My Real (4 page)

“Andrew. Wait,” I say as I place my hand on his chest and gently push him back.

Andrew takes a step back and put his hands on the truck, caging me in, and takes a deep breath.

“Bailey, I’m so sorry. I got carried away,” Andrew pants.

He’s sorry. He regrets kissing me.
I can feel my face flush with embarrassment, so I put my head down to hide it. Wait. He’s married. He shouldn’t be kissing me.

“Andrew, what was that? What about Jessica?” I ask.

“No Bailey,” he takes my face in his hands and explains. “My friends brought me out to celebrate my divorce. Jessica left me,” Andrew explains.

“Oh Andrew, I’m sorry. I thought … but … what is this?” I gesture between us.

“Do you remember the day we met?” Andrew asks as he strokes my cheek with his thumb.

“Of course, I never got that stain out of my favorite shirt,” I laugh trying to lighten the heavy mood between us. “But you and Jessica were inseparable from that day on. I was there, remember?” I reply.

“I walked into the cafeteria that day and the first thing I saw was you. Jessica was standing there talking your ear off and you were picking all the vegetables out of your lo mien. It was the weirdest thing I saw all day,” Andrew says as he places a stray hair behind my ear. “I was walking up to ask you what you had against vegetable when Jessica bumped into me,” Andrew laughs.

“Jessica did it on purpose. She was actually talking about you,” I say remembering back. “She saw you in her first class. She said she was going to find you and ask you out. When you walked in, she saw you and went into attack mode.”

“I tried talking to you. You were mute. I thought I’d at least get yelled at for spilling your food but you didn’t,” Andrew explained.

“I was a bit shy back in then,” I confess.

Andrew laughs as he backs away from me and lowers the tailgate on the truck. He lifts me up then takes a seat next to me. “Shy? Ya think? I tried to get you to talk to me for weeks after that.”

“I wanted to talk to you. I just didn’t know what to say. Besides, when Jessica saw you she claimed dibs on you. I was no match for her.”

“Not a match for her? Are you kidding me? It was you that I really wanted,” Andrew confessed.

Wait, he was interested in me? That’s not possible. I shake my head not believing him for a second.

“It didn’t matter. Jessica wanted you.”

We stare into each other’s eyes again. Andrew places his hand on my chin and leans closer to me again. “Well, I want you now. I’m going to kiss you again,” Andrew announces as he slowly moves closer.

I throw my arms around his neck and start kissing him. The kiss gets hot very quickly. His lips feel so soft against mine. His hands are up under my shirt rubbing my back. I can’t stop the small moan that escapes me. It’s been too long since I’ve felt this kind of desire.

Andrew apparently takes this as an invitation to take this make out session to the next level. He pulls me around to the back his truck so we are hidden from the rest of the parking lot. As he kisses down my neck, his stubble rubs roughly against my chest. His hands find their way under my shirt again.

“Wait, wait,” I said as I push him away. “We should probably get back in there,” I say, when what I really mean is take me right here and now big boy. I think of all the times I’ve made the “right” decision in my life and realize that the right decision is rarely the fun one. And where has always making the right decision gotten me? Divorced. What is stopping me here? I’m so tired of being the good girl who does everything right. I think this is my chance to be crazy.

Andrew runs a hand down his face then adjusts himself so his bulge isn’t quite so obvious. This makes me feel guilty. I am probably leaving him with blue balls, but as much as I’d love to get down and dirty with him, a parking lot might not be a good first choice for the new fun Bailey to let loose.

“I’m sorry. I got carried away,” he apologizes as he pulls me in and holds me to his chest.

“No, it’s okay. I don’t want to stop either,” I admit which evokes a frustrated groan from Andrew.

“Let’s go inside before I lose all self-control.” He grabs my hand and escorts me back inside.

As soon as we walk back into the bar, Bailey’s friend pulls her quickly into the bathroom. I walk over to my friends, who are now sitting at Bailey’s table.

“So, did you get lucky in the parking lot?” Sam asks after chugging the last of his beer.

“Fuck you,” I grumble back.

“Dude, she’s got a sweet ass. I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eating crackers,” Jake adds.

“Don’t be dicks,” I shoot back at them.

The girls come back from the bathroom and sit down just as the waiter serves another round of drinks.

“Bailey, do you remember Jake and Sam from school?”

“Of course. Hey guys,” Bailey replies as her cheeks redden with embarrassment. “Andrew, this is, Ella. We teach together.”

Jake, Sam, and Ella ordered an appetizer tray while we were outside. Jake and Sam are, of course, pigging out.

“So Andrew,” Ella coos. “What do you do?”

“I’m a pharmaceutical chemist. Jake and I work together.”

“And what exactly is a pharmaceutical chemist?” Ella asks as she peels the label off her beer bottle.

“We make sure that medications are safe and that they fall within all government and client regulations,” I reply.

“So you can get me free drugs?” Ella perks up.

“Ella, you don’t even take vitamins. What drugs would you want?” Bailey asks.

