Thank God it’s Friday. I’m meeting Emily and Chrissy out for a drink at Mac’s place. Em called to ask how my first week went. I told her it was great from a work perspective but shit from a personal one.
I haven’t really had the chance to go out with the two girls, but I jumped at the chance to get to know them better. Lord knows I could use a drink or five.
Walking into MacAlister’s, I see Mac behind the bar and give him a quick wave.
“Nicole, we are over here,” Em yells so I can hear her over the loud Irish music.
They are sitting at a high-top table, drinking Mac’s famous margaritas. Hanging my purse over the back of the chair, I order a boilermaker from the waitress.
“You remember Chrissy, don’t you?” Emily asks.
“Yes, nice to see you again.” I give her a quick smile and sit down next to her.
“Emily tells me that you are a kindergarten teacher?”
“Yep, just finished my first week, and I’m loving the new school so far.”
“That’s cool. My niece just started kindergarten this week, and she loves it.”
“Hey, Nicole. I’ve been meaning to ask you a question.” Emily looks at me with a smirk. I know where this is going. It’s the look that a friend gets when she wants to introduce me to someone.
“No, I’m not seeing anyone.”
I almost tell her about Daniel, but he is her friend, and that’s a little weird.
Em looks at me, smiling. “How’d you know I was going to ask that question?”
“Well, for one, you have the same look that my friends back home have when they want to introduce me to someone.”
Both Emily and Chrissy laugh, but my thoughts race to that cheating rat bastard Daniel.
“What’s wrong, Nicole? You look as if you want to murder someone,” Chrissy says.
I know I can’t rat on Daniel to his friends, but damn if I don’t want to.
“Thought I met a nice guy is all, but it turns out that he is married. Not only does he have a wife, but he has a daughter who is in my class.”
“Oh, well that would be interesting, wouldn’t it?” Chrissy says. “Did the jerk give you any indication that he was married?”
“Nope, he asked me out on a date. He ended up canceling it, thank God. The next time I saw him, he came into my class with his wife and daughter.”
Shaking my head, I add, “The thing is, I really thought he was a great guy. Perfect body, great smile and sweet.”
They both shake their heads. Emily summons the waitress over. I think her name is Liza. We order another round, and I hear all about Shane and his antics. We talk about how Mac is adjusting to civilian life and Chrissy’s job at the courthouse.
Just as Mac brings us some appetizers to soak up the alcohol, I see the door behind Emily open.
“Fuck.” Of course Daniel shows up and sees me right away.
Emily and Chrissy choke on their food. “What is it?” Emily asks between coughs.
“Um, nothing.” I try to change the subject. “How are the fried ravioli?”
“Good, you should try them. Here, have one.” Chrissy hands one to me.
HE. WON’T. STOP. STARING. I need to go say something before he makes a scene.
“I have to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back.” I leave before they can say anything.
With my chin up and my shoulder squared, I walk right over to the bar where he and his friend are sitting.
“Uh, hi, Nicole,” he says as soon as I get close enough.
“Daniel, can I speak to you for a minute?” My tone indicates that I would like his friend to excuse us.
His friend nods and heads over to Emily and Chrissy.
“Look Daniel, I’m not going to tell Emily or Mac about our misunderstanding, OK? I’m just glad that you had the guts to cancel before I made a mistake.”
Not giving him a chance to answer, I turn on my heel and head to the restroom.