“But he’s our boss. He’s been so unpleasant and now-”
“What can I say? I like this new him. He’s being so caring and sweet
and kind and...I don’t know. It’s like he’s a whole new person. I’m excited
to see where it goes.” She said. Suddenly Jacob felt that weird snake
knotting in his stomach again.
A whole new person- Uh oh…
Maybe he was…but what would happen when it wears off? “I mean…yay! New person.” He uttered. “But why here?” “Gay bars are more fun.” She shrugged. “Plus would you want to date
a straight man who didn’t feel comfortable in a gay bar?”
“I mean- that is also totally fair.” Jacob huffed- contemplating if he
was also facing that exact problem in a weirdly convoluted way. “Come on- let’s go back in. That dance floor is hot and I want to enjoy
every minute of it.” She smiled. She was having so much fun. He hated
that.
“Okay. I just-” Jacob looked around the patio to try to see what was
around him. “Fine. Let me just do something real quick.”
He knew he couldn’t send Serena back in there without trying to protect
her feelings in some way. For someone so sarcastic, she was sensitive.
She’d been pining after her roommate so long he could almost forget the
six months of ramen noodles and romcoms that was her reaction when her
last ex had unceremoniously dumped her. If he was setting her up for heartbreak with Garret, he needed to find some way to protect her. He quickly looked around the space and found a few options he could use. He grabbed a half finished beer, a couple drops from an old shot glass, what he hoped was a half finished water and a lemon. With a bit of mint and a touch of ash from what he hoped was a cigarette he mixed them together in a shot glass which was just enough to partially fill it. It was a mishmash so he couldn’t feel the magic work through him as strongly thistime, but he could feel something. Hopefully it would be enough to keep her heart
protected, and to keep himself moving.
“Here. Just one for the road.” He said.
“Where on earth did you get that?” She asked.
“Just…I guess I had some extra saved up. Here, it should be good. I
think.” He took a sip just to prove it wasn’t poison. He wasn’t going to let
her get hurt because of him.
“Alright, fair enough. Well thanks. I’m glad you’re not making a big
deal out of this.” She replied.
“I’m not going to stand in the way of your happiness.” He responded.
“At least, I hope not.”
“That’s sweet of you. Now come on! We’ve got men waiting for us.”
