She added, “But it’s only, like, four or five black players on the whole Padres team. And I don’t count the Spanish guys. They’re not really down with us. But on the Chargers, more than half the team is black.”

Ivan only listened to her, amused by it all. He was slightly embarrassed by their night so far. What was her purpose for the evening; to get drunk while comparing her body to Hooters girls? That didn’t make any sense.

The next thing he knew, Catherine had him walking her along Harbor Drive.

Ivan said, “I could have gotten my car if I would have known we were walking this far.”

“It’s not far,” she told him. “All we have to do is cross the street and we’re almost there.”

Ivan looked across the street in the direction where they were headed and spotted the twin towers of the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel. The towers were set on prime real estate, right off the San Diego Bay. It was an immaculate hotel from the outside alone. Ivan had no idea what it looked like on the inside. He had never had any reason to stay there. But he could imagine it.

“Oh, shit, don’t tell me they got you staying here,” he responded.

Catherine giggled and said, “Yup. I told you I can get what I want when I want it. I couldn’t wait to show you this. But…”

She stopped herself momentarily before she mumbled, “You really wanna know why I took you through that whole Hooters thing?”

Ivan didn’t care. It was all trivial in his opinion. He decided to hear her out anyway.

“Yeah, what was up with that?” he asked as he continued to help her walk.

She said, “Okay. When I was back home in Sacramento, I found out that my ex was crazy about a girl who worked there. And he actually left me for her. And I was like…why?”

Ivan started to chuckle and couldn’t help himself. Women! Their insecurities were amazing.

Catherine promptly stopped them from walking. “I don’t see why that’s so funny, Ivan. My feelings were very hurt by that. Very hurt,” she told him.

“I’m college educated. He’s college educated. I’m a professional. He’s a professional. I’m good looking. He’s good looking. And still, he picked a Hooters girl over me? Why?”

Ivan said, “Trust me, Catherine, it’s not about the restaurant, it’s all about the girl.”

She said, “But why do guys like to see young women dressed so…provocatively? I mean, it’s so tasteless.”

Ivan didn’t feel like dealing with any of that. It was all meaningless. He thought more about seeing what the inside of the hotel looked like. So he ignored her question.