"How about you? What would you like?"
"Ah, oh, I... I'll have the same!"
"Alright!"
Martin snapped his fingers, and the bartender quickly jogged over. Of course, with such a generous tipper, he had to serve well.
"Sir, may I ask what you'd like to drink?"
"Two more Dreamy Le Mans Lakes," Martin replied.
Once the bartender left, Martin smiled at the two girls and asked, "I still don't know your names?"
The brown-haired Heather Matarazo immediately responded, "I'm Heather Matarazo, but you can call me Heather. My friend here is Biu Philippe, just call her Biu."
"Okay, Heather, Biu. So, where are you two from? Your accent sounds Eastern European?"
"Hey, sir, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Heather Matarazo boldly asked, turning the question around.
Martin was genuinely surprised, "You... don't know who I am?"
Heather shook her head, "You seem like a star, we've seen you on posters, but we just arrived in America from Europa today and haven't seen your movies yet—so what's your name? Are you famous here in America?"
Biu Philippe nodded repeatedly, her big eyes staring at Martin as if trying to imprint his face in her mind.
Martin smiled, and he could tell the two girls weren't lying.
"My name is Martin Meyers, you can call me Martin."
"Martin, nice to meet you," Heather Matarazo extended her hand confidently, but when Martin grasped her fingers, her heart raced uncontrollably, thinking, "So handsome, oh my god, so handsome..."
Then Biu shyly extended her hand, "M-Martin, nice to meet you!"
Biu's breath was heavy, her face flushed, and her mouth dry.
She had never seen such a handsome man in her life—elegant, and wealthy too!
The conversation continued.
Before long, the cocktails were served.
Heather Matarazo took a big sip and her eyes lit up, "Wow, this tastes great."
"Be careful, the aftertaste of this drink packs a punch," Martin reminded.
The two girls' favor for him increased significantly.
Biu gently took a sip; the cocktail did taste great, and this was her first time drinking alcohol.
Martin was an excellent conversationalist, especially with beautiful women.
Half an hour later—
Heather Matarazo was getting along famously with Martin, while Biu, under the influence of alcohol, loosened up and started chiming in every now and then.
(Gordon: "Who am I?", "Where am I?", "I want to go home.")
Time passed and the drinks flowed.
It was now deep into the night.
Martin stood up.
Heather Matarazo had even mentally prepared herself to be invited back to the hotel, having built up her courage countless times, thinking, "First time with such a handsome man, no regrets..."
But—
To the surprise of both girls—
Martin did not do that. Instead, he smiled and said, "I had a great time chatting with you, but I should head back. Goodbye!"
His swift and straightforward farewell left the two girls staring at each other.
Did they just waste a hundred bucks?
Or was this guy playing that game of "baiting and switching" with them?
Heather Matarazo thought it was the latter, so she stood up and said, "We're getting ready to leave too. Where are you staying? Maybe we could visit?"
I've already been so obvious with my hints, this should work, right?
However—
"It's too late, not convenient. Maybe another time," Martin smiled and waved at Gordon. "Let's go, you look like you're about to fall asleep."
"I am about to!" Gordon yawned and stood up.
For him, it had been a dull night; staying in the room watching TV was a better option.
"I'll call the driver," Gordon added.
Then he shot a glance at the two stunned girls, inwardly amused.
Martin's bed wasn't that easy to get into, especially when these two were clearly here with a purpose.
"Let's go, Gordon. We'll wait downstairs."
With that, Martin led Gordon away, leaving without a second glance, much to the disbelief of the two girls.
Until Martin's figure disappeared through the door, Heather Matarazo couldn't believe it. Her usual seductive tactics had failed.
"He's gay."
"What?!" Biu snapped back to reality, feeling a little disappointed, but for some reason, also strangely happy!
Maybe it was because he proved that he was a good person!
Thinking back on everything that had happened—handshakes with only fingertips, advising Heather and herself about the strong aftertaste of the cocktail, no inappropriate behavior during their conversation, and even rejecting Heather's subtle hints…
"He's gay," Heather repeated, "Otherwise, how could he turn us down?"
"No," Biu instinctively disagreed, "I think he's a good person!"
"A good person? Ha!" Heather sneered. "I don't believe that!"
At this moment, the bartender walked up with two glasses of juice.
"Your juices."
"We didn't order juice?" Heather was taken aback.
"They were ordered by the gentleman earlier. He said the juice would help you sober up."
"Heh, how pretentious," Heather muttered under her breath in her native tongue, but her face softened.
Biu, however, smiled brightly, "I told you, Martin is a good person."
"Good person or not, can't a good person be gay?" Heather retorted.
After the bartender left, Heather took a sip from her glass, though her mind was still preoccupied with the earlier events.
Martin's unequivocal rejection had really struck a blow to her confidence in her own charm!
At that moment, a voice interrupted, "Hey, two beauties, what's the point of drinking juice in a nightclub? Let me buy you a drink."
Before the girls could respond, a young man in black waved at the waiter.
"Waiter. Two shots of vodka for these two ladies!"
"I'm Roger Bart, you can call me Roger. I'm from Latvia, and if I'm not mistaken, you two lovely ladies are my countrymates."
He spoke in Latvian.
Heather and Biu instantly brightened up. Meeting someone from their homeland in an unfamiliar place was always a pleasant surprise.
"Wow, hi Roger."
"Hi Roger, nice to meet you."
The girls happily greeted Roger.
At that moment, the vodka shots were served.
"Your drinks."
Roger raised his glass, "Ladies, let's have a toast, to the fateful encounter here in America."
He then drank his shot in one go.
Heather laughed heartily and followed suit, drinking hers in one go.
But Biu only took a small sip.
"Hey, this is the best vodka, shouldn't we toast in such a happy moment?" Roger noticed Biu's hesitation and immediately encouraged her.
Heather joined in, "Yeah, Biu, don't just take a small sip, this is such a happy occasion."
Biu shook her head, "The cocktail earlier was really strong. I'm a little tipsy, I can't drink more or I'll throw up!"
Roger furrowed his brow but didn't press any further. Instead, he continued chatting with Heather.