I sat down and slid across the bench seat, wedging myself in the corner of the booth. I kicked off my high heels and tucked my legs underneath me in such a way that I was comfortable, yet still retained some modesty in my skirt suit set. I wiggled out of my suit jacket and folded it over the back of the booth. The tall, skinny bar tender came by to take my drink and dinner order.
“I’ll just have a Sam’s Oktoberfest and an order of sliders,” I told him, pulling my book out. The awful thing about Manchester, NH on a week night in late October was that nothing was opened past 10PM and liquor stores closed even earlier. By the time I’d arrived and checked in it was almost 8PM. I ironed my clothes for the following day’s meetings and sat on my bed. I turned on the TV, flipping through the channels. I turned it off after just a few moments and picked up my book and tried to read. The silence surrounded me and my ears rang. I looked at the clock; it was 8:45PM. Plagued by a constant insomnia, I knew sleep was a long way off. I could not sit here all night. I grabbed my coat, threw my book in my purse and made my way down to the lobby.
It was the concierge that informed me of the town’s “winter hours”. I frowned. “However,” said the smartly dressed woman through her tight smile, “The bar is opened until 1AM and we serve appetizers until 10PM.”
“Perfect,” I said, thanking her. If I can get a good enough buzz on by 1:00am, I may be able to pass out. So after I’d finished my first beer and ordered a second and my empty plates had been cleared, I got up to go find the ladies room. On my way out, I glanced in the mirror. Even though it had been a long day, I didn’t look too spent. I brushed my hair and powered my face and threw on a little lip gloss to make myself feel better about sitting in a bar alone.
I was on my way back to the bar through the lobby when I first spotted them. There were three of them, huddled around the concierge desk. She was answering their questions but looked far more flustered than she did when she had answered mine.
“I hate New England,” I heard one of them say. I tried to be cool and keep walking back to the bar. My heart was pounding as I passed behind them. I heard the concierge saying
“The hotel bar is opened until 1AM.”
“OK,” one said. “The other vans should be here in a little while and we still have a few cases from last night’s show. Let’s go get a few drinks until everyone else gets here.”
“Oh shit,” I thought as I went back to my booth. I arranged myself as I had before and tried not to pee in my pants as Dave Grohl and his friends walked into the bar. I casually glanced up and my heart froze as we made eye contact. I smiled at him and he smiled back, nodding. I pretended to go back to my reading. I listened as they ordered drinks and charged them to their rooms. They joked and laughed. The bartender asked them for their autographs, which they all gave on cocktail napkins. A middle aged man, the only other patron in the bar, finished his drinks and collected his belongings. He also stopped and asked for some autographs before leaving the bar. That made me the only other customer left in the bar. I wanted to die! I downed the rest of my beer and signaled to the bartender.
“Another Oktoberfest?” He called over. I nodded.
“Thanks.”
“I’ll get it for her,” Dave said, turning to look my way. I froze.
“Thank you so much!” I called back, trying to sound as casual as possible. The bar tender filled a glass from the tap and handed it to Dave. “Oh shit,” I thought. “He is coming over here.” He stood and made his way towards my table. I closed my book and straightened up.
“Thank you,” I said again, smiling.
“You are welcome,” He said, smiling. He handed it to me and surprised me by sliding into the booth across from me. My palms began to sweat and my mouth went dry. I took a big sip of beer.
“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.
“Be right back,” I said as I shut myself in the bathroom to change.
“Take your time,” he called. I looked at myself in the mirror and screamed silently. Then I did a mini dance a circle. I stopped and took several deep breaths and threw my clothes on. I hastily folded my suit and slipped my high heels back on. I reapplied deodorant and brushed my hair. When I emerged, Dave had moved to the window and was looking out. He turned when he saw me.
“Hey there! That looks more comfortable,” he said. “Feel better?”
“Much better,” I said, grabbing my cell phone and key card. “Let’s go!”
Dave led the back to the elevator. Once in, he took out his key card and swiped it through a card reader and hit a button that said “ES”.
“No P for Penthouse?” I asked.
