Overdue Drinks - For nerdherdchuck

[literary_james]

Chuck was a nice guy. No, Chuck was an awesome guy. He and James had connected at their first conversation, and had been talking so long about catching drinks together that for James, it had almost become a running joke. He figured that it was about time they actually do something about it, and so James had sent Chuck a text with the address of his

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[nerdherdchuck]

Chuck found his way to the bar after getting a tiny bit lost. Still, he was only a couple minutes late. He glanced around the room until he saw James at one of the tables and waved just before sitting down.

"Hey there. Sorry to keep you waiting."

[literary_james]

James turned around, then offered a friendly smile to his friend, shaking his head dismissively.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I had an unfair advantage since I'm staying here." He motioned to the chair opposite him at the other side of the table. "What do you want, Chuck? It's on me."

[nerdherdchuck]

Chuck moved over to the opposite side of the table and sat down in the chair James motioned to.

"Thanks James. That's really great of you. I think I'll just start with a beer."

He looked around the bar again. "This is a pretty cool place, by the way."

[literary_james]

James ordered a beer for Chuck and a Jack and Coke for himself. Thanking the waitress, he turned back to his friend and smiled, giving the place another glance around. He nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, it is." He motioned to the view of the glowing city to his left. "That's my favorite part about the whole thing, though."

[nerdherdchuck]

"It's an awesome view of the city," Chuck comments, with an impressed grin on his face. "How'd you find out about this place?"

[literary_james]

"I was randomly Googling good hotels in the city, which was weird since .. having lived here, I never thought I'd have to get a room, you know? This got amazing reviews, and when I saw the rooftop bar, I knew I had to come here. Oh, there's also a pool on the other side," James motioned in the general direction, "And it's heated. It's pretty awesome."

The waitress returned with their drink orders. James grabbed his glass and held it up a bit between them.

"Anything you want to toast to, man?"

[nerdherdchuck]

"Hey, it's worth it to stay here for this then. And a pool up here too? That's neat," Chuck commented.

Chuck thought for a moment for something to toast to. "To finally learning the truth about my ex and gladly being able to declare she is in my past for good." He paused and then added, "That sounded kinda bitter, huh?"

[literary_james]

James grinned as Chuck spoke his toast, and nodded in agreement, clinking the bottom of his glass with Chuck's bottle of beer.

"That sounds great." He took a healthy swig of his Jack & Coke and set it down on the table. "So, what exactly happened with that? I mean, I know you mentioned some things vaguely, but .. I mean. It sounded really complicated."

[nerdherdchuck]

Chuck nodded. "It is. I know I mentioned some of the vague stuff about Jill lying about why she broke up with me and that whole sleeping with Bryce thing. And how she tried to hurt Sarah. I kinda forget how much I told you about things so...where would you like me to start?"

[literary_james]

"Wherever you think you should start. I mean, it's up to you. You don't have to share more than you're comfortable with. I just figured that ranting to a third party over some alcoholic drinks always makes things a little better, you know?" James smiled encouragingly as he took another sip of his drink. "So, yeah. Start wherever."

[nerdherdchuck]

"All right," Chuck began with a sigh. "But be prepared for a ramble." He took a sip from his bottle and then placed it on the table. Then he began, "So, you see...back in college, I was friends with this guy Bryce. And Bryce was going to introduce me to this girl he knew named Jill. Well, Jill and I ended up meeting on our own cuz come to find out, we were in one class together. So, anyway, Jill and I start hanging out for awhile and were good friends, but I wanted to be more than friends. So I...okay, this is going to sound crazy, but I took her to a carnival and paid the guy who ran the Ferris Wheel to stop it at the top so I could ask her out. And she couldn't believe I did all that seeing I wasn't keen on heights. I'm still not, but anyway...she said yes. And we were going out for several months. But then, Bryce told a lie about me cheating on a final exam and I got expelled. Shortly afterwards, I started working at the Buy More. And it had been a few weeks since I've seen Jill. And she was upset when she heard I

[literary_james]

James listened to his friend tell his story, sipping his drink over so often, his brows furrowed and his ears perked. He rested his head on his good hand, save for when he was thirsty, and his brows had found a seemingly permanent home in a perpetually frightened position by the end of Chuck's story. James exhaled an overwhelming huff of air, rubbing the back of his neck as he leaned in his chair.

"Shit, Chuck," he commented, shaking his head. He raised his eyes to his friend with a look of disbelief. "-- Shit." He laughed. "I can't even think of something else to say to all that." He leaned forward again, wiping some of the condensation off of his glass with his thumb. "I can see why you wouldn't want to be with Jill anymore. And I could see why -- God damnit, Chuck, we need to get you some tequila or something. You've been through fucking hell."

[nerdherdchuck]

"S-sorry for the ramble, James. I just, yeah, that's the whole story there." Chuck then shook his head. "But, thank you for listening to all that; I appreciate it."

He gave a bit of a grin when James mentioned the tequila. "Maybe you're right...maybe I could use some of the harder stuff. Just no scotch. I've seen...weird things happen with that drink. Maybe I should go with the tequila, huh?"

[literary_james]

"Dude, don't apologize, seriously. I'm happy to listen. I just wish .. I could say something more than 'shit,'" James laugehd. "And honestly, Chuck, any time. I'm good at listening to the rambles and the rants. I do enough of it that I've mastered the art of being on the other end." He offered a supportive, warm smile and then nodded at him.

"Tequila it is!" He got up from the table and walked over to the bar. He returned with a bottle of Cuervo Gold, two shot glasses, a small plate with salt, and another small plate of limes. In two trips, he had brought all of it back to the table; having one fucntional hand was bothersome. Sitting back in his seat, he opened the bottle and poured them each a shot. He took the salt, gave the meaty part of his hand a little lick, and stuck the salt to it. He grabbed a wedge of lime in the other hand, with effort. Looking to Chuck he held his glass up. "Want to toast to anything? Or just get blasted?"

[nerdherdchuck]

Chuck smiled and nodded. "And thanks again for listening. I will gladly return the favor whenever you need to rant or ramble too. Anytime."

He looked over all the items needed for the tequila shot and followed James's lead, licking his hand and placing the salt on it. He then took a lime in one hand and shot glass in another. "Um...I dunno. Last toast I made was pretty bitter about Jill being out of my life for good. So...maybe this time...like...we could toast to better times?"

[literary_james]

"Better times!" James echoed, clinking his shot glass with Chuck's. He licked the salt off of his hand, tossed the tequila back, and then quickly bit on a lime. His face showed the strength of the alcohol, but he grinned happily once he had a second to adjust. "Woo!" he shouted enthusiastically. "I always forget how fucking strong these things are."