"Since I met someone worth being faithful to."
Her expression shifted. The flirtatious mask slipped, revealing something harder underneath. Something angry.
"Serious." She repeated the word like it tasted bad. "You. Serious about someone."
"Goodbye, Natalie."
"Who is she? Some model? An actress?" Her eyes narrowed. "Must be pretty special to tie down the infamous Shane Briggs."
I didn't answer. Just grabbed the drinks and turned back toward my table.
"You’ll get bored," she called after me. "You always do."
I didn't look back.
Back at the table, Brian raised an eyebrow. "Who was that?"
"Nobody." I set down the beers. "Ancient history."
"She didn't look like she thought it was ancient."
I shrugged. "Doesn't matter what she thinks."
Brian lifted his glass. "To Garrett. Another year older, still can't beat me at pool."
"I beat you three games ago," Garrett said.
"That doesn't count. I was distracted."
"By what?"
"The concept of losing."
We stayed longer than I meant to. Another round turned into two, and by the time we stumbled out of O'Malley's, the streets were empty, and my head was swimming. Brian clapped me on the shoulder, said something about getting home safe, and disappeared into an Uber.
I checked my phone. Past midnight. Maya had texted an hour ago.
Maya
Finished grading. Going to bed. Come over whenever.
I should go to her. I wanted to go to her.
But O'Malley's was ten minutes from my apartment and forty from hers. And I was drunker than I'd been in months. I smelled like beer and bar, and the thought of showing up at Maya's like this—waking her up, crawling into her bed reeking of alcohol—felt wrong.
I texted her.
Shane
Got a little too drunk with the guys. Going to shower at my place first then head over.
Her reply came a minute later.
Maya
Lol. Okay. Don't slip in the shower. See you soon.
I smiled at my phone the whole walk home.
