“I’m just here for my brother,” he said as he gave me a pat on my shoulder. Megan’s smile widened a little. “That’s very decent of you,” she said, making him grin like an idiot.
I realized that I hadn’t introduced Shawn, but when I turned to him I saw that he was completely entranced by something behind me. Turning around, I noticed that Sophia was staring back at him, just as absorbed. Neither of them said anything. They just looked intently at each other, as if they were having a silent conversation with their eyes.
Odd. Maybe they’re having a staring contest. Is that a thing these days?
I looked back to the dance floor, my heart skipping a beat when I saw Julia standing there again. She stared at me with an unreadable expression on her face. She seemed hesitant, as if she were considering whether she should approach me and the rest of the group. I realized that I could never play hard to get. I was hers if she would have me. Slowly, I took a step toward her to see if she was going to bolt, but she held her ground and her stare turned into a leer.
Please don’t run.
I had the distinct feeling that the next few moments would be some of the most important in my life. I had to somehow convince her that I wasn’t the asshole that she thought I was. I was a confused lovesick mess who had no experience in this area, but if she would give me another chance I would do whatever I could to make her smile and laugh every day.
Ignoring the comments from a few men I passed on the way, I took slow steps toward her, focused on her face. My eyes left hers for a second and I finally noticed how incredible she looked tonight. Her hair was stick straight and pulled back in a high ponytail. It looked silky and smooth and I wanted to run my fingers through it. Her eye makeup was the same smudgy stuff as always, and now I actually found myself liking it, because it was so her. She was wearing a red sleeveless top and the tightest pants that I had ever seen. They were black, shiny, and reminded me of the ones that Olivia Newton-John wore in Grease.
I’m looking at a beautiful woman and thinking of a musical. Shawn would approve, I’m sure.
She was so beautiful and I wanted her desperately. I had missed her so much and all I wanted to do was grab her, kiss her, and never let go of her again. Her scowl made it pretty clear that this was not an option, though. She was still angry with me and I needed to fix it immediately.
“Julia,” I breathed out, stopping right in front of her.
I love you and I’ve missed you like crazy.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she whisper-yelled. “You do realize that this is a gay bar, right? The last time I checked, you liked tits.”
On cue, my eyes darted down to her chest to admire her breasts in the fitted top. I liked hers, that was for sure, and I even liked her crude word to describe them. It reminded me of the things she would say when we were in bed together. When I looked back up she was smirking a little.
“Julia, I…”
“Did you follow me here?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“No, I…I mean, we came here because of Shawn. He’s really gay. Like, super gay,” I babbled nervously.
Julia glanced behind me and her smirk grew. “Is that the guy who has his tongue shoved down Sophia’s throat right now?” she asked with a hint of amusement.
What?
I whipped my head around and sure enough, Shawn was mid-liplock with Sophia.
Damn you, Shawn. We bring you to a gay bar and you decide that you like women tonight?
“I-I don’t know what to say,” I admitted. “I’m really sorry, Julia.”
“For what, exactly?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I’m sorry for lying to you just now,” I started. “I knew that you were coming here tonight. I had to see you to apologize and you weren’t taking my calls.” I drew a breath. “And I’m sorry for writing those awful things on your paper and giving it an F. I never meant for you to see it, and I, well, you see…”
“Look, it doesn’t matter anymore,” she interrupted. “Apology accepted, OK? Now we can both get on with our lives. No hard feelings, Stephen.”
“But—”
She walked past me without a second glance and left me on the edge of the dance floor, feeling like my heart had just been ripped out of my chest. I turned and watched as she said something to her friends and the three of them walked toward the exit. Sophia caught my eye and mouthed “Sorry” before they stepped outside.
Was that it? Will I never see her again?
I stumbled over to Shawn and Matt and opened my mouth, but I had no idea what to say.
“They just went outside for a smoke,” Matt said, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “She’ll be back.”