Requested Short Story

This was a short story I wrote for The Newsletter this summer. I tried to send it to Malis over IM, but it wouldn't work. So, he suggested I post it here. For those who have not read it in The Newsletter, I hope you enjoy.

~ Brad

“Thinkin’ and Drinkin’”

Neil Beckman stared absentmindedly into his beer, vaguely hearing the conversations around him. Seated net to him at their table was his friend Rob, immersing those around him in one of his stories from their undergraduate glory days.
“So then we hear the cops coming into the house, and me and Neil jump under the bed of this chick we barely even know, trying to hide from ‘em. Just then, the chick stumbles in with her boyfriend, and they start going at it on the bed above us, not realizing we’re there! You remember that, Neil?” Rob said as he nudged him with his elbow.
“Huh?” Neil replied, as if awoken from a trance.
“You remember that party sophomore year when we hid under that chick’s bed?”
“Oh yeah… great idea, dumbass.”
“Hey, shut up, you weren’t even paying attention.”
“Yeah, sorry. I was thinking ‘bout something,” Neil responded.
“Well less thinkin’, more drinkin’,” Rob replied, more like an order than a suggestion.
Neil couldn’t think of a reason to challenge Rob on it, so he chugged down a good third of the beer in his glass. As he set the glass back down on its coaster, his eyes met those of a girl seated a few tables away. Her eyes were a very pale blue, almost stormy grey, yet bright and piercing at the same time. She had that kind of cuteness about her that Neil always fell for, and she seemed to be equally distracted from her party as Neil was from his…
…when the sudden chirp of his cell phone made Neil jump as he realized he had been staring at the girl. He quickly regained his composure as he dug the phone out of his pocket, knowing that since most of his friends were seated at the table around him only one person could be calling him. He held the phone out in front of him, confirming that “Jen” flashed on the display screen before answering the call, her third of the evening.
“Hello? What… yeah, I’m at the bar… hold on, WHAT? I can barely hear you,” Neil all but screamed into the phone as he held a finger in his other ear in an attempt to drown out the ambient noise around him. “I’m gonna have to call you back in just a minute, OK? No, just let me get outside so I can hear you. Alright, bye for a sec,” Neil said in a frustrated tone apparent to those seated around him.
“Trouble with the little lady?” Rob poked at Neil, hoping to rile him a bit.
“Yeah, Idunno. We were arguing about something when I left to come here, so I don’t know,” Neil answered, not sure if he was even fooling himself. “I gotta go call her back,” Neil sighed as he made his way towards the bar’s back exit. Unconsciously, Neil directed his attention to the table where the cute girl had been sitting, only to find it empty.
“Poor bastard,” Rob offered to no one in particular as he took down the rest of his drink.
Neil tugged on the other sleeve of his coat as he stepped outside into the parking lot, angling himself towards the building in an attempt to put his back to the wind. He wasn’t sure which he was steeling himself against more, the wind or the voice on the other end of the line as he dialed Jen’s number. “Hey. Yes, I’m still at the bar, it’s only 11:30. I don’t know, probably about another hour or so. Well the bar closes at 2, so definitely before then. Yeah, I know we’ve got that thing tomorrow, don’t worry. No, I won’t forget to pick it up on my way home, that’s why they’re open 24-7. OK, I’ll be home in a bit. Love you too,” Neil said with a faint sound of defeat in his voice.
“Excuse me,” a voice said from behind Neil, catching him a bit off guard. It was the unknown girl from across the bar, and Neil was the only other person outside. “Um, hi. Do you know anything about cars?” she asked, looking a little sheepish both because of her request and because she had been eavesdropping on his conversation with Jen. “I think I need a jump-start.”
Neil stared at her, slightly dumfounded, before he remembered to answer her question. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think I’ve got some cables in my car. Let me go pull it around next to yours,” Neil replied. He realized he was still holding onto his cell phone, and with a wry, private smile, turned it off as he put in back in his pocket and fished for his keys.