Twenty-One
“Happy birthday, Noey Bear,” Farrah said, raising her beer in a toast. She’d been the one to choose this bar to spend the night of Noah’s twenty-first birthday at.
“How does it feel to drink legally?” Kayla, his friend he’d met in his British lit class in freshman year, asked.
Noah laughed. “Is drinking supposed to feel different from last night?”
“Yeah, didn’t you know that your tolerance just, like, shoots up on your twenty-first birthday?” Kayla asked.
“I forgot to tell him,” Sam said. “My bad.”
Noah pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Farrah excused herself to go to the bathroom and Sam followed her. Noah knew she just wanted to get out and smoke, and Sam had followed to keep her company and maybe try to shoot their shot.
“So, how far into that paper for McNulty’s class are you?” Noah asked Kayla.
“I have all my sources and a good outline,” Kayla said. “You?”
“I’ve barely started it,” he replied with a grimace. “I was hoping you’d put it off, too, so we could commiserate.”
“Aren’t you, like, top of our class? How are you gonna swing keeping that up if you’re procrastinating like this?” Kayla asked.
Noah shrugged. “I always manage to pull it off.”
He did better if he waited, he’d learned. The pressure or something was a good catalyst for his best work. Far be it from him to change up his tried-and-true methods now.
Kayla shook her head. “That’s obnoxious, Noah.”
“Sorry.”
She grinned and rolled her eyes a little, then she leaned forward and grabbed his bottle of beer. “Mind if I try it?”
He shook his head.
Kayla took a drink then slid it back to him. “That’s a good one. I should’ve gotten it instead of this.”
“Why didn’t you?” Noah asked.
“This is pumpkin spice,” Kayla said.
He understood the allure. He liked pumpkin spice, too, but he did prefer apple flavor in the fall, if he was honest.
“How is it?”
She pushed her beer toward him and he took a sip. It was awful. This was her third one, and he wondered why anyone would drink three of these. Especially since she didn’t seem thrilled with it.
“I hate it,” he said through a cough, but his words were probably lost in the din of the bar and Kayla’s laughter.
Noah adjusted his glasses again. He’d spent nearly half an hour tearing his and Sam’s dorm apart earlier that afternoon trying to find his contacts, but they hadn’t been any of the places he’d checked, even though he would’ve sworn he’d left them on his nightstand.
Kayla sighed, looking at him and resting her chin on her left hand. “You’re cute, you know that?”
He swallowed. They’d been flirting back and forth for a while. He wasn’t sure how into her he really was, but he wasn’t not interested in trying something with her. She was pretty, with naturally-blonde hair and rich, brown eyes; if he wasn’t top of their class, Kayla was; they had overlapping friend groups; and they got along well. He wouldn’t make the first move, and he would be perfectly happy if they stayed friends, but if she made a move, he certainly wouldn’t turn her down.
“I try.”
She giggled. “Well, you do very well, Noah.”
“Thanks.”
“I forgot you wore glasses,” she said, turning her mug of beer around, then taking another drink.
“Yeah, I lost my contacts, or I would’ve worn them.”
“You look cute in your glasses. I mean, you’re cuter without them, but you’re still pretty cute.”
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He felt his face flush. It was partly the alcohol talking, and he knew that, but he’d never liked his glasses. She was right that he looked better without them. Still, he didn’t want to be told that.
Farrah and Sam came back after another few minutes, both flushed and he wondered if it was from the chill of the November air. When they got closer, Noah figured out it probably had more to do with the suspicious smudging of Farrah’s lipstick and the fact it was now also on Sam’s mouth. So, they had made their move. And it had clearly paid off.
“Hey, I’m gonna go get another drink,” he said, even though he still had half his beer left. He didn’t know how to make small talk with Kayla after what she’d said about his glasses, though, and he wouldn’t be leaving her alone now, so he was going to get away for a minute.
“Yeah, sure,” Kayla said.
“You know what you’re getting?” Sam asked.
“Not a pumpkin spice beer, huh?” Kayla asked with a giggle.
Noah laughed and said the first drink that came to mind: “An old fashioned.”
He’d never had one of those, but he’d heard the name before, and he was pretty sure his dad liked them, so he’d try one.
“Ooh, not a fan,” Farrah said.
“I like them,” Sam said defensively. “And if you don’t, now you’ll know.”
“Exactly,” Noah said. “I’ll be right back.”
He made his way to the bar, where he found a seat next to a couple around his age. He was pretty sure he’d seen them around campus before, holding hands, but he didn’t know them.
The girl leaned forward and Noah had a feeling she was trying to get her boyfriend’s attention, but he was watching the bartender. The girl huffed after a minute, tucking an auburn lock of hair behind her ear.
Noah wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but the bartender was still at the other end of the bar, and he couldn’t help the he heard when she said, “Dylan.”
“Huh?” The guy — Dylan — looked back at her. “What’s up, babe?”
“I was trying to tell you Devi texted me about Thanksgiving today. She’s having a dinner the Saturday before, like last year.”
“Oh, yeah. Isn’t that a few weeks away?” Dylan asked.
“Well, yeah, but you know her. Always planning ahead and everything.”
“And we’ll be there, she knows that. And if she didn’t know that, Ian knows I wouldn’t bail on him.” Dylan rolled his eyes. “We didn’t need to know this early.”
The girl straightened her shoulders. “I need to budget for whatever I’m making. With Christmas coming up, money’s getting a bit tight.”
“Babe, I’ll pay for it,” he said. “Don’t stress. You’re my girl, you shouldn’t have to worry about anything. You’ve gotta start trusting me, baby love.”
He went back to watching the bartender, who was now headed their way. The girl let out a heavy breath while Dylan ordered a whiskey neat, then she said she was good.
The bartender fixed Dylan’s drink and slid it to him, and Dylan and his girlfriend left as Noah asked for an old fashioned. He got his drink, and, on his way back to his friends, he saw the girl from the bar leaving alone.
He didn’t know her, but he almost followed, just to make sure she didn’t have to walk home alone, but he knew that might seem like he was making an advance or something more nefarious, and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. He would never hurt anyone. He also wouldn’t try to get with anyone who was already in a relationship, even if he did think she was pretty.
“I think I might have just watched a couple break up,” he said as he slid into his seat. “There was definitely some tension there and I think I saw the girl leaving alone.”
“Awkward,” Kayla sang.
“Super awkward,” Farrah said. “I guess I delivered drinks and a show choosing this place, huh?”
“Farrah,” Sam said, nudging her.
“It’s his birthday,” Farrah said. “He deserves drinks and a show. He deserves everything his little heart desires.”
Noah laughed and tried his old fashioned.
“What do you think?” Sam asked.
“I like it,” Noah said.
Kayla wrinkled her nose. “Gross, but okay.”
The conversation moved on to classes, their plans for Thanksgiving and the upcoming winter break. Noah wondered the whole time if the girl from the bar had made it home safely.
