AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As I hoped, the place is almost empty with the few lingering people gathering up their belongings and heading toward the door.
I shake my head, and a brief silence passes over us while he waits for me to explain why I’m here. “I thought you might need help cleaning up.”
“You thought I might need help cleaning up?” he slowly repeats. “How much did you drink?”
“Not enough.” I move further into the bar, praying he won’t kick me out—something he’s never had an issue with. “Even if you don’t want me to clean, can we hang out?” I hop onto the bar and swing my legs back and forth in an attempt to prevent them from shaking.
He shrugs, circles around the bar, and starts placing stools on pub tables. “I’m always up for pleasant company.”
He considers my company pleasant.
Yay!
I jump off to help him, and when I can’t take the silence any longer, I blurt out the last question I should, “You don’t like Devin, do you?”
He practically throws the next stool onto the table, and it slides forward. “You won’t like my answer to that.”
I grab a stool, but my lifting skills are nowhere near as graceful as his. Things are heavy. “Why not?”Why am I asking this when I already know the answer?
He collects dirty glasses, deposits them onto the bar, and snatches a rag to wipe a table down. “I don’t see you with him long-term. He’s a wet blanket that’ll drain the light inside you. I fucking dread that happening.”
I understand his reasoning. My brothers disclosed the same worry, wording it differently. They don’t know Devin like I do. He’s a different person around me.
We met at a function my sorority threw with his fraternity. I was so frustrated that day. The guys stood around while us girls did the work but not Devin. He grabbed the ribbons I was hanging, stepped onto the ladder, and helped me. He was goofy, sweet, and funny in his own way, and he spoiled me with attention. We shared a few classes and had regular study sessions that led to hook-ups.
The problem is, the more Devin hangs around his father and frat friends, the more he takes shape to them. He’s now judgmental and less understanding. He prefers spending time at his parents’ country club while I prefer spending time here.
I halt at the table I’m at and play with the back of the ripped stool, unsure of how to respond.
“Doyoulike your kinda, sorta boyfriend, Sierra?” he fires back.
“Of course I do.”
His eyes darken. “Why are you here with me instead of with him then?”
His question almost knocks me on my ass.
“He has an early morning tomorrow.”
He comes closer, his focus on me growing stronger. “Again, why are you here and not in bed with him?”
Even though I want to, even though Ineedto, I don’t break our eye contact. I wish the pub weren’t so underlit. I want a better view of him, want to observe everything that’s him. I don’t have an answer to his question. Not an honest one.
I run my sweaty hands down my jeans. “I wanted to hang out with a friend. With our history, we should consider ourselves friends.”
He laughs, not buying my answer. “Yes, we’re such excellentfriends.”
5
Sierra
“You’re quiet tonight,”Maliki says, restocking beers into the cooler.
Me helping him close is now a regular routine.
I relax on the bar, crossing my ankles and holding them out in front of me while watching him work.
“How many women have you slept with?” the abrupt question rushes out of my mouth before I can stop myself.
