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"Jesus, girl, with a description like that, anyone would think you looked like a troll." Grabbing me by my shoulders, she turned me sharply around to face the mirror. "Look. What do you see? Me? I see a beautiful woman any man would be lucky to have. The only thing you need to change is what's going on in your head. Your mind is crippling you from the best life you could have."
Staring past my reflection, my eyes met with hers and I thanked the universe for bringing Tricia into my life, just when I'd needed her the most.
"Come on, the guys will be waiting." I nodded toward the door and pulled it open in my bid to leave. Tricia grabbed my hand and held me back. "We're sharing a cab. If you're not leaving with Vince, Graham is going home with him."
"You don't have—"
"Oh, but I do. There's no way I'm leaving you. Besides, I'm not that into Graham. I only set up the double date because I knew you wouldn't have met Vince alone."
"You are an amazing friend, you know that?"
"And you deserve me, so shut the fuck up and get out of here before they think we've been making out in the stall without them."
The dive bar was emptying by the time we made it back to the table. A pang of guilt hit me square in the chest when I saw the hope in Vince's blue eyes.
Thankfully, Tricia took charge of blowing the guys off. I marveled at how adept she was at making the break so clean, with zero angst, and somehow made the guys feel it was completely normal for us to leave without them.
"Thanks for a lovely evening, Graham. I'm staying overnight at Billie's place, so if you guys want to head out, we'll be in touch in the next few days to gauge if we all want to do this again."
Vince looked a little dejected but nodded, leaned in, and kissed my cheek. I felt nothing. "It's been great getting to know you, Billie. I hope we can do this again."
"I've had a lovely evening, Vince. Nice meeting you," I offered, choosing my words carefully so as not to fuel that hope I'd read in his eyes any further.
Graham pulled Tricia in for a hug. "It was fun, sweetheart. I'll be waiting for that call," he said, more demanding than Vince in his tone.
Tricia made me hang back on the guise of fixing a shoe and I cast my eyes around the bar as the stragglers shuffled toward the bar's double doors. I glanced back to the deserted bare stage, and immediately pictured Sawyer up there again.
A keen sense of loss washed over me again and another feeling of disappointment grew from within at the unanswered questions about how different he looked, what he did for a living, and the thought I'd never see him again.
Stepping reluctantly out into the cold night air, I was startled when the sound of his low sexy voice called out to me. "Billie?" My body reacted to the sound of his voice instantly. A thrill of anticipation ripped through me and my heart leaped in delight that he hadn't left without talking to me again.
Stepping out from the shadows, Sawyer immediately smiled. "I was hoping I'd see you again, but you never called," he murmured, as he took another pace forward, reached out, and held me by my elbows.
"Do I know you?" I asked, not understanding the question myself.
"Not as well as I'd like you to know me, darlin'," he chuckled. "Did you ever finally get rid of that douchebag husband of yours?"
"Yes, thanks to you," I muttered. Immediately blushing, partly because I remembered his kiss and from his reply to my question from before.
"Great to hear. He didn't deserve you," he said, stroking my cheek with the back of his finger. His familiar touch sent a shiver down my spine. I wanted to look away but couldn't find the will to break the contact between us. I wasn’t willing to break the stare but he had made me feel breathless all over again.
"Thanks," I replied, feeling shy because I knew by then he was hitting on me.
"Sorry about earlier. I couldn't resist …" He nodded toward the bar and I realized he meant about pulling me up on stage.
"It was a great performance," I told him, feeling self-conscious, but wanting to tell him how good he was.
"And you are?" he asked, addressing Tricia.
"Tricia, a close friend of Billie's."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Sawyer," he said, offering Tricia his hand. Tricia took it and shook it firmly. She looked over at me and winked.
"Do you want to grab a bite to eat? There's a great little diner one block over," he added, indicating the way toward a diner with his hand still in his jacket pocket. He looked at me first and then extended the invitation to Tricia.
"You go. I've got to head home. I'm meeting my church friends for coffee in the morning and it's already late." I giggled without thinking because Tricia was the last person who'd attend church.
"Not that believable as an excuse?" she asked, flashing a cocky grin.
