I felt the presence of someone standing beside me. I set the glass on the bar top before turning my head. A handsome man dressed in business attire watched me intently, studying my face.
“Can I help you?” I asked in a snotty voice.
“May I?” he asked, pointing to the stool next to me.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s free, isn’t it?”
“A pretty lady shouldn’t be drinking alone in this town,” he said, sitting down and calling over the waitress.
“Another for each of us,” he said.
“I’ll take another shot please,” I told her. I needed the alcohol and a lot of it. I didn’t care about anything but forgetting the entire night.
“What’s wrong? Maybe I can help,” he inquired.
“You can’t help,” I replied while staring at the bartender, hoping her feet would move faster.
He touched my hand, but I didn’t move away from his touch. “Maybe I can.”
“It will take a lot more liquor to accomplish that task,” I said as I wiped a tear away from my cheek.
“What happened?”
“You don’t want to hear my sad story.”
“Yes, I do. Tell me, maybe I can help you,” he said.
I stared into his eyes, studying him.
“I flew here to surprise my boyfriend, but when I got to his place, he was in bed with another woman.” I downed the drink and set the glass down in front of me.
“That’s horrible. How could he cheat on an amazing creature such as you?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes. He’d done this before. I didn’t give a shit at that moment. I needed to share my story, let out my anger. “I guess I wasn’t enough for him. I should have known he was a whore and wouldn’t change his ways. I’m a fucking fool.” The tears began to stream down my face once again. I grabbed the martini and gulped it. The liquor warmed my body. My legs grew numb, and my mind became a jumbled mess.
He reached for my cheek and wiped away a tear with his thumb. “He’s the fool. I would love for a woman to fly to see me, someone who loved me enough to travel a great distance for my company.”
I leaned into his palm—needing the physical connection. I closed my eyes, and images of Kayden flooded the darkness. We’d spent time in this bar—kissing, touching, laughing, and drinking.
“Another drink?” he asked.
My eyes flew open, and the happy memories evaporated. I reached into my purse and looked at my phone. I’d missed a dozen phone calls and more texts from Kayden. I turned it off, putting it back in my purse.
The handsome gentleman kept the drinks flowing, and numbness was soon filling my entire body and soul. Everything around me moved in slow motion. Staring in the mirror behind the bar, I tried bringing my face into focus, but I couldn’t make out any of my features.
A hand covered mine to bring my attention back to my surroundings.
I turned to the gentleman and pleaded, “Kiss me, make me forget.”
He turned my chair toward his, placing his hand on my neck. He paused for a moment, staring into my eyes—I didn’t speak.
His lips touched mine, hard and wet. I thought it would help me forget, but my mind played a private movie of Kayden and his kiss. I craved him. He intoxicated me. This kiss made me feel nothing but an emptiness that couldn’t be filled.This was wrong.
“What the fuck are you doing?” a man screamed.
The body of the stranger lurched away from mine, and my eyes flew open. I tried to focus, but just keeping them open was a struggle. The handsome gentleman was falling to the floor, and someone was moving on top of him. He looked like Kayden, but I had to be seeing things.
The businessman was being pummeled, and I couldn’t do anything but watch. My head felt heavy as I placed it on the bar and tried to stop the room from spinning until darkness consumed me.
