Old Flames and Passionate Nights Series

The Morning of Yesterday

 You walked in; heels dragging on the rosewood floorboards, shoulders slumped. You looked as though you have not slept well in days; world-weary and wanting to give up. I sensed your presence way before I saw you. What was it that made you so special?

“Hey…” you sighed, as you dumped yourself on the wooden stool, “What’s the strongest thing you have here?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Drinking away your problems? That’s new.”

“Yeah well, that’s all I can think of right now. And there’s something about this place that somehow makes me feel better.”

“Huh… Even so, you shouldn’t be drinking the problems away.”

“Yeah. Whatever. Can you just get me the strongest thing you have?”

I shook my head as I got to work; my body moving automatically after months and years of practice. I wondered briefly if you still like lemon-flavored drinks.

“Here,” I said, slamming the whiskey glass on the table, spilling some of the mix, “Enjoy,” sarcasm evident in my voice. You looked up, shocked.

“You know I can complain to your boss about this,” you said haughtily, spoiling for a fight.

“Well, go ahead, ‘cause she’s standing right in front of you,” I shot back.

Your eyes widened. Obviously, nobody kept in touch with you. “You own this place?”

“Yeah, anything wrong with that?” I challenged, raising my chin.

“No… No… I just thought… well that this was temporary… that you’d go back doing your PhD…” you struggled to make sense of it all.

“As I said, people change.”

“That’s obvious,” you eyed me up and down, as if seeing me for the first time in years. Defiance swept through me. A bar job had requirements and one of them was the skimpy clothes.

“So,” I leaned forward, “What’s bothering you? You never drank your problems away before.”

“Problems… Trina… You know the rest…” you mumbled, as you picked up the whiskey glass and sniffed it carefully, “Hey… this smells lemony!”

I shrugged, “Sun under the Tropics; another house special,” I paused for a moment, “Actually most of our drinks are special. Of course we do offer the usual though.”

You sipped the mixture cautiously, as if you expected it to explode anytime soon, “What’s in here? It tastes like lemon juice…”

I smirked, “Maybe because it is?” I turned and walked away, “You shouldn’t be drinking your problems away. Get up and solve them,” I said to you as I walked away, leaving you there speechless.

You left your drink on the bar as you run after me, “What time do you end? Can I take you out?”

I cocked an eyebrow, “Does the phrase ‘You have a girlfriend’ ring a bell in your thick head?”

You stepped back stunned. You did not expect the harsh tones or the cruel words. “Hey, I was just asking. If you don’t want to then it’s fine with me. Didn’t need that,” you bit out, before turning around, “Wished I hadn’t come,” you muttered as you grabbed your coat and walked out of my bar.

Once again, I stared at your receding back, torn between the desire to run after you and the need to walk away like did before.

Picture By : Royston Toh

Old Flames and Passionate Nights Series

The Beginning of The End

“What happens if I leave and you’re wrong?” you glared at me, voice loud, making me cringe. I stood there stunned. Never once have you ever dare to raise your voice at me. Defensive, I crossed my arms. “I don’t care. Go on then, leave,” my voice challenging, refusing to believe that you’d actually leave me.

“Fine!” you said your tone straining against your anger. Turning around, you walked away, away from me and out of my life. Hurt and disbelief echoed within me. They quickly turned into anger. “Fine!” I screamed at your receding back, “Fine! Leave! Just leave!” I turned and ran, as far as I could from the place. Wanting and wishing with all my heart that it was just a nightmare; that it did not happened. But you did not see. You were too busy leaving me.

Days passed, turning into months and finally into years. Each day I wondered what would have happened, had I ran after you. I wondered if we would still be together, if we could be that couple I saw just the other day, happily shopping for groceries. I never had the courage to face up to it. You were the one for me and there could be no other. No one else could be as giving to my unreasonable ways as you. I never dared to pick up the phone to dial your number. The number you left on my table, asking me to call you, asking if we could talk.

