Blind Kiss(64)

“Isn’t that what you’re here for . . . to watch me get drunk? I’m going through shit, my friend.”

“It’s a phase. And no that’s not why I’m here.” She shook her head and looked away, seemingly disappointed. “Tell me this: did you stay with Lance because of the money and security?”

I rolled my eyes. “You know that’s not true. I stayed with Lance because I thought it was the right thing to do for Milo.”

“Was it?”

“You are shrinking me.”

“No, I’m just talking to you.”

I downed the last of my margarita. “It was the right thing to do for Milo. Gavin was unstable, fickle, all over the place for so long.”

“Is he now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Besides college and his one fuckup, hasn’t he always been there for you?” She raised her eyebrows. She already knew the answer.

“I’m just tired of fighting that fight. I’m tired of fighting for Gavin and justifying myself to Lance.”

“I’m just tired of watching you make your life decisions based on the men in your life,” she replied coolly. That stung, but it made sense coming from her. Ling was eternally single by choice, and she said what she felt. Having no significant other allowed her to roam through life without a filter. To be herself. I envied her. She was a great friend to me, but we had vastly different outlooks on life.

I thought she would lecture me more or say I told you so, but she said nothing after that. Finally, I asked, “Ling, do you think I should leave Lance?”

“Honestly, yes. I don’t think you’ll ever be happy with him and I think it’s selfish what you’re doing.” I knew she’d say that.

“I know.” I paused, looking around the restaurant. “Let’s get outta here. How ’bout the Tipsy Hat?”

“That dive with the cover bands?”

“Yeah! C’mon, it’ll be fun. We’ll dance.”

Little did I know, Ling was already calling in reinforcements.





30. Three Months Ago


GAVIN


Ling: Tiny Dancer still can’t hold her liquor.


Me: On my way. I had a feeling. What’s she doing?


Ling: Don’t text and drive. She’s hanging on the bartender at the Tipsy Hat.


Me: Masen? The guy with the piercings?


Ling: The very same. Quit texting and driving. I have a 6 a.m. flight. I’m a freaking doctor and can’t stay out at all hours of the night like this. Just get your ass over here. I’m catching an Uber to the Marriott by the airport. You can take over from here.


Me: Don’t leave. Wait until I get there.


Ling: I’m not an asshole. Stop texting and driving.


Me: I’m doing voice to text so shut up.

Ling was kind of an asshole. I would never say it to her face; she was a good friend, but not at all willing to put up with Penny’s dramatics. She probably told Penny to get a divorce and get laid. She believed in work and casual relationships . . . and that’s about it. I think because she was a psychiatrist she tried to avoid shrinking anyone in her real life. Like Ling, I believed in work and casual relationships, too . . . but when it came to Penny . . . well, Penny was home for me.

Ling was standing near the door of the Tipsy Hat when I walked in. I spotted Penny near the bar.

“Finally. I need to get out of here.”

“Nice to see you, too, Ling. It’s been a while.”

She gave me a rough hug and said, “I already told her bye, so I’m taking off.”

“Did you tell her I was coming?”

“No. She said she’d be fine getting back to your place.”

I glanced over at Penny. She was wearing a short, black, semibackless dress, leaning over the bar, and talking to Masen.

“That guy is a walking STD. Why is she flirting with him? She doesn’t even seem that drunk.”

“She’s only had three or four drinks, but she hasn’t eaten all day.”

“Nothing at all?”

“No. She got weird about pigging out last night. She went into food-guilt mode. You know her.”

Penny was five-six and probably weighed a hundred and twenty pounds. She was thin already, but now looking at her in a backless dress, braless, it seemed like she had dropped another ten pounds overnight.

“I’m gonna run out and get her a sandwich.”

She huffed. “Fine, I’ll wait.”

Penny still didn’t know I was there, and I wasn’t sure how she was going to react. I got her a turkey sandwich from the deli across the street, which was kitty-corner to my apartment.

When I returned, Ling was still at the door. “So Penny’s been flirting with the bartender?” I asked.

“I don’t know, kinda.”

“I guess that’s all I’m getting out of you.”

“You guessed right. I gotta get some sleep before my flight tomorrow. Good luck,” she said as she walked out. I gave her a salute and finally headed into the bar.

I plopped onto the barstool next to Penny and held the turkey sandwich out to her.

She looked at me, shocked. “Ling, did you shape-shift into Gavin?”