The Two-Night One-Night Stand (9 page)

“Did you know that approximately every three minutes, a reaction to a food allergy sends someone to the ER? That’s more than 200,000 visits per year,” I spill out.

What the fuck? My brain won the battle and that’s what it came up with? Unreal. That’s it. Peen, from now on, you’re in charge.

Woo-hoo. No problem
.

“No, I didn’t know that,” Holly says, staring out the front glass doors. A red Ford Taurus pulls up. “Wow, look at that, something actually went right for me today.” She steps in front of the sensor and the doors part. She breezes through, sending a small waft of vanilla in my direction.

Stop her!
Peen shouts.

I follow her out the door but I’m two seconds too late. She’s already stepped into the backseat, the door closing behind her. My shoulders and head drop down. Dammit. I kick at a cigarette butt on the ground, disappointed in myself for blowing what could have possibly been a second chance with this girl.

My heart pounds in my chest and thunders in my ears. Every organ in my body seems out of place. Seeing her again is wreaking complete havoc on my insides. Yet, she seemed completely unfazed at seeing me again. Was this really only a one-sided reaction?

I pick my head up just in time to notice her turn, peering out the back window of the car in my direction. My eyes bore into her but she doesn’t notice. She bites down on her plump bottom lip, not looking at my face. I follow her gaze, which brings my eyes down. Wait, what’s this?

She is looking in my direction. That’s right, baby. You know you want the P.

A grin stretches a mile wide across my face.

Looks like maybe it wasn’t one-sided after all.

“OKAY, SO, I know my brother is an asshole but I didn’t think
you
would,” Jayne says, taking out another twenty and placing it down on the bar. Drinks are on her tonight, her way of apologizing, and she needs to apologize… a lot.

“Jayne, I don’t even know where to start with that comment.” Even though there’s a band setting up, the bar isn’t overly crowded and the bartender is very attentive. I point at my empty wine glass and within seconds it’s refilled.

“I mean, like he’s my brother so I’m supposed to see that asshole side to him, but I just didn’t realize people outside of the family would see it too. I thought someone else would see him as normal. Does that make sense?”

It does. I have an older sister and there were plenty of screwed-up moments that I witnessed growing up, but she had settled down with a man who saw past all her crazy-ass flaws. I guess it’s true when they say there’s someone out there for everyone. But Nick is not my someone.

“It’s fine, Jayne, but just promise me, no more fix ups. I’m done with men for now.” My current plan is to return to nights of Netflix, wine, and using a vibrator. Battery-operated dating is much less stressful.

“Can you believe that Nick made us stay another two hours at the ER? The PA kept saying he could leave, and Nick kept refusing. He was being such a fucking baby.”

“Yes, I can believe it. What I can’t believe is that it was only two hours.” I laugh into the glass as I sip my wine, the warmth of the alcohol finally seeping its way into my system.

“And it was embarrassing ’cause, well, did you see that PA?” Jayne smacks her lips together and growls.

I’m gonna blame the wine for what I’m about to say, but the truth is I’ve been busting to tell Jayne ever since that night in the ER, and she just gave me the perfect lead-in.

“I have a secret,” I blurt out.

She leans in close. “Spill.”

“The one-night stand on Halloween. The guy in scrubs who I thought was your brother.”

“Yeah, I’m listening.” She eagerly awaits the juicy details I’ve been holding back from that night. I take another sip of wine before continuing.

“Well, it was him. The PA in the ER.” I lean back against the stool and wait for her response.

“No. Fucking. Way!” Her gasp nearly sucks all the air out of the bar. “That was Dr. Dirty?”

“Yup.”

“Holy shit.”

“I know. Crazy. Right?”

“I guess that explains the scrubs.”

“It sure does. It wasn’t a costume, he’s actually in the medical field. That night he had probably just come off a shift and was just out for a beer or something with friends when I approached him.” I cringe thinking about what an ass I must have looked like. I finish off my wine. The glasses here are small. “I almost died when he walked in and I was there with your brother. I mean, what are the chances?”

“Another drink, ladies?” The bartender is fantastic. We both nod and our glasses are refilled right away.

“So now can I get some actual details?” Jayne takes a big exaggerated sip of her wine and sighs. “How is Dr. Dirty’s, ya know, um… stethoscope. Is it a big one?”

“Oh no, three glasses of wine may have gotten me to spill, but they’re not going to get you details.”

“Bartender!” Jayne calls, and the sexy gray-haired guy behind the bar returns to us. “Two shots of Fireball, please.”

“I’m still not giving you details.” Two glasses of cinnamon whisky are placed in front of us.

“We’ll see.” Jayne smirks and lifts her shot glass, encouraging me to do the same.

“Cheers.” We clink. We gulp.

I bang my hand on the bar as the liquid burns a path down my throat. God, why do I love this stuff so much? It’s like swallowing acid. The liquid lands in my belly with a splash and warmth slowly oozes its way through my veins.

Stress melts.

Issues fade.

Joy surfaces.

Okay, yeah… that’s why I love it.

“You had to shit a brick when you saw him at the hospital.” Jayne laughs, picking up her shot glass and sipping the last little bit that she missed.

“Not just one brick, try more like a million.” I could have built a mansion with all the bricks I was shitting that night. “I didn’t think things could get any worse and then, boom, Matthew walked in.” Seeing him took me completely off guard. My heart did things that had me wondering if I was going to need emergency treatment next.

