16. Wingman
16
Wingman
The problem with building a whole fantasy island was that it was too big to ignore when it all came crashing down. Since I helped build it, I had to repurpose it.
That night, I played Craft Cove to gather resources. We had options.
Me: Should I smooth out the island or redecorate?
Sal: It’s fine. I’m not up to playing right now anyway
What if he never played again? I fidgeted with the mouse wheel.
Me: I can build a giant wall so you can’t see it when you come back
Sal: I don’t love the idea of building a wall lol. Don’t want to get political in Craft Cove, ya know?
I pushed up my glasses and chuckled. At least an ‘lol’ was progress.
Me: Do you want to play something else?
Sal: The drums.
I didn’t have those. Not unless he counted the Just Rock game setup my brother and I had as kids with plastic buttons and smack-pads. They were buried somewhere in the basement.
I went on an expedition into the depths of our house and switched the lights on the basement stairwell. Neon flickered, then steadied against stark white walls. Spider anatomy diagrams were pinned to the idea board. Although I’d managed to redistribute a few rogue limbs, my workshop was still covered in evidence of The Widow’s construction. So far, I hadn’t recycled much in case the mall sent lawyers my way, but I’d have to clean up eventually. Not today.
I yanked a few storage bins full of old parts, shoving them aside to get to the stuff I’d saved from our parents’ house that I hadn’t bothered to unpack yet, including old game consoles. I sat on an adjacent bin and lovingly reassembled the rock band set. It wasn’t exactly building a mech, but it did energize me to do something with my hands.
Later, I connected the set to the console. The drums lit up blue, and I burst out laughing. My brother must’ve played these last. Blue was his favorite color. He used to flip his long bangs, trying to keep up with the beat on various instruments. Too bad we weren’t musically inclined. But we had other talents.
Tech. Research. Building shit.
If I was going to build any kind of relationship with Sal, I needed to be able to trust him. I ran a quick background check on him. No arrests. No violations. Two minor traffic tickets. Tension drained from my shoulders. I could give him my address.
I sent Sal a picture of the setup.
Me: Sticks are ready to go if you need them.
Sal: Aw man, I miss playing that! Just Rock, right?
I sent him a thumbs up.
Sal: Rain check? I’ve been kidnapped by my friends.
Oh. Right. He had real friends, not just mall friends. They’d take care of him.
Me: Have fun, if you can.
Sal: Trying. Everyone is buying me drinks and distracting me with funny stories. It’s very confusing, emotionally.
He sent a few laughing, crying, and perplexed emojis. I smirked. How drunk was he?
Me: I'm sure it is. Remember to eat.
Sal: You sound like my grandma lol. I mean that as a compliment btw. I love grandma! Grandma’s the best! Her and grandpa…the ultimate people. You’re cool too.
I snorted and powered down the game console. Okay, he’d definitely gone beyond tipsy.
Sal: Come hang with the cool crew. We’re at the same bar for Wednesdays. Ash’s supposed to be here soon.
He wanted me to come?
Me: Are you sure? By the way, most cool people don’t call themselves the cool crew.
Sal: C’mon, slugger, I need a bodyguard in case my friends get handsy.
I laughed. Okay, somehow, that convinced me. Victor didn’t get off for another hour or two, so I texted him to let him know where I’d be.
Victor: Did you want me to come by?
Me: I’m not sure I’ll be staying. I’ll check in.
He had my location. Still, it was best to be thorough.
I freshened up, applied a tinted chapstick, and changed into a non-work hoodie. Such a transformation. Would he even recognize me?
I rolled my eyes and made my way to the bar.
The same boxy bouncer from last time checked my ID.
My cheeks flexed in a mild smile. Maybe that would convince him the girl in the photograph was me.
“Go ahead,” he barked, handing the ID back.
I scurried inside, heading straight to where they were last time.
Sal’s arm shot up over a small crowd. “Zero, you made it,” he cheered .
My toes tingled, so I dragged my feet to greet him. “How’re you holding up?”
“I need sleep.” He extended his arms to me, then stopped himself short, his beer sloshing. “Wait, no hugs. You want a drink? Next time, I can get an Arnold Palmer for you.”
“That’s okay, I’m not sure–”
“Salvatore, your future wife is waiting,” a silver-haired young man sing-songed at him.
The girls beside him giggled.
My heart clenched. “You're not trying to date so soon after—”
“No. But my friend has different priorities.” He sighed. “He says the quickest way to get over someone is to get under someone else.”
Wait, did that mean he was open to a rebound? I furrowed my brow, my mouth open and my brain whirring. Was Sal into casual sex? I thought his relationships were real…or something like that.
He shrugged, his gaze wobbling with lack of focus. “I know, I wouldn’t want to mess up my friendship with Janice by hooking up with someone the day after our breakup. But I–”
“Sal,” the silver-haired guy called, sidling up to us. “Excuse me, honey, I’ve come to collect him. You’re welcome to join us.”
I didn’t have much of a choice. He tucked Sal under his shoulder and led him to the girls, leaving me to follow in their wake.
They formed a semi-circle, leaving just enough space for me to lurk between Sal and a random girl’s elbow.
The silver-haired guy flashed them a killer smile, his hand over Sal’s heart. “This is my man, Sal. Served him dinner last night. His ex waited until she got her present to dump him.”
“That’s so sad,” one girl cooed,
“What a bitch,” the other said.
Sal straightened his spine. “No, she’s not. ”
Silver-fox slapped his chest. “He’s also a feminist.”
