13
ANNA
I needed to get away fromArcher.Myheart was racing, andIcould feel my resolve breaking down.Hiscompliments about me had me rethinking my promise to myself thatIwould not let him affect me.
“You look gorgeous tonight, by the way.”
“You already said that,”Ireplied nervously.
“Didn’t know there was a limit for those kinds of comments.”
There wasn’t a limit—at least not with normal men—but withArcher…Toomany compliments from him, and my brain would go back to those thoughts about us being together.ThoughtsIwasn’t ready to deal with.
When his fingers touched the side of my face, tucking a wayward curl behind my ear, his touch felt like fire, but in a good way.Toogood.
I forced myself to walk away from him beforeIlet things go too far.Ifhe kept touching me—or,Godforbid, kissed me—there would be no turning back.Istill had feelings for that man.IknewIdid.Nomatter how hardIplayed it off as thoughIwas unaffected by him, the truth was, he owned so much real estate in my brain it should be illegal.
I had no idea whereIwas going, butIended up at the makeshift bar area, which was good becauseIcould use a drink.Iordered something and took a seat at one of the barstools set up along the side.Aglance back over atArchershowed that he had walked off to the other side of the dance floor and was talking with a few people in friendly conversation.Howcould he be so calm and collected right now?Hewas smiling like that moment we had on the dance floor wasn’t a huge moment for us.
I felt a rustle next to me and turned to seeTammytake a seat to my left.
“It ain’t none of my business, soI’mjust gonna say my peace, and then we can move on to more important things, butIsee you watchin’ that boy.Youreyes are shooting daggers at him like you already know where you’re gonna bury the body…but your body is tellin’ quite a different story.”
Tammy seemed like a nice woman, and the only other timeIhad met her, she seemed to give solid advice, butIwasn’t even ready to have this conversation with myself, let alone someoneIdidn’t know.
She cut me off beforeIhad the chance to say anything. “Holdingon to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die,”Tammyadded as she took a swig of her beer.
Wow.Ifthat wasn’t both deeply meaningful and also made me feel like crap at the same time.
“You’re a very sage woman, you know that,Tammy?”Itold her, impressed by her words.
“Oh, those aren’t my words, honey,”Tammyrebuked. “Someonemuch smarter than me came up with that—probablyGhandi,Buddha, orDollyParton—arealgenius.Ijust chose to remember it and share it whenIfelt the time was right.”
She wasn’t wrong, thoughIdid smile at her lumpingDollyin with other such influential and remarkable visionary leaders.
“Sometimes being human means behaving badly and messing up, but it’s important to learn how to forgive—and to be forgiven,”Tammyadded, and that felt like a punch to my gut.
I knew it wasn’t a personal attack on me per se, but that’s how it felt.
“When you find a man who knows you’re not perfect but treats you like you are anyway, that man is a keeper,”Tammyadded. “Andbonus points if that man also happens to have a big dick and is great in bed.”
I chuckled at her advice.Ireally liked this woman.
“Now,”Tammysaid, clapping her hands together. “I’vesaid my piece, so we can move on to more exciting things.Wheredid you get that fantastic red dress?Ineedone in my size.I’vegot a date with some fancyAirForceJAGlawyer next week, andI’dlike him to see me inthatdress…and then help me back out of it, if you know whatImean.”
She wiggled her eyebrows up and down, andIthrew my head back and laughed.Thiswoman had a way of making you get emotional and spiritually deep but then brought the humor back, letting you smile about everything around you.Ineeded that.
* * *
After spending some more time at the bar withTammyand talking withEllieandCat, who had come up to join us at the bar, everyone finally decided to start packing up and head home.
The great thing about my conversations with all the women at the bar was that it distracted me from thinking aboutArcher.Thebad thing was it distracted me from thinking aboutArcher—thus,Ihadn’t figured out whatIwas going to say to him.
Thankfully, he must have either sensed my unwillingness to talk about that topic more, or he was tired and just wanted to leave.
“You ready to head back, or do you want to stay?”
“I wouldn’t mind sitting on your back patio by the fireplace withPercyif that’s okay,”Itold him honestly.