“Ooohh, Matthew,” she teases, and we both giggle.

“Why are we laughing at that? Why is his name funny?”

Her eyebrows knit together and she thinks. “I think ’cause we had three glasses of wine and a shot.” Jayne explodes with infectious laughter and I can’t help but join in. She wipes a tear from her eye as our laughter dies down. “Holy shit!” She sits straight up in her seat, eyes on the door. “That’s him.”

My head nearly swivels right off my neck. “Who?” A wave of panic flows through me. “Matthew?” Since we were just talking about him, I assume that’s who she means. My heart starts thumping and my stomach flips just like it did when I saw him at the ER. Does that mansion need an addition? Cause here come some more bricks.

“No, look.” She points. “Isn’t that your ex, Tyler?” My thumping heart slows down. I’m sure it isn’t. How would Jayne know who he was? She never even met Tyler. “I’ve seen enough pictures of him, Holly,” she answers without even being asked.

I look across the bar, and sure enough, there’s my ex strolling in. My stomach goes from flipping to twisting into a big gnarly knot. Impulsively, I reach for my compact to check my reflection. The knot in my stomach tightens. I’m not loving what I see. My brown hair has a mind of its own and my eyeliner has smudged from the laughter attack a few moments ago. Tyler will not approve; he was always quick to comment when my appearance wasn’t quite up to standards.

“I should run to the bathroom and fix myself up,” I whisper to Jayne, rummaging through my purse for something to pull back my hair.

“No.” She grabs my wrist, keeping me from standing up. “You look gorgeous. You don’t need to do shit to impress that dickhole anymore. Sit your ass back down.”

Jayne’s right, I don’t need to impress him. Whatever. I lean back against my seat, crossing my legs. My foot takes off bouncing, causing my whole body to shake. I reach down, grabbing my foot to steady it. My eyes stay trained on my ex. So what if he looks perfectly put together in his suit and tie, not a hair out of place? We’re over. He doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. It’s been almost a year. Who knows, he might not even see me, or even if he does, he might not even come over and....
Oh, shit
. He sees me. He’s walking over. Dammit, I should’ve run to the bathroom and fixed myself up. I run my fingers over my hair to smooth it.

“Jayne, he’s coming over, what should I do?”

“I know what we should do. Bartender!” Jayne hollers, and points to our empty shot glasses.

More alcohol is not the answer. My brain cells are needed. I don’t want to say or do anything stupid in front of Tyler. Not that I think we’ll get back together. But who knows, maybe we’ll make plans to meet up for dinner or something. It might be nice to catch up.

“Holly, what a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?” Tyler leans down and kisses me on the cheek. When he stands back up I can tell by his expression that he notices my smudged eye makeup. I dab under my eyes with my index finger.

“I’m here with my friend Jayne, having a drink. Jayne, this is Tyler.” Jayne gives him a disapproving sneer. I try and warn her with my eyes to quit it. “Tyler, this is Jayne.”

“Having a drink? Or many drinks?” Tyler glances down at the new shots that were just delivered to us. I’m now cursing this bartender’s prompt service. Drinking—another no-no on Tyler’s list.

“Excuse me.” Jayne jumps up from her seat. “I think it’s best if I step away for a few minutes before I say something I might regret.” She picks up her shot and downs it in one gulp. “Cheers, asshole!” She slams the empty glass back on the bar. “Damn, I almost made it,” she says before walking away.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize, mortified by my friend’s behavior. Jayne is dead. I’m going to kill her.

“No need to apologize. I understand. I’m sure our breakup was very hard on you
,
” he says, adjusting his cuffs, bringing my gaze down to engraved platinum cufflinks. What happened to the gold ones I gave him? Wait, did he just say on
me
? Just me? Wasn’t this breakup hard on both of us?

“Are you here by yourself?” I ask.

“Someone’s meeting me.” He does a quick scan around the room, adjusting his tie. Usually people loosen their ties in a bar, but Tyler tightens his right up to the neck. “Are you still working at Billmore Systems?”

“No, I’m with LazerShark now,” I state proudly. “Social media, just like I wanted.”

“Good for you.” He stretches his neck and waves to someone at the entrance. “I’m glad you have something good going on in your life, Holly.”

I don’t know what that comment means or how to take it. I open my mouth to question him, but before I can a woman walks over and links her elbow around his.

“Hey, sweetie, sorry I’m late.” He turns his head and she kisses him on the lips.

My eyes move in slow motion, going from her stunning exotic features, to her hourglass figure, landing on the sparkling rock gleaming on her finger. Cue the horror music. Knife in the shower. Hockey mask at camp. Bladed glove in your nightmare.

“This is Giselle, my fiancée.” Tyler tucks her under his arm and hugs her in tight like a shiny gold trophy. A gorgeous, big-boobed, whorey trophy.

I’m gonna be sick. He’s with someone. They’re engaged. My eyes blink back moisture. This isn’t happening.

A few seconds pass. He doesn’t even give Giselle my name. They both stand there, staring at me, waiting for me to… congratulate them? Clap? Acknowledge some weird happily ever after prize?

Not gonna fucking happen.

I raise up my shot, down it, and slam it on the bar in the same fashion that Jayne did. And I quote her. “Cheers, asshole!”