Absolutely Unforgivable(4)
His lips tilted in a diabolical smile. He was good. So charming, seeming to know the perfect thing to say to get to me.
His eyes were lingering on my lips as he brushed the hair out of my face. I felt my stomach start to fill with butterflies and my head began to tingle. In my mind I just kept thinking, don’t let me go, don’t let me go. I licked my lower lip and made my interest known with a heated glance.
But I knew this wasn’t right. He was far too good looking for me. This guy was trouble. Trouble I didn’t need in my life right now. So as he leaned in to kiss me, I pulled back.
“I need to get home. It’s late,” I said as I walked around to the front of my car, stumbling to get my key in the door while doing my best not to look at him, in fear that I would lose my nerve and run into his arms.
As I drove off I glanced in my rear view mirror. He was still standing there, watching me drive away. His confidence made it hard to resist him, but I’m glad I did. I didn’t want to be just another notch on his belt, even if it was a belt that wrapped around one hell of a sexy waist. I had seen it far too many times in the bar and I didn’t want to be that kind of girl. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a prude but I’m also not a tramp. Maybe I was a little too reserved, but better that than the alternative.
Chapter 2 - Our First Date
The next day Jeromy made his way back to the bar. Only today I wasn’t working. I had come to pick up my check and sat down to have a drink while I waited for the manager to get it for me.
Jeromy sat down next to me. I didn’t look over to him, but I knew it was Jeromy because behind the bar with a big mirror that allowed me to see him clearly without having to actually look his way. “You know, I’m not going away.”
I replied without glancing over at him, “I figured as much.”
We sat there in silence for a few moments drinking our beers. Then on the jukebox someone had started playing the Rick Springfield song Jessie’s Girl. Through the mirror behind the bar I could see a big grin come across his face.
I swerved my chair so that my body was facing him. “What’s so funny?”
“Oh it’s nothing. It’s just this song made me think of an old friend. He’s in a band called Jessie’s Girl.”
“Jessie’s Girl? That’s a weird name for a band.”
“Yeah, I guess it is,” he said as he sort of chuckled to himself. He seemed almost lost in thought.
Now he had me curious. “Why did they name themselves that?”
“You know, I asked him that very thing once. He said it was meant to serve as a reminder that we always wanted what we couldn’t have but in the end it only caused pain and heartache and no bitch was worth that.”
I rolled my eyes at him and swiveled back in my chair facing the bar again. Eventually my manager walked up and handed me an envelope with my check inside. I opened it and sighed in disappointment.
“That bad huh?”
“Yeah,” I said quietly. And it really was. While I did make most of my money on tips, I at least looked forward to the $100 or so a week I got in my base wages. This week however my check was quite a bit smaller. I had taken a day off recently; only worked half a shift on another day and that really hurt.
Jeromy turned in his chair to face me. “Well let me take you to dinner to cheer you up.” He stood up and started pulling my arm to get me off of my bar stool. “Come on, I won’t take no for an answer. You owe me at least that, since you didn’t call me, after all.”
He was right, he was helpful that first night I met him I probably did owe him at least a dinner; so I begrudgingly agreed to go with him. Jeromy looked incredibly edible tonight, but then again when didn’t he? His looks really had a way of making me lose my good senses. Dinner was probably such a bad idea, but I guess it’s too late now, I already agreed to go.
“If it would make you feel better, you can drive your car and follow me to the restaurant.”
“No, don’t be silly. I’ll go with you in that monster you call a car.”
“Hey! Don’t hate on the car. I love that thing.”
His car was really a white, H2 Hummer, with dark tinted windows and tires that were almost as tall as me. I did my best to crawl into the passenger side gracefully. But it wasn’t an easy task.
Jeromy took us to a nearby Mexican restaurant that he had recently found. He said they had great fajitas. We ordered margaritas with our dinner and that was probably a mistake. One turned to two and two to three and three to seven. By now I was feeling no pain.