Something New & Unexpected

by Sarah Matthews

  “Well, I’m gonna go get my purse and have Robin help me with my coat and stuff, and I will meet you out by the doors in about five minutes.”

  “Oh, okay,” I replied, after noticing the time as well.

  After Lillian left, I shut the door in grabbed my jacket, scarf, and gloves out of the closet. Putting the scarf and gloves on my lap, I slowly put on my jacket then gently pulled my hair out from underneath it, careful not to mess up the curls. After getting my jacket comfortable, I went back in the bathroom and sprayed my hair one more time, just to make sure it stayed. I moved over to my desk and grabbed my phone and put it in my purse. I made sure I had my ID and keys, then grabbed my burgundy lipstick. Noticing some of it had disappeared, I reapplied it and put it in my purse. Sitting up straight, I checked myself over one more time before zipping up my jacket. Good to go, I grabbed the sign, turned off the lights and left.

  When I got to the doors, I stopped when I saw everybody staring at me, including Teddy.

  “What?” I asked, putting on my gloves.

  “Nothing,” they answered, looking away.

  I just laughed thinking to myself that they hadn’t seen anything yet.

  “Here, let me help you with this,” Teddy said, walking over, and grabbing my scarf.

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  As he began to fold the scarf in half, I carefully moved my hair to one shoulder so it didn’t get in the way. He carefully looped the scarf around my neck and gently, but snugly, tied it so it wouldn’t come loose.

  “Comfortable?”

  “Yep.”

  “Good,” he said, standing back up straight and walking over to get his stuff. Putting on his own gloves and scarf, he walked back over and stood behind me. “We all ready to go?” he asked, putting his hands on my handles.

  “Yeah, I think so,” Shane said.

  “Wait, where’s Lil?” I asked, not seeing her.

  The elevator door opened a moment later and Teddy and I turned and saw Lillian and Robin getting off the elevator.

  “I’m coming, I’m coming,” Lillian said, pulling up beside me.

  “Oh, that’s okay. I just didn’t want to leave without you.”

  “Well, thanks.”

  “Sorry about that, guys. Preston paged right before her and it took a while,” Robin explained, when she came up behind Lillian, some of her dark brown hair falling out of her messy bun.

  We all rolled our eyes and she just laughed.

  “Are we ready now?” Shane asked.

  “Yep, lead the way,” I told him.

  Teddy leaned down. “Just imagine if he was going out with us,” he whispered.

  I slapped him on the chest with my left hand.

  “What?” he asked, defensively, but still laughing.

  “Be nice,” I scolded him, following Lillian out the door and down the street, trying not to laugh.

  “Seriously, though.”

  “Seriously, you’re awful.” I laughed, unable not to anymore.

  He just laughed harder.

  Once at White Ho, I was thankful that not only did we not have to wait in line to get in, but that my leather jacket had a lining in it because it was freezing. Seeing that our group had several tables reserved, I followed Teddy as he moved chairs so I could get through. Realizing that the windows were farther down and that there was a heater in the corner, I quickly, but carefully, maneuvered over there.

  After successfully situating myself at the table, meaning not running into the walls, the table, or any chairs, I put my purse on the table and started taking off my gloves and scarf. By the time I had my scarf off and was about to start on my jacket, Teddy was beside me and unzipping it. As I slipped my arms out, I watched his reaction.

  “What?” I asked, innocently, looking up at him.

  “Nothing,” he replied, clearing his throat, and putting my jacket on the back of my chair.

  I looked away and smiled.

  “So, what do you want?”

  “Amaretto Sour, please.”

  “You got it,” he said, taking off his coat.

  I started to get money out of my purse, but Teddy’s hand on my arm stopped me and I looked up at him.

  “This one’s on me,” he told me, with a wink.

  “Thanks.”

  After everyone was sitting down or at a table, Teddy took drink orders, and money, then leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I think every woman here wants to kill you right now because every man is staring at you, and I don’t blame them. You’re absolutely hot!”