It’s too late for regrets now.

It was another day at work. Despite a university education, I had opened a bar, much to my parents’ horror. ‘Old Flames’, I had christened it. You brought her in, the perfect girl, who would make you happy, who would complete your life. Glancing up, I didn’t see you at first, not till it was too late to run. “Oh… hey…” shock and disbelief clear on your face. My heart stopped. I couldn’t believe it. “Hey…” I managed, looking into your eyes, the eyes I remembered so clearly.

“Dan, what’s taking you so long?” she came up beside you, her eyes curiously darting from me to you.

“Erm… Trina, this is Abriella, from my secondary school and junior college,” you gave yourself a mental shake, gesturing to me.

“Hi,” she said far too brightly, “I’m Dan’s girlfriend. Pleased to meet you,”

I glanced at you before smiling slightly at her, “Hi,” I nodded, “So… what can I get for you guys?”

“Umm… well… what do you recommend?” she asked, in a sugary sweet way. Funny. I never thought you’d fall for this kind.

“For starters, you might like to try the ‘Fire’s Spit’. It’s easy on the alcohol. But if you’re looking for something hard, you could try the ‘Burn’. However, if you’re feeling really daring, you might want to try one of our house specials, ‘Passion’.” I rattled off without thinking much.

I remembered how we only had eyes for each other. Was it the same now?

“Oh… Well… I suppose I’ll have the ‘Fire’s Spit’ then,” she said, oblivious to the electricity that passed between us. The memories rooted us to the spot, “What about you Dan?” she looked up at you with adoring eyes. It was clear to any passer-by that she was deeply in love with you. As you should have been with her.

“Umm… Yeah,” you cleared your throat, “I’ll take you up on your house special,” you stared deep into my eyes, challenging me, daring me to speak out.

Lucky for you, I took the challenge, “Daring aren’t we? Or do we just need some liquid courage tonight?” I raised an eyebrow. Turning to your girlfriend, I smirked, full of spite for her, “He’s always like that. Always trying to prove himself; always trying to impress people. Unfortunately for him, it never worked for me. I simply couldn’t be bothered,” I glanced at you, as I dumped two inches of crushed ice and added strawberry syrup into the cocktail shaker.

“Yeah, well, you were always hard to get,” you shrugged, smiling genially. Your girlfriend looked lost, caught in-between an ex-lovers’ fight.

I smiled, pouring Captain Morgan spiced rum, Wild Turkey bourbon whiskey and strawberry liquor. I shook the cocktail shaker hard, before pouring it into a martini glass and serve it to her.

“How’d you end up here? I thought you wanted to do you PhD in biochemical?” you asked, trying hard to make a conversation.

“Well,” I started as I rinsed the shaker before ending another two inches of ice, “I guess I got tired of that dream,” I measured a shot of Tabasco sauce with Jones Soda Berry Lemonade and Blue Curacao liquor. I added Barcardi 151 rum to give an extra hit.

“Why? I thought it was your childhood dream?” your voice reflected your shock and concern.

“People change,” I answered simply as I jiggled the shaker once more. I poured the transparent blue liquid out. It reminded me of the non-luminous flame from the old chemistry lab. I threw in a cherry for presentation’s sake and served it. Watching carefully, I gazed at the both of them. “How do you find it?” my eyebrow raised.

“I love mine,” your girlfriend nodded at me, “You can’t really taste the alcohol, so its really light,” her eyes sparkled.

“Mine’s really strong. You weren’t kidding when you said it was daring,” you grimaced as the liquid went down your throat. I smirked.

“Well, I guess we’d better go now,” you said as you took out three 10-dollar notes and put it on the table, “Is that enough?” you asked.

“Yeah, I guess I’ll see you guys around then. Come again and I’ll give you one on the house,” I winked.

The both of you were roaring with laughter as you left the bar, like the perfect couple you should be.

Picture by : Royston Toh