Tonight You're Mine

A Breath of Fresh Air

A Breath of Fresh Air

"Another one," I said.

The bartender refilled my drink, and I drank it all in one go. Again. 

"More," I said. 

The bartender hesitated, and didn't move a muscle. He could see I was an emotional wreck, my tie hanging loosely around my neck, my shirt half tucked out of my trousers and my hair looking as if I'd tried pulling it out. Which I had. He was clever, he knew that once I started drinking I wouldn't be able to stop. 

I sighed. "Don't worry, I'm not driving," I said sarcastically. I needed to drown my sorrow, and for that I needed an ocean of vodka, not a pond. 

The bartender reluctantly refilled my glass for a fourth time, and left to the other end of the bar, before I could tell him to leave the bottle. Well, it didn't look like my plan of getting drunk was going to work. 

I drank the glass empty, and rested my arms in front of me on the bar counter. A desperate chuckle escaped my lips.

Look at me! A businessman trying to drown his failure in vodka. I'm sure the old man would have been really proud of me! You make one wrong decision, and suddenly your entire world starts crashing down. In my case, my job is my world. Everything I've worked for the past 8 years, all the hard work, all those dreams, it's all slipping through my fingers. Not slowly either. No, the universe has taken everything away from me in an instant, faster than my dad could say "You screwed up, boy!"

I sighed. What was I to do now? Was I to spend the rest of my life on in this bar, on this chair, drinking and drinking and drinking until my blood turned to alcohol? Until it eventually ended my tragic failure of a life?

No one would miss me. I haven't given anyone the chance to have that kind of connection with me, I've been so wrapped up in work, in my goals and ambitions. 

Is it now I'm supposed to hang out with friends? Go visit my family in another state? Find a special woman and settle down?

No, that's not me. That's never been me. I work hard, I'm all about work, and nothing else. 

I saw a figure from the corner of my eye sit on the chair next to me. Any other day I would have turned to look at who it is, but not today. I couldn't care less. All I wanted was another drink. I tilted my glass, and a single drop of vodka ran towards the edge. It was only a drop, but I was desperate for more vodka and that bartender wasn't going to serve me again. He was a too big of a jerk. 

Ah, speak of the devil! He marched straight past me towards the person who sat down beside me. I continue to stare at my empty glass, hoping the bartender will see and get the hint. 

"Brandy," I hear the person beside me say. It's obviously a female, with a low husky voice. 

The bartender gets the brandy, gives it to the woman, and leaves again. He walked past me twice, and yet didn't even notice my glass was empty and I needed a refill. I sighed, and suddenly a glass was pushed toward me. 

Brandy. 

I turned to my right, and saw the person who'd passed me the drink. A blonde. A very pretty blonde. She rested her elbow on the counter, and her head on her hand. The dimmed light in the bar gave her cream skin a glow. I could tell she'd been drinking quite a lot, her hair was a little messy and her facial expression playful. Unless she normally looked like she was pissed, she was definitely drunk. 

She smiled. "I though you might need another drink," she said, slightly slurring. 

I stared at her for a moment, trying to hurriedly make a decision. There was a feud inside my mind; one part of me wanted to take the drink, whilst the other said no. Several seconds went by, and in the end I gave in to the latter part of my mind.