The workday passes in a blur, mostly because I can’t stop thinking about last night. What started out as a potential disaster quickly turned into one of the best nights of my life. Emily spent the night in my bed, which was a first for us. Even when we dated, we never actually slept in each other’s beds. Waking up with her in my arms was like a taste of what I’ve been dreaming about. Maybe I’m crazy to think that this little dating experiment we’re participating in will wind up bringing us closer together, but last night made it seem like a real possibility.

My phone rings at six o’clock, just when I’m getting ready to check out for the day. I see it’s Lonnie on the caller ID, and my hand hovers over the screen, not sure if I should accept the call or send it to voice mail.

“Aren’t you going to get that?” Alex asks me, tipping his head at my phone since he’s busy typing away on his laptop.

I take a deep breath and answer the call. “Hello?”

“Hey, David. It’s Lonnie.”

“Hi.”

“Sorry for bothering you when you’re probably still at work. It’s just that I have the night off, and I thought maybe you’d want to get that drink.”

I feel like a complete ass for not calling her today. She deserves an explanation for what happened last night. More than that, she deserves the honest truth about my feelings for Emily. I decided this morning that I can’t see Lonnie anymore as anything but a friend. I have to tell her, and I have to do it in person.

“I was actually about to call you,” I say.

Alex quirks an eyebrow, calling my bullshit since he knows I was debating whether to answer the call.

I get up and walk into the break room, but on the way, I see Emily glance in my direction. She must know I’m talking to Lonnie. I give her a small smile before disappearing into the break room. That’s when I realize Lonnie’s been talking and I haven’t been paying attention.

“Sorry, I had to get out of the newsroom. I was having trouble hearing you. Can you repeat that?” I ask.

“I asked if you’re up for trying out Maurice’s. My roommate is bartending tonight, so we’d get a great deal on drinks.”

“Sure. That sounds great. I’m running a little late, so maybe we could meet there at eight?” Driving separately seems like the best idea since I don’t know how she’s going to react to my news.

“Perfect. I’ll see you then.” She hangs up.

Alex walks into the break room. “How do you do it?” he asks, leaning against the doorway.

“Do what?” I say, putting my phone in my back pocket.

“Get two women like Emily and Lonnie? Though I have to say I didn’t envy you last night when you were juggling both in the same place. Do they know about each other? Are they fine with you seeing them both?” He steps into the room. “You’ve got to tell me how this works.”

“There’s nothing to tell. Lonnie and I have gone on exactly one date. And Emily and I have been close for months.” I walk past him to the refrigerator and dig out my leftover calzone from lunch. I grab Emily’s, too, knowing she’ll want to finish it for dinner. I wonder how she’ll react when I tell her I’m going out with Lonnie this evening.

“Fine, don’t share your wisdom with me,” Alex says.

“What wisdom?” Emily asks, walking into the room. She comes over to me and takes her calzone from my hands. “Thanks.” Then she looks back at Alex, waiting for an answer.

Would he really talk about this in front of her? My pulse races at the thought. Sure, Emily was all for me dating other women, but discussing it with someone else is more than a little odd.

“His secret for living with a woman,” Alex says. “I was never able to pull that off. My roommate may be moving out soon, though, and I may have to be open to having a female roommate.”

I know he’s making this all up on the spot, so I give him a small smile of gratitude before playing along. “I got lucky, man. Emily is a great roommate. But it’s not definite that your roommate is going to move out, so don’t panic until you know.”

“I second that advice,” Emily says with a nod. “I don’t worry about things until I know I have to. There’s no point before that or we’d spend all our time worrying.”

“You can’t argue with that logic,” I say. “Now, it’s time to cut out. See you tomorrow, Alex.” I start for the door before asking, “Emily, are you leaving now, too?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right behind you, roomie.”

Despite her previous words, I’m sure she’s going to stick around for a few minutes to give Alex more advice on living with a female roommate. She wants to make sure he doesn’t stress out over it since she has no idea the potential problem isn’t real. She’s a great person that way. She tries to avert crises before they happen.

I grab my keys and wallet from my desk and say my goodbyes before heading to the elevator. My entire drive home is spent thinking of how to break things off with Lonnie.

* * *

Maurice’s is a small bar on the other side of town. It’s the bar most tourists wind up hitting first since they pass it on their way into Priority. The locals know Last Call is the place to be, mostly because there aren’t many tourists unless it’s a holiday weekend. Maurice’s has a touristy feel to it, too. The pictures on the wall, most of which are autographed, are all sports figures. There are shelves with trinkets from all the best shops in Priority as well. The entire bar feels almost like a gift shop, and maybe that’s because everything has a price tag on it. All the pictures and other things are for sale. When they sell, the owner replaces the items. I liken it to the gift shop in Cracker Barrel, except in Maurice’s case, you eat and drink where the sale items are instead of in a separate room.

I look around for Lonnie but don’t spot her anywhere, so I walk over to the bar and sit down. The woman tending bar heads my way. “What can I get you?” she asks me.

