“There. If that’s good enough, I’m done. Try it on and come thank me for making you look absolutely perfect for meeting his parents.”
Sighing, I rid my body of the slut clothes and put on the new outfit without even looking at it. When I step out of the dressing room, her eyes widen, and she smiles huge.
“Perfect! It’s perfect. Damn, I’m good.” She studies her handiwork, and I reluctantly turn and look in the three-sided mirror. Wow, she’s right.
“It is perfect.” She picked out a pair of turquoise leggings that stop at my calves. The long dress shirt is really pretty; three-quarter length sleeves with large flowers in pastels, outlined with bolder colors and lime green stems. The flats pull the maroon color from the shirt and have little jewels on them to add sparkle.
“Right. Now go buy this so we can get some food and a drink.” I look at my watch, and notice it’s almost seven at night. We’ve been shopping for six hours now. I quickly change and pay for my items. Once inside her car, I toss my bag on the backseat and let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Thanks, Meara, seriously.”
“Please,” She waves me off. “You’ll be fine. You have to stop worrying so much and relax. The guy loves you. He’d never do anything to make you uncomfortable.”
Love? “No…”
“Oh, come on, Char. You’re blind if you can’t see that Travis is in love with you. I can’t believe I didn’t realize it before you finally told me about what happened that summer.”
I don’t get a chance to answer because we pull up to The Pub, and she’s out and walking to the door.
We say hi to everyone and grab a seat in an end booth. The waitress comes over, and we order our food. After we eat, we grab a seat at the bar.
“Hey, Nik,” I say as the bartender walks over.
“Hey, ladies. What’s up?”
“Nothin’, a girls’ day.” We chat for a few minutes and order our drinks. I laugh when Nik hands Meara a pink drink with an umbrella in it. Such a contradiction to the rock chick image, she always orders some fruity-tutti drink. I prefer wine or beer. We clink glasses and chat for the next hour or so. More people start to flood in, and it gets a little busier. Another bartender, Zach, shows up at nine and gives us a wink before sliding a couple of shot glasses in front of us.
“From the guys down there.” He points his head at the other end of the bar where a bunch of frat boys sit, smiling at us.
“Cheers, boys!” Meara lifts her glass and slams it down, swallowing the clear liquid like a champ. I laugh at her and push my shot toward her. I really don't feel like being hungover tomorrow. “Nope. You gotta do it. Come on, Char. Loosen up a little.” She pushes it back, and I catch sight of myself in the mirror behind the bar. I’m smiling, and my eyes look happy. Finally, I feel back to normal.
“Okay, okay.” I grab the glass and pour the shot down my throat. A small shiver runs along my spine when the alcohol hits me, and I wave a thanks to the guys who bought the shot. I would never take a shot from someone I don’t know, but this is my family's bar. I’m safe here.
We order another drink, and I almost fall off my stool when we get up to go to the bathroom. Laughing, Meara and I stumble back to our seats and finish the rest of our drinks.
“I think I wanna have babies with Travis.”
“They’d be the cutest babies ever.”
“Yeah, he is pretty cute.” I laugh and wave my hand at Nik or Zach, either one, really. I want another drink. I have no idea where that thought came from but thinking about having Travis’ babies makes me smile.
Meara and I are laughing our asses off at some dumb joke she said, and I knock my glass over on the bar.
“Shit! Give me a towel!” I shout at Nik who throws one at me, shaking his head laughing. I wipe my mess up and toss the soaked towel over the bar. It splashes on the floor all over Nik’s shoes, and he gives me a dirty look.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay, Char. Remember that next time you work with me. Payback’s a bitch.” He winks and hands the couple next to us their drinks.
“What does he mean?” I ask Meara.
“Oh, that. I forgot to tell you. I put you on the schedule starting next week.”
“What?!”
“Yeah, you’ve been mopey long enough. You need to get a damn life. It’s only until you figure out what else you want to do.”
I start to argue with her, but even in my drunken state, I realize she’s right. I’ve started to move on and have an actual life. I need a job. I’m still not sure what I want to for a career, but this’ll actually work great. I’m comfortable here, my family is here, and most importantly, I feel safe here.
“Okay,” I say.
“Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. Tell me when I should start.”
“Can I buy you another drink?” a voice next to me asks. I turn and see one of the guys from earlier and mentally roll my eyes.
“No, thank you.”
“Aw, come on, one drink.” He runs his finger down my arm, and I freeze up. Meara notices my abrupt change in attitude.
“Dude, she said no. Back off,” she chimes in for me, and I’m grateful for her presence.
“I wasn't talking to you.” Once he touched me, I sobered up immediately, and I can now recognize the slurring of his words. Needing to fight my own battles, I turn my whole body and push through the nerves.
“I said no. I appreciate the offer, but no.” I turn around, and he calls me a bitch under his breath before walking away. I look up to see both Nik and Zach directly behind me at the bar with their arms crossed. Both guys are very fit and intimidating separately, but you put them together, and it’s no wonder the guy walked away.
I point at them. “Here, I thought I scared him off with my bad-assness.” Even if I wasn’t the one who scared him off, the fact that I stood up for myself is a big deal. And the fact that I was able to overcome my fear after he touched me.
“Yeah, okay,” they laugh.
Meara and I each have a couple glasses of water before we leave. We say ‘bye’ to Nick and Zach before we grab a cab. By the time I get home, I’m exhausted. I practically fall into bed, and just hours later, I’m woken by the shrill tone of my alarm.
“Shit.” I roll over and pick up my phone, which I accidentally knock off the nightstand. After sitting on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, I realize what today is. Nerves instantly shoot through my body, and I walk to the kitchen to get a bottle of water. The cold liquid soothes me, and I head to the bathroom to get ready.
I dry my hair and swipe up a side using the clip I bought yesterday. Once I’m dressed, I force myself to eat a piece of toast. Time flies as I apply my makeup, and before I know it, it’s quarter to one and my buzzer goes off.
I swallow the lump in my throat and push the button on the intercom.
“Hello.”
“Hey, it’s me. You ready, or do you want me to come up?” Travis asks.
“I’ll be right down.”
I grab my purse and the bottle of wine I bought yesterday for his mom. When I get outside, Travis is waiting for me, and he looks freaking hot. Dressed in jeans, a plain grey t-shirt, and his hair styled to look like he rolled out of bed, the simple look is amazing on him.