The Unexpected Best Friends

Chapter 1 – The beginning

It was Friday night and Jamie found her way into a bar. It’s more appropriate to call it a club where most people go to dance, meet new people, and drink.

Her objective for the night is to drink, so she went straight to the bar and occupied one of the seats. She smirked, thinking this is where most people get picked up. Nope, she’s not hoping for that. She swears if someone comes up to her, she’s gonna ignore the heck out of him. She ordered beer. Nothing fancy. Pretty much the only alcoholic beverage she can take. She’s not really a drinker. It only happens that tonight calls for it. Not really, but it’s something like that.

She caught her boyfriend cheating on her. Oh wait, ex-boyfriend now. There was another girl who looked much younger than she is. She bet the other woman is still a freshman in college.

There was a sad smile on her face. She and Daniel have been together for three years. They went to college together. They weren’t on the same department and have only met through mutual friends. Their relationship hasn’t been well in the last year. She thought they were both busy for graduation. Senior year is very demanding. Writing that thesis paper made her lose sleep for so many nights. After graduation, she thought things would be better between them…

No. He went and found himself a new girl.

Right now, she’s not only wallowing about her broken relationship but also her struggle in finding a job. Why is it hard? Those people wanted applicants with experience. Also, her degree isn’t exactly directly-related to office work. She took fine arts for a reason. But alas, there’s less opportunities in the industry. The company she went for internship doesn’t have any available position. She can only try other jobs.

Dave looked around his club. It’s still early. Few people are present. Given that it’s Friday, it’s one the most crowded days of the week. Next to Saturday, that is. Give it another hour and it would be filled with people. His eyes darted to the bar and found a lone woman sitting there. He squinted in her direction. She seems to be focused on drinking.

He approached her and sat down two seats on her left.

She glanced over and appreciated the space he made.

“Good evening, boss.” The bartender greeted him and set a glass of clear soda mixed with gin.

“Evening.” He shortly replied, nodding.

Jamie clearly heard the young man. She didn’t want to look rude or something so she kept her eyes on her drink. She sighed afterwards.

Dave took his drink and sipped. After a while, he turned his body to face her. If she’s interested to talk, she would look at him.

She doesn’t look like she’s older.

Jamie did notice his stance and glanced. Seeing him looking at her, she raised an eyebrow.

Dave smiled at her, “You’re one of our earliest customers. First on the bar, too. What drove you to drink this early?”

She turned her body sideways. A little to her left to face him. “Shouldn’t you begin with an introduction? Your name, perhaps?”

“David Lerman. Most people call me Dave.” He offered his hand to her.

She stared at it for two seconds before shaking hands with him.

“Jamie Marquez. Jamie.”

He nodded, reaching for his drink again and taking another sip. “So, what brought you here so early?”

Jamie almost showed him a grimace. “What can I say? Broke up with my boyfriend. Ugh, it’s ex-boyfriend now, isn’t it? Couldn’t find a good job. Money’s running out.”

She scoffed at the glass in front of her. “Why am I even spending money on beer is beyond me.”

Hearing her reason, he could relate. “I broke up with my girlfriend three days ago.”

She looked at him with interest. Well, thanks. She’s not the only one. “Why’d you break up? Mine cheated.”

Dave chuckled. “Well, what do you know? Mine also did.”

“With a girl that looks like she’s still in college.”

“With a guy that has three cars.”

Her lip twitched. Aren’t you the owner of this club?

“And how many do you have?”

Dave shrugged. “Just one. Why would I need so many?”

“Did he gift her with one?”

“I don’t think so.” He shook his head.

“But he probably gives her money. Every day, she goes shopping.” He added.

“How do you know?” She’s curious.

“Her social media posts are full of it. She’s showing off.” His tone was somewhat bitter.

“And you haven’t gifted her stuff because…?”

“It’s a waste of resources.” He gestured around the club. “All my money goes to this place.”

She frowned then. “Isn’t this supposed to give you money? Are you having financial troubles, then?”

Dave sighed and scrubbed his face with one hand. He stared at the bartender.

“Not really. But we’ve been trying out new menus. New drinks. We’re going to start introducing some food soon. Not sure if that’s gonna work out, though.”

“I could use a meal right now.” She responded. “Unconventional, of course.”

“True. We’re adding rooms above as well.” With that, he grimaced. It’s turning into an inn but he knew it would mostly serve as a place for his customers who hook up to have s*x. Not the best idea for a clean reputation, but hey… it’s a club.

“I’m guessing that’s where the money goes.” Jamie finished her first bottle of beer. She’s surprised. She could hardly finish one in all the times she tried before.

“Yep.” He asked his worker for another drink and asked Jamie if she wants another bottle.

“Alright.” She agreed. The conversation is nice, so she thought they could continue.

“Looking for a job, huh? I don’t have anything to offer you.”

Jamie chuckled. “That’s fine. I’m bound to find one soon, right?”

“What did you study?”

Here, her expression turned sour again. “Fine arts. But I’ve taken minor courses on office management.”

“Why aren’t you pursuing arts, then?”

“Didn’t I answer that already? I’m broke. It’s much harder to find a job related to my degree, so I’m trying something else.” She chugged the beer down and realized she doesn’t actually like it. She pushed the bottle away and glared at it.

Dave asked for water.

“Look, right now, I’m more interested at trashing my ex and cursing that wicked girl. Do you want to guess how I caught them?”

Dave eyed her. If this happened today, then she must really want to vent her anger.

“What? In the act? Were they f*****g?” He was supposed to be joking but who knew that was the truth?

She showed him an OK sign with her hand, then winked. “Bingo! They didn’t even stop when I showed up. The bastard was chasing his climax. Oh, I should’ve cut his length. I could’ve made it shorter!”

By now, she’s just trying to have fun with her imagination. Her thoughts made her giggle. If you ask her, she doesn’t really love him anymore. Tonight has proven that. It was just… They could’ve broken up sooner. And cleanly. Without these ill feelings.

Those three years were quite long, too. It’s a pity they have to end their relationship. Those years together has been wasted. That’s what’s hurting her. She did love him. So much. But this is the end for them.

She shook her head. He couldn’t even respect her. The bastard! He really plowed into that b***h’s cunt while she’s present. It was humiliating and extremely degrading. She knew he was not satisfied with her. He’d complained about her bedroom performance the few times they had done it. He said she’s too loud and her expressions make her look terribly ugly. Yeah, she probably drifted away from him because of it. Still… she loved him. Even if it was for a short time. He wooed her properly and he was sweet to her. Too bad those were just memories now. That wasn’t who he really is.

Dave’s lip twitched as this woman practically told him everything about her love life and her ex. She wasn’t exactly crying as her expression remained fierce but she’s shedding tears. It felt weird to him. Does she even know what she’s doing?

He glanced at his wrist watch. Twenty more minutes before people start flooding in. He really needs to sort out his financial situation. He might have to cut some costs.