Aiden's eyes are still on me. It's like he can't look away, but he should because his girlfriend's going to notice. Why is he staring at me like that? Do I have something on my face?
"It's the house merlot," Tanner says, appearing with my drink. "Is that okay?"
"Sure. Thanks for getting it."
"No problem."
Celine looks up from her phone. "The boys insist on coming to this disgusting rat-trap of a bar."
"Because we can relax here," Pete says, "And we don't have to spend half a paycheck to buy drinks."
"The wine selection is worse than you'd get at a gas station," Celine says, her eyes returning to her phone.
"So what are you doing this weekend?" Tanner asks, turning to me again.
"I have an event to work at Saturday night. And on Sunday my boss wants to meet for a couple hours to go over some planning."
"Have any interest in rock climbing?"
"I don't know. I've never tried it."
"I don't mean on an actual rock. It's one of those rock climbing places. I'm going there on Saturday. Would you like to go with me?"
I'm pretty sure he's asking me out, which is what I said I wanted. I told Aiden I needed to meet someone, and here I am, sitting next to a cute guy who seems nice and is interested in me. The only problem is, I'm interested in the guy sitting across from me. The guy with the girlfriend.
I glance over at Aiden. His arm is resting on the back of Celine's chair as he takes a drink of his beer. Celine leans over and gives him a peck on the cheek, then looks back at her phone. A twinge of jealousy courses through me and I yell at myself for it. I need to stop this. Aiden is taken. And I'm here to find someone new.
I look back at Tanner. "I'd love to go. It sounds fun."
"Great!" he says, sounding surprised. "I was thinking we'd go in the afternoon. Could I take you to lunch first?"
"Sure. I just need to make sure I'm back to my apartment by five."
"No problem. We can leave whenever you want." He smiles at me. "So tell me more about Kansas."
Tanner and I continue to talk as the other guys have their own conversation. Occasionally I look over and see Celine leaning over to kiss Aiden or whisper something in his ear. He's not doing the same to her. In fact, he isn't affectionate with her at all.
A half hour later, Celine gets down from her chair. "Babe, I need to go."
"Okay, see you later." He gives her a peck on the lips.
"We're both going," she says, picking up her purse. "Hurry up."
"I'm staying. I'm not ready to leave."
"Aiden, it's Thursday," she says, lowering her voice.
"I'm staying at my place tonight. I need to do some work when I get home."
"Are you serious?" she says, getting angry. "You'd rather do work than—" She stops, noticing we're all listening.
"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
She glares at him.
Aiden gets up. "I'll walk you out."
As they leave, Tanner says to me, "They have kind of a volatile relationship."
"It's shitty if you ask me," Griffen says, taking a swig of his beer.
"I can't believe they schedule it like that," John says. "And that Aiden goes along with it."
"Schedule what?" I ask.
"Just forget it," Pete says, his eyes on his phone.
I look over at Tanner to see if he'll tell me but he doesn't. Instead he gets up. "You want another wine?"
"Yes. Thanks."
When he's gone I turn to Griffen since he seems the most likely to answer my question.
"What was Celine talking about? What's on Thursday?"
"It's when they're..." He laughs a little. "Intimate."
"Oh." I glance back at the door and see Aiden talking to Celine. She looks furious, which I'm assuming is because it's their night to have sex and Aiden turned her down. Why would they designate a night to be intimate? Are they that busy they have to schedule it? And why would Aiden turn her down?
"Are they living together?" I ask, remembering Aiden saying they weren't but maybe they are now.
"No, but she wants them to," Griffen says. "And if he doesn't hurry up and give her a ring, she's gonna lose it."
"Griff," Pete says in a warning tone. "Shut up about Aiden. It's none of your business."
"Hey, she asked," he says, glancing at me. "And it actually IS our business because if he marries her, we're all going to be stuck with her."
"You don't like her?" I ask.
"Like who?" Tanner says, returning with our drinks.
"Celine," Griffen says. "Hey, did you put those on my tab?"
"No. I paid for them."
"I told you tonight's on me. Next round put it on my tab."
"I don't think I'll have any more after this," I say, sipping my wine. "I usually stop after a glass or two, especially if I haven't eaten."
"You didn't eat?" Tanner asks. "Why don't I take you out after this? I just had a sandwich for dinner. I'm starving."
"I'd be up for getting something to eat."
He smiles. "Great!"
Tanner seems like a really nice guy, and after talking to him I can tell he's really smart. He's a lawyer, but he also knows a lot about science, specifically ocean life and how it affects life on land. He's passionate about his work but not so consumed with it that he doesn't let me talk.
"You guys okay?" John asks Aiden as he returns to the table.
"We're fine," he says, but he doesn't sound fine. He sounds angry.
"Need another drink?" Pete asks him.
"Yeah. Whiskey, straight up."
"Got it." Griffen catches the bartender as he walks by and orders Aiden's drink, along with one for himself.
"Can't be good if you're going for the whiskey," John says, laughing a little. "You usually save that for the weekend."
"I'm good," Aiden says. "Just drop it, okay?"
Pete nudges him. "Why don't we go outside? I need to ask you something without
