“See you at Mountain Breath around seven?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
* * *
“Cheers, man!”Noah raised his Sazerac high in the air as he continued, “To breaking free of that worthless ball and chain. It’s only up from here.”
I laughed. “Thanks. I really can’t believe it is finally over.”
“Free at last!” Noah sang out. “Thank God almighty. You, my friend, are free at last!”
“Amen to that.” After taking a hefty swig from my old fashioned, I called over to the bartender, “Marty! It’s perfect, as always.”
Smiling through his gray whiskers, the older man nodded over to me. “Glad to hear it, Jack.”
As I set the short rocks glass on a coaster, I pointed up at the large black and white picture of The Hysterics that was framed behind the bar. “How’re the boys doing?”
Pride emanated as Marty’s chest puffed out. “They’re on a world tour right now. Talked to Mav the other night while they were in Edinburgh—sounds like they’re having the time of their lives. They even opened for Oasis in Loch Lomond a few days ago.”
“That’s incredible,” Noah chimed in.
Marty’s son was Maverick Steele, the bassist of The Hysterics. They were taking the rock industry by storm. Mountain Breath had basically become a shrine to them and was where they got their start. It felt like just yesterday I was meeting Skye for our first date, an open mic night in that very bar with Maverick stunning the audience with his acoustic rendition of “25 Or 6 To 4” that brought then entire joint to their feet.
Marty wandered down the bar to help a new customer as I turned to Noah. “Where’s Izzy tonight? I can’t remember the last time just the two of us hung out.”
He thumbed the straw in his drink as a huge grin lit up his face. “We weren’t going to tell anyone yet. It’s still a little bit early, but Izzy’s about six weeks pregnant. Besides, she thought it would be better if we just had some guy time.”
“Holy shit! Congrats, man!” I jumped off my barstool and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“You can’t tell Izzy you know. She made me promise we would keep it a secret until we told our parents. You know how Lidia gets when she isn’t in the inner circle.”
Noah’s mother was one of the biggest busybodies to ever grace God’s green earth. I’d never forget in high school when she ranted on and on about Noah not telling her he was dating Izzy right away. I couldn’t blame him for trying to keep her wrath at bay by any means necessary.
“So, I shouldn’t send her a bouquet of congratulatory roses with a card calling her grandma just yet?” I teased.
“For the love of all things holy, please do not do that. You’d have Izzy’s hormonal ass to deal with, and that wouldn’t work out for either of us.”
“Touché.”
A few hours passed by quickly, fueled by multiple perfectly crafted cocktails. “Fuck that damn arm candy. How the fuck can someone like Skye really leave me for a piece of shit like that?”
Noah smacked his hand down on the bar. “It’s time for you to get back on the horse and spread some wild oats. I know you haven’t gotten any since that two-timing bitch stormed off.”
“Try forever before that—we hadn’t fucked in months. I should have known she was sleeping with someone else. She sure as shit never wanted to fuck me.”
“She’s a cunt, and you will find someone ten-times better and hotter.”
“I don’t even know where to start,” I admitted. I hadn’t dated in over a decade, and there was no social media and no dating apps the last time I was single. The game had changed and I had missed kickoff.
“Fuck if I know. A buddy of mine at work keeps talking about all the dates he’s been going on from dating sites. Maybe start there?”
“What ever happened to the good ol’ days when you just met people in bars?”
“It’s a digital age, my friend.” Noah shoved up from his stool, announcing, “Gotta drain the snake.”
Right after Noah headed to the men’s room, an overly sloshed redhead sank into his seat. Her makeup was smudged all over her face and her teal blouse was wrinkle and hanging off one shoulder. Her eyes were half open as she awkwardly winked at me. “How’re you doing tonight, handsome?” she slurred in an annoyingly high-pitched voice.
Ask and you shall receive, but be careful what you fucking wish for.