A Reason to Stay

by Melissa Ellen

  With that, she handed me the bowl of popcorn and stood from the couch to go write her essay. I happily took over the popcorn and the remote, changing it to a rerun of my favorite home renovation show.

  After spending a few more hours of watching reruns of home improvement shows, I decided I better get ready before Stephen showed up. I took my time showering and primping, something I didn’t get to do all too often. I was wrapping up the final touches of my makeup when I received the text from Stephen that he would be here in five.

  I stuck my head into Lizzie’s room to let her know I was leaving and would see her later. She gave me a quick thumbs up, nodding her acknowledgement. I closed the door quietly, not wanting to break her concentration and headed down the apartment complex stairs to meet Stephen outside.

  He pulled up within seconds, wearing a smile which was reserved only for me. Jumping in the truck, I could see he put a little more effort than usual in his appearance. “You’re looking dapper tonight.”

  He gave me a wry grin, “All for you, pumpkin.” I grinned at his response, both of us knowing that was completely untrue.

  We decided on eating at the tapas wine bar, enjoying our normal friendly banter while eating. I filled him on the dress shopping from the weekend and some thoughts I had about Emily’s bachelorette party. He offered to be a stripper for the party, in which I responded with a quick jab to his left shoulder.

  “I’m just saying….I’m here for you, if you need me. I’m always willing to help a friend in need,” he laughed, mockingly rubbing his shoulder where I’d punched him.

  I shook my head laughing, changing the conversation to work. He told me about some absurdly rude tables he waited on over the weekend and some parties they went to.

  “Speaking of parties,” I interjected, “What happened at Deanna’s?”

  “Nothing,” he replied curtly, “Same ole, same ole.”

  I could tell he wasn’t going to willingly expand on the night’s events. “That’s not what Mike said when I saw him this morning.”

  “Well, Mike should learn to mind his own damn business and keep his mouth shut,” he spit out, looking annoyed.

  “Hey! Don’t be pissed at Mike. He didn’t say anything. I asked how the party was, and he said you would fill me in.”

  “There’s nothing to fill you in about.”

  “Fine, I’ll drop it,” I surrendered, wanting to change the mood that suddenly darkened our evening. I knew he was hiding something from me, which bothered me. Since when did we hide stuff from each other? He was one of my closest friends, next to Lizzie, and it hurt that he wouldn’t tell me what happened.

  The server came by and dropped our check. Stephen covered the tab as a way to apologize and make amends for the small fight we just had. I smiled and thanked him, signaling to him his attempt at an apology was accepted. We downed the last of the bottle of wine we were splitting before heading to the pub.

  The Hamilton pub was lively with people milling about, drinking heavily. Luckily, a few of our friends from work had already snagged us a spot next to the darts.

  We waded our way through the crowd of people over to our group. I found a seat at the table and was visiting with Amber, when Stephen squeezed in, putting his arm around my shoulders.

  “I’m headed to the bar to get a drink. You want me to get you a beer? I got first round,” he offered.

  “Yes, Blue Moon, please.”

  “You got it.”

  He sauntered off, leaving me to my conversation with Amber, turning female heads as he made his way to the bar. I turned back to Amber, who was one of the many heads whose eyes followed him, her cheeks flushed as she watched. I smiled inwardly, guiding her back to our original conversation.

  Amber was one of the few girls I made friends with at work. She was a very cute girl with a quiet, shy disposition. She was the nicest person I’d ever met, almost overly nice to a fault. Our first meeting, I found it a little off putting, thinking it was fake. After working together a few shifts though, I realized she was naturally good-hearted which instantly endeared her to me.

  Lizzie arrived shortly after the first game of darts. She was looking drop dead gorgeous. I knew with that outfit she was on the prowl. She didn’t even make it to our table before she was approached by a frat guy, trying to buy her a drink. She took him up on the free drink and then left him by himself, much to his dismay. I wished I had an ounce of her confidence and good looks.

