by Paul, JL
I shook my head, my heart aching a bit. How could I show up? What would I do, go sit with Irelyn and Bailey?
“Come on,” he wheedled. “You can sit at the bar near me and keep me company.”
“Won’t you be busy?” I asked, imagining the crowd that was sure to be there for the party and to listen to the band.
“Swamped, most likely, but if you’re sitting at the bar, it will be more bearable,” he said with a wink. He actually winked! I didn’t think guys did that sort of thing – thought only creepy old men did it.
“I don’t know,” I said, nibbling my lip. Maybe I would go and totally ignore Irelyn and Bailey. I could show them that I had other friends and my own life – that I didn’t need to be a part of theirs.
“I’ll reserve you a seat and you can have all the free diet soda that you can drink,” Evan said, leaning over the counter to flash that crooked smile. “Come on, be a sport.”
“A sport?” I asked. “I’m not a ten year old boy.”
He laughed, hard. “That’s funny.”
Rolling my eyes, I dried my hands on a towel and surveyed the prep area. I’d done most of the cleaning already and only had a few things to wash. “Thanks. I’m a closet comedian.”
“So, are you coming tomorrow night or what?” he asked.
Stalling, I narrowed my eyes. “Where have you been lately? I haven’t seen you lurking around the library or in here for a while.”
His smile widened. “You missed me!”
“I most certainly did not,” I said, moving away from the counter to collect utensils to wash. “I actually thought that maybe you’d given up on whatever weird sort of relationship you’re trying to establish with me. I was relieved.”
“You are such a liar,” he said, still smiling. “I’ve been busy with the garage and stuff. That’s all.”
“Be mysterious,” I said.
“Chicks like that,” he said. “So, I’ll save you a seat at the bar tomorrow night.”
“Go right ahead,” I said.
“And I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Maybe,” I said.
“Ah, mysterious,” he said with a faux frown. “Dudes like that.”
“I’m sure they do,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t know if I’ll be there or not, but I’ll try.”
“Excellent,” he grinned, crumpling his cup and shooting it at the trash can behind the counter. “See you, Morgan.”
He sauntered out of the shop as if he’d just scored a million dollar real estate deal, or something to that effect. I fought another smile as the doors closed behind him.
***
I contemplated Evan’s offer all morning in class on Friday, not sure what I was going to do. When I sat down with my lunch at a table in the cafeteria, I was still undecided. I was sure that it would a costume sort of affair as I recalled that being the case last year. I didn’t want to dress up even though I usually enjoyed doing that sort of thing. This year, I just wasn’t into it.
“Hey, Morg.”
Lifting my head, I was surprised to see Bailey dropping into the chair across from me.
“Hi,” I said, stirring my chili with a plastic spoon. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing much,” she said. “You going to Rusty’s tonight?”
Furrowing my brow, I watched as she opened a bottle of water and took a long swig.
“Um, I’m not sure. I was just thinking about it,” I admitted.
“Did Irelyn tell you what she wants to dress up as?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “The last time I spoke to Irelyn, she didn’t even mention the Halloween party.”
“Oh, hell,” Bailey said, running a hand through her hair. “Damn. I’m sorry, Morgan. I forgot. I was supposed to ask you if you were going.”
“Huh?” I said.
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “Irelyn has been working extra shifts to help cover the bills when Lucas is recording. I stopped in the diner the other day and she reminded me to ask you when I saw you on campus.”
“Oh,” I said, nibbling my lip. “When do they start?”
“Next week,” Bailey said, dropping her eyes to the table. “They’ll get a couple weeks in the studio but who knows how long the sessions will take. Collin said that some days they could be there for twelve hours or more but other days they might only be there in the mornings.”
“That’s rough,” I said.
“It’s rough for Lucas and Irelyn especially,” Bailey said. “Lucas is going to have to take some time off of work. And this isn’t a sure thing. I mean, what if the record doesn’t sell?”
