

CC returns to after striking out with somebody's grandmother. We talk for a while longer until CC and Bianca start making faces at each other.

I love her.

Maybe it's crazy and maybe love doesn't exist but Bianca is as close as I'm ever going to get. I said years ago that if I was going marry anyone it was going to be someone like Bianca. She's funny and sweet and as crazy as they come. If I'm going to marry someone it's going to be her. Maybe it's just a shout into the void, maybe I've completed lost my mind. But if being with her is wrong ,I don't wanna be right.

Bianca makes me want to believe in all those stupid clichés, that I used to make fun of. You don't believe in that magic until you meet someone who makes you feel it, you crave that feeling. Like a safe kind of cocaine. You wanna play with the fire in their eyes and be their reason to smile.  Most of all, you don't want anyone else to ever give them that feeling. That bottom of the ninth, bases are loaded, two outs, and the Yankees are down by three. I'm a Phillies fan and even I'm cheering for the Yanks. That grand slam, touch the stars, over the moon kinda feeling.I thought love was for suckers and hippies. Like I thought that I was going to be the last person on the planet that was going to find love. I'm a rockstar for Christ sake but here I am, knowing that one day I'm going marry Bianca Johannesson.

"Rik? You alright?" Bianca pulls me out of my thought. She looks at me with worry in her eyes.

"Yeah baby, I'm good." I promise her and she puts her head on my shoulder.

"Good, I was worried." She says quietly so her brother can't hear. I smile.

"You worry too much." I tell her and she kisses my neck.

"I don think so." Bianca says but I hear the humour in her voice. "I think I worry enough for being in a group full of rockers."

"You gotta point." I laugh and kiss her forehead.

"Aww look at you two!" Bret says like a teenager in high school.

"I told you that you looked cute together." Jamie speaks up.

"Yeah!" Bobby and CC yell, pretty drunk.

"I like us together." Bianca smiles at me.

"Yeah, I like us together to." I smile and she brushes her lips on mine.

"Hey scrum-heads?" CC calls. "When does rugby start?"

"Tomorrow." Jamie and Bianca say in unison.

"When's the first game?" He wonders.

"We haven't even gone to tryouts yet." Bianca reminds him.

"Right!!" CC laughs.

"I gotta work in the morning." Jamie sigh.

"Me to." Bianca sighs.

"You coming over?" I ask her and she nods.

"CC! Guess what he's gonna do to your baby sister!" Bobby and Bret say almost in unison.

"What time is rugby?" Jamie wonders.

"Two." Bee tells her.

"Meet at your place?" Jamie asks.

"Yeah. For sure." Bee agrees.

"Okay, I'm going home." Jamie says, getting up.

"You wanna head out to?" I ask Bianca and she nods.

We all say goodbye and Bee and I head out to my bike. When we get to my bike, I lift up her chin and kiss her. That bottom of the ninth, bases are loaded, two outs, and the Yankees are down by three. That grand slam, touch the stars, over the moon kinda feeling. Yeah, I'm cheering for the Yanks right now. Bee's team.

"What movie are we watching tonight?" Bianca smiles up at me.

"Anything you want, baby girl." I smile and kiss her again.

Grand slam, touch the stars, over the moon. Not just sparks, full blown Fourth of July/Labor Day fireworks extravaganza. I can nearly picture our idiot friends sitting in the bar window singing that stupid kindergarten type song. Rikki and Bianca sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. Whatever. CC and Bret are p-u-k-i-n-g.

We have great friends.