On Friday, my buddy Shawn called me up.
“Hey Ben — I just heard about this new club on the north side of downtown. You want to come wingman for me?”
“Yeah, sure. I can put off some homework. What’s this place called?” I asked.
“The Dragstrip; I’ll pick you up in an hour.”
So Shawn rolled up and we drove to The Dragstrip. We walked in, got marked as under 21 and started our quest for single women.
At first, we weren’t really sure what to think. This club had more art in it than any other venue we had been in. There were a ton of nude paintings and pictures of people in compromising positions. They also had a stage with pictures of famous female singers (like Tina Turner and Liza Minnelli) lining the walls around it.
“Let’s set up camp at the bar,” Shawn said. We sat down, ordered some Pepsis and looked around to gauge the crowd. “Man, there aren’t very many girls here,” Shawn observed.“Yeah that is kind of odd — especially for a Friday,” I added.
“What about them over there?” he said, referring to two girls sitting across the bar from us.
“They are kind of cute; I’ll go build you up.”
And with that, I initiated the wingman walk. I tried for several minutes to get them to notice Shawn, but they were glued to the TV.
When I got back, Shawn was gone — he was trying to talk to a shorter, stockier girl at a high-top table. I sat down with my Pepsi when a guy in red pants sat down next to me.
“And what is your name?” he asked.
“Ben,” I answered as I held out my hand to shake.
“I’m Will. So what’s your story? I haven’t seen you in here before.”
“Oh, well my friend heard about this place and wanted me to come wingman for him. That’s him over there.” At this point, Shawn had moved to the dance floor. His moves weren’t bad, but they were nowhere near the level of the other guys out there. I could tell that a couple of guys were talking to him and trying to teach him some new things.
“I see, I see,” Will responded. “So are you seeing anyone right now?”
I proceeded to tell Will about how I had just gotten out of a relationship with my long-time girlfriend, Sam. Sam, being short for her full name, Samantha. I told him about how we dated for a little over a year.
“Yeah, I thought things were going well, but then I found out Sam was running around on me with another guy,” I concluded.
“I can’t believe that. Sam sounds like a real dick,” Will answered.
“Hmm, that’s kind of an odd way to describe her,” I thought, “but I guess that is accurate.”
“Look,” Will said, “if you ever need to anyone to talk to, here is my number.” He scratched out his name (and dotted the i with a heart) and number on a coaster and handed it to me.
Shawn walked up to us. “Hey, I’m striking out all over the place. You want to split and get some food?”
“Yeah, sounds great,” I answered. I said goodbye to Will and told him I’d see him around.
As we were leaving, two men walked in holding hands and kissing. They walked past Shawn and me and headed straight for the dance floor. Shawn and I both agreed that they were brave for being true to themselves and not caring what everyone in the bar thought of them.