It was a hot night in Dallas, Texas, a scorcher, and
Savannah Mitchell was getting ready to go out for a night on the two with her
girlfriend, Myra King. Friends since childhood, it had been a long time since
the two had been able to just go out and have fun. Myra had come to town for a
timber convention in her father’s place. Knowing that Savannah was living in
Dallas, Myra offered to go, and planned to stay with Savannah while she was
there.
Savannah stood in her room, looking in the mirror
and thinking about Quinn, the love of her life from whom she had heard from
just several days before. She couldn’t believe that he had called her out of
the blue, after all that time. Just when she thought she was over him and
moving on with her life, he called and tried to stir up old feelings. Quinn was
a man who had made Savannah’s life complete. When he left town for another job,
they broke up, and Savannah was devastated. She swore that she would never love
that truly, or deeply ever again. In fact, she would never allow another man
into her heart the way she had allowed Quinn. Now Myra was in town. Wow, this is going to be great fun!
Savannah said to herself, as she put on her black Prada high heels and sprayed
a light mist of hairspray onto her long, wavy red locks. Savannah had a feeling
in the pit of her stomach that tonight was going to be different.
“So tell me about your job. You’re here for the
timber convention?” Savannah asked as she sipped her coffee.
“Well, as you know, my father has been in the timber
business all his life. When I finished college, I decided I wanted to work for
him and learn the business, as my brothers had,” Myra replied, as she finished
the last bite of her steak dinner. “At first he didn’t want me to get into the
family business, saying it was a man’s job. He soon realized that I wasn’t
going to give up, so he gave me a job in sales. I soon proved myself, and now
I’m the VP of Human Resources. My father was called away to Montana for a deal
on some timber with Stephen. Greg just got married a few weeks ago, and is
still on his honeymoon. So my father reluctantly asked me if I could attend for
him. I knew you had moved here after you finished law school, so I looked you
up, and here I am!”
“I’m glad you did! I miss those days when we used to
go out and dance ‘til dawn!”
“That’s what I plan to do tonight!” Myra wiped her
mouth and drank the last of her Cabernet. “Where’s the best nightlife in this
town?”
“It’s right here at this restaurant! There’s a club
on the other side. They have live bands that play every weekend, and a lot of
times you can catch a professional football or baseball player in here with
their friends as well. So you never know. It’s a fun place to hang out. I come
here sometimes with friends, and we always dance until we drop!”
Logan had arrived in Dallas for the timber
convention earlier that day. Originally he hadn’t planned on arriving until
Tuesday evening, but after he and his father had spent the previous night
having words over Heather, he was now looking forward to being away for the
entire weekend. Heather Cooper had been Logan’s girlfriend for almost five
years. Charles had liked Heather for a good portion of Logan’s relationship
with her, but one day when Charles was having a business lunch with his lawyer
in a restaurant in Portland, he saw Heather at a nearby table with another man,
being quite intimate. Charles didn’t know how to approach the subject with
Logan, but felt his son had a right to know.
At first Logan couldn’t believe his father could be
so cruel. But when he confronted Heather about what his father had seen,
Heather hit him with all the details. She said she didn’t love him anymore. She
had wanted out of the relationship for some time, but never knew how to tell
him of her dissatisfaction. She was tired of Logan putting her second to his
job. She wanted a home, a family, and a marriage in which her husband loved and
worshiped her.
Logan loved Heather, but in the five years that they
had been together, Logan was always working long hours at the office, and never
had time to devote to planning a marriage or family. He always felt there would
be time later for that. Heather seemed content with their life in Portland.
Logan had purchased a house, and she seemed content to just live together.
Charles never approved of them living together, but allowed his son to live his
life the way he saw fit.
Things had gotten heated between father and son when
Charles continued to badger Logan about Heather, telling him that if he had
been more attentive to her needs, this would have never happened.
“Why don’t you stay out of this, Dad?” Logan
shouted. “This is between Heather and me. I will handle it the way I see fit.”
Logan had turned and faced the window looking out over his front yard, still
visibly upset at the whole sordid mess.
“Logan!” Charles threw his hands up in the air. “I
am your father and I care about your happiness, son. Why won’t you fight for
Heather? Are you just going to throw away five years of your life?”
“Dad!” Logan swiftly turned back around to face his
father. His lips were tight, and his eyes were filled with ire at his father’s
suggestion that he should fight for Heather after she had denounced their love.
“I’m perfectly capable of running the business. I don’t need any outside help.
It’s over between Lisa and me. She said she doesn’t love me anymore, and she
wants out. Maybe I want out too. There’s nothing left to save, so lay off!”
Logan headed for the door. “I’m heading for Dallas
in the morning. Lisa is coming by tomorrow to move her things out and I don’t
want to be here when she does. I’m catching the nine o’clock flight. If you
need me, you can reach me at the numbers on the itinerary I emailed you. Now if
you’ll excuse me I’m going out. You can let yourself out.”
