Life After That

by Barbara Kevin

  "Yes, I am."

  "Are you doing this in a bar so she won't make a scene?" Trevor, who was going to the bar with Erik, Ashley and Jen, asked him. Jacob decided to stay at the hotel with Janie and Dan wanted to get a good night of sleep 'cause they were going back to Orlando the next day.

  "It's not that Trevor. Jeez, you make it sound like I'm a jerk! It's just... To tell you the truth, I don't know why I'm doing this. It's gonna be really difficult, you know? How am I suppose to make things better? What am I suppose to say? 'Hey Jen. Remember that girl that answered your call on my cell today that I told you she was the journalist? Well, it turns out she was not. She was the girl I'm madly in love with for the past few years. So, I'm gonna have to break things up with you now, so I can go after her and make things right between us so we can live happily ever after.' It is not something you just spit out!"

  "Yeah, well, but that's the right thing to do, to tell her about this other girl. You can't be with Jen if this Kirstin girl is really the one you love." Erik made his point.

  "And she is. Oh, man, she really is! Today, when I was waiting for her at MTV and she came up to me and said hey, my heart started beating so fast, you know? And I felt my hands all sweaty, I was so nervous. But once she smiled, all that nervous just disappeared, and I felt so much alive!"

  "Well, I don't know about you Erik, but that sounds like love to me!" Trevor smirked.

  A little later, Jen got emerged from the room.

  "Ready?" she asked the 3 guys waiting for her by the door.

  "Yes, let's go. You look great by the way." Ashley told her holding her hand. She was wearing a black short dress, with go-go boots. She sure looked great. But she wasn't Kirstin in Ashley's eyes. "Where are we going anyway?" he asked Erik, who was in charge of where they would be going that night, 'cause Erik, being from NY, knew the cool places to go to.

  "We're going to this great bar, that has also a dance floor. It's nothing too chick, just laid-back people, it's great."

  "Ok! Let's go party then!" Trevor yelled on the elevator.

  Kirstin and Grace were getting into Inferno. Grace was already up-to-date with the whole 'tragedy', as Kirstin described the event, that was Kirstin and Ashley's date.

  Inferno was a really nice place. It had an upstair floor with tables and you could see part of the dance floor and the bar from there. Downstairs were the dance floor and it had some tables around it. The bar was downstairs too and it had red stools all around the counter. The DJ booth was under the upstair floor, at the end of the dance floor.

  Kirstin and Grace sat on their usual table, which was downstairs, in the middle where you could see the whole dance floor. As usual, Tom was the one serving them that night.

  "Hey ladies!" Tom smiled at Kirstin. He remembered Kirstin was flirting with him the week before, but he was a little confused. He didn't know whether or not she meant that, 'cause minutes later, she was making out with another 'Thursday Guy'.

  "Hey Tom, baby!" Kirstin greeted him with her big smile.

  "What's it gonna be tonight?"

  "I'll have a beer." Grace ordered.

  "And I'll have the tequila shot! Actually bring me 2, would you?"

  "Sure. Salt and lemon?"

  "Of course! Thank you"

  Tom then went to get their drinks.

  "K, do you really think that you getting drunk will make you forget about all that happened at that date?" Grace was worried about her friend.

  "No! But it will make things better, I can assure that! And stop being all maternal, alright? I'm 20! I can take care of my own life! I've done great so far."

  "Fine, you are right. You are a big girl. Just do whatever you want."

  "Oh my God! Oh my God!" Kirstin suddenly said. At that exact moment, Ashley was walking into Inferno. And he wasn't alone. Clueless about what to do, Kirstin turned her head towards the dance floor and put her left hand over her face so he wouldn't see her.

  "What? What is it, K?" Grace had no idea what was going on.

  "Ashley's here! And that slut he's holding hands with must be his girlfriend!"

  "You're kidding me! Where?"

  "They are heading this way, probably to go upstairs. He's with that girl in that black dress and two other guys, one of them looks kinda latin. Do you see them? Don't look directly at them. I don't want Ashley to see me here."

  "Oh, I see them. Man, she does look like a slut. Who dresses like that to come to Inferno?"

  "I know! And the nerves of that guy! How dare he come here? This is here we hang out!"

