Road Trip 03: Revival

This is the third chapter of a multi-part story about a cross-country trip of self-discovery and adventure, with several different stops and a story (or stories!) at each. I'm writing this as I go, though I have a good idea of what will happen as our hero heads west. I hope to include stories from several genres in the overall series. Each chapter is more or less a standalone, but some of the overall character development, and some of the references, will make more sense if you read the previous entries.

CHAPTER 3: REVIVAL

She kept her eyes locked on me as I looked her over, and when I met them again the gray-green of her irises seemed to dance with fire. That little bit of nervous anticipation I'd been carrying all night bloomed into something else, something more primal, as the rest of the bar seemed to fade into nothingness. I felt her leg against mine again under the table, and felt a silent communication pass between us: we were far from done with each other tonight.

Day 5 - Thursday, September 28, 2019

The bed I woke up in was large and luxurious, in a room that met the same description. I slept naked - I always slept naked in hotels - and woke up rock hard, the prize for a deep night's sleep. I jerked off lazily, in no rush, a quiet morning, and when I was done I dozed off more. By the time I was finally ready to wake up, it was close to 11 in the morning.

Yesterday had been a long day, but a good one. After leaving Pittsburgh, I drove a few hours to Cleveland, a new city for me. I waited a bit for a corned beef sandwich from Flannery's, and it was worth that wait. Then I spent three hours or so wandering through the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which had long been on my bucket list - most of my time was spent wandering the section on rock pioneers, listening to old blues, country, R&B. Stuff I knew, yeah, but such a great way to experience it.

By the time I was done there, it was close to 4pm, and I still had a long way to go. I stopped for dinner outside Toledo, content fo grab a little fast food, then continued on. From Toledo to Chicago was another three and a half hours, so it was past 10pm by the time I finally got to my destination.

The hotel I was staying in was one of Chicago's fanciest and priciest hotels, downtown along the river and among the city's high-rises. I had promised my parents I'd be economical on this trip, and generally I was planning to be, but... I also had a $200,000 inheritance in my checking account, and if I was going to splurge anywhere it was going to be here.

I had pulled up close to 10:30 in my beater 2011 Toyota Corolla, and I'm sure the valet had to stop himself from asking if I was lost as I handed him my keys and a $20. My trunk was packed with essentially every piece of clothing I owned, some books, a few other items I thought were worth carting across the country. Before I'd left Katie's that morning I'd distilled five days worth of stuff into a separate duffel, along with my laptop, chargers, a book, and toiletries, and that's what I carried with me into the hotel.

The hotel had been built as an office tower, but a chunk of the floors had been converted into a hotel a few years ago, and it already had a reputation as one of Chicago's top accommodations. The lobby was up a floor, and it was pretty stunning: a two-story lobby with decorative sculpture handing from the ceiling, and floor to ceiling windows, which was a feature of the whole building, including the rooms. I was pretty worn at that point, though, so I checked in without spending a lot time admiring the place, stripped upon entering the room, and fell almost immediately into a deep sleep.

So that's where I awoke Thursday morning, and that's the room I started to examine in the daylight that now came in from floor to ceiling windows. Mine was a riverview room, which had come at a higher price, but as I looked around in the morning I decided it was worth it. I did enjoy the feeling of standing naked in front of a window that looked out onto the heart of the city and down to the Chicago River.

The bathroom was pure luxury too, with a full bath and a rainfall shower, which I took advantage of after fully waking. The bath was set up against a glass wall that looked ito the bedroom, a sexy feature if one had someone to enjoy it with. I didn't. Yet, I reminded myself.

My conversations with Katie and Del - not to mention Katie's lovely late night intervention - stuck with me, and I decided I'd put aside any lingering hurt and hesitation from Sarah's betrayal. I was on this trip to get rid of that past, and the best way to do that would be to not let it affect my present. If an opportunity presented itself, I prepared myself to act on it.

And that's why I struck up conversation with the bartender at the hotel bistro during my brunch. It was a lovely spot with great views that seemed popular with the business crowd, meaning I stuck out, in a light hoodie and jeans. I looked good, I knew, but I wasn't wearing a tie or sportscoat, which made me pretty unique in there.

