Chapter 7


    Amber


    I''m going to an actual bar! I feel nervous and excited at the same time when I follow Jake to his pickup. I just hope I won’t make a fool out of myself. I really have no idea how people behave at bars. There will be drinking, probably. Maybe dancing? Dear Lord, I hope I don’t have to dance!


    ‘So, considering your awesome music skills, I’m guessing that you''ve been playing piano for a while?’ Jake asks me, as he pulls his truck in reverse and backs out of his parking spot.


    ‘Since I was seven,’ I confirm.


    ‘Impressive,’ he replies. ‘Have you had lessons for a long time?’


    ‘Not really,’ I shake my head. ‘Our church organizes activities for children all the time. Back then they had organized a music workshop, where we were taught the basics of reading notes. The lady who plays the organ brought in a keyboard on the final day of the workshop, so we could practice playing a simple children’s song. After that, I was hooked.’


    ‘Hot cross buns?’ Jake ventures a guess.


    ‘Mary had a little lamb,’ I reply. The corners of my mouth inadvertently curl up.


    ‘Figures,’ Jake smirks.


    ‘It took some persuading, because my mother thought making music was an unnecessary and frivolous activity, but our pastor convinced her that playing the piano was an acceptable hobby for a young lady,’ I continue, making a face at Jake. ‘I started on a keyboard and the organ lady, Mrs. Feldstein, taught me the basics. From there on out I just sort of winged it. Later, my parents were able to buy an old piano from a fellow church member and I started playing that.’


    ‘So, you’re basically self-taught,’ Jake concludes. He briefly glances my way. ‘Even more impressive.’


    I shrug. I have never really seen it that way. It was something interesting to do while I was stuck at home. I figure everyone who spent as much time on the piano as I did can learn to play well.


    ‘Here we are,’ Jake says, as he drives his truck onto a busy parking lot.


    This sure looks like a place where many ranch people hang out, because I see a lot of dirty working vehicles. I stare at the bar entrance through the window. Apparently, I stare a bit too long, because suddenly Jake is standing beside me and has opened my door.


    ‘Oh, sorry,’ I say shyly. I quickly take my seatbelt off and get out.


    ‘Let’s go,’ Jake says, nodding his head towards the entrance.


    My heart rate increases as soon as I walk through the door. The first thing I notice is the noise. There’s loud country music playing over the sound system. As a result, the people inside pretty much have to yell at each other in order to have a conversation. No one seems to mind that though.


    I quickly glance around. It’s a pretty large space, and there are plenty of people inside. There’s a long, stretched out bar on the left side. In the front, near the entrance, there are a couple of seated tables. Along the right side of the room, across from the bar, there are some standing tables as well. The back of the room appears to be reserved for dancing.


    Jake confidently leads the way. We have barely set foot inside when a very attractive platinum blonde girl seemingly appears out of nowhere. She runs up to Jake and jumps into his arms. Within seconds she has her long slender legs wrapped around his waist and her mouth pressed against his. Her miniskirt rides up when Jake firmly grabs her ass.


    ‘The guys said you weren’t coming tonight,’ platinum-girl says in an accusatory tone, when she finally pulls away long enough from him.


    ‘Change of plans,’ Jake laughs.


    ‘Wanna dance, Jakey?’


    ‘It’s Jake,’ he corrects her. There’s a hint of irritation in his voice when he sets her down. ‘Let me get a beer first, yeah? I‘ll find you later,’ he promises.


    Jake gives her ass a slap and the girl laughs coquettishly. It seems like her tiny top is barely able to contain her breasts as she darts back into the crowd. I quickly realize that my clothes cover much more of my body than those of the average woman here.


    ‘Come on, this way,’ Jake says to me. He gently nudges my shoulder and points towards one of the seated tables, where I spot a few familiar faces.


    ‘Was that your girlfriend?’ I ask him curiously.


    ‘Nah, Carla and I just hook up sometimes.’


