“I hope it’s okay that I came out tonight,” she says, playing with the gold earrings dangling from her earlobes.
Is she kidding? “I’m fucking thrilled you’re here.” Now I don’t have to be distracted wondering what she’s up to.
“Really? I spent twenty minutes sitting in my car, second-guessing myself.”
I hate that she’s been in such shitty relationships that she doesn’t realize how great she is. That she doesn’t realize the guy she’s seeing should want her around.
If I had a choice between hanging out with anyone else in the world and hanging out with Loren, I’d choose her every time.
August waves me over to the register, and I tell Loren I’ll be right back. Hopefully, it’s not the cash drawer again. That thing has been giving us trouble all week. “What’s up?”
August tucks a twenty into the slot and then tosses four ones onto the bar in front of some guy who ordered Jager shots.
The drawer slots back into place without catching once. Guess he didn’t bring me over here to fix it after all.
He leans a hip against the bar and folds his arms, wearing a knowing smile. “You fucked Loren, didn’t you?”
My teeth snap together. “Try again.”
His grin grows. “You made sweet, sweet love to your very attractive roommate.”
Still annoying, but at least saying it like that doesn’t make it sound like what Loren and I did was seedy. Not that I will ever tell August any of this. “That is none of your business.”
“And that is a yes. Good for you, man.” He claps me on the back and then moves on to the next guy at the bar, a young man with a mustache and a beanie that’s so small it doesn’t even cover his ears.
Good for you…
I glance back to where Loren is scrolling on her phone.
Isit good for me? Or am I going to jump down her throat about being in a committed relationship too fast and scare her away?
It doesn’t take long for the vultures to start circling. Two guys over by the pool table nudge each other, then nod toward Loren. If one of them gets up the balls to talk to her, I might have to ask him to leave.
One with a goatee takes the first step, and as much as I want to waylay him, that isn’t fair to Loren. For all I know, she might want to go out with other guys.
And I might want to accidentally murder them.
When he props himself against the bar right next to her, she smiles, giving him the time of day. Then she says something, and he returns to his game of pool.
How do I ask what he wanted without sounding like a jealous asshole? I mean, Iama jealous asshole, but she doesn’t need to know that yet, does she?
Loren has a few drinks, and I find myself drifting over to her whenever I can. August seems to be on board, because he really takes up my slack with the customers. Before I know it, he’s flicking the lights, and everyone is settling their tabs before shuffling out the door.
August and I finish up in record time, and when he tells Loren goodnight, he insists I give him a fist-bump.
“He knows, doesn’t he?” Loren says under her breath, her lips tilted into the sexiest smirk as she twists back and forth on the stool.
I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I am one grateful S.O.B. What truly baffles me is how I ever resisted her in the first place. “Yeah. I hope that’s okay? I didn’t tell him, but he figured it out the moment you walked in.”
Her brows lift. “How?”
“I got distracted staring at you.”
Her hand folds over mine, tracing the veins on the back of my hand. “You got distracted, huh?”
“Mmmhmm.Verydistracted.”
“I guess it’s okay that August knows…as long as you don’t mind me telling Meg.”
