Page 73 of Come Back to Bed
“Yeah,” I say. “Me too.”
I make my way over to the bar to place my empty wine glass on top of it. I wonder if it would be weird for me to just go home now. Alone. It feels like I’ve been here for a month already.
“You ready for another drink?”
I feel Matt’s body right behind me, barely touching me, but there. So very, verythere.
I look up at the illuminated mirror opposite me, behind the bar. Matt’s looking at my reflection too. He just stands there, waiting for me to turn to face him and ask the question that I’m dying to ask.
I refuse to give him the satisfaction.
Oh, who am I kidding.
Why not get it over with?
I turn to face him, resting my elbows against the bar. “So, I see you met Anita.”
“She had a lot of great things to say about you.”
“Oh yeah? Is that why she gave you her card? So you can call her to discuss me further sometime at your convenience?”
“No, she seemed pretty clear about wanting to meet me for a drink.”
“Seriously? She offered to take you out for a drink? Women just do that?”
“Not all of them.”
“Wow. Must be nice to be you, huh?”
“Not right at this very moment, no.”
“Why not?” I punch his bicep. “You got a hot lady’s number! Anita’s great, you’ll love her! Her skin is tight, she has bionic hormones, and I hear she just wants to hump everything. So have fun with that.”
“If you don’t want me to call her, just say so.”
“Hey man—I am easy like Sunday morning over here. You know the deal. It’s none of my business who you call or don’t call, just let me know if it’s time for us to put a pin in this thing we’ve been doing.”Yup. Super chill.
“Bernadette. Tell me if you want me to call her or not.”
“Not.” I can’t stop myself from reaching for his hand and squeezing it, just for a second. He squeezes back.
“Okay. I won’t. I’ll give her card to Rufus. He seemed pretty into her.”
“Okay. But I mean—did you actuallywantto call her?”
“Not really.”
I try not to smile when I shake my head. “That’s too bad, because she’s a really cool lady.”
“Yeah, it’s too bad. Been a while since I met one of those. I’m gonna go use the men’s room. You continue being easy like Sunday morning over here until I get back.”
“Cool. Awesome. Use that men’s room. God speed.” I reach for my empty wine glass and toast him with it.
“Right.”
I try to empty a few last drops into my very dry mouth.
“You having a good night?”
