a little kulture.

I was at a club called Kulture, but not The Culture Club or even The Kulture Klub. It wasn't a bad place, and I've seen my share as the girlfriend of a local musician. It had ample seating, a decent-sized stage, and the decor was varied and interesting. Actually, it looked like something I might have decorated by combining hodgepodge items from yard sales and thrift stores.

I was sitting on the couch while Josh was in the bathroom. I had just finished my beer, so I got up to go to the bar and get another round of $1.50 PBRs for the two of us. As I sat back down in the approximate middle of the couch, a strange boy sat down next to me where Josh had been sitting.

"Is your boy sitting here?"

"Um, yeah." The guy sat down. "He can sit on the other side, I suppose."

"Oh, good. So, how old are you?"

Kind of a weird pick-up line, but whatever. I spotted Josh on his way back to the couch, and I prepared myself to explain where this strange dude had come from.

"I'm 24."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." I choked back the explanation that I was only barely twenty-four and just let it go. No need to have a mid-twenties crisis on this guy. Besides, Josh had taken his new position on the other side of me. I handed him his beer as he looked at the intruder suspiciously.

"Hey, man," Intruder Guy says. "I was just hitting on your girl here." I groan inwardly. Dude, please don't make this worse on me.

Josh is outwardly cool. "Oh, okay. What's your name again?" He reaches out a hand as the guy answers, "Aaron," and I can imagine Josh writing out Aaron's epitaph.

Josh and I resume our conversation, and I am completely rude to Aaron. I want to send a clear message to this guy, so I ignore him and talk solely to Josh about the importance of James Joyce and the meaning of the word "antipodean." After a few minutes, Aaron gives up and leaves.

"So, who was that guy?" Josh finally asks.

"I dunno. He sat down after you left and asked how old I was."

"He asked how old you were?"

"Yeah. I had just bought beer for us. I think he was trying to get me to buy him beer."

"He did look like he might be underage."

Now, it was a complete guess when I told Josh that, but as soon as I said it, it rang true. I don't get hit on that often, and to be cornered when I'm clearly with someone else is even more odd. Of course, then I felt supremely old. Sure, yeah, I still get hit on by twenty-year-old boys...when they need someone to buy them booze. I was just about to feel depressed and sorry for myself when I remembered what twenty-year-old boys were like. You know, it's okay if they don't hit on me. Besides, he probably didn't even know what "antipodean" means.