  "Well, I don't know K, but isn't it possible that he doesn't know we come here?"

  "Don't look, he's coming over, he's coming over!"

  "He's not coming over, relax!" Grace said, turning her head to face Kirstin. Ashley and the other people he was with passed through them and headed upstairs. "He didn't see you. That's good, right?"

  "Hell yeah! I am embarrassed of all the things I told him earlier. I can't face him! Especially when he's with that girlfriend of his." Kirstin looked up to see them sit at their table. "Oh, thank God, he has his back to us. He can't see us, great! I thought we would have to change tables."

  "K, do you wanna go home? This is clearly disturbing you." "No G. We're staying! If he can go to a bar and have fun with his girl and friends, why can't I? Besides, we were here first! We're staying!" she then spotted Tom getting closer to their table. "Actually..."

  "Oh no! Don't play with Tom!" Grace sensed what her friend was up to.

  "Relax!"

  "Here Grace, your beer. Kirstin, your 2 tequila shots."

  "Thanx Tom." Grace thanked him and held her head down. Poor Tom. She knew Kirstin was gonna use him for her own good.

  "Thanx sweetie." Kirstin started saying "And you know what? I think tonight I'm gonna find someone to do body shots with! Hey Tom, are you up to it?" Tom was taken by surprise, obviously, and didn't know how to react to that request. Feeling embarrassed, Kirstin continued to tease him. "C'mon! You know you want to!"

  "I'm working and..."

  "What time do you get off? I can wait for you." She smiled at him. Tom couldn't resist her. He liked her. A lot. So he told her

  "I think I can find someone to cover my shift."

  "You can? That would be fantastic Tom!" Kirstin then turned her gaze to Grace that was just shaking her head slightly. Grace couldn't believe Tom was getting into Kirstin's trap. He was so naive. She felt bad for the guy.

  "Can you give me 30 minutes?"

  "Sure baby!"

  Tom then left.

  "Oh Kirstin. That was so mean! He doesn't deserve to be part of this sick little revenge you got going on here."

  "Grace, will you stop it? Why are you so worried about Tom anyway? He's gonna be my 'Thursday Guy' tonight and you never had a problem with that before. And last week, you were the one telling me I should go for him, that he digs me and now that I finally got the courage to go for a guy, you are holding me back? Wait, do you like him? You know, like…"

  "No! It's not that! I said he digs you cause I thought he could be the one you would go steady with, you know? Stop fooling around? And Tom is a great guy! He's sweet, and he truly likes you. He's not like the other 'Thursday Guys'. But you know what? Forget it! I didn't know about Ashley last week, so forget about all I said to you last week."

  "Yes, let's forget about it and have some fun already!" she said drinking the 2 tequila shots, one straight after the other.

  "Erik, man, this is a great place!" Trevor was all excited. "On our way up here, I saw so many hot chicks! C'mon! Let's shake our asses Erik. Find some girls for us at the dance floor!"

  "Yeah, alright! Let's do it!" Erik and Trevor were off to the dance floor.

  "Great, I thought they would never leave us alone." Jen told Ashley and kissed him on the lips. Ashley didn't allow her to deepen the kiss.

  "Jen, we need to talk."

  "Oh no. That's never good. Did I do something wrong?"

  "No,
it's not that." Ashley rubbed his forehead before continuing. "I don't know how to say this to you..."

  "Now you are really making me nervous. Just say it already!"

  "Ok, we have been together now for what? 5, 6 months?"

  "5 months. 6 months next week." she replied with a sweet smile.

  "Right" Ashley smiled back, nervously. "It's been 5 great months. But the thing is... remember when you called me today and that girl answered?"

  "Yes, the journalist."

  "Well, actually, she wasn't a journalist. She was..."

  "Did you lie to me?"

  "Please Jen, let me finish. I have a lot to say here."

  "Ok, carry on." Jen said in an angry tone, crossing her arms over her chest.

  "So, she wasn't a journalist. She was this girl I went to high school with and I found her at MTV yesterday and..."

  "What do you mean, you found her?"