    Jake says it casually, as if he does that all the time. Which, let’s face it, he probably does. I''m not sure whether the jealousy I''m feeling is because I wish he would be interested in me that way, or because I wish I could be more like him. Living my life freely, doing what I want because I want it, and not because it is appropriate, or what God or my parents expect from me. We reach the table and are greeted with enthusiasm by Jake’s coworkers from the ranch, although they seem surprised to see me.


    ‘What, are you two dating now?’ David asks. He lifts his eyebrows in shock.


    ‘When have you ever known me to date?’ Jake smirks. He points his thumb over his shoulder towards me. ‘I found this one left behind. We can’t very well have her sitting alone on the ranch, can we? Much too dangerous! Ray will be a pain to us all if any harm comes to her. I figured I better bring her here, where we can all keep an eye out for potential danger.’ Jake winks at me teasingly, letting me know he is just joking, while he slaps a few shoulders in greeting and gives a fistbump to Nick. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    I stand a bit to the side, not really sure what to do. Thankfully, Sylvester pulls out the empty chair next to him and gestures to me to take a seat. With a sigh of relief I walk towards him. I don’t really know any of the guys all that well, but Sylvester always seems nice enough. He’s a quiet guy, but he has been friendly enough to ask me how I was doing every time we ran into each other at the ranch.


    ‘I’m going to grab us a couple of beers,’ Jake yells to me over the music.


    I just nod while I sit down. I’ve never had beer before, but why not? We are in a bar after all, isn’t that sort of the whole purpose?


    ‘Did your other plans fall through tonight?’ Sylvester asks me kindly.


    ‘Something like that,’ I say, purposely staying a little vague. It feels embarrassing to have to admit that I actually didn’t have any plans at all. Although I was supposed to hang out with Hailey, so I guess technically my plans did sort of fall through. It just happened Monday already, instead of tonight.


    ‘Glad you could join us then,’ he nods, before leaning over to his other side. There’s a guy I don’t know sitting next to him, who says something in his ear. Sylvester pats his hand on the man’s knee when he starts laughing, before they continue their private conversation.


    I look around the table, but none of the men are paying much attention to me. I convince myself it’s fine, because I like to observe anyway. Before I know it, Jake has returned holding a handful of beers. He passes a few bottles around, hands me one, and takes the last one for himself. He pulls a chair seemingly out of thin air and squeezes it in between me and the unknown guy on my right. Jake straddles his chair and casually rests his left arm across the backrest, while he uses his right to tap his bottle against mine.


    ‘Cheers, Poppins!’ he toasts. He brings the bottle to his mouth and takes a sip.


    ‘Cheers,’ I echo with a chuckle. I follow his lead and bring the bottle to my mouth for a sip. I almost spit it out again as I stare at the bottle in my hand. Okay, that is just awful! Apparently the disgust is clear on my face, because next to me Jake lets out a laugh.


    ‘I take it that you don’t like beer?’ he asks me, amused.


    ‘I guess not,’ I sigh. I look at him apologetically. ‘Sorry.’


    ‘No worries. It’s an acquired taste, I guess. Do you want me to get you a Coke? Or something else?’


    ‘A Coke would be great,’ I say, relieved. I reach inside my pocket to grab some of the cash I stuffed in there before I got back into the kitchen, but Jake waves me off.


    ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get it. If you’re not drinking you can be my designated driver, so I’m getting a good deal out of this,’ he laughs.


    ‘Deal,’ I promise, relieved.


    Jake tosses me his keys before he heads back to the bar, and I quickly put them in my pocket. When he returns he hands me the Coke, which they apparently also serve in a bottle here, without a glass. However, before Jake can sit down again, someone else attracts his attention and starts talking to him. I slowly sip from my Coke and look around to observe the crowd. Everyone here seems to easily fit in and have a good time, but I have rarely felt so out of place before. And that is saying something, coming from me.


    I watch Jake disappearing into the crowd and heading towards the dancefloor. I keep tracking him with my eyes, while he is dancing with several scantily clad women. I briefly consider going to the dancefloor as well, but just the thought of leaving the relative safety of my chair already fills me with anxiety. Nope, I’m definitely staying put!


