Comfort Zone

by Missy Johnson

  “Oh my God. Look at you go, Becca. You rock that bar,” Amy exclaims.

  She laughs hysterically and then holds up her phone, so I can see—not that I want to. Despite the situation, I fight back a smile as I watch myself strut along the bar to the beat of the song. Right before the end, I unzip the back of my dress and tease the crowd, but before I show any skin, Liam appears and yanks me off the bar. It’s only a brief cameo, but enough for him to be identified.

  Amy’s eyes widen. “Does he know he’s in it too?” she whispers.

  I shrug, ignoring the pit in my stomach. “I didn’t even know I was in it until five minutes ago.”

  “You’re so crazy, Becs.” She stares at her phone and giggles. “I wonder how many hits you’ve had?”

  “Close to half a million,” Mandi pipes up. “We’ve been tracking your progress.”

  Oh lord. My progress?

  My stomach churns. How has nobody said anything to me until now? I groan and place my head face down on the bar. Is it desperate of me to beg Mandi to tell me everything? Because I’m almost at that point.

  “Oh, come on. It’s not that bad. Really.” Mandi studies me for a moment, before her mouth twists into a sympathetic smile. “You don’t remember much at all about that night, do you? I guess I don’t blame you. They say your mind goes into survival mode following a traumatic situation.”

  Is that what this was?

  “Um, does your friend need…help?”

  For a moment I think she’s talking about Amy, but then I see she’s looking past both of us. I turn around, confronted by the sight of Annie hanging upside down on the stripper pole, letting it all hang out. She giggles when she loses her grip and tumbles down to the floor, much to the delight of the small group of men who have gathered to watch her.

  Laura walks over to me, her eyes dancing. I can tell by her expression she’s fighting the same battle I am; do we watch Annie crash and burn, or stop her from making an idiot of herself? Then again, I’m probably not the person to be giving that kind of advice.

  “Best fucking night ever,” Laura hisses, her eyes shining.

  “Maybe you should put a leash on your sister-in-law?”

  Laura grins at me. “I could, but it’s so much more fun taking pics and sending them to Matt.” She giggles, referring to her brother and Annie’s husband. “He’s freaking the fuck out.”

  I shake my head. “You guys are messed up.”

  “Me? They’ve got a bet going on. I’m just the impartial referee”. She shrugs.

  “I don’t even want to know what that’s all about.”

  “Says the girl who bet her neighbor that too much licorice was worse than laxatives.”

  “What?” I frown. “That was a legitimate experiment.”

  “Yeah, but you were ten.” She giggles. “And stuck on the toilet for a week straight.”

  “Sure, it was a shitty job, but I was right, wasn’t I?”

  “For once,” she retorts. “And I’m ignoring your crappy joke.”

  “Yeah? Well I’m ignoring your poor attempt at toilet humor.” I grin, wrapping my arm around my friend. “This is why I love you, Loz.”

  “So, how is it going?” she asks, her tone turning serious. “Has anything sparked your memory, yet?”

  “Not exactly…”

  “Becca,” Laura says sternly. “Don’t hold out on me.”

  “Sombrero and Right Said Fred,” I mumble, rubbing my eyes. “Google it.”

  Alarm fills her eyes. “I’m not sure I want to…”

  “Oh, you do. Trust me.”

  I walk back over to the bar, determined to get more information out of Mandi, but she’s gone. I look around, but I can’t see her anywhere. Serious? I get that close to answers only to have it taken away from me? This whole night has been a waste of my time. I’m beginning to think I’m never going to know what happened.

  Maybe that’s a sign that I should just move on?

  “Sombrero Girl! Hey, I thought you were going to call me?”

  I turn around to find myself face-to-face with a set of tits bigger than my face. Like I’m literally eye level with her nipples, she’s that tall. She pouts at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Laura’s eyes bulge out of her head.

  “I was?” I squeak. This is news to me.

