Save Me From Myself (2 page)

***

I bring that first box into my new bedroom and set it down on the empty dresser. I turn around slowly and notice the bed taking up the majority of the room. Having spent most of yesterday and half of today driving, I want nothing more than to drop on it and sleep for days. Unfortunately though, Anna already texted to let me know she was getting off early and would be home in about an hour. Knowing her, she has completely planned our evening, so I’d better go get my bags and take a shower.

By the time I’m finished, it’s been a full hour and six trips up and down three flights of stairs to clean out the back of my new SUV. I’m really beginning to wish Anna had gotten an apartment on the first floor. Even though it’s January, I’m sweaty, tired and in dire need of a shower. I am barely finished putting a bra and a pair of panties on when my door bursts open and a flurry of brown hair comes flying towards me.

“You’re here! Oh my GOD Lyric!! You’re finally here!” Anna screams, throwing her arms tightly around my neck and twirling us around in circles. “I didn’t think you were ever going to get here! I haven’t seen you in
forever
!”

I’d forgotten how exuberant Anna tends to be. We turn in so many circles that I’m glad it has been hours since I’ve last eaten. Otherwise, I’d probably make a mess in my new room. Anna is only a few inches shorter than my 5’8”, and probably weighs about twenty pounds less, but boy is she
strong
!

I can’t help but laugh, “Jeez Anna! I’m happy to see you too, but can you let go? You’re making me dizzy.”

Anna immediately drops her arms and backs away. “Sorry,” she says sheepishly. “I haven’t seen you in over a year. I’m a little excited.”

“Yeah, I kinda noticed.” It was so nice to feel like someone really wanted me around. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way. “So, what do you have planned for us tonight?” I ask her, almost dreading the answer while looking longingly at my new bed.

She grins, “We’re going to Drench to meet some of your new co-workers for dinner and drinks. I can’t WAIT for you to meet everyone! And, since I’m sure you’ll be spending a lot of time there after tomorrow, it will be good for you to see the place while you’re not in the ‘reviewing’ mindset.” She finally stops to take a breath, so I jump in.

“What’s Drench?” I ask her.

“Only the hottest restaurant and bar around. All the hottest and most popular bands play there. And, the guys who bartend there are sooo hot! We can definitely get you back on the horse with one of them!” she exclaims with a wink.

I groan, “Anna! I’m not here to get into another relationship. I haven’t recovered from the last one yet!” Anna and her matchmaking are the absolute last thing I want to deal with right now.

Anna pouts at me, “Oh Lyr, you’ve got to get back out there! Don’t let Matt ruin guys for you forever. There are so many good ones. Speaking of, did you see him before you left?”

I cringe at her mention of Matt. He and I had dated for three years - since my sophomore year of college, and we’ve only been split up for six months now. I definitely wasn’t ready to - what was it Anna said? - Oh yeah, “get back on the horse” anytime soon. I don’t tell her any of that though. All I say is, “No, he’s out of town until Wednesday.” I wanted to be long gone before he came back. I hadn’t even told him I was leaving town.

Anna lets out a long suffering sigh, “You didn’t even let him know you were leaving did you?”

What? Was she reading my mind now? “No, I didn’t tell him. I wouldn’t have even told Mom if she hadn’t stopped by when I was packing.” I say, waiting for her to blast me.

“Oh no! What did the Wicked Witch of Manhattan have to say about you leaving? I bet that was a pleasant conversation.” Anna makes a funny face by crossing her eyes and puffing out her cheeks which makes me giggle.

When I calm down, I snort and say, “Pleasant doesn’t even begin to describe it.” Mimicking my mother’s “proper” speech I say, “Lyric, dear, where are you going? Your home is in New York, not in Tennessee! That place is full of nothing but low class hicks! When are you going to grow up and put this thing with Matthew behind you? He has apologized and is willing to try again with you. Even after you were the one who broke things off. Now dear, you know he’s not going to wait on you forever!” I barely get the last word out when Anna collapses on my bed laughing.

