Chapter Sixteen #2
After less than a millisecond’s thought, I nodded.
Getting absolutely blind drunk suddenly seemed like a very good idea indeed.
I waited patiently while Georgia went to the bar, returning in a couple of minutes with another Whisky and Coke, and the same pink concoction she’d been drinking earlier. “What the hell is that anyway?”
“Pink Flamingo. It’s a drinks promotion.” She held the glass toward me. “Wanna try it?”
The disgusted look on my face was answer enough. We clinked glasses, before Georgia sank back into the seat. “I never finished what I was going to say before.”
“Go on.”
“I’ve thought of some positives, with your”—she waved her hands about, nearly taking out a picture hung on the wall. Yep. Definitely drunk—“situation.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But, you have to promise to listen properly…without interrupting.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Dean, do you promise?”
“No.”
She sank even lower in the seat. “Not going to say anything then. You can just…wallow…and beat yourself up…and wallow.”
“Fine!” I drank half of the drink in the glass. The warm buzz making me more amenable to the idea of listening to her than I would have been completely sober. “I promise to try and listen properly, and only interrupt when absolutely necessary.”
She sat up straight again. “So, there’s lots of positives when you think about it.”
I opened my mouth to dispute the notion, but immediately closed it at her warning look, without saying a word. I guessed I could at least last longer than one sentence.
“Think about it. You were worried you were getting boned by some old dude. You weren’t. Justin’s not old.” She offered a broad smile like she was some sort of genius.
“Georgia, if that’s the best you can do, then—“
Her arm shot over the table, pressing a finger to my lips. “Shush. Not finished. The next positive, is…well, it’s a bit more…sensitive. So…I’m just trying to make sure I get the words right.”
I eyed her glass, already three-quarters empty. “I think it’s possible, you might be too sloshed to be sensitive. How many of those…things…have you had?”
“A few. I don’t know. It’s nice.” She picked the glass up, squinting at it. “It’s pretty. Looks like candy floss.” She drained it. “Do you wanna hear this or not?”
I nodded, steeling myself while making a mental note that if she said anything remotely offensive, it was just because she was drunk, and I shouldn’t hold it against her.
“You were having great sex with one man. A man you didn’t know.
A man you never spoke to. But”—she held a finger in the air as a dramatic gesture— “you couldn’t stay away from him.
You even lied to me, claiming you weren’t going anymore.
” She tried for a glare. It ended up as more of a cross-eyed stare.
“And we will address that, Dean. Later, when you’re not all heartbroken and shit.
Because I have to say, a lot of lying going on lately with you. ”
The finger swerved in my direction, turning accusatory. “To me. To Justin. Not good, Dean. Not good at all. And, can I say, not really like you. I’ve known you since you were twelve, and you were a good boy. Very honest, then. Now…not so much.”
I flushed, knowing there was an awful lot of truth in her words. I wasn’t proud of myself. But, didn’t that just back up that I was right to end things with Justin? If we didn’t bring the best out in each other, then what was the point in being together? “I’m sorry.”
“So you should be. Anyway, I’m getting off track. Back to what I was saying. First guy. Great sex. Then there was the other guy. The one you were dating. The one you could have long conversations with. But, you weren’t having sex with.”
I sat up straighter. “Did I tell you that?”
“No. It was just obvious.”
“I don’t get your point, Georgia.”
Georgia stared forlornly at her now empty glass. “I should stop drinking, right?”
“Yes. You should definitely stop drinking. I’m not carrying you home. Now, what’s your point?”
“Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? You were torn between two things. Two men. And actually, it’s the same man, so you can have them both.” She mimed moving her hands, until they crashed together. “You can unite them both. To make one beautiful, having sex and talking whole.”
“That’s it? That’s your great positive?” She nodded enthusiastically, looking mighty pleased with herself.
“And, I suppose I just forget everything that’s happened between us, do I?
The fact he continued to pay me for sex, even after he knew who I was, and the way I treated him awfully by lying to him.
Not to mention, the fact, his way of finally telling me the truth was to take me to his house.
Because, simply telling me would have been a lot less dramatic. ”
“You should at least talk to him.”
I shook my head emphatically. “No way. It’s done. It’s too much of a mess. I just want to forget all about it and move on.” Something suddenly occurred to me. “Hey, what was the name of that guy? The one that you spent ages trying to get me to go on a date with? The one you said had a great torso?”
Georgia stared at me blankly, until a spark of realization finally forced its way through the alcoholic stupor. “Jack. He’s really nice. You’d like him. He thinks he’s been talking to you. I have to keep making excuses why you won’t go out with him.”
I banged my hand down on the table in an emphatic gesture. “Well, you won’t have to make excuses any longer. That’s just what I need. A date with a nice man, to take my mind off whatshisname.”
“Justin?”
I glared at her for being dense enough…or drunk enough to completely miss my point.
“I don’t know. I’ve forgotten his name. Because, I’ve moved on.
Set me up with Jack, Georgia. You kept telling me he was perfect.
I’m sure Jack and I are going to be extremely happy together.
You can be a bridesmaid at the wedding.”
Georgia sat back, her look a strange mixture of disbelief and sadness. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”
I forced a smile, following it up with a wink. “It’s a great idea! Best idea I’ve ever had.”