Trin: Drinks tonight?
Me: Oh my God, please!
Trin: Jedi’s?
Me: You just want to see Damien.
Trin: Fuck yes! 8 o’clock!
Jedi’s is packed as usual. I haven’t been here in a long time, and it seems like a number of patrons has doubled for a weeknight. I’ve avoided this place like the plague since Casen left me on the bathroom floor many weeks ago. There are just too many reminders of him.
I order my captain and Coke and instead of letting the bad memories consume me, I focus on all the good that has happened since the last time I was here. I started seeing a therapist. She has helped me through so much. Dr. Navan encouraged me to face all my demons and make amends with those I feel I did wrong. I met with Thad and Evan to apologize for what I did. They were rightfully furious but eventually thanked me for coming clean and apologized for what they had done back in high school. All the money I had left over from Wesley I donated to a charity near and dear to my heart. It helps widows of policemen who have died in the line of duty. I never confronted him about the fire, nor was there enough evidence to arrest him. It was an inconvenience and one that I deserved. He had to resign from the school, and I heard that he forgave Aria and they now live together. That thought makes me sick, an older guy seducing a young girl. I’ve stayed as far away from Patrick as I possibly can. He entered a plea but his sentencing isn’t for a few more weeks.
I glance over at the stools on the other side of the bar. The ones where Casen and I sat and he stood up on to announce his interest in me to the whole world. It’s amazing how just a short time with him caused me to fall so hard that I think I’ll never love anyone ever again. Except him.
A man comes to sit in the seat next to me that I have saved for Trinity. I tell him it’s saved and he walks away, muttering under his breath. Annoyed, I look at my new watch, my first big purchase after obtaining the job at the hotel. It’s way past eight o’clock, the time Trin told me she would meet me here. I don’t know how much longer I can wait for her. I’m exhausted after a full weekend. I pull my phone out of my clutch to text her.
Me: Where the hell are you? Do you just want to do drinks at home?
Trinity: Running late. Don’t leave. Be there soon.
I motion for Damien, requesting another drink. He smiles at me but I can’t give him the same appreciation I used to. He’s still good looking as ever but I’m broken when it comes to the opposite sex now. It’s like no one can compare to Casen. Just thinking about him now has my heart beating faster and goose bumps prickling my skin. If I didn’t know any better I would think he was in the room.
I hear the stool next to me being pulled out again – irritated they can’t see my purse saving the seat, I don’t look up when I tell them, “That’s taken.”
“Is it?” he asks over my shoulder. My stomach flutters with butterflies. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. It’s deep, carnal, and I’ve heard it every night in my dreams. In my fantasies.
I turn to the side slowly, looking to confirm what my body is telling me is right. My senses are never wrong. It’s Casen. He looks gorgeous. Freshly showered with his hair styled as though he ran his hands through it. He’s wearing a dark red long sleeve shirt. The sleeves are pulled up to just under his elbows, and it barely restrains his muscles. I cross my legs remembering the last couple times I saw him. Just under a week ago this man had his fingers inside me. He smiles, and it is about to bring me to my knees.
“Hi,” I speak softly, trying to keep my voice smooth but failing epically.
He motions to the empty barstool I have saved for Trinity. “So, is this seat taken?”
I stutter my next words. “Uhm, it’s, uh, for Trin. I’m saving it for Trinity?”
Did I just ask him that?
He leans on the back of it and smiles again. “I’m pretty sure she isn’t coming.”
Realization hits. My heart begins to beat out of my chest but unlike a few months ago, it’s not from a panic attack. He wanted to see me. He set this up. Nerves strike and I will my hands to stop shaking. “She’s not?”
Casen slides onto the seat and reaches his hand out for me to take. “I’m Casen.”
I furrow my brows.
Why is he introducing himself? When I don’t immediately take his hand he asks, “And you are?”
“Embyr,” I tell him hesitantly, placing my hand in his, trying to ignore the tingling feeling it gives me.
He cocks his head to the side. “You look familiar. Do I know you?”
It takes a moment but I smile a huge wide smile. I know what he’s doing. “Yes. I think we went to high school together.”
He thinks on that for a moment. “Embyr? I don’t remember an Embyr.”
I shift my body toward him. “Well, I changed my name. It used to be Annie Barnes.”
“I see,” he says before biting his lip. “Well, Annie. I used to have the biggest crush on you freshman year.”
