“Someone is going to be broke by the time we retire, boys,” I say, mocking Philip, and we all laugh about it as we drive down the mountain, over West Vancouver city, and head to Glowbal Grill in Yale town.
CHAPTER FOUR
We walk into Glowbal Grill to find Leanne already there, sitting with two other girls at the bar who look like they’ve been anxiously waiting our arrival. She raises her glass to get Philip’s attention and offers a bright smile—Philip smiles back at her, leading us over to where they’re seated. When we reach the bar, Leanne hops off her seat to greet Phil.
“Hi,” she says, looking only at him.
“Hey, Leanne, you remember Elvis, and this is Liam,” he gestures towards us, keeping his eyes on her the whole time.
“Yes, of course I remember.” She turns her smile on us. “Hi, Liam, it’s nice to meet you. I’m so glad you all made it. These are my friends, Madison and Kimb erly.”
Her friends both smile at me and Liam. It’s immediately obvious they know Phil is off li mits.
Kimberly has the blondest hair I’ve ever seen—with the same short cut as Leanne—whereas Madison has long wavy blonde hair; Madison’s very attractive, exactly the type of girl I would normally make a move on. We all say our hellos as Philip leans over to the bartender and orders a round of drinks. I grab my gin and tonic and turn to find Madison suddenly standing next to me at the bar. She raises her glass and taps mine. “Cheers.” She’s so close that I notice how pretty her light -b lue eyes are. I nod and cheers her back.
The night goes along smoothly. Leanne and her friends are a fun bunch, and we all get along. Liam and Kimberly look like they’re having a nice conversation, and I even find myself flirting a little with Madison. She seems to be interested in me. Every few minutes she reaches her hand out to touch my arm and stroke it up and down, while constantly holding a drink in her other hand, and as usual, I go along with it. A few more people from school join us, three girls and two other guys who Leanne invited, and everyone seems to be having a good time. Adam and Natalie were right about Glowbal Grill being one of the best bars in Yaletown.
The service is excellent, and everyone seems friendly, which puts me at ease.
I eye the bartender again. With the amount of money being spent among the three of us, it doesn’t take much time to get service, and I order another round of drinks. Madison takes her refill from me and turns to Leanne and Philip, drawing us into their conversation, while Liam and Kimberly stay slightly away from the group, engrossed in their own discus sion.
I thought being here would distract me from thinking about the girl from my class, but it’s difficult to focus on Madison all night when all I see is that girl’s beautiful face in my head.
How can a complete stranger be taking up so much of my mind? I don’t even know her name. It’s starting to bother me a lot. I feel like I’m going insane. She really isn’t my type—I’m more attracted to a girl like Madison, someone who’s easier to get along with—but I just can’t help the way I feel when I’m in her presence. I hear familiar voices beside me and snap out of it to see that Allison and Logan have arr ived.
“Wow, this place is so nice,” Allison says in her loud, cheery v oice.
That’s my sister for you. Logan keeps his hand holding hers and whispers something in her ear that makes her laugh out loud. Only Logan can handle Allison’s excitement for everything in life.
I turn to the bartender and order yet another round of drinks for everyone but me because I’m driving tonight. The place is getting busy now, and as I look across the bar, my eyes catch a familiar brunette, sitting next to a girl with the wildest natural -r ed curly hair. I don’t recognize her friend, but I certainly recognize the beautiful brunette. My heart nearly skips a beat.
It’s the girl from my c lass.
She laughs loudly at something her friend says to her. She seems to be having a good time. Apparently, she isn’t as uptight as I thought, and she’s even more beautiful when she sm iles.
Her friend takes a big gulp from the drink in her hand and places the empty glass on the bar, then she gets up and heads for the restroom, waving two fingers in the air as though she’s telling her she will be back in two minutes. The stunning brunette shakes her head at her friend and lets out another laugh, picking up a drink that looks like it’s barely been touched. As the redhead walks away, I notice a guy in a business suit standing near to the girl, staring at her, up and down. I can tell by the way he shifts his body towards her that he’s going to make his move now that her friend is gone. I can’t keep my eyes off either of them.
Just as I thought, he makes his way to the bar. He tries to act nonchalant, stopping right next to her to order a drink, but she completely ignores him, looking in the other direction while he gazes at her without shame. After a few seconds, he seems to realize he will have to try a little ha rder.
I know the feeling, b uddy.
Sure enough, there he goes, trying to get her attention with a question. I know the steps. I can read his moves like a book. The only thing I can’t figure out is which question he went with.
Whatever it was, it hasn’t worked. She continues to ignore him and even starts to look a little annoyed when he doesn’t get the hint. Now I’ve completely withdrawn myself from whatever conversation the group is having: I can only focus on the fact that she’s across the bar from me and someone is disturbing her.
I sense Madison noticing that I’m no longer paying her any attention. A quick look over at her expression confirms it; she’s definitely not pleased. But even though it’s not polite to ignore her, I can’t help the fact that my eyes are locked onto the brunette from my class, just the same as every other time I’ve seen her. She’s like a magnet to me, and I get sucked into her world, a world I would like to learn more a bout.
Quickly, I grab Liam’s arm beside me. He turns, looking confused at the sudden interruption to his conversation with Kimb erly.
“Elvis, what is it?” he asks, immediately conce rned.
My face can’t hide my feelings from him.
“She’s at the bar,” I say without thinking, still looking straight at her.
I’m starting to feel annoyed with the guy in the suit as well. He keeps trying to hit on her even though she hasn’t said a word back to him. This shouldn’t bother me; it’s not like she’s mine.
Besides, the last time I attempted to save a girl from a guy was the night I had that bad fight with Ruben Haggs—and look how that turned out. Flashes from that night come flooding back, but I move the thoughts aside quickly and stay focused on the present.
I can see Liam looking around the bar, trying to see who I’m talking a bout.
“Who?”
“Her! The girl from my class,” I answer, gesturing with my head to the other side of the bar as I continue to watch her.
Liam looks over and raises an eyebrow, quickly figuring out that the guy trying to speak to her is causing a pro blem.
“The one in the orange blouse?” he asks.
I look right at him and nod.
“What are the odds she’s here, El,” he says with a smirk. “This is your chance, man.”
Allison, standing near me with Logan’s arms around her waist, takes a few steps closer so I can hear her over the noise at the bar.