by J. S. Cooper
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Olivia laughed. “So, what’s your dilemma?”
“I’ll give you one guess.”
“Uh-oh. Do I even need to guess?” She shook her head. “Let me think. Hmm. Does this have something to do with Hunter?”
“Does it ever,” I groaned. “But shall we go inside first? Do you want to grab a drink and then we can talk about it?”
“I would love to grab a drink.” Olivia smiled. “By the way, I spoke to Jane and Millie, and they said that they can’t make it. Magnolia said she might be able to make it later, but Jagger had had something he wanted to show her. I’m not really sure what.”
“Of course,” I rolled my eyes. “At least you could make it. You’re my true friend, Olivia.”
“Oh, Birdie. You know I love you. And you know the other girls love you as well. It’s hard on a Friday night.”
“I know, but what about me? I have no one else.” I grimaced, I hated sounding bitter. “Well, I guess I could make some new friends, but that’s so hard.”
“You know, girl, I understand how it is,” Olivia put her arm around my shoulder. “And you know what? I’ll always be here for you. And I’ll speak to the other girls as well because I definitely don’t want you to feel like you’re by yourself. And even if we hang out with some of the guys, you’re not a fifth wheel. Okay, Birdie?”
“Thanks, Olivia. You’re the best.”
“I try to be.” She grinned as we walked inside the bar. I looked around and immediately I could see two older guys looking over at us. I could tell their intent by the way that their legs were spread wide open. They were wearing nice shoes and probably made a lot of money, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t interested. Tonight, I was not here to have fun. Well, I was here to have fun, but I wasn’t here to flirt. And I wasn’t here to make out with some random guy.
I looked over at Olivia. “Please promise me you won’t let me make out with some rando tonight.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to make out with a rando?” She laughed. “You love making out with randos.”
“I do love making out with randos, but tonight is not the night. I need to keep my head and my wits about me.”
“And you can’t do that if you’re making out with randos?”
“I can’t do that if I’m super drunk,” I laughed. “And it’s only when I’m super drunk that I make out with randos.”
“Ah, okay.” Olivia and I walked over to the bar. “So, what do you want to drink, girl? First round’s on me.”
“What about a Long Island iced tea?” I could barely think about alcohol right now, I was so preoccupied with thoughts of Hunter.
“You sure? I thought you didn’t really like them.”
“That’s true. What about a tequila sunrise?”
“Oh yeah, that sounds good. I’ll get us two tequila sunrises. Do you want to look for a seat while I get the drinks?”
“Sure.”
I walked over to the side of the room to look for an empty booth. There was one high top that was free, but I didn’t really like sitting at high tops. I looked to the side and then saw that there were two guys and one girl sitting in a booth who looked like they were about to leave.
I hurried over to the booth and stopped. “Hi, just checking if you guys are just settling in or leaving?”
“No, we’re just about to leave,” one of the guys said with a smooth voice. “However, you could persuade me to stay.”
“Oh,” I said with a small laugh. “Thanks, but I’m here with my friend.”
“Boyfriend?” he said with a raised eyebrow.
“No, I don’t have a boyfriend.” I flicked my long blonde hair back and smiled at him. He was really attractive. Like really, really attractive. Maybe I was okay with making out with a rando tonight.
“Oh, well then …” He winked and licked his lips.
“Jimmy, we got to go, remember?” the other guy said.
He rolled his eyes in response, “Fine, fine, fine.” He looked at me. “But it was really nice meeting a beautiful lady like you. I hope to see you again soon.”
“Maybe, if you’re lucky,” I said with a grin, suddenly feeling a bit better.
I wasn’t sure what it was about cute guys flirting with me, but it always raised my self-esteem. It made me feel like I was on top of the world. I hated the fact that external validation made me feel better about myself, but it did. The guy slid out of the booth along with the girl, and then I slid in quickly before anyone else could snatch the seats. I looked around to see if Olivia could see me. And then as she turned around, I waved her towards me.
I grinned as she approached with the two tequila sunrises. “Ooh, these look amazing,” I said. “Thanks, girl.”
“No worries. I brought a menu as well so that we could see the other cocktails they have on offer, and then maybe we can get some snacks.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m going to need plenty of snacks. I’m super hungry.” I grabbed one of the menus and checked the appetizers. “Ooh, do you want to share the loaded tater tots with me?”
“Of course,” Olivia said.
“Ooh, and what about a quesadilla? But they have nachos as well! Oh my God, and mozzarella sticks and Buffalo wings. Oh man, I want them all.”
“Did you have lunch today, Birdie?” Olivia laughed.
“I did, but it was only a salad,” I groaned. “And I need much more than a salad to keep me going.”
“Me too, girl,” she replied. “How about we get the loaded tater tots and some Buffalo wings and maybe one more thing? You can choose.”
“Ooh, what about some spinach and artichoke dip?”
“That sounds absolutely delicious,” Olivia nodded. “Shall I go and order now?”
“No, that’s okay, girl. When we finish these drinks, I’ll go up to the bar and I’ll get our drinks, and I’ll order the food.”
“No, I don’t want you to have to pay for the food as well,” Olivia shook her head. “I want to get it.”