The bartender also wasn't wearing a tie, and also looked good. Better than good. Stunning. According to the nametag, she was Zahra. She looked to be mid-20s. The first thing I'd really noticed about her were her gray-green eyes, piercing and hypnotic. From there, my attention zoomed out: Smooth olive brown skin, jet black hair done up in a messy bun. Her hotel uniform was conservative, but it wasn't hard to tell she had a great body under it - athletic but lean, with full but not overly large breasts. The pants were at least well-fitting enough to confirm that she had a great ass, which I confirmed as surreptitiously as possible as she served drinks to the forty-somethings at the other end of the bar.

After she filled their order she came back toward my end, and with Del and Katie's advice in my ears, I gave it a shot.

"Zahra's a nice name. Persian?" she turned to me and smiled a little.

"Most people guess Arab, but yeah, my mom is Persian. How'd you know?"

"Only other person I ever met with that name was Persian, so I took a shot."

"Well, you guessed right." She hadn't moved away yet, so I kept going.

"Just you for this shift? Seems busy for one person."

"At the bar, anyway, yeah. Someone else was scheduled but they called in, so here I am. It's actually not too bad today."

"What do you do if you have to pee?"

"Jose, the waiter, can cover for a few, but thanks for your concern!" She laughed.

"Look, someone has to ask the hard questions."

"Very true, leave no stone unturned." She was getting comfortable, though I still felt some nerves. I'd realized on my drive yesterday that I'd never really hit on anyone in the adult world before; Sarah and I had gotten together when I was 19, and now here I was, single, a week away from turning 24, in a hoity-toity bar talking up a gorgeous woman who probably had guys worth a million dollars hit on her nightly. But on the other hand, I bet they never asked about how she took a pee break.

Or maybe they did, but in a gross way.

She didn't seem to think I was being gross, because she hadn't gone to pretend to clean or straighten anything on the other end of the bar yet. Instead, she kept the conversation going herself.

"What's your deal? You are not the kind of person who comes through here often."

"What, devastatingly handsome and witty?" I received a bemused, but not withering, look in return.

"Not a stockbroker."

"How do you know I'm not a stockbroker? Maybe I'm slumming it."

"People don't slum it here. Seriously, I'm bored, tell me your deal."

"I'm from Philly, just staying here a few nights on my way west. In the middle of moving to Seattle."

"Interesting. What's in Seattle?"

I shrugged in response. "I honestly can't tell you. I needed a change, and had already been thinking about it, so... I'm doing it. Fresh start."

"Wow... do you have a job out there?"

"Not yet. Hoping I can land something soon enough."

"So how are you affording this place?"

"My grandmother passed a little less than a year ago. She was, amazingly, kind of a shark of an investor, and I guess had built up more money than anyone knew. My dad was her only kid, and I'm his only kid, so..."

"So you're skipping across the country, luxury hotel to luxury hotel?" She leaned over the bar near me.

"No, this is it on real luxury places. I'm not planning on staying in hostels, but nothing super fancy from here on out, probably. I've always wanted to visit Chicago, though, so I figured I'd splurge here."

"Nice - welcome. My favorite city in the world."

"Are you from here?"

"More or less. Born in Evanston, which isn't far. My folks traveled a lot, though, so I've been all over."

"Favorite places? Aside from Chicago."

"Oh god. Stateside, San Francisco. Savannah. Utah, all the National Parks there. Quebec City. Not stateside but North America anyway. Internationally... Prague, Kyoto, Stockholm, Havana..."

"Damn. You really have been all over."

She smiled. I was about to ask her why that was from when a customer waved her over. I was almost done with my eggs benedict at that point, but I dawdled a bit, hoping to continue the conversation.

She poured a couple drinks for some guys in their fifties, and laughed at some joke, then started straightening things at that end of the bar, and I thought maybe that would be it. But when she was done with that, she came right back over to me.

"So where's next?" She asked, clearly interested. "I've always wanted to do a long road trip like that."

"I think I'm probably going to head down to St. Louis, Kansas City, then... haven't decided. My uncle, my mom's brother, lives in Denver, and I told him I'd stay a couple nights there, but I don't think I'll go straight there. Maybe up to the Dakotas and then back down, check out Rushmore or something."