I didn’t answer – didn’t think Bailey really wanted one.
“Collin isn’t thrilled with missing work, either,” Bailey said, opening a packet of ranch dressing to dribble on her salad. “I mean, we’ll be okay – my dad pays me well for doing work at home. But Collin is getting all macho, thinking he should be making more money. You know what he’s like.”
“But, if the record does sell, he’ll be making a lot of money.”
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “That’s what I told him. But he’s still worried. They all are, but I think he’s worrying the most.”
Wiping my mouth with my napkin, I felt my heart aching for my friends. I set my napkin on the table beside my bowl and smiled. “I’ll show up tonight, probably. It is Halloween, after all.”
“Great,” Bailey said, shoving the salad away from her. “We’ll see you there.”
“Aren’t you going to eat?” I asked.
Bailey scrunched up her nose at the salad drenched in ranch. “Nah. I had a big breakfast and I’m really not that hungry. I should go – I need to talk to my math prof before class. See you tonight.”
I watched her leave, worrying etching my face.
***
After my abbreviated shift at Beans, I hurried upstairs to get ready for Rusty’s, keeping with my original decision to not dress up. I didn’t have time to throw a costume together, anyway. I showered, dried my hair, and then dressed in my usual skinny jeans, a white cami with a taupe sweater and brown, leather boots.
Grabbing my purse and keys, I hurried out the door.
Rusty’s was packed, just as I suspected it would be. I had to drive through the parking lot several times until someone finally left and I was able to grab that spot.
Taking several deep breaths, I entered, elbowing my way through the crowd toward the bar. Even though I hardly had a date with Evan, I still felt obligated to let him know that I would be sitting with my friends. And, if I was being totally honest with myself, I didn’t want Spencer to see me hanging out with Evan and think that I was dating him.
“Morgan, you made it,” Evan said when I managed to snag a cramped, empty space at the bar. He grinned as he shoved a glass under the tap, filling it with amber liquid. Before it could pour over the sides, he quickly switched it out for an empty one, sliding the full glass on the bar in front of a guy on my left. “I saved you a chair at the end, but you better hurry up and grab it. I put a sign on it but these animals are liable to toss it on the floor.”
“Thanks,” I said as he filled another glass with diet soda and scooted it at me. “Um, Bailey and Irelyn asked me to sit with them.”
“Oh,” he said, the smile slipping from his face. Lifting his head, he glanced in the direction of the stage where Bailey and Irelyn were sitting at their usual table. “That’s cool. Sit with your friends. I’ll pop over and see you when I get a second.”
I opened my mouth to explain, to wipe that weird expression off his face, but people were pushing in around me, shoving money at Evan as they shouted their orders. Sighing, I took my soda to the table near the stage.
Irelyn and Bailey hadn’t noticed that I’d arrived. They were too intent on their conversation with Jessica. I was beginning to regret my decision to come at that moment.
“Oh, hey, Morgan,” Jessica said in a less than enthusiastic tone.
Bailey and Irelyn turned in th
eir seats, smiling.
“I’m so glad you came,” Irelyn said, standing to reveal her costume. She was dressed as Minnie, a fictional character in an extremely popular television show. Her flowing, floral skirt and white sweater were usual dress for Minnie, who was very sweet and caring, as well as long, blonde hair tied back with a yellow ribbon.
The television show, We Three, was about three sisters who shared an apartment above the family’s pawn shop. The girls, Molly, Minnie, and Mavis, each had a very unique personality that caused several hilarious situations both in the apartment and in the shop. I didn’t much care for the show but just about everyone I knew loved it.
Bailey grinned as I took a seat. She, obviously, was Molly. On the show, Molly was the dangerous one – ready for a fight or a good man. And Bailey looked the part. She wore tight leather pants, a leather vest over a white blouse, and knee high black boots. Her makeup was dark and heavy and her hair straight, lying like a silk curtain on her back.
