Is she flirting with me? It sure as hell seems like it.
She's drunk.
She's distraught.
She is troubled.
Her hand is on my arm. "I'm sorry for being a jerk to you when you were trying to help me."
"Don't mention it."
I glance over at her hand, the light pink polish on her short-rounded nails, and the two decorative rings on her pointer finger. She has dainty hands, small in comparison to mine.
Luke places her drink down with reluctance. "Just give me a minute to polish this off, and we can get out of here."
All I see is Luke's questioning eyes flashing back and forth between August and me. His lips form into the shape of a small O as he's questioning what the hell I'm doing. With a subtle gesture, I hold up a hand to show him I'm not planning to do anything stupid.
Luke shakes his head with concern. "I'll add all this to your tab," he says.
"Oh, I'll pay for mine," August follows.
"Don't worry about it. I gotcha," I say.
"You sure? I wasn't trying to get a free meal out of you ..."
"No, I know. It's my treat."
"You're sweet," she says. "Thank you."
Chapter Sixteen
August
Maybe this iswhy you came to this bar every night. Everyone here is so friendly and easy to be around, unlike your devoted girlfriend at home who was so often worried sick about where you might be or if you were lying in a ditch somewhere.
I shouldn't have been lying in bed at night wondering which scenario would have been worse: finding out you wrapped your body around a tree-trunk as your mama did or knowing that you finally called yourself a weak enough man who couldn't handle his troubles. Unfortunately, I think I would have rather seen you wrapped around a tree. I might feel a little sorry for your stupid ass. Then again, maybe I wouldn't.
With Chance following my footsteps, I lead the way out of the bar. Maybe I see a way out of my deep, dark depression, or perhaps I'm sick and tired of channeling all of my angry thoughts through a glass of whiskey, but Chance has been the only one who has shown any concern for my well being this past week. I know it's not necessarily the right time to be enchanted by another guy, but companionship wouldn't hurt right about now.
"Where were you thinking about going, miss August."
"Just for a walk. Is that okay?"
"Sure, it is."
I wonder what he thought I meant. I suppose I could have been more specific and asked if he'd like to join me for a walk. Maybe I made Mr. Confident squirm a bit. Nothing wrong with that.
We walk side by side down the narrow sidewalk. If I stumble, the back of our hands might touch, but I'll try to behave and keep myself in a straight-ish line. "I was with Keegan for thirteen years. We started dating during our sophomore year of high school."
"Ah, high school sweethearts," Chance responds.
I slip my hands into my back pockets and hold my focus on the lined gap in the center of the sidewalk, trying to keep my balance. "Not exactly. I mean, yes, and no."
"At first, I was definitely into him. He was mysterious and intriguing, but he was hiding a lot of what was going on inside of him, and I ended up being his safe person—his only person. When you're a rock for someone, you can't just walk away, you know?"
"It makes sense, but I think even the strongest rocks sometimes crumble," Chance responds.
"Yeah, well, I put my life on hold for him. He was my best friend, but then he became dependent on help."
