glass back on the counter.
“Another martini, please,” I said to the bartender before she could walk away. Tears began to stream down my face. She placed the small glass filled with the vodka in front of me, but before her hands were totally free of the glass, I grabbed it. I downed it, feeling the warmth ooze throughout my body.
I felt the presence of someone standing beside me. I set the glass on the bar top before turning my head. A handsome man dressed in business attire watched me intently, studying my face.
“Can I help you?” I asked in a snotty voice.
“May I?” he asked, pointing to the stool next to me.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s free, isn’t it?”
“A pretty lady shouldn’t be drinking alone in this town,” he said sitting down, and calling over the waitress.
“Another for each of us,” he said.
“I’ll take another martini with the shot please,” I told her. I needed the alcohol, and a lot of it. I didn’t care about anything, but forgetting the entire night.
“What’s wrong? Maybe I can help,” he inquired.
“You can’t help,” I replied while staring at the bartender hoping her feet would move faster.
He touched my hand, but I didn’t move away from his touch. “Maybe I can.”
“It will take a lot more liquor to accomplish that task,” I said as I wiped a tear away from my cheek.
“What happened?”
“You don’t want to hear my sad story.”
“Yes, I do. Tell me, maybe I can help you,” he said.
I stared into his eyes, studying him.
“I flew here to surprise my boyfriend, but when I got to his place, he was in bed with another woman.” Downing the drink and setting the glass on the bar top.
“That’s horrible. How could he cheat on an amazing creature such as you?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes, he’s done this before. I didn’t give a shit in this moment. I needed to share my story, let out my anger. “I guess I wasn’t enough for him. I should have known he was a whore and wouldn’t change his ways. I’m a fucking fool.” The tears began to stream down my face once again. I grabbed the martini and gulped it. The liquor warmed my body, my legs grew numb, and my mind became a jumbled mess.
He reached for my cheek and wiping away a tear with his thumb. “He’s the fool. I would love for a woman to fly to see me, someone that loved me enough to travel a great distance for my company.”
I leaned into his palm—needing the physical connection. I closed my eyes; images of Kayden flooded the darkness. We spent time in this bar—kissing, touching, laughing, and drinking.
“Another drink?” he asked.
My eyes flew open and the happy memories evaporated. I reached into my purse and looking at my phone. I missed a dozen phone calls and more texts from Kayden. I turned it off, putting it back in my purse.
The handsome gentleman kept the drinks flowing, and numbness was filling my entire body and soul. Everything around me moved in slow motion. Staring in the mirror behind the bar, I tried bringing my face into focus, but I couldn’t make out any features.
A hand covered mine to bring my attention back to my surroundings.
I turned to the gentleman and pleaded, “Kiss me, make me forget.”
He turned my chair towards him, placing his hand on my neck. He paused for a moment, staring into my eyes—I didn’t speak.
His lips touched mine, hard and wet. I thought it would help me forget, but my mind played a private movie of Kayden and his kiss. I craved him. He intoxicated me… this kiss made me feel nothing but an emptiness that couldn’t be filled.
“What the fuck are you doing?” a man screamed.
The body of the stranger lurched away from mine, my eyes flying open. I tried to focus, but just keeping them open was a struggle. The handsome gentleman was falling to floor and someone was moving on top of him. He looked like Kayden, but I had to be seeing things.
He was being pummeled, and I couldn’t do anything but watch. My head felt heavy as I placed my head on the bar, trying to stop the room from spinning. Darkness consumed me.
Misunderstandings
Someone was shaking me, trying to wake me. “Dude, get the fuck up.”
My stomach turned with the motion, the liquor sloshing around in my stomach. “Leave me the fuck alone, go away, ass,” I said.
“Fucker, Sophia was just here… She ran out.” Sophia. My heart pounded in my chest increasing the feeling of nausea that overcame my body. Someone’s body was wrapped around mine, and it wasn’t Sophia. “What the fuck?” I said sitting up quickly, throwing her legs off of mine.
“What the fuck are you doing here and in my bed?” I asked her.
“John called me; he thought you needed to talk to someone. You were passed out when I got here and I thought I would sleep until you woke up,” she said.
I felt like my world was ending. Everything unraveled while I laid here passed out. “Are you fucking crazy? That’s not okay. You can’t just crawl in my bed… ever. Fuck.”
“Where’s Sophia?” I asked, panic lacing my voice. I called her phone, but there was no answer. She wouldn’t pick up the phone; I learned that once about Sophia. I needed to find her. New Orleans was the type of city that could swallow a girl like her.
“I don’t know. I saw her jump in a cab,” John said.
“Which cab? Maybe I can find out where they took her,” I said.
I couldn’t believe my fucking eyes. A man had his lips on Sophia, my Sophia. My body moved on its own, unable to stop myself. I grabbed the man, throwing him to the floor. My fist connected with his face, crunching the bones. Blood splattered on my hand and arms as I wailed on him, unable to stop.
I didn’t look at Sophia as I beat this asshole to a pulp—I needed to destroy him as he had destroyed me, taking what was mine. Hands wrapped around me, pulling me off of him, but my arms continued to swing.
The man wiped the blood away from his face as he began to stand. “Dude, what the fuck?”
“What the fuck, asshole? You’re kissing my girlfriend with your hands all over her, and you’re asking me what the fuck,” I said, ready to beat him again.
“She asked me to,” he said with a smirk on his face, wiping the last bit on blood with the back of his hand.
“Just leave, take the girl and get out of here,” the worker said.
I walked over to Sophia, her head resting on the bar. I scooped her into my arms as her head fell back, mouth falling open. She looked a wreck, and I’d been the sole cause. I carried her to the car and brought her home, to my bed.
Tom had woken me after Sophia ran from the apartment. Sarah was wrapped around me, but I never knew she was there. She showed up to check on me and ended up crawling in bed with. Sophia had seen her in my bed, wrapped around me. I didn’t sleep with Sarah, but Sophia didn’t know that fact when she headed to the bar and started to down vodka.
I couldn’t crawl in bed with her. Anger filled me, anger with myself and directed at her, too. The good girl quality of Sophia had drawn me to her, what she did tonight didn’t fit with her nature. I sat in a chair in the corner of the room and watched her as she slept. I prayed she would understand and forgive me. I had driven her into the stranger’s arms. I sat there all night, watching, waiting.
Morning light streamed through the window as I rested my elbows on my legs and placed my head in my
