Old Town

01

☓ ☓ ☓ Nita ☓ ☓ ☓

"We're going out."

My bedroom door swings open. Anya stands next to my bed with her hands on her hips. I only glance at her before continuing to type on my laptop.

"You've been writing that fucking paper for two weeks straight. You're starting to look yellow."

I only roll my eyes. "And I'm going to continue writing it for another two weeks straight. Now go away, I'm almost at 2,000 words."

Anya leans over then slams my laptop shut. Slightly startled, I blink a few times before looking up at her. She held the laptop in her arms with a smirk on her face. "You don't get this back until you're changed and ready to go. Up, up."

I watch her turn around and walk out of the room happily. "We'll be at Rick's in an hour!" Her voice echoes through the hallway.

I groan as I roll off of the bed. "I'm going to kill her in her sleep." I grab a towel then make my way to the bathroom.

>>>

"There's so many people tonight."

The smell of alcohol and sweat hits our noses just as we walk into the bar. Most of the tables were full and the seats at the bar were taken. Anya and I look around the room for any space.

"Oh, look! They're leaving." Anya grabs my hand and rushes us both to the now two empty seats at the bar. "I'll take two of your strongest shots."

I widen my eyes at her. "What the hell? I'm not drinking tonight."

"Who said they were for you." Anya smirks while grabbing the two shot glasses the bartender just poured. She downed them both as fast as I blinked.

"Anything for you?" The bartender asked me. I slightly smiled, "A club soda please."

I thanked the bartender after he served my drink and I took a sip as I looked around.

"A club soda? What are you, in AA?" Anya cocked her brow.

"You should be." I joked. She smiled before turning around in her seat. "Ah, let's get you laid."

I almost spit out my club soda. "Excuse me?"

"You think I dragged you here just to babysit on a club soda?" Anya scoffed. "It's karaoke night so let's find you a musician."

"Anya I don't need to get laid." I told her. She frowned, "You don't need it Nita, but you should want it. The only thing that's seen you naked recently is either me or your mirror. And as much as I love you and think your sexy, I won't have sex with you. But someone here will."

I just let her do her thing. I sipped on my club soda some more as I looked around. There were women and men sitting at their seats with a guitar in hand or some other instrument.

Karaoke nights were always my favorite because if the person is absolutely horrific, you still get a laugh out of it. But if the person is phenomenal, you get a good live show with a drink.

"Aha, I see someone." Anya smirked. I rolled my eyes, "No, Anya, really-"

"Who said he was for you." She winked before getting up from the bar and making her way to her new victim. I chuckled, turning around in my seat to watch her.

Then, the lights dimmed and the crowd got quiet. A tall, built man with an acoustic guitar walked onto the stage. He stopped at the mic and the lights flashed on him.

He gave a warm smile and slightly waved with his pick in-between his thumb and middle finger. "Hi, hello. My name is Jackson and I'm from California. Somehow I ended up here in the city of Portland, but it's still home. This is an Original song that is yet to be named, enjoy."

You could hear him clear his throat away from the mic as he positioned his guitar. He began to strum and softly sing into the mic.

I watched him perform under the lights. He looked around slowly at the crowd while glancing down at his guitar every few seconds.

I had the feeling to turn and when I did, Anya was grinning at me with a thumbs up. I playfully rolled my eyes before taking another sip of my drink. I grabbed my bag as it hung from the chair and made my way to the bathroom.

After using the bathroom and washing my hands, I fix my hair and lipstick. I start to walk out while putting my lipstick back into my bag. In doing so, I didn't pay attention to where I was going and ran right into the edge of the wall.

I fell back on my butt as I held my forehead.

"Woah, you okay?"

I look up and the man who was singing earlier was looking down at me. He crouched down and helped me up slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine." I said. "Thanks."

"Are you sure? You hit yourself pretty hard there," He slightly chuckled. "And you have a dent in your forehead."

I covered where he pointed and nodded quickly. "Thanks again." I walk past him and go straight to Anya.

She smiled at me while she placed on her jacket. "Hey toots." As she took her hair out of her jacket, she furrowed her eyebrows. "What's up with your forehead?"

"I ran into a wall." I pouted. She bursted into laughter. "That club soda really hit ya, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up. My head hurts now, let's go home."

Anya slightly smirked, "Actually, I got us two hot dates."

I shook my head, "I'm going home."

She groaned. "Oh, c'mon. I told the guy I'd bring a friend because he has a roommate. Plus I'm tipsy and horny. Please Nita."

Anya proceeded to pout her lip and give me puppy dog eyes that always made me give in. I sighed, "Alright fine. But two hours max."

"Deal." She grinned.