“Logan, wait.”
“No, Dad, don’t you get it? I don’t want to discuss
this with you. There is nothing left to say. Good night.”
Logan slammed the door behind him, leaving his
father standing in the middle of his sons living room. He had never known Logan
to give up so easily, but what he didn’t realize was that Logan had also been
feeling as if the relationship was coming to an end. He had loved Heather so
much, but over the six months they it was noticeable they were growing further
and further apart. Their sex life had become almost non-existent. At this
revelation, Logan had absorbed himself more and more into his work, trying to
find himself and hopefully, back to his relationship with Heather. But it was
too late. The damage had been done, and she would be moving out.
As Savannah signed the dinner tab, she looked up at
Myra who had a huge smile on her face. “What’s that devil in your eyes all
about?”
“I was thinking, we should go into the bar, find a
couple of handsome men, and let them buy us drinks all night long! And…” She said
with an impish smile on her face.
“Carol! I think we should just go into the bar and
have some fun. I’m not in the mood to pick up any men tonight. Besides, I’m
glad that you’re here. I just want to enjoy the evening with you, silly. If we
should meet some handsome men, dance with them, and if they want to buy us a
few drinks, that would be great. But I’m not looking for a one night stand.”
“Savannah, Quinn has a strangle hold on you again.
Don’t you know that you need to let him go once and for all?” she said with a
concerned look on her face.
“I’m fine, Myra. I still love Quinn, and I don’t
know that I will ever be able to find love again. Besides, why is it that we
have to pick up men tonight? Can’t we just go have fun and see what the night
brings?”
“You’re right. So let’s go knock ‘em dead! I’m ready
for a nice stiff Martini.” Myra’s smile stretched from ear to ear, and she
still had that devil look in her eye. Savannah knew her friend was going to try
her best to take her mind off Quinn, and
she welcomed the attempt. The two friends got up from the table and moved into
the club at the front of the restaurant.
The lounge was already crowded. It was nine-thirty,
and the pand had just started to play. Savannah knew the band well, as she had
seen them many times before in the club and other venues around town. They
stopped off at the bar to get a drink before heading closer to the dance floor.
Savannah waved at Chris, the lead singer. Chris blew her a kiss as he sang an
80s classic. Savannah blew a kiss back, and they smiled at each other.
“Who is that and how do you know him? He’s really
cute!” Myra turned to her friend, amazed that she had not heard about this
adorable man playing keyboard and singing on stage.
“Chris? Oh, he’s just a really good friend of mine.
I met him about a year ago when they were playing at a club across town, and
we’ve been friends ever since.”
“Well, why are you two not hooked up? He seemed very
excited to see you,” Myra continued with her quizzical look.
“There are a couple of reasons. Number one, he has a
girlfriend, and number two, I just adore him as a friend. Nothing more, nothing
less.”
“That adorable, dark, handsome fella is already
spoken for?” Myra looked disappointed.
“Yes, one hundred percent. His girlfriend is back in
Austin where they live. I’ve met her, and she’s a super nice girl,” Savannah
said as she continued to smile at him, and he at her. “Besides, I’m just too
busy right now for a relationship even if he was available. And I certainly
don’t want to be involved with a lead singer that has women falling all over
him all the time. Hmmm, my glass is empty. I guess it’s time for another. Want
one?”
“Sure. I think I’ll stand here and study your singer
friend. Try to figure him out.”
“Chris is a lot of fun. He never lets on that he’s
spoken for, because it would probably break those ladies hearts if they knew,”
Savannah said fondly of her friend. “I’ll be right back.”
Savannah headed to the bar, and ordered another
round of drinks for her and Myra, and a gold Schlauger shot for Chris. Savannah
strolled back to where Myra was standing and now talking to a very tall,
handsome gentleman. Myra introduced him as Henry and explained that he was
there for the timber convention as well. Myra knew him from the business, and
they were talking about upcoming meetings that would start that week.
Savannah handed Myra her drink, and proceeded onto
the dance floor to give Chris his shot. He leaned down to give her a kiss and a
‘thank you’ in her ear.
“I’ll see you at the break,” he said into his
microphone. Savannah nodded her head in agreement, and pointed over to where
she was standing with Myra and Henry.
Logan looked dashing dressed in starched black jeans
and a black silk shirt. The top three buttons of the well-fitted shirt were open
and his boots had been freshly shined by the service at the hotel. He was ready
for a good time, and ready to forget about Heather, and the fight he had with
his father the night before. He stopped off at the bar to grab a drink before
heading around to check out the scenery in the club. The concierge at the Four
Seasons Resort and Spa where he was staying had recommended Cool River
Restaurant and Bar to Logan as a happening place where young people liked to
hang out. It would also be a focal point for a lot of the attendees of the
lumber convention. Many were at Cool River tonight enjoying the fine steaks and
nightlife.
No comments:
Post a Comment