  "Jen, I was looking for this girl ever since our prom night. She disappeared after that night and I never heard from her again. So I ran into her at MTV yesterday, turns out she works there, and I asked her to have coffee with me today."

  "You asked this girl on a date?"

  "It wasn't a date! It was just 2 friends drinking coffee and talking. And before you ask, I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want you to make a fuss out of it. I decided to go, have coffee with her and find out if I still had any feeling left for her."

  "Still, you should have told me!"

  "I know, and I'm sorry."

  "And? What did you find out?" Jen glanced down. Somehow she already knew what was coming.

  "That's the hard part, Jen. I don't know how to make this easier, so I'll just say it. I love her. I'm really sorry Jen, but I have to be truth to my feelings, and I can't go on with our relationship thinking about this other girl 24/7. It wouldn't be fair to you. You are a great girl, you deserve so much better. I never..."

  "You know what Ashley? Spare me from all of this pity talk. It's bullshit and you know it! I knew I was the only one in love in this relationship, but I thought you just needed some time for it to grow on you. I had no idea you were in love with a girl from your past! I can't believe how foolish I was." she shook her head in disappointment. "And you bring me here to talk about it? Were you expecting me to make a big scene about it? You are an asshole Ashley! But you know what? I'm gonna be the better person in this relationship and wish you all the happiness in the world with this... girl!" she said getting up. "Have a nice life!" And just like that, she was out of Ashley's sight. He was left with his hands over his face. He had a big headache.

  "I'm gonna go dance. I don't wanna be here when Tom gets here." Grace was off to the dance floor.

  Kirstin didn't wanna be alone at the table, so she went to sit on a stool by the bar. At the other side of the counter, she saw Tom talking to this other guy she assumed was the other waiter that would be covering Tom's shift. She yelled so Tom would listen to her over the loud music.

  "Hey handsome! What's taking you so long?"

  Tom faced her and said:

  "Just a second, K!" he turned back so he would face Kirk, one of Inferno's waiter "Please, Kirk, I beg you!"

  "I don't know man. I was just getting ready to leave. I'm really tired man, had a busy night."

  "I know, but please, cover my shift. Just this once. I can cover yours tomorrow if you want me to."

  "No, you don't have to do that. But are you sure about this?"

  "Yeah, you know I dig this girl. And she's practically throwing herself at me! You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this."

  "I do know. And she is pretty hot. But dude, she's gonna play you, just like all the other guys."

  "I don't care! I'd rather be played by her than have nothing to do with her at all. Please?"

  "Ok, alright. Go! Before I change my mind."

  "Oh dude, thanks! I owe you! Big time!"

  "You sure do. Now go!"

  Still on the other side of the counter, Tom got near Kirstin and said on her ear:

  "I'm just gonna go chance this shirt and I'll be right back."

  "Ok, I'll be waiting right here. Oh! And when you come back, bring the tequila! And don't forget the salt and lemon!"

  "Ok! Be right back!"

  Kirstin was a bit drunk already. 'But not enough' she thought. She still had the date on her mind and Ashley was at the bar. And he still hadn't seen her. She thought that was weird. Maybe he pretended not to see her and was now avoiding her? She hadn't looked up to see him since the first time she saw them get settle on their table. She was curious. She decided to take the risk and look up. When she did, she saw a picture that made her frown. Ashley was alone at the table, holding his head down. 'Where's the slut?' she thought.

  "What's wrong?" Tom saw her frowning when he got to her.

  "Oh nothing. So, did you bring the drinks?"

  "Yeah, here they are." he pointed to the drinks that were lying on the counter behind her stool. She was sitting and he was standing.

  "Great!" she said taking the salt from the counter. "So, do you wanna do it first?"

  "Are we really gonna do the body shot thingy?"

  "Yeah, Tom! C'mon! You'll love it! Here, let me do it first, so you'll loosen up a little." She held his head, and turned it a little to the side and put a bit of salt on his neck. She held the glass with tequila on her right hand, the lemon on her left one. Then, very slowly, she licked Tom's neck to get the salt, drank the tequila and sucked the lemon. After that, she gave him a sexy look, licked her lips and smiled. "See? It's good! Did you like it?"

  "Oh yeah!" Tom smiled, actually pretty turned on by that.