“Nah, no one has penthouses anymore. They have Executive Suites.” He explained. “But these are pretty cool and,” he said, stepping out of the elevator, “The place is dead, so we pretty much have the whole floor to ourselves.”
“Nice,” I said, following him down the hall and around a corner. “That’s my room,” He said pointing to a door as we walked past. “I’m not sure where we are hanging out tonight. He stopped a few doors down and
knocked. “Taylor’s room,” he explained. Suddenly, a few more rooms down, a door opened and a girl poked her head out.
“DAVID!” she called. Dave groaned quietly. “We are in my room!”
“Fantastic,” David said, unenthusiastically. We made our way toward her. She hugged Dave, who stiffly returned the hug. “Carly, this is my new friend Kate.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said as I entered.
“You too,” she said as she closed the door behind us. The smell of booze on her breath was strong.
“Whoa,” Dave said, raising his eyebrows. “Someone started the party early.”
“Hell yeah,” she squealed. “I did a few shots, I need to PAR-TAY tonight! Time to unwind!” Dave rolled his eyes. I smiled at him knowingly. He placed his hand on the small of my back and steered me to the bar. He whispered in my ear, “I can’t stand her. She’s super annoying. Watch, she’s gonna get sloppy and pass out. If she pukes, though, she’s off the tour.” I groaned.
“Are you sticking with beer?” He asked as we made our way over to the bar. I nodded and he handed me a bottle. The room was enormous. There was a full kitchen with a breakfast bar, a large living room area and a dining area with a large dining room table, which the girls had set up for a game of beer pong. There appeared to be three bedrooms off of main living area. Suddenly, Taylor appeared next to me and put his arm around my shoulders.
“Kate! Welcome!”
“Taylor! Thanks for having me!” I said, beaming.
“They are playing fucking beer pong?” Dave asked, looking incredulously at the table and the two girls playing at it.
“Fuck yeah man,” Taylor answered. “How are you beer pong skills?” He said, turning to me.
“I haven’t played in a while, but I was formidable at one time,” I answered.
“It’s like riding a bike,” Taylor said. “Teams?”
“Sure,” Dave said, shrugging. “Why not. Me and Kate vs. you and Shiflett.”
“It’s on!” Taylor said. He called over to Chris Shiflett and introduced him to me. I blushed as he shook my hand, still not believing where I was and who I was surrounded by.
Dave and I set up on one side of the table and Chris and Taylor on the other. I nervously arranged the beers in the triangle formation. I’m sure Dave could tell I was nervous and he tried to break the ice and keep the conversation light, joking around with me and teasing me. He, Chris and Taylor were so funny and easy going, it wasn’t long before I began to relax.
We were pretty evenly matched at the beginning, but Dave and I pulled ahead.
“You guys don’t have what we have over here,” he called to Chris and Taylor as he put his arm around me and pulled me close. “Team unity. We are like one person.”
“Fuck team unity, I don’t want to be ‘one’ with Shiflett,” Taylor called back. They continued to call taunts back and forth to each other. I was starting to get pretty buzzed and I think Dave was too. He would hi-five me or hip bump me when either of us hit a shot. Finally, there was only 1 cup in front of Taylor and Chris and it was my shot. Dave stood behind me and rubbed my shoulders.
“Ok, killer, relax, loosey goosey, you can do it. Visualize the ball going into the cup,” I laughed, hard. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Taylor’s hand move to his zipper. Without missing a beat, Dave said, “Taylor, not your balls. Keep your shit in there. No distractions!” Everyone burst out laughing.
“Distractions are legal!” Taylor argued. He turned and pulled his pants down just a bit so the top of his ass showed.
“Focus Kate,” Dave said. I bent slightly at the knees and set the ball sailing. It spun around the edges of the cup as it hit and went in.
“Yeah!” I threw my hands in the air above my head and jumped up and down. I turned to Dave who picked me up around the waist and spun me around. Taylor and Chris came over and shook our hands.
“Who's got winner?” Dave yelled in his sexy rock and roll voice. My stomach flip flopped.
