~ Chapter 1 ~
Another horrid date to add to my list of epic fails. I was so sick of the dating websites. Where did these guys come from? I grabbed my cell and called Stacey. Odds were that she was out or headed home from work. It wasn’t too late to join her and salvage my night. As I suspected, she was on her way home and to our favorite bar just down the street. Grabbing my clutch, I walked the short distance. It wasn’t yet dark, another reminder at how early my date had ended.
I was living alone and had been for almost two years. Stacey and I knew enough about each other to know while we were great friends, we’d make horrible roommates. So, instead, we both had one bedroom apartments in the same building. It was the next best thing.
I sighed heavily as I walked into the restaurant and grabbed a table, waiting for Stacey to arrive. I went ahead and ordered our drinks and shortly after the waitress set them down, Stacey walked in. Sitting down, I could tell she was immediately annoyed. There were only two possibilities; her boss or her ex. My money was on her boss.
“I have to find a new job!” Ding, ding, ding.
“You’ve been saying that for months. What’s stopping you?”
Sighing, she agreed, “I know. I just hate change.” She took a sip of her drink and then asked me, “What about you? Anything new going on?”
“Eh, another douche to add to the list.”
“That good, huh?”
“You could say that.”
“He’s out there. And he better have a friend for me!” I caught her staring at the bar and I followed the nod of her head. “I don’t know why you don’t just date one of the Kerry boys. You can’t go wrong with any of them.”
What was he doing here? “Ugh. Yes, I can…Go wrong! And it’s Kerrigan, not Kerry.”
“Kerry, Kerrigan, whatever. How in the world did two people have such different sons? NONE of them look alike, well, except for the twins.”
“Maybe some of her students fathered them, or maybe the mailman!”
Stacey started cracking up and I joined her as we joked about the possibility of each son being fathered by someone different. Mrs. Kerrigan was an English Lit professor and had some odd quirks, but she was also very attractive, as was her husband.
“Well, it’s probably for the best. Means I can have my pick of the Kerrigan boys.”
“Umm, they’re all yours.”
It was a busy Friday night and Stacey and I could sense how annoyed our waitress was getting with us. If she wasn’t careful she would lose her tip. We had no plans of leaving anytime soon and finally ordered food after an hour of occupying our booth and drinking. The lights dimmed shortly after our food arrived and the last few families that were present paid their tabs and left. The music grew louder and people started filling the bar.
Taking a bite of my burger, his voice grated through me, like nails on a chalkboard. Stacey heard him, too. His boisterous, over-cocky, sex-filled voice, full of gravel. I was sure everyone in the bar heard him, the way he liked it. Clamping my legs together, trying to ignore my body’s reaction to his voice, I chewed my food a little more vigorously than necessary, which resulted in me biting my cheek.
“Ugh.” Placing my burger back to the plate, I massaged my cheek as Stacey and I exchanged nods. Time to finish our food and get the hell out of there before he spotted us. He hadn’t spotted me yet, and if he had, he was doing a great job of ignoring me.
When we finished eating, I offered to pay the bill and Stacey objected. “No way. After that wretched date, my treat.” We both laughed and downed the remainder of our drinks. Anxiously awaiting the waitress, and Stacey’s credit card, I spotted him walking over.
“Fuck!” I recognized Hollow Moon by AWOLNATION as it droned overhead. It was as if he was strolling along to the beat
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