CC7

CC7 - Part 27

For thirty minutes I had been staring at the clear liquor in front of me. The shot of tequila was so small in size but so big in terms of importance. Finding a bar after I had walked into the city hadn’t been difficult. Neither had been getting actual alcohol. But now that I had the glass in front me, I couldn’t bring myself to drink it. Several times I had made an attempt to drink but whenever my hands touched the glass, I ended up withdrawing.

There were so many things on my mind. I had made some rash decisions in my upset state but I wasn’t following through on them - at least not yet.

Dinah’s words kept echoing in my head. Camila and Austin had kissed. And what was even worse, was the fact that my girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend as of today, hadn’t told me. In my mind that meant there was something she was hiding that was beyond the simple kiss. Thinking about it, my eyes focused on the drink again. Still, I didn’t want to drink. I couldn’t. I felt physically sick at the thought of downing the substance.

So my mind kept wandering. I remembered my therapist and all the hard work I had put in to better myself. Had it really all been for Camila? Just so she would give me a chance? If that was the case, I would have been drunk by now. It dawned on me that I had improved my situation because of Camila, but not solely for her. That realization felt surprisingly good. It meant I didn’t need her as much as I had thought. I still wanted her. However it was satisfying knowing that my efforts hadn’t been in vain.

“Lauren”, I heard a familiar voice and turned on the bar stool.

Emily was approaching me with a confused look on her face. In my anger, I had texted the blonde to meet me at the bar. I had nearly forgotten about it after all the brooding but was astonished to see her actually accepting my offer.

“Hey”, I said clearly rattled.

“I have to admit that I was surprised to hear from you”, Emily came to a stop next to me. “And I’m even more surprised to meet you here”, the bewilderment was obvious in her tone. “I thought you didn’t want to drink?”

“I don’t”, I replied but she lifted her eyebrows and motioned to the shot on the counter. “I have ordered that when I got in. Somehow I can’t…do it”, I admitted whereas the other girl’s features softened.

“That’s good”, she smiled gently. “So, that means this wasn’t a drunk booty-call?”

“No”, I quickly responded while my cheeks flushed in the deepest shade of red.

“A sober one?”

“No…I don’t know…it uhm”, all I could do was stammer before I heard Emily laughing.

“Relax, I’m just messing with you”, the model eased my tension and actually managed to make me smile for a moment. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Since you clearly have no intention to drink, and neither do I, there is no reason to be here.”

The gentle tone of her voice convinced me to do what I should have done thirty minutes ago. I poured the shot down into the sink before paying to leave. Out of all the victories that I had experienced in my life, this felt like the biggest one yet. I couldn’t remember feeling so proud of myself. And it wasn’t related to soccer, my studies or anything other than simply being a better version of who I was all along.

I looked up and saw Emily smiling encouragingly. We left the bar immediately and I was still unsure for her reasoning of even coming to see me.

“I’m sorry for texting you and pulling you into this mess”, I apologized sincerely as we walked the streets back to my hotel.

“Don’t be. I was happy to hear from you”, the slightly taller one of us said casually.

“I don’t know why you’re being so nice to me, to be honest”, I confessed and looked sideways to see her reaction.