give my regards to soul and romance [they always did the best they could]
[failuretotrust used with permission from her mun who made a request for Colin/99.]
So he met this girl in a bar.
Granted, that’s how most of his stories begin, as bars seem to be a natural place to find women, at least for him, and he can spend a quite a bit of time there when he wants to. He also has to admit that that was a great opening line. Just from the general way that the story was set up, you could tell that it was going to end one of two ways-either very, very well or very, very badly. Colin likes to consider this story a win, but he knew that it was also highly possible that not everyone was going to see that particular thought that way. Either way, that was how the story started. He met this girl in a bar.
Woman, would probably be the more accurate description, but as far as he was concerned, that was just semantics. Girl was the feel he got from her-someone who was a little lost, and didn’t understand quite where she was. The place was this old family owned bar out by his parents’ house in Queens. The place was only ever frequented by the regulars-old men who’d done construction with his father and had known him since he was old enough to talk. They were the kind of people who bought him beer when he was sixteen so long as he swore that it wouldn’t get back to his mother. It was the kind of place where he felt comfortable just walking right in and sitting down at the old piano in the corner and playing whatever came to mind-pieces of old rock songs until he forgot the rest of the notes and segued into something else and repeated the process. Occasionally he would get drunken requests from the men who knew him, but otherwise he played to his heart’s content with a now-empty glass of whiskey sitting on top of the piano.
She came in about midway between the segue from Queen’s “Somebody to Love” to Billy Joel’s “Light as the Breeze,” and the segue from “Light as the Breeze” to “The Ballad of Billy the Kid” by the same singer. He wasn’t singing-he never really had been a singer, that was always more of his brother’s angle-but he would hum along occasionally, knowing the tunes like the back of his hand, before seamlessly moving from one song to the next. He didn’t notice she was actually there, though, until midway through “Billy the Kid,” the only song he actually knew the whole way through, backwards and forwards.
She stood out a bit. Aside from the fact that she was a woman in a seedy Queens bar like this one, she was also dressed in red. Red was certainly her color, and it was the kind of thing that turned all eyes to look at her and pay attention. When she finally got Colin’s attention away from the piano keys, he just watched her for a moment, wondering what feelings of desolation happened to bring her in to this particular establishment, so far from her Manhattan stomping ground.
The song slowly transitioned into Chris de Burgh’s “Lady in Red.” At first she ignored him, but it wasn’t until he hit the chorus that she realized what was happening, and the corner of her mouth quirked up in a smirk. She turned to face him, raising an eyebrow slightly before actually speaking. “Smooth.” He turned to her, pulling his eyes from the keys long enough to flash her the innocent face indicating he had no idea what she was talking about, before looking back down at the piano again. The music changed again, this time to Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight,” and at that she laughed, before pushing herself up and making her way over to him. “Alright, alright-you have my attention.”
He glanced up at her again, innocent face still in place, and then just shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, no?” she said, watching him as she stood next to the piano. “I happen to know being wooed by music when I hear it.”
He just flashed her the most innocent smile he could manage, before shrugging. “I don’t know anything past the bridge on ‘Lady in Red.’ Had to-change my tune.”
She chuckled slightly, before leaning over and resting her elbow on the top of the piano, looking over at him. “Do you take requests?”
“On occasion,” he said with a shrug. “But they’re rather expensive to come by.”
“Mmm,” she nodded, before turning her head and letting her fingers circle the rim of his glass. “How ‘bout if I buy you another drink?”
He paused, ending the song with a flourish. “I think that just might cover it.”
“Good,” she smirked, before heading back over to the bar. He started playing out a nameless tune for a while, before she returned, glass of whiskey in hand. He slid over on the piano stool, offering her a seat next to him. When she sat down, he took the glass from her with one hand and continuing to play idly with the other.
“I’m Colin,” he said with a nod.
“Brenda,” she replied quickly, and he gave her a small smile.
“So what would you like to request?” he asked as he swallowed, placing the cup back in it’s place above the piano.
She thought for a minute, then shrugged. “Surprise me.”
***
“So what brought you down to a place like this?” he asked a few drinks later, some he bought, some her. It was a relaxed, easy conversation-he wasn’t coming on strong at all, just wanting to have a relaxed conversation that could go either way. He had mostly gotten out of the house to have a chance to play tonight. If he wound up bringing someone home with him, he wouldn’t complain, but he wouldn’t be expecting it either.