“No, you always treat me. And yes, I’m a poor ass, but I’m not that poor. I can treat us today, okay?” I grinned at her.
“Okay, if you say so. So, what’s going on? What has Hunter done now? Did he text you from another phone number?”
“No. He knows better than to do that.”
“Did he email you?”
“Nope. Haven’t heard anything from him via email.”
“So, what did he do?”
“Well, it’s not exactly what he did. It’s what a family member of his did.”
“Oh, what did his family member do?”
“His sister, Nellie, sent me an email.”
“Oh, okay. I didn’t know he had a sister.”
“Yeah, she’s amazing. She was like a little sister to me when I was dating him. We were really close. Actually, I felt kind of guilty when we broke up because I didn’t really keep in contact with her as much as I would’ve wanted.”
“So, what did she have to say?”
“Well, she’s coming to San Francisco with Hunter.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I guess he’s treating her to some sort of trip or something. I don’t know, but she’s coming and she wants to grab lunch or dinner with me.”
“Shit, and is she planning on bringing Hunter?”
“She says she knows I don’t want to see Hunter, so she promises that he won’t come.” I let out a deep sigh. “And as much as I love Nellie, and I want to believe her, I mean … Oh, I just don’t know what to think. Like, I know him, and I know how much Nellie looks up to him and how much she loves him, and I don’t want him to manipulate her into bringing him to the meal.”
“Well, if he were to come, couldn’t you just leave?”
“But then I’d feel so guilty. How could I just leave Nellie there?”
“She would understand, wouldn’t she?”
“Yeah, I guess she would understand. I just don’t know what to do. Of course, I’d love t
o have lunch and catch up with her. I’d love to show her around San Francisco, but I just don’t want to see Hunter. I want nothing to do with him.”
“Well, then maybe you shouldn’t see her? Can you just tell her that as much as you’d love to see her, the chances that you have to meet up with Hunter are too great and you’d rather not risk it?”
“Yeah, I was thinking about that. But wouldn’t that be mean?”
“Girl, it’s about self-preservation. That’s not mean at all.” She paused. “Though you know, I really, really want to know what Hunter did to you that was so bad you don’t even want to see his sister.”
“Oh, I know. It’s just so embarrassing,” I groaned. “I feel like a little bit of an idiot.”
“Why do you feel like an idiot, girl? It doesn’t seem like any of this was your fault.”
“I mean … it wasn’t really my fault, but I just feel like I should have known better, and I put up with far too much shit for far too long.”
“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about, so I can’t say either way, Birdie. But you know I’m here to listen, and I won’t judge you.”
“I know.” I sat back. “Look, let me get a couple more drinks in me and then I’ll tell you more, okay?”
“Okay,” she grinned. “So aside from that, what else is going on?”
“Nothing.” I made a face. “Though my mom really wants me to come home for my grandma and grandpa’s anniversary, which I guess will be fun, but not really because it’s just going to be judgment, judgment, judgment.”
“Oh, Birdie. I’m sorry. You do seem to love your family, though.”
“I love them from a distance.” I winced. “Does that sound absolutely horrible?”
“No, girl. Trust me, I understand. I love my family from a distance as well.”
I slurped the rest of the drink out of the glass. “Okay. I’m finished with my drink. What do you want? Another tequila sunrise?”
“That was fast.”
“I’m not playing around.”
“Well, let’s do two more tequila sunrises.”
“Sounds good.” I got up and walked over to the bar to order the drinks and food. After I ordered, I walked back to the booth and sat down. “Okay, so here are our drinks. She says the food will be out in about 20 minutes.”
“Sounds good,” Olivia smiled. “So, are you ready to tell me? Or do you want a bit more time?”
“No, I can tell you. Should I start at the beginning, the middle, or the end?”
“Uh, the beginning’s always good,” Olivia said with a laugh.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true, but …” I paused.
“What is it?”
“I just feel like when I start at the beginning, it makes people like him more.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“Well, we’ll see,” I said with a small smile. “I just … I don’t know. It’s hard for me to think about my past, you know?”
“I understand, it’s always hard.”
“He was my first love. In fact, he was my only love. He was basically my only everything. And well, obviously it didn’t end well, and sometimes it just still hurts a lot even though I can’t stand him and don’t want to be with him anyway.” I made a face. “Oh my gosh, I’m not even making sense, am I?”
“It’s okay, Birdie. Take your time. I’ve got all night. I promise.”
“Thank you. You’re so understanding, Olivia. I’m so glad that I met you and I’m glad that we work together. You’re a really good friend to me.”
“I’m always here for you, Birdie. Now, hurry up and tell me what’s going on because I want to hear everything about you and Hunter, and I mean everything.”
“Oh, trust me, girl. We will be here all night. And by the time I’m done with my story, you’ll understand why I hate him so much.”
Chapter 9
Birdie
“So I guess I’ll start at the beginning.” I looked at Olivia, whose eyes were wide as saucers. “Why do you look like you’re so apprehensive?” I chuckled.
“I’m just nervous to hear this story, Birdie. You’ve hyped it up so much, I’m just not sure what it’s going to be.”