"But you're in Chicago for a few days?"

"Yeah - my reservation here is four nights."

"What do you have planned?"

I mentioned a few basic touristy things - maybe catch one of the Cubs' last home games at Wrigley this year, wander Grant Park, probably an architecture boat tour, some neighborhood sightseeing, museums.

"I definitely want to hear some music too, Chicago Blues, some jazz."

"Cool... well, as I said, my favorite city in the world, so I'm happy to recommend stuff."

"Any good bars around?"

"Not around here, or at least not what I'd call good. Around here you get sweaty businessmen and tourists, and overpriced drinks." I nodded. "But you get out of downtown there are tons of good places."

"What's your favorite?" She smiled again, then looked at me like she was sizing me up for a split second.

"Well, it's out of the way, but my local is my favorite. Place called the Revival Lounge, up in North Center - that's a neighborhood north of here. Playing trivia there tonight, actually."

"Nice, I love pub trivia." I genuinely thought about inviting myself along - Katie and Del sat on one shoulder telling me to, but my cautious side won out on this one, and I stopped there. Turns out I didn't need to.

"Well..." the next part was hesitant, but she said it. "We've got space for another on our team, so if you feel like it, come by."

"Yeah?"

"Why not? We can show you more real Chicago." I wondered who the 'we' referred to, but I figured I didn't have anything better to do, so I nodded.

"I honestly might. How would I get there?" As I asked, a patron called her over, though, and I wasn't sure she heard me as she hustled off. She took a few food orders and poured a couple drinks, then spent a minute writing down what I assumed to be notes on an order. But when she came back over, I saw it was a napkin with directions, and a notation: 7pm. She pointed at the bottom, too.

"That's my number, in case you decide to come up and the directions don't make sense."

"Thanks - I really might."

"I hope you do." She smiled at me again, and maybe there was a little reddening in her olive cheeks? Did I imagine it?

She got called away again at that moment, but on her way she turned back.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"I'm Dan."

"Nice to meet you, Dan," and then she was in server mode.

I'd already gotten my check when I ordered, so I paid with my room number and left her a hefty tip. We made eye contact on my way out and traded smiles. A promising start to this stay.

I decided to just wander today - along the river, then south to Grant Park. It was another warm fall day, around 70 degrees with a light breeze and occasional clouds. I wore my Phillies hat so as to passively annoy Cubs fans as I wandered. I checked ot the Bean, which was cool enough for fifteen minutes or so. I started collecting more selfies, figured I'd post a bunch later. Played with some weird angles off the curved reflective surface of the sculpture, a few of which were worth keeping.

From there I walked south to the fountain, and thought about going into the Art Museum, but decided that one art museum in the span of three days was enough. Instead, I walked south along the water, feeling the cool breeze on a relatively warm day. The Field Museum was a possibility, as was the Aquarium, but I skipped both and went to the planetarium instead, catching a cool show and wandering the exhibit floor for a while.

At that point, it was around 3pm. I grabbed a cold drink at the Planetarium, and took the napkin out of my pocket, taking another look at it. I thought about a text, but didn't really know what I'd actually say, so I skipped it for now - I did enter "Zahra" as a contact, though, in case I lost the thing.

There were clouds in the forecast tomorrow, and rain on Saturday, so I decided now would be a good time to head toward Willis Tower. Instead of walking the whole way, I walked over to catch the Orange Line El. Philly had a subway, but it was limited - I envied this, I thought, as it moved me through the city on elevated tracks right over to the tower. The views from this observation deck were supposed to be stellar, so despite the line I stuck it out.

The day was crystal clear, and the view was worth every bit of hassle. From the top, I took in views of the lake and the city below. I picked out my hotel, and a few other sights, including four different states, which seemed cooler as a thing you can say you did than it was a thing to actually do. I worked up a bit of courage and walked onto the clear "ledge", which allowed me to look straight down from the tower. It was dizzying, but I stuck it out, lying down to take a selfie of the sheer drop below my head.

After looking around a while more there, I descended. I thought about looking for another museum, but instead grabbed an Uber over to Navy Pier and wandered it a while. After 5pm, I decided I'd had enough tourism for the day, though, and walked back to the hotel to rest up a bit before... well, I guess I hadn't decided what to do yet. Was I really going to go up to a random part of Chicago to maybe play pub trivia with a hot bartender?

