Page 49 of Falling Backwards
I finish my mojito, then tap the back of my hand against Joy’s arm.“Can you let me out?Need to go to the bathroom.”
“But of course!”Her glitzy gold self scoots out of the booth.“If our person stops by to check on us, do you need a refill?”
“I’ll take one of those half-price margaritas, actually.Original flavor on the rocks.”
Emma says, “Good choice!”as she holds up her glass.I shoot her a finger-gun and she winks at me.
On my way to the bathroom, I multitask.I’m not sure if Luke is here and watching me or if my brain has latched onto the mere idea of it, but I walk carefully in my heels just in case.My hands fidget first with the hem of my gray sweater and then with my hair hanging down my chest.My eyes peek around the familiar room to check if he’s nearby.My ears pick up on laughs and snippets of conversations from the other Wednesday-night patrons.
They also pick up on someone clearing their throat from close behind me.It gets a little jump out of me, and I roll my eyes at how Luke is undoubtedly trying to scare me like he did the other night.I turn my head to look behind me—
—and, fully startled, I nearly turn an ankle as my feet stumble to a graceless halt.
Kyle?
Laughing, Kyle grabs tightly to my arms as if to help me steady myself.“Whoa, easy, beautiful!You’ve only had a couple drinks, right?How strong were they?”
What the—?Kyle isherenow?What?
I work to get some air into my surprised lungs.Then, after an eternal few seconds, I pull away and stare at him, my arms aching a little from where he’d been holding on to me.I’m afraid about last night all over again and I’m displeased with him having been walking so close behind me here and I’m unamused by the joke he just tried to make.It’s not landing the way he intended it to, especially with his unwelcome touch lingering.It’s landing in a very,‘What the hell?’kind of way, on top of him being here at all.
Heavy unease buzzes through me now.
It weighs on my shoulders, in my chest, in the pit of my stomach.
How is he where I amagain?
“Kyle,” I barely get out at last, glancing around.“What are you…?”
“Oh, I’m just here for a mid-week drink.”He smiles as those intense brown eyes shift over me.After a moment, he gives a lighter laugh.“But I have to admit it’s because I thought you might be here.”
What?
My ears are buzzing a little bit, too, now.
I ask, “Why did you think that?”
He gestures back towards my table, giving yet another little laugh.“The truth?The other day when I saw you and your friends at Mellow Burger, I thought I heard you all making plans to come celebrate….”
As I lose focus on his words, my unease shifts into straight-up anxiety.A wave of clammy heat rolls over me.
Oh my God.
He’s here because he thoughtI’dbe here?Because…he was listening to me and my friends talk about where to go for Joy’s birthday?
That’s what he just said.
And he’s been watching me long enough tonight to know how many drinks I’ve had.
And he’s only approaching me now that I’m walking off by myself.
At least I’m around people this time, unlike last night, but—
“Are you okay?”
I blink out of my increasingly worried thoughts and see thatsomehow, despite everything he’s saying and doing, he’s looking at me with mild concern like I’m the one acting strangely.
Yeah, no, I’m not okay.
