I had all but given up on this bros’ night.
“Come on, man; you can’t be everyone’s type. That doesn’t mean you’re ugly or anything.” Trent was trying to cheer me up after a humiliating rejection from the girls at the bar.
I had gone up and tried my hand at a little small talk, asking how they were doing, what they were drinking. When I offered to buy them a round, one of them snorted, “No thanks. You’re not my type,” as the other cackled loudly.
Things like this always happened. Either the girl wasn’t interested in me, or got bored when I started talking about my interests—science, mostly. I was at the end of my rope.
“Mira, there’s no more chicas here tonight, so can we just drink and hang out? Let’s leave the matchmaking shit for another night,” I said, raising my glass of Guinness.
“Alright, my friend. But if another girl walks in and you’re interested, you should say something,” Trent said, raising his drink in return. Knox clinked glasses with us and we all took long pulls of our drinks.
I paused, looking around quickly. “Do you guys hear that?” I asked, trying to read everyone’s lips in the bar. I couldn’t figure out where that sound was coming from.
“Hear what, man?” Trent and Knox were on guard now, sweeping the bar as well.
“Whistling. Someone’s whistling.” I tried focusing really hard on the sound, but no one had their lips pursed or anything.
“I don’t hear anything,” Knox said, staring at me.
Trent laughed, slapping me on the back. “The booze getting to you already, bud?”
“Haha. Yeah, maybe.” I laughed nervously. The whistling grew fainter and then it disappeared.
Did I just imagine it?
My eyes swept around the bar idly, and that’s when I spotted her. She had a black, bone-straight, shoulder length bob with dark eyes to match. She was pale with full lips and a slender frame. She was Asian, I was sure, I just couldn’t tell from where. There was something else in there…
She had captured my attention completely. And when my eyes moved back to hers, we connected, and I felt a jolt of electricity run through me as her lips parted and her checks flushed. She turned around quickly and practically ran up to the bar. My eyes followed her every step, peeping a nice round bottom that would fit into my hands perfectly. She ordered a drink and took a sip.
I wish those were my lips instead…I thought. There was something about her that was just so goddamn sexy.
“You should go talk to her,” Knox said, nudging me. He must have caught me checking her out.
“Nah, I couldn’t. She’s way out of my league, hombre,” I responded, shaking my head and waving his words away. There was no way that girl would talk to me. But every fiber of my being wanted to say something to her.
“She could be thinking the same thing, Ramon. I saw her blush when you made eye contact,” Knox teased.
“The worst she can say is she isn’t interested,” Trent shrugged.
“Like I need anyone else telling me that tonight.”
Trent slapped me on the back. “Don’t be a punk, man.”
“Fine,” I agreed finally, getting up from my bar stool and downing the rest of my beer. The girl was still standing by the bar and seemed to be considering the drink she had just tasted.
What do I say to her? I thought, milling over a million and one greetings in my head. Do I say something Spanish? No, you idiot. What if she doesn’t know Spanish? Everyone knows ‘hola,’ though. Nah, better not risk it.
I went back and forth in my head as I walked up to her and she didn’t even notice me approach.
“Um…hi, there,” I finally said, running a hand through my hair nervously.
She looked up at me and her eyes widened.
“Um, hi.” I watched a deep flush blossom over her cheeks and realized that maybe she was just as nervous as I was.
“I saw you walk in and my friends hyped me up to come talk to you,” I chuckled, trying to be honest. If she was shy, I wanted to show her that I wasn’t that confident in talking to people, either.
“Do your friends make you talk to women often?” She raised her eyebrows at me. I wasn’t sure how to take the question, but I decided to be truthful.
“Yeah, they think something’s wrong with me,” I chuckled.
“Ah…cherchez la femme…” she said, taking a sip from her drink.
“You speak French?” I asked, bewildered. I hadn’t been expecting that at all.
“En effet. That’s right. I lived in France until I was seventeen. I lived with my father who was French, and he sent me to English schools. He said only knowing French would hinder my future, so he wanted me to learn in English.” She took a long swig of her drink, “I came to America for college ten years ago and I’ve been here ever since."
Wow, she’s so open about herself, I thought, and I admired that.
“So, what does it mean?”
“What?”
“I’m not sure if I can pronounce it. Cherchez la femme, was it?” It came out with a heavy Spanish accent and I cringed, fairly certain I had pronounced it incorrectly.