I barely spared a glance at Jessica, knowing that she was Mavis, the smart one. I’d already noticed the fake, dark framed glasses and the hair in a tight, neat bun. I didn’t need to see the pressed khakis and the neat blouse. Didn’t really want to.
“No costume?” Bailey smirked, sipping a glass of ice water.
“Nah,” I said with a forced smile. “Wasn’t into it this year.”
“Too bad there aren’t four sisters on We Three,” Jessica said, fluttering her eyelashes behind her glasses. “You could have dressed up with us.”
“Oh, well,” I said, barely sparing her a glance.
Irelyn rolled her eyes as she patted my hand. “I wasn’t into it this year, either, but Jessica really wanted us to do it.”
That sorted of explained it, in a way.
The band stepped on stage at that moment, effectively stopping conversation. My gaze immediately found Spencer as he ducked through the strap of his guitar, his messy hair falling into his eyes. He brushed it away before plucking a pick out of the strings of his guitar. He began to strum, quietly tuning, as the others prepared to start.
None of the guys had dressed up, which didn’t surprise me. If I recalled correctly, they hadn’t last year, either. Lucas had said that it was cool for girls to dress up but thought that most guys looked like idiots.
As soon as they started playing, the crowd roared with delight, drawing a smile to Spencer’s face. I sucked in a sigh, plastered a generic look on my face, and just enjoyed the music. Jessica constantly shot covert looks in my direction, thinking I wasn’t aware.
At the end of their first set, they hurried over to the table. A moment later, Evan appeared with a tray of drinks. He passed them out, setting a full diet soda in front of me, and rushed back to the bar without sparing me a glance. Curious, my eyes followed him as he waded through the crowd, back to the bar, the tray bumping against his thigh. It seemed as though he was upset with me and I had no clue how to remedy the situation.
Nibbling my lip, swirling my soda glass with one hand, I continued to watch Evan as he returned to his station behind the bar and started filling drink orders. That fixed grin was on his face as he laughed and joked with the patrons.
Deciding that I would clear things up later, given opportunity, I turned back to the crowd at my table.
“You guys had a great first set,” Jessica gushed as she leaned into Spencer. My stomach turned. “Do you like our costumes? You didn’t get to see them yet.”
“Yeah, they’re great,” Spencer said as his gaze moved around the table. It stopped on me. “Who are you, Morgan?”
I opened my mouth to respond but Jessica beat me.
“Oh, she’s not part of our costume,” Jessica said, pointing between herself, Bailey, and Irelyn. “The three of us did this. Morgan just showed up.”
Spencer’s face clouded as a frown tugged at his lips. Brow furrowed, he looked at Jessica like she was something he couldn’t identify and that, alone, lightened my heart.
“I forgot to let Morgan know about the costumes,” Bailey explained as she shot me a smile. “It’s my fault. I’m so damn forgetful lately.”
“That’s all right,” Collin said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I like Morgan’s costume,” Lucas said, slouching in his chair, his eyes on me. “She dresses up just like I do – in something normal.”
I laughed as Jessica scowled; swallowing the remainder of her drink before snatching the fresh one Evan had just delivered.
“I think it’s fun to dress up on Halloween,” Jessica pouted.
“Some people like it, some people don’t,” Spencer said, dropping a kiss on her head. “It’s cool, don’t worry about it.”
My high spirits dropped quicker than a rock in a pond. I turned my head again, toward the bar, searching for Evan. As Spencer and Jessica continued to coo at each other, I mumbled a lame excuse and left my seat.
The crowd around the bar was thicker now that the band was taking a break, so I decided to see if my reserved seat was still available. When I reached the end, I was surprised to see that a cardboard, tented sign was still there, the word RESERVED in huge red letters on either side. With a smile, I slipped into the seat, planted my elbows on the bar, and waited for Evan to notice. It took nearly five minutes and the band to go back on stage for the crowd to clear and Evan to work his way toward me.
