Laura
“Hi Elaine.”Calling my friend's name as I jogged across the street, I found myself smiling wildly. She waved back. Not concentrating on where I was going, I walked straight into the path of an oncoming car, which honked its horn angrily. Throwing up my hands, I threw the driver an apologetic glance and froze.
The man looking at me was vaguely familiar. I had seen him around town. Blonde hair, pale blue eyes and wide set shoulders that reminded me of Oz. Military. A pang of pain cut through my chest as I stared at him. He would know Oz, and Oz had said he had spoken to his troop about me. Did the man who had almost hit me know who I was? Would he report back that he had seen me?
Like magic, two heads appeared from the back seat. One a pretty blonde who I didn’t know and one a dark grizzled face which was ingrained in my mind. Oz.
The realisation hit me slowly. Oz was right there and he was with a woman. It had taken him a matter of hours to find someone else to spend his time with. It shouldn’t have hurt but it did. It hurt more than I wanted to admit. And right on its heels was something else.
Anger.
Anger that I had almost fallen for his charm.
Lifting my hand again, I blew a kiss into the car. I don’t know what made me do it, but it made me feel good to see the shock on Oz’s face as the driver started laughing. His tanned body settled back against the driver's seat with a shake of his head.
“Laura?”
“Coming.” I rushed over to her. Hooking my arm through hers, I didn’t look back at the car that was still idling in the middle of the street. “Thanks for agreeing to meet me, Elaine.”
She playfully cuffed my shoulder. “Lainey, and it's no problem, I’ve been trying to get you out for months.” A tiny line appeared between her eyebrows. “Are they arguing over you?”
“Who?” Before I could help myself, I glanced over my shoulder. She was right, it looked like a heated argument was going on in that car. I couldn’t hear a word of what was being said but there was a ton of gesturing. “Oh.” I turned back to her. “Can we go inside?”
For a heartbeat she stared at me. “So, it’s true then? You hooked up with one of them?” Not letting me finish, she started to laugh, “Damn Laura, I never thought you would do something like that. And now what? He doesn’t…”
“I told him I didn’t want to see him again,” I added, deadpan.
“You did what?” she screeched. “You are a dark horse, Laura. But good for you. Those guys, they are players.” Shouldering the bar doors open, she grinned back at me. “You deserve better.”
“Oh, I know, he’s with another girl already. Not even twelve hours later.”
“What an asshole.”
Yeah, I agreed. What an asshole.
* * *
“Laura?”
I shook myself before turning back to my friend. I had been daydreaming. Staring into space like a moron while she talked and tried to be good company.
“Sorry.” Reaching for the wine glass on the table in front of me, I took a deep swallow. Normally I wasn’t a big drinker. My limited income meant I didn’t have much disposable cash, but tonight I was letting loose. “I got distracted.”
Lainey’s laughter filled my ears. “Yeah, I know, by the hot piece of ass who can't keep his eyes off you.”
I started. “Who?”
“You know exactly who because you keep looking at him as well. I guess that’s the one you hooked up with, right? The mysterious army guy?”
Pursing my lips, I shrugged. “Yeah, Oz. But do I really keep looking at him?”
“Oh, girl.” Leaning across the table, she patted my hand. “You got it bad.”
“I do not.” But even as I said it, my eyes flicked back in his direction. He was sitting next to the blonde still. They weren’t touching but they were close enough. He was listening to something she was saying. His eyes darted between her and the man that had been driving the car. Whether they had been planning on coming in here to begin with or he had made them come in after me I didn’t know, and it didn’t really matter. He was here and his very presence was ruining my night. I had wanted a chance to put what had happened between us in the past and seeing his gorgeous face was making that impossible.
Straightening my shoulders, I downed my drink, letting it fill me with dutch courage. “Right, that’s it.”
Lainey’s eyes lifted as I stood. “What are you going to do?” Her face was filled with excitement. She might not know my plans, but she knew just by looking at me that it was going to be entertaining.
“I’m going to talk to him.”
Squealing, she clapped her hands. “I knew you weren’t the quiet wall flower everyone said. Go get your man.”
I flashed my eyes at her, pleading with her to be quiet. I wasn’t going to go and get anyone. I was going to go and talk to him and ask him to leave. I lived here and he didn't. Surely that gave me certain rights.
With my empty wine glass in one hand, I headed towards his table. I wasn’t quiet about it and it took him less than a second to realise I was coming. His eyes lifted to mine, and I froze.
What the hell was I doing? I had no right to go and demand he leave just because after a one night stand it hurt to see him with another girl. I would be laughed at. If it was anyone else, I would have laughed.
Changing my mind, I turned towards the bar. I wouldn’t go and make a fool of myself. No. What I was going to do was get steaming drunk. If I couldn’t see straight, then it stood to reason I wouldn’t be able to see him either.
