After three drinks I've learned a lot about Alice.
Not only are we on a first name basis now, but she also knows where I live. Which in turn, led to the fact that she and Angela live just a block away from Charlie's-my house, which is cool.
While she's been chatting I've been drinking.
Not a care in the world.
This is the best idea I've had in weeks.
Two drinks later, I know all about Angela— Alice's girlfriend-slash-roommate of two years. They'd both experienced normal childhoods, both grew up straight, but when they met each other, a friendship quickly turned to much more.
"I know, it doesn't make any sense. Straight one day, lesbian the next… but that's exactly what happened to me… she has something that changed me. And not only me. We both changed each other. She's really special, you know?"
I smile at her. She's wearing that vivid look of love on her face as she stocks the glass bottles into the ice. The look of happiness and contentment on her lights up a lonely place, deep down, inside me. And you know... I do know what that feels like, it's just been a long, long time. Seeing that feeling spread from the inside out, in Alice, makes me yearn to feel that way too.
A flash of Brigg's muscular back races through my mind.
"What about that guy Briggs?" I ask. "Looks to me like he's got it bad for you." I give her a playful smirk and wiggle my brows as I stir my drink. The alcohol is bubbling through me at this point and I feel alive. Almost like I belong here and like I've known Alice my whole life.
She doesn't waste a second and says with a laugh and matter of factly, "Briggs doesn't really like me," she stacks napkins into the holder. "He just wants the bragging rights of turning me back straight… besides, Jake would kill him— he knows I'm off limits in more than one capacity. He's just having fun."
"Who's Jake?" I play it off as I ask.
"Jake's my cousin," she pours mixed nuts into three plastic bowls and spaces them evenly across the bar. "This," she twirls her hand around surveying the area, "is pretty much his place." I just nod, like this is all news to me.
She continues, "All the boys around here are super territorial but Jake made it nearly impossible to date in high school. Angela was practically the best thing that ever happened to both of us." We both laugh until the faint rumble of motorcycles permeates through the walls and the low music.
I instantly feel a pang of tension, but I dismiss it.
"Speak of the devil," she says as she turns to grab a rag.
Sliding my chair back, I turn to her as I grab my bag. "I'll be right back, gonna run to the restroom."
The men that were huddled at the table are all quiet as I walk by. One is on his phone, speaking quietly but it's obvious that he's letting somebody have it. The other is writing on the corner of what looks to be a set of blueprints. The biggest one of them all, glances at me and slides the sleeve of his jacket up to peek at his watch before turning his eyes back to me with a look on his face that says you're wasting your life.
I look away, trying to make it to the tiny sign that indicates there's a restroom behind the door.
Jessica was spot on about the bathrooms.
They're pretty gross.
Toilet paper spills out of the basket onto the floor, the toilet seat is up and one of those cone shaped air fresheners sits atop the back of the toilet. It doesn't help... there's a stench in here that will take a lot more than freshener.
My reflection is kind to me. My lips still have a touch of the glossy, nude shade I've re-applied twice now out of nervous habit. I've got rosy cheeks and there are no smudges around my eyes. Besides a few fly aways, my brown hair looks shiny and smooth and I feel pretty confident.
Maybe Jake will think the same.
When I make it back to the bar, Alice is talking to a guy who's just come in. He's pulled up a chair in the middle, between me and the guy at the other end of the bar who's passed out. Another pool table is taken as well.
Guess this is what time the regulars start to pour in.
I grab my phone to type a quick text to Jess.
I type a quick text to Jess. i think he just got here. nervous.
Just as I hit send, white light pierces through the bar. Two guys walk past me and into the bar area where Alice is.
I can't be sure, but the one that goes straight to Alice has got to be him.
It's definitely him.
My entire body lights with nerves. He's grown, so manly now, not the same thirteen year old boy I met at the pool. He still has the same boyish face, just much more chiseled now... still the same long, lean muscles he had that day long ago, just much taller and much more filled out.
Age has been more than kind to Jacob Black.
He and Alice are having a serious conversation. I hear her say, "I'm so glad you got them out."
He replies instantly while grabbing her hand, "Yeah, but they need the day off, Als. I can't get them right back in here after sitting in that cell all night. You gotta do this for me."
She looks at him with understanding and one hundred percent loyalty… nodding in agreement as he brings her in for a hug. She hugs him back with a worried look on her face and then goes back to wiping the bar down.
When he turns this way, our eyes lock and my knees press up and down in anticipation.
For years, I've seen this guy in my mind… played over and over that glimmer he had in his eyes, how beautiful he was and it was all real. Not one bit of that memory was skewed.
You know how sometimes you remember things a certain way, but then you hear someone else's account of the same moment and it's totally different? This isn't one of those cases. I was spot on, and as his big black boots bring him closer to me, I smile.
It's dark in here but not so dark that I can't make out the way his thick eyelashes perfectly frame his gorgeous hazel eyes, or how sweet the dimples on his face make him look as he approaches with a bright smile.
"You new here? I don't think I've seen you before." He places both hands on the edge of the bar, leaning in, and his top teeth bite into his lower lip as he waits on my answer.
I squeeze my knees together to keep from moving them again as I find my voice.
"Depends on what you mean by here." I tap on the bar.
"So you're from San An then," he eyes the guy's beer next to me and reaches to grab him a full one, sliding it gently to him.
"If moving back, after thirteen years of being gone, counts as being from here, then I guess that's a yes." I answer playfully.
"Yeah, I knew I hadn't seen your face before," he licks his lips as he grabs a beer, twists off the cap and takes a long gulp. "I'd have remembered you." He points at me with the beer in his hand.
I blush. Because, my brain right now.
He smiles and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand while backing away. His beer is in his hand as he points my way again, "I've got business right now, but give me a rain check and promise to come back?" He looks at me like I can't say no, "We'll play the name game, toss some darts and drinks on me?" He points to his chest, back to me and then holds up his beer in question.
I nod, smiling like a loon because of course I'm coming back.
"Yeah," I smile wide, "Alright."
His lips stretch and his eyes smile as he puckers to blow a fake kiss while pushing through the silver door into the back. And then he's gone.
Just like that.
Thirteen years of daydreams all tied into ninety seconds.
A few minutes later, I decide not to finish up my last drink since I drove here and I close out my tab. Alice writes her number on my receipt and I'm back in my car pulling out of The Clubhouse.
I can't get Jacob's face out of my head as I turn onto the road, headed back to my house.
The sun is high in the sky and I turn the music up, not caring about the GPS, directions, my empty house, anything.
I feel my purse vibrate as I near the red light and I dig to grab my phone, briefly looking down.
It's Jess. She's sent six texts.
As I finish out my text, easing onto the brakes, a loud bang sounds and I jolt forward, my feet slam into the brakes, my chest hits the steering wheel and my car comes to a stop.
Looking up, everything is intact, the air bag hasn't deployed… I'm alive, no scratches, nothing bad.
Panic slides through me as I toss my phone into the seat next to me. I put my car in park and scramble to turn the volume down… getting myself together.
I've just rear ended a brand new, white Yukon Denali. I glance ahead and notice the tag spells out Cullen Automotive.