“Hey,” he said with lifted brow. “I thought you were sitting with your friends.”
“Well, since you went to so much effort,” I said, holding up the crudely made sign, “I figured I could sit here for a little bit and have a drink.”
He nodded, suppressing a smile. “Would you like something other than diet soda?”
He sipped from a beer glass, wiping the foam off his lip.
“Give me a beer.”
“Seriously?”
I nodded. “It is Halloween.”
“That’s the spirit,” he said as he fetched a clean glass and placed it under the tap. Once it was full, he set it in front of me; refusing the bills I tried to hand him. His eyes wandered over to the table where I’d been sitting. “Why’d you leave your friends?”
“I told you, I thought I’d sit here for a little bit. You did save the seat for me.”
“Jessica gets on your nerves, doesn’t she?”
I choked on the beer I’d just sipped as I looked up into his eyes. “She’s fine.”
He laughed, standing straight and crossing his arms over his chest. “You can’t stand her. I could tell from here.”
I was beginning to regret coming over here but stood my ground.
“Think whatever you like,” I said in a snooty sort of tone I wasn’t particularly fond of – but it proved a point. “Like I said, she’s fine and I only came over because you saved this seat for me.”
“Sure,” he said, nodding with that maddening grin on his face. “Okay, Morgan. I need to get back to work.”
He spun on his heel and faced the thirsty crowd while I watched Jessica moon over Spencer from the corner of my eye. Evan was more right than he ever dreamed.
Finishing my beer, I returned to the table to say goodbye, waved to Evan, and escaped.
Chapter Six
After the sort of disaster of Halloween, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My relationships with Irelyn and Bailey hadn’t reached the level it once was – hadn’t progressed much at all. Sure, we were on speaking terms again, but that closeness was absent.
“Patience,” I muttered as I crossed campus to the parking lot once I’d finished with classes for the day. “It takes time.”
“Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness.”
Snapping my head up, I was a little shocked to see Evan keeping pace with me. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you,” he said with a shrug, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. “Damn, it’s cold today.”
“It is November,” I said, quickening my steps.
/> “Yeah, November. Not January.”
I didn’t answer, was too focused on my parked car and shelter from the wind. I hoped, in vain, that he would figure out my mood and just fade into the scenery, but instead, he continued walking beside me, jumping into the passenger side of my car once I hit the unlock button on my keychain.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded, standing in the cold wind with my door open.
“I need a ride,” he said, yanking the seatbelt across his body. “Please.”
Groaning, I tossed my bag into the back seat. “What if I have to work?”
“You don’t,” he said, grinning. “I was in there this morning and I asked.”
“I could have other things to do.”
Leaning across the counsel, he stared at me with his dark eyes. “Do you?”
“I…” I said, my mouth wide open like an idiot, while my brain stuttered, not able to come up with a single excuse or lie. Giving up, I climbed into the car and started the engine. “I guess not.”
“Excellent,” he said. “I’ll give you a couple bucks for gas.”
“I don’t need it,” I said as I pulled out of the parking lot and to the intersection. “Where am I going?”
“Plum Park Apartments,” he said as he settled back into his seat, lifting a hand to the radio. “Thanks.”
“Where’s your car?” I asked as I entered traffic.
“I don’t have one at the moment,” he said, flipping through radio stations. “I have a motorcycle and it is just too damn cold to ride.”
Ugh, motorcycle. I hated them. “So, how did you get to campus?”
“The bus,” he said, settling on a station and cranking the volume.
Turning the volume down, I chanced a quick glance in his direction. “Why not take the bus to the apartment complex?”
“Not as much fun,” he said, turning the volume up again.
Groaning, I hit the power button, bathing the car in silence. “So, you take the bus to campus just to have me drive you home?”
“You’re not driving me home,” he said. “I live above the garage.”
I stopped for a red light and glared at him full on. “Why are we going, then?”