  I could feel the blush creeping on my cheeks and I bit my bottom lip shyly, unable to look up.

  Grinning at my reaction, he stood up and he and Ko walked to the bar to get our drinks.

  It took me a few minutes to compose myself and to get up the nerve to look up. When I did, I realized Teddy was right. It was not just the guys in our group, but almost every single guy in the place and that made me feel amazing knowing I could have that effect on men, despite my disability. With a huge smirk, I turned to the guys.

  “What?” I asked, huskily.

  They swallowed hard and just kept staring.

  I heard Lillian snort, beside me, and I looked at her. Seeing that she was trying to keep her composure, and not laugh at them, I had to look down to keep composed as well.

  Trying to compose myself, I got in my purse and grabbed my phone. After checking for messages and changing the volume, I handed it to Lillian.

  “What’s this for?” she asked, taking it.

  “I don’t want to know if he calls, and I definitely don’t want Teddy to know either.”

  “Oh, okay. Gotcha,” she replied, and put it next to hers.

  “Plus,” I started to laugh, “I really don’t want a repeat performance of last time. I don’t think my brother and sister would appreciate it.”

  “That’s true,” she agreed, and we both started laughing hysterically.

  “Hey, hey,” Terese said, walking over to our table, and we looked up, still laughing.

  “Hey,” we said, trying to compose ourselves.

  “So, what’s so funny?” she asked, putting her purse on the table and unbuttoning her coat. Her makeup was so natural against her sun kissed complexion, but her eye shadow made her eyes pop.

  “Just what happened the last time Beth went out.” Lillian chuckled.

  “Oh yeah,” Terese laughed, remembering, as she put her coat on the back of the chair and sat down.

  A few minutes later, Teddy and Ko came back with our drinks.

  “Here you go,” Teddy said, with a smile, sliding the drink in front of me.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” he replied, sitting down beside me.

  “Oh, wait a minute,” Terese said, a lilt in her voice, just as I was about to take a sip of my drink. “I want to get at least one picture of you before you get completely plastered.”

  “Oh, me too,” Lillian agreed.

  “Damn it!” I groaned, suddenly, frustrated.

  “What?” Lillian, Teddy, and Terese all asked, at the same time, looking at me confused.

  “I forgot my camera.”

  “Oh,” they realized.

  “That’s okay,” Lillian said.

  “I know,” I pretended to pout, and they laughed, and I continued, “but I wanted to take a lot of pictures, especially since I’m so hot and all,” I finished, with a cocky smile, and they laughed even harder.

  After taking about ten pictures, alternating between all of us, and making sure there was at least one with the four of us together, I was finally able to take a drink of my Amaretto Sour and just relax. Over the next hour, we all sat talking, laughing, and taking pictures, and just having a good time. Though we were separated by tables, it was not difficult to carry on different conversations. Before I knew it, I’d finished my second Amaretto Sour, and was not even buzze
d. Grabbing my empty, large plastic cup, Teddy stood up and asked who wanted shots.

  “I’ll take one. I’ll do a shot,” I told him, and everyone except Lillian and him just stared at me. “What?” I said, defensively, and Teddy just chuckled at everyone, before turning to me.

  “What would you like?”

  “A Buttery Nipple, please.”

  “Okay,” he said, then looked at Lillian.

  “No thanks,” she said, shaking her head.

  “You sure?” he asked. “It’s just one.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. I’m good with my Pepsi, but thanks though,” she assured him.

  “Okay,” he replied, heading to the bar.

  “Are you okay?” Terese asked, when Teddy was out of earshot.

  “Yeah,” I lied, hoping she wouldn’t see through it. “Why?”

  “You never do shots.”

  “Well, there’s a first time for everything,” I said, trying not to crack.

  She sat there, for a moment, just staring at me, as if trying to figure out if I was telling the truth.

  “You sure you’re okay?” she finally asked.

