Loving Wright

Chapter 5: A Night Out

Eli...

"Welcome to Barry's, the most bangin' spot in Washington," Alex said once we walked through the doors of his favorite bar.

"Did you seriously just say 'bangin'?" I asked

"And? We used to say it back when we were in high school."

"Exactly, when we were in high school."

"Oh, shut up," he pushed me out of the way and walked towards the bar

"Wait, what happened to the other bar that you took me to last time?" I asked following him "Is it not bangin' anymore?"

He ignored my quip, "There are more girls in this bar than the other one."

I should have known the answer to that question.

After picking me up from his father's office, Alex brought me here promising an exciting night. Though, I'm pretty sure he'll be the one getting "excited" tonight.

I looked around taking in the establishment. If this Barry guy had a theme for his bar, it would be modern antique patriotism. It sounds weird, but that's exactly what it was. Some of the furniture looked brand new, while others looked like they would fall apart if wasn't for the poorly hidden duck tape. The bar counter was made of pieces of wood, with chipped brown paint, arranged horizontally. The shiny brown top was the only thing that looked new. The walls were filled with all the things that come to mind when you think "American Patriotism". There were flags of every size and pictures of the army, White House and every president. There was even that painting of Goerge Washington on a boat crossing the Delaware River. And I've lost count of how many bald eagles I've seen.

The weird thing is, it all worked great together. Somewhere, an HGTV host is singing praises to the interior design gods.

"Hey Barry," Alex greeted once we were at the counter

"What's good Alex?" asked the chubby pasty man behind it, who was cleaning a shot glass

"Ready to party as always," he answered before pointing to me "This is my best friend Eli, he's from out of town. Thought I'd bring him here and show him a good time"

"Well, welcome to my bar Eli."

I nodded in response.

"Make sure to keep an eye on your friend here. I'm sure you know how wild he can get."

I chuckled "Will do."

"Let's go sit over there," he pointed to the stools at the end of the bar "Well get a better view of the ladies when they walk in."

I followed him to the seats keeping my thoughts to myself.

"So what can I get you guys tonight?" Barry asked

"The House Special," Alex said with a devious grin on his face

"Two specials coming right up!" the man then left us, heading to his rather large wall of bottles

"What's the special?" I asked

"You'll see."

Well, looks like I'll be hungover tomorrow. It's never a good thing when he says that when drinks are involved.

"Don't you ever get tired of this man?" I asked

"Tired of what?"

"All this," I pointed around us "The drinks, the girls..."

"Never," he said as his eyes followed a woman who sashayed by "I don't know how you gave this up."

"It just got old. Wasn't fulfilling anymore."