Last July

Chapter forty seven

Experiment:

Rule number one always stick to what you know. I pushed my glass of most away after taking a sip. That would absolutely not work tonight. So much for experimenting. Wines are probably my own alcoholic "best friend" these that people drink on a daily basis was absolute crap. Tino chuckled over the counter as he watched me make another disgusted face. Okay, that was it I'm really through this time. I waved him over.

"Had enough?" He asked still laughing at me.

"For a lifetime. Got anything that won't guarantee me throwing up in your restroom tonight? "

"There's Heineken, women seem to like that"

" Is it bitter? " He chuckled. I didn't like the sound of that.

He returned with my green bottle of wine chilled and ready for me to try. By the time I was through tonight I'd have a world record highest booze in my entire life. I placed the liquid to my mouth anticipating the taste, tensed as it fell into my mouth and down my throat. When it was gone entirely, I rested the bottle on the counter. Tino waited eyes filled with anticipation of my reaction, I blinked twice.

"Do you have anything sweet like I don't know soda, fruitcocktail, maybe?"

His laughter filled the room and everyone turned to look. His eyes closed as he laughed heartily at my expense. Before he disappeared again for a while. I smiled a little. I haven't felt this light in a while. In a very long while in fact. Especially not with everything that happened in the last few weeks. I finally found the courage to delete maverick's number and actually put some structure to my life once and for all. I was going back in only a week, I had to have at least make some form of effort to move on. He was not coming back, Jesse was gone forever and this wasn't the end of the world for me. I finally saw that. My head turned slightly at the sound of the club door opening and saw Andrew's girlfriend walk in. I took it as my cue to leave. Paying my tap under the glass, I hopped off the stool and walked ever so quickly to the exit. It's like I knew she was there for me. My feet carried me faster as light footsteps followed behind, I didn't know who it was or why they were following me but I wasn't going to stop to find out either.

"Wait!, Wait!" A woman's voice called out. " I just want to talk, please. I just want to apologize for my behaviour"

It was Andrew's girlfriend. I wasn't upset with her, so I didn't know why she felt she had to. I probably would have reacted the same way seeing another woman in my house, in my boyfriend's shirt. In fact I'd be furious. But She didn't need to.

"You don't need to" I responded still walking. "Andrew already did and there's really no need for you to embarrass yourself again"

"Still" she said. "I didn't catch your name"

"That's probably a sign that we shouldn't be talking" I said still walking on praying she'd just go away.

" Kenzy, please"

I stopped. She knew my name. "I thought you said you didn't catch it"

"Just five minutes that's all I'm asking please"

We got a empty table to the side of the room. I took my time to study her as she conversed with tino laughing. She was beautiful, blond hair, brown eyes, found face, clearly matured body too and I felt a slight pang of jealousy. I looked like a child mostly, clearly my own maturity was taking centuries to complete but she had everything. And she was very social too, I rolled my eyes.

Don't be vain.

She waited a while before turning to me after tino left. "Oh, I'd forgotten to ask if you wanted a drink"

"No thanks" I replied.

She fiddled with her own coke slightly then looked up. "I know this might sound rather forward but do you like Andrew?

I almost gaged at her blunt question. "What?" I asked trying to wrap my mind around where this conversation could potentially lead to. "That's not something the girlfriend of the guy should be asking another woman"

"I'm his fiancee"

I plastered a thin smile. "There you go even better"

With every passing second, my stomach notted even more. He was going to get married. Wow. That was not something I anticipated. Why the hell was the room suddenly so hot!
"Maybe, but I can tell he likes you very much"

I didn't need to know that right now.

"Irrespective of that you're his person" she wasn't buying my story at all. I took a breath. "Does he call my name in his sleep?"

She glanced at me confused. "Say your name? Is that how it works?"

"That's a no then, I don't know what you think is going on but we're just friends"

"I heard what happened at the shop. Thank you. I don't know what  I'd do if things were much more serious"

"I just did what anyone would have done being there, I wasn't the only one who helped. So did heather"

Okay so maybe I didn't need to tell her about Heather but I hated what she was implicating. None of us could ever just leave him there and I was scared to help if he didn't actually wake up in the hospital. I couldn't live through that trauma again.
"Things haven't been great with us lately. I'm mostly to blame. I don't know. He just doesn't seem to be the guy I know him to be" she pushed the drink around talking to me and I started to wonder what the hell I had to do with any of that. I was the last person in the room to give relationship advice since I couldn't even hold my own together and I wasn't a shrink either to listen to what she had to say then list her options. I wasn't qualified for this conversation at all.

"Um, well, I don't know about any problems you two might have, he doesn't talk to me about that-at all"

She smiled a little before it wore away as quickly as it came. "That's Andrew, he doesn't say much about anything. Even if it's killing him. He's too sweet sometimes, has a awful temper too, I'd forgotten that"

Why am I here again?

"Well, everything just needs time" I figgetted under the table. I honestly didn't know what she wanted from me, Andrew told me absolutely nothing and probably to get that out of him, I'd actually have to get him drunk and that wasn't possible.

"I don't think things are going to work out this time around. I think we've lost touch, I don't know"

"Wait, you can't just give up. I'm sure if he's willing to ask you to marry him that he knows how bad things can get. You can't just give up. He's trying too"

"Would you take care of him for me?"

My mouth opened but no sounds came out. What! I swallowed dumb founded, shocked and overly flabbergasted by her request. No!

"Okay, let's make things clear. I'm just his friend, we're just friends. You're his financee. That's your job! I don't live here, I'll be gone in a week" I said conflicted with even my own feelings about this. "I don't know what's really going on but I can tell he loves you, he's probably having a hard time trying to deal with whatever it is but he's trying. For the sake of your relationship just try to understand and give things time" 

Whatever it was that they were facing, he was actually trying his best to deal with it, I knew that. I knew being alone with a bottle only spelt disaster. I've seen Philly do it, I've mopped up everything that was formerly inside her stomach numerous times, I've cried myself likewise. Everyone dealt with situations the best they could. She couldn't bail now. He needed her, if she knew him, she'd know that. It'd tear him to pieces if she left.

I knew that given the circumstances some people would jump at the opportunity to be in his life but I wasn't that type of woman. I wanted his relationship to work, prayed it did because I didn't want him suffering a nagging pain that I had to live through myself. To be in a never ending circle of wondering what you did why things didn't work out, of not feeling good enough. It terrified me that maybe he'd actually have another block out and that there would be no one to help this time. So yes, I prayed that they were able to mend things. He was a good person, if leaving here I didn't appreciate anything else, I'd appreciate the friendship we shared and I'd be happy knowing he was fine likewise.