  “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” she asks. “Because I’m super excited about it.”

  That explains why her nipples are so erect.

  I frown, my brain aching from trying to figure out what the fuck I agreed—and possibly already did—with this girl. For the first time in my life, I’m speechless. Maybe nothing happened with Professor Sullivan and I went exploring down another track?

  “Becs, just ask her what happened,” Laura hisses in my ear.

  I wince, because tipsy Laura is much louder than she realizes. I’m pretty sure the people outside the club would’ve heard her just then. The stripper certainly did.

  “This is the perfect chance to find out whether you fucked your professor.”

  Just in case it wasn’t clear the first time she said it.

  “You hooked up with Vanessa?” Amy hisses, wrapping her arms around my neck from behind. I had no idea she was even there.

  God, I hope not.

  Vanessa’s lips lift upward and then she roars with laughter. She reaches out and touches my arm, tilting her head to the side.

  “You don’t remember?”

  “Did you and I…” My voice trails off.

  God, this is so embarrassing.

  Her eyes widen. “Oh God no. I think I’d break you.”

  She laughs again and then puts her hand up, motioning for us to follow her. We walk out the back and into a small room. I glance at Laura and Amy, who both shrug. I turn back to Vanessa. She sits down at a computer and starts clicking her way through various pages. I stifle a laugh, because it’s hard to take her seriously when all she’s wearing is a flimsy little thong and her breasts jiggle every time she moves. She smiles triumphantly and motions toward the screen.

  “Surveillance footage.” She grins.

  My eyes widen. Why the hell didn’t I think of that?

  Laura jumps up and down next to me, like this is the most exciting day of her life.

  “Awesome idea, Ness,” Amy grins. “How the hell have you been, anyway?”

  “I’m sorry, can you two catch up after we’ve figured out how badly I messed things up?” I request. I wince as my image fills the screen and I kiss Vanessa. “On second thought, never mind…”

  I turn around and bury my face in Laura’s shoulder. She pats me on the back, her silent chuckles quickly turning into uncontrollable laughter, so I pull away.

  “You’ve got no idea what happened?” Vanessa asks. “No wonder you acted so weird before. I thought your hottie friend was lying about when he said that.”

  “Hold up.” I say, frowning at her. “What are you talking about?”

  “The hot older guy you were with? You know, the one we were trying to make jealous?”

  “Liam. What about him?” I ask impatiently.

  “He came up to me at the end of the night, once everyone in your group had left and said that you couldn’t remember if anything happened.’” She shrugs. “He made it sound like you guys were a thing and he was looking out for you. I’m sorry if I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “No, it’s okay.” I pause, my heart racing. “And did anything happen?”

  She laughs. “Relax. All we did was talk. That was when you offered to help me get my foot in the door at the studio you used to work at.”

  I breathe out, relieved.

  “You were very thankful that I was helping you out by making your hottie friend jealous.” She grins. “And it was obviously working.”

  “Ah, so that’s what you meant when you said I was supposed to call you,” I mutter.

  “Right.” She grins.

  “So did you tell him any of this?” I ask, cur
ious as to how much he knows.

  “Nope. Didn’t say a word. I said if he wanted to know what happened in that room, he needed to hear it from you.”

  “Thanks for your help,” I say. “Would you, uh, know if anything else happened that night…involving me?”

  Her eyes sparkle. “You mean aside from you dragging your hottie into the bathroom and not coming back out until twenty minutes later?”

  “Tell me you’re joking.”

  “Sorry. I’m not joking. I can’t vouch for whether anything happened in there, but he came out looking pretty happy with himself.”

  “Shit,” I groan.

  “Maybe nothing happened?” Laura says.

  “You totally fucked him,” Amy announces at the same time.

  That about sums up my thoughts at the moment.

  “Sorry I couldn’t be more useful for you,” Vanessa says.

  “No, you’ve been an incredible help, trust me.”

