I’m gorgeous? No. Drop dead gorgeous. That’s what he said. No one has ever told me that before. Not a single person.
“You don’t say?” Well, crap. My voice came out breathy even though I had hoped it wouldn’t. But it’s out there now.
“I do. I’m sorry he was not only an asshole, but also a completely incompetent selfish tool bag. My opinion is that you lucked out that he’s in your rearview mirror.”
“Well, hopefully some orgasms are in front of me.”
His eyes widen and I’m just going to crawl under the table and die right now. I just said that. Right then. That’s what I said in front of him. That I was hoping for orgasms. What is wrong with me? Not for wanting orgasms, obviously. But for saying that to a complete stranger! Ugh. I’m the worst.
I take my beer and down the last of it, reaching for the new beer that our waitress just set down in front of me, swallowing down a big gulp. As soon as I do, I wince, realizing that the reason for my comment about orgasms is absolutely because of my alcohol intake.
Harry reaches over the table and grabs my beer. “I think you’ve had enough,” he says, teasingly.
I stretch my lips out in an eek face and nod in agreement. “Maybe.”
He winks and slides the beer back across the table. “I was only teasing, you know? I don’t give a shit if you get totally sauced. Have fun. Live it up.”
“That’s oddly sweet. My ex always hated it if I had any fun.”
“He’s a giant dick.”
“Actually,” I hold up my fingers only an inch apart, “he had a tiny one.” I giggle hysterically at my own joke and he roars with laughter.
“That’s…” He practically wheezes, slapping his thigh and throwing his head back. “Fuck, girl, that’s amazing. I don’t even care if the alcohol made you say that, or if it’s a lie, I’m rolling with it.”
“I guess now we know why he never gave me orgasms,” I add in, loving his smile and laughter. If I would have said anything like that around Zachary, he would have told me plain and simple to grow up.
“That probably factored in, I’m sure. But there are more ways to give a woman pleasure than with his dick. Don’t make even a small excuse for him. And don’t give him a second thought now. He’s not worth it.”
I shake my head, feeling a little lightheaded. “Aggghhh!” I want to shake my fists, pace the room, and scream out my anger. I won’t do any of that, though, because I’m in a public place but… “You’re right. I know you are. Ugh!” I groan loudly. I have all this pent-up anger and nowhere for it to go. Too bad for Harry that he’s about to be on the receiving end. “And he was always kind of a jerk, too. He acted like I should be honored to be in his presence. That he was above me somehow. Plus, he really wasn’t as attractive as he thought he was. It was all this show. And he wore enough cologne to cover up body odor from an entire high school football team. Why didn’t I just break up with him myself? Why did I wait for him to do it for me? Am I that afraid of being alone? Yes. Yes, I am. That’s why… never mind. I wouldn’t talk like this to a stranger if I hadn’t had too much to drink. I’ll have to call that Roy guy to get me home if I don’t stop drinking soon.”
Harry nods, raising his glass in my direction, not commenting on the fact that I rambled and switched gears in the middle of my rant. “I was thinking the same thing about calling him. I hadn’t planned on drinking much tonight but fuck it. I’m this far gone already, might as well bring it on home.”
I chuckle, feeling a bit lighter from the crappy day I had. Whether it’s the alcohol, the food, or the company, I don’t know. But it feels good.
“So yours didn’t bring you to orgasm and mine never wanted to get married, but forgot to mention that to me in the three years we were together.”
“And you proposed?”
He winces. “With my grandmother’s ring.”
“Yikes.”
He shrugs and moves his head side to side in an ‘it is what it is’ motion. “Better that she said no than me hand over a family heirloom and the marriage fall apart because it’s only what one of us really wanted.”
That’s true. However… “You don’t think you could have been with her and just never married? Plenty of people do that, you know.”
Harry drains the last of his beer and motions for another. He might have only been thinking about calling Roy the Taxi guy for help getting home, but my guess is that thought is going to stick.
He makes a face when he swallows his beer, places a fist against his chest, and holds in a burp from the looks of it. Then he shakes his head. “It wouldn’t have worked. Deep down, I knew I needed to make it official or she’d always have the excuse of not being tied to me, you know?”
I cross my arms and lean my elbows on the table. Rude, maybe, but Harry doesn’t seem bothered. “I think there’s more to that logic.”
“What do you mean?”
“Doesn’t sound like you trusted her very much.”
He stares at me and scrunches his eyebrows before looking away. Our waitress delivers his beer and I decide to go ahead and order another. Once she’s gone, he says to me while looking away, “Guess I didn’t.”
“Trust her?”
“Yeah. You’re right that there’s nothing wrong with being partners for life and never getting married.”
“Not exactly what I said. I tend to agree with you. If I ever fall in love again and he’s my forever guy, I want the marriage. But there’s a difference between wanting to be married to someone and wanting to make it official to tie someone to me.”
His jaw drops and his posture stiffens. “What?”
“Sorry. Did I say something offensive? Sometimes I do that and don’t realize it at the time. I have no filter.”
“No. It’s just that my sister said something almost exactly the same. Almost word for word, actually.”
“It sounds like your sister’s brilliant.”
He chuckles. A deep gruff sound that sends a ripple down my spine.
“If you don’t mind, I won’t tell her you said that. She has a big enough head as it is.” His smile is crooked, sending another ripple. He thanks our waitress who brings by my beer. Neither of us need more alcohol at this point, but we have plenty of food yet and I’m hoping it will soak up some of the alcohol.
I reach for some more fries and place them on my plate. “I wouldn’t know any different,” I remind him, then add on, “if you tell her or not, you know? Chances of us seeing each other after tonight are pretty slim.”
“You don’t live around here?” he asks and sees my hesitation in answering him. I’m sharing a meal and drinks with the guy but we’re in public. “Don’t answer that. That’s not my business.”
I start on my new beer, having lost count how many drinks I’ve now consumed. I’m feeling perfectly buzzed, but not drunk so I figure I’m good to keep drinking. Though, I do need to pee. Quite badly. “No. It’s fine. I actually just moved to town two months ago.”
“Please tell me you didn’t move for your ex.”