Worth Saving(9)

“Yeah, it can be a little tough, but I’ll be okay. How about you? What do you do?”

“I, uhh, I’m a bartender at a nightclub.”

“Ah, I see.”

“What?”

“That explains why you thought I was trying to hit on you. I assume you’re used to that kind of thing in your line of work, especially in Vegas.”

She glances down at the floor again.

“Definitely.”

“Well, when you find yourself in the situation where you’re being hit on again, try to understand that when a woman looks like you, men can have a hard time not acting like jackasses.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Look, I’m gonna say this one time, because I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. I didn’t come here to compliment women or to hit on anybody, so don’t think that’s what this is. I’m just answering your question, okay?”

She lets out a slight giggle under her breath. “Okay.”

I take a deep breath and try to figure out the best way to say exactly what I’m thinking. It’s a lot harder than you might think. Usually, nerves get in the way, but between the Patron shot at the table and the two and a half Red Bull and Vodkas, I’m pretty numb to all my nerves. So, I take another deep breath and just say it, hoping for the best.

“Look, I’m twenty-three years old, Layla. I’ve been in the Air Force since I was eighteen. I’ve been deployed three times and gone TDY six times, all to different places around the world. I’ve seen a lot of people, and still, I know without a single doubt in my mind that you’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen in my life. So, if I know that after all the places I’ve been and all the people I’ve seen, imagine the affect you have on all the local guys.”

She doesn’t say anything at first, which makes me nervous. The alcohol has me saying things I usually wouldn’t say out loud, so I just hope I haven’t said anything that might offend her and make her think I’m trying to get in her pants. I was just being honest. She’s breathtaking, that’s all there is to it.

“Umm. Never heard anything quite like that before,” she says, looking me straight in the eye, as serious as a heart attack.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend you or be too forward. Like I said, I was just answering your question.”

“I’m not offended,” she replies with another soft smile, but bigger this time. Even more beautiful.

It looks like she’s getting ready to say something else, but before she can get the words out, she’s distracted by something behind her. Someone behind her. A man.

I watch as the huge, bald man taps her on the shoulder and leans over to whisper something in her ear. I can’t hear anything he’s saying, but I can tell from how her facial expression has hardened again that she’s not happy about it. She doesn’t say anything in response, she just nods to him, and then he leaves without ever looking up at me. Once he’s disappeared into the gaggle of patrons inside Stacy’s Bar, Layla turns her attention back to me, but there are no more smiles. The wall is back up.

“Umm, I’m really sorry, Austin, but I’ve gotta go,” she replies, then she starts to get up.

“Oh. Okay. Did I piss your boyfriend off?”

“No. It’s not like that. I’ve just gotta go. It was nice meeting you,” she says as she turns on her heel and walks away. My eyes follow her as she struts through the crowd, the epitome of perfection. There must be fifty guys staring at her as she makes her way out, but she ignores them all.

“Nice to meet you, too,” I reply, even though I know she can longer hear me.





Layla

“You ever wonder if there’s anything better out there?”

“Out where?”

“Out there. Outside of here. Outside of this,” I gesture with my hands like a magician’s assistant showing there’s nothing inside the box.

Marlene lets her eyes bounce around the half-empty club before she turns to me.

“I don’t know. I don’t really think about it.”

“Well, you should consider yourself lucky then.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because you don’t have to think about it,” I reply. “For me, it’s always in the back of my mind, like a light that never goes off. It’s there, shining dimly, giving light to the darkness even if it’s only a small light. That light is the little bit of hope I have.”

Marlene runs her hand through her short black hair and clears her throat as she leans over the bar on her elbows. There’s one stripper on the stage right now, but I’m not even sure what her name is. Maybe it’s Jessica. Maybe I don’t even care.

“I hear you. I’d assume everybody has that little bit of hope deep down inside of them. Everybody hopes for something better, don’t they?”

“I don’t know. I guess so. I just wonder if it’s on everybody else’s mind as much as it’s on mine.” I reach up and adjust my hair so that it falls over my shoulder on the left side, and cascades down my back on the right side.

“What exactly are we talking about here, sweetie?” Marlene inquires. She squints her eyes and has a little smirk on her mouth like she already knows the answer. “Are you talking about life after Red Pony Gentlemen’s Club? Like, a family?”