On the walk back to the hotel, I got up the courage to text her.

hey this is Dan, from the hotel this morning. thinking about taking you up on the trivia invite if that's still cool with you

I didn't hear anything back immediately. Or after five minutes. Or fifteen. I was about to give myself permission to feel bummed when the phone buzzed.

yeah totally, we'll be there

still have the directions?

There was that 'we' again. Boyfriend? Girlfriend? Seemed unlikely given how she'd been acting but... I basically didn't know this woman, so who could say?

yeah all set, see you at 7:30

cool, what awesome things did you do in my city today?

I thought about listing them, but instead I did a quick pic collage: me at the Bean, me at the lake front, me under the giant planets in the Adler Planetarium exhibit hall, me lying on the glass at the Willis. I sent it off, and her response came in as I entered the hotel.

love it! not quite as glamorous as my afternoon, though

Her text came with a selfie of her own, on a train, with a guy sleeping on the seat behind her.

i've worn myself out walking around today, maybe i'll fall asleep on the train up there too

and miss out on watching us suck at trivia? your loss

see you at 7:30

Buoyed by that exchange, I went back up to my room. It was 6 when I got there, and I was looking at about a 45 minute El ride up to the bar, so I had time for a shower and general cleanup. I hadn't cleaned up the neckline of my beard in a few days, so that was on the agenda. I switched out everything but my jeans, putting on a dark green long sleeve tee that was just tight enough to show off my workout bod, but not so tight as to be obnoxious. I grabbed my lightweight black jacket, though I didn't wear it off the bat given the temp. When I deemed myself ready, I headed back down, walking across the river to the Brown Line El. 35 minutes later, I hopped off at Irving Park. It was 7:20, which meant I'd get there almost perfectly on time.

The place was easy enough to find, but more crowded than I'd anticipated. It was a homey little place, nothing fancy, but with a good vibe and a mix of people, befitting the neighborhood - a lot of young professionals, mostly older than me, late 20s early 30s, I estimated. I looked around a bit, but couldn't see Zahra. After a moment, though, my phone buzzed.

look left

I did, and saw a table of people waving at me all the way in the corner. I waved back and walked over.

"Hey Dan, glad you could make it!" Zahra greeted me. I got introductions. The "we" I'd been moderately concerned with did not, in fact, include a significant other as far as I could tell, but instead two couples: there was Will, a tall thin guy with glasses, and Amaya, a striking Black woman with plaited hair and a nose stud; and Mike, a shorter probably Italian or Greek guy, and Molly, a curvy blonde with freckles and a nice smile. As I got everyone's name, I sat in the only empty seat, across the table from Zahra and next to Will. She smiled at me as the rest of them seemed to try to ignore us while sneaking glances. I go the distinct sense I'd been the topic of curious conversation before I arrived.

Zahra looked even better than she had this morning. Freed from her hotel uniform, she wore a thin and sleeveless red sundress with spaghetti straps, no bra. The sight of her in it confirmed my earlier suspicion that she had a great body. Her hair was down now, wavy and beautiful, down past her shoulders, and in the dim light those eyes were even more striking. She had a small gold chain around her neck, adorned with a pendant bird with outstretched wings that my eyes landed on as I tried not to stare at the hint of her cleavage that was revealed by the dress.

"Is that Zoroastrian?" I nodded toward it.

"Ooh, yes. You're going to be good at trivia. How'd you know that?"

"Comparative religion class in college."

"I don't practice, I wear it more as a little cultural reminder. And it's pretty."

"It suits you." I looked down towards it, also taking in her cleavage and the shape of those lovely breasts, now more clearly outlined in her think dress.

"Think so?" The twinkle in her eye told me she knew what was really drawing my attention, and maybe didn't mind.

"I do."

The waitress came by for orders. She started down the table, where Zahra's friends all ordered some food along with their drinks, and given I was starved that worked for me. When it came down to us, Zahra ordered fish tacos and a glass of sauvignon blanc, and I got a chicken sandwich with a whiskey and coke.