I frowned. “Are you drunk already?”
“Sober as the day I was born.”
I smiled. “Then what are you talking about?”
She smiled. “You don’t have to worry your pretty little head about it. Why don’t you continue with your original plan and get drunk? I’ll talk to you later.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I’m just leaving the bar, darling,” Lindsey winked at me. “And heading to the dance floor. I see a few old friends that I want to reacquaint myself with.”
I glanced over and noticed two guys standing on a corner, smiling at her. She waved at them, and they gestured her over. They looked a little young, but then Lindsey was popular with the students.
“Old friends?” I asked. “Or old fucks?”
“Don’t be crude,” she said. “You might need to thank them later.”
I frowned. “What?”
Lindsey laughed, and I could tell that she wasn’t telling me something. “I’ll see you on Monday.”
“Lindsey… Wait—”
But she had already started walking away from me. I watched her receding figure and could admire from a detached stance how attractive she was. Another lifetime ago, she would have been exactly my type, and yet, nothing about her turned me on anymore. It was as though Natalie had robbed me of every sexual feeling towards any other woman.
I kept glancing around, spying all the women coming and going, drinking and dancing. There were beauties in the bar all around me, but I couldn’t muster up a single iota of interest. When I thought about sleeping with someone other than Natalie, my insides churched uncomfortably, and I knew that wasn’t an option for me right now. The breakup was still too fresh and the scars still too deep. I needed to get some distance before I could approach another woman.
I wondered how Natalie was doing. I hadn’t seen her since that night in the restaurant when I had ended things. I had been tempted to text and ask how she was, but then I figured a clean break might be best for both of us. Once I was finished with my fifth beer, I paid my tab and headed back to my place. I was at the door when I noticed Lindsey. She was not on the dance floor.
Instead, she was huddled in a corner with the same two men, and they were talking with some urgency. I frowned, unsure of what she was up to. On another night, I might have approached her and asked point blank what she was planning, but today, I was too drunk to care.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Natalie
It was such a beautiful day that I couldn’t help but feel as though life was mocking me.
I was huddled in with a group of seniors, none of whom I was very familiar with. Graduation was fully underway and the atmosphere was excited, but I couldn’t find it in me to be anything but melancholy.
Missy was all the way on the other side of the huge arched ballroom that served as the setting for graduation. And without her, my mood had dropped considerably. She was the only reason I looked presentable. I was wearing a body-fitting cream dress with intricately worked sleeves and a modest hemline. My hair had been arranged into a messy yet elegant topknot, and my makeup was subtle and sophisticated. Missy really knew what she was doing when it came to makeovers.
Given that I was sitting beside a bunch of girls I didn’t know, I looked around, trying to distract myself from their conversation. If I stood a little, I could see my parents sitting off in the section delegated for family members. Dad was wearing his best jacket and Mom was in her favorite jade green dress. Both of them looked proud and happy. I caught Mom’s eye and waved to them, forcing a smile on my face.
Seconds later, I spied Chance walking onto the stage to sit with all the other professors. He was in his academic robes, but I could see the dark blue suit he wore underneath. He looked incredibly handsome, and I felt my heart shiver at the sight of him. I forced myself to turn away from him, but my attention focused inevitably on the conversation the two girls beside me were having.
“What are your plans after graduation?” the blonde one asked.
“I have an internship lined up,” the redhead replied. “At Saxon and Banks. It’s unpaid for the moment, but if I do well, I’ll be put on the payroll within the first three months.”
“Saxon and Banks, huh?”
“Pretty good, right?”
“Please, that’s incredible.”
“I had to pull a few strings to get in, though…”
“You’d have to, wouldn’t you? Saxon and Banks takes interns on recommendations alone.”