"I can sense people like me from a mile away. Like spider-sense. And I always try to talk to them, even if it's a small exchange," Julius thought to himself.
Julius practically skips into the bar. Enthusiasm exuding from every step.
"My friend Rudy is the closest match to myself I've found."
Julius walked over to a brown skinned young man in flashy streetwear and gaudy jewelry.
"See, stupid people might call him a womanizer, and they're not wrong. But I see what's beneath the exterior. I see a passionate driven man with a slight overwhelming love for women."
Julius puts a hand out and Rudy fist bumps him, slowly putting a beer bottle to his lips at the same time.
Rudy laughed at nothing in particular, and slurred out, "Look who finally decided to show up!"
Julius sat across from him at the booth. He winced a little bit at the stickiness of the seat.
"It looks like you started the party without me," Julius stated coldly.
Rudy laughed again, and raised up the beer bottle slightly, "This isn't a party yet. I was bored because you were taking too long. The party doesn't start until the girls get here."
"And it begins. In record time today," Julius thought to himself.
Julius sighed and scooted closer to Rudy, "What are you getting us into today? Yuna is starting to get tired of me doing this shit with you."
A stupid grin spread across Rudy's face, and he lowered his voice like he was sharing a secret, "Relax man, this isn't like that. I got two girls coming to meet us here today and trust me, you're going to want to meet them."
"You said the same thing last time and…" Julius shuddered, "Yeah, you're going to have to show me what they look like if you want me in your corner."
Rudy fumbled for his phone, "This time, that is not a problem. Behold, Sasha and Laura!"
Rudy swiped through a series of pictures of two beautiful women, one was blonde and wore pastel colors and trendy business casual, while the other was brunette and wore baggy jeans and graphic t-shirts.
Julius looked at Rudy, then back at the phone. Julius pointed at the blonde girl, "Well if you really want me to do this, I've got dibs on her."
Rudy stopped grinning and looked at Julius with annoyance, "Asshole. You know we like the same thing. Come on, let's play rock-paper-scissors for it."
Julius laid back, "Nope. She's mine. If you have any objections, I'll just head on home."
Rudy took another swig from his beer, "Whatever, fine. I got Lena and you got Sasha. I haven't known Sasha that long, but I do know she's outgoing. She's used to playboys and rich assholes. Your usual M.O might need some tweaking."
Julius raised an eyebrow at him, "It sounds like you're trying to call me a rich asshole playboy, buddy."
Rudy swiped through his text messages, "Glad your ears work buddy. Now look sharp, Laura just told me they're here. Don't let Sasha run circles around you."
Julius and Rudy both stared at the front door for a while, looking past the crowds of people standing, drinking and conversing.
Two women in short dresses, one blonde and one brunette, made a beeline for Julius and Rudy's table. As they walked over, Rudy smiled at Julius once again.
"Did I disappoint you, Master Julius?"
A smile crept across Julius' lips and he put his fist out toward Rudy. Rudy fistbumped him as the girls finally got to them.
Sasha's eyes lit up as soon as she saw Julius. Julius let a toothy smile cover his face, "You must be Sasha right? Rudy told me a lot about you."
Sasha let out a small chuckle, "That's me. You must be Rudy's friend," Her voice was light and bubbly.
Julius put his hand out gently, "That's me. You can call me Julius. You looked great in the pictures Rudy showed me, but you look even better in person."
Sasha shook his hand and chuckled again, "Wow Rudy, you didn't tell me your friend is so nice!"
Rudy shook his head and covered his eyes, while Laura watched this interaction from across the table like it was a TV show.
Julius let go of her hand and motioned to the seat.
"Sasha, why don't you sit on—I mean with me. Get comfortable."
Rudy groaned aloud while Sasha and Laura laughed at the comment.
Sasha sat down quickly, scooting in close and bumping thighs with Julius. Laura shoots Sasha a look, and Sasha looks at Julius in response.
Julius put his arm around Sasha and brought her in close. He looked over to Laura, "So Laura, how did you two meet Rudy? I've seen the kind of places this guy hangs out at, you don't meet too many beautiful women."
Rudy cut in immediately, "Hey! I go to plenty of classy places, I just like the women in places like these better. They appreciate my charm more."
Sasha and Laura laughed heartily, and Sasha clung onto Julius' shoulder.
Julius teased him, "Charm? That's not the word I would use. But seriously, what's the story? I'm curious."