She shrugged, swaying slightly for a moment to the music before actually responding. “I was looking for a change of scenery, that’s all.”
“Ah,” he said with a nod. “Avoiding an old boyfriend?”
“No, no-old boyfriend, at the moment,” she said with a sigh. “My last relationship ended a while ago. And there’s this-other guy, but-” She chuckled slightly, before glancing down for a moment. “-we’ve been dancing around each other for so long, it’s probably never going to happen.”
“Dancing around someone isn’t nearly as much fun as dancing with them,” he sighed as the key changed on the song. “What kept getting in your way?”
“Well, first he shoots me down. Then he disappeared off the face of the Earth for four months,” she said with a sigh. “And then he waltzes back in again, trying to make up for it, and-” She closed her eyes, before taking a deep breath. “-I just don’t think it’s ever going to work.”
“That’s a shame,” he said with a nod. “For him, I mean. It sounds like you’re not really missing out on much.”
She was quiet for a minute, taking one last sip of her drink. “I should go.”
“I’ll walk you out,” he said with a nod. “It can be hard to get a cab out here.” And really, he was just trying to be chivalrous. It was kind of his thing.
She didn’t protest, so he took that as the all clear sign, and followed her out the door, moving to the curb to hail her a cab. She moved closer to him, wrapping her coat more tightly around herself and looking up at him. “Thanks for-sitting with me.”
“Not a problem,” he said, returning the smile. She nodded, looking up at him for a moment, before biting her lip and leaning in closer. She kissed him, softly at first, before he dropped his hand signaling for a cab, sliding around her waist and pulling her closer. He deepened the kiss almost instantly, always one to take the initiative, only pulling back when he felt her hand on his chest. He pulled back and looked at her, curious as to if he did something wrong, or she was just pulling back for air.
“It’s kind of a long drive back to Manhattan,” she said with a slight smirk.
“My place isn’t all that far.”
“Good.”
***
She was gone when he woke up in the morning. He remembered more about a night with her than he had with any woman he’d been with in a while, and yet for the most part he wished he could forget. He knew, more than anything, that he was never going to be able to see her again.
And he was determined to make himself okay with that.
1470 words
So he met this girl in a bar.
Granted, that’s how most of his stories begin, as bars seem to be a natural place to find women, at least for him, and he can spend a quite a bit of time there when he wants to. He also has to admit that that was a great opening line. Just from the general way that the story was set up, you could tell that it was going to end one of two ways-either very, very well or very, very badly. Colin likes to consider this story a win, but he knew that it was also highly possible that not everyone was going to see that particular thought that way. Either way, that was how the story started. He met this girl in a bar.
Woman, would probably be the more accurate description, but as far as he was concerned, that was just semantics. Girl was the feel he got from her-someone who was a little lost, and didn’t understand quite where she was. The place was this old family owned bar out by his parents’ house in Queens. The place was only ever frequented by the regulars-old men who’d done construction with his father and had known him since he was old enough to talk. They were the kind of people who bought him beer when he was sixteen so long as he swore that it wouldn’t get back to his mother. It was the kind of place where he felt comfortable just walking right in and sitting down at the old piano in the corner and playing whatever came to mind-pieces of old rock songs until he forgot the rest of the notes and segued into something else and repeated the process. Occasionally he would get drunken requests from the men who knew him, but otherwise he played to his heart’s content with a now-empty glass of whiskey sitting on top of the piano.
She came in about midway between the segue from Queen’s “Somebody to Love” to Billy Joel’s “Light as the Breeze,” and the segue from “Light as the Breeze” to “The Ballad of Billy the Kid” by the same singer. He wasn’t singing-he never really had been a singer, that was always more of his brother’s angle-but he would hum along occasionally, knowing the tunes like the back of his hand, before seamlessly moving from one song to the next. He didn’t notice she was actually there, though, until midway through “Billy the Kid,” the only song he actually knew the whole way through, backwards and forwards.
She stood out a bit. Aside from the fact that she was a woman in a seedy Queens bar like this one, she was also dressed in red. Red was certainly her color, and it was the kind of thing that turned all eyes to look at her and pay attention. When she finally got Colin’s attention away from the piano keys, he just watched her for a moment, wondering what feelings of desolation happened to bring her in to this particular establishment, so far from her Manhattan stomping ground.
