This is my first novel. It’s a fun, romantic adventure, about a pair of twenty-somethings who, despite barely knowing each other, decide to take a week-long vacation together on the other side of the world. I’m currently in search of a publisher. Below, is the second chapter.

You can read the first chapter here: Chapter 1.

Chapter 2

In which I suffer a live band

I was leaving for Australia on Friday, and had to pack for a month-long stay, so a Thursday date wasn’t ideal in one sense, but it seemed perfect in another. If it went well, it’d give me a third date to look forward to when I got back, while also not keeping me from any potential soulmate Down Under. And if it didn’t, I’d have the same number of options I normally do.

When I got there, the bar was mostly dead. Nothing Miracle Max couldn’t fix, but just not what you’d want to see in an establishment that was supposedly providing live entertainment. She was there — but so were a bunch of odd-looking guys, and the manic pixie friend from Monday. I took a deep breath, walked up, shook hands, got names, promptly forgot the names, excused myself to get a drink, walked up to the bar, and sighed a big sigh of relief for that ordeal having had passed. After a few moments, I braced myself as she ran up next to me and cackled very loudly in my ear, then alternated between laughing and apologizing, and finally proclaimed that she was glad I came and kissed me on the cheek – which was exactly what I needed.

Some liquid courage in me and I started talking to the characters around my Snow White, who all turned out to be good people. Friendly, funny, quirky – exactly the sort of people you’d want in a dive bar. We played some pool, took some shots, and the place started filling up. By the time the band went on, it was pretty packed, and I had a great time. The music was decent: mostly covers of Alternative hits from ‘90s, like Teen Spirit. I couldn’t tell if the songs I didn’t recognize – which I also didn’t really like – were originals, or just unknown to me.

Tessa and I didn’t get a chance to talk alone much the whole night, but we were having fun with the group, and it’s not like this was the kind of place where you’d get to know someone better anyway. There was either too much smoke in there, or not enough, to be conducive to heartfelt conversation. Plus, as is the sole purpose of live music in a bar, you couldn’t hear yourself think, or for that matter even hear someone else yell “how was your week?” right into your ear.

The band started packing up around 1 am and I made indications that I was going to escape before another one could behead it and take its place, so Tessa came and started making small talk in a quieter part of the joint. Apparently the band had played to her satisfaction, so I reciprocated and lied that I too was pleasantly moved by the sounds emanating from their instruments. Her week had gone well, as had mine, and when would I see her again? My flight to Australia was leaving the next afternoon, but I’d be back in about a month.

“Wow, I had no idea you were leaving so soon!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty crazy. I still haven’t packed.”

“I still can’t believe you’re going! You are going to have so much fun. I am so jealous – I’ve always wanted to go.”

“You should come!” said I, attempting to show that I liked her. But also, I would really have loved to avoid those nights driving alone in the mountains. With a cute girl, even. That would put “turning lemons into lemonade” to shame.

“Oh, believe me, I would if I could. But you know, life.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot on short notice, if nothing else.”

“And I bet it’s so expensive!”

“Oh did I tell you I saw how much my ticket cost? It’s almost ten grand! It’ll be like fives times the most expensive flight I’ve ever taken.”

“No way! I thought it would be like half that!”

“Well, it’s business class, is why. I think normal tickets are like two grand.”

“Oh, that’s not even that bad.”

“See, you should totally come.”

“I couldn’t get off work anyway. But I would really love to…”

“I know, I know… I’m just talking. I’m glad I met you before leaving though.”

“Yeah, me too. Can you write me from there?”

“Sure, they have the Internet and all that. I heard they even have their own amazing local bands.”

“Ha, Ha,” she made those sounds, without laughing. “Okay, well make sure you write me as soon as you land. I wanna hear about everything!” 

“Of course. But… I need something to remember you by.”

I waited with an expectant smile until she processed what I said, and when I saw the light go off, I leaned in for a kiss, which was well received. She smiled at me, took my hand, said “let’s go outside”, and led me out of a side door, to a deck devoid of people – just us and the moon. We walked to the far side, where I propped myself up against the wooden railing and she breached my personal space, which I took as cue to go in for another kiss.

“This is suuuuch weird timing!” she whined, after a few moments. “When are you coming back again?” My arms were still around her waist.

“It’s just a little over a month, nothing too crazy.”

“Oh! Yeah, that’s not so bad. I thought it was going to be longer.” She looked down and started tracing the pattern on my shirt with her finger.

“When I come back, we’ll need to do a real date: car ride, food, wine… the works.”

