“Your mom assured me you’d at least meet me for a drink,” he says.
Oh, crap.
As if on cue, my cell phone buzzes with a text.
Olivia, please don’t forget about poor Will in the middle of all this. Give him a chance, honey.
No one can lay on the guilt like a mother to her daughter.
I make eye contact with Hayley, who shrugs.
“I really am not good company tonight, Will.”
He shifts closer to me. “That’s okay. I’ll hang out with you two anyway.”
“Really, we’re having a private chat,” I say, but he’s already turned to the bar to order us all drinks.
“Is this the guy you said your mom wanted you to go out with?” Hayley whispers in my ear. “She sure knows how to pick ‘em, huh?”
I glance at Will’s collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His dark hair’s slicked back with gel, and he’s wearing an expensive watch on his wrist. He may be handsome, but even if I were looking to meet someone, he’d be last on my list. He’s clearly already buzzed with his glassy eyes and the way he’s talking extra-loud.
“We don’t need alcohol,” I say, tapping him on the shoulder. “Just water would be fine.”
“It’s on the house,” he says as he hands me some fruity-looking mixed drink. “Try it. Women love this shit.”
I take it out of his hand and stare down at the red-colored beverage I’m holding. Looks like exactly what I would never order. Sweet and fruity. If I’m going to drink hard liquor, I’ll take a whiskey over this any day.
Will downs another shot. He’s starting to slur. Before I can protest, he grabs me around the waist and pulls me onto the dance floor.
I twist away, but Will keeps getting closer. His breath stinks of beer, and vodka, and then…he throws up on me.
“Oh, God.” He tries to turn away, but it’s far too late. “Shit!”
I think I’m going to puke now. I run to the restroom, where I clean off as best I can with paper towels and water from the sink.
When I open the restroom door, Will’s leaning against the wall in the hallway. “Sorry about that.”
“Let me call you a cab,” I say to him as I reach for my phone.
Hayley’s waiting for me when I make it back to the bar.
“What a nightmare. Are you okay?”
I roll my eyes. “I stink of puke. I just want to go home.”
“No way.” She points at my phone. “Call Jenson and invite him to join us. I want to get to know him better.”
“Seriously, can we do this getting to know him better business when I don’t have some other guy’s vomit on me?”
“Ask him to bring a clean shirt you can borrow. You guys need a witness,” she insists as I try to protest. “Like a pair of binoculars.”
“Oh, God, you’re getting buzzed.” I laugh. “That just made no sense.”
“No, it did.” Hayley grabs my arm and leads me to an empty booth away from the crowd. “You and Jenson have always felt alone like nobody else has ever felt this same way. First of all, that’s not true. There are forbidden affairs going on all over the place. Second of all, I think I can help. Let me try?”
I am really tired of carrying this secret all by myself. So I look down at the phone in my hand. He’ll be done with practice and probably putting Kyle and Connor to bed. I start typing.
* * *
