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She nodded, wondering if she really stuck out that much. Maybe she was overdressed.
"Good luck," the bouncer commented as he handed back her ID and Kayla walked inside.
She was immediately overcome with the smell of smoke . Seriously? a bar that still allowed smoking? This was new. Her eyes adjusted to the dark interior of the room and the smoky scent as she made her way to the bar. She thought, for a second, that it must be a themed night. Everyone appeared to be in costume.
Everyone, that is, except for her.
The bartender, who was dressed as a friendly pirate, smiled when he saw her.
"First time?"
"Yeah. Rum and coke, please."
"You got it."
She slid onto a barstool and pulled out her phone to check the time. 8:55. She was early. Kayla had a habit of being early. She wasn't sure why she found it so difficult to be exactly on time. Maybe it had something to do with her childhood. Mom had been perpetually late, so as an adult, she somehow felt that it was her job to never be late. Unfortunately, that sometimes slipped into being obsessively early.
She was trying to find a balance.
"Five bucks," the bartender told her.
Kayla gave him six and started sipping her drink.
It was strong.
He must have known she was going to need it to get through the night.
Glancing around the room with the straw in her mouth, Kayla began to feel less sexy and more like an outsider at a high school party. Everyone - everyone - was wearing something unusual. There were birds and monkeys and bears. There were nurses and doctors. There was a schoolteacher. There were dragons. There was one guy dressed like Harry Potter and a couple of zombies. There was everything.
And then there was her.
A mummy slipped onto the barstool next to her. He wore a suit and glasses over his wrappings. Without a word, the bartender brought him a drink. The mummy slipped a $10 bill onto the bar and began to sip his drink.
"What are you drinking tonight?" Kayla asked, curious. It looked like blood in a wine glass.
"12 Mile Limit," the mummy told her. He seemed to smile. At least, she thought he did. It was difficult to tell with the wrappings.
"Looks pretty good," she told him, eyeing the glass. Though she had been to many bars and tried many drinks, she recently found herself sticking with the ol’ tried-and-true. Then again, Kayla wasn’t exactly known for her willingness to experiment.
The mummy sipped his drink slowly, never letting his eyes wander from Kayla’s. She tried not to stare at him, but she couldn’t help wondering what was beneath those wraps. Was he sexy? Was he hot? Seductive? Ripped? Thin? A little flabby? She really had no idea.
“What do you think of the bar?” The mummy kept watching her.
“The drinks are good,” she commented, glancing around. “I just wish I had known it was a themed night. I would have dressed up.”
The mummy smiled.
“It’s not.”
“Not what?”
“Not a theme night.”
“What do you mean?” He wasn’t making any sense. Why else would everyone be in costume?
Then it hit her.
“Oh.”