The song slowly transitioned into Chris de Burgh’s “Lady in Red.” At first she ignored him, but it wasn’t until he hit the chorus that she realized what was happening, and the corner of her mouth quirked up in a smirk. She turned to face him, raising an eyebrow slightly before actually speaking. “Smooth.” He turned to her, pulling his eyes from the keys long enough to flash her the innocent face indicating he had no idea what she was talking about, before looking back down at the piano again. The music changed again, this time to Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight,” and at that she laughed, before pushing herself up and making her way over to him. “Alright, alright-you have my attention.”
He glanced up at her again, innocent face still in place, and then just shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, no?” she said, watching him as she stood next to the piano. “I happen to know being wooed by music when I hear it.”
He just flashed her the most innocent smile he could manage, before shrugging. “I don’t know anything past the bridge on ‘Lady in Red.’ Had to-change my tune.”
She chuckled slightly, before leaning over and resting her elbow on the top of the piano, looking over at him. “Do you take requests?”
“On occasion,” he said with a shrug. “But they’re rather expensive to come by.”
“Mmm,” she nodded, before turning her head and letting her fingers circle the rim of his glass. “How ‘bout if I buy you another drink?”
He paused, ending the song with a flourish. “I think that just might cover it.”
“Good,” she smirked, before heading back over to the bar. He started playing out a nameless tune for a while, before she returned, glass of whiskey in hand. He slid over on the piano stool, offering her a seat next to him. When she sat down, he took the glass from her with one hand and continuing to play idly with the other.
“I’m Colin,” he said with a nod.
“Brenda,” she replied quickly, and he gave her a small smile.
“So what would you like to request?” he asked as he swallowed, placing the cup back in it’s place above the piano.
She thought for a minute, then shrugged. “Surprise me.”
***
“So what brought you down to a place like this?” he asked a few drinks later, some he bought, some her. It was a relaxed, easy conversation-he wasn’t coming on strong at all, just wanting to have a relaxed conversation that could go either way. He had mostly gotten out of the house to have a chance to play tonight. If he wound up bringing someone home with him, he wouldn’t complain, but he wouldn’t be expecting it either.
She shrugged, swaying slightly for a moment to the music before actually responding. “I was looking for a change of scenery, that’s all.”
“Ah,” he said with a nod. “Avoiding an old boyfriend?”
“No, no-old boyfriend, at the moment,” she said with a sigh. “My last relationship ended a while ago. And there’s this-other guy, but-” She chuckled slightly, before glancing down for a moment. “-we’ve been dancing around each other for so long, it’s probably never going to happen.”
“Dancing around someone isn’t nearly as much fun as dancing with them,” he sighed as the key changed on the song. “What kept getting in your way?”
“Well, first he shoots me down. Then he disappeared off the face of the Earth for four months,” she said with a sigh. “And then he waltzes back in again, trying to make up for it, and-” She closed her eyes, before taking a deep breath. “-I just don’t think it’s ever going to work.”
“That’s a shame,” he said with a nod. “For him, I mean. It sounds like you’re not really missing out on much.”
She was quiet for a minute, taking one last sip of her drink. “I should go.”
“I’ll walk you out,” he said with a nod. “It can be hard to get a cab out here.” And really, he was just trying to be chivalrous. It was kind of his thing.
She didn’t protest, so he took that as the all clear sign, and followed her out the door, moving to the curb to hail her a cab. She moved closer to him, wrapping her coat more tightly around herself and looking up at him. “Thanks for-sitting with me.”
“Not a problem,” he said, returning the smile. She nodded, looking up at him for a moment, before biting her lip and leaning in closer. She kissed him, softly at first, before he dropped his hand signaling for a cab, sliding around her waist and pulling her closer. He deepened the kiss almost instantly, always one to take the initiative, only pulling back when he felt her hand on his chest. He pulled back and looked at her, curious as to if he did something wrong, or she was just pulling back for air.
“It’s kind of a long drive back to Manhattan,” she said with a slight smirk.
“My place isn’t all that far.”
“Good.”
***
She was gone when he woke up in the morning. He remembered more about a night with her than he had with any woman he’d been with in a while, and yet for the most part he wished he could forget. He knew, more than anything, that he was never going to be able to see her again.
And he was determined to make himself okay with that.
1470 words