“Oh my GOD! You totally have her down pat! You forgot to hold your nose though. Then you really would have sounded like Meredith DuCharme!” Anna is laughing so hard she can barely speak. And, when she said “Meredith DuCharme” she pinched her nose with two fingers which made even her giggles sound nasally. I can’t help but laugh with her, and soon we are both laying on my new bed giggling so hard we are in tears.

Finally, Anna calms herself down and jumps up from the bed. “Come on,” she says, grabbing my hands and pulling me up off the bed, “we have to find you something totally hot to wear tonight!”

“OMG, like we totally do!” I say sarcastically. Anna’s favorite word is totally, and she has already over-used it in the little bit of time we’ve been back in the same room. I am really not looking forward to tonight.

Anna starts rummaging through the three suitcases I brought with me, and soon it looks like Nieman Marcus threw up all over my room. Finally, she bounces back over to me holding a pair of dark skinny jeans and an emerald green v-neck sweater.

“You’ll look amazing in these! Plus, this sweater will look fantastic with your red hair and green eyes. Now, get dressed and I’ll go grab some boots out of my room. I have a pair of brown knee-length boots that will make your legs look even longer!” And, with that, she takes off out of my room, leaving me alone in the chaos she’d created.

Shrugging my shoulders, I start getting dressed. There was no point arguing with Anna. She’d just end up getting her way in the end.

Thirty minutes later, I am dressed and even put makeup on, while Anna showered and got ready. When she comes back to my room to get me, I can’t help but wish I had her fashion sense. Anna is about 5’6”, with long, wavy brown hair. She has beautiful clear blue eyes, a ski jump nose, and lips that always look like she just finished a marathon make-out session. When I’d first met her freshman year of college, I wanted to hate her immediately. But, you just can’t hate Anna. It wasn’t possible. She’s just too friendly and outgoing.

Anna has her hair up in a high, bouncy ponytail, and is wearing dark jeans with a pair of black ankle boots paired with a form-fitting black sweater with a black, white and grey scarf around her neck. Standing next to her in my green sweater and jeans, I feel almost frumpy, even though she’d picked out what I am wearing. She smiles hugely at me and says, “We are going to be the hottest girls at Drench tonight! Are you ready to go?”

“Let’s go get this over with. You know how much I hate meeting new people.” I say as I grab my phone and purse,
 

Anna links her arm with mine and winks, “You’ll be fine. We’re going to have a blast tonight! Even if I have to get you drunk to do it!”

I roll my eyes and say, “I’m not getting drunk. We have to work tomorrow, and going in with a hangover my first day would NOT be a good first impression Anna.”

“Spoilsport!” She exclaims, laughing. “Alright, no getting drunk, but it’s still pretty early, so you can have a drink. Or twelve.”

I just shake my head. “Come on you lush” I tell Anna, pulling her behind me out the door.

It’s early enough on a Sunday evening to find on-street parking about two blocks away from Drench in the section of Nashville Anna refers to as “Broadway”. Being from Manhattan, this is nothing like Broadway in New York. It is just starting to get dark out and the strip of buildings are lit up with hundreds of crazy colors and lights.
 

“Come on,” Anna exclaims, and jumps out of the driver’s seat. By the time I convince myself to get out of her little Bug, she is standing next to my door, practically vibrating with excitement.

I shut my door, and Anna grabs my hand, dragging me down the sidewalk. I’d never been to Nashville, and even after living in New York, this strip is a sight to see. I’m not sure where to look first. I want to see everything! We walk by places I’d only seen online when Anna first mentioned the idea of me moving here last month, like Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, and The Stage on Broadway; establishments I’d told her were on my list of places I wanted to go, but she went right past them.

She finally slows down, almost stopping, and tugs on my hand. “Look Lyr!” she cries, “Drench is right there. I bet everyone is already inside waiting for us. Let’s go!”

I follow her pointing finger and see the word “Drench” spelled vertically above a lit up tilted glass, looking like it is spilling liquid down and over the door people are entering and exiting out of. It looks amazing!

