Page 27 of Surrender
Colbie groaned as she put down the history project she was looking over. Her students had turned them in yesterday, and she started grading them when she got home. She was trying to get through as many of them as possible over the weekend since she planned to give them back the following Friday. So far, she felt most of the students just slapped something together and didn’t even try.
Looking over at the clock, she saw it was a little after five. She’d spoken to Dallis earlier that day, and he had asked her if they could spend Sunday together because he was helping his dad and uncles with a few things. At that moment, though, she wished she was seeing him that night.
She got off her couch and headed down the hall into her bedroom. There was going to be a live jazz band playing atWest End, one of the lounges, and she figured she could go there, have a drink or two and relax. They were set to go on at six-thirty. She would then come back home and continue the frustration of grading projects.
Turning on her shower, she went back into her bedroom and began to look through her closet. When she decided what to wear, she laid it across her bed and went back into the bathroom.
Colbie got undressed, putting her clothes in the hamper before stepping into the shower. She washed with her favorite shea butter body wash.
Once finished, she wrapped a towel around her waist and headed back into the bedroom. She dried off before going through her drawer, grabbing a black bra and panty set.
After she slipped into her underwear, she moisturized her body before putting on the outfit she had picked. She opted for a navy blue high-waist skirt, and paired it with a light blouse that gave the illusion that it was also hued blue. She slipped into a pair of heels that clasped around the ankle. Colbie did her makeup and put on a pair of earrings that matched her shoes.
Afterward, she ran her comb through her hair that she had straightened and wrapped the night before. When she was ready, she grabbed her clutch and placed her phone inside with her ID, some cash, and her debit card. She grabbed her keys, locked up, and got into her car.
Twenty minutes later, she pulled up to the lounge. It was one of the few that opened early, bringing in a lot of business. People could relax before heading to a more upbeat club or other places they had planned.
She went inside when she got out of the car, showing her ID when requested. There was already quite a crowd forming.
She took a seat at one of the tables. The band was already playing soft jazz music on stage. When her waitress came to her table, she placed a drink order.
Colbie had been sitting there sipping her drink and getting lost in the music when someone took the other seat at her table. She turned to look at them, shocked by who she saw.
“Will,” she stated as he smiled at her.
“Hey, Colbie. Long time no see.”
Colbie took a sip of her drink. Yes, he had called her and left a message telling her he would be in town, but she hadn’t exactly expected to see him while he was.
“Yeah, it has.”
“I called you, and left a message, but you didn’t call me back.”
“Yeah, I know.”
It was quiet between the two of them as she continued to sip on her drink and listen to the music. The waitress came over and asked Will if he wanted to order a drink which he declined.
The band had played through two songs before she felt him staring at her. Instead of simply telling her what he wanted or calling her name to get her attention, he had always been that way. He would stare until she looked at him. Finally, she gave in and turned toward him, feeling uncomfortable that he was just staring at her.
“What?” she questioned.
“Let’s get out of here. Let me take you to dinner.”
Colbie raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t think so, Will.”
“Come on. We were friends before we started dating. Let’s catch up.”
She thought about it for a moment. She hadn’t eaten since she woke up that morning and who was she to turn down free food? Will was also correct. They had been good friends before they started dating. However, she could get food on her own, and Colbie honestly had nothing to say to Will after he cheated on her for a year of their relationship and then wanted to act like it was her fault.
“No, I’m fine.” With that, she picked up her glass and moved to a table closer to the stage.
After another drink and an hour longer at the lounge, she paid her tab and got up, heading out the door. She climbed into her car and decided to go a few blocks down to a nice little restaurant.
She paid for parking in a lot about a block away and walked down the sidewalk with everyone else out and about. Making her way into the restaurant, she only had to wait a few minutes before being seated at a table. She wasn’t exactly by a window, but she could see out of it onto the street and sidewalk.
Her server came to the table to take her drink order, and Colbie ordered a mango sweet tea. When the young man was gone, she went about perusing the menu. She had been a few times and tried to order something different each time. So far, she had never been let down by her choices.
She was volleying two different ideas around when someone sat across from her. When she looked over her menu, she rolled her eyes.You have to be fucking kidding me,GiGi stated, and Colbie concurred with that statement.
