the end of the summer I realized I hadn’t seen you around. When did you leave?”
It took all my strength not to become a blubbering mess in the middle of the cereal aisle at
Food Mart. It'd been the beginning of the summer when I ran, and the whole trip to New York
I'd cried for him. Here I thought we'd shared something special, and it turns out he had no idea I
hadn't even been around!
I needed a drink. A strong one.
“New York City.” “The Big Apple, huh?” His eyes brightened for no reason in particular while I nodded my head.
“Yup.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re back. I gotta run but we should get together sometime soon.”
Oliver’s hands released my hips and I half-expected my wobbly legs to knock me down to the hard tiled floor. Instead, I managed a forced smile.
“Okay.” He gave my cheek a squeeze before walking away.
I felt my world crumbling around me. Years ago I’d been sure I had successfully stopped loving this man. Of course I thought about him all the time, but only because he was such a staple in my past. Running into him and having his arms wrapped around me, only brought me back. I’d missed him and he hadn’t missed me.
My body lifelessly finished the task of getting the groceries, driving home and putting them away before I flopped down sideways on the chair in my bedroom. After taking my phone from my pocket, I typed a text to Gabby since I wasn’t ready to trust my voice to be steady.
Me: I miss you like I miss the hot summer sun on a cold winter night!
Tears began to sting, threatening to spill over. My first day back was far from what I’d hoped for. Not that every single day in New York was good by any means but at least back home I had Gabby. Here—I had no one. My phone chirped with a new text and a few stray tears broke free from the barrier holding them inside.
Gabby: I miss you more than I miss N*sync and Britney Spears in the 90s!
The text made me laugh because if you knew anything about Gabby—this was a huge thing to her. When we’d pampered ourselves before a club night it was always old school Britney she’d made us listen to.
Me: No way!
Gabby: Yes way—now please tell me you’re not sitting at home sulking on a Saturday night. You know if I was there I’d force you to go out with me!
She was right on both accounts and truth be told, I didn’t want to stay in. Staying in would do nothing but make me dwell on the meeting with Oliver and that was the last thing I wanted. Then I recalled my conversation with Bailey and knew what I had planned for that night.
Me: Nope! I’m going out to have fun… and forget ;) Gabby: That’s the Dani I know and love!
Distractions
Running into Ollie turned out to be much more than I was ready to handle. After going years without seeing him, talking to him or anything else—I’d thought I was finally free of him. Now for the first time since I was 18, I couldn’t fool myself I was over Oliver. That thought…scared me senseless. Right then though, I was ready for a little fun. After the emotional rollercoaster my cheating ex-Vince mercilessly put me through and now this Ollie crap—I needed to let loose.
I’d promised myself before leaving New York that I wasn’t going to let myself get involved in a relationship. Gabby supported me, but she believed it was also important to maybe get involved in something…not so serious. After having had every single past relationship end up in utter failure, I was finished. Of course I’d said the same thing more times than I cared to admit but for the first time I felt some steam behind the words. Things were different. Along with a few drinks what I really needed was a good, random, roll around in the sack. Never before had I been the casual sex kind of girl but maybe this was the time to try. That night seemed as good a night as any; being stressed out, on edge and recovering from running into Oliver—I needed a distraction. Preferably one that was deliciously sexy, muscles a plus, maybe some facial scruff—not that I wanted to be too picky.
The bar Bailey mentioned, The Underground, I was able to find online; websites claimed it was a great spot for