“I get winner!” Carly yelled. Dave groaned. Taylor laughed and leaned in.
“Dude, take her to school, she'll get drunk and pass out like always. I will be her team mate and I'll keep telling her it’s her turn to drink!” We all fist bumped.
“It’s a plan,” I said, smiling. Dave winked at me.
The game went just as we'd planned. At one point Dave went to get us two shots since Taylor or Carly couldn't hit anything, and we were starting to sober up. At the end of the game, Dave and I chest bumped and hi-fived. Taylor came over to laugh with us about how well our plan was executed. Carly followed, stumbling behind him. She leaned in to hug me, but bumped Dave's arm, causing him to dump the beer he was holding down the front of my shirt.
“What the fuck Carly?” Dave said, irritated.
“Shit,” she slurred. Taylor reached over and grabbed a towel off the bar and started to blot my shirt. I blushed.
“It’s ok, its fine,” I said. Dave grabbed the towel from Taylor and gently dried my neck, collar bones and upper chest. I stood frozen in place. Taylor led Carly towards the living room and plopped her in a chair.
“I'm sorry, that sucks. I can't stand that chick,” he said, still drying. I stood motionless, speechless. “Let’s go get you a dry T-shirt,” he said, then turned to the rest of the room and said loudly, “Then we'll see if any of these other vaginas want to challenge us!” People cheered. He threw the towel down on the bar. His hand move down towards my hand and he took it in his, leading me out of the suite. He didn’t let go until we were back in front of his door.
“You don't mind throwing one of my T-shirts on, do you?” He asked.
“No, that’s fine, thank you,” I replied. He took out his card and let us in
and flipped the lights. His room was just like Carly's but stiller, quieter. He had a few suit duffle bags on the bed and a few guitar cases on the floor. He unzipped duffle and rummaged around inside it.
“Here we go,” he said. He walked over to me and held up a plain black T-shirt in front of me. “This should work.”
“Thanks,” I said, peeling of my beer soaked top over my head. This action surprised both of us and Dave raised his eyebrows. I tossed my soiled shirt on the bed and pulled the black one down over my head. The shirt was thin and soft and smelled amazing. “This is better, thank you so much Dave.”
“You are so welcome, Kate,” Dave replied, smiling. Dave picked up my shirt and tossed it over the shower rod in the bathroom. I smiled to myself, thinking that I now had an excuse to come back here.
We slipped out of the room back into the hall, letting the door shut behind us. Dave placed his hand on the small of my back and we made our way back towards the party. He banged on the door until a man I did not know opened it. Dave fist bumped the man, then slid his arm around my waist, surprising me. I put my around his shoulders and he called,
“The unbeatable Dave & Kate have returned, dry, and ready to take on the next batch of losers!”
Everyone laughed and a few people clapped. Taylor let out a “Yeaaaah!”
We made our way back towards the beer pong table. I noticed Carly slumped over in the chair, her eyes just slits. I squeezed Dave's shoulder and flicked my head in her direction.
“Sweet! Good night crazy lush,” he said.
Two guys I hadn't met yet, Dave T or “T” and Zach stepped up to challenge. They gave Dave and I a run for our money and in the end, it came down to one cup each. T ended up sinking the last shot as Dave and I lost.
“Ok, I am done anyway,” I said to Dave, feeling pretty buzzed. “I am kind of a light weight these days, I guess.”
“That’s ok! Do you want to go sit?” He asked, motioning towards the living room. I nodded. Dave left to go grab us another beer and I went and sat in a chair opposite Carly, who was now out cold. Dave came back with my beer and handed it to me and went over and sat in the corner of the couch. I looked back at Carly, who had started to snore. I set my beer on the coffee table and got up and went over to her. I shook her awake.
“Come on Carly, let’s get you to bed.” She groaned, and tried to swat me away. I shook her again and she opened her eyes a little. “Let’s go to bed.” I pulled her up and led her to one of the bed rooms. I pulled off her shoes and helped her into one of the double beds. I placed a glass of water and a trash basket next to her bed and snuck out of the room.
