Eli...

"Welcome to Barry's, the most bangin' spot in Washington," Alex said once we walked through the doors of his favorite bar.

"Did you seriously just say 'bangin'?" I asked

"And? We used to say it back when we were in high school."

"Exactly, when we were in high school."

"Oh, shut up," he pushed me out of the way and walked towards the bar

"Wait, what happened to the other bar that you took me to last time?" I asked following him "Is it not bangin' anymore?"

He ignored my quip, "There are more girls in this bar than the other one."

I should have known the answer to that question.

After picking me up from his father's office, Alex brought me here promising an exciting night. Though, I'm pretty sure he'll be the one getting "excited" tonight.

I looked around taking in the establishment. If this Barry guy had a theme for his bar, it would be modern antique patriotism. It sounds weird, but that's exactly what it was. Some of the furniture looked brand new, while others looked like they would fall apart if wasn't for the poorly hidden duck tape. The bar counter was made of pieces of wood, with chipped brown paint, arranged horizontally. The shiny brown top was the only thing that looked new. The walls were filled with all the things that come to mind when you think "American Patriotism". There were flags of every size and pictures of the army, White House and every president. There was even that painting of Goerge Washington on a boat crossing the Delaware River. And I've lost count of how many bald eagles I've seen.

The weird thing is, it all worked great together. Somewhere, an HGTV host is singing praises to the interior design gods.

"Hey Barry," Alex greeted once we were at the counter

"What's good Alex?" asked the chubby pasty man behind it, who was cleaning a shot glass

"Ready to party as always," he answered before pointing to me "This is my best friend Eli, he's from out of town. Thought I'd bring him here and show him a good time"

"Well, welcome to my bar Eli."

I nodded in response.

"Make sure to keep an eye on your friend here. I'm sure you know how wild he can get."

I chuckled "Will do."

"Let's go sit over there," he pointed to the stools at the end of the bar "Well get a better view of the ladies when they walk in."

I followed him to the seats keeping my thoughts to myself.

"So what can I get you guys tonight?" Barry asked

"The House Special," Alex said with a devious grin on his face

"Two specials coming right up!" the man then left us, heading to his rather large wall of bottles

"What's the special?" I asked

"You'll see."

Well, looks like I'll be hungover tomorrow. It's never a good thing when he says that when drinks are involved.

"Don't you ever get tired of this man?" I asked

"Tired of what?"

"All this," I pointed around us "The drinks, the girls..."

"Never," he said as his eyes followed a woman who sashayed by "I don't know how you gave this up."

"It just got old. Wasn't fulfilling anymore."

"Well, it still fulfills me."

"I doubt that but ok."

He waved dismissively, though I'm sure he knows it's true.

I've known Alex since we were kids. We were always stuck with each other when our fathers were hanging out, so it made sense that we became quick and best friends. He was always the one who got himself into trouble, while I was trying to keep on the straight and narrow.

But then college rolled around, and I kind of strayed a bit.

Well, maybe a lot.

Girls, partying, alcohol and drugs were a regular for Alex and I. It was actually the first priority, pushing school work to second place, maybe even third. But then grad school came around, and school work could no longer be on the back burner.

For me at least.

Alex barely got by. It helped a lot that his father was THE Bernard Cooper.

We all thought that graduating from grad school would be the turning point for him, but we were wrong. To this day, he still acted like he was still in college.

"Here you go fellas," Barry placed the drinks in front of us

The glass was filled with a pink liquid, garnished with what looked like pop rocks on the rim and a mint leaf.

"What's in this?" I questioned, pointing at it

"It doesn't matter, just shut up and drink it."

He picked up the glass and gulped a mouthful of it. His eyes shut as he swallowed and then he shook his head widely, letting out a scream.

"Just like I like it!"

I turned to Barry, eyes widened. There was no way I was drinking this, I had work in the morning.

"Don't worry, I didn't put that much alcohol in your drink," Barry said

"Thanks," I whispered before picking up the drink and taking a sip

I had to admit, this Barry guy was good at what he did.

As our night continued, I watched as my friend got closer and closer to what I used to call "white boy wasted" back in college.

I know I should be stopping him, but it was getting quite entertaining to watch him try to pick up 19-year-old college girls and failing miserably.

"Man, don't you think you should give up now?" I asked as he returned to the bar after another rejection

"Give up? I'm just gettin' started playa!" he said

See, Alex has the brand of white boy wasted where he turns into a black guy. Hilarious for me, not so much for other black people who didn't know him, like the couple who was sitting at a table staring at us.

"I think it's time for us to leave," I told him

"No, not yet," he protested "I haven't gotten any digits yet."

"And at the rate you're going, you probably won't."

At that point, a new group of girls entered the bar and walked past us. He stared at them for a few seconds before he turned back to me.

"One more shot," he pleaded

He opened his eyes wide and poked out his bottom lip. Did he think I was his mother? I contemplated if I should let him continue to embarrass himself.

"Go ahead," I raised my hands in defeat soon after

I needed a good laugh anyway.

I turned towards Barry once he ran off "What's the bill?"

This was supposed to be Alex's treat, but he wasn't sober enough to count money. I had pulled out my wallet and shifted through the bills, ready to pay. But after hearing the amount, I had to pull out my credit card instead. We didn't drink that much, so it had to be because of all the drinks he was buying for girls. How was this party animal womanizer not bankrupt yet?

I was about to finish my drink when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and was greeted with a glassy-eyed, heavily made-up face of a Latina. Her smile was wide, and a bit creepy. She was definitely drunk. Behind her, I could see someone squeezing through the crowd, desperately trying to get to her.

Someone was about to make a fool of themselves.

Hope you liked the chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment. Next chapter will be up this week!