    Not much later, I see that Jake disappears in the direction of the bathrooms with a woman. I know that it’s not Carla from before, because this girl is a redhead. But she seems to be just as leggy and, if that’s even possible, it looks like she’s wearing even less clothing. I guess at least I know Jake’s type now: tall, thin and leggy, with very few clothes on. Basically everything I’m not.


    I glance around and notice that most of the guys I know from Ray’s ranch have disappeared from the table. Only Nick and Gary are still sitting on the other end. They seem to be having a heated discussion. Some other guys I don’t know have sat down at our table, but most of the chairs are empty now. I sigh and glance at the clock on the wall. I’ve been here less than an hour, but I have already come to the conclusion that I''m not a bar type of person. I wonder how long Jake is planning to stay tonight, since I’m kind of stuck here until he wants to go home.


    ‘Now how come a pretty lady like you is sitting here all by herself?’


    A guy I have never seen before sits down on the chair beside me. From the looks of it, he must be at least fifteen years older than me.


    ‘Just holding down the fort,’ I try to joke.


    ‘Yeah, that’s smart. Chairs are a hot commodity here on the weekends,’ he laughs. ‘Don’t think I’ve seen you here before, though. Surely, I would’ve remembered you,’ the man says in a flirtatious tone, while eyeing up and down my body.


    ‘No, it’s my first time here,’ I say, as a blush appears on my cheek. I politely offer him my hand. ‘I’m Amber.’


    ‘Andrew,’ the guy says, while he shakes my hand. ‘Can I get you another drink, Amber?’


    ‘Uh, sure. A Coke would be nice,’ I say.


    ‘You sure? I can get you a beer? The wine is pretty shitty here, but Pete has decent whisky and rum, if you prefer something stronger.’


    ‘No, a Coke will be fine, thanks. I’m driving,’ I refuse politely.


    ‘Suit yourself. I’ll be right back. You save me that chair!’ Andrew laughs, before he heads towards the bar.


    I smile back hesitantly. He returns a few minutes later and hands me the Coke.


    ‘Thank you,’ I say politely.


    Andrew taps his bottle against mine just like Jake did, and pretty much chugs his beer back in one sip.


    ‘So, how come you haven’t been here before?’ he asks me, after wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.


    ‘I only recently moved here for a job,’ I answer him.


    ‘Ranch work?’


    ‘Sort of. I’m a nanny on a nearby ranch.’


    ‘You’re a nanny? That’s really hot,’ he smirks, while his eyes flicker appreciatively over my body again. ‘Bet if they’re boys, they just want to eat you up.’


    ‘They’re both boys and girls,’ I say. I start to feel very awkward under his gaze, so I sit up and fumble in my pocket to grab some cash. ‘What do I owe you for the Coke?’ I ask.


    ‘Nah, a pretty lady like you doesn’t have to pay,’ Andrew says. He reaches up to brush some of my hair behind my shoulders and then conveniently leaves his arm laying on the backrest of my chair.


    I guess I should feel flattered that he shows an interest in me, or at least be grateful that I''m not sitting by myself anymore, but I feel kind of uncomfortable with him sitting so close to me. But I guess this is just how it works in bars? I try to rack my brain about something to talk about, but it quickly becomes clear that Andrew has no trouble keeping the conversation going by himself. All I have to do is politely nod along as he explains to me all the important responsibilities he has on his ranch, and the dangers he faces as a bull rider on the weekends.


    I try to inconspicuously scoot my chair away from him a few times, but he keeps finding ways to sit closer to me. Andrew seems friendly enough and it’s not that he’s unattractive, but his insistence on constantly having our bodies touch one way or another puts me slightly on edge. Every minute or so he finds a reason to stroke my cheek, flip my hair, touch my arm or graze my knee.


    I''m starting to regret coming out here tonight. Part of me wants to just get up and leave, but I still have Jake’s keys and I promised to be his designated driver. I can’t very well steal his truck and leave him stranded at the bar. So I guess I''m stuck here, until he is ready to go home.