  "Great! So now it's your turn." she told him handing him the salt.

  He did exactly like she did before. Brushed her hair away from her neck and put the salt on it. When he was licking her neck, Kirstin turned her gaze and made eye contact with this guy standing upstairs, staring at her. It was Ashley.

  Chapter 9

  She kept her eyes on Ashley's and a frown formed on her face when he headed for the stairs. Tom, who was done doing the body shot, turned to see what Kirstin was staring at.

  "What? What's wrong, K?"

  Seeing that Ashley was getting closer to where she was, she replied:

  "Nothing's wrong. Come here." She ordered pulling Tom's shirt and kissing him hard on the lips... She kept her eyes opened while kissing Tom and when she noticed that Ashley was still going to her direction, she, who was sitting on the stool while Tom was standing on his feet, wrapped her legs around Tom getting him closer to her and closed her eyes.

  Ashley wanted to get nearer, see if that image of Kirstin all over that guy was the real deal. See if that was really Kirstin, 'cause the Kirstin he knew wasn't like that with guys. The Kirstin he knew was sweet and shy. She wasn't the type of girl that would lick some guy's neck and wrap her legs around him. Unless he was her boyfriend. But, he couldn't be her boyfriend. She couldn't have a boyfriend after everything she had said at the coffee shop about her not being the relationship type of girl. Ashley was standing 10 feet away from them when they pulled apart, and when they did, he approached her.

  "Kirstin, can I talk to you for a minute?"

  "I'm sorry Ashley, but can't you see I'm kinda busy here?" she asked him wrapping her arms around Tom's waist.

  "Please, it'll only take a minute."

  "Hey man, don't you get it? She doesn't wanna talk to you!" Tom answered Ashley loudly.

  "Tom, chill! And Ashley, if you have something to say to me, you can say it in front of Tom."

  "So, I'm assuming this is your boyfriend." Ashley asked pointing to Tom.

  Kirstin, looking at Tom hoping he would realize she wanted him to go along with her lie, answered:

  "Yes, he is. Ashley, this is Tom, my boyfriend. And if you have something to say to me, you can say in front of him. So, what…"

  He interrupted Kirstin with an angry tone in his voice:

  "I jus
t want you to know that I just broke up with Jen."

  Kirstin was shocked. Her jaws actually dropped. She did not expect that. Not paying attention to Kirstin's reaction, Ashley asked for a pen and a piece of paper from the bartender and wrote something on it.

  "And, as you are not available for talking in private at the moment, here's my cell phone number. Call me when you feel like talking, I'm outta here." he told her shortly, and he was out of her sight in matter of seconds.

  "Good!" Kirstin said to no one in particular when she could no longer see him. She felt pretty bad on the inside but she wouldn't let that feeling take over her.

  "Who was that?" Tom asked.

  "Nobody, just a person I once knew. Don't worry about him." she was still staring into the crowd, hoping she would be able to see Ashley just one last time. Waking from her thoughts, she turned to look at Tom's face "Tom, can you get us more drinks, honey?"

  Tom was actually happy with all that. Kirstin had dismissed that guy 'cause she would rather be with him. At least that was how he understood the situation.

  "Yeah, sure. Wait right here, baby!"

  Ashley went on search for Erik and Trevor. It was really hard to find anyone on the dance floor, which was packed. He found Erik first. He was dancing with this really petit, redheaded girl. He approached Erik:

  "Hey Erik, I'm sorry to get in the way of your dance here, but I'm leaving. Meet you guys back at the hotel, alright?" Erik could tell from the sound of Ashley's voice that he was mad about something.

  "No, no, no. I am going with you. Just give me a second, alright?"

  Ashley backed away so Erik would finish saying goodbye to the girl he was dancing with. It didn't take too much for Erik to say goodbye and then he left the crowded dance floor and found Ashley.

  "Let's go find Trevor." he said.

  They soon found Trevor dancing with 2 blond, attractive girls. Erik was the one that decided to get Trevor so they would go back to the hotel.

  "Yo, Trev, I feel bad for interrupting this little private party you got going on here, but we gotta go. I think things didn't go to smoothly with Ashley and Jen and he wants to leave and I think we should go with him."