“It’s alright, I guess. A heads up would have been nice though,” I groaned and took a long swig from my beer bottle. I watched Rowan grimace as he took a sip from his glass and shouted something to Trisha that made the older woman laugh louder. Without warning, Rowan’s eyes flickered to me, and I looked away hastily, but I knew I couldn’t ignore him all night. Perhaps it was better to get it over with. I took another swig and made my way through the flat towards him.
“Hey man, I didn’t know you were coming tonight,” I shouted to him, hoping my voice sounded as casual as I wanted it to. “Hey Trish.” I smiled at the nurse.
“He took a bit of persuading, but I got him here eventually,” Trisha teased, nudging Rowan playfully.
“I hope that’s alright?” he asked. Had his voice always been that deep? It had only been a week, but it felt like a lifetime since I’d last seen him, when he’d asked me out ‘after Christmas’. I hadnotplanned on seeing him so soon.
“Of course, no problem at all.” I smiled. “I’d, y’know, introduce you but I don’t know half the people here.”
“Where’s your loo, Max?” Trisha asked, touching my arm. “I’ve been busting since I got out of the taxi.”
I panicked, my heart racing, realising I’d have no buffer without Trisha and just took a drink whilst I formulated words. “First door on the left.” I gestured towards the bathroom.
“Thanks, chick.” She smiled and scooted past me.
There was a moment before both Rowan and I spoke simultaneously.
“So, how was your Christm—”
“Sorry, I hope you don’t m—”
We both hesitated and laughed. I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. If this was how tonight was going to be, I was going to need something a little stronger than beer. I gestured to the drink in Rowan’s hands. “You’re drinking tonight?”
He glanced down at his glass before answering. “It’s New Years… Plus, there’s no violin recital tomorrow, so I didn’t really have any excuse not to this time.”
“Probably just as well you didn’t bring your car. I honestly wouldn’t trust leaving that beauty out on the street around here.” I laughed.
“I guess we’ll just have to find some other place to make-out, huh?” he joked, and my heart stopped for a second. I had not been expecting that.
“So, you do remember then?” I replied, keeping my voice quiet and looked at the bottle in my hand.
“You were the one that was drunk, not me.” He paused. “I was beginning to wonder if you did, though.”
“Uh, yeah. I definitely remember that bit.”
We both took a long sip of our drinks. Just as I began to flounder, looking for something to say, I caught sight of Louise and Jackie in my peripheral vision.
“Oh, hey, Louise.” I beckoned her over. She hesitated a moment, glancing between Rowan and I before grabbing Jackie’s hand and joining us. “Louise, Jackie, this is Rowan. Rowan, Louise and Jackie. They’re friends of mine from college. Rowan is my boss.”
“Oh, so you’re a dentist?” Jackie shouted above the loud music. Rowan nodded, getting drawn into conversation with her. When I was confident he was distracted, I turned to Louise and dragged her to the other side of the kitchen, pretending to make her a drink.
“He’s gorgeous, Max,” Louise whispered, eyeing Rowan over her shoulder. “How old is he? He seems older than—”
“Thirty-five, or maybe thirty-four. I don’t know when his birthday is.” I answered, looking away before I could see the face Louise made.
“Really? He doesn’t look it. That’s notthatold, anyway.”
“He has a daughter that’s only nine years younger than me.” I didn’t want to tell her about Teegan, and especially not his wife, but I felt it needed to be said. I needed to get something off my chest before I suffocated under the guilt.
“Whoa now. He has a kid?” Louise’s eyebrows rose. “So, he used to have a girlfriend or a wife or something then?” I didn’t need to answer – Louise read it in my expression. “You mean he stillhas...?” She trailed off. “You sure do pick ‘em, Max.”
“I’m a fucking terrible person,” I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck.
“No, you’re not.” Louise glanced at Rowan. “Look, just because he’s married with a kid doesn’t mean that a relationship can’t ever work, but I think he should break it off before getting involved with anyone else. Though, I guess I can also understand why he might be hesitant to do that.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, it’s not just cheating, is it? He’s switching teams as well as playing an away game,” she replied, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sports analogy.
