Carnal Desires

            My name is Gary and I’m a bartender. I listen to people’s bullshit for a living. A psychiatrist with a loaded gun basically. What about me though? Who do I get to unload my inner most thoughts on?

            It was a rather slow night at Jameson’s Piano Bar. The usual suspects sat around the bar- chatting and laughing it up like always. There was still three hours to go before closing. I could do this. Standing behind the bar, I decided to keep myself busy by cleaning some glasses. Boredom was settling in and refusing to leave. Filling a tray with clean glasses, I then bent down to stick it under the bar. A sharp pain shot throughout my ankle no sooner I set them down. It was a firm reminder that I had a sprained ankle.

            The cause of that sprain now came into my mind. My wife, Jess, had talked me into going on a jog with her before I left for work. Despite being incredibly tired, I gave in. I always gave in to her. Next thing I know we’re jogging down Nicholson Street happy as a lamb when I take a nasty spill. There was this half-eaten caramel apple that had been abandoned not all that long ago. Jess laughed at me. She laughed at me so hard. Snatching that apple up quickly, I threw it right at her. That’s when I noticed the carnival across the street from us. The 35th Annual Market Days was in full swing. Vendors were set up all over the place selling all sorts of different goods. The aroma of freshly cooked kettle corn danced through the air. It was intoxicating. Jess spun around to see what held my attention and smiled upon seeing it. It was such a great day and everyone was taking advantage of it. It was the first week of school and kids were already wishing it were June. There was so much to see and do. I could see a huge ferris wheel, a tilt-o-whirl, fast pitch, water slides and much more as far as the eye could see.

            Then I saw her. As I scrambled to my feet, my jaw dropped at the sight of this beautiful girl. Forget the kettle corn. She was intoxicating. She was a beautiful, curvaceous red-head, a juvenile of sixteen or seventeen at most. She left the carnival alone. She had a sassafras root which hung from her mouth and she wore a Chewbacca mask on her head. Jess walked across the street. She was headed for the carnival. I couldn’t think straight. Suddenly this beautiful young creature was looking right at me. I walked toward her, hot on Jess’s trail. As I got right up to this girl though, she came right up to me. She stood right in front of me, smiled and pushed her hand down to my crotch and let it stay there. I looked at her. I wanted her so bad. Why though? I’m a happily married man and have no interest in looking elsewhere. There was something about this girl though. She took the sassafras root from her mouth and traced it down my chest. I pushed her to the side, “I’m old enough to be your father,” I said. With that she laughed and walked off without a word. I watched her walk off and prayed to God that I never saw her again.

            Suddenly I found myself snapping back to reality. I looked down at an empty wine glass which I held in my hand. My free hand was holding a rag in it. Apparently, I was in the middle of drying it. I shook the cobwebs from my head and put the glass away. I needed a stiff drink. My hands searched for and seized a bottle of Grey Goose Vodka and the nearest shot glass. I pounded back one shot. The burn lit my esophagus, it felt good. I pounded back another one. Then another one. Setting the glass on the counter, I did a double take over by the front door. I was seeing things. At least I hoped that I was seeing things. The girl from the carnival walked right into my bar on the shoulder of some guy. It was like that scene in Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart where he’s alone in his club, drowning in his sorrows when Ingrid Bergman walks in. It was just like that. “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.”

          I felt the oxidation of the air as she entered. She ditched her guy and sauntered her way up to the bar. Not one person noticed her. She walked right past the piano player, touching him on the shoulder and made her way up to me. With a twirl of her red hair, I was hooked just like this morning. I took one look into her green eyes as she bedazzled me. This entire scenario was getting more and more awkward by the second. She extended the palm of her hand across the bar table toward me slowly.

“Hi. I’m Molly.” she said.

“How old are you Molly?” I managed to ask her.

“Seventeen, but my birthday is next Wednesday. I’m almost legal,” she said winking at me.

          She then whispered a strange and highly inappropriate request to me. She begged me to take her out back in the alley. My heart was pounding so loud, I couldn’t hear anything else. My mind was at war with my penis. The two were interlocked in a furious debate. I suddenly thought of Jess. My heart filled me with the love that I had always possessed for her. I couldn’t hurt her. No matter how much I wanted to give into my carnal desires and fuck this girl’s brains out. My sense of logic took the beautiful juvenile girl by her extended hand, flipped it over and gave her a stamp.

 “I said it this morning and I’ll say it again, I’m old enough to be your father,” I told her. The beautiful juvenile looked down at the stamp and laughed. She was underage. The stamp was a firm reminder of that and in more ways than one. I turned my back to her as she walked off and out of my sight. Carnal desires are such a bitch.

Just then, one of my regular’s, Pete who was at the bar asked, “Hey Gary. What was that about?” I looked over at him and laughed.

“I’m not sure what you mean Pete,” I said.

“You know damn well what I mean. Don’t try pulling the wool over my eyes. I know a guy who's been around that block,” Pete said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"That girl is working for the police. She is baiting guys like you and then next thing you know, you're up the creek without a paddle. Just ask my buddy Larry- he's doing fifteen to twenty because he exposed himself to her," he said.

           I walked over to where Pete was sitting made him another whiskey and slid it toward him. I made one for myself too. I definitely needed it.

“Jesus, that's horrible. It sounds like I really dodged a bullet there. Twice in one day actually. Man, oh man," I said wiping my brow. I slammed back my whiskey and poured another. 

“Ooo la la! Now you have my attention sir. Give Doctor Pete all the details.” Pete said smiling.

            I spent the next twenty minutes or so telling Pete what had happened. I told him about Molly and the desires that pulsed through my veins each time she would look at me. Carnal desires man. I am not going to worry about it any longer. She was gone. On top of that, I could finally unload my problems on someone else for a change.