This is it. Once I step through that door, I’ll be entering another new phase in my life. The people on the other side of that door are people I’m going to be working with as of tomorrow. God, I hate meeting new people. I am so nervous it feels like a herd of butterflies has taken up residence in my stomach. And yes, I know it’s not a herd, but I can’t think of what you would call a group of butterflies. I’m currently trying to concentrate on not throwing up before I even get inside.

I don’t realize I’ve come to a complete stop until I am bumped into from behind. “Oh, excuse me sweetie, I didn’t realize you’d stopped,” a soft voice says. I turn to see a younger, short girl with pink and blonde hair wearing an apologetic smile as she looks at me. I am so lost in my thoughts, I don’t even respond. Her brows scrunch in confusion, and Anna lets out a long suffering sigh.
 

“You’ll have to excuse Lyric, it’s her first time in Nashville. She’s a little awestruck.” She says with a small laugh.
 

The girl smiles at me and says, “No worries. It’s definitely an experience. I hope you enjoy our little town.” She winks and moves past us, taking the girls she’s with into the bar.

***

The inside of the bar is fantastic. Polished wood is everywhere. There’s a bar on each side of the huge room, and tables surrounding a small dance floor. Well, small is an understatement. It’s small compared to the actual size of the bar, but it’s still pretty massive. Anna’s searching the room for her friends while I stand there gaping in awe. I’ve never seen so many cowboy hats and belt buckles in one building. As she spots them across the room, she pulls me over towards them. I see a long table with five people sitting there chatting - three guys and two girls. When we get to the table, Anna introduces me to Toby, Ben, Alex, Brandi and Terra. “Toby and Ben cover the big Nashville events. Weddings, Fan Fair, big name concerts and such. Brandi” the girl with blonde and brown streaked hair waves at me “covers gossip, and Terra” she points towards the girl with short dark hair “covers restaurants.”

“Hey, what about me?” The guy with spiky brown hair asks Anna.

“Don’t worry babe,” Brandi says, “She didn’t forget about you, you just don’t count.” Which makes everyone, including me, laugh.

“Alex is Brandi’s fiancé,” Anna tells me.

“Oh! Congrats!” I say to Brandi, who grins and tells me, “We’ve been engaged forever. I don’t think we’ll ever actually get married. I’m having way too much fun with the registry’s.”

Alex rolls his eyes and replies, “Right? Because after all, how many small appliances can one couple have?”

At that, everyone cracks up again, and I relax enough to sit down. I’d barely put my behind in the seat when I hear Anna mutter, “Well, hello handsome!” under her breath.

A tall muscular man with messy blonde hair and eyes that look almost golden in the dim light stops between Anna’s chair and mine. I swear, he looks like a mythical God. His hair is definitely of the “I just pleasured a woman up against the wall” variety.
 

“Evenin’ ladies!” he drawls with a slight southern accent. “What can I get you to drink tonight?”

I look around the table and notice Anna and I are the only ones without a drink. How long had everyone else been here?

Anna smirks at the guy and says, “I want something sweet, fruity and just a little dirty.”

One corner of his mouth lifts, and I see a dimple on his cheek. “Sweet, fruity and a little dirty, huh? I have just what you need.” He tells her with a wink.

“I bet you do!” Anna says, winking back at him.

“And what about you darlin'? What would you like?” he turns his golden eyes and dimple on me. The way he asked me that question doesn’t sound like he is asking for just my drink order.

I feel my face get hot, and know it’s as red as my hair. “Um,” I stammer, “I’ll just have whatever she’s having.” I sound like an idiot. At this point, I want to either crawl under the table or run out of the bar. Both options are looking equally promising.

His half smile turn into a wide grin. He knows exactly what he is doing to me. “You got it,” he says and straightens. Before walking back to the bar, he says, “By the way, my name is David, so if you need anything, just give me a shout. It’s still pretty quiet in here.” With that, he turns and leaves. The view of his backside is just as attractive as his front.