to pick up on the signals.”
“Yeah, and I’d be picking up on signals that I shouldn’t be talking to him.”
“Sandra,” Angie warns. “Leave Val alone. You should be telling me to go talk to him.”
“Yeah right,” Sandra says through a snort. “Mr. Beard with that hair and I’m pretty sure he’s got tattoos and piercings. He couldn’t be more not your type.”
“And we all know how my type turned out to be.”
Luckily, Sandra drops it after that, and as the evening wears on and the bar gets even more crowded and we’ve had even more cider, I keep watching him. Eventually the blonde girl gives up and moves on to someone else, but then it’s just girl after girl coming up to him. After a while, as everyone inside gets more drunk and the band gets louder and things are really starting to party, guys are coming up to him too.
“How’s Mr. Unattainable doing?” Sandra asks as she looks over at him. “You know he’s someone.”
“Someone?”
“I know those looks, the way people are acting around him. He’s someone famous.”
“I don’t recognize him,” Angie says.
“You wouldn’t recognize Colin Farrell if he stood right here in front of you and gave you a beer and a copy of Total Recall.”
Angie frowns. “He was in Total Recall?”
“He’s probably a sports guy,” I say, my gaze coasting over the wide, broad planes of his shoulders, the strength in his large hands as they grasp his beer. I have to admit, I’m a sucker for a good-looking man but this guy is on another level. He’s handsome, even with a slightly crooked nose and a scar above his eyebrow, but it’s more than that. Maybe I’m just drawn to men who seem to have a lot going on deep inside. Maybe it’s rare that I see a man who looks like he could pick me up with just his pinky finger.
“Probably,” she says. “Considering the amount of men who are looking his way and not in a ‘get the fuck away from my woman’ kind of way. It’s almost as if they’re getting their girlfriends to go talk to him.” She pauses, taking a long swig of her cider. “So you should go talk to him.”
I shake my head. “Not this again. No.”
Sandra puts her hand on my shoulder and gives it a hard squeeze. “Please. Do it. You need it.”
“I need for my self-esteem to be even more pulverized? After everything with Cole, and then being with Mom for a few days, my self-esteem is practically in the gutter and getting rejected isn’t going to help.”
“You promised.”
“What? When did I promise that?”
“You said you would say yes to new adventures.”
My eyes widen. “Going over there and talking to some hot, burly, famous Irish guy isn’t a new adventure.”
“Technically though,” Angie muses, “it kind of is. And you said your resolution was to say yes, period. You don’t get to pick and choose what you say yes to.”
“Actually, I do. It’s my resolution.”
“Fine,” Sandra says with a sigh. “Throw in the towel before you even get started.”
I look over at Angie, expecting her to tell Sandra to leave me alone again but she’s had quite a bit of cider, her cheeks are bright red, and she’s nodding. “Just go for it.”
I exhale noisily, putting my face in my hands for a moment. The rock music is blaring from the stage, people are cheering and being happy and drunk. I’m fairly drunk myself. I’m not quite happy but I’m not crying or feeling sorry for myself, so that’s a plus. It’s not a big deal to just get up and say hello to the guy. Maybe I’d regret it if I didn’t. Maybe there’s something to be said about saying yes if you just put your faith in the universe.
But it’s kind of hard to do when you don’t have faith in anything. You have to start somewhere, though.
I lift my head and look at them. “How do I look?”
“Lipstick,” Sandra says immediately. “And some powder. You’re shiny.”
“And your mascara has smudged,” Angie adds.
I sigh and take my little makeup bag out of my purse, powdering my t-zone, wiping away the dark smudges under my eyes, and putting on a touch of red matte lipstick. “Better?” I ask them.
Sandra beams and gives me a thumbs up. “Go get ‘em, tiger.”
I roll my eyes, get off the stool, and take in a deep breath before making my way around the alcove and over to the bar.
I should