Stranger Things Have Happened, I Know

“I’m Dave,” he said, extending his hand across the table. I laughed.

“I know who you are,” I replied. “I’m Kate,” I said, wiping my hand on my leg before shaking his hand. Dave raised his eyebrows and smiled at me again.

“It’s nice to meet you Kate. What brings you to Manchester?” I explained that I was here for a two day conference for work, but that I’d arrived a night early and found myself bored to tears.

“I know, this town sucks,” Dave said quietly. “Plus it’s fucking cold out.”

“Dave,” one of the guys called. “What are you doing?”

“Hey come meet Kate,” he called back. I almost lost it as the rest of the guys grabbed their drinks and came over to sit down. I pushed in farther towards the corner so Taylor could slide in beside me. Nate sat next to Dave. They introduced themselves, shaking my hand, and ordered another round.

I tried not to stare at Dave or jump every time Taylor’s let brushed mine. They laughed and joked and talked and I joined in easily. They wanted to know about me, what I did, why I was here. I explained that I worked in healthcare and was here for a conference. As I spoke, I marveled at how cool and laid back they were. “They’re just regular guys,” I kept repeating in my head.

“So do you have to call it an early night for your meetings tomorrow?” Taylor asked.

“No, I don’t really sleep that great. There are no early nights for me, just long ones.” I replied. Dave called to the bartender, circling his finger in the air.

“We have a bunch of booze in the back of one of the cargo vans. As soon as it gets here, we can take this party upstairs!” The bar tender dropped off our drinks and we continued to talk for a few more minutes until Dave’s phone began to buzz. He glanced at the screen and smiled. “Fuck yeah. They’re here! Parking and unloading now.”

“Nice,” said Nate. “Let’s finish up and head out!” We downed the rest of our drinks.

“You coming?” Dave asked as they stood. I froze and starred at him.

“Um…, “ was all I could muster.

 “Kate,” Taylor called over his shoulder. “You are coming.”

“I guess you’re coming,” Dave said, smiling at me.

“Alright!” I laughed. “Would you mind if I got out of my work clothes?”

“Um-yeah, that’s no problem,” Dave said, thinking. “But you need a special key to get up to our floor.”

“Oh.” I said, stopping. “Do you want to give me one of yours?”

“Sure,” Dave said, reaching for his back pocket. Then he paused. “Ya know what? I will just go with you so you don’t get lost.” My heart skipped a beat and my stomach rolled over. “Taylor! She’s gonna go get changed, we will meet you up there.” Taylor raised his hand over his head, signaling that he’d heard. Dave turned back to me. “Lead the way!”

We took the elevator to the fifth floor. “So my rooms pretty small,” I said nervously, trying to remember if I had left out anything embarrassing before I’d left for the bar. We exited the elevator and walked the short distance to my room. He made small talk, asking about my job while I searched for my key card and let us in.

“Well, here we are!” I said, gesturing. I threw my purse on the bed and Dave sat down next to it. “Oh fuck,” I thought. “Dave Grohl is in my hotel room sitting on my fucking bed.” I reached into my suitcase and pulled out a pair of jeans and grabbed a top of a hanger in the closet.