Perfectly Lonely - Jessica Marin Page 0,18

any harder. “What are you two doing here tonight?”

“Wednesday nights used to be our nights here with Jenna, so we are just celebrating the return of Cal without her.” He lifts his glass and salutes me before taking a drink. I glance down at Layla’s drink to see it still full.

“May I join you? I’ll buy us a round,” I ask and signal for the bartender before they have a chance to change their minds.

“Yes!” Robert says.

“No!” Layla shouts at the same time.

“Ouch!” Robert yells as the table shakes from Layla kicking him from underneath. I can’t help but chuckle at the sour expression on her face.

“May I?” I motion with my hand to the chair next to her, seeking her permission to sit down. I notice she tries to quickly check out my body, but does a double take when the sight of my knees catches her attention.

“Is that blood on your pants?” She moves her head down so she can get a better look before bringing her gaze back up to mine, shock registering at the confirmation. “What happened to your knees?”

“They lost a battle against shards of glass,” I shrug, not wanting to bring any more attention to it.

“Why were you kneeling in glass?” Robert asks.

“I was trying to clean it up,” I reply nonchalantly.

“Doesn’t it hurt?” Layla asks, surprisingly showing concern.

“It did, but I like dealing with pain head-on. I believe if you can conquer it without help, it’s just a reminder of how much stronger you really are.”

Layla’s face becomes pale and she looks from me to Robert, her eyes asking some sort of silent question. Robert just stares at me with a shit eating grin on his face and nods his head up and down. I have no idea what's going on with the two of them right now, so I salute them with my drink and down my shot of Jameson. It slowly burns down my esophagus in the most delicious kind of way and I immediately order another one.

“That’s brilliant,” Robert slowly comments. “Don’t you think so, Layla?”

“No, Robert, I don’t!” she huffs and I look at the two of them in confusion. Robert’s phone dings to signify he has received a text. He glances down at his phone and screeches in surprise. He picks it up and immediately starts responding back to the text.

“How many of those has he had?” I ask, nodding toward his glass that is now empty.

“Too many,” she mumbles.

“Well, kids, this has been enlightening, but this heavenly human of a man that I’m dating has invited me to his house to watch a movie.” He winks at me and air kisses Layla. “Chase, can you make sure she gets home okay?”

“Of course,” I respond.

“No, thank you!” she curtly responds back.

“A gentleman always makes sure a lady gets home safely,” I raise my eyebrows at her, ready for her to challenge.

“Since you are by no means a gentleman, that doesn’t apply to you.” She smiles at me with all the fakeness she can muster.

“Touché, my lady,” I toast my glass to her and down my second shot, the burn just as intense as it was the first time. You deserve the pain of this burn for what you did to her.

“For a second, I’m almost sad to be leaving this entertaining banter between the two of you, but the idea that I might be getting laid tonight wins out. Toodles, darlings! I will see you tomorrow!” He leaves a hundred dollar bill on the table and with a wave, leaves us alone.

“Check please!” Layla calls out and waves at the bartender to get his attention.

“Can’t you please just have one more drink with me?” I ask, not ready for her to leave just yet. The scent of vanilla and coconut raids my nostrils as she whips her head around to look at me and I immediately want to bury my face into her neck for more.

“It’s not that I can’t stay - I don’t want to stay. Besides, I have to work in the morning,” she answers with haughtiness in her voice.

“We all have to work in the morning. Please, one more drink?” I beg and give her one of my famous boyish smiles that ladies don’t resist.

“How silly of me that I forgot your line of work requires waking up and ruining more lives,” she snides sarcastically. My smile immediately falls from my face and that feeling of being a lowlife scum bag that I’m starting to