  I was about to answer when Teddy came back with a tray full of shots. He took two off the tray and went over to the other tables. I just sat there and stared at the two shot glasses. After a few seconds I managed to look up at Lillian and Terese, stunned and confused, but immediately looked back down at the glasses. When Teddy sat back down, I looked at him confused.

  “One for later if you like it,” he explained, already knowing the question.

  “Oh,” I mouthed, nodding my head. I turned back to the glasses and looked at them.

  “Well,” he coaxed, leaning over and bumping my shoulder with his, “go on.”

  I smiled, still looking at the glasses, and took a deep breath. In less than half a second, I grabbed one glass, closed my eyes, tilted my head back, and poured the liquid down my throat. As it traveled down, I squeezed my eyes shut tighter. When it had gone all the way down, I brought my head back up, but I kept my eyes closed, but relaxed, just savoring the flavor of the butterscotch.

  When I finally opened my eyes, I found three sets of eyes looking at me expectantly.

  “What?” I asked, setting the empty glass back on the table.

  “So... what did you think?” Lillian asked.

  “I liked it.”

  “Yeah?” Teddy asked.

  “Yeah,” I answered, turning toward him. “I mean, I’m not crazy about all things butterscotch, but that was really good.”

  “Well then, I’m glad I got two.”

  “Yep, me too, but I’m not gonna down it right now.”

  “Oh, that’s fine. I’ll just put it over here and you tell me whenever you’re ready,” he said, putting it next to his Mountain Dew.

  “I’m sorry,” I apologized, a bit sadly.

  “For what?” he asked.

  “That you have to be a DPW.”

  “Oh, that. Don’t worry about it. I chose to be.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Hey, you want another drink?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

  “Sure.” I smiled, realizing he did not want to talk about it.

  “Okay, be right back,” he said, and went to the bar before I could blink, and I just continued to smile.

  Turning back to the girls, who were in a conversation, I realized I was beginning to feel the effects of the Buttery Nipple. I was sure it by itself was harmless, but couple it with the two Amaretto Sours I’d already had, and you got my state. I was not inebriated enough to not know what was going on around me, but I was buzzed enough to feel great and not really care about anything.

  Just as Teddy was coming back with my third Amaretto Sour, I heard a cell phone ringing, but just ignored it and focused on enjoying my drink and having a great time with my friends. By eleven, I was drunk. Actually, I’d been drunk by the time I’d finished the third Amaretto Sour, now I was on my way to getting plastered and I couldn’t have been happier. Not only had I finished off my drink, but I’d had two more Buttery Nipples and two shots of whiskey. I was so drunk I was drinking beer, and I absolutely hated beer, especially lite beer.

  Hearing my phone ring for the fifth time, and knowing exactly who it was, I abruptly stopped drinking my beer and set it forcefully down on the table and went to grab the phone. Enough was enough, especially for Lillian. It had rung for the past two hours, and for the most part I’d ignored it, while she answered it, trying to get him to stop calling, but it did not work. Now it was just annoying for the both of us. Normally, I could’ve dealt with it, but in my state that was not a possibility. So, everyone knew what was coming and just sat back and watched.

  Reaching the table, I picked up my phone and answered it before Lillian could.

  “Listen, I don’t want to and am not going to talk to you, so quit fucking calling me,” I said, in a low, but deadly tone, no trace of my state in my voice, before hanging up.

  Handing the phone to Teddy, instead of putting it back on the table, I gave Lillian a big smirk and a wink then headed back to finish my beer and the game.

  “Do you feel better?” Shane asked, slurring his words, and grinning, drunkenly, when I came back.

  “Actually, I do,” I replied, after taking a drink. “Now, where were we? Oh yeah, I remember. I was kicking your ass!” I taunted, and everyone laughed.

  “Oh yeah?” he taunted back, or at least he did the best he could anyway, given his state.

  “Yeah,” I shot back.

  “Then prove it,” he challenged, cockily.

  “Gladly,” I replied, smugly, then preceded to indeed kick his ass, quite handedly.