  “Hey! Glad you made it,” I said as she took a seat at the table with Amber and me.

  “Me too. I was worried I wouldn’t get done in time.” She scanned the group of people with us. Her face dropped, revealing she didn’t find what she was looking for or rather who. She turned to me, nonchalantly asking where all the cooks were.

  “They had to work with Christopher, tonight. They’re going over the plated food for the party in the Hamptons. Mike may join later,” I added, figuring that was who she was really asking about. It seemed unlikely she was concerned with any other cook at Christopher’s.

  “Cool,” she replied with an air of unconcern.

  I looked at my nearly empty glass, deciding to get another round. Lizzie was still sipping on her free drink and Amber’s was still half full. I asked Amber if she wanted another round, knowing she would likely be done by the time I returned. She declined, so I looked around the bar for Stephen. I still owed him a drink. Scanning the group, I didn’t see him. I glanced around the room, finally noticing his familiar figure standing at the bar with a girl seductively wrapped around him. I was going to leave it and get him one later until I realized who the girl was. My eyes narrowed as I scrunched up my nose, repulsed. Deanna.

  They were facing each other in an intimate embrace. She had her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer to whisper in his ear. His hands were on her hips, pulling her tighter against his body. He had a look on his face that I knew meant he was planning on getting laid.

  Completely irritated, I decided I would interrupt her charade of trying to seduce him. It was obvious he had little will power when it came to sex. She was the type of girl you couldn’t trust. In the end she would either break his heart or try to trap him. Either scenario would not end well for Stephen.

  “Stephen.” I said his name as I approached the side of their coupled bodies, the inflection in my voice demanding attention.

  They both turned their heads, looking at me. He immediately released her. Feeling the victory, I gave her a look of dismissal. She rolled her eyes at me, telling him to come find her later before walking off with a sway to her hips. We both watched her go. I turned back to Stephen with disgust on my face, only realizing he wasn’t watching her with the same distaste as me. He was watching her with a lustful gaze.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I yelled at him, pushing at his shoulder, snapping him out of his reverie.

  “What?” he asked with a shit-eating grin on his face.

  “You slept with her, didn’t you?”

  “What does it matter, pumpkin? I’m a big boy. I can have sex with whomever I want,” he said with an annoyance you reserve for a little sister.

  “Ugh, I can’t believe this. I came over here to buy you a beer and instead I just want to throw one in your face to snap you out of your stupidity.” I was beyond angry with him. Why did guys always think with the wrong head?

  “Ava, calm down. We were drunk, and she was horny. She was begging and you know I’m not one to turn down an offer.”

  “That does not make me calm down.”

  “It was a one night stand.”

  “Sure didn’t look like a one night stand from where I was standing.”

  Before we could finish our conversation, Mike walked up. He got out early, after all. Sensing the tension between us, he awkwardly gave me a hug, saying hello. Stephen turned to the bar, ordering us three beers, relieved by the interruption. I on the other hand, was not done with this conversation, but I dropped it for the moment.
Stephen handed us each a beer and then led the way back to our group.

  Mike and I sat at the table with Lizzie and Amber. Lizzie seemed to perk up when she saw who had arrived. I was too preoccupied with watching Stephen to notice what was going on there. Stephen didn’t join us. Instead, he joined a game of darts with some of the other guys. Deanna was a few tables over with some of the people in our group, seductively watching Stephen while batting her eyes. Stephen was keeping his distance from her. Good. Although, it seemed he may be keeping his distance from me, too.

  “I guess he told you?” Mike asked me, inferring to the conversation he’d walked up on.

  “No,” I sneered, “I figured it out.”

  “Figured what out?” Lizzie asked.

  “That Stephen slept with Deanna,” I spit out. Just saying the words made me want to vomit.

  “You’re kidding! What was he thinking?” Lizzie eyes widened in shock. She had as much dislike for Deanna as I did.

