“Hey! That was mine,” Jake protested.
“You’ll thank me in the morning,” said Kris. “How about we take you home? Trisha is the DD, and we’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
Jake scanned the bar. The lights throbbed in time with the music, and in his drunken state, he had an epiphany. He reallydidn’twant this anymore. Despite what he’d told Hannah about being through with the bar scene, he’d held some lingering doubts. But with each beat of the bass, they faded farther and farther away. He was done. This scene, this lifestyle, held zero appeal to him now.
“Yeah, okay,” he agreed. “Let’s get out of here.”
***
Hannah was lying in her tiny bathtub in her tiny apartment, still thinking about Jake. After all the thinking, or ratheroverthinking, she’d come to the conclusion that she’d overreacted. Jake had repeatedly said he wanted to wait to sleep together until she’d regained her memories. He’d tried to be chivalrous and do the right thing, and she’d bullied him into sleeping with her. Well, maybe not bullied—he seemed a very willing and enthusiastic partner—but coerced at the very least. So, the sex was on her.
She still took issue with the lying, but people make mistakes. He’d apologized for it, and she could understand why he hadn’t wanted to come clean about his reputation so early in their relationship.
That just left the womanizing, and perhaps she was being unfair about that, too. The story about the girl killing herself was poignant, and she could see how it would have a lasting impact on a teenage boy just starting to figure out women and relationships. What if hehadchanged? What if he meant what he said about being done with the debauchery? What if she was throwing away something wonderful because she was so judgmental?
Judging people had always been a weak spot. She assumed it came from her Richie Rich upbringing, but now she wasn’t so sure. She’d been on her own long enough that she couldn’t comfortably lean on that excuse anymore. No, the judginess was just one of her flaws—something she needed to overcome.
She set aside the wineglass, picked up her cell, and called Holly. They had spoken after Hannah returned home, but that call was mainly about Zach and how inconceivable it was that he’d tried to kill her. This call was for some love advice.
“Hey,” said Hannah.
“Twice in one week? Wow, this must be a record. I can tell by your voice something’s wrong. What is it?”
“I may have effed up the best thing that ever happened to me, but other than that, everything’s great.” Hannah laughed.
“Just sec,” said Holly. Hannah heard her tell her daughter that mommy needed a second and would be out in a minute. She heard a door close on a child complaining. “All right, I probably have two good minutes before they start beating down the door.”
Hannah spilled everything. Not prone to being over-emotional, she stuck to the facts. Jake had gone above and beyond to help her in a crisis. He’d said no several times before finally giving in and having sex with her. And to show her appreciation, she’d gotten pissed about him lying and left with the lamest of thank yous. “What kind of asshole does that make me?” she finally asked.
“You want an honest answer?”
“No. I already know the answer. I need to apologize.”
“You should go find him now. I know you. You’ll keep analyzing it to death, and by then, it might be too late,” said Holly. “Shit. The kids are way too quiet. I gotta go.”
“Isn’t the kids being quiet a good thing?”
“Oh no! That’s when you know there’s real trouble.”
Hannah sat up in the tub. “Okay. Well, thanks for the advice. I knew I could count on you. Go find the kids before they burn the place down.”
Hannah hung up and stood, letting the water out of the tub. She threw on a robe, called Ashley, and asked to borrow her car. Thank goodness she’d only taken a few sips of the wine. The stupid cast made everything take twice as long to do, but she applied her makeup the best she could and wiggled into skinny jeans, a black sweater, and a pair of black boots.
The short walk to Ashley’s took only a few minutes, and before long, she was on her way to Jake’s. Nervous and thinking about what to say the whole way over, she was disappointed to find the house dark and his car gone. The patrol car in the driveway meant he wasn’t at work, so he was either at his place in town or just “out.” Her stomach roiled, but she took a deep breath. There were plenty of innocent places he could be.
Not knowing where his second house was, she drove to the only other place she knew he hung out. As she pulled into The Boardroom parking lot, she found his Cherokee almost immediately. The Wazzu bumper sticker confirmed it was his car. So, he was at a bar. On a Friday night. Interesting. He said he’d changed, that the bar scene no longer held interest for him. If that was true, then what was he doing here? And so soon after their “breakup?” If that’s what you could call it.
She paid the cover charge and made her way to the ginormous bar. The place was so crowded she worried about finding him, but didn’t have to worry for long. She spotted him on the dance floor…dancing with two beautiful women. She watched them hang all over Jake, who didn’t seem to mind one bit. When the song ended, they all returned to the bar. And not long after that, Hannah watched them all walk out the front doors. Together.
Humiliation and anger burned in her gut. And to think she was looking for him to apologize. He hadn’t changed one bit. In fact, he’d apparently moved on from taking one woman home to taking two!
She gave them a five-minute head start and then followed them out. Jake’s car was still in the parking lot. He’d clearly gone home with them. She returned the car to her friend and walked home, the cold darkness matching her mood perfectly.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
It had been over a week since Hannah watched Jake leave the bar with the two women. Between getting her memories back, coming home to her apartment, and returning to work, her life had reverted to normal. Her time with Jake now seemed like a dream. A vivid one she couldn’t get out of her head.
Love sucked. And hurt. She’d fallen in love with someone who couldn’t love back. Poor judgment on her part, but she would push forward and move on, just like she always did. Luckily, finals were coming up, so her schoolwork occupied most of her spare time.
