by Lauren Helms
What makes it so fun to watch is the fact that she is so tiny. It’s really hard to believe she can—and does—eat so much in one sitting.
We all laugh when Link immediately challenges her and tries to define a suitable tot challenge.
It’s the usual group out tonight: Morgan, Ruby, Dex, Link, Bernie, and myself.
For reasons I’m not ready to admit, I’m bummed Simon isn’t here. I don’t know where he is, but his absence doesn’t go unnoticed.
I should be relieved though. I mean, who looks forward to being around someone who clearly thinks you’re pond scum? I do, apparently.
Without thinking, I find myself asking no one in particular, “So where’s Simon tonight?”
They all hear me, the light conversation around the table pauses and then quickly picks back up. But it’s Dex who responds.
“Ah, I think he’ll be here a bit later. He’s on a date.” He says that part slowly, like he’s approaching a scared animal. Why, I don’t know.
I nod and take a drink of my lemon drop.
Cool. A date. Good for him.
Really, I don’t care.
I think about how I haven’t enjoyed any of the dates I’ve been on in the past few months. So, I kind of hope he isn’t enjoying his.
Link must see something on my face that makes him feel the need to say more.
“Yeah, he’s gone out with this same girl a few times now. I think it’s getting serious.”
Blah.
I don’t want to hear this. I push up from the table and stand quickly.
“Be back. Gotta go to the restroom.”
I make my way to the back, telling myself over and over that I don’t care.
I do not care.
I do not care that Simon is dating someone and that it might be serious.
I do not care that Simon is dating someone, because I date. All the time. So, it doesn’t matter.
I do not care that Simon is dating some chick who is probably some dumb booth babe who has more between her armpits than her ears.
Why don’t I care? Because Simon and I aren’t even friends.
Not anymore. Therefore, I do not care!
I keep telling myself this, feeling more and more confident as I make my way back to the table.
I get within earshot of the table when I hear his voice. I shoot my gaze over and, speak of the devil. There’s Simon, pulling up a chair to the table.
Shut the front door. His date did not just sit down in my seat.
Oh, no. No. No. No.
I’m not OK with this.
I totally fucking care.
Morgan catches my eye right as I realize that I’ve stopped dead in my tracks. I take a deep breath and soldier on.
She quickly snags a chair from the table behind us, and really, where are all these extra chairs coming from? This place is packed tonight.
I walk up to the table and squeeze in between Booth Babe and Simon and pick up my beer.
“Pardon me. I’ll just move my stuff,” I bite out.
In my haste to not make a scene but to make it known she just took my seat, I come face-to-face with Simon. I mean so close that I can feel his breath on my cheek. I have to lean back to make eye contact.
What I see isn’t what I expected to find.
No, instead of the daggers he usually saves just for me, he’s fighting a smirk. There’s … laughter … in his eyes.
Does he think this is funny?
Argh! This is stupid. Why does it even matter that the bimbo took my seat? It’s a bar.
“You always were so polite when you were pissed,” he says in a low chuckle.
“You were always so clueless,” I snap.
The daggers are back, oh … how I missed my favorite Simon look.
I can tell he wants to reply, but he doesn’t. I move out of his way and walk around to the other side of the table.
I use this time to take deep breaths.
But I sit down and realize I’ve got both Morgan and Ruby’s attention. Ruby looks interested, but Morgan seems concerned. She leans into me.
“You OK, Gia?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” I force a smile and try to jump back into the conversation.
Minutes go by and Ruby has killed her plate of loaded tots, under the time limit Link challenged her to. And I’ve just about had it with Little Miss Booth Babe.
She’s all touchy and feely, and oh my God—was I right about the big boobs and little brain.
She is not Simon’s type at all. I can’t stand it.
I turn to Morgan and tell her I’m going to get another drink. I ask the table if I can get anyone anything. I need to get away from here—away from Simon and his date.
By the time I get a seat at the bar, I’ve decided a shot would be a good idea.
“I’d like a shot of tequila, please,” I say to the bartender.
“Make that two,” a deep voice says from behind me.
I don’t turn around, I don’t need to. I can feel him behind me, his heat on my back. Like I said, it’s packed tonight. I sigh.
“What do you want, Simon? Can’t a girl get a little space?” I grumble. He leans in closer to my ear.
“Why do you need space, G?”
Shivers shoot down my spine, caused by a mixture of him being so close plus the use of the nickname only he has ever used. Damn it.
I roll my eyes even though he can’t see. If I ignore him maybe he’ll go away.
Two shots appear in front of me and, as if my luck could get any worse, the bar stool next to me opens up and Simon slides on in.
“My God,” I say defeated.
His responding chuckle is thick and low. It’s a welcome sound, one that I’ve missed for so long. But I’m a little concerned as to why he’s sitting here and not with his girlfriend. He seems amused with me tonight and I don’t much like it.
“What. Why are you here? Can I not take a shot in peace?” I huff, turning to him.
“Why do you want to be alone? Why not just have your shot back at the table?”
Is he goading me?
“Fine, whatever. Let’s take a shot.”