I look at what’s on tap and settle for the seasonal Sam Adams.

“Are you waiting for someone or just stopping in for a drink on your own?” she asks once my draft is poured and she sets it in front of me.

“Meeting someone,” I say.

Her eyes narrow, and she assesses me from head to chest since that’s all she can see now that I’m seated. “Are you David?”

That’s right. Lonnie said her roommate was bartending tonight. “Yeah. I take it you’re Lonnie’s friend.”

“That’s me.” She extends her hand. “I’m Peyton.”

I shake her hand and then immediately sip my beer. I can’t help wondering if Lonnie is intentionally late, leaving me here alone so Peyton can grill me. I don’t know Lonnie well enough to say if she’s the type of woman who would set me up that way or not.

“You work for a newspaper, right?” Peyton asks me.

“For the Record,” I say.

“That’s the new one.”

I nod even though it wasn’t a question. “I’m the news editor, and I just started writing a joint column.”

“Oh? What kind of column?” She leans her arms on the bar.

“An advice column, actually.”

“That’s a far cry from news,” she says.

“Well, there’s a reason for it, but I don’t want to bore you with the details. Besides, you have other customers to tend to.” I jerk my head to the left, indicating the man who just pushed his empty glass across the bar for a refill.

Peyton looks disappointed to have to end our conversation. I take my phone out so I can pretend to text someone if she comes back. Or fake a phone call if necessary. Anything to keep from having to tell her my life story, which I’m sure will get back to Lonnie later this evening when Peyton’s shift is over.

“David.”

I turn at the sound of Lonnie’s voice. She’s wearing a sundress with blue and yellow flowers, and her hair is down, which is a change since I’m used to seeing her wear it up. I stand up and greet her with a kiss on the cheek.

She smiles as she slides onto the stool to my right. “Did you meet Peyton yet?” she asks, eyeing my drink.

“We talked a little, but she has other customers.”

Peyton sees Lonnie and hurries over. “Hey, girl. The usual?” Peyton asks.

I’m not sure what Lonnie’s usual is. Is she a beer drinker, or does she prefer mixed drinks?

“You know it,” Lonnie says.

Peyton grabs the vodka and some cranberry juice. I try not to scowl, but I’ve always hated cranberry juice. It’s too tart for me. And vodka was never my favorite either. I much prefer gin or tequila.

The crowd starts to file into the bar, and Peyton says, “I’ll be back to talk in a bit,” before rushing off to help them.

“So, how was your day?” Lonnie asks, and something about the question feels wrong to me. Like we’ve been together forever and she’s asking about my day like always. I’m not sure why it bothers me so much, except that I don’t want Lonnie to be the one asking me that. I want Emily to be. Only she won’t. First, because we work together and she knows how my day was since she was there. And second, Emily doesn’t want the kind of relationship where we come home and talk about things like a married couple. She doesn’t want anything even remotely resembling marriage.

“David?” Lonnie puts her hand on my arm. “You okay? You look a little pale.”

I look down at her hand and reach for my beer to casually avoid her touch. “Sorry. Long day. I need to talk to you about something.”

“Oh?” She straightens in her seat.

“I know you met Emily at Last Call yesterday.”

She nods. “She came to the bar.”

“So you know she’s my roommate.”

Another nod.

“What you don’t know is that Emily and I used to date.”

“Used to? So you’re broken up now?” Her body language is screaming, “Don’t hurt me!” from the way she’s crossing her legs to the way she’s leaning away from me in her seat.

“We aren’t officially together, but we do still go out on occasion.”

“What do you mean you still go out? Are you sleeping with her?”

I can’t bring myself to answer, which turns out to be answer enough.

Lonnie’s face reddens. “You’re kidding, right? Tell me I’m not the idiot dating the guy who’s sleeping with his roommate!” Her voice is so loud people turn in our direction. She’s making a scene, and it’s all my fault.

Peyton’s eyes flash in my direction. I know what’s coming before she storms over to me and grabs my beer. “Get out of my bar,” she says. “Now, before I call the police.”

She has no right to call the cops on me for cheating on her friend. One because I didn’t cheat. We aren’t exclusive. We’ve only been on one date. And two, I’ve done nothing to merit being thrown out.

I turn toward Lonnie, wanting to explain. It’s not Lonnie’s fault that this happened or that I’m still hung up on Emily. I don’t want to leave things this way. “I know it looks bad, but there’s more to the story than that.” Not that I think it will make her feel any better. “Emily and I dated earlier in the summer but split up because she wasn’t looking for anything serious.”

Lonnie’s eyes widen. “So what, you started seeing me and suddenly, she was willing to date you again because you weren’t looking to commit to anyone? Did you use me to get her back? Is that what this is?”

I’ve only made this worse because I can’t disagree with what she said. It is the truth. I might not have set out to hurt Lonnie, but I allowed myself to when I knew she’d be the one to pay the price. I’m officially an ass. I stand up, take a twenty out of my wallet, and place it on the bar. “I’m sorry, Lonnie. You deserve better.” With that, I walk out of the bar.