“Gee—I’m not g-good with this stuff, man. I have no clue how much people drink. D’you think two bottles are enough?”

The novice doesn’t get a response. He looks over at his friend. His eyes are fixed across the store.

“D-Don’t bother. She’s taken.”

“Is she, now?” he says, and takes a good long look at the young woman scanning the hard liquor shelves.

“Either that, or she’s a-about to be. I just heard her talk on the phone about how she is ‘going home with Elijah Craig, or nothing‘.”

The other guy laughs and shakes his head. “Elijah Craig, huh?”

“Pfft—y-yeah. Lucky guy.”

“Lucky guy….”

“Hey! W-where are you going?”

“To catch up with my old friend, Elijah.”

“Wait, y-you KNOW ‘IM!?!”

*

The guy straightens his jacket, picks up a bottle from the top shelf, and leans over to the side of her.

“I heard you were looking for my friend.”

“Your friend?” She asks.

“Mhm.” The man shoots a glance at the label and then up towards the shelf above her head. “He can be a bit harder to reach these days.”

She smiles. “Looks like we have mutual friends.”

“Well, what can I say?” He turns the bottle in his hands and flashes it to her. “It’s a small batch.”