Page 12 of Raise The Bar
“Well, good luck to them both.” The bitterness in his voice is palpable. His body-language goes from relaxed to hostile in seconds and the change is startling.
“Not a fan of weddings?” I hedge, cautiously.
“Not anymore,” he spits out, then takes a long drink from his beer. “Not after my wife left me for her spin instructor. That really put me off them.”
Well. This just got awkward.
“Oh, Nick, I’m so sorry to hear that. That must have been so hard on you.”
“It’s fine. I had an iron-clad prenup. She didn’t get a fucking dime.” His clenched jaw and clipped tone tells me it’s really not fine. “I gave her everything and it wasn’t enough.”
Abort. Abort.
“I’m so sorry,” I repeat, my eyes already scanning the room for the nearest exit. I spot a baseball game on one of the many televisions and attempt to change the subject. “So you’re a Red Sox fan? Do you go to many games?”
“Do you know what the worst part of it all was?” He rages on, ignoring my question. “She tried to blame it all on me. Because I was never home. Because I was always at work. Because I traveled too much. She wasn’t complaining about any of that when she was spending my money filling the house I bought her. I mean, can you fucking believe the actual audacity of that bitch?” His voice is loud enough that people are now looking at us. I discreetly reach into my bag to text Betty an SOS when I feel a presence at my side.
“Hey, Maggie,” Callum says above me. He’s materialized out of thin air dressed casually in light jeans and a dark blue t-shirt, his blond hair unkempt as usual. In the dimly lit bar, the man practically glows. “I’m so sorry to interrupt your evening, but I’m pretty sure your car is being towed.”
I didn’t drive here. On top of that, I’m certain he doesn’t know what kind of car I drive. Once again, the man is throwing me a life preserver just before the waves drag me under.
“Oh no!” I gasp and my hand flutters to my chest. “Nick, I’m so sorry, but I need to go deal with this.” I’m already backing away from the table, throwing a twenty dollar bill in front of him for my untouched margarita.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Nick asks, rising from his seat. His anger has vanished and he looks genuinely perplexed at Callum’s appearance.
“No, no.” I wave him away as I continue toward the exit. “I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. Thank you for the drink. Take care!” Callum holds the door open for me and I don’t stop walking until I’ve turned the corner and can no longer see the pub. I shut my eyes tightly and take deep inhales as if there hadn’t been enough oxygen in the bar to go around. When I open my eyes, Callum’s staring down at me with a furrowed brow.
“Are you okay?” This might be the most serious I’ve seen him. He’s usually so care-free. I nod, still catching my breath. “I just walked in, planning to order takeout when I couldn’t help but overhear. Your car isn’t really being towed.”
“I know. I walked here.”
“Good.” He smiles that golden boy smile of his. “I was banking on the fact that you came on your own and not with your…”
“Date,” I finish.
“Date,” he repeats. Is it my imagination or did he just deflate a bit?
“First date,” I add, unnecessarily. “I signed up for online dating last week and this is the first date I’ve gone on. I’m hoping to meet someone I can take to my sister’s wedding in August. I’ve got another date at Vinyl Coffee tomorrow morning, but now I’m not sure I want to go. What if they’re all like that?” The words tumble for my mouth so fast, I don’t know if I could hold them in.
“Hmmm,” Callum nods, seemingly taking in what I’ve just told him. He tilts his head slightly to the side and shrugs his shoulders. “I can’t imagine they’ll all be like that.”
“But what if they are?” I know I probably sound like a crazy person, but what if they are? Am I some sort of magnet for men with anger management issues? “What if they’re worse? It’s not like you’re always going to be there to rescue me, like Clark Kent.” I sag my shoulders, suddenly exhausted from the stress of the evening. “I’m going to head home. Thank you for saving me. Again.” I shuffle past him, embarrassment finally sinking in. He must think that I’m an absolute disaster.
“Whoa, hold up a minute,” he says, catching up to me in two strides of his long legs. “You can’t just compare a man to Superman and then walk away from him.”
“Well, technically, I compared you to his secret identity.” I cross my arms and attempt to cover my smile with a scowl.
“Semantics.” He shrugs, still grinning.
“You’ve certainly got the mild-mannered thing covered. Are you capable of flight too?” He raises his eyes to the sky like he’s assessing the wind conditions.
“To be honest, I’ve never tried,” he says easily. I realize that I’m feeling so much better than I was mere moments before. How can a two minute conversation with this man completely erase the last thirty minutes? He brings his eyes back down to mine. “Maybe bachelor number two won’t be so bad. You won’t know unless you go, right?”
“Right,” I sigh deeply. I spent all week setting up these dates. I owe it to myself to follow through on them. The guy I’m meeting tomorrow seems great, but then so did Nick.
“What time is your date tomorrow morning?”
“Eleven. Why?”
