But lately, that fog was lifting a little. Enough that I could at least allow myself one link to the rest of humanity.
The door opened for the direct entrance to the bar, the one on the side of the building allowing people to bypass going through the restaurant, and a figure stood in the doorway. My jaw dropped when I saw her.
“Son of a bitch,” I said, interrupting a joke Brett was in the middle of involving a beehive haircut in the bar.
“I mean, it’s out of fashion, sure, but probably not worthy of cursing,” Brett joked.
“No, the girl that just came in,” I said, nodding in her direction. “That’s Desiree.”
“Wait, the girl that showed up at your door in the blizzard?” he asked as she sat at the bar on an open stool. The bartender came up to her and took an order quickly, moving down to the wine rack. “That’s her?”
“Yup,” I said.
“You didn’t mention she looked like that, Aiden. Holy shit.”
She was sitting by herself, looking lonely and out of place. I saw a couple of eyes flicker over to her and instantly felt protective. Some of those eyes were suspicious, untrustworthy. Others had a gleam in them that I certainly didn’t like. A gleam that said she wasn’t just an outsider. She was prey.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s go up to the bar.”
“Why don’t we invite her here?” Brett said. “There’s a pizza coming.”
“Because she’s there, where she’s comfortable,” I said. “If someone asked you to move, how would you feel?”
“I feel that way right now, Aiden,” he laughed. “Alright, alright. Let’s go.”
We made our way over, and as we came into her eyeline, her face brightened up and she smiled a hundred-megawatt smile. I felt my spine straighten and my shoulders fall back when she did. That smile made me feel like a million bucks.
“Aiden,” she said, “good to see you again.”
“Same to you,” I said. “This is my friend, Brett.”
There was a pause, and I looked over to Brett. He smiled wide and offered his hand for her to shake.
“Nice to meet you,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
My smile turned into a look of embarrassed anger at Brett. It was a look that figuratively screamed what the fuck, dude?
“I bet you have,” she said, laughing as the bartender brought her a glass of wine.
“Nothing bad, of course,” Brett said.
“Mind if we sit?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said. “I wish I had grabbed a table or something.”
“See?” Brett said, hitting me in the arm.
I hung my head for a second and smiled.
“We actually have a booth if you would like to join us,” I said. “I thought you might want to stay at the bar, so I suggested we come over.”
“I appreciate it,” she said. “But a booth sounds great.”
“Well, then come on,” I said, waving her over. As we made our way to the booth, her hip brushed against mine, and our hands briefly touched. The electricity in those brief touches was enough to make my pants tighter. I intentionally sat across from her with Brett sitting in between in the middle of the U-shape.
It was a nice evening, and we spent the time drinking and eating pizza along with casual talk and jokes about the locals and their bizarre love of the game show. As the night wore on, I realized I was becoming enthralled with her, despite what little I knew of her. The hints she dropped about her life in New York, including that her day-to-day life was dangerous, reminded me of my own life, albeit in a very different place.
Brett checked out around midnight, getting in his car and heading out. I paid the tab, using Brett’s portion for the tip, and surprised Desiree by adding her tab into ours. As we walked out of the bar, taking a deep breath of the cold air, she shivered and glanced down the road.
“Well, I don’t live too far from here, so I’m going to walk home,” she said.
“Do you need a ride?” I asked. “It’s cold out.”
“I don’t mind. It’s only a mile or two.”
“And it’s late. And cold. Come on,” I said. “Let me drive you to your place.”
“Alright.” She smiled and turned to follow me.
She guided me down the road a mile or so and then turned onto a street just off the main road. Another mile and another turn and we pulled up to a small house on a quiet residential street.
“This is it,” she said. “Do you want to come in for a bit?”
My stomach clenched, and I tried to read her face. I might have been out of the game for a long time, but I knew what that usually meant. But at the same time, she’d had a few drinks, and I didn’t want to assume anything.