A few miles out of Centerville, Ray turned off the main highway onto a dark, narrow road. About a mile later, as he rounded a curve in the road, Helen saw what appeared to be a small, out-of-the-way bar off to the side of the road, with a couple of cars sitting in the parking lot. As Ray pulled up to the building, she read the sign which hung above the entrance, "LAKESIDE LOUNGE".
Stopping the car, Ray turned off the headlights and the motor and turned to look at Helen.
"I've been here a few times," he said. "I'm a little surprised tho because, usually there are a lot more cars in the parking lot." Then, as an afterthought, he quickly added, "Would you rather go someplace else?"
Looking over at Ray, Helen gave him a little smile. "No, this is fine. Besides, it's still early. More people will probably be coming here later."
Getting out of the car, Ray went around and opened the door for Helen, his eyes glued to her legs as she got out of the car. Then, taking her by the arm, he escorted her inside and led her to an empty table, where they sat down.
A tall, rather well endowed, redheaded waitress who appeared to be in her late twenties, came over to their table, took their order, and moments later returned and set their drinks down in front of them.
Helen took a sip from her drink and looked around the inside of the bar. The place was bigger than it appeared from the outside. The bar had room for about 10-12 customers and there were 8 tables with chairs for 4 at each table. Near the back, there was a pool table at which two men were currently playing. There was also a jukebox on the other side of the bar and an open space which she assumed was for dancing.
Besides themselves and the two men playing pool, the only other people there were the waitress and a huge man behind the bar. Helen guessed that he was probably the owner.
Helen and Ray started talking about nothing in particular. Noticing that her glass was empty, Ray called the waitress over and ordered another round. He asked if she wanted some music and when she replied in the affirmative, he handed her some change and told her to pick out something she liked on the jukebox.
Taking the quarters Ray had pushed in her direction, Helen stood up, walked over to the jukebox and started looking at the selections available. She didn't even notice when two more couples came into the bar, and a few moments later, two more men entered.
After making her selections, Helen returned to the table and sat down. She and Ray continued to talk, as more and more people arrived. Soon, the bar was quite full, with people drinking, laughing, and just having a good time.
Helen wanted to dance but, she knew that Ray wasn't a very good dancer and he was probably too embarrassed to ask her. Looking out on the small dance floor, she saw four other couples there, their bodies swaying rhythmically to the music coming from the jukebox.
Just then, looking over at the bar, she saw two men coming in her direction, one of them a nice looking, dark haired man and the other a short, portly, balding man. Both of them appeared to be about 45 or so.
"Hey Ray," called out the dark-haired man as they walked up to the table. "How you doing? Haven't seen you here in a long time."
Hearing his name, Ray looked and then stood up, obviously recognizing the man who was speaking.
"Hey! Bill! Nick!" said Ray, shaking each man's hand. "How have you guys been?"
Then, turning to Helen, Ray introduced her to the two men. Helen offered her hand to each of them, not wanting to appear snobby or aloof.
The three men stood there, talking for a few moments. Glancing around the room, Helen saw that every table was occupied and that there was only standing room at the bar. Reaching out, she tugged on Ray's sleeve to get his attention. "Why don't you have your friends join us, Ray? I mean, there's no place else for them to sit."
Looking down at her, Ray asked, "You sure you wouldn't mind?" and when Helen reassured him that it was o'kay, he invited both men to sit down at the table with them, which they readily accepted.
Soon, the four of them were talking, drinking, and laughing like old friends. Even Helen was feeling quite comfortable with the three men.
Excusing herself to go to the ladies room, Helen was quite pleased when all three men stood up as she rose from her chair, acting like perfect gentlemen.
While she was gone, Ray, Bill and Nick continued talking but, the subject had changed now.
"Damn Ray!" said Bill. "Where did you find her? Christ, she's really a looker, and talk about a nice body...wow!"
Ray smiled, obviously pleased that the other two men found his date to their liking.
"She's from Westwood." explained Ray. "Just moved there about a month ago after her divorce."
"Oh..a divorcee, huh?" chimed in Nick. Then, with a leering smile, he added, "Gonna get lucky tonight, Ray?"
"God! I hope so!" laughed Ray.
Glancing over at the pool table and seeing it empty, Bill asked Ray if he like to play a game. Just then, Helen returned to the table and sat down, giving all of them a pretty smile.
"O'kay guys," she said as she sat down. "What have the three of you been plotting while I was gone?"
"Oh, we were just talking." replied Ray.
"Helen, do you know how to play pool?" asked Bill. "I asked Ray but he thought you would be offended if he left you alone."
Looking across the table, Helen smiled at Bill and replied, "I know how to play but, I'm not very good at it." Then, turning to Ray, she added, "Go ahead Ray. I don't mind watching and besides, Nick can keep me company while you and Bill play."
"Are you sure, Helen?" asked Ray. When she reassured him again, Bill and Ray got up and started playing their game.
Helen and Nick talked for a few minutes, watching Bill and Ray play. Suddenly, Nick asked Helen if she'd like to dance.
"Yes, I'd love to, Nick." she replied. "But I think you better ask my date if he minds, don't you?"
Helen watched as Nick went over to the pool table and said something to Ray, and she was quite pleased when she heard Ray say that it was o'kay with him. Nick returned to the table and led Helen out onto the dance floor.
The hours went by fairly quickly after that, as Helen found herself being whirled around the dance floor by Nick first, and later by Bill while Nick was playing pool with Ray. The only time she returned to the table was to rest a bit and have another drink or two.
At one in the morning, the bartender said it was last call. Nick and Bill each ordered another round of drinks. Nearly all of the people who had been in the bar that night had already departed for the evening. Helen was having a great time, enjoying herself for the first time since her divorce. She was feeling somewhat intoxicated by all the alcohol she had consumed and she was obviously enjoying the attention she was getting from all three men.
"O'kay, guys," called out the bartender as he unlocked the door for the waitress, then relocked it and turned off the lights in the front of the bar. "Let's drink up and go home."
"Hell Earl!" said Bill. "How about letting us play one game of pool?" Then, glancing over at Helen, he added, "The little lady here says she knows how and we wanna see how good she is?"
Earl replied that he couldn't do that, that that it could cause him to lose his license. Besides, he added, he was tired and needed to get some sleep himself.
When they saw that they were not going to be able to talk Earl into letting them stay longer, they finished their drinks and got up to leave. Earl let them out, then closed and locked the door behind them and turned off the sign which read "LAKESIDE LOUNGE".
As Ray walked Helen over to his car, Bill and Nick followed, talking as they walked.
"Hey, why don't you two follow Nick and me over to his place?" asked Bill. "He's got a pool table in the basement. How about it?"
Ray looked at Helen, waiting for her answer. Would she be willing to go to Nick's place for a while or would she prefer to go home?
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