Save the Date

7

My cheeks felt like they were on fire. I was so sure that I would never see Luca again after the wedding. And yet here he was in my favourite place. I looked at him and then my eyes scanned the rest of the people at his table and I was relieved that I didn't recognise any of them. He looked at me with a blank expression, "I'm sorry? Do I know you?" He didn't recognise me. I didn't know if I should be relieved or offended because apparently, he didn't recognise me. Could this be? Was I that forgettable? I decided against my initial plan to call him out and confront him. If he didn't remember me, then maybe that meant he didn't remember my wardrobe malfunction. I could only hope. "I thought I knew you from somewhere. My mistake..." I said just as the door opened and a group of loud men walked in singing "We are the champions" blocking his table from sight. I took my chance to seat myself firmly at the bar once more. Nick explained that this was a bachelor party that had booked the room upstairs. "Meegan, please take these gentlemen to the VIP section". Meegan was the racoon barmaid. She was in the middle of blowing a bubble which popped as she moved to show the loud men to the upstairs area. "VIP section?" I raised my eyebrow at Nick. "What?" He said with a smile. As adventurous as Nick was, he was also a little overly ambitious, he liked his bar to be different although there wasn't much more that he could do to make it different. He had placed fairy lights around the bar, he had enclosed an outside area with big panes of glass and boards that made it look like the New York skyline. Now this 'VIP' area was another new attempt at being different. As I was talking to Nick about the bachelor party and about the new upgrades he had done to his bar, I felt a presence behind me, "You look so familiar." Busted. I turned around expecting to look into the green eyes that haunted my sleepless nights. Instead, I stared straight into the bluest eyes I had ever seen. I took in the rest of the stranger's features which were as attractive as his eyes and lost my train of thought. "Uhm, hi," I said stupidly as Nick took the hint and gave us some space. "Sorry, you just look like someone I thought I knew. I'm Chris." He said extending his hand out to shake mine. I lifted my hand to shake his when a voice behind us shouted "BOOB!" which broke the eye contact between us. And there it was. My heart constricted at the sound of his voice. Luca was sauntering over to us looking rather inebriated and, I was sure, about to reveal my humiliating exposure. "Excuse me?" I said glaring at him, pretending that I didn't know who he was. "Boob. Specifically yours." he winked at me. "Excuse me, bro?" Chris interrupted. Luca took his accusatory eyes off of me and looked at Chris like he hadn't been standing there the entire time. "I'm talking about your girlfriend's boob, bro," Luca said the last word intending to mock Chris. "I'm not his girlfriend," I said quietly. "Do you know this guy?" Chris turned his attention to me. I didn't know what to say, if I feigned ignorance perhaps Luca would leave us alone thinking that he was mistaken, if I admitted to knowing him then it would confirm his story. Luca however decided for me. "Of course, she knows me! We go way back." He said enthusiastically. "Right?" he winked at me again. Chris started to back away. "Clearly something is going on here, I'd better go...". "Wait Chris don't-" I began to protest his departure, I didn't want to be alone with Luca, but I didn't exactly want Chris to know about my humiliation. "Yeah, you better go." Luca interrupted taking a step toward me. Chris lifted his beer off the bar counter and left. I was so annoyed with Luca that I could have slapped him. "You're welcome," Luca said taking a seat next to me. "I'm Welcome?!" I spat out. "Yeah, that guy definitely has megarexia." He said taking a sip of his drink with a smirk. "Besides it's not every day that I bump into my favourite nudist. You know, girls usually buy me dinner first." He again sent an insufferable smile my way. It took all of my self-control not to kick him in the groin. "It was a wardrobe malfunction!" Nick looked up from the case of beer he was unpacking into the fridge. "Is everything ok?" I took money out of my purse and placed it on the counter, Meegan, the racoon, was still upstairs tending to the bachelor party. "Nick, thank you for the drink, I'll see you soon." I slid off my stool and attempted to put on my jersey. I wasn't sure why this buffoon had managed to get under my skin, but he had ruined my mood and a potential date. As I made for the door, Luca took hold of my elbow. That same electric shock I had felt at Annie's wedding shot through me, and it only infuriated me more. "Get your hands off me!" I said pulling my arm from his grip. We were starting to make a scene and the people at his table were watching to see my reaction. Clearly, he had told them how he knew me. Despite his good looks, he lacked charm. "Wait, don't go," He said with a saccharine smile, "I haven't returned the favour!" He reached for the zipper of his pants. I baulked at his brazen behaviour surely he wouldn't start stripping here? Before he could do anything else the bachelor party came down the stairs singing, "Nelly the elephant packed her trunk and stumbled off to the jungle, off she went with a trumpity trump, trump trump trump...." The bell of the door tinkled and the late-night regulars came in laughing about something that had happened at Marcello's. The room that had been empty save for me and Luca's table was suddenly packed and Nick rose the music level to match the noise. A group of giggling girls in their early twenties followed the regulars and cut in between Luca and me. Before either of us could say anything else Luca's group rose and made for the exit. "Luca, let's go or we'll be late," a pretty, blond girl gestured towards the door. Luca looked at me, zipped himself up and saluted as he made for the door.