“Thanks, Irving,” I said with a smile. “You're too kind.”
“I'm just telling the truth,” he replied.
We made some more idle chatter as I sipped on my drink with him doing his best to flirt with me and win me over. Eventually, I finished my drink, but by that time he had already downed two beers. Callum called for another round of shots. I wasn't sure it was a good idea to have them, but before I could refuse, they were already on the table.
“Drink up, ladies and gents!” Callum shouted, and we knocked the shots back with gusto.
“Another Ice?” asked Irving.
“Um, I'm not-”
“That's a yes,” he said, interrupting me. Before I could say anything else, he called the waitress over and ordered another Smirnoff Ice for me.
I was starting to feel tipsy and wasn't sure I should have any more, but then another part of me figured, what the hell, might as well cut loose. After all, it was a Saturday night, and I'd been doing a lot of hibernating and wallowing in self-pity and misery recently.
As I got my next drink, the main act took the stage. They started playing, and they were so good that it actually lifted my spirits.
In fact, after a couple of songs, I felt so good that I got up and joined the crowd of people who were dancing at the front of the stage. Irving came and joined me, bringing me a fresh drink. By this time, I was too buzzed and having too good a time to say no, so I just took it and drank it as I was dancing.
After the band finished, I went back to the table, reeling from the awesome music and the fun dancing – and feeling more than a bit buzzed from all the drinks I'd had.
“They were great, weren't they?” exclaimed Leena.
“Absolutely amazing!” I replied.
“All right, who's ready for stage two of this party?” Callum asked. “I think it's time to hit the club!”
“I don't think so,” I said. “I think I want to call it a night.”
“Are you sure?” Leena asked. “The night is still young!”
“Um, I'm feeling pretty beat myself,” Irving interjected before I could answer. “Say, Eryn, I could give you a ride home if you want. I've got my car here.”
“Yeah, Eryn and Leena live near your place, Irv,” Callum said to Irving. “That works out pretty well.”
“I, um-” I began, but Irving quickly silenced me.
“Perfect,” he said, taking my hand as he began to lead me out of the bar, and pulling almost forcefully on my arm. “See you tomorrow, guys. And don't worry, Leena, I'll make sure your friend gets home just fine.”
Irving pulled me out of the bar and flashed Leena a smile as they followed us to the parking lot – even though a sudden feeling of dread was starting to creep its poisonous tendrils through my veins.
I didn't have a good feeling about this. In fact, I had a really, really bad feeling about this.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Wade
I watched as Valencia College put a good serve across the net, but I'd trained my FSU team well in defense, and they returned it with a swift attack. There were a few volleys back and forth, but eventually, one of my players spiked it with furious accuracy, and that was it: we scored the match point.
Out on the court, the girls celebrated and hugged each other, and I knew I should be feeling proud and excited, as well – but I just wasn't. This was our sixth straight victory, yet somehow I just couldn't bring myself to care beyond being happy that it meant job security.
Don't get me wrong – I was happy for the team, but I wasn’t excited about winning. I hadn't been slacking off or doing a half-assed job of coaching. I'd still been putting my best into coaching the team. It was just that my heart wasn't in it.
I'd been speaking to my ex Georgia about once a week. Even though Eryn and I were officially apart – not sure if we were ever “officially” together in the first place – I still felt like I was cheating on her.
And it wasn't as if I was getting any sort of thrill out of talking to Georgia. It was more of a distraction than anything, so that I wouldn't focus so hard on the pain I felt from missing Eryn so much. I'd agreed to come out and see Georgia for that “last goodbye” night she kept talking about, but I'd been putting it off longer and longer. Now that this game was done, I had a few free days, and so I'd finally taken the plunge and bought a flight.
I'd be leaving for my flight to California in an hour.