I lick the back of my hand, sprinkle some salt, toss back my shot and quickly bite into my lime wedge. I’m feeling that familiar burn when I look at Simon. He’s staring at me. With a slight shake of the head, he just tosses the shot back.
“Dang. You drink a lot?” I ask. No salt, no lime. Just poison.
He gets the bartender’s attention to order another.
“I’m not doing another shot with you,” I huff.
“Yes, you are.” He smiles.
“No, I’m not. If you haven’t noticed, I came up here to get away from you and your booth babe. So, you can go away.” His eyebrow quirks.
Damn, tequila works fast.
“Booth babe?” he questions.
I choose to ignore him. He knows what a booth babe is.
He laughs again. And I want to relish in it, but no! I will stay strong.
Oh, I hear the song overhead and try to focus on it, but my enjoyment is short-lived when he turns his body toward me, his knees bumping my leg.
“G, are you still salty about Lindsey taking your seat?”
Oh, there’s my next shot. I gesture to it and then swallow it down.
Shit, I’m going to regret this in the morning.
I see Simon nod to the bartender.
“Gia, are you jealous?” he says so close to my ear that I nearly jump. Without thinking I turn to look at him, but I misjudged his closeness because our noses nearly touch.
I look down at his nose and then glance back up to those twinkling eyes.
“No, why would I be jealous of two boobs on legs? I’ve got a brain,” I snap.
“So, the real answer is yes. Yes, you are jealous of Lindsey,” he muses.
“Oh, is that her name? I was calling her a dumb booth babe in my head.” OK, so the liquor is starting to do the talking.
&nb
sp; He barks out a laugh.
I roll my eyes.
He leans back, and I can feel the cold air swirl in between us. He crosses his arms and gives me a challenging look.
“Why do you think she’s dumb and why are you calling her a booth babe? She’s not, by the way. Dumb, that is.”
I reach for the water that I don’t remember ordering and take a sip. Wait, how did this get here?
“Have you heard anything that has come out of her mouth tonight or do you only care about what goes into it? Because, Si, that girl is dumber than a box of rocks,” I say, swirling the straw in my mouth.
He coughs and tries to smother a laugh.
“Oh, and I call her Booth Babe because isn’t that where you pick up girls? At your video game events? Isn’t that what they call the girls the video game marketers hire to stand around at them? To look all hot and draw the male attendees into the booth? Am I right, or am I right?”
“You’re cute when you’re jealous,” he says.
“Nope. Wrong again,” I say, then catch the bartender’s eye. “Another!”
“Gia, it’s probably a better idea to stick to water,” he says.
“And it was probably a better idea for you to have stayed away. But here you are, out of nowhere. So … one more round.”
Two new shots appear, and I push his shot and salt toward him.
“I’d offer to let you lick me, but we wouldn’t want Little Miss Booth Babe to get jealous.”
Yes, I heard what I just said. I’m ignoring, remember?
Once more I take a shot, not caring if he took his too. I stand from the bar, faster than I should, then grab ahold of the bar just as quickly. I gather myself, smile and turn to Simon.
What I see makes my head start to spin again. Heat. Pure heat fills his eyes and all amusement has left his face. I continue my exit attempt when I hear his low reply.
“I’d do it.”
I stop for a split second and look over my shoulder. I manage to avoid meeting his eye before I keep on walking.
Holy shitballs.
Chapter Eleven
Gia
It’s been a few days since I got wasted with Simon, told him he could lick me and made an utter fool of myself. So, I’m trying to lie low. As in, I’m hiding from Simon.
That is why I’m sitting in Ruby’s living room watching the local news. She is obsessed with the news. She gets the Chicago Tribune, watches the local news in the morning and again in the evening when she gets home from work. She even has several news apps on her phone that ping every time the source deems the notification as “breaking news.” I’ve never met another twenty-something who looks forward to her weekly news magazines more than Ruby does. Think Newsweek and Time. But it’s part of her charm, as it's not something you would expect from her, considering her bubbly personality and total addiction to comic books.
But I’m here tonight because Morgan was having Dex over for dinner tonight and I knew, just knew that Simon was going to come with him. They didn’t have plans to go out this evening, and when that happens, Dex always brings a friend so I don’t end up being the third wheel. Plus, Morgan is expanding her cooking skills and I know those boys don’t eat many homecooked meals. With my luck, it’s inevitable that Simon will be the one tagging along.
Another good reason I’m hiding at Ruby’s place.
I’m just so embarrassed. One, I don’t drink to get drunk. I did this once in college and it wasn’t worth it. I don’t mind getting tipsy though. That doesn’t come with nasty hangovers. But the other night, three shots of tequila plus the two lemon drops I’d had before Simon showed up … Yeah, those were bad decisions. Every single one of them.
I’m not really ready to face Simon yet. For all I know, he will probably just behave even more hostile toward me, which is ridiculous since he’s the one who followed me to the bar. I was just trying to get away from him and his date. And yeah, I might have been a little mean to him about his date, but the alcohol was already in my system and I wasn’t prepared for the wave of jealousy that hit the minute I saw them.
