I rolled my eyes and ended the call. Fucking Hamilton.
Jared drove a Tesla. He zipped us around town while excitedly talking about a lecture series coming up that he wanted us to go to. I listened and interjected at the right times, but still felt off from my conversation with Hamilton. “You’re going to love this bar. It’s the best kept secret in Greenwich. The craft drinks are strong, and the vibe is legit. It’s painfully ordinary. Cheap drinks. Beer-soaked floors. You don’t have to be a trust fund baby to get in. It’s totally your style.”
I didn’t know what a legit vibe was, but I was humored by Jared’s enthusiasm. We’d been going to school for a week, and he spent nearly every day with me. I liked spending time with him. He was smart, compassionate, funny, and a good study partner. I struggled at first with his constant flirting, but eventually I just realized that it was who he was as a person. He hadn’t pressured me into dating him anymore, but sometimes I’d catch him staring at me with his heavy, heated gaze.
“Are you going to dance with me?”
“I’m not very good at dancing,” I admitted with a grin as he pulled into an old parking lot with potholes and cars filling nearly every available space. Jared carelessly parked his Tesla up on the curb. He said this was the best kept secret in Greenwich, but this place wasn’t a secret at all. Everyone in town was here. Maybe the people of Greenwich liked the painfully ordinary more than they let on.
“Everyone is good at dancing,” Jared insisted.
We got out of the car and walked through the door. I stepped onto the scuffed floor and nearly crashed into a drunk girl dancing by herself. Jared laughed and grabbed me around the waist, easily maneuvering me out of the way. “Let’s go to the bar, gorgeous,” he whispered in my ear before easing me over to a barstool.
The bar was eclectic and cozy. Waiters serving drinks walked around the room with their trays in their hands. A couple in a corner booth was making out, the two women were devouring each other whole. Spit was flying. Trembling hands were groping one another. A man sitting by himself was taking shot after shot after motherfucking shot, and a table of fraternity guys waved at Jared the moment I sat down. “Can you stay right here for a minute? I’m going to say hello to my friends. Be right back. Order whatever you want.”
I nodded at his back as he walked away. It was kind of curious that he didn’t want to introduce me, but maybe he didn’t want us to lose our seats. I placed my purse on his stool and stared at his back as he said his hellos. After a few bro hugs, some of them turned to face me while whispering to Jared. I wondered what they were saying.
“This is why I don’t date men. What an asshole,” Jess said. Wait. Jess? She was on the other side of the bar top, wiping it down with a rag and glaring at Jared. “He just left you here to go say hello to his frat assholes. Why didn’t he introduce you?” The fact that she was saying my thoughts out loud validated them.
“You work here?” I asked.
“I do. Rich college kids tip surprisingly well when they’re wasted. And they like feeling like they’re slumming it at a local spot. Makes them feel superior.”
I raised my brows. “How’s Infinity and the new apartment?” I asked.
“It’s good. Though we need a place with a garage. Her band practices in the living room, and I love her, but that music gets old after a while.”
I smiled. “Sorry I left her show.”
Jess pulled out a glass with ice and poured some Sprite into it before handing it to me. “No worries. Hamilton explained what’s up. Fucking paparazzi. They’ve been hounding him since we were teens.”
I nodded. “Because of his birth mom, right?” I asked.
Jess quirked her brow. “Are you digging for information?”
“Would you tell me anything if I was?” I asked.
Jess leaned over the worn bar top. Her black tank was stretched thin across her chest, and she had a bead of sweat on her temple. “Hamilton is a good man. He’s sometimes a bit of a whore. I don’t think the man can go a week without sticking his dick in something, so if you like him, you should probably be aware of that going into this.” I swallowed. I knew this. Of course I knew this. But hearing it from Hamilton’s best friend was a reality check I hadn’t prepared for. It didn’t matter anyway though. I wasn’t going to act on these feelings, right?
“I never said I liked him,” I argued.
“You didn’t have to, Petallll.” Ugh. When was I going to stop lying to myself? I wanted Hamilton. Jess continued. “He’s probably the only decent person in that family, aside from his dead mother. He’s a bit tortured, but I think all the pretty men are. He has this weird desire to piss his family off and please them all at the same time. It’s weird. It’s tragic. I’m not a therapist, but he’s really fucked up in the head about them. And don’t get me started on Joseph. He’s a sick bastard. The kind to kick puppies, you feel me?”
“Should I be worried about my mother?” I asked in a timid voice.
Jess chewed on the inside of her lip. “Joseph takes care of his toys. It’s the people who try to take his toys from him that you should worry about.”
I was about to ask her what that meant when Jared settled on the stool beside me. “What did I miss?” he asked before looking at Jess. “I’ll have a Jack and Coke please.”
Jess nodded and wordlessly made his drink. “Jared, this is my friend Jess. I didn’t realize she worked here.”
“Oh! Sorry.” Jared wiped his hand on his pants before reaching out to shake hers. “My name is Jared, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Jess stared at his outstretched hand before handing him his drink. “I’ll be around if you need anything, Vera,” she said. “Watch your drink around this one. I keep a Glock under the bar, pretty boy.” She squinted at him before moving on to the next customer.
“Did I say something wrong?” Jared asked, his eyes wide. I couldn’t tell if it was shock or amusement.
“No. She just doesn’t like people in general,” I replied with a forced laugh. “You’re lucky she didn’t start interrogating you.”
“Sounds like my kind of woman.”
I took a sip of my drink, happy to enjoy something nonalcoholic. I’d never been out with Jared before and wasn’t sure what to expect. Was he a party hard frat boy? He was driven and smart, but I still wanted to be safe. “We can go sit with your friends if you’d like?” I offered while looking over my shoulder. The table of frat boys were now doing shots and getting a bit rowdy. I had zero desire to sit with them, but I didn’t want to be rude.
“And risk one of them wooing you? Absolutely not,” Jared teased, though his lighthearted tone seemed forced. “I brought you out tonight because I wanted to spend time with you.”
I tipped my head back and laughed. “You’ve spent time with me all week! You practically live at my apartment. I’m going to start making you pay for groceries if I’m going to be cooking for us every night.”
“I’ll happily pay for groceries if it means getting to have dinner and Netflix with you every night.”