Off the Record (Record #1)(93)

Liz bit her lip and looked up at the building. She did want to go inside. It was such an unbelievable surprise…as if he knew just the right thing to make up for the Lincoln Memorial.

“All right. You convinced me.”

Hayden’s face lit up. He grabbed her hand again, and she let him direct her into the Newseum, where they spent much longer than they should have perusing every aspect of the museum dedicated to journalism.

Hayden and Liz met Phillip and Topher out at a bar near George Washington University. The guys went to school there and had a bunch of friends who lived in the area.

The bar was located off of Pennsylvania Avenue with a giant sign over the top of the entrance. When they entered, the room was already pretty packed full of college students and young professionals working on the Hill. The room was all hardwood floors, dark wooden bars stocked with liquor, and a large staircase leading to a second floor. Girls in low-cut tank tops and miniskirts served drinks. Grinding hip-hop beats blasted from the speakers, and people dancing in the center of the room took up the majority of the space.

Liz had dressed up for the occasion in a short mint summer dress. It had thin spaghetti straps that ended in a scoop neck with a wrap look from the waist down. She had paired it with nude high heels and a long, thin silver necklace with an owl pendant at the end. Her hair was down despite the temperature, and she was already wondering if that was a bad idea.

They found Phillip and Topher having zero luck talking to a group of girls by the bar.

“Hey, y’all,” Hayden said, approaching his friends.

“Lane,” Topher said with a brief nod in their direction before returning to his conversation with the girl.

Phillip turned and then acted as if he was trying to see behind them. “Where’s Jamie?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“She’s not here,” Hayden said, shaking his head.

“What? Why not? I thought you said she was coming.”

“She’ll be here later,” Liz told him, saving Hayden from having to say it. “She’s meeting up with some friends first.”

“Ugh! Let’s get drinks before he starts talking about her.” Hayden slid his hand around her waist and guided her toward an open space at the bar.

One of the perky blond bartenders came over to get their order. She smiled brightly at Hayden and gave him sex eyes. Liz wondered whether that was how she earned her tips or if it was specifically for Hayden.

He looked good tonight in navy shorts with a gray-and-white striped button-down, a thick brown belt, and matching brown Sperrys. Laid-back preppy, like normal. She couldn’t imagine him any other way.

“Whiskey sour, right?” Hayden asked Liz, still not moving his hand from the small of her back.

How did he remember that? she wondered.

“Perfect. Thanks,” Liz responded. She leaned her elbows against the bar.

“A whiskey sour and a Maker’s and Coke,” Hayden ordered. He handed the bartender his credit card. “You can leave it open.”

“Sure thing,” the bartender said, winking at him.

Hayden turned his attention back to Liz as the girl started making their drinks. “I’m really glad you decided to come visit this weekend,” he said with that same smile. His hazel eyes were dark in the dim lighting as they looked down at her.

“Me too. I’ve had a really good time. It was nice to get away,” Liz said with a sigh.

“You wanted to get away from your amazing summer to spend a few days with some random guy, you know,” he said, blowing it off as if it was nothing.

“Yeah, just some guy,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’d never even met him before or anything.”

“Nope. You’re a bit of a stalker, Liz.”

“Oh, you know, it’s what I do in my spare time. Actually, it’s kind of my job. I don’t know if you know, but I’m a big-time reporter.”

Hayden fake-gasped. “I had no clue.”

“Here you go, hon,” the bartender said, reappearing with their drinks and sliding them across the bar. “Anything else?”

Topher and Phillip appeared behind Hayden at that moment. Phillip shoved Hayden out of the way and into Liz, who grabbed onto him quickly.

“Guys, watch what you’re doing!” Hayden called.

Liz’s body was flush against Hayden’s, and when he looked down at her, she blushed and pulled away.

“We’re going to need,” Phillip said, and started counting the people, “six shots of SoCo. Got to do it right for my buddy from the Carolinas.”

“There are only four of us,” Hayden observed.

Topher nudged Hayden; he had his arms slung over the shoulders of two girls. “Meet Anne and Abigail.”

Liz shook her head at the display. The girls barely acknowledged them. Liz started making a bet with herself on how fast these girls would ditch them after they took the shots.

“Six shots of SoCo,” Phillip said, passing around glasses as the bartender handed them to him. “Hope you don’t mind, Lane, but I put this on your tab.”

“That’s like fifty bucks,” Hayden said, exasperated.

“Better you than me,” he said, raising his shot glass in the air dramatically. “To nights you’ll never remember, and friends you’ll never forget.”