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Not in the mood for this, I smiled politely and started to tell him “no” again.
But Darren kept going. “Anyway, what about one for old time's sake? You’re just going to blow off your old boyfriend you were with for so long?”
Crap. For so long. Yeah, way too long.
Guilt stabbed me right in the belly. I should've broken it off with him long before senior year. Darren probably would've gotten with some other girl in high school then, instead of getting nothing from me. The guilt twisted in my soul again and I looked over my shoulder towards the hotel.
Dammit.
I sighed. “Okay. Sure. Just one drink though.”
He looked like he’d just won the lottery. “Great. It’s just in that hotel right there. That's where you're staying, right?”
How did he know that?
I frowned and hid a shiver of nervousness.
What did my dad just set me up for?
Tugging at the sleeve of my coat, I cursed internally and wished I hadn't opened up my big mouth.
“Well, the band is staying there. You know, the one I work for.”
“Cool, come on,” Darren prattled like he hadn’t heard. “I hear they have some pretty rad cocktails. My bro has always been good at making drinks.” He giggled and waggled greasy brows at me. “Get it?”
Uck, this was going to be bad, but there was no choice but to follow behind his roly-poly form now. At the nearly empty hotel bar, Darren nudged me away from the bar itself and toward one of the high tables by the window. It had two backless stools and overlooked the quiet urban gardens of the hotel.
A waiter in a tuxedo came around to take our order.
“Darren,” he noted, giving him a nod. The man’s French accent rolled across his tongue. “I see you’re back again.”
My ex nodded and laughed. “Not like I can drink anywhere else.”
The waiter looked annoyed. “And you brought a lady friend this time. I imagine she isn’t twenty-one, either?”
Darren winked. “Let’s just say she is.”
The waiter sighed. “This isn’t good for business. Aaron is going to get fired if you keep showing up here like this.”
Darren ignored him. “Just take the girl’s order,” he snarled nastily.
But I felt guilty, so I smiled. “A Coke with a splash of rum for me, please.”
“That's it? Damn, you haven't changed that much from high school, huh? Still such a lightweight.” Darren eyed me like some specimen he found hiding under a rock, then turned to the waiter. “Gimme a triple bourbon. Pronto.”
Then he sniffled and shoved greasy hair away from his face with both hands. Frankly, my ex looked puffy and extra sweaty, like he'd run all the way down the block or something. The sweat on his round face only made it more obvious how dirty and limp his hair was.
I frowned, but didn't say anything about it.
After th
e waiter walked off to put in our order, I turned towards him, eyes determined to get this over and done with. Unfortunately, my hair fell out of the messy up-do I’d put it in while on the train with a big flop.
“Crap.”
With a sigh of annoyance, I shoved the broken hairclip in my purse and combed my fingers through the long, loose curls. The table shook a little while Darren leaned heavily on it and stared at me.
I ignored the man. He was just being weird for no reason.
