“Yes, drink this and then you can have another drink.” My lie works because Henry takes a big gulp of the first coffee.
“Ow, that was hot.”
I push the coffee away. “Next time don’t try to chug the whole thing.” I grab my beer. “Now, explain to me what happened.”
“She left me. Said it was over.”
My heart stops again, and I really should have that checked out by a doctor. “Did she say why?” Is it bad I’m holding my breath with the mere hope she did it because she’s feeling the same crazy feelings I’ve been feeling the past few days? Yeah, it’s bad.
“Said she didn’t love me.”
Ouch. “Man, I’m sorry.”
“Two shots of whiskey,” I tell the bartender.
Henry smiles, his broad shoulders hunched over the bar. “Is one of those for me?”
I crack a small grin. “Drink your coffee and we’ll see.”
As soon as the whiskey arrives, I knock one back. It burns all the way down and feels so good. I want it to drown all the feelings I have for Kiki.
I take the other shot glass, holding it in the air. “To true love,” I say before slamming it back in the same fashion as the first one. I nod at Henry who stares at me like I just stole his favorite kitten. “I’m catching up,” I tell him.
He laughs, slapping me on the back. “Two more,” he says to the bartender. “Want to hear something crazy?”
“Lay it on me.”
Henry sips the coffee. “I wasn’t even that sad when she said it. It’s like part of me knew what she meant.”
“So, it’s a good thing then? Keeps you from making the biggest mistake of your life.”
The bartender sets down two more whiskeys in front of us. Henry grabs one and downs it. “I’m still going to fight to get her back.”
“But, why? You don’t love her.” I down my third shot of whiskey for the night, utterly confused. Is he just drunk and not thinking clearly? He even said he felt the same as Kiki. So why fight?
“Let me explain something.” It’s like Henry’s sobered up completely as his eyes meet mine. “I’m about to be named a partner.” He holds his thumb and index finger millimeters apart. “I’m this close to getting everything I’ve ever wanted. And the firm favors partners who are settled.”
“Settled?”
He nods. “Yeah, as in married. If you can commit to a woman then, in their eyes, you must not be a major fuck up. And it also means someone can stand you long enough to be married to you, so you’re most likely a good guy.”
“That’s bullshit. They can’t force you to get married.” I hold up two fingers to the bartender, silently telling him we’ll have another round. Because I need it. Stat.
“Not forcing. Just heavily implying. The guy who’s up for the same partnership as me is about to have his second kid. And here I am, a complete fuck up.”
“You’re not a fuck up.” I brace my hand on his shoulder, giving a supportive squeeze. “You’ll find someone.”
“No, they loved Kiki.”
Interestingly he said ‘they’ love her and not himself.
“I won’t be able to find another trophy like her,” he whines, taking another shot glass from the bartender. He downs what I’ve decided is his last shot of the night.
I stare at my own whiskey, wondering if I should even bother. Listening to Henry talk about Kiki as if she’s some prize to be won to help him move up the corporate ladder makes my stomach churn. I nod at the bartender, saying, “We’ll tab out.”
“No, we can’t leave. You just got here, man.” Henry’s back to slurring his words, and I know I need to get him home before he becomes more belligerent than he already is.
“We’ll play some pool.” I nod in the direction of the pool tables in the back and pull out my credit card and toss it on the bar.
“I’ll kick your ass in pool.” As he says the words, two blondes walk by. “Hello,” Henry slurs at them. He tries his best to slide off the stool in one movement but stumbles a bit.
I grab him to keep him steady. “Let’s go, Casanova.”
Once the bartender returns my card, I help Henry to the back of the bar to play a bit of pool, hoping it might sober him up a bit before I get him home.
I rack the balls, and for about a good five minutes we play a friendly game of billiards. Until the blondes head in our direction.
Henry makes an ass of himself, damn near catcalling to get their attention. And my god, it fucking works. I can’t believe it.
They join us, and I want nothing more than to bail.
Even if Kiki was confused, and maybe unsure if she wants to go through with the wedding, I still feel bad being here as Henry is about to...I don’t even know.
I feel like a guilty bystander, watching it all go down—the flirty eyes, the smiles, the way the girls fawn over us.
“Hi, I’m Daphne,” one girl says, holding out her hand for me to shake.
“Hey.” Every part of this feels wrong, and I don’t give her my name.
If Henry wants to fight for Kiki, what he’s doing right now with Daphne and the other girl, Melissa...is not fighting. But the real sham of the evening is me. Yes, me.
What the fuck am I even doing here? Helping console Henry about his failed engagement while secretly cheering because it has?
It’s irritating me how Henry flirts with the two women, leaving me standing here with my stick, trying to concentrate on a moot pool game.
I mean, they just broke up a few hours ago. Come on, man, mourn the relationship a bit. This feels like it’s a major disservice to Kiki.
I’d be a wreck. Actually, I am a wreck because I want Kiki and can’t have her.
The drunk part of my brain is telling me to ditch Henry and rush off to call Kiki and beg her to go out with me. So, I can kiss her again.
The blondes are now playing pool with us, and I try to ward off the octopus arms of Daphne.
“So, you own a beer factory?” she slurs out like I’m some sort of Willy Wonka.
“It’s a brewery, and they make the best beer in the world,” Henry says, sticking up for my family’s beer factory, right before he plants a kiss on Melissa.
Should I pull him away? I mean, technically, he and Kiki broke up. Technically, Henry can do whatever the fuck he wants. And technically, so can I.
I should call her.
No.
I line up my cue stick and sink the nine ball, trying my best to not think about how Kiki is now single. She’s the type of girl you bring home to meet the family.
If you had a family worth meeting, and I do not. But, she’s already met my father, Yasmin, and Urban, so we’re ahead of the curve.
Don’t get me wrong, Urban is a hell of a guy and definitely worth meeting, but the other two are a hard pass. What am I even thinking about right now? I can’t call her. I can’t even think about her.
She just called off an engagement.
“Ellis, are you listening to me? Daphne asks, with a scowl on her face.
I scrub a hand down my jaw. “Sorry, I wasn’t. What did you say?” I lean an ear closer to her, so I can hear whatever it is she’s saying over the loud music of the bar.