I snorted laughter. That should be the bare minimum for romantic interests.
Everyone eyed me with varying levels of annoyance and alarm.
Sal squirmed, his eyes glazed and tone lost. “Am I not?”
I pushed up my glasses and backed up. “Oh, sorry. You are generally respectful from what I’ve noticed. I’m his friend, Zero.”
“Thank you for the addition,” the waiter said, angling Sal to close me off from the circle. “Anyway, tell us about yourselves, ladies? What’re you drinking?”
Sal gave his friend an exasperated look, then focused on the girls. “Where are you from?”
No wonder he wanted someone to protect him from a handsy friend. I crossed my arms. What could I do here that made sense? I couldn’t hook him up with someone, nor could I kick his ‘wingman’s’ ass in case they were actually friends.
Someone gesturing like, ‘what the hell’ caught my attention down the bar. Ash waved me over, her brow furrowed. Oh no. Did I do something wrong? Again?
“Excuse me,” I said, touching Sal’s arm so he’d know I was leaving.
“Oh, right.” He shuffled in place, glancing blankly from me to Ash. Was he even listening to his friend or either of these girls?
She raised her eyebrows at me and gestured widely. “You broke up Sal and Janice?”
Panic pulsed through my joints, freezing me in place. “No, I didn’t.”
“So, the same day you have a coffee date and ‘help’ him with the present–”
“It wasn’t a date.”
“Why, because you got in a fight about his relationship?” She challenged, leaning forward with her hands on her hips.
Damn, she had nerves of steel. I pushed up my glasses, my stomach in knots. “He didn’t leave her.” Especially not for me. “And she didn’t break up with him just because of a well-crafted present. I don’t sabotage things on purpose.”
“If you did, I’d almost be tempted to give you a raise.” She pointed at me and reached for her glass. “I won’t, because it’s not work related.”
“And wrong.”
“Yes, that.” She smirked, then took a long drag of her drink. “So, Sal’s single now.”
“So it seems.” I sighed and eyed the pickup artist down the bar. “For now.”
The circle laughed at something he said. One girl flipped her hair and touched his arm.
Ugh. He made friends so fucking easily. He could probably find someone to go home with him within five minutes, especially if he had that waiter’s help.
Sal caught my eye and forced a thin-lipped smile. It wasn’t real. He was pretending. So he could make other people happy. This stuff wasn’t good for him. I frowned and waved.
“He needs pizza and ice cream, not pity sex,” I ranted.
“Might be good for him. Get stuff out of his system,” Ash said, annoyingly light-hearted.
I turned on her. “He’s your friend. Don’t you care about him?”
“Not the same way you do, I guess.” She smiled.
There was nothing charming about this. I scowled. “What if he latches onto one of those girls and they turn out to be even worse than Janice?”
“You can’t talk anyone into or out of a crush. It’s natural chemistry.” She flicked the brim of my hat up to bare more of my face to the yellowed bar lights. “Nice lipstick, by the way,” she said .
“It’s lip balm,” I muttered, tugging my cap down to fight the burn of halogen on my cheeks. At least someone noticed my efforts.
When I tried to spy on Sal, I caught him staring at me.
He flinched, then hyper-focused on the girls in front of him. “Huh. So interesting.”
“Sal owns a toy store. You ladies love toys, don’t you? Especially ones that buzz,” the waiter teased.
I cringed. No one said stuff like that in real life, did they? Sal looked down, but laughed.
The girls chuckled and joked back. I supposed this was normal in bars. Normal people. Normal courtship things. Maybe I was the weird one, talking to my boss.
A little while later, Sal set his drink on the bar. “Listen, I’ve had a great time, but I’m pretty drunk, so maybe we can rain check?”
“Aw,” the group complained. “Come play with us.”
“Next time, I promise.” He squeezed their arms, but he might as well have crushed my gut.
Rain check. Like me and my stupid drum set. The inner circle of ‘cool kids’ exchanged numbers. I didn’t even have his digits. We used a game app.
“Well, looks like we’re leaving.” Ash slapped some cash on the bar, then took me by the elbow.
I stumbled alongside her. “Hey, what are you doing?”
“You’re not staying here by yourself, and I’m his designated driver. Unless you want to take him?” She smiled and batted her eyelashes.
“No.” I huffed.
His smile brightened as he walked out with us. “Did you have a good time?”
I didn’t have time to answer before the bouncer bro-fisted him.
“See you at band practice,” the squared-off guy said .
“You’re in his band?” I balked. Did he seriously make friends everywhere he went?
“Yep. My badass bass-man," Sal said.
“Guitar,” the bouncer deadpanned.
Sal slapped his friend’s meaty bicep with fondness. “Oh, Zack, you checked her ID, right? What’s her real name?”
“Ask her yourself,” he said.
At least one of his friends had common sense.
Sal swayed and chuckled. “That’s a weird name.”
“Okay, hot stuff, say goodbye,” Ash coaxed, leading us into the parking lot.
“Goodbye, Zero. Thanks for coming out. You know.” He gestured to Ash, then stumbled in my direction.
Before I could think better of it, I swept him up in a hug. Lighting shot through my bones. The warmth of our embrace relaxed my tightened muscles. I chuckled, regaining the breath he knocked out of me. “Feel better,” I said.
“I do,” he murmured, nuzzling into my hoodie.
“Good.” I smiled and rubbed his back. That was all that really mattered.