Page 129 of Camera Shy

“I just got into a big fight with my girlfriend,” he mutters. “I wish I were enough of an asshole to leave her here, but I wouldn’t forgive myself if something happened to her.”

He’s saying all the magic words for me to continue this conversation. He has a girlfriend. He’s not an asshole.

I point to the cocktail. “Can I pay you for this if I drink it? I don’t think my date will like it if I let another man buy me a drink.”

He smirks. “Yeah, Finn’s got a temper on him sometimes. But don’t worry, I didn’t technically buy this for you.” He holds up his arm and shows me a wristband. “It’s an open bar for those who paid the cover.”

“You’re friends with Finn?” I feel a little safer looking at the tempting blue cocktail, but at the same time, this is still a stranger in a bar.

“Uh, friends might be a stretch. He hates me. He snaked my girl, and yet I’m the one to blame.” The blond man lets out a huff of frustration before he extends his hand. When I offer him mine, he shakes it delicately. “I’m Morgan.”

“Avery.” I can’t help my curiosity. “What do you mean Finn snaked your girl?”

Morgan shrugs. “A few years ago, I fucked up. Bad. I got piss drunk with some buddies and woke up in some other girl’s bed. I know how that makes me sound.” He buries his head in his hands. “But I don’t even remember it. I just partied too hard that night.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah, I came clean to my girlfriend right away and she said she forgave me, but”—he throws his thumb down and vibrates his tongue off his bottom lip—“it was all downhill from there. We were never the same.”

“What does that have to do with Finn?”

“She started needing space. She stopped returning my calls right away. The text messages were few and far between. I’d only see her every other weekend. As far as I knew, we were a couple going through a tough time and I accepted the fact I’d be in the doghouse for a while, but then it came out that she was living with Finn. She was dating both of us for a while and neither of us knew.”

Oh my God. And this story suddenly makes sense. “Nora was your girlfriend?”

He nods. “Is my girlfriend.”

“Oh… So you guys eventually got back together and worked it out?”

Morgan snorts. “Depends on what you consider working it out.” He points to the drink. “I promise you that’s not poisoned.”

I take a small sip as a friendly gesture. It’s delicious, so I take a bigger sip. “Thank you. I’m a sucker for anything with blue curacao in it.”

“I have never known how to pronounce that. Thank you. Mystery solved.”

I laugh. “Who knows if I’m pronouncing it correctly? I could be leading you astray.”

“It sounds good your way. I’ll roll with it.” There’s a lull as the song changes again.

“Are you and Nora going to be okay?” I balance the martini glass in my hand and swivel the blue liquid, trying not to spill it. There’s a sinking feeling in my stomach.

Morgan beats the top of his fist against his forehead. “I don’t think so.”

“What were you fighting about?”

He exhales. “What we always fight about. Your date.” He turns to face me head-on. “Can I give you some advice?”

Uh-oh.

“From one person caught up in their messy love life to another?”

“Okay.”

“They are never going to be over. They are still in love with each other—”

“Finn’s not—”

“Av-er-y,” Morgan says, emphasizing every syllable of my name. “Trust me. This has been going on for years. And it’s my fault. If I hadn’t cheated, maybe they would’ve never met. Maybe they would’ve. I don’t know. I’m just saying, do what you want for now, just have your expectations in line. At the end of this story, those two will end up together. I think I’m finally starting to realize that.”

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