  Nearly two games, and twenty shots, ten per person, later, I was quite plastered and Teddy was pulling me back from the table, having put my chair on manual.

  “Whoa, what are you doing?” I asked, slurring my words, reaching out for the table and my beer.

  “Taking you home.”

  “But we were just about to start another game,” I whined, before taking another drink.

  “I think you’ve had enough,” he said, practically ripping the bottle from my hand and lips.

  “Hey!” I practically shouted at him. “I wasn’t done with that!” I reached for the bottle.

  “That’s too damn bad,” he told me, keeping the beer out of my reach.

  A second later we heard someone suck in a shocked breath. We turned and saw Steve standing a few feet away. Despite my state, it only took me a couple seconds to register who it was. My eyes grew hard.

  “Hey,” Teddy called, breaking through my anger wall, and I looked back at him. “Don’t,” he told me, not wanting me to do or say something I might regret in the morning.

  At his statement, I narrowed my eyes and stared at him, then just shrugged my shoulders and grabbed my beer again that was back on the table.

  “Oh, I don’t think so.” He put his hand over mine and the bottle before I could pick it up. He put my hand in my lap and started pushing me back to our table, ignoring Steve completely.

  “You’re no fun and a party pooper,” I pouted, quite irritated.

  “I know.”

  After somewhat of a struggle, with no help on my part, he successfully got my jacket and scarf on. My gloves, however, were a different story. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get my fingers to cooperate so he put them in his pocket. Grabbing my purse and putting it on the back of my chair, he headed toward the door.

  “Put your hands in your pockets so they don’t get cold,” he told me, and I did, laughing, as he opened the door, and we headed home.

  Chapter 14

  “Go away,” I grumbled, at the knock at the door, and pulled the covers over my head.

  The knocking continued and I tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, hoping whoever it was would go away. Unfortunately, the continued knocking was wreaking havoc on my splitting
headache and sounded like twenty jackhammers. I grabbed my head with both hands and curled into a ball to try and relieve some of the pain. When I absolutely couldn’t take it anymore, I tried to brace myself for what I was about to do.

  “Go away!” I practically shouted, and immediately regretted it.

  My head felt like it was going to explode and I started to feel nauseous, so I immediately tightened my grip on it and squeezed my eyes shut to try to stop the pain and nausea. When a little of the pain and nausea disappeared, I realized the knocking had stopped and I started to relax. I slowly took my hands off my head and relaxed my eyes and held the blankets tighter around me. Just as I was about to fall back asleep, the knocking began again.

  “Damn it,” I growled, when I realized whoever it was, wasn’t going to go away until I answered the door.

  I clenched and ground my teeth at the pain when I turned. Slowly pulling the blanket away from my face, I squinted to look at the clock. Seeing that it was only a little after seven, I growled even louder and quickly thrust the blankets off, ready to kill whoever it was because I knew it wasn’t Robin. She never knocked on my door that early on the weekends, plus I figured she saw me last night when we came in so she wouldn’t bother me.

  Swinging my legs out and sitting up, I immediately put my arms out to either side of me to balance myself and waited for the room to stop spinning. When I could see straight and felt like I could move without falling over or getting sick, I let out a grunt and a growl and slowly got in my chair. I immediately grabbed my head again at the pain and pressure it caused, when I finally made it into the seat. Taking my hands away and getting situated, I gritted my teeth at the continued knocking and answered the door.

  “What!” I growled and hissed, jerking it open, and everything stopped.

  On the other side of the door was Steve, with his hands in his pockets, in a pair of faded jeans, a UIndy hoodie, and a Nike cap. Seeing him, I couldn’t breathe, and I felt like I was going to pass out, and I just stared at him. When my head stopped spinning and I could breathe again, I vaguely remembered him showing up at the bar last night. Before I could start to wonder what he was still doing here, I remembered why I felt like this and I got angry again. Without a word or reaction, I slammed the door in his face.