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I told myself this was nothing and my father had a good explanation.
I quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie and dashed out the door for school.
The downtown campus bustled with students. My first class was psychology, and I had a difficult time paying attention to my professor’s rant on Carl Jung’s concept of the collective unconscious. My subconscious kept creeping to the past and memories I’d thought I’d long ago buried. Memories of my father and his friends in our living room. They laughed and swore and ate. I thought it was all fun and games until I found him unconscious on our kitchen floor.
“That’s it for today,” the professor said. “Don’t forget, your papers are due this Friday.”
Shoving the laptop inside my bag, I rushed off campus and headed back home to work on the paper.
Fortunately, the topic engrossed me enough to push the memories deep inside a compartment of my brain.
Hours later, when I checked my phone and found no new text messages, my heart sank. I’d been hoping for one from Ryan.
I didn’t really expect a text from him, did I?
It wasn’t like I had texted him either. What would I say? I had thanked him for last night already, so there was nothing else left to say.
Then why did I feel disappointed?
Checking the time, I realized I only had an hour before my shift started at the bar. I dressed carefully, choosing tight leather pants and a black leather crop top. I felt like Catwoman out on the prowl, except I wasn’t interested in dating anyone. But I did want to drive a particular lawyer insane should he stop by.
Sam was already behind the bar when I got there.
“There’s my girl,” she said when I walked across the dance floor. “Looking fine, too.”
“You’re looking pretty fine yourself there, Sam.” Then I stopped. “Wait. You’re not going someplace else afterward, are you?”
“Are you crazy, girl? Hell, no. I will never put myself in that situation again. Not after barely getting out of this one.” She shook her head. “Nah, I work too damn hard, and after all, Ryan did to get me off the hook. Nope, I won’t be repeating the same mistake. Probably just making new ones,” she snickered.
“What do you mean, off the hook? Did Ryan strike a deal with the prosecutor?”
“Nah, even better. He got the cop to drop the charges.”
“He did?”
Sam smiled widely. “I’d offer to thank him properly if I didn’t think that kind of suggestion would get me into trouble again. I’d do it for free, mind you. That man could do whatever he wanted to me. Right?”
I nodded. I understood all too well what I’d let him do to me. Why did he have to make it so hard to forget about him? Why did he have to go above and beyond to help my friend?
That thought continued to run through my mind for the next three hours. Right until he walked into the bar. Then my mind went blank.
He wore a full suit and tie. It could have been gray or blue, but under the dark lights, everything appeared black. He stared at me when he walked across the bar to a table near the back and sat down. He didn’t smile or wave.
One of the other servers rushed over to get his order. I watched as she smiled and bent forward to place a menu on the table. She didn’t need to bend down that far, really. She hardly ever did. I’ve seen her toss the book across the table sometimes.
He didn’t smile at her either. I wondered if he was having a bad day.
Not your problem, Laura.
I continued serving at the bar, taking orders, and pouring drinks. My gaze wandered in his direction every once in a while. A few more men had joined his table and they all seemed to be in a heated discussion. Ryan held his mouth in a straight line whenever the other men spoke, and he kept his arms crossed the entire time.
“I’ll be back in five minutes,” I said to Sam, drying my hands on a towel. I maneuvered my way through the crowd toward the bathrooms. There was no one inside the employee washroom, so I took advantage and used that one.
When I stepped out, however, Ryan was waiting for me on the other side of the door.
He ran a hand through his black hair and shoved it inside his pocket. Leaning against the wall, he watched me.
I couldn’t move. Unsure if he was waiting for me or the men’s room across the hall. But he didn’t seem surprised to find me there.
