My coworker Maggie maneuvered through the packed bar so easily that I had to admire it. Personally I was always used to asses and elbows in my face when I tried to move through a crowd. But tonight I drafted behind Maggie while she cut through The Rec like a hot knife through butter. One of the perks of being tall I guess.

She was on a mission to find her boyfriend Kenny and introduce me to him. I think she wanted to prove to me that he wasn't a figment of her imagination. We've worked together since September, when I was hired at the boutique she works at, not far from where I'm a sophomore at NYU. The entire time that I've gotten to know her all she ever did was talk about him, despite the fact that he'd been gone for at least that long too, so I felt like I already knew him. I told her, "Jesus Mags I know he's real. Everybody from our neighborhood knows who The Deans are and that they've been on tour."

But now she was pissed and suspicious that she couldn't find him anywhere. She growled, "I'm going to fucking kill him when I find him!" They always had some drama going on or another and I guess tonight I was getting a front row seat.

Maggie stopped abruptly in front of a scowling guy with a buzzcut. I couldn't hear what they said to one another and figured this was my best chance at retreat. So I turned around to stand on my tiptoes to see if my best friends from high school were still by the front windows. As soon as I caught a glimpse of the top of Kim's perfectly blown out hair between some burly firemen, Maggie grasped my hand. I guess she wasn't planning on losing a second person tonight.

She pulled me in front of her and placed her hands on my shoulders. "Charlotte, this is Dominic, Kenny's bandmate. Dom, this is Charli. We work together. Have fun kids!" And with that she pushed past us towards the back room.

At first I didn't know whether I should feel relieved that I didn't have to witness Maggie finding Kenny with his tongue down somebody else's throat, or pissed at her for foisting me onto this angry looking musician. I figured I'd make the best of an awkward situation.

Dom didn't look like the kind of guy that danced. At least not to what The Rec was playing tonight, but I bet he could rip apart the mosh pit at L'Amour.

So I stood on my tiptoes again and yelled, "You don't look like you're having too much fun tonight."

He just shrugged.

Okay, so he's not really a dancer or a talker. Obviously this was going to be harder than I thought. But since I can pretty much talk to a wall and I'm fairly industrious, a challenge like Dom didn't faze me. I looked at his hands and noticed they were empty. I pointed at my beer and raised my eyebrows at him. "Want one?"

He smirked and leaned down. "That's refreshing, a girl offering to buy me a drink."

I laughed. "Yes, well I suppose having a vagina has some perks. When you consider that we earn less money than men for the same work, have to pay more for haircuts and dry cleaning, wear pantyhose and go through menopause... At least we get some free drinks out of the deal."

Then Dom smiled and said, "When you put it that way, let me buy you the drink."

That would be my fifth free drink of the night. But he didn't need to know that.

We sidled up to the bar and while we waited to get served Dom squinted at me. "Are you even old enough to buy me a drink?"

I snorted. "Like that matters at The Rec?"

The crowd squeezed us closer together. Dom put his arm around me to make sure I didn't get smashed against the brass rail. It was pretty gentlemanly, but I still wasn't sure how I felt about this guy yet. It's not that he wasn't my type or anything. I mean I don't really have a type. I've tried out all sorts of guys. But I'm not one to waste too much time in any one relationship.

Maggie calls me a "relationship shark" ever since I told her about my dating history. When I think about it, she's right. I have to keep moving on or it feels like I might die. But if I'm a shark, then she's a pitbull, because she's clamped onto Kenny and refuses to let go even though she probably should.

Dom placed the icy-cold, new beer in my right hand. I held onto the lukewarm one in my left. Then he said, "Seriously though, I'm curious what you used to get in here tonight."

I knocked back the remainder of the old drink and reached over to place the empty bottle into the glass rail. Then I retrieved my ID from the back pocket of my jeans.

Dom took the license from my hand and looked at it. "Theresa Gomes, from Staten Island, aged 26," he read off before handing it back to me. "Well that's a real license, not a fake ID. So who is that?" he asked.

I slipped it back into my pants. "My cousin Terri. She's seven years older than me and gave it to me last year when I started college. You may have seen her out around here. She's cousins on her Mom's side with the Nilsons... Tim, Karen and Samantha."

Dom took a pull from his beer. "Oh yeah, yeah, I know Sammy. She's fun."

I rolled my eyes. "Please don't tell me if you hooked up with her."

He shifted closer against me. "Why? Would it matter to you if I did?"

I scanned the crowd casually, checking to see if anyone new had come into the bar. "Not particularly," I said. Then I noticed that Tim Nilson and his best friend Harrison were taking off their pea coats and tossing them on the front windowsill. Smirking I looked back to Dom to add, "I just don't want to hear the gory details."

He let out a sudden loud laugh, "Ha!" Then he shook his head. "Why would you assume it was gory?"

Arching my back slightly against his arm, I watched his eyes trail to my breasts for a moment and then back up to my eyes. "Just because, most things between two people in their twenties are," I explained.

Dom bit his bottom lip for a second before he said, "That's a pretty cynical view for someone that's not even in her twenties yet."

I shrugged. "You say po-tay-to, I say po-tah-to..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well in my mind, cynical is just another way of saying rational."

He smiled and shook his head. "Damn I did not take you for the type! I mean whenever I've seen you out, you always seem so happy..."

