Perks of living in a small town.
“Do you see an empty table?” Wren is standing on her tiptoes, trying to peer through the masses of people.
“No luck.”
“Wait,” Wren says, tugging my arm. She points at one of the tables on the other side of the bar near the pool tables, where a group of people are seated. “Isn’t that Jack?”
I follow the line of her finger and my eyes find him immediately. He’s leaning on the wall beside the table, taking a drink from a beer bottle, watching as a woman throws a dart. He’s got one in his free hand, twirling it between his fingers. The woman, who I recognize from being a year or two behind me in school, but who I can’t name, spins after her dart hits the center, throwing her arms in the air. The smile Jack gives her is lazy and flirtatious, not the easy smile he usually gives me. He’s relaxed and uninhibited, like the night we drank Malört, and I wonder if it’s her or the alcohol making him that way.
“It looks like there’s a few empty seats at their table,” Wren yells over the sound of the band playing on the stage, some country song about summer love.
I don’t realize what she means until she’s heading in their direction, and I reach out, snagging her arm. Her blue eyes squint back at me in confusion.
“What?”
I don’t have an answer for her at first, but my eyes lift to Jack in the corner again, this time aiming his dart at the board, the woman standing beside him, her shoulder brushing his. For just a moment, the whiteboard flashes in my mind, the empty space where he could have written his plans for tonight and didn’t.
“He’s with friends,” I say. “Let’s not bother him. Plus, I just want to spend the evening with you.”
It’s true. During my hike today, I was actually excited that Uncle Silas had put me on leave from overnights. I wanted to get back to the cabin and order takeout and watch a low-budget film on the sofa with Jack. But when he wasn’t there, and Wren and Ifinallyhad a night we were both free, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it.
Still, something about seeing Jack out with other people, ones I recognize from the hospital, makes me realize for the first time that he has a life outside of our cabin. That even though mine has started to feel like it’s shrunk, and the only times I really feel like myself anymore are when we’re together in those four walls, he doesn’t necessarily feel the same way. Which makes sense, of course. Fontana Ridge, the people here,me, it’s all just another pit stop for him. And as much as I’m enjoying the time we’re spending together, he’s going to leave in a few weeks, and I’m going to need to figure out how to enjoy my life again when it’s just me.
I don’t think Wren knows everything that’s going through my head, but I think she knows me well enough to figure out some of it, because her face softens, her expression less frenzied and more tender than it’s been all night.
“Of course,” she says, squeezing the hand I still have wrapped around her wrist. “Girl’s night.” Her gaze catches on something over my shoulder and her smile returns. “Our martinis are ready.”
Bethanyisnice,funny.Stunningly beautiful with her waist-length honey hair and deep brown eyes. I can tell she’s into me, and normally, she’s the exact type of woman I’d have a short fling with. We both know I’m on a ticking clock, so there’s no expectations of things going anywhere. Being with her would be easy and fun, a good way to spend the rest of my time here in this little mountain town before my contract ends.
But for some reason, the thought doesn’t seem as appealing as it normally would.
Bethany’s dart hits shockingly close to the bullseye for how tipsy she is. Even though I’ve barely had anything to drink, I’ve never been good at darts. When hers lands, she spins and grins at me, her hair falling over her shoulders like spun silk.
“You owe me money,” she says, sauntering closer. We’re here with the other nurses that were on our shift, but they’ve largely ignored us since we started playing darts. They’re gossiping about one of the doctors that I’ve only worked one shift with. He was a prick, but I don’t have much to add to the conversation.
“You drive a hard bargain,” I tell her as she comes to a stop in front of me, so close that she has to tip her chin up to meet my eyes. She’s short with racetrack curves that she hikes her hands on.
“You can just owe me. No need to pay up today.”
I lean against the wall on my left. I’m nowhere close to being drunk, and I can’t decide if I want to be or not. “Very generous of you. When should I repay you?”
“I don’t know. I was thinking…”
She’s still talking, but something above her head catches my attention, distracts me. It’s Stevie, dressed in a short dress, her long legs stretching out for miles. Her hair is hanging down her back, not pulled up for once, and it looks almost black under the warm lights. Her cheeks are flushed a deep rosy pink, and she looks more carefree than I’ve ever seen her. She's with her friend, Wren, and they’re laughing, leaning on each other for support. Disappearing through the front door and into the night.
“Jack?” Bethany asks, ripping my attention away from the door, the image of Stevie burned on the backs of my eyelids like I stared at the sun for too long.
“Yeah? Sorry, I didn’t hear you. What did you say?”
She blinks for a moment, takes a step back. Instantly, I feel bad. Her lips lift in a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Nothing. We better get back to the table. I think I’m more drunk than I was planning on being.”
I look back at the table of our colleagues. They’re laughing at something one of the other nurses said. He’s always fun to work with, keeping the mood light even when we’re having a rough shift. I’m sure I’d have a good time if I stayed, but I don’t know that I want to. Stevie is probably heading home, and by the looks of it, she’s probably drunk enough that I can talk her into ordering a pizza that she would normally deem just barely edible and one of those pans of chocolate chip brownies. We can watchsomething stupid on TV until we stumble to our respective beds. It sounds better than staying here with these people I barely know.
“I think I’m going to head home,” I say as soon as I have the thought. “The day just caught up to me.”
“Oh, right.” I can tell she’s disappointed, and guilt pricks at me again. I think I might have led her on unintentionally. But I’m just now realizing that I’m not interested in a no-strings fling until the clock runs out on my contract here. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, right? We’re on shift together again.”
I nod, already pulling my keys out of my jeans pocket. “See you tomorrow, Bethany.”
