“Dominic? What are you doing here?” I practically tumbled into his arms when my heel missed the step that carried me from the ledge along the elevated bar to the floor below.
“Apparently, I’m giving you a ride home.” He offered his hand and helped me balance on my heels.
“I think I can make it.” I used his hand for support and took a couple of steps.
“Yeah? Let’s see you do that by yourself.” He released my hand and I stumbled immediately.
“Okay, maybe I am too drunk to even find my way to a cab.” My words were slurred, but they sounded like poetry in my head.
“I’ve never seen you this drunk.” He grabbed my hand and helped me walk. “What are you celebrating? Did you get a promotion at work or something?”
No, I still haven’t stopped drowning my sorrows.
“Yeah, something like that.” I faked a smile and continued walking with him.
I was the one that usually helped Dominic to the car after he had a few too many beers. Being on the other side of that was strange for me. The night had started off well, especially when a cute guy asked me to dance, but when he decided to go home with the hot redhead at the end of the bar, I decided wine was going to be my evening companion. It wasn’t like I would have been went home with him, anyway. I would have went on a date with him, but I wasn’t quite desperate enough for one night stands. I was still a virgin, the eternal cliche of a woman saving herself for one guy—a guy she had to watch get married. Dominic helped me to his car, got me into the passenger seat, and walked around to the other side.
How many times have I dreamed of this?
“How’s Nancy?” I turned my head towards him as soon as he slid into the driver’s seat.
“I wouldn’t know.” He sighed deeply and held up his left hand, which was missing the wedding band I watched her put there. “The ink is still drying, but we’re divorced.”
“Shit…” I exhaled sharply. “I’m sorry, Dominic.”
“Don’t be sorry.” He shook his head back and forth. “She cheated on me.”
“Well, then fuck that bitch!” My words came out harsh, guided by alcohol, before I even realized what I was saying.
She had Dominic and she cheated on him?
“Yeah.” A smile slowly crept across his face. “Fuck that bitch. It feels good to say that out loud.”
I’d love to say that the night ended in glorious passion as I healed his wounds with my innocence, but that was never how it ended for us. He parked his car, helped me get to my apartment, and once I was safe in bed, he was gone. The one moment when Dominic was single, available, and vulnerable was lost. I was too drunk to do anything more than cling to him in order to keep the world from spinning into oblivion. Even though the blackness of sleep was calling my name as I lay there with my head against the pillow, I couldn’t help but wonder what might have been if I hadn’t spent the last six months drowning my sorrows.
How many nights did he need someone to talk to when I wasn’t there for him?
I stayed away out of respect for Nancy. She was his wife, and I was the female best friend. That was like fire and ice, unless they came together, and then it was kerosene against an open flame. I felt her jealous eyes on me the first time she walked into her apartment and saw us having a drink together. It was uncomfortable to say the least. Dominic would have never touched me when he was with her, but she didn’t know that. I understood it after I found out she cheated on him. She probably thought he was doing the same thing to her. Maybe he should have been. Maybe I should have been a homewrecker instead of an innocent virgin. Perhaps that would have taken me down the path to Dominic’s arms instead of loneliness.
“You’re late.” My boss, Mr. Stone, stared at me as I shuffled into the conference room and took a seat.
“Sorry, I had a late night.” I tried to avoid the stares that were cast in my direction—they were all disapproving.
“That’s the—what is it, Wednesday? That’s the third one this week.” Mr. Stone shook his head and turned back towards the presenter. “Anyway, you were saying?”
“Sorry…” I mumbled under my breath and tried to figure out what I had missed before I arrived.
I sent Dominic a message thanking him for the previous night, and a few minutes later I got a response asking if I wanted to meet for coffee. I accepted immediately. We hadn’t been able to meet for a coffee-lunch since he got married.
My heart sank into my stomach when I walked in and sat down because the golden band missing from his finger the night before was back. She had come to him in tears that morning, told him she was sorry, and they decided to work through their problem. I lost a lot of respect for Dominic when I heard those words. Nancy was going to have her cake, her pie, and Dominic. He really was wrapped around her little finger. By the time the coffee-lunch was done, the only place I wanted to be was back at the office. I would have been happier if he was alone, but he was right back in Nancy’s adulterous clutch.
“Mr. Stone wants to see you.” One of the secretaries walked by my cubicle and tapped her finger on my desk. “Now.”
“Okay, let me just save what I’m working on.” I pushed my mouse across my screen.
“He said now.” She repeated her words and her stare said everything.
I walked into Mr. Stone’s office with my stomach in knots. I needed my job. I knew I had been screwing up and coming in late, but I wasn’t the only one. The office frowned on it, but I had never heard of anyone getting fired over a few tardies. He had a scowl on his face, like he normally did when he was about to crