Page 8

Story: Perfect Deke

“You okay?” A tall shadow looms over me, blocking the shine on my glass.

God, that British accent.

As he motions to the bartender, Jack turns to face me, leaning against the bar.

I shrug. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“You sure about that?” he replies.

“I-I’m just going to use the restroom,” Jenna announces, pushing off her stool and grabbing her bag. “Be back in a sec!” she sings.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes, knowing full well she doesn’t need to pee. She just went when we left my apartment twenty minutes ago.

“Yep. Just had a tough game today, and I’m tired,” I reply, still staring down into my cocktail since there’s no way I can look at him with glassy eyes.

He’s still standing to the side of me when he leans back further, attempting to capture my attention, and when he succeeds, the smile on his face causes my lips to tip up. Jack was always known around college as the nice guy. He spent nearly all his time at the rink or library, but for a short while, he dated a girl who was in the same English Lit course as me. She never said why they’d split, but she did say she was gutted. Although I never really got to know or see that side of him much since whenever I was around, so was Tyler.

“Is that a smile I see?”

“Nope,” I reply, my smile growing all the while. “Too damn moody for that.”

He blows out a breath and hands the bartender a twenty-dollar bill. “Have these two drinks been settled?”

“Nah, on a tab for Tyler,” the bartender responds.

I reach into my purse to pay.

“I got them,” Jack replies to the bartender before looking at me. “If that’s okay with you?”

This time, when I look at him, I feel heat flush my cheeks. “You don’t have to.”

“I know. But what if I want to?” His voice is slightly flirtatious, or maybe that’s just my imagination after what Jenna said.

“Kend, the bartender knows to put your drinks on my tab, we take it in turns to pay and it’s my night.”

Jack’s lips morph from a smile to a scowl when Tyler sidles up beside me, taking Jenna’s stool.

“You buying my girl drinks, Morgan?” Tyler pins him with a glare, but I’m about ready to explode.

“Yourgirl?” I look at Tyler and point at my chest. “First, I’m not some kind of possession you can claim, and second, so what if he was?”

Tyler rears back at the way I snapped at him, almost like he wasn’t expecting me to go off, but genuinely, I’ve had enough.

“Let’s be honest,” I continue. “It’s not like you were bothered when I came to sit over here a second ago or even when you stood me up last night.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Jack shift from one foot to the other.

“I’ll be right over there if you need me,” he says, gesturing toward the booth.

“Why would she need you?” Tyler scoffs. “I’ve got her handled.”

“The fuck?!” I announce. “I’m sorry, you’ve got mewhatnow?”

Tyler’s face pales when he sees mine.

I snatch up my bag and slide off the stool, spinning around to face my boyfriend for what I know is the final time. My rage is at an all-time high, and humiliation flows through me. “Got me handled? Who the fuck do you think you are? You …” I bite down on my lip, attempting to steady my emotions. “You’re acting like a complete asshole!”

“Babe, are you okay?” Jenna asks as she approaches us, her head turning as Jack makes his way back to the booth.