Tides and Tidings

Chapter 30

Blythe

“A re you okay?” Charlie yelled in my ear over the bumping music.

What a simple question with such a complex answer. It’s been a while since I had been in a bar like this, and ten years of memories came flooding back with the smell of beer and cheap whisky. Great times with my college best friends. Fun happy hours on Friday after work. Meeting my terrible ex…

I tried to push the memories of fuckin’ James—as Rose calls him—out of my head, but it was more complicated than I had anticipated. I looked around at the neon signs and beer signs plastered on the walls.

Charlie pulled me in close, “Bee, are you okay?”

I snapped back into the real world and nodded, adding a small, hopefully convincing smile, “Yeah. I just forgot how loud these places are.”

His mouth was hot on my ear, “We can leave if you want.”

I shook my head, “Let’s go find the bar.”

Charlie held my hand and pulled me close against his back as he wove through the crowd. He maneuvered himself behind me when we made it to a small opening at the bar. The bartender, wearing the smallest dress I had ever seen, approached us.

She didn’t even look at me; her eyes were glued to the behemoth standing behind me. “What can I get you?”

This is the second time tonight Charlie has gotten hit on. Good for him . I wasn’t jealous. Not one bit. Not at all. I would never. Ha…

Charlie directed his attention towards me, “She’ll have a vodka cranberry, and I’ll take a bourbon and Coke, please.”

The bartender bent over the bar, pushing her boobs up, “Wanna leave your tab open, love?”

Love? I could’ve punched her.

My body tensed. There was no way Charlie didn’t notice since his body was pressed against mine.

He shook his head. He yelled over the booming music, “I’ll close out.”

“Is she makin’ you leave after one drink?” The busty bartender batted her fake eyelashes right at Charlie, not even glancing in my direction.

My right hand balled at my side.

Charlie slid his hand into my back pocket, a sign of possession. “Fuck no.”

She moved back and rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She pressed a few buttons on the tablet and returned with our receipt. Charlie handed her his card and closed it out.

“Where do you want to go?” His raspy voice asked from behind me.

I turned to face him, “I’ll go anywhere with you, handsome.”

Flirting with Charlie was one of my favorite things. The man doesn’t know what to do when I offer up a compliment. While we were eating our burgers earlier, I told him he looked handsome and his cheeks went crimson. His eyes immediately fell to the empty plate in front of him and he mumbled a thank you.

“Do you want to see if we can find a standing table off to the side?” Charlie craned his neck in a desperate attempt to find someplace a bit quieter to stand. Somewhere out of the crowd and away from the dance floor.

I nodded in response, my still slightly curled hair bouncing.

Charlie led us to the bar’s back corner, where there was an empty table. “It’s not quiet, but it’s less people-y.”

A guy after my own heart. Don’t get me wrong, I used to love being out and about. I enjoyed being a social butterfly who would tear up the dance floor when my favorite songs came on. But now, standing here, I realize I’m not the same person I was then. I have responsibilities. I own a business. I play the role of a mom in Wren’s life. I’m a girlfriend.

Gross . I’m not sure who came up with the term girlfriend, but it makes it sound like we’re in elementary school and holding hands for the first time. Fiancée isn’t much better. It sounds so pretentious. I’m getting ahead of myself, though.

“To us not being lame and actually doing what other people our age do every weekend. To freedom!” Charlie held up his plastic cup and I followed suit.

There was something about hearing those words that broke me from the self-imposed mental chains I’d put on myself. I might be different than I was, but I much prefer this version of myself.

I stirred my drink with a straw and took a sip. My eyes were focused on the dancefloor. This bar might be geared towards college-aged kids, but the songs they were playing were right off one of my playlists. As I sucked on the small straw, air came up. Perfect timing because the song ended and there was a brief lull.

I leaned on Charlie, the alcohol already making its presence known. “Did you know that drinking out of a straw makes you drunk quicker?”

The music started blaring again.

“I don’t ever remember someone tellin’ me, but I remember learnin’ that lesson the hard way.” His eyes scanned the bar and he threw back the last sip of his drink. Charlie leaned in, his breath warm on my neck, “Want a refill?”

“I would love one,” I yelled over the music. “I’ll wait here and hold down the table.”

He shook his head, “Over my dead body will you be standing here alone.”

His fingers entwined with mine and we meandered back over to the bar. The server from earlier was helping someone else, so the friendly guy who bounced over to us was a welcome reprieve.

“Another round for y’all?” He shouted over the music.

Charlie nodded.

The bartender sniffed our empty cups and Charlie burst into a fit of laughter. I couldn’t contain my laughter either.