  #

  When we walk back into the main room, we’re met with the confronting image of Annie passed out near the edge of the stage. Thank God she’s dressed, but I feel bad about leaving her alone. Anything could have happened. When I’m ashamed, there’s something seriously wrong.

  “Let’s get her out of here before she kills herself. Or someone else,” I grumble.

  The second we lift her to her feet, Annie wakes up, disorientated and looking very green. We’ve barely walked out into the parking lot, when she’s on her knees, puking her guts up. I groan and walk away, holding my hand over my mouth. I’m a sympathy puker, so one whiff of that and I’ll be heaving my stomach up too. I reach the car and yank the door open and wait until she’s done, then I help Laura toss Annie into the back.

  “If she’s sick, she’s all yours,” I warn. “And you’ll be buying the car off me too.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Laura insists. “Trust me, she’s a one puke wonder.”

  “She better be, or you’ll be cleaning up twice the prize,” I grumble.

  I click in Annie’s seatbelt, laughing when she pulls me into a tight hug. She kisses me on the cheek, her regurgitated beer breath nearly making me vomit.

  “I love you so much, Becca,” she mumbles. “If I was into chicks, I’d totally be trying to get in your pants.”

  “Maybe don’t tell your husband that.” I laugh.

  I slide out of the backseat and shut the door, then I turn to Amy, who is waiting to say goodbye. I smile and give her a hug.

  “Thanks for your help. And for never telling anyone about that video,” I murmur.

  “Oh, so, I shouldn’t have posted it on the university social media sites?” she teases.

  “You better be joking.”

  She laughs. “Of course I am. So,” she looks at me. “what are you going to do about Liam?”

  I sigh as I realize something for the first time.

  “The only way I’m going to know what happened, is to work up the courage to ask him.”

  #

  “Jesus, Laura, what the hell is this?” Matt, Annie’s husband, barks.

  He clasps his hands behind his head and glares at us after seeing the state his wife is in. He peers through the window at her when she stirs. She smiles dreamily at Matt.

  “Um, your wife?” Laura says in a helpful voice.

  “I danced on a pole and flashed my tits,” Annie says. She giggles hilariously as he helps her out of the car. “And now you, sir, are going to get thoroughly fucked. I’ll even put on that little schoolgirl dress you love so much.”

  “See? Just another Thursday night,” I joke.

  “For fucks sake, why the hell would you say that?” Laura squeaks at Annie. She screws her face up, and dry heaves. “I so didn’t need to hear that. Excuse me while I go and peroxide my ears.”

  “What the hell did you do to her?” Matt asks, perplexed. He glares at his sister and then at me.

  “Nope, this one is all on her,” Laura says, nodding at Annie.

  Cursing under his breath, he practically tosses Annie over his shoulder and stomps up the driveway, with her giggling hysterically.

  “Not even a goodbye?” I call out.

  “Seriously. I do not need the details of my brother’s sex life,” Laura rants, still fixated on what Annie said.

  I walk over to the driver’s side and climb in, then I lower the window, letting Laura lean against the doorframe. She sticks her head in and pecks me on the cheek.

  “How are you doing?” she asks sympathetically.

  I manage a smile. “Fake it till you make it, right?”

  “You’ll be fine. You always are. And you could do worse than fool around with Liam,” she says.

  “Like dance on a bar, in a sombrero?”

  She laughs so hard she snorts. “Come on. You do that kind of shit sober. You’ll be fine. Call me when you get back, okay? I’m really sorry we can’t be at your parent’s ceremony, too. If I could find someone to watch the kids, I’d be there in a heartbeat.”

  “You’re only sorry because you don’t want to miss out on the action,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “I’m onto you.”

  She laughs and gives me a sweet grin. “Moi? Remember how happy you were that time you had to drive me to the hospital?”

  “You mean because you got the world’s smallest vibrator stuck up your party place?” I grin.

  “Paybacks a bitch, Becca.”

