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As I grasped his hand, electricity shot up my arm and across my chest. I almost had a hard time getting my own name out. "Sicily. Did you graduate today?”
He shook his head, putting his hand up to the bartender. “No. My four best friends did. This is the party that I planned for them, but I guess it kind of caught on and everybody came out.”
I glanced around the room, realizing that there were decorations, and it wasn't just the plain old bar that I had assumed it was when I walked in. It was actually kind of funny, pictures of his four friends blown up really big, and definitely some embarrassing shots they probably wouldn't have wanted hung up on the wall. Then again, when I glanced over his shoulder at the guys, I remembered from the graduation that he had been standing with, two of them standing on chairs singing, two taking shots from a tray of shot glasses, and one other guy conducting the two singers, I realized they probably weren't embarrassed in the least.
I laughed, shaking my head. “So, what are you gonna do all by yourself here?”
The bartender walked up and he ordered a couple of beers, pointing at me. “Whatever she needs as well.”
“Thank you,” I replied, turning to the bartender. “Two Long Islands.”
“I only have one year left, and hopefully less than that because I'm taking some classes this summer. Guy, the one in the shirt with the picture of himself on the front of it, he graduated when I was a freshman, and the six of us are going to start a tech company together. They're going to get started with the minor stuff while I'm finishing up and then I'll join them.”
“Wow,” I replied with a sideways smirk. “You seem to have it all together. Everything planned out.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “We only think we do. I'm just hoping that it at least goes well enough that I'm not trading my graduation cap for a hairnet so I can serve fast food to pay my rent.”
The bartender came back and sat the drinks down in front of us. He thumbed over his shoulder and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Amber popped up in front of us. “I was starting to think you had to go back and make the drinks yourself. There's no place on that patio. Not unless you want to literally sit on someone's lap.”
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head, my eyes shifting nonchalantly over to Daniel and back to her. Amber finally realized he was standing there and she took her drink from me and smiled at him as she bit down on the straw. “Wait, I think I had an English class with you my sophomore year.” She swallowed a gulp of her drink and nodded her head, pointing at him. “Yes. I remember. You did your final presentation on the Old Man and the Sea, and I basically had no idea what you were talking about because when I read the book, I was pretty sure I slept through the entire thing.”
My mouth fell open. “What? That's one of the most epic books in literature. How could you fall asleep?”
Daniel put out his hand, nodding his head. “Right? Hemingway nailed it with that one.”
Amber put up her brow and glanced back and forth at the two of us. “Holy shit. I literally thought there was no one as nerdy as my best friend. It seems there's a male version of you, right here at Berkeley.”
The person behind me shoved me a bit and Daniel reached out, catching my arm. He nodded over to the table where the guys were at. “We've got some extra seats over here. I was telling Sicily that I was the one that threw the party for them, and everybody kind of just showed up. You're more than welcome to sit with us, at least until another space opens up that you wanna go stand in.”
I tried not to look too pleadingly at Amber, but luckily her being my best friend, she didn't even need to look at me to know that I wanted to go over. She simply smiled and gave a nod. “That would be perfect.”
As we followed him over, she glanced at me and winked her eye. I played it off by rolling mine, but I couldn't believe that the one person that caught my eye at graduation was standing in the bar, and he knew exactly who I was when he walked up. I sat down on one of the chairs at the table and Daniel sat next to me, scooting his chair closer to mine, to make room for others. Our knees touched and we glanced at each other, both of us nervously smiling. Amber had already seen somebody she knew and was standing to the side, talking to them excitedly, sipping her drink.
I wasn't sure what to say, but I didn't have to think of it for too long because Daniel turned to me and started talking about other books he had read. I was really big into reading, and had used it throughout my life as a distraction when I got stressed out. I did not expect him to be intellectual like he was, but that adorable smile, deep eyes, and perfectly chiseled chin combined with what seemed to be a respectably educated brain, reeled me in before the alcohol even hit.
Normally, I wasn't the girl that was swept away by a guy in a bar, but hell, I was on vacation. I was vacating my normal, boring, responsible life, and Daniel made it so easy to do.
Chapter Three
Sicily
I sat my fourth empty glass down next to the pile of empty shot glasses and beer bottles, covering my mouth as I laughed. Seeing as I didn't drink a whole lot on a usual basis, especially since Amber did not go to college with me, I was basically wasted by that point. I could tell from the way that Daniel's personality had projected that he was feeling it too, especially after watching him do shot after shot with his buddies.
His friend, Brad, sat at the table telling a story about Daniel during his freshman year.
“So, here's this kid, standing in the middle of the driveway of one of our old classmates' rental, no shirt on, holding a half full bottle of Jack Daniels, singing 'It's Raining Men' at the top of his lungs. By the time I got out there, there was an entire crowd of people clapping along, and they gave him a full standing ovation when he was done.”
I snorted through my laughter, shaking my head. “Please don't tell me you're gonna relive that night tonight? I'm not sure I can take that much excitement in one evening.”
Daniel rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Nope. That was a once in a lifetime performance that only a select few people will ever have seen.”
Brad leaned forward, loudly whispering so Daniel could hear. “Someone recorded it on their phone and posted it online. It had over 10,000 views before the school asked them to take it down because he was wearing a Berkeley beanie and his student ID around his neck. I wouldn't be surprised if 10 years from now, when we have an alumni party, someone doesn't play it for us.”
I drunkenly pointed at Brad. “I'll sell you my kidney for a copy.”
Brad pretended to think about it for a moment and then put out his hand, shaking mine. “Keep the kidney. It's always been my pleasure to completely harass and embarrass Daniel. Just knowing that watching that video will bring joy to your life is enough payment.”
I shuffled through my purse, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. “Perfect. I'll write down my address.”
