Vows of Misfortune

31.

We were at the bar we regularly went to, the yellow lights dimmed above our heads. The smell of stale beer and sweet wine pierced my nose.

"You know," said Jade, sipping the fizzy bubbles of her champagne, "leaving your husband alone in your house in a new country is kinda dog."

I shrugged. "I want to relax and let loose." And forget about being someone's wife. The wrong person's wife.

"Hey, babe," someone said.

I forgot about the fact that my throat was burning from the whiskey I was drinking. I just wanted to see who that unfamiliar voice belonged to.

A man with a stocky build dressed in some tight jeans and a white shirt under a leather jacket came over; his long brown hair was tied up into a bun. He leaned in toward Jade and placed a kiss on the side of her head.

"Is that your boyfriend?" I blurted, realisation clicking in my head. Jade's rounded cheeks turned a little pink, but I couldn't tell if that was from the alcohol or the kiss.

"Yeah." She clutched his arm, bringing his attention to me. "Arshia, this is Scott, my boyfriend," she gestured to me, "and Scott, this is Arshia, my best friend."

We stuck our hands out at the same time. His hand was warm and the shake was very firm, almost like I was at an interview.

"Nice to meet you," he said, his lips stretching into a kind smile. His voice was very wispy. The way he spoke reminded me of the shy kid in school except with the fashion sense of a bad boy.

"Nice to meet you, too. I've been dying to meet her boyfriend."

"And I've been dying to meet the best friend she wouldn't stop talking about."

"She talks about me?" I asked, glancing at Jade who was taking a selfie of all three of us as we were speaking; then she placed some jello shots in his hands and then in mine.

"All the damn time."

I awed. "You're so sweet," I said to Jade.

She scoffed. "Okay, okay, now drink." I didn't waste any time, tipping my head back and enjoying the sweet, tart jello followed by the bitter aftertaste of alcohol. I grimaced. It was gross, but the buzz at the end was what I was here for.

Ten minutes later and Scott seemed to be slurring his words already. Was he drunk?

"He's a lightweight," whispered Jade, snickering.

"This tastes like dog shit," said Scott, glaring at the empty shot glass. I laughed.

Jade suddenly froze, her lips tightening. "Speaking of dog shit," she mumbled. She clutched my arm and pulled me away. "Let's go over here instead."

"What?" She steered me toward the corner of the bar that was a little more vacant. "What are you doing?"

"Babe, where are you going?" I heard Scott ask. I turned but was immediately pulled back. The force made me look directly into Jade's panicked, enlarged eyes.

"Don't turn around," she hissed.

"You're scaring me. What's going on?"

"...Varun's here."

Oh, hell no. Did he not have anywhere else to go?!

"Why is my luck so bad?!" I groaned.

"Heh," the sheepish sound came from above me. I creased my brows at Jade. "I, uh, may have posted a story..."

"Jade!"

"I swear I forgot he followed me on Instagram! I didn't know he would come here looking for you."