We thank her, leaning over to the side to catch a glimpse at the bar, and I grin when I see a familiar face.
“Justin! Come join us!” I wave him over, his friend on his heels.
He takes the seat next to me, leaning over to press a quick kiss to my cheek. “Hey, Lil,” he says, his breath coasting over my ear. His friend sits next to Sasha, and Justin points at him. “This is Matty, my collegeroommate. He’s in town for the weekend. Matt, this is Sasha and Lily. We’ve all known each other since school.”
“Well, Matty the college roommate,” Sasha gives a bright, sloppy smile. “Thanks for the drinks.” She raises her fresh margarita. “Cheers!” We clink glasses with a laugh, and for the first time today, I relax. Laurie told me she’d file for an annulment immediately, and keep me posted, so now there was nothing left for me to do.
It’d all be over soon. I glance down at my ring finger, only the faintest tan remaining from where my engagement ring had been. There was nothing to mark my wedding band, because it’d only been there for four days. A bitter snort escapes me, but before anyone notices where my dark thoughts have gone, I hide behind my drink.
Two hours later, and the world is too bright and strangely fuzzy, spinning away from me whenever I try to focus on one specific spot. Justin has his arm slung around my shoulders, his eyelids drooping.
“Where’d Matt go?” he slurs, pressing his cheek to my shoulder.
I snort-giggle. “Probably the same place as Sasha.”
We both stare over the empty seats across from us, neither of us able to give an answer on the location of our friends or when they’d disappeared. Justin sits up to look at my face, his beer-coated breath making my nose twitch.
“I had fun tonight, Lil,” he says, his cheeks flushed and eyes overly bright. “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah.” I smile. Or at least, I think I do, but my lips feel oddly numb. I touch them with my fingers, pinching and pulling at them, ignoring the strange look he sends me. “I needed a night to let loose, you know. It’s been such a weird couple of weeks.”
“Tell me about it,” he huffs out a laugh. “You uno-reversed marriage. But now, here we are!”
“Here we are,” I agree, I look around lazily, the faces in the bar all blurring into one weird Picasso picture. My stomach cramps uncomfortably and I grimace. “I think I should go home,” I mutter.
“Yeah.” Justin burps, his face going a sickly green. “Me too.”
“Oh, I’ve got a great idea! Let’s share a cab.” I bounce a little, and then immediately regret it.
“Do we live near each other?” he frowns. “I don’t think we do.”
I think about that for a second before agreeing, “No, we don’t. Hey! You could just sleep on my couch.”
“Deal.”
We head outside, the fresh air feeling heavenly on my flushed face.
Justin staggers, throwing an arm around my shoulders to right himself. “Do you think we should try to find Matt or Sash?” he wonders, half-heartedly looking up and down the street.
“Nah,” I say, my phone in my hand. I squint down at it. “She texted me. Apparently, they went back to her place…an hour ago? Holy crap.” My mouth drops open, a crazed laugh escaping. “It’s two in the morning! How the heck did that happen?” He shakes his head, looking as confused as I feel. I order us a car, and we huddle together until it pulls up.
“Come on,” he says, herding me into the backseat. “Let’s get the fuck outta here.”
Back at the house, we stagger inside and I organize a pillow and blanket for Justin, before gathering a bottle of water, pain relief and a bucket. I set them all on the coffee table, ordering him, “Do not make a mess on my carpet.”
He grins crookedly. “I’m house-trained, I swear.”
Shaking my head, I stumble into my bedroom and get ready for bed. I throw back a pain pill and finish half a bottle of water, before collapsing into bed, only managing to half drag the covers over me before darkness sucks me under.
I’m woken by the smell of bacon. I roll clumsily out of bed, letting my nose lead me to the kitchen where Justin’s standing in front of a skillet.
“Morning,” he says too cheerfully, and I narrow my eyes. “Was wondering if you’d surface sometime today.”
I blink blearily. “What the heck are you doing? And why’re you so happy?”
“I don’t get hungover,” he announces. “And going off the look of you, I probably should’ve cut you off earlier, huh?”
“I’m starting to remember something,” I grumble, sitting at my small table and lowering my head to my arms.