Therefore, my plan is to hide out here with Ruby, eat dinner, watch some TV or something and then sneak back home. If Simon is there when I get home, I can just act sick and go right to my room.
“So, what are we eating tonight?” I ask absentmindedly while watching the news.
“Well, what sounds good? Pizza? Thai? Mexican? I could go for some chips and salsa myself,” she replies.
“That sounds good,” I say, distracted by the talking heads. I have to admit; Ruby’s news addiction has rubbed off on me a little. Before Ruby, the only news I cared about was of the entertainment variety. Hence, my choice of professions. But now, I try to catch some kind of news broadcast at least once a day. While I like the attractive newscasters the morning news rewards the early birds with, I prefer sleeping in. So, I usually miss it and watch the afternoon or evening news instead.
Lost in the news clip about how a firefighter reunited with a family he helped pull from their burning car, I almost completely miss Ruby’s next words.
“That’s OK, right?”
“Uh, what? Sorry,” I say.
“No prob. That firefighter was pretty hot. Pun intended,” she laughs. “I said Link and Simon are joining us for dinner. Since you weren’t going to be there tonight, they didn’t want to join Dex at your apartment. It is getting adorably nauseating being alone with those two.”
I stare at her, trying to compute everything she just said. I give my head a slight shake.
“I’m with them all the time and I don’t think it’s a big deal. They are in love.”
I don’t know why I’m getting a bit defensive on Morgan and Dex’s behalf. When Dex is over, half the time, I stick around just long enough to eat and socialize before I bolt to my room. Because they do have that whole lovey-dovey, twinkly-stars-in-their-eyes thing going on when they are together. It’s cute and I’m incredibly happy for Morgan, but it is kind of … adorably nauseating. Especially when I’m the third wheel and they start looking longingly into each other’s eyes.
Ruby rolls her eyes and waves away any reply.
“So, you don’t have any objections to Link and Simon coming over?” she asks dragging out Simon’s name.
I huff and slouch down in my seat. She chuckles.
“I guess I don’t have a choice since you already invited them.”
“You and Simon are just so interesting to watch. You know that?”
Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes.
“I mean, we all know the two of you have this secret past, but we just can’t get over the drama as it unfolds before our eyes. He clearly brought that chick with him the other night to get a rise out of you. And you gave him exactly want he wanted.”
“And I thought you were my friend. You knew the reason I was here tonight, yet you still invited him over.”
“Ah, no, I didn’t invite him. He asked if he and Link could crash our dinner. And I’m your best friend. I want you to be happy. The sooner you and Simon work this,” she waves her hand around toward me, “thing out between you, the sooner you can go back to being Fun Gia when we all hang out. Because, whenever that boy is near, you close yourself off.”
She looks at her phone to give me a reprieve.
Gah.
She’s right. I’m a social person and love hanging out in groups and going out on the town. Whenever Simon is around, there’s no Fun Gia, only Guarded Gia.
“Plus, I’m all for a Gia and Simon hookup. I can see it, there is heat behind all that hate when he looks at you,” she adds as she stands.
“What? No. No heat. Just hate,” I stutter.
“Uh-huh.” She looks over her shoulder at me with a knowing smile and opens the front door to her apartment.
And dang it, my hiding is over because in walks Simon, followed by Link.
Wait. Did she say that Simon asked to come over?
It doesn’t matter though. Because he
is here. And when Simon enters a room, he commands attention. He is not the kind of person that wants to be the center of attention, so it’s really strange that when he enters a room, all eyes are on him.
Well … OK, honestly, I wouldn’t know if all eyes are on him because I’ve only ever had eyes for him. And right now, his are on me. And he’s also sporting a knowing grin.
I make myself busy and pick up my phone, pretending to check emails.
Oh, well damn it, there is an email from my mom. Ugh. But I’m distracted when the couch next to me dips and I look up to see Simon sitting there.
“Hey,” he says.
He’s not sitting entirely close to me. But he usually stays as far away from me as possible. Much like the other night at The Bar, he is close enough for me to know that he still wears the same cologne from when I knew him all those years ago.
I will never forget it since I’m the one who bought him that first bottle. I might not have been his girlfriend back then, but one year he said he wanted cologne for Christmas. So, I delivered. The sweet and woodsy scent makes me weak in the knees. It's a good thing I’m sitting down now. I know it was part of my problem the other night. The mixture of his orange, rosemary, and musk blended well with my own favorite orange blossom scent.
But right now, the amused smile on his face catches me off guard.
“Hi,” I say, then look back at my phone.
Must. Remain. Unaffected.
He must take the hint because nothing follows my brush-off.
“So, what are we eating tonight? I thought chips and salsa sounded good.”
“I like the way you think, Lincoln,” Ruby chimes in.
Oh boy, they are on the same wavelength 80% of the time and refuse to acknowledge it.
“What’s funny?” Simon asks, looking over at me.
“Hmm?”
“You snorted.”
My cheeks start to heat with the realization.
“Oh, the two of them.” I nod toward where the two are bickering across the room. “They both said they wanted chips and salsa, but if I point it out, one or both of them will deny it or change their mind.” He chuckles low and deep and I feel tingles down too deep in my belly.
