then returned to our food. The one thing we had in common was the amount we drank. By the time I was on my third glass of wine, he was on his third beer. The more he drank, the more he seemed to loosen up, which I was thankful for. I wasn’t sure how many times I could say how good my food was before the meal was over.
“So, have you seen Jayme since you got home?”
The question completely threw me off guard. I was mid-bite with a piece of fish and stopped, my fork hanging in the air with my mouth wide open.
“I haven’t talked to her since high school graduation,” I answered with as much disgust as I could conjure.
“Oh, I didn’t know that. We keep in touch, and I still get together with her every now and then.”
Shoveling the fish in, I downed it with the rest of the wine in my glass. If we were going to finish this conversation, I was going to need to start taking shots.
“That’s nice.”
“Yeah, I mean we dated for about a year, so we got pretty close.”
Fan-freaking-tastic! How goddamned awesome that they’d remained friends after all those years!
“I’ll bet.” The bitter taste in my mouth leaked out with my words.
Our waitress glanced over to our table from across the patio, and I tapped on my wine glass to indicate I needed a refill. She shot me an amused smile before disappearing to get more.
“She’s got two kids now. She was married to the kid’s dad for a bit, but they’re not together anymore.”
I offered a polite smile and nodded. Oliver seemed oblivious to my disinterest in this conversation.
“She married that guy…. What is his name again?” He looked up to the sky and racked his brain for a piece of useless information.
“I don’t know.”
Ollie’s face lit up. “Oh yeah—Kevin Harp.”
“Kevin Harp?” My blood began bubbling in a way that only happened when I was reminded of Jayme’s backstabbing ways.
The waitress returned and filled my glass. This time she didn’t bother filling the glass only half way. She must’ve realized whatever this gorgeous guy and I were talking about wasn’t going well.
“You know him?”
I nodded, downing a large portion of my wine. Kevin was the only boyfriend I’d had in that Godforsaken town.
“He was my first boyfriend. We dated the summer before tenth grade.”
“What a coincidence!”
Ollie was filled with doe-eyed innocence at Jayme’s choice in men. Ha—I knew better! There was no coincidence. She’d known I dated Kevin—known I was in love with Ollie—and had managed to nail them both.
“Listen, Oliver, I don’t like Jayme and haven’t since the last day I saw her. I have no intention of ever speaking to her again, and it would be a total shame if I even have to see her one more time. I appreciate your efforts to try and make conversation, but I don’t want to talk about Jayme anymore.”
“Of course, I’m sorry, Dani.”
After knocking back a little more of my wine, I gave him a reassuring smile, pleased he at least had the dignity to look ashamed. “It’s fine.”
“Can I ask one final thing though?”
Well, apparently not enough.
“If you must.” By that point, I was ready to leave. The mention of Jayme’s name had done plenty to kill my mood and only reminded me of the reason I’d lost Ollie in the first place.
“Whatever happened between you two? The last I remember you two were the best of friends.”
There was only one thing I could say to sum up the whole thing mess.
“You.”
Even though he didn’t understand, Ollie nodded. He practically bit his tongue not to push me further than he should with the questions now swirling around inside his brain. My wine glass was once again empty, my food was gone (well most of it anyway), and I was no longer living the fantasy date. It was time to go home.
“Thank you for dinner, Ollie. I’d feel more comfortable paying for myself though.”
“Why?” he asked, hurt and confusion spreading across his features.
“I don’t typically get irritated and say something disrespectful. My snapping on you is worthy of a free dinner.”
Oliver reached across the table and took my hand. “Dani, that was my fault. Having you here with me has been great and has completely made my day. Next time I know not to mention….. you know.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Ollie noticed I was lightening up again and took that opportunity to reclaim the date.
Standing, he walked over and placed