Finally Found

It seemed to be going off without a hitch. That’s all that Cammie cared about. This was going to be one of the very last functions she worked for her parents and she couldn’t very well leave a bad impression that would tarnish the reputation of the family business. Ah, but she wanted more from life. Completing her MBA from Columbia University in another month should help in that department. Maybe then her parents would have more respect for her. She scowled. Nope. Doubtful. They were still so angry that she was leaving the business after the holidays; they were barely speaking to her. It would take far worse treatment than that to make her change her mind.

Looking around the room, Cammie sighed. This…was pretty bad. And then she considered how she would be spending her Sunday afternoon, dressed as a clown, making balloon animals for a five year old’s Circus Circus Birthday Party, and remembered that it could always be worse. Although here she was, hot pink bustier, black mini skirt, fishnet stockings, and a pair of the most uncomfortable black heels she owned, working as the bartender for some thirty year old bachelor’s birthday party.

Tightening her long blond pony tail, and smoothing her hair down, she freshened her lip gloss, mashed her lips together and pasted a smile on her face. Something told her this was going to be another long night. And the birthday boy had only just arrived.

Cammie watched as he made his way through the room and hid a genuine smile. He was doing his best to make it look like he was mingling, but clearly he was making his way as directly to the bar as possible. Maybe he was just as thrilled as she was to be here? Before she could give it further thought, guests began ordering drinks and she was struggling just to keep up. And then, there he was, standing in front of her.

“Tell me you have something back there that’s older than I am,” Adam said with a sigh.

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s rare that we carry anything older than forty years to these events.” She pretended to be looking while biting her cheek to keep from laughing.

“Jeeze! Thirty! I’m only thirty!” Adam sat heavily on the vacant wooden bar stool. He cupped his face in his hands for a moment, then stood some to get a better look at the stool. “Hey, these are nice. Are they mine or yours?”

“Ours. You really wouldn’t know the difference?” She wondered for a moment what it must be like to have so much that you couldn’t keep track of it all. Then she shook that thought from her head and added, “I was just teasing you. I know this is your thirtieth birthday. It is, after all, kind of why I’m here.” She shrugged, smiled, and noticed a guy gesturing for her at the end of the bar. “Give me just a second.” And without a moment of hesitation, she glided down to the guest, heard his order and prepared it for him with ease and efficiency.

Adam turned his head, but not quick enough. She definitely caught him staring. Damn. He was still chuckling to himself when she returned.

“What’s the joke?” She asked. She was used to pretty much every eventuality that could occur at a party. She had been raised in the business. Her parents had started the birthday party business when she was a child after a few years of producing successful imaginative gatherings to celebrate her birth. It didn’t take long for them to realize that they could easily turn a profit and gradually, they left their day jobs to do this full-time.

“No joke,” Adam admitted. “You just caught me looking. That’s all. I must be losing my touch. I used to be so smooth.”

Before she even considered what she was about to say, the words escaped her lips. “Please. You were never that smooth. You just thought you were. Although maybe those rocket scientists you always seemed to find attractive were genuinely impressed.” Instantly, Cammie’s mouth snapped shut. Once again she had said too much. It really was her biggest flaw. Or maybe eating her emotions was. Crap. Either way, it all came down to her mouth. And thanks to her amazing metabolism, only her verbal vomit was getting her in trouble these days. Why couldn’t she be more like her little sister?

Yes, Cin was perfect. She had their father’s Mediterranean coloring and long, thick, dark hair. She had a perfect hourglass figure. And she always knew what to say. Always. She never had to waste time regretting her words or anything else for that matter. Plus, she was the perfect daughter, wholly content to work with her parents until she married and popped out the first grandchild. Judging from the way she was working the party, Cin planned to do that sooner, rather than later. Cammie shook her head in disgust.

“Listen, I have watched you in action at roughly 117 parties since you hit puberty. At each and every one of those events, you managed to find some female to hook up with.” She was about to continue, but he interrupted.

“One hundred and seventeen? I’d like to know where you get these numbers. That can’t possibly be right.” He started counting on his hands while she smirked at him. It was obvious that he was serious. She had hit a nerve. Ah, but she was serious, too.

“You know, if I’m off at all…it’s by maybe three.” She sighed. He counted. A hand waved from the end of the bar. “I’ll be back. You know, chances are your smart phone has a calculator if you think that would speed up the process.”

It only took her a few moments to pass the gentleman at the end of the bar a few bottles of an imported beer. For some reason, there was always some jerk who wanted to know if they carried Heineken and hinted, if not said outright, that he’d like to grab her heiney. And this guy…was one of those so she wasted no time getting back to Adam. He had taken her advice. He had his calculator out and was talking to himself. Every once in a while, he would smile, suggesting that the memory of the moment wasn’t so bad.

“What number are you on now, champ?” She teased him as she washed a couple of glasses and put them away.

“Eighty-seven,” he said seriously.

“And how many years to still factor in?” She poured some shots of Goldschlager and passed them to the server who requested them. Too many of those and this party would get completely out of hand.

“Just six…” He tapped a few more numbers into the phone. “Well, this can’t be right.”

Laughing, she nodded, “Oh, it can be.” She leaned toward him. “Let me see.”

Thirty was supposed to be this banner year. Now it was looking like a huge wake up call. He had discovered earlier in the day he had no meaningful relationships, as evidenced by the fact that this was his party and other than Sam, Haley, and now the bartender, no one had even spoken to him. They were enjoying the free food, the free booze, the nice music. The loft had never looked better…except maybe for that time with the one girl who came home with him from. Well, crap. One more name he had forgotten. There was something about this bartender.

“So, do we know each other? Have we ever been properly introduced?” He was really starting to feel badly about his life. On the bright side, at least he had over half his life to be better. This woman was better.

“No,” she said, biting on the inside of her cheek. “We’ve never really met.” She was laughing at him. He could tell. That’s what the cheek biting was about.

“Are you sure? There is something very familiar about you. We never…?” He decided to use his tried and true method of recognition. He squinted at her. Then he looked at her with one eye open.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t believe you. You have just a hint of bitter that usually only comes from a one night stand with me…in my experience.” He gave her a challenging look.

“Don’t you mean your vast experience? Seriously. What’s the tally?” She wiped the counter, walked a few feet away, passed out a couple of sodas and then returned to him.

“I don’t think the tally matters,” he said straightening. “I think that you have made your point.” He wanted to stay and talk to her, but he was already feeling low enough. He decided instead to walk away. Walk away now before he had anything else to regret. In some ways, he was sorry he had never noticed her before. He’d show her. He wouldn’t hook up with anyone tonight. And if he did, it would only be with her.