“That was really nice,” Dave said, looking at me seriously.
“Ugh,” I said, “I’ve been the passed out girl plenty of times and it’s humiliating,” I said, taking my place back in the chair.
“That’s because you have pride. I like that,” Dave said. “That girl,” he said, nodding to the bedroom, “has no shame.” I took a few sips of my beer and then excused myself to the bathroom to pee. When I'd returned, Dave had a guitar out and was strumming away. He played a few recognizable classic rock songs and people made requests and sang along.
“Ok, Kate, you pick something,” he asked me. I smiled and thought for a moment.
“Play a song about the short-lived yet terrifying reign of Dave & Kate, beer pong masters.” He laughed loudly, then thought for a few moments. He tried to find the right chords then started to sing. He sang about our mighty skills, Taylor's ass, Carly sucking, me getting drenched with beer and then our fall from grace. It was so funny, we were all laughing so hard. When he was done, I stood and applauded him. He stood and placed his guitar on the couch where he'd been sitting. He stepped around the coffee table toward me.
“Let’s go get some air,” He said, again grabbing my hand. As we walked towards the balcony, he grabbed a throw off the back of a chair. On the balcony there were a few chaises, chairs and small tables. He sat in the chaise and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. He spread his legs and said, “Get down here,” I swallowed hard and sat down, my back against his chest. He wrapped both arms, along with the blanket around me. “Warm enough?”
“Yes, thank you,” I said, tentatively leaning back into him.
“Is this ok?” He asked.
“Yeah, this is great,” I replied, feeling very brave. “You feel nice.”
“You do, too.” He said. Then it was quiet. The moon was almost full and very bright. The air was cold and crisp and our breath was visible in the air. After a while, Dave said, “Tell me something.”
“Tell you what?” I asked
“Anything. Tell me something about you. Tell me everything about you.” I giggled nervously.
“Like what?”
“Well, how old are you?”
“28,” I answered. “You?”
“42.” He replied. “Where do you live?”
“Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts.”
“Are you single?”
“Painfully,” I laughed. “You?”
“Recently divorced. Have you ever been married?”
“Nope.”
“Do you have any kids?” He asked.
“Not that I know of,” I laughed. “This feels like an interview.” Dave laughed.
“I know, it kind of does. So just talk, just tell me about Kate.” I smiled in the dark and took a deep breath. I went through my upbringing , my family, my schooling, glossed over relationships and jobs. He listened quietly, asking questions here and there. When I stopped and quiet for a few moments he asked, “Are you cold?”
“No” I answered, “I’m good. You?”
“I can stay out here a little bit longer.” He paused and it was quiet for a few moments. “What are you doing tomorrow?” He asked finally. I sighed and tilted my head to the side. He leaned in and rested his head on my shoulder. I could feel his beard tickling me through my borrowed T-shirt. “I have my conference all day tomorrow,” I groaned.
“Can you skip it?” He asked.
“I wish, I really do.”
“Do you have to give a lecture or anything?”
“No, just sit and try to stay awake”
“So how can we get you out of it?” My heart skipped a beat when he said “we”.
“Oh god, I can try to fake an emergency, but I dunno...” I sighed. “What would...we... do if I skipped it?”
“Well, I don’t have to go to the sound check until 3, then I don’t have to be back until 6, we could hang out or something. And you can come to the show if you want?”
“I would go to the show. What are you doing after the show? Are you leaving right away?”
“We don’t leave here until early the next day, we head to Boston, We have a tomorrow night.”
“Ok, so if I can’t get out of the conference, I will come to the show and see you after?”
“I’d really like that.” He said, and then was quiet. His chin was still resting on my shoulder. He turned his head and nuzzled my neck and I shivered. “Are you cold,” he said, his face still in my neck.
“Nope, not cold.”
“Well, my ass is getting cold, let’s go back inside.” I scooted forward and stood up. I reached and pulled him up. He stood and wrapped the blanket around me. He paused and looked at me intensely for moment. Then he bent and kissed my cheek. He straightened up and smiled at me. “Let’s go get warmed up.”