Page 40 of Tangling Hearts

Annie makes our drinks as Mark and I wait. I can’t keep my eyes off her and Mark has thankfully stopped giving me shit about it. But as we walk away, with him holding Bobby’s and his drink, he leans over to say to me, privately, “You’re looking pretty happy B-man. I’m glad to see it.”

I throw him a look, expecting to see mockery thrown my way, but he’s got none to give. “Thanks, Mark.” We don’t say another word about it, and joining Bobby, we three talk about everything from The World Cup, to the Russian uprising in the Ukraine, to the latest stupid cat video that’s gone viral. The one thing we don’t talk about is women, and it occurs to me that we don’t have that, the way women do. It’s not how we operate. Maybe that’s why when we find a woman who makes us feel safe to open up about deeper things – like the way we really feel about things that are happening in our lives – we fall hard for her and let the male friendships that don’t support our new relationship die away. I’ve seen it happen in the happy marriages I’ve witnessed.

A couple hours and a few drinks later, Mark turns to me. “Hey, Brendan, You and Annie wanna come with me to Napa when Nicole comes into town. I was thinking of taking her wine tasting.”

“Yeah. Sounds great.”

Bobby looks around, eyes red and foggy. “I need a woman.”

Mark leans back on the chair. “What you need is a taxi.”

Bobby nods. “That I do. So now, wait a minute. How is this place not going to get ripped off after everyone leaves?”

I point out the gate, collapsed accordion-style against each wall. “See that.” We all turn to follow where I’m pointing next. “And see that button that’s like a garage door opener against the wall by the bar counter? That’ll close this gate. They’ll take in the tables and chairs after she closes and the gate will lock up. It’s still got a ways to go.”

Bobby’s head does a circle around us. “It’s gonna look pretty good.”

Mark stands up. “I’ve gotta go, B. Work in the morning. Just like everyone else, it looks like.”

I rise, too, with Bobby following our lead. “Yeah, me too. She’s closing early tonight. I’m going to stay. You want to join me, Bobby?”

He shakes his head. “Nah. Mark’s right. I need a taxi. I think I’m coming down with something. I’m usually not this much of a lightweight. I’m a bartender for fuck’s sake!”

Mark agrees, amused, “Damn straight. I’ll walk you out.” He passes me. “See you later.”

“See ya, buddy.” Bobby goes to hug me and I hold out my arms for protection.

“Right. Pussy.” He walks past and throws me a look. “What’s a little gunshot wound? Come on!”

I laugh and he grins, thinking himself hilarious. As soon as they’re walking away, I head to the bar where there are plenty of empty seats now. There are still around twenty-five people in the place, but it looks empty compared to how it was. Annie matches my footsteps from the other side of the counter and follows me to a barstool, so we can talk. She plants her hands on the bar and tilts her head to the side, a sexy smile on her face, her eyelashes falling as she looks at my hands lying empty on the bar in front of me. She reaches over and touches a knuckle. “Mmm… great fingers.”

“Great tits.”

She whoops and covers her face, laughing as she goes to run another credit card. I glance over to see Manny washing glasses that are piled high, his work definitely cut out for him. But he’s just smiling away, whistling to himself. Laura comes over to wish me goodnight, the slowed night no longer needing three people serving drinks.

“That decal idea was really great, Laura.”

She smiles. “Thank you. But none of this would have happened without you.”

“Don’t say that. We all pitched in.”

She thinks about it, smiles as her answer, and waves goodbye, zipping up her jacket on her way out. Taryn calls over to Annie, “I’ll be right back. I’ve been holding it for awhile.”

Annie nods and closes the register, coming back to me now that everyone’s got what they need and more seats are emptying as people file out. “I’m exhausted.”

“You look really happy.”

An older gypsy-looking artsy woman calls over, “She’s ecstatic!”

Annie laughs as she lowers her head onto the bar for a second and comes up smiling. “Thank you, Barb. Stop eavesdropping!” In a quieter voice she says, so that we’re not overheard, “I’m exhausted but really happy. True. That’s the perfect description for how this feels.”

I bend forward, closer to her. “How ‘bout you stay at my place tonight?”

She leans over the bar and can’t reach me, so she wiggles on top of it, stretching across until she’s actually lying on it. “I’d love that.”

Voices of new people walking in the door sound behind me, but Annie’s eyes are locked on mine. Fine by me. Barb calls over, “Drunk blonde on a first and last date. Break out the tequila!”

But we don’t care. The room has disappeared again. I kiss my girl like no one’s watching, nice and slow, never speeding up.

A female voice that must belong to the newcomer interrupts us. “Now that’s a kiss! Give me an application! I want to work HERE!”

We laugh and pull away. I look behind me as Annie jumps off the bar. There’s a woman our age with short, platinum blonde hair, wearing clothes that are too tight, with a guy awkwardly standing behind her, happy he’s going to get laid tonight.

Instantly, I recognize her, even before she says, “Holy shit! It’s you!” I will never forget this crazy girl’s name. Not because she was anything special to me but because her weird roommate drilled it into me that I’m a piece of shit if I sleep with a girl and don’t know her name. I always know them now.

And this one started it all.

Corinne.

---