  “Big tits, big ass all laid out for him like a free all you can eat buffet.”

  “Doesn’t he know that buffets are unsanitary and dirty, especially when offered for free?” Lizzie asked, her face twisting with disgust.

  We all burst into laughter. She always knew what to say to break up the tension. Even though we changed the subject, I still kept an eye on Stephen and Deanna. I knew there was more to it than he was letting on. It annoyed me that he wouldn’t be honest with me.

  The night went on, and I stuck close to Mike, Lizzie and Amber. We played a few games of darts. Lizzie and I on one team. Mike and Amber on the other. Lizzie and Mike were constantly flirting, a playful rivalry between them. I thought nothing of it. Lizzie was always a flirt when she was trying to get something she wanted. In this case, I think she was hoping to distract Mike enough from his game, so we could win.

  It was my turn to throw. I was a terrible dart player, but for some reason tonight I was on fire. Maybe because I was picturing Deanna’s head on the bullseye. As I stepped up to the line, Amber started squealing with giddiness, “Holy shit that has to be the hottest guy to walk the face of this earth. And he’s looking right at us!”

  I figured it was Amber’s poor attempt to distract me from the winning throw until Lizzie added, “He isn’t looking at us. He’s looking at Ava.”

  I ignored them, trying my best to concentrate on my throw. I was in mid release when I heard his voice from across the room. That haunting voice I would never be able to forget after this morning. The dart flew through the air, hitting the wall a foot away from the target before plummeting to the ground. Shit. There went the game. And to top it all off, any last shred of dignity I had. It was like the universe was trying to humiliate me into hiding from this man.

  I stood completely still, staring at the dart board. I thought maybe if I didn’t move, he wouldn’t see me. Or better yet, realize what an utter klutz I was and would keep his distance. I turned to my friends, feeling overwhelmed with panic and a need to flee. Lizzie could see the dread on my face and was immediately at my side. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” I looked over her shoulder across the room, searching for that face. I found it and immediately regretted it as we locked eyes. He started to move, excusing himself from the people he was with. “I mean no,” I corrected myself quickly. “Can I borrow your car? I need to go home.” I was trying to move fast, gathering my coat and purse to get out of the pub before he made his way to me.

  “Sure, I’ll go with you. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “No. You stay. Have fun. I’m fine.”

  “No way. I’m coming.”

  She quickly gathered her things, waving goodbye to Mike and Amber. I left her to it, ducking through the crowd, trying to make it outside before he saw where I went. For once, I was thankful for my shorter build. It helped hide me among the mob of people.

  I burst through the exit of the pub, gasping for air, clinging to the side of the brick wall. I needed to get as far away from here, from him, as possible. It was like he was reeling me in, and I couldn’t get away without a struggle. Lizzie ran out behind me.

  “Hey, wait up!”

  I slowed my pace, realizing I didn’t even know where she parked. Get a grip, Ava. “Sorry… where did you park?”

  “Across the street,” she answered, eyeing me suspiciously.

  We walked in silence. Thankfully, she wasn’t pushing me to explain why I was acting like a crazy person. After we pulled away, driving home to our apartment, my breathing started to slow to a steady, normal pace.

  It wasn’t until we got inside the apartment that Lizzie decided to break the silence. “Do you want to tell me what happened back there?”

  “I think I was just momentarily claustrophobic or something…Sorry, for ruining your night.”

  She knew I was lying. She knew me better than anyone. She also knew when to drop it. I don’t know why I didn’t tell her. It seemed silly. It wasn’t like there was much to tell.

  “Please,” she waved her hand in the air, brushing off my apology. “It was getting late anyways, and I have an early class in the morning.”

  She gave me a hug and we both went to bed. Only, I couldn’t fall asleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about the mystery man. Why did he have this effect on me? This was absurd. He was just a guy, which I literally bumped into. That was it. End of story. I rolled over, doing my best to clear my head so I could sleep.