“That would be awesome,” she said as she continued to trace.

“And we have a month to plan it, so we can make it really awesome.” I’d started planning it already.

“That’s true, mister!” She looked up and smiled at me, then put her head back. “No pressure though, we do barely know each other.”

“But… it’ll also be kind of fun to get to know each other, over the Internet. To learn what we like – and don’t.”

“I know, that’s true – I just wish we could’ve started that off a little before you were gone for a month.” She paused for a few seconds, then continued: “It’s my fault, I guess… seeing a live band with my friends wasn’t exactly the smartest choice for a second date. Call of the Wild had more dialogue than we did in there.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, but it was fun meeting your friends. Plus, me leaving isn’t your fault.”

She looked up at me with her mischievous smile. “Yeah! It’s not like you” and she poked me in the ribs “couldn’t have asked me out to dinner before you shipped out, Mr. Worldwide.”

“That’s all too true…” I replied, holding my hand up as if being sworn in, “and I accept full responsibility for it, and promise to make it up to you upon my fortuitous return from abroad, before all witnesses seen and unseen.”

She looked around furtively, “Well, I hope there are some unseen ones, but I – at least – will hold you to that!”

I smiled. “So what kind of food do you like? For our date.”

“Oh, pretty much anything. Except Asian food. Well, sushi is good.”

“What’s wrong with Asian food?” I loved most Asian foods.

“I don’t know… those noodles in everything, and a lot of fried stuff and weird vegetables. Just not my cup of green tea.” 

I figured she was talking about American Chinese food, but decided not to press. “Noodles, eh? So not too hot on Italian, either?”

“I like it okay. Not a huge fan of pasta though, no. I mean, I’ll scarf down a lasagna, no problem. But I love Italian seafood.”

I didn’t love seafood. “So what else? Pizza, burgers, Mexican, French?”

“Pizza and burgers are good at the right time and place. Love Mexican. Not sure I’ve ever had French. I mean, not like proper cordon bleu or coq au vin or stuff like that. Just you know, croissants and crepes.”

“Yeah, I mean same. I’m not sure why I asked you about French – I literally don’t even know what dishes you just said.” That was a lie: I knew exactly what they were, but by then, I’d learned that know-it-alls don’t get the girl. She laughed; I continued “I do love Mexican though. Sometimes I go like an entire week eating nothing but.”

“Oh yeah, I could do that for sure.”

“Of course, a lot of the time I eat burritos, which I’m not sure are really Mexican food.”

“I mean, close enough anyway. Is anything at Taco Bell really Mexican food?” She questioned.

“I have no idea, but – get in my belly!”

“Seriously. All this food talk is making me hungry.”

And then, a light bulb went off. I stood up, broke our embrace and took her hands with excitement.

“I just had what might be a brilliant idea!”

“If it’s a better version of Taco Bell, Moe’s already exists,” she said with that mischievous smile again.

I couldn’t help but grin back, but was also in a rush to get my words out. “Cute, but – wait – can you go into work late tomorrow?”

“Oh, yeah, actually I took the morning off – I usually do when I go out with the band, just because it goes so late. Why?” She squinted at me. “What are you thinking in that round head of yours? Because I’ll have you know that I’m” and she switched to a cockney accent “a propah lie-dy, I em”, nodding her head with farcical seriousness.

I couldn’t believe it. This was going to work! “I’m sure you are, Eliza, and I won’t test you on that, but what would you think if we had our dinner date tonight? I mean… now. We can hang out for a couple of hours and eat and really make a night of it.”

She squinted again. “Like… where? Waffle House?”

“No no, we can pick up some food.” I snapped my fingers and smiled knowingly. “Tacos! And we can take it out to the beach and have a picnic. I’ve got a beach towel in the car. And I have the perfect spot.”

She was smiling and processing, but she was excited. “So let me get this straight: you’re gonna buy me tacos and take me to the middle of nowhere on the beach in the dead of night, where you’ll presumably also ply me with alcohol?”

She was kidding. She was making it sound creepy on purpose. I was almost positive of that, anyway. 

“Ooh, alcohol – I forgot about that. Yes, we’ll pick up some wine too.”

“If it’s red, that sounds like the perfect date.”

I kissed her out of sheer happiness at the rabbit I just materialized out of the sad hat that had been this dive bar live band date.

“Okay, I’ve just gotta go say goodbye to the gang,” she pointed to the bar.

I’d already said my goodbyes. “I’ll pick you up out front in a few?”

“Yew gawt it, Proffesah ‘iggins!”