“Oh, you know me. I’m so dramatic. It’s not that bad. I mean, it’s not like The Notebook crazy or one of those sad, angsty movies or books.”
“Okay, that’s good. Because you’ve got me nervous. You’ve been so apprehensive about telling me and the other girls. I guess I’m just worried that I’m going to feel really sad and really hate Hunter and want to kill him for you.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You’re going to want to kill him for me, but for other reasons,” I said with a laugh.
“So, I’m listening when you’re ready.”
“I guess I’ll start at the beginning. My mom and Hunter’s mom have been friends for a long time. They were in cotillion together when they were young.”
“Cotillion? Wow. So, they’re real southern ladies, huh?”
“Yeah. Both of them came from pretty well-to-do families and they were friends, kind of. I mean they weren’t best friends, but they knew each other. Anyway, Hunter and I ended up going to the same high school. We didn’t go to the same middle school or junior high, but we ended up in the same high school together.”
“So, did you know him before that?”
“I’d seen him around. And I can’t lie. I’d always thought he was kind of cute. But we hadn’t done more than sort of say hello, you know?”
“Sure. That makes sense.”
“So anyway, we’re in the same high school, and we’re actually in the same class.”
“Ooh, all the same classes?”
“No, we were in the same English class.” I smiled, thinking back to those days. “I can still remember the first time that we ever had a real conversation.”
“What was that about?”
“It wasn’t all that exciting. He just asked me if I’d read a play.”
“What play?”
“It was Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. We were reading it for class. I can still remember how it started. ‘If music be the food of love, play on. Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, the appetite may suffer and so die. That strain again, oh it had a dying fall.’” I paused. “Sorry. I’m sure you didn’t need to hear that.”
“No, wow. That’s so cool.” Olivia looked at me in admiration. “You can recite Shakespeare off the top of your head. That’s awesome.”
“Did I ever tell you I was in drama class?”
“No, I didn’t know that.”
“I’m sure you could have guessed, though.” I gave her a wry grin. “I am a little bit dramatic.”
“Oh, you’re very dramatic, Birdie. There’s nothing little about it,” she laughed. “So, okay. You and Hunter talked about Shakespeare.”
“Yeah, he asked me if I’d finished reading it because he hadn’t finished and he hadn’t done any of the homework. He wanted to know if he could copy my answers in case he got called on by the teacher.”
“Typical high-school boy, huh?”
“Yeah. And me being the typical high-school girl, I gave him the answers,” I laughed. “It was kind of sweet. He was so grateful that he said he wanted to thank me properly. I said, ‘How?’ And he said he wanted to buy me a milkshake. That’s basically how it started.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet!”
“It actually was really sweet. Back then when we were freshmen, we were both sort of wet behind the ears. He was a handsome boy, but he wasn’t like a man, you know? And he wasn’t on the football team then, and he wasn’t built.” I paused. “He was just a sweet guy in those days.”
Olivia gave me a sweet, sad smile. “So that’s why you fell for him, huh?”
“Yeah. I mean, it all went pretty quickly. I mean for high school, of course it goes quickly. But that Friday we went to a burger place, and he bought us milkshakes and we shared fries and a burger. And then after that, we went to a
movie. And then the next weekend, we went to the mall and walked around.” I laughed. “I can remember because my dad drove us and it felt so awkward, but it was so sweet, you know?”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Hunter held my hand in the backseat, and I can remember feeling like, ‘Wow, this is really cool and really sweet and really special.’ I mean, as teenage girls do. I didn’t really know what was going on, you know?”
“Of course. You were so young.”
“And then we sort of just started hanging out more and more. I can remember our first kiss. It was on Thanksgiving. I’d gone over to his parents’ place after having dinner with my own family, and I had sweet potato pie with him and his family.”
“Aw, that sounds sweet.”
“Yeah, it was kind of cool. He took me to the backyard. He had a really big swimming pool, and he asked me if I wanted to go swimming. I said, ‘No. I don’t even have my bathing suit.’ And he laughed and said, ‘Well, we can go skinny dipping.’ I was like, ‘Your parents are right there, Hunter.’ He said, ‘So?’ And I just pushed him slightly, shaking my head, and he grabbed me and he kissed me.” I let out a deep sigh. “It was the most perfect first kiss you could imagine.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Olivia said. “Sounds really romantic.”
“I mean, I know we were in high school, and I know we didn’t really know what we were doing, but it was special, you know?” I chewed on my lower lip, getting caught up in memories of Hunter’s and my relationship. It had been really sweet in the beginning. He’d been a really nice, genuine guy, and it’d been easy to fall for him.
“Hey, Birdie,” Olivia said softly.
“Yeah, sorry? Did I miss something?” I took another sip of my tequila sunrise to stop the feelings from rising up in me.
“No, but you looked like you were drifting away for a moment there.”
“Oh, I was just thinking about the past.” I sighed. “He was a good guy in the beginning.”
“They’re always good guys in the beginning,” Olivia said with a wry smile. “Well, some of them aren’t, but those are the ones you know to stay away from the beginning. It’s the ones that seem like they’re great in the beginning that are the worst ones in the end, you know?”