Chaos
You busy?
No.
You wanna be?
August has been staringat me for way longer than any person should. Seriously. It’s starting to give me the creeps, but if I let him know, he’ll only end up doing it more.
After a ridiculous amount of time, he adds the last two glasses to the dishwasher and closes the front to start the cycle. “You’re smiling.”
That’swhy he was staring? Here I thought maybe I’d gotten some of the teriyaki chicken I inhaled in the office in the middle of my shift on my face. “I’m always smiling.”
“Yeah, but this one’s different. This one oozes male pride. You’re like a peacock, strutting with his feathers all aflutter.”
He is such a dumbass.
“You got laid, didn’t you?”
Like I’m going to tell him. But he’s right. I am smiling and I can’t seem to stop. After pancakes, I spent all day in bed with Loren and it was one of the best days of my life. I was this close to calling in sick tonight but didn’t want to let August down. So here I am. Working. Daydreaming about a girl waiting for me back at our apartment.
Ourapartment. Feels weird to call it that, but that’s what it is. Mine and hers. After what happened, I never thought I’d be happy sharing my space with another person again. But here I am. Happy.
Sofucking happy.
A couple of regulars find their stools, but most of the Saturday night crowd are newcomers, people swinging by for a drink before heading into the city.
I make a couple of margaritas, a few simple whiskies on the rocks, and a couple of shots for a pair of bros with Greek letters printed on their sweatshirts even though they look way too old to be part of a fraternity. Maybe it’s like anOld Schoolthing?
Wonder what Loren is up to right now. I bet she’s curled up on the corner of the couch, her hair piled in that sloppy bun, watching some romcom that makes her giggle.
That girl has a great laugh.
Something cold splashes against my fingers. When I glance down, I find the bottle of vodka tipped a little too far, spilling all over the counter.
“Shit.”
August whaps my arm on his way to finish slicing lemons. “Get your head in the game before you pour all our money down the drain.”
He’s right. I’m at work and need to focus.
It’s just so hard when all I can think about is Loren wrapped up in my sheets. I hope she’s in my bed when I get back tonight. If she isn’t, maybe I’ll slip into hers.
Unless she doesn’t want me to.
But she will, won’t she?
Maybe I should text and ask, just in case.
After I rinse off my hand and clean up the spill, I pull out my phone, but before I can text my roommate, the front door swings open, and Loren steps into the bar.
My whole body comes alive, like opening the blinds on a sunny, summer morning. She waves, taking the barstool beside one-eyed Joe.
Don’t worry. He has two eyes. It’s just that the left one gets squinty when he’s had a few too many drinks. That’s when we know to stop serving him and call a ride share.
Damn, Loren looks good tonight. She’s wearing a blue dress that I would like to see on my floor later. The heels though, those can stay on. They make her tanned legs look long enough to wrap around me twice.
August gives me a knowing smile and a not-so-discreet thumbs-up. If Loren notices, she doesn’t show it as she hangs her giant purse on the hook under the bar.
