I shake my head as I walk to him. “Way to draw attention.” I sit across from him, face burning with embarrassment, but he just waves me off.
“Listen, you had me drinking alone. I’ve already had half a pitcher. I thought you stood me up.” He mock pouts and I just roll my eyes as I look at the table. He already ordered food too it seems.
“Hardly.” I grab the pitcher, filling the second glass on the table. “To make a no good, very bad day worse, I forgot my phone in the office. I didn’t realize it until I was walking into my apartment to change. I was going to run back by the office and grab it, but didn’t want to be any more late than I already was.” I take a long sip from the drink, eyes closing at the lime and tequila flavor. So good. “Yeah. I needed this.”
“Sounds like it. So tell me, what was so bad about today?” He leans forward, bracing his elbows on the table and his big, blue eyes blink at me as he waits for me to start. So I do. I unleash the day starting with the lack of alarm and ending with me leaving my phone. After several seconds, Jess says, “Did he look good without a shirt on?” Fuck, I thought we could skate by without talking about Owen.
I shouldn’t be surprised that’s what he wants to know. Tipping back the glass, I finish off my drink before answering. Screw the straw, I need a buzz for this conversation. “Out of everything I just told you, that’s what you’re starting with?”
“Oh please, you should have expected that. Now, details. I want them.” He rubs his hands together in excitement as he waits for details.
“He’s my boss,” I grit out stubbornly.
“Your ridiculously sexy boss with all tanned skin and dark features. He’s the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. People write romance novels about guys like that.”
“Well, this life is anything but a happy book.” I sound bitter even to my own ears, but sue me, I’ve had a shitty run this far and I’m only twenty-three.
He sighs, grabbing the pitcher and refilling our glasses. “I know things haven’t always been easy for you. I remember college and what happened with Trevor, but you can’t just lock yourself away and never date again. Besides, we’re only talking about looking, nothing wrong with that. I’m pretty sure the saying goes, you can look but you can’t touch. So spill! Is Mr. Tall, dark, and handsome perfect underneath the designer clothes?” He waggles his eyebrows and I can’t help but laugh, all sadness I was feeling evaporating in an instant.
“Richter scale he’s a solid eleven,” I mutter, snagging a chip from his plate and dunking it in some salsa, needing something to do with my hands.
“Oh my.” Grabbing a table menu, Jess starts to fan himself in true dramatic fashion. “I knew he would be. I bet he’s fantastic in bed. Probably has a huge dick too.” His eyes look wistful, as if he’s playing out the fantasy, and I kick him under the table.
The chip goes down wrong and I break out in a fit of coughs. Fucking Jess. Cheeks flaming, I shoot him a glare once I wipe my eyes. “I about choked to death, asshole, and stop it. The last thing I need is to be thinking about my boss’s cock while I’m working. I already have a hard enough time as it is.”
“You just used choked, hard, and cock all in the same sentence and you expect me to not come back with something witty?” Fuck me. “Besides, it’s not like you weren’t already thinking about his dick.”
“I’m not answering that.”
“Such a party pooper,” he says just as a waiter comes over, successfully putting an end to that conversation.
I order a burrito and another pitcher for us to split. When the waiter leaves we don’t go back on the topic of Owen, thankfully, and I’m okay with it. Owen is like the straight guy you wish you could have but you know better than to linger on him too long or you’ll trip and fall into some feelings. The last thing I need is for that to happen, especially for someone I can’t have.
The server brings over the stuff I ordered and dinner passes in a haze of drinks and talking. Before long, I’m glancing down at my watch and sighing, noting that it’s just past eight. Damn, it’s been two hours already.
“I need to get going. I still have to stop and grab my phone from work.”
Jess nods, taking one last sip of his drink before we stand. “I need to go too. I didn’t realize it’d gotten so late.”
We pay our bills at the register and then exchange goodbyes, hugs, and ‘see you this weekend’ before we head out in separate directions. He goes home while I go to the damn office so I can get my cell phone.
Chapter four
Owen
My eyes burn and I blink twice before checking the time. Damn, it’s after eight already. When did that happen? Lance left about two hours ago and I’ve been trying to catch up on some invoices and get ready for a few meetings that I have tomorrow.
Work. All I ever do is work. I need a life.
Sighing, I pull out my phone and go to Instagram. I don’t use it much, but it’s a good way to keep up with old friends I went to high school and college with. Scrolling through the feed, I see food, marriages, traveling… All these people I know are living their lives and having the best time.
I close my eyes, trying to think of the last, truly good time I had. Enough to where I thought the moment needed to be posted—documented for the whole world to see. Clicking on my pictures, I see that, with the exception of a random coffee or office view, I haven’t posted anything ‘fun’ since a frat party during my senior year of college six years ago. Wow, I’m getting old.
The picture in question isn’t anything special. It’s just me standing in between a few brothers as we smile for the camera, all of us drunk and holding up beers in cheers with cocky smirks on our faces. My eyes slide over the guys, nostalgia and memories flooding my brain. All the best times I ever had in college were with the guys of Pi Kappa Alpha house.
When my eyes land on Sterling, I can’t help but smile as I think about all the stupid shit we used to do for fun. He was always the life of the party, that’s for sure. I wonder how he’s doing.
Clicking on the tag for his name, I go to his page and begin looking through the pictures. I last saw Sterling about two, maybe three years ago when he married Ledger. I hit him with the biggest I told you so when I got the save the date in the mail. He acted like he wasn’t completely gone for his sister’s best friend when we were in college but I knew better. Hell, I think everyone did.