“It’s so hard to hear in here. I’ve resorted to sniffing the drinks to find out what you had.” The guy was suddenly self-conscious.

“Makes sense to me,” I yelled.

Charlie wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and looked at the bartender. “Is your name Rhett, by chance?”

I looked up at Charlie skeptically.

The bartender cocked his head, clearly thrown off by his question. “Yes.”

“Did you go to Maple Grove High School down in Wippowa?”

Rhett nodded. “Graduated a while ago, though.”

He pointed to himself, “Charlie Hannigan. I also graduated… a while ago.”

“No shit!” Rhett offered up his hand. “It’s good to see ya again, man!”

“Likewise! I assume you live here in Savannah now?”

“I moved here right after high school. I hate it here, so hoping to be able to move back to Wippowa again soon.”

“It’s changed a lot since high school, for the better. When you come back, don’t be a stranger.”

Rhett his attention to the task at hand—making our drinks. He came back a moment later with our refills. “Here you go.” He placed my vodka cranberry in front of me and Charlie’s bourbon and Coke in front of him. “These are on the house. It was so good to see you again, Hannigan. And you are…”

I reached my hand out, “I’m Blythe.” I bumped my shoulder into Charlie’s chest. “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for the drink!”

“Likewise,” Rhett turned his attention towards his high school friend. “You’ve got a beauty here. Better put a ring on it before she gets tired of waiting!” He teased.

Charlie offered up a small smile, “Thanks again for the drinks, dude. Appreciate it!”

How they were able to have a conversation over this music was beyond me.

Charlie and I get weird when someone mentions marriage. We both feel it’s a natural next step, but we’re hesitant with both of us coming from broken homes. Especially because if something goes wrong, it doesn’t hurt just us, Wren would be heartbroken.

We made our way back to the table we previously occupied but there was a couple making out at it. We stopped in our tracks—time to abort the mission.

We circled the bar four times and couldn’t find a spot to stand without being in the center of everything. Maybe my drinks were kicking in, or some old habits were bubbling up, but the confidence started to course through my veins.

“Charlie!” I yelled into his ear.

“Hm?”

“I wanna dance!” I admitted.

His eyes went wide. I don’t think I had ever seen him dance before. “I—um—uh –” he sputtered, “I don’t have rhythm.”

“Neither do I. We don’t know anyone here. We can make fools out of ourselves.” I reached for his hand and dragged him out onto the dancefloor. I wrapped one hand around his neck—which was substantially easier wearing heels—while my other hand held my almost empty cup. His right hand lightly grazed my hip. His touch zapped every nerve ending in my body. You would think that after being together for over a year, my body wouldn’t react this way at his slightest touch.

He wrapped his hand around my waist, pulling me close to him, “Should I hold you like this?”

Our faces were inches apart and my heart rate sped up. No matter the situation, I am amazed that this man chose me out of all the other fish in the sea.

As Charlie stood there like a fence post, I swayed my hips to the beat. He had no idea what to do. Rock back and forth? Fist pump like the others? Stand there awkwardly?

“Just rock back and forth like this,” I grabbed his hips in my hands and moved him from side to side. “Can you do that?”

“I think so.”

We danced for a while. I’m unsure how long because I was lost in the music. There’s something calming about getting lost in a good rhythm. When I was younger and in dance class, that hour was the calmest of the week. Moving my body to get rid of stress was the best medicine.

“Bee?” Charlie pulled me in a bit closer.

I looked up at him.

“Want another drink?”

The music boomed and I felt it in my chest. “What?” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Charlie held up his empty cup and mouthed, “Refill”?

The logical part of my brain was fully intact. I’m not sure what happened, but I used to be a lightweight. I don’t drink much anymore, so this was a surprise. Tonight, I could manage my alcohol well—or the drinks weren’t that strong.

I shook my head, “I need some water.”

Responsible Blythe is still alive and well.

Charlie’s stubble brushed against my cheek as he leaned in, “Let’s leave. We can buy a bottle of water on our way to the next spot.”

“Alright y’all, we’re slowin’ it down with this one for all those love birds out there.”

A slow melody started and I twisted out of Charlie’s embrace to head for the door. He stayed put. There’s no way he wants to dance.

“Are your ears ringing that badly? That,” I pointed to the speaker, “is a slow song.”

He stepped closer and extended his hand, “I know.”

My stomach fluttered. His eyelids hung a little bit lower than normal. The only indicator I had he was feeling his drinks.

“You’re drunk,” I observed with a laugh.

“Not a bit.” He closed the gap between us. His eyes were dark with desire, “Dance with me, Bee.”