"Because I usually am happy when I'm out... Just because I see the world for what it is, doesn't mean I'm not going to try to enjoy it when I can."

He nodded and then bit his cheek. "Well anyway, there wasn't anything nasty between me and Sammy. Besides, I'm not the type to kiss and tell. So you don't have to worry about that with me."

I smirked and threw out the bait to see if he would bite. "Why would I worry?"

"No reason." He smirked back.

I knew I just needed to reel him in a bit more. "Well I thought maybe you had plans that I didn't know about." Then I paused to put the neck of the bottle to my lips for a drink. I knew what he was thinking about while he watched. After I swallowed I added, "And you obviously did take me for the type, because that's why you're talking to me. Isn't it?"

Now he seemed a bit flustered as he stammered, "I guess... maybe..."

"Well, misery loves company, right?" I tipped the bottle back to get the last mouthful.

His deep baritone raised an octave. "Are you saying you think I'm miserable?"

I spun around to put newly empty bottle down where I had placed the previous one. My breasts pressed against his forearm and I looked at him. "Are you saying you're not?"

Dom put his empty pint down. Then he lightly trailed his free hand down my back and rested it on my ass.

The bartender, Jimmy, came over with a shot for me and pointed to the far corner of the bar. "This is from Tim Nilson."

I stepped up on the footrest to get a better view. My breasts lifted off of Dom's elbow, but his opposite hand didn't move from my ass. When I spotted Tim and Harrison, they held up their drinks at me. We nodded at each other before we took our shots. I slammed down the glass, wishing I had something to chase the Orange Stoli with.

Then I turned my head back toward Dom. "Thanks for the drink. I should go say hello to Tim and then find my friends." His hand fell away when I hopped off the footrest.

As usual, more asses and elbows for me while I weaved amongst the bodies. I saw Tim's tall, blonde head easily above the crowd, a beacon as he made his way past me toward the bathroom.

"Hey little cuz!" he greeted, even though technically he isn't my cousin. I never knew if the 'little' was because I'm so short or because he's ten years older than me. It's probably for both reasons.

"Tell your parents Happy Thanksgiving from me. Thanks for the drink. I'm afraid I've had too much already. Think I'm getting out of here while I can still stand." As if to emphasize the point I swayed a bit before kissing his cheek.

He kissed my cheek back. "Will do. But Harry actually bought that round. He's right by the door if you want to tell him thanks on your way out."

I nodded and then ping-ponged off a couple people until I was directly in front of Harrison.

"Hey cuz!" he greeted, even though he's not even my cousin's cousin.

There's always something snarky and roguish about Harrison that I appreciate. He reminds me of Harrison Ford and it isn't just because of his name. Most of Tim's friends were seriously coupled off or even married by this point, but not Harry. So he was always willing to flirt with me. And flirting is currently my favorite pastime.

Now the drinks were really hitting me at this point and I never know what I might say when my filter is turned off. That was my condition when it dawned on me that Harrison never uses my name when he sees me. I grabbed the collar of his rugby and slurred into his ear. "You don't know my name, do you?"

Harry put his hands on my hips and pulled me firmly against him. His lips were against my ear. "Sure I do. It's Little Cuz." His breath tickled and made me feel hot and cold in the right places.

I put my mouth against his ear and whispered, "It's Charli." Then I bit his lobe gently and sucked on it before I added, "Now you won't forget it."

His eyes were wide when I pulled away. I had managed to surprise the caddish bachelor and I was very pleased with myself. Kim and my high school crew were a few feet away watching with their mouths agape.

I figured I might as well go for broke and smashed my mouth against Harrison's. His response was immediate and enthusiastic. The man knew how to kiss! Ten extra years of experience certainly worked in his favor. That was one of myriad reasons I enjoyed dating older guys.

When we parted, my berry colored lipstick was smeared across his mouth. He smiled. "I definitely won't forget your name again Cuz."

"Goodnight Harrison." I started to pull away with a laugh.

"Where do you think you're going?" He reached out and grabbed my belt loop before I could walk away.

I looked over my shoulder at him. "Home."

He arched his eyebrow and shook his head at me. "With no coat?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Took a cab here, so I left it at home. It's less to keep track of that way."

He wagged his finger at me. "Well Charli, you'll catch your death out there. I guess I'll just have to escort you to make sure you don't freeze." He grabbed his coat off the windowsill and slipped it onto my shoulders.

We had a bit of fun on the walk home and when we got to my stoop, Harry practically begged me to go back to his place. "You're killing me Charli! I have a perfectly warm and comfortable bed that we could be in right now in my empty apartment. Instead we're sitting here on these ice cold bricks."

I straddled his lap, opened his coat and took his hands to put them under my shirt. "Poor baby! Warm up."

When Harry slipped his hands beneath my bra, I hissed. "Oooh that is cold."

He bit my lip and sucked it. "You're the cold one Charli. I'm a grown man and you have me dry humping you on your stoop like I'm fifteen again. Teasing me like this isn't nice."

I grabbed a fistful of his hair. "I can be very nice when I want to be."

We didn't do anything too scandalous, just some more kissing and groping. God forbid one of the neighbors that have known me since I was a fetus sees me. My Mom would murder me. So I kept it strictly PG-13.

Besides my motto is -  it's always better to leave them wanting more.