Those Damn Butterflies

Chapter Five

My shift at the bakery was pretty eventless and I was glad for it. At the end of it, as I was just cleaning up, Morgan emerged from the kitchen, an apron full of flour slung around her skinny body. She just finished the dough for tomorrow and looked done for the day.

"You look tired." I announced, trying to strike up a conversation with her.

She playfully scoffed and looked at me. "You do too. And you're half my age."

"That's true." I wiped down the counter while Morgan plopped down in a chair close to me.

"So, what's it?" She asked. Whenever she was exhausted her German accent became heavy and I always found that somehow comforting. "Trouble in paradise?"

I sighed and considered if I should tell my boss about it. On the one hand I could see how weird that was, sure. But on the other, Morgan was the closest thing to a mother-figure I had in a long time. Also, I really could use some advice from an outsider in this situation. I dropped into the chair across from her, abandoning my work for the time being. "You could say that." I started.

"So, tell me more. Spill the coffee."

I had to laugh at that.

"That's what you young people say, no?"

"Yes, kind of."

She shrugged her shoulders and leaned back in her chair. "So, spill it."

I nodded my head and rattled my brain on where to start. "So, you know Mel, right?"

"The one who sometimes comes to pick you up, right? Your girlfriend?"

"Yes, she is, or was, I don't know, my girlfriend. And I love her a lot, I want to marry her." I took a break for a quick breather. "Last Saturday some of my friends convinced me to go out to this new club that's supposed to be so awesome. Mel told me that I shouldn't go but I didn't listen. My friends can be very convincing, you know?" I chuckled and Morgan smiled warmly at me. "The line in front of this club was so long, we waited for like two hours and I started to think that I'd better listened to Mel and wanted to just go home. Then I noticed this woman skipping the line and I was so annoyed already with the circumstances that I just flipped out and told her to line up like everyone else."

"I always say don't put your nose where it doesn't belong. Metaphorical and practical speaking." Morgan threw in and I had to smile at her humor.

"Anyway, the bouncer let her walk right in and she sent one of her two bodyguards our way. I was scared but he just told us we've been invited to the club and let us inside. We drank, got drunk and suddenly I was in this secluded area with that woman who skipped the line." I took a deep breath to brace myself for whatever reaction Morgan would have to that next part. It could be disgust. It probably would be disgust. "She flirted with me and I flirted right back."

I looked for a reaction but she didn't have any. She just kept on looking at me, an invested frown on her face.

"I want to note here again, that I was really really drunk. But then she started kissing my neck and I let her, hell, I even pulled her in." I was getting riled up just talking about it again. "We were about to kiss on the mouth but then Mel called and I stopped her."

"That doesn't sound that bad."

"That's not it. I would have kissed her and went through with it all. I would have let it happen, would have participated."

Morgan grabbed my hands that were lying on the table between us. "Riley, but you didn't."

I dropped my head. "I told Mel, she got really mad and yelled at me. Told me she needed some time and space for herself."