2 weeks later
Friday
8:23 pm
It had been about a month since George and I had broken up and, with a little coaxing from Max and Ian, I was ready to move on. Don't get me wrong, I still wanted so badly for George to knock on my door one day and apologize so everything could just go back to how it was, but that hadn't happened. We had talked since the breakup and he showed no signs of even thinking about doing that.
I had just gotten back from going with Ian and Max to see them off at the airport. Since George wasn't answering our knocks, calls, or texts again, he didn't go. He did that quite a bit, so they spent most of their time over at my place. I stuck the key in my door, but found that it was unlocked. I cautiously made my way in to find George sitting on my couch watching TV. I forgot he still had a key to my apartment.
"Hey." He said, not looking back at me.
"Hey... what are you doing here?" I asked as I put my stuff down.
It wasn't in an angry or annoyed tone, I was just genuinely asking.
"Candi left so," he stopped to take a deep breath, "I got lonely. Figured I'd come over here."
"Oh, so you finally learned her name?"
He chuckled. We chuckled. It felt good. It was the first laugh we'd had together in months.
"How long have you been here. I don't really mind, just wondering..." I asked.
"About an hour."
"I wasn't even home, so why'd you stay?"
"Well, I was waiting for you and..." he paused, still not taking his eyes off of the TV to look at me, "...and this place always felt more like home than mine for some reason, so I stayed."
"Well, you're welcome to stay if you want, but I'm going out tonight."
George suddenly turned around to look at me.
"With who?" He asked, with a hint of urgency.
"No one. That's actually why I'm going out, so I can find someone."
"Like a... like a date?"
"Yeah, maybe."
"Oh..."
George turned back around and even sounded a little hurt.
"Hey George?" I asked after a few moments of silence.
"Yeah?"
He turned back around.
"You know how my car's in the shop?"
"Mhm." He mumbled.
"Well, I was gonna call an Uber or a taxi to take me tonight, but I was looking and the traffic is really bad. I highly doubt they're going to charge me a flat rate, and-"
"You want me to take you?" He cut me off.
"If you wouldn't mind, please."
There was silence for a second and then an answer.
"I don't mind." He sighed as he stood up.
"Thank you so much!"
I walked over to him and gave him a hug. He hugged me back and it felt... good. It felt great, actually. Maybe we still could be friends.
9:01 pm
I walked out of my bedroom, now fully dressed and ready to go. I had on my kind of peachy pastel chiffon dress that came to about mid-thigh. I was ready to attract tonight.
"How do I look?" I asked George as he looked up from his phone.
I did a little twirl and he laughed.
"You look, wow."
"I'll take that as 'I look good'."
"Yeah, you look amazing!"
He started smiling, but then immediately stopped.
"I guess we should go." He said as he picked up his keys.
"Yeah, I guess."
I followed him to his car.
9:24 pm
The car ride was pretty much silent except for directions and the occasional question. I would see George look at me out of the corner of my eye, but he would always quickly look away. We pulled into the parking lot of a bar not too far away from our apartments. George immediately had a sour look on his face.
"A fucking bar?" He asked.
He sounded a little worried.
"Yeah. What?"
"It's getting late and I don't want you around all those drunks alone."
He crossed his arms.
"I'm a grown ass woman, George. I know when I'm in trouble and when I'm not, so yes, 'A fucking bar'. Plus, I don't even drink so I'll make all of my decisions sober." I huffed.
"You're gonna get fucking drugged or something! You're not going."
"You can't control me! Besides, since when have you cared." I whispered the last part.
His eyes were like lasers burning a hole in my head at that point. He gritted his teeth.
"You know what, fuck this. Fuck you. You go and get dumped on the side of the road by some drunk bastard, but don't call me for help." He said, this time emotionless.
I looked down at my hands.
"I don't think this is really all just about you wanting me to be safe." I said, still looking down at my hands.
"Excuse me?" He asked.
I could hear the anger start to creep back into his voice.
"This is about you not wanting me to meet another man."
I watched the color run from his face. There were a few moments of silence.
"Just go. Call me if you need to be picked up." It was emotionless, again.
I opened the car door and walked up to the front of the bar. I turned around and watched as George pulled away. I didn't want to go out anymore, but I reluctantly walked in.
