Page 52 of Love Unavoidable
“Me too,” I add.
“Me three,” Bree says, then turns to Ethan. “Ohmigod, this is exactly the kind of human-interest story I’ve been waiting to pitch to my producer. I am so happy we stumbled across these two. I’m going to go now and just kind of slide the idea past his assistant at the station, and then Marcus and I are going to meet up in the next couple days for an official interview. I don’t see why we can’t feature it sometime next week. I’m so excited!” She throws her arms around Ethan and kisses him on the cheek. “Thank you for being in the area and calling me,” she adds. “I’ve been meaning to try this place since I’m just down the street and all. Anyway, Sadie, nice to meet you. Marcus, I will see you later. Ethan, I’m so sorry. Another time, maybe?” And with that, she’s off.
“Well, that was fortuitous,” Marcus says. “We are always looking for exposure, since with exposure brings additional donations.” Then he turns and picks up my hand. “Sadie, I have to be honest with you, I thought our date was fantastic until Ethan and Bree joined us. But I also think you’ve got something unresolved going on here. Once you figure it out, call me because I would love to see you again. But I don’t want to get stuck in the middle of whatever this is.” He swirls his finger between Ethan and me to show the two of us, then leans in and kisses me on the corner of the mouth. “I’ll pay the bill on my way out.”
What just happened?
“Finally,” Ethan says.
“Finally? Are you kidding me? That is the best date that I’ve been on in forever and you totally wormed your way in and ruined it. Marcus is good looking, he has a stable job, he’s nice, and he’s paying the bill which more than likely includes your beers. Which makes him a saint. Guys like that don’t just fall out of trees, you know. And what makes him think we have unresolved issues. This is your fault. Everything was fine until you got here. Even Marcus said so. What is wrong with you? You come in here acting like a rooster who can strut while sitting down, all the while your date horns in on my date, and now I’m stuck here with you.”
“Is that so bad?” he asks.
“Is that so . . . you know what, fine. If we are stuck here, then I’m getting another drink.”
“Good, maybe it will calm you down.”
I ignore that last statement and flag down the server. She comes over and I point to the most expensive bottle of wine on the menu. “I’ll take this please. On a separate check than the one that was just paid.” Ethan also holds up his beer bottle, the universal request for a refill. The server nods and heads in the back.
She returns a short time later with our orders, presenting me with the bottle. I nod my approval and ask her to fill my glass.
“You got a whole bottle, huh?” Ethan asks.
“Well, I thought you might want some too.” I grab the other glass the server brought and fill it to the brim for Ethan.
“No . . . I don’t drink wine,” he starts. “Ah, it’s fine, you can drink my glass too, I guess.” I take a sip of my wine, it’s delicious. I almost regret what I am about to do.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell him. “I need to visit the ladies’ room.”
He gestures to the table, “I’ll be here.”
I get my purse and head toward the restrooms. I stop at the hostess station on the way. “Hi,” I tell the girl. “I’m at that table right over there, with the man drinking the beer.” I point out Ethan. The girl nods. “I’ve got to go, but he said he would take care of the bill for this last round we had. I wanted to let someone know before I bailed.”
“Okay, great,” she says. “Have a nice night.”
“Oh, I will,” I tell her. “You too.”
I’m out the door, back in my car, and calling Tenley within three minutes.
“My bitch misses me!” she answers.
“I do miss you, so much! And I can’t stand Ethan! You won’t believe what he did tonight!”
“You’re yelling. I like it. Do tell.”
I relay the entire evening to her, including the part where I ordered wine and stuck Ethan with the bill.
“I dig ballsy Sadie,” Tenley says.
“I was ballsy, wasn’t I?”
“Hell yes, you were. I mean, that’s a lot of money you just stuck him with owing.”
“Oh god, you’re right. That was awful of me to do.”
“Ballsy Sadie isn’t sorry for ballsy shit.”
“Right. Okay.”
