Bitter Sweet

17. The Irish Pub

"Where are you going?"

Julio grabbed his shirt from the floor and pulled it over his head. "I'm meeting some friends in Tucson."

Natasha crawled behind him and caressed his back. "It's Wednesday, why are you going out?"

Julio stood and grabbed his boxers. "It's my only day off, plus I haven't seen them since high school."

"You can stay another hour, can't you?" Her hair was messy and it covered half her face, but he could still see her lustful eyes watching him temptingly. Julio's eyes ran down her lying naked body, her exquisite ass silhouetted under the thin white covers.

He shook his head. "It's the third time this week we see each other." He said as he stood pulling down his shirt.

Natasha smiled. "Hm, really? How'd I get so lucky?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and nibbled on his ear.

He stepped back and held her arms down. "I have to go."

She stood quietly watching him go.

He could feel her eyes on him, most likely hurt by his rejection. She had become clingier since that night he told her about Stephanie, almost as if she wanted to reclaim what was hers. Except he wasn't hers.

He got in his car, the day was now becoming night and he was started to fear he was late to meet his friends, so he sped up. He went ninety mph in a seventy five and what took forty five minutes, it took thirty and he made to the Irish pub just in time.

"Hey! Julio!" the big man in a football jersey greeted him with a bear hug.

"I thought you had bailed on us, man," said the man with the goatee.

Julio shook Carl's hand and pulled him into an embrace. "Sorry, I got held up."

"We figured you did, you smell like, what is it?" Robert, the big man, asked Carl. "Vanilla?"

Carl sniffed him. "Yeah, Vanilla. Either you come from a chick's house or you started using perfume."

Julio chuckled as he took a seat at the bar. He ordered a round of beers for him and his friends.

"Who's the lucky lady?" asked Carl teasingly.

"No one. My sister discovered body sprays, you know, the really sweet ones."

Robert laughed. "That's adorable. How old is she now?"

"She is ten."

Robert nodded. Having a three year old of his own, he smiled nostalgically, as if he missed her already.

"So, you don't have a girl, Julio?" asked Carl. Julio shook his head as he took a swig of his beer. "What's holding you up, man? You were a stud in school."

"I was not," Julio waved off.

"You weren't?" Robert replied loudly. "You stole all my girlfriends and I mean, all of them."

"I didn't steal anyone. They simply came to me."

"Sure, sure. Julio never did anything wrong. Julio is perfect," replied Robert.

Julio chuckled. He had known Carl and Robert since eighth grade and had been inseparable since. They were always unlucky with the girls, and Julio was always the handsome man of the group. Robert was the goofy boy and Carl was book smart. And yet, they were both happily married with kids, while Julio was having meaningless sex with the rich lady down the street. He was happy for his friends and proud to see what wonderful fathers they had become, but he couldn't help but feel slight jealousy. They had everything, and he had nothing.