Move on to the next.
I tried to pull myself out of my funk. I even Door-Dashed one of my favorite coffees and a chocolate chip muffin, but it did little to take my mind off of Luke and what seemed to be the demise of our relationship or whatever we had going.
It had been over a week since the night I met him at the casino. He’d texted and even called, but they were just quick check-ins. Some teasing, a joke here or there, and a good morning or good night. But that was about it. There was no mention of another date or when we might get together again.
And the silence that wrapped itself around that lack of planning felt louder than anything he’d actually said. It made me doubt everything. I thought about the times we’d spent together. The night we’d played pool. The dinner at the small café. The lake. Dinner at his place and what happened after.
He’d looked at me like I meant something to him.
He’d treated me that way, too. It felt good. It felt real, like it might be the start of something more, and it didn’t make sense that he was suddenly pulling away.
I told myself not to read into it.
Men were nothing if they weren’t complicated, and recent events in his life had definitely been complicated. I knew that, but that did little to curb the doubts that kept creeping into the back of my mind.
Christina glanced at me through the mirror, and she was steadily trimming her client's hair when she said, “What’s going on with you today?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t give me that. Something’s got you twisted up. It’s written all over your face.”
“That obvious, huh?”
“Oh, yeah,” she smirked. “You’ve been staring off into space like you’re in your own world over there.”
“Things just seem off.” I shrugged. “It felt like things were going so well with Luke and me, and now, all of a sudden, they’re not. It’s like it all fell flat, and I don’t know why. I don’t know what I did.”
“Men don’t pull back for no reason.” She continued trimming her client’s hair as she said, “But that doesn’t mean he’s doing it because of you. Could be any number of things.”
“You’re right.”
“I usually am,” she teased. “Now, quit worrying until you have a reason to worry.”
I nodded, but my chest still ached.
I finished sweeping my area, then went over and checked my calendar. I wanted to make sure I had the time right for my next appointment when I overheard the guy say, “It was probably one of the worst fights I’d ever seen. It was like coming up on a bad wreck. Only it was in a bar.”
“That’s crazy. When was this?”
“This past weekend.”
Christina’s client was one of her regulars. He was a first responder, and he always had some wild story to share. Usually, I didn’t pay him much mind, but today, I couldn’t help myself from eavesdropping when he said, “You should’ve seen it. Bodies were scattered all over the place, and every one of them was hurt or unconscious.”
Christina kept trimming away as she said, “I can’t believe I haven’t heard a thing about it.”
“That’s because of who’s involved.”
“What do you mean?”
“They hold a lot of power around here.” He shrugged. “I mean, there wasn’t any proof or I don’t think there was. The cops are still looking into it, but they’re fairly certain a local club was behind it all. They’re pretty well-known around here, and nobody crosses them, and I mean nobody.”
And just like that, my stomach dropped to the floor.
I grabbed the back of my chair, using it to steady myself as I listened to him say, “I probably shouldn’t have said anything myself. My ass and my job would be on the line if it got out I was talking about it.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about me… Mums the word.” Christina reached for the clippers and glanced over at me as she asked, “Any idea why they were fighting?”
“No idea, but they must’ve done something pretty bad to deserve the beating they got.”
