The Perfect Manhattan by Leanne Shear

Author:Leanne Shear
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780767921619
Publisher: Crown/Archetype
Published: 2005-06-28T04:00:00+00:00

Cassie, go long!” Glen called out. I ran out toward the surf to catch the Frisbee, but before the pass was completed, a wave clobbered me.

“Are you all right?” James asked. He was standing at the water’s edge and trying hard not to laugh.

I righted myself and, after checking to make sure my bikini top was still on and pulling some seaweed out of my hair, stood up and whipped the Frisbee in James’s direction. “I’m fine!”

James, Tom, and Glen had shown up around one, and we had been running around ever since, swimming, playing Frisbee and Kadima, and drinking beers. The sun was hot, and as I wrung out my hair, I decided it was time for another break.

“Want an Amstel?” Tom asked as I approached the coolers.

“No Amstel for her,” James said, collapsing into a beach chair and handing me a Budweiser. “I bought these especially for you.”

I jumped into his lap and threw my arms around his neck. He looked irresistible with his shirt off, and as my hands rested against his smooth, firm abs, I felt like I could spend all day just looking at him. The touch of his hand on my bare skin was enough to send me flying like one of the ad banners that sailed behind the planes riding over the shoreline. Even though I could feel the puffiness beneath my eyes, I felt like I didn’t need to sleep for days. “Thanks,” I said, kissing his neck.

“So,” Glen said, eyeing the label on my bottle of Bud, “I’ll buy drinks for everyone at Cyril’s later if one of you can tell me what ‘Budweiser’ stands for.”

“What do you mean?” Tom asked. “It doesn’t stand for anything.”

“Yes, it does,” Glen said. “Each letter stands for something. Come on, I’ll buy all you guys drinks if you can figure it out.”

I looked around expectantly at all of their blank faces. I couldn’t believe they didn’t know something so simple and American. “Because U Deserve What Every Individual Should Enjoy Regularly,” I sang triumphantly.

“How’d you know that?” Glen asked, trounced.

“I’m a bartender,” I said. “Besides, that’s not really what Budweiser stands for. It’s probably just something some frat guy made up at five in the morning, after drinking Buds all night. I think it’s really just a combination of the two names: Anheiser and Busch, but I don’t know.”

“Congratulations, Cassie! You get free drinks all night, but it doesn’t matter since you have to work and will drink for free anyway!” Annie laughed, raising her bottle in a toast. She had climbed into Tom’s lap, and I couldn’t help but think about how less than ten hours ago she’d been having passionate sex with an entirely different person.

James leaned over and kissed me on the top of my head. “You’re so refreshing,” he said. I beamed.

“Well, I can at least buy you a BBC at Cyril’s before you go to work,” Tom suggested. Cyril’s was a divey outdoor bar and restaurant located on Napeague Stretch between Montauk and Amagansett, where they served fried seafood in red plastic baskets.

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