April 2021 - Philadelphia
Five months before I started my new job as an art teacher at a nearby high school, I went out with my friends to a bar to celebrate the news that I'd landed the position. I'd been trying to go from a studio artist to art teacher for along time, and I'd finally done it. Everyone was so happy for me, and hell, I was so happy for myself. It was such a pay rise from what I'd been doing, and I'd have freedom to do more, help to lift kids up who were just like me in school.
Five months before the school year started up again, I went out to a bar with Jason. We hadn't been able to spend much time together on account of him and Kylie being so busy with their newly born second daughter, which we were all so excited about. Elliotte was a little angel. Kylie had settled in enough now that she'd kicked us out tonight, telling us to have fun, so we'd gone out for some fun.
I'd met a guy there that night. Travis something. I couldn't remember his last name. We'd bumped into each other at the bar, and he'd kept looking at me so I'd asked him if we knew each other. Apparently we didn't, and he'd blushed before admitting he'd been staring because he thought I was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. I'd gone bright red too, but we'd chatted a bit and got along great.
I still couldn't believe I'd done what I did that night. I wasn't the kind of guy for a one night stand, but I'd met this incredible girl at the bar and we'd hit it off. Taylor was so beautiful, and I loved her infectious laugh. She knew how to hold a conversation, and we got a little too drunk and a little too handsy down in a bathroom stall. We'd ended up having sex in that dingy bar's bathroom, against the wall of the stall, and it had been the best damn sex of my life.
I hadn't told anyone of course; my friends would have sighed at me and said it was my choice, but they would judge me a little. They all had long term partners or were married, and I was the most single out of all of them. I was only a few weeks newly split from my messy breakup with Matty, who I'd had a short fling with after things had crumbled with Joe. I'd sworn off men, but Travis and I had ended up having hot as hell sex in that bathroom and I'd sworn right back onto them again for that one night. Travis had just been so....damn good. I hadn't been able to help myself.
But I'd never seen her again. I didn't know why, but once leaving the bathroom she'd been about to give me her number before receiving what had apparently been an emergency phone call and rushing off with barely a goodbye. She'd been too panicked to even give me a wave. I'd just stood there, staring after her with my belt loosely buckled and my heart still pounding from our passionate bathroom stall sex. But it wasn't that big of a deal.
I felt awful for ditching him, for not giving him my number or something, but I'd been so panicked at the news my brother had called to tell me that I'd run off in an attempt to get there as fast as I could. I'd just gotten into my car and drove two hours home to the hospital my mom was in. All thoughts of Travis had been wiped from my mind since I was so worried about mom. So I just forgot about him.
So I just forgot about her.
