“Jillian,” Theo corrected. His frustration was evident. “Her name is Jillian.”
“Oh, sorry. Names that start with the letter J all sound the same to me.” She pulled a chair from one of the other tables and placed it at the end of ours, then brushed her hand across Theo’s cheek, and asked, “How’s your sister doing?”
Theo shook his head, and I could tell all the sadness he had temporarily tucked away in the past few hours was resurfacing once again. While I sat there nursing my beer, wishing I could escape, I learned that Jo and Phoebe were coworkers. I got the impression David didn’t care for Phoebe too much because he hadn’t spoken much at all since she had sat down. Neither did Theo for that matter. Not that they could’ve even if they’d wanted to. Phoebe hadn’t stopped chattering, taking a few breaths to tap at something on her phone every now and then.
“Roger!” Phoebe stood up and planted a kiss on the cheek of a tall man who stopped at our table with a drink in hand. He was completely bald, appeared to be around my age, and was rather attractive. I sensed a certain arrogance about him right away just by his smug smile.
“And the night just keeps getting better,” Jo whispered, then sighed loudly.
“Jillian, I invited our coworker Roger, so you didn’t feel left out, being that we’re all couples here, and you’re not.” Phoebe placed her hand on top of Theo’s, and he snatched it away.
“Jillian, that’s a beautiful name for a beautiful lady.” He had just gotten here, but his posh British accent seemed to be slurred a little by the effects of alcohol. “I was at a stag party for one of my best mates when Phoebe texted me telling about this cute little blonde in need of my services. So here I am, happy to serve any of your needs.”
“Oh, God!” Jo exclaimed in disgust.
Theo closed his eyes, let out a deep breath, then slammed his beer glass down on the table. “Phoebe, can I see you outside, please?”
“Sure.” She smiled, eagerly following behind Theo.
Roger slid in the now empty seat next to me, reeking of alcohol. “I’m glad to see one of my friends thinks of me.” He raised an eyebrow at Jo and slammed the rest of his drink down.
“Oh, piss off, Roger. I’m not your friend, so I don’t think of you at all,” Jo replied sharply.
“Why don’t you go home and sleep it off, mate. You’re drunk as a skunk and have no business being here,” David coaxed.
“Why would I do that, when there’s a beautiful woman sitting beside me.” He placed his hand on my thigh and I shoved him so hard, he nearly fell out of the booth.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the ladies’ room.”
Jo nodded, and Roger stood up, allowing me to get out, holding his hands up in defense. I shot him a dagger and made my way to the restroom. I washed my hands and stood at the sink for some time, not wanting to go back out and be subjected to Roger once again. I wondered if Theo was back or if he left with Phoebe. Even if he wasn’t, I was planning on leaving. I knew my way back to Kate’s house on my own. It had been a fun night until Phoebe had shown up and then Roger. I looked in the mirror and fluffed out my hair for about the tenth time and sighed. It was time to finally face the music and go back out there. Just as I was mustering up the courage to do so, Jo entered the ladies’ room.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’m good. I just needed a little break from Mr. Obnoxious out there.”
“I’m so sorry about that. He’s an egotistical prat when he’s not drinking. Add alcohol to the mix and he becomes Don Juan on steroids.”
I managed a chuckle.
“Thee just put him in his place good, though, so I don’t think he’ll be bothering you anymore.”
“Oh, Theo is back?” I asked nonchalantly.
“Yes, minus Phoebe, thank God. I feel so badly because I’m the reason she and Thee even know one another. I was out one night for drinks with a bunch of coworkers and Thee showed up. Phoebe latched on to him and instantly became my new best friend, after four years of working with her and maybe saying two words to her the whole time. Can you believe that?” She shook her head. “I guess she thought I was stupid, not seeing what she was after. I tried warning Thee about her, but her pretty face and perfect body won out. Now he’s regretting it.”
“Well, that’s a guy for you. I…umm. I think I’m gonna head back to Kate’s. It was truly so nice to meet you and David, I really did have a great time, before…well, you know.”
“So did I, and I really hope we can get together again.”
“I’d like that.” I smiled.
“Jillian,” Jo called just as I was about to open the restroom door to exit.
“Yeah?” I turned around to face her.
“Please don’t break his heart.” Her eyes clouded over with emotion.
I shook my head, not comprehending who she meant. Was she really worried about Roger’s feelings after she basically told me what an asshole he was? “I’m sorry, but whose heart are we talking about?”
“Thee’s.”
I creased my eyebrows and she must’ve sensed the confusion that was written all over my face.
“As you know, I’ve known him for a long time, and I could see he cares about you a lot. The man doesn’t have a jealous or violent bone in his body. Roger made a rather inappropriate remark about you when Thee came back to the table and David had to hold him back from knocking Roger’s lights out.”
Maybe I didn’t know Theo as well as Jo did, but in the short time I did,