“Just checking. Maybe he’s testing a new anti-aging pill,” Ella replies pulling her face back like a women with a face lift. “Let’s order some real food. I’m starving!” Ella changes the subject quickly.

Our food comes, and we share stories about college, catching up on the past ten years, and then it quickly turns into bad relationship stories.

“Okay, I can top that Sam,” Bailey replies while finishing the last of her wings. “For Dave’s thirtieth birthday, I threw a huge surprise birthday party for him. All of his work friends were there. I hired his favorite local band to perform and had it catered with all his favorite food,” she continues while wiping her hands and cleaning the table up. “I even flew his best friend in from California. When the party was over, he didn’t thank me once. He actually complained that I did it on a Friday night instead of a Saturday. When my thirtieth birthday rolled around two months later, he got me a card from the dollar store and signed his name.”

I watch as she tells the story and my heart breaks for her. How could that asshole do something like that? Bailey is so considerate and caring. She deserves nothing but the best. I start to wonder how long she had put up with crap like that. She was always a shy person but in the last hour, I can easily tell that Dave did a number on her.

“Your turn, Andrew, give us a story about Jessica. I’ve heard tons of stories from Bailey. Let’s hear your side,” Ella begs.

“There are so many stories to pick from, how do I choose?” I stall as I look over at Bailey for her reaction. “There are a lot of little things like, that she never helped with the chores around the house, she was more worried about hanging with her friends than being at home. She never considered anyone but herself in any decision she made. But that’s not going to win me the prize of worst relationship,” I say as I lean back into my chair. “This actually goes back to college before we were married. Senior year. She cheated on me, a lot,” I glance at Bailey as she gasps. I wasn’t sure if she knew about it or not. “I confronted Jessica about it after we graduated and she promised she’d stop. Guess the joke was on me.”

No one says anything. Everyone just stares at me. Bailey looks at me with sorrow in her eyes then says “Well, you won the lull, Andrew.”

Everyone’s eyes turn to Bailey. The boys all start laughing and cheering and Ella asks, “What in the Hell are you talking about?”

“In college we used to play the Lull Game. Anytime a group of people are talking and there’s a lull in the conversation, the last person who talked wins the lull,” Bailey explains while looking around for our waiter, “which means we get a round of shots, on Andrew.”

And just like that, Bailey is able to make everyone forget about my horrible story that probably shouldn’t have been brought up in this setting and makes everyone start having a good time again. She used to do it all the time. She just has a way about her. She was always going out of her way to help others. As everyone orders another round of drinks and a shaker of shots, I look meaningfully at Bailey. She winks at me then her look becomes sultry.

The evening is coming to an end but I don’t want to leave Bailey’s company. Ella goes to the bathroom and Jake and Sam are having an argument about whose turn it is to pay when I notice Bailey is looking at me. I smile at her as I lean in and say, “I don’t want to leave you yet.”

“I don’t want the night to end either.”

After a beat I ask quietly, “Come home with me.”

This has been one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time. I’m just thinking that I’m not ready to go home when he voices my desire. I nod a smile at him when he asks me to go home with him.

Go home with him? Oh my.

“I need to go to the bathroom first.” I slowly get up from my seat and grab my purse. In the bathroom, Ella starts rambling to me when I walk through the door.

“Well, that was a fun night. Those boys are hot. Maybe I’ll go out with one of them again, but which one to choose?” She asks as she brushes through her hair. “Andrew certainly has a hard on for you.”

I stand there and stare at her not knowing what to say. I can’t believe I really said I’d go home with him.

“What’s your problem?” Ella asks as she reapplies some lipstick.

“He asked me to go home with him,” I say still stunned he even asked.

Ella spins on her heel and is on me in a matter of seconds. “What do you mean he asked you to go home with him?” Ella asks in surprise.

Still in a daze, I don’t answer until she shakes my shoulders. “He said ‘I don’t want to leave you yet, come home with me.’”

“Holy shit, what did you say?” She drops my shoulders and sits on the sink waiting for my answer.

“Nothing, I just nodded my head. What have I done? I can’t go home with him. Why did he even ask me?” I ask shaking my head. This having fun stuff is going to be harder than I thought.

“Obviously he wants more of what he got out in that parking lot. What did happen out there?”

“Some kissing, really nice kissing. I stopped him,” The smile on my face is hard to hide. It was really nice kissing. Ella jumps up from the sink again.

“You stopped him? Why in the hell did you do that?”

“Ella, we were in a parking lot. How far could we have gone in a parking lot?”

“I can think of plenty of things you can do in a parking lot. You’re going to fuck him tonight, aren’t you?” Ella prods.

My face turns hot immediately. This is not me. This is totally not me. But I so want it to be.

“Bailey, you have to. Do something out of the ordinary. Do something for you.”

I look down at my fingers that I am wringing in nervous energy.

“God, I want to,” I admit quietly. I’m done being a good girl. I’m going to do this for myself.