“What’s up?” She says like she’s a California surfer dude. “Shouldn’t you be hanging out with all the cool teachers by now?”
“Hello to you too, weirdo.” I laugh. “I’m sitting in my car outside.” I take a deep breath, staring at the caller id on my dashboard.
“Jenna, I know it’s hard stepping outside of your bubble. Especially with how hard you’ve been working. But this will be really good for you. Having people at work who can support you is important. You can’t be the lone wolf forever.”
I roll my eyes. She’s right, but I just wanted to commiserate with my best friend for a moment.
“I’m going in.” I state. “I’m hanging up now.”
“Wait!” Marley screeches into the phone. “What are you wearing? Please tell me you aren’t wearing your work clothes.”Jeez, you wear one “Reading is fun!” shirt to a bar and now you can’t be trusted to dress yourself?
“Black mini dress and heels if you must know.” I say with my hand moving in closer to the disconnect button.
“Back of the closet black dress?!” Her voice is filled with disbelief and I have half a mind to just finish the job and hang up. “Wow, you are going to be literally the hottest person there!”
I shake my head laughing, “Thanks Mar, I’m going now, love you!”
“Okay, text me when you’re home, please! Love you!”
“Will do” I reply. With that the car is plunged into silence again. But now my confidence to get in there has been renewed.
Stepping out of my car, I can already hear the music pounding inside. I move quickly to the door, show the bouncer my ID, and enter the dark building. Neon strobe lights flash, and fake smoke covers the floor. There is a bright white dance floor in the center of the room and it is packed with people. On one side of the room there are large booths; on the other, a massive bar. Straightening my shoulders, I push through the crowd, texting Jill to find out where she is. She responds quickly, and I find her at a booth tucked near the back.
The black velvet couch curves around a small table littered with drinks and bottles of alcohol. I sit down next to Jill, who nearly spills her drink as she turns toward me. She’s plastered. How long has she been here? I’m already feeling like I want to go home. Not only did I get dressed up, but I also drove twenty minutes out here forthis? I pushed that feeling to the back of my mind, I had come here to have fun so I could still get a drink and maybe dance a little.
“Jenna! You made it!” Jill slurs.
“Yes, thanks for inviting me,” I say, waving at the table. “Looks like you guys already got started.”
She giggles and gestures to a guy behind her. “It was all Max, When I got here, there were shots and drinks waiting for us!” She starts naming everyone at the table: “That’s Sabrina, Alex, Gracie, Conner, and Max!” She’s practically screaming inches from my face and I actively have to try to fight the urge to lean back.
I nod politely, giving each of them a tight smile. They all seem just as drunk as Jill. I’m not in the mood for small talk, but I remind myself I came here to have fun.
“I’m going to get a drink,” I shout over the music.
“Oh yay! I’ll take a Cosmo!” she screeches back at me. I almost roll my eyes at her. I will be bringing back water in a martini glass; she won’t know the difference.
I stand up and take note of my surroundings. In order to get to the bar, I need to walk through the dance floor. Great. Sweaty bodies gyrate around me as I try not to bump into anyone. Almost to the bar, a large hand wraps around my bicep. I take a deep breath, ready to tell some jackass to fuck off. I really am not in the mood for pushy men trying to get me to dance. I whip my head around, only to see a man I never thought I was going to see again. Jack.
The irritation I was just feeling has now turned to dread. What the hell is Jack doing here of all places? His ocean blue eyes are the same, but everything else about him has changed.
We’ve only been broken up for a little over a year and a half, but in that time physically, he has become a whole new person. His once perfectly combed blonde hair is shaggy and tousled. A barely trimmed beard is taking the place of the clean-shaven face I once knew. My gaze travels down his body. Jack has always been extremely fit and still is, but he is dressed completely different. He no longer dons a suit, but a pair of dark wash jeans and a white t-shirt. I watch as his eyes cast down my body, and I can’t help but hold my breath.
“Jack?” I stare at him in disbelief.
“Jenna,” he says with a mischievous smile.
He points toward the bar with his chin. “I’m headed to the bar. Want to grab a drink?”
I nod and start to walk in front of him. His hand drops from where it was holding my arm, and I feel the air woosh out of me in relief. I don’t like him touching me.
Reaching the bar, Jack orders himself a beer and me a Blackberry Mojito. I feel annoyance bubbling up inside me like hot lava. Who does he think he is—ordering for me? I pause and count to ten; it is still my standard order, so I let it go. I stare at his profile, still surprised that he is here. The thought ofreturning to Jill crosses my mind, but she probably won’t realize I’m gone.
“Long time no see,” he says as he moves closer. I can smell his spicy cologne around him, the same cologne that he always wore. My stomach twists, and I catch myself rolling my ring around my finger nervously. That scent alone brings back memories I would rather bury deep inside. Jack and I had been together for three years. In the beginning, I thought Jack was the person I was going to marry one day. But as the years went on, he became controlling and constantly wanted my attention to be on him and not on anything else. Now, after extensive sessions with my therapist, I know he is a narcissist and would play mind games and guilt trip me into complying with his needs. He always needed to be the center of my world, and if he wasn’t, he would lash out with cruel words and sly comments. After arguments, he would slither back to whisper sweet nothings to me. I was young and thought I loved him. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Our relationship became a game of who could be more codependent and quickly turned toxic.
Of course, this caused me to draw back from work, family, and school. I ended up falling behind and needed to stay at the university for an extra year.
The day after graduation, I showed up at Marley’s door and told her I needed to get out of my relationship. I needed to start fresh and not look back. She didn’t even blink. Within a few weeks, we were settling into our new apartment here in Cranson Creek. Marley has always detested Jack from the moment she met him. She’d told me, “Something about him just doesn’t seem right, Jenna.” Over the years, Marley had mentioned her worries a few more times, but didn’t push it. I think she was waiting for me to come to my senses.
