“Nic
e to meet you,” the mummy held out his hand. “Kayla, I presume?”
Oh no.
The mummy?
This was the guy Anne wanted her to meet. This? A mummy? A weirdo dressed up like a mummy in a bar filled with other weirdos?
The shock must have shown all over her face because Bruce just smiled and said, “It’s okay. I know it’s a lot to take in.”
“What is this place?”
“Bitter Jupiter is the best place to get a date when you’re into something a little…unusual.”
“Like dressing up in costumes for sex?”
“They don’t call us ‘The Roleplayers’ for nothing.”
“So what, you just meet women here and pretend to be a mummy while you have sex?”
He smiled and sipped his drink, making her wait just a moment longer than she liked for an answer.
“Something like that.”
Kayla sighed and turned away slightly, facing her drink. The bartender returned and she gave him her glass, nodding that she wanted another. This was who she was supposed to hook up with? This was who she was supposed to experiment with? This? A weirdo in a costume?
Grateful at the pirate bartender’s quick pace, she tipped him double and downed her drink. Bruce continued watching her as she did.
Kayla wondered if she looked as nervous as she felt.
Bruce’s hand on her thigh let her know that she did.
“It’s okay,” he told her. “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself? I had to admit that your text intrigued me.”
“How so?”
“It’s not every day a beautiful girl wants to go out with me on a whim.”
“Why’s that?”
“Have you seen the mummy costume?”
She laughed, not bothering to push his hand away from her leg. Was it forward of him? Absolutely, but something about him put her at ease, made her comfortable.
Something about his eyes made her feel okay.
“What do you do for work?” Bruce pushed, seeming genuinely interested.
“I’m an administrative assistant,” she rambled off.
“So what do you do?”
“Anything my boss doesn’t want to.”
“Sounds like it could be fun.”
“Or awful. Yesterday was my first day. Just got promoted.”