HAPPY NEW YEAR! I say that with such enthusiasm, as if I had an awesomely fantastic night ringing it in. Truth is, at 12 a.m. Central Time (that's my time zone), I looked at my employee, and said "happy new year, Deb". I lie. I didn't even wish her a happy new year, I just kept about my tasks. I didn't even realize when 12:00 hit. Yep, you guessed it, I was stuck at work. The second New Year in a row that I was ringing up beer sales for someone else, and silently loathing them for rubbing in my face the fact that they were enjoying their night, and I wasn't. But, I can't be mad, because as the saying goes "what you're doing when the clock strikes 12 on the new year is what you'll be doing all year"..and that couldn't be closer to the truth, because I worked my butt off ALL FRICKIN YEAR in 2011. Looks like 2012 has the same in store for me. And if there's any truth to that saying, then at least I'll have a job, so I can't complain. One of these years I'll be able to fulfill #5 on my bucketlist and be in Times Square when the ball drops on new year.
I like to think myself as having a memory like an elephant (so the saying goes), or shall I say, I remember what I want to remember, and remembering jading experiences is something I do, so as not to forget the person that did the jading (I won't ever deal with him again), nor how I was jaded, so I hopefully don't fall into the same trap with the next person. Too bad I tend to forget some things when a guy turns his charm on. I tend to be a sucker for a guy with charm that knows how to use it properly, and I tend to put on my rose-colored glasses, while quietly harboring thoughts of "I've seen this crap before", just hoping this time around will be different. Don't get it confused, I'm not naive by any standards. I'm what they call a "denialist", because I see things, and know things, I just choose to sometimes not acknowledge them.
I didn't see Kinley and Ashton come in, but when I went to the front of the store, they were in the electronics department talking to one of my techs about computers. I was feeling a little giddy, because this was by no means an expected visit. I walked over to where they were, smiled, and got in on the conversation. I was the manager of the electronics department, so I had a bit of technical savvy (I've long since forgotten all of that stuff) thanks to informative employees and good memory. Kinley started telling me that it was pure coincidence that he met me because his laptop had fried out on him a few weeks prior and he'd been needing another one, but since he didn't know anything about them, he didn't want to just be suckered into buying an expensive one by someone just trying to make a sale. My staff and I were straight salary, so commission wasn't something I was after, and I was flattered that in our brief association he trusted me to not gouge him. As my tech and I talked "techy" with Kinley, Ashton reverted to standing there quietly listening and watching me. Between words and expressions, I'd glance at him every so often trying to figure out why he was just staring at me. We got Kinley a good computer that did everything he needed it to do at a good price, and as they were walking out of the door, I waived bye to them. I thought for sure that would be the last time I saw them. I thought. Ashton came back into the store and found me on the stationary aisle straightening some folders. When I realized someone was on the aisle with me (I didn't look from what I was doing), I greeted them, not realizing it was him. He walked right up to me, I turned around and gasped. He smiled, told me I wasn't getting off the hook that easily, and asked for my number. Flirting with customers is frowned on by companies, unless you're in a business where "flirting" is your business, so I made sure there weren't any employees around before I gave it to him.
I didn't really expect to hear from him, much less hear from him that same night. From what he told me, they drink a few beers and play card games or dominoes in one of the guy's rooms every night after work, and he invited me over to hang out because they were bar-b-queing that particular night. The invitation was the most exciting thing I'd have happen in the 2 months I was there, so I happily accepted. With New Years only a few weeks away, I thought maybe I'll have made a connection with someone and finally won't have to spend New Years alone that year. I made sure everything was just perfect, from hair to shoes, and drove to their hotel a little more excited than I should have been.
