YOU.

The Gemini's Lounge (pt.1)

Lillian

"There's nothing wrong with having a little fun", I whisper to myself, as I crank up the engine. 

Except that you can't afford it, my inner voice chimes in darkly.

...

"Shut up." 

I turn up my favorite Spotify playlist and allow the electric vibes of my music take over the doom and anxiousness of my psyche. 

There's nothing quite like a night drive, I don't think. All of my car trips during the day are busy and ambitious. Trips to work and back, to the hospital and back, groceries, and errands.

 At night? I'm able to escape the fast-paced lifestyle of the day, and drive slowly and aimlessly under the stars. 

I sing along to the sultry and dark voices of my favorite band, Arctic Monkeys. My favorite song plays as I arrive to "The Gemini's Lounge", a small and cozy bar in my town. As much as i'd like to continue humming the words of "Tranquility Base Hotel Casino", the rain begins to drizzle down, and I left my umbrella at home for sure. Although, there's a chance that the rain could get worse I lay comfortably in the driver's seat and continue to sing along to the bridge. Afterall, how bad can a little rain be?

Tristan

"There's nothing wrong with having a little fun!" Kaleb assures me. 

Easy for him to say. 

His night will consist of flirting drunk with brunettes. Mine will consist of me being one of the performing acts of the night. 

"I suppose so", I say shyly, "come on! Let's just go inside."  I've heard his speeches on confidence before, and they never help. I really just want to go inside the bar and drink a bit, before the clock strikes 9:00, my time slot. 

"Shit, it's raining! Tristan, do you have an extra umbrella?"

"Check the back seats!" After crawling around, Kaleb finds the second umbrella. 

"Thanks man."

We walk away from the car in comfortable silence.

"The Gemini's Lounge...hey, aren't you a Gemini?" says Kaleb. 

"Yeah, I am actually", I laugh, "What a coincidence." 

Out the corner of my eye I notice a girl, running against the wind and pouring rain. However, she clearly doesn't notice me, because she runs smack into me. My arms flex naturally, in attempts to brace her fall. 

The first thing I notice about her is her smell. Her scent is sweet, but not in a floral or citrus way. She smells sweet like donuts and cupcakes. Her smell consumes me first, but doesn't compare to when I notice her lips. They're small, but pouty and plump. I can't help, but to bite my own in response. 

She pushes off of me abruptly, and tosses her hair away from her eyes. They're small and catlike. Most likely brown. 

There's a pause of shock, before she rambles and apologizes profusely.

"I'm so so so sorry! I didn't expect it to rain so hard and---" 

"Here." I hand over my umbrella to her. 

She pushes it away, "No! No, I really can't accept that, but thanks!" 

"Are you sure? It's just an umbrella."

"Positive!" she says before taking off. She runs so fast that she nearly disappears from view.

"That was odd", Kaleb says with a laugh. 

"Yeah, it was." 

I think about her the entire walk to the bar.

Lillian

The bar isn't necessarily crowded, but it's far from empty. People of all walks of life sip their drinks and enjoy the groovy feel that the place gives off. After sitting outside by myself for a few minutes, I finally decide to have my first drink of the night. 

The bartender is beautiful, but obviously distant. She almost reminds me of my ex girlfriend, and the fear of it being her nearly distracts me from the kind and beautiful stranger I ran into about ten minutes ago. Luckily for me, the bartender is not my ex, and I am able to sit down.

"What will it be?" 

"I'll take a Screwdriver." 

My eyes avert away from my phone just long enough to watch the bartender mix my drink. The last thing i'd want is to be found naked in an alley from drinking a spiked beverage.

"13.95"

"Alrighty", I dig in my purse in search for my card. 

"Here's 20; Keep the change", says a very recognizable voice.

I look up and notice the stranger that I embarrassingly bumped into just minutes ago. 

The bit of his tanned arm that peeks from his rolled up maroon flannel is stretched over my head as he hands the folded twenty dollar bill to the bartender. He looks down at me and gives a friendly wink. He's absolutely gorgeous, and that only makes me blush more. 

The bartender notices our interaction and smirks before delicately sliding me my glass. 

"Thanks" I nod to her, "and thanks to you too, uh..." 

"Tristan", the stranger responds. His voice sounds deeper than I remembered. 

"Thank you, Tristan." 

I stand up, and walk past him, but he grabs my shoulder lightly.

"What!" rung my unintentionally annoyed voice. 

I immediately feel ashamed as he's taken aback by my rude manner.

"I just wanted to know your name..."

"Oh!" I give an embarrassed laugh, "Lillian, it's Lillian." 

Tristan's lips spread into a slow and consuming smile, "Lillian is a divine name." 

I can't help but to smile too.