KISS: Road Trip

Ch 30: Barhopping Bachelors (Eric)

Bruce and I walked to the car, sliding into the backseat with Peter and Ace. "I mean damn y'all are really getting married tomorrow!" I said, giving them a smile. "Somehow, despite the fact they've done absolutely zero planning and left me and Paul less than two weeks to scramble together a wedding, they are getting married tomorrow," Gene said, shaking his head.

"Couldn't have done it without you two!" Ace said cheerfully, leaning against Peter as Paul drove us to the nearest bar. "Okay so what's the plan exactly? We're going barhopping for y'all's bachelor party?" he asked, looking at us in the rearview mirror. "Sounds like fun! Sounds like a lot of fun!" Peter said.

They were apparently extremely hell-bent on having a fun time because the instant we walked into the bar they ran off to get wasted. I nudged Gene with a grin. "So what the hell are you going to do? You don't drink and you're married so you're not going after girls!" I teased. He shrugged, looking around with a sigh. "You know Eric, that is a damned good question."

He and Paul wandered off together while Bruce and I took a seat at the bar, ordering a beer each and a plate of nachos. We were talking for a bit before it became pretty clear that he was very distracted and barely focused on the conversation. He took a sip of his drink, staring over my shoulder, hand shaking slightly. I turned around to look at the blonde girl who was sitting at the end of the bar, looking at him as much as he was looking at her, both of them smiling shyly at each other.

"Go say hi!" I said, kicking him. He snapped out of it, face immediately turning red. "No! No, I can't, are you kidding me, she's so out of my league."

"Bruce. You guys have been staring at each other all night. Go say hi or I will for you!" I hissed. Bruce just shook his head, looking down at his glass sadly. "No dude, look at her she's gorgeous, she's way out of my league. It's fine, really."

Yeah okay screw this.

Shaking my head, I jumped off my barstool, walking a few seats down and sitting next to the girl. "Hi I'm Eric, what's your name?" I asked, giving her a grin. She laughed. "I'm Lisa, nice to meet you. Who's your friend?" Ah, yes, perfect. My heart leapt and my smile widened. "That's my friend Bruce! He wants to say hi but he's kinda shy sometimes, especially with girls he thinks are out of his league." Her face grew pink and her eyes sparkled. "Oh, I'm out of his league? Tell him to look more closely in the mirror because mm, damn," she said with a smile.

I looked over at Bruce, who raised an eyebrow at me before giving Lisa a smile. "Right?? I think he knows he looks good but he's too humble to say anything. Anyway, you want his number?" I said, turning back to Lisa. Her face lit up and she nodded. "If you've got it, I'll take it!" I quickly scribbled his number on a napkin, sliding it to her. "There you go! I'll see if I can't get him to come over and actually talk to you. He's just being stubborn. Anyway, nice meeting you!" I said, walking back over to Bruce.

"Eric what did you just do?" he asked in a slow voice. I gave him a smug smile, taking a sip of my beer. "Gave her your number and told her you thought she was cute. She said you should look more closely in a mirror because you're hot or something. Now seriously, go talk to her."

"Dammit I hate you," he grumbled, before grabbing his drink and walking over to her. They immediately jumped into a conversation and I grinned, sending Carrie text telling her I loved her and ordering another round.

It was kind of lonely at the bar now that Bruce was gone, so instead I just ordered a bunch of nachos. Like maybe way too many nachos.

"Damn man, usually people come in here to drown their sorrows in alcohol, not cheap nachos," the bartender said, adding more to my plate. "I'm just bored cause my friend is over there talking to a girl and my other friends are making out somewhere I'm assuming and who the hell knows where our designated driver is. But hey, these nachos are really good," I said, eating a handful.