When I arrived, I saw the door to one of the rooms was open and there was quite a few guys in there, none of which I recognized, and a cloud of what I guessed to be cigarette smoke was wafting out of the doorway. I didn't smell marijuana in the air (my window was down), but, I didn't smell bar-b-que, either. I couldn't see exactly what they were doing (I didn't see Kinley or Ashton's face), but it looked like some of them were sitting around a table (I guessed a game of some sort was in session), one was sitting on the bed next to a stack of what looked like pizza boxes, and the other, I could only see his arm because he was standing in front of the curtain. I was battling with if I wanted to be the only female in a room full of men, but figured what the heck. I'd stay close to the open door, so at worst if something happened, someone would hear me scream. I took a deep breath, checked my make-up in my rearview, got out, made sure my clothes were adjusted, and approached the door. Before I entered, I knocked on the outside wall just to let them know I was there. It got quiet, and all eyes were on me. I nervously smiled, and Kinley, who was sitting on the far end of the round table, greeted me with a hearty "Hey, girl! Come on in and grab yourself a beer from that chest over there!". He had a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth with ash that looked like it could fall at any time. It always amazed me how people can do that and talk without the ashes falling. Ashton was sitting in the chair closest to the window, that's why I didn't see him. I gave the room the once over, and hesitated before I went in. I looked at Ashton, who had on a baseball cap, and he was looking at me with a huge smile on his face. All of the guys were looking at me, but it didn't take long before the one on the bed (who I later found out was Jack) said "She looks nervous. We won't bite, unless you want us too". All of the guys started laughing and the game at hand resumed. Yep, it was a poker game. That little remark didn't make me feel any more comfortable, but I eased my way into the room while still keeping it under surveillance. Everything went back to as if I wasn't there with them talking crap to each other about the game, so I went a little further in, and eventually made my way to the beer chest. Yuck..Miller Lite. I wonder who's great idea this was. I grabbed one anyway, popped it open, and stood at the foot of the bed watching the game. Ashton looked up at me again. OMG those blue eyes. They were barely visible under the brim of his cap, and if he'd had it pulled any further down on his face his nose and mouth would have been the only visible things. His attention went back to his cards, and Kinley said something (I don't know a dang thing about poker lingo) then started laughing hysterically. All of the guys groaned and threw their cards on the table. One of the other guys made the suggestion to take ten because he was going broke, and got up. Kinley got up, too, came to give me a hug, then introduced me to everyone. Ashton was still sitting in the chair, but had leaned back and was staring at me. I wish he'd stop being so quiet. Even when he called me that evening, our conversation had only lasted long enough for him to give me the invite and the address. Maybe he's not very talkative. To this day, he's alot more vocal and gets on my nerves....but back to the story...
After being there for about an hour, I'd gotten alot more relaxed, all of the guys were friendly, one of them had gone to his room to call his wife, the rest of us just sat around and watched TV. At one point I inquired about the bar-b-que, and Kinley informed me that Ashton had gotten the day wrong, but I was welcomed to some pizza if I was hungry. I was, but the pizza looked cold, and I'm not necessarily a cold pizza eater, so I declined. He offered me another beer, but I hadn't finished the one I had, so I declined that, too. Ashton finally got up from the table and sprawled out across the bed. I didn't know who's room we were in, but he was getting comfortable like it was his. I later found out it was Kinley's room. About another hour passed, everyone was talking except Ashton, who was just laying there on his stomach with a pillow propped under his head, and staring at me. He really needs to stop that. I smiled at him, and asked him does he ever talk. He smiled back and said no, not really. That figured.
Kinley asked me if I had any girl friends that lived in town. Up through that point, I'd been a loner there, but there was one girl that I knew. "Chrissy" was one of my former employees at the fast food restaurant that I worked at in MacTown. She had just moved to BoreTown a few weeks prior chasing some guy. She was young, but legal, and very wild. Not my speed of association. I had only spoken with her once since I'd lived there, but since Kinley was asking, this would give me a good excuse to connect with her, and I'm sure she had some girl friends that she could fix the other guys up with. She didn't disappoint me, and we made plans to hang out at the hotel that weekend.
It started getting late, and I was ready to go home. I said my goodnights, and Ashton got up to walk me to my truck. When we got out of the room, he surprised me by telling me how pretty he thought I was, and he was wondering if I'd be open to getting to know each other on a deeper level. I knew what that meant. My "intuitive" senses chimed in..here he is in a town with no known females, he meets me, and he wants to "get to know me". Hmph. I told him that we'll see where it goes. I gave him a hug, thanked him for inviting me, and I'd see him that weekend.
He text me a few times over the next few days, and told me one time he couldn't wait to see me. Yeah, well, we'll see this weekend just how much he's into me. Chrissy isn't an ugly girl by any means, and I have no idea what her friends look like, so we'll see. Sunday got there before I knew it.
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