Rudy's eyes bounced between the two girls before he reluctantly began, "I met Sasha here at a bar when she was out with friends. Coincidentally, one of the friends she was out with happened to be Laura, so we already had something in common. And Laura?" Rudy took a sip from his nearly empty beer and looked away, "Let's just say me and Laura have a bit of history."
Laura playfully punched him and Sasha laughed at the comment.
Julius nodded his head slowly and bit the inside of his lip, "Got it. So everyone here knows each other except me. Rudy, do you mind grabbing some drinks really quick. I hate being the odd man out."
Rudy snorts in response, but still stands and moves toward the bar slowly, taking his own mostly empty bottle with him.
"Don't scare them off while I'm gone," Rudy called out behind him.
Sasha turned to Julius with a dangerous smile creeping onto her lips, "Okay handsome, be honest. What exactly are your intentions for tonight?"
Julius tapped a finger on his chin, "I don't know, I didn't think that deep on it. I guess my intentions for now are to give you whatever you want," He looked into her eyes and gave her a sweet smile.
Sasha's lips curled into a delighted smile and her eyes flashed with mischief.
"Anything I ask for?"
Julius' face reamined cool and neutral. He leaned his head against Sasha's shoulder, "All you have to do is ask and it's yours."
Sasha leaned in and whispered, "And what if I asked you for something very…specific? Would you still be able to give it to me?"
Julius turned his head and faced her, their noses almost bumping into each other.
"What do you want from me, Ms. Sasha?"
Sasha got closer and whispered something into Julius' ear, covering her mouth with her hand.
Julius glanced at Laura and saw her staring directly at them with an intrigued look.
Sasha finished whispering and backed up a bit. She looked down at Julius, biting down on her fingernail.
Julius stumbled over his words slightly, "Okay, we can definitely do that. Where's the closest bathroom?"
Laura pointed to a hallway behind their booth, and Julius shuffled out of the booth, grabbing Sasha's hand.
"Come on, let's go," Julius commanded, and Sasha jovially followed behind him.
Rudy arrived back at the table a few seconds after this holding a tray with beers stacked on it.
Laura grabbed one of the beers and popped it open. She put a straw in it and slurped the beer down loudly.
"Uhh…where did Julius and Sasha go?" Rudy asked pensively.
"To the bathroom," Laura answered flatly.
Rudy looked at the ceiling and groaned. He turned to Laura, while cracking a beer of his own, "You didn't try to stop them? We literally just got here."
Laura shrugged and continued to slurp the beer.
Rudy put an arm around Laura and whispered to her, "So what about us? Did you want to…"
Laura shot him a death glare until Rudy moved his arm away from her.
Rudy crossed his arms and thought to himself, "Jesus Julius. I know how you get down, but please don't leave me alone with this one for hours."
After a few minutes, Julius and Sasha walked up to the table, their clothes disshelved and wrinkled.
Rudy sipped his third beer, unimpressed, and said aloud, "Julius, your zipper is down buddy."
Julius hurriedly covered his zipper area and attempted to close it up, only to find it already closed.
Julius smacked his lips, "Don't do me like that Rudy."
"So, what were you two up to? That was a long bathroom break," Rudy asked sarcastically.
Sasha chimed in quickly, "We were getting to know each other!"
Julius fought back a laugh and Laura smiled at Sasha.
Rudy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah I got it. You two…" He let his thoughts trail off.
"What's the plan for tonight Rudy? We bar hopping or are we actually going to do something fun this time?" Julius atemptted to shift the topic.
Rudy slammed his drink back and finished the rest of it in under five seconds. He hit the empty bottle against the table and yelled out, "Yes! Great idea bro! We're bar hopping, ladies grab your beers we are heading out immediately."
Rudy placed a few twenty dollar bills on the table and began to walk toward the door. Sasha looked back at Julius, before grabbing one of the unopened beers and following behind Rudy. Laura slid out of the booth, staring at Julius the whole time.
Julius got up and jogged over to Sasha, tapping her on the shoulder.
Sasha turns around and leans in, "What's up? I thought you said you didn't want to exchange numbers or be too friendly."
Julius winces slightly, "I didn't mean for it to come out like that. Look, I've got a different idea instead of bar hopping. Want to hear it?"
Sasha raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms.
Julius whispered, "How about we go back to my car and you let me get another taste of you. Then we exchange numbers and set another date for tomorrow. What do you think?"
Sasha smiled up at him and grabbed his hand, following behind as he walked out into the parking lot.