  “And apparently, so are you.”

  I wave at my friend as I start the car and take off down the street. I’d been hoping for more answers than what I got tonight, but I suppose it’s better than nothing. The only one who can tell me for sure what happened is Liam. The problem is, how do I even know he’d tell me the truth, especially since he asked Vanessa to embellish the truth. Thank God nothing happened. Though Liam doesn’t know that. I smile. Loz was right about one thing.

  Payback is a bitch.

  Chapter Ten

  Liam

  Slamming the door shut, I take a moment to catch my breath before shoving the key in the ignition. It’s Friday morning, and I’m running late to pick up Becca. Just as I’m about to start the car, my phone rings. I pick it up, frowning when I see my father’s number. I can’t remember the last time he called me, and the few times he did, it certainly wasn’t without a reason.

  “Can this wait?” I say, answering his call. “I’m just about to leave.”

  I try to keep the irritation out of my voice, but it’s near impossible. We may not get along, but I always try my best to be civil, especially since we work together. That and I don’t have the energy to fight it out with him anymore.

  “Oh? Where are you off to?”

  I shake my head, not sure if he’s trying to make small talk or if he’s just being nosy. Small talk has never been a strong point for him, so it’s probably just him being nosy. Either that, or there’s an agenda. I put the phone in my other hand and click in my seatbelt.

  “To pick Grammy up. It’s the only way she can go to Jake’s wedding.”

  “Okay, then I won’t keep you. I just wanted to remind you about—”

  “You don’t need to remind me,” I cut in. “I have it sorted, okay? I’ll be at the conference, so you don’t need to worry about trying to replace me just yet.”

  As much as you’d love to do that.

  I glance at the time again. I’d been hoping to be on the road by now.

  “Look, I really have to go. I’ll see you when I get back, okay?”

  I end the call and toss the phone on the seat next to me and take off, my hands clenched tightly around the wheel. I shouldn’t have answered him. I should have just let it go to voicemail and dealt with it later, because all speaking to him has done is ruined my good mood. The thing that annoys me the most is that he didn’t even ask how Grammy is doing. It would have taken half a second for him not to be an asshole.

  Becca is standing out front already when I pull up outside her place. I’m only half an hour late, which is
actually better than I thought. I click the trunk and then get out to help her, but her things are already in there. She shuts the trunk and winks at me.

  “If I managed to pack it and lug it out here, then I’m pretty sure I can throw it in your trunk,” she teases.

  “Fair enough. I won’t bother to open the door for you then.”

  I walk around to my door and open it, sliding inside, then I turn to watch the show. She lifts the door handle, but it doesn’t open. I give her a little wave through the window.

  “Maybe try harder,” I suggest.

  “You locked it.” She peers through the window accusingly at me.

  “No, I didn’t,” I assure her. “It’s just a pain in the ass to open sometimes. You have to really jerk it just the right way for it to release…”

  My voice trails off. Could I have worded that any worse? Becca struggles to keep the smile off her face. I reach over and open the door from the inside. “There.”

  “Thanks. So, you must have loads of experience jerking it the right way, huh? Talent like that could make you a lot of money, you know.”

  I laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  It might be a better option than working for my father.

  “Okay,” Becca says, rubbing her hands together. I smile back, because her energy is infectious. My foul mood from earlier is slowly melting away. “What’s the plan?”

  “I was thinking we could fuck the ceremony off completely and just go to Vegas? We could go visit some strip clubs…” I grin at her. “Do Vegas, Becca style.” Her smile disappears as she scowls at me. “Kidding.” I chuckle. “I figured after the other night, you could take a joke.”

  “Yeah, well, I agreed to come with you,” she retorts. “If that doesn’t show how accommodating I am, then I don’t know what does.”

  I smirk at her. “I thought we covered that the other night too...” Her mouth drops open in shock as I laugh. “You’re really easy to wind up, you know that?” I say, shaking my head.