  The rest of the week and weekend went by with little excitement. Between work and school, I didn’t have much time for anything else. I had worked a double shift on Thursday and a night shift every day Friday thru Sunday. I was looking forward to having today off, needing the day to catch up on my studio project. With the trip to the Hamptons this weekend, I wasn’t going to have much time to work on it.

  I was less than excited about the trip, lately. The plan had been for Mike, Stephen, Amber and I to carpool together, leaving early Friday, so we had some free time to scoot about the Hamptons. The party was on Saturday evening. They were putting us up in a swanky hotel for the weekend. We were allowed to check in Friday and stay thru Sunday. It all sounded like fun, but with things still strained between Stephen and me, I was not looking forward to being trapped in a car together.

  We hadn’t spoken since our fight at the pub, which was unusual for us. I hadn’t even heard from him about darts tonight. Even though I wasn’t planning on going, I still figured he would wave a white flag by offering me a ride. He hadn’t. The only communication we had was through Mike.

  It all seemed so ridiculous. Still for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to apologize first. I was trying to look out for him as a friend. Why couldn’t he see that?

  As I walked across campus to my studio, my phone vibrated with a text from Mike.

  M: You and Lizzie need a ride to darts tonight?

  There was no way I was ready to go back to that pub. Not only did I not want to see Stephen and Deanna hanging on each other, like they had been all week at work, but I was worried about running into him again. I hadn’t seen him since that night, and I was relieved. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

  A: I have to miss tonight. Lizzie will want a ride.

  I would let her know later that I accepted the ride for her.

  CHAPTER 4

  Before I knew it, the weekend was here. I had decided to pick up a shift tonight in order to make some extra spending money for the weekend. Part of me wished I hadn’t. I only had today to finish up school work and pack before we left for the Hamptons in the morning.

  I was just emailing a paper to my professor that was due tomorrow when Lizzie walked-in my room. “Hey. One second, let me finish this email,” I said as I was thanking my professor for letting me turn it in via email, since I would be missing class. She waited patiently on my bed as I finished. “Ok, done! What’s up?”

  “Oh…you know. Just thought I would come help you pack for your trip,” she smiled slyly, her eyebrows wiggl
ing up and down.

  I laughed. I felt a tinge of sadness that she wouldn’t be able to come with us. The Hamptons was more her element than mine. She would fit in perfectly with all the beautiful, rich people that we were sure to be surrounded with.

  “You know what,” I looked at my clock, “I would love you forever, if you just packed for me. I’m running late for work, and I would be relieved not to have to do it when I got home tonight.”

  “Oh goody!” She bounced off my bed with excitement. She swung open the doors to my closet and started sifting through my clothes. “Ava, your wardrobe looks like you are studying to become a nun,” she chided, her face scrunching. “I can’t find one thing in here with the required sex appeal.”

  “I’m already regretting this,” I called out as I stepped into my bathroom to jump in the shower. “Keep it PG! I’m not trying to sell my body on the street corner,” I added from the shower.

  “Yeah, yeah. Go to work. I got this,” she assured me.

  I arrived at Christopher’s five minutes before the start of my shift. I walked to the back office to clock in and find out the schedule for next week. Stephen was in the office when I walked in. He glanced at me with a tight smile and sad eyes.

  “Hey.” I held my breath.

  “Hey.”

  We both stood there looking at each other. Neither one of us willing to speak, too afraid to spook the other. We were feet away, yet felt miles apart.

  “I’m sorry!” We both finally blurted in unison. We broke into a laughter fueled with relief. It seemed our silent treatment over the last couple of weeks had been torturous for both of us. I stepped into his arms, giving him a big hug while he kissed the top of my head.

  “I missed you,” I admitted. “Let’s not ever do that again.”

  “Agreed, pumpkin.”

  I loved hearing his pet name for me. It felt like everything was right in the world again. “I really am sorry. I know it’s none of my business who you sleep with.”