“That was perfect!” She giggled, and my heart skipped a beat. It was a lovely soft chime and I hoped I would be hearing it more. “It’s a saying we used to have in France. Literally, it would translate as ‘looking for women.’ The saying itself is meant to describe when a man is acting out of character. The French believe that a woman will solve his issues, so he must go out and find one. Like how your friends are doing. Who also seem to be looking over here to check on you.”
When I turned to look back the table, Trent and Knox raised their glasses to me. She raised her own in return and I chuckled.
“Yeah, that’s pretty spot on,” I agreed, as she finished her cocktail. “You happened to be in a good spot, since I needed another drink. I see you’ve finished yours, too; may I buy you another?”
Please say yes, please say yes…
“Sure!” She smiled, and my breath caught.
She is gorgeous…
“What are you drinking, might I ask?”
“The Fresh Whiskey Smash,” she said, proudly.
“Ooooh, whiskey! That’s my kind of girl!” I joked, calling the bartender over with a wave. “Can I get another Fresh Whiskey Smash for the lady and I’ll have some Jack on the rocks, please.”
“Hmmm, so you’re a Jack kind of guy?” She seemed intrigued.
“Yeah, I used to drink a lot of tequila back in Mexico, so when I got to the states and found whiskey, it grew on me. I still love tequila, though. It’ll always have a special place in my heart.” I smiled, remembering all the times I went to the bars in Mexico and they had hundreds of different tequilas. I would swear I had tried them all.
“So, you’re Mexican?”
“¡Nacido y criado!” I exclaimed, proudly. “Born and raised!”
She laughed, and I was glad she found me funny. She was enchanting—and so attractive. I hoped she was feeling the same.
“I wouldn’t have assumed you were born in France, just by looking at you.”
“My mother is Korean.”
“Can you speak Korean, too?” I asked as our drinks arrived. She grabbed hers and sipped it immediately, so I felt like I had to follow suit. As the whiskey trickled down my esophagus, it felt like a fire bursting in my chest. Man, I loved that feeling.
“No, actually. I only know what my name means. My parents are divorced, and I only lived with my dad. My mother is a diplomat and I never got to see much of her as a child.”
Mierda…Things are turning dark…Turn it around, man.
“I’m sorry to hear about your parents,” I started. “Speaking of names, I just realized that we haven’t even introduced ourselves yet. I’m Ramon Marquez. I work for Acadia National Park as their Resource Manager.”
I reached out my hand and she shook it.
“Pleased to meet you, Ramon. I’m Min Dupont and I work for the CDC as an entomologist.”
“An entomologist? You study bugs? That’s amazing!” This woman just got more interesting with every moment. And the fact that she was into science was such a turn on.
“And what does a resource manager such as yourself do?” She flashed that beautiful smile again.
“Well, my job entails a lot of things. I mostly focus on the biology, botany, aquatics, soil science, and geology of the park,” I stated proudly, hoping she would find my job interesting as well.
“Wow, that’s a mouthful,” she giggled. “I’ve dabbled in several different areas of science, but alas, bugs are my one true love.”
“There’s nothing wrong with having a specialty. I spent all six years of school taking every science class I could sign up for and could never settle on just one thing. I can be pretty indecisive,” I admitted.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that either. Your job must never get boring.”
“Not for one minute,” I smiled.
“Yeah, me neither. There’s always new insects to discover and interesting things to learn about them.”
“So, you mentioned you know what your name means?” I asked, eager to know more about her. I didn’t want the conversation to end.
“Quick, clever, and sharp,” she said, laughing before taking another sip of her drink. “At least that’s what my parents told me.”
“Would you consider yourself to be those things?”
“Maybe…what do you think?”
Is she trying to seduce me now? Not like she had to try hard; I was already thinking about what she might look like sprawled over my bed.
“Clever, for sure. Quick and sharp? You’ll have to show me,” I responded, hoping to send a signal.
She smirked and downed her drink instantly, setting the glass on the bar. She hopped off her bar stool and started walking towards the door.
“You coming?” She turned back to look at me and my jaw dropped. This woman went from shy to a confident seductress in minutes and I was hooked. I looked over at Trent and Knox. Trent was giving me the thumbs up and Knox was motioning for me to go with her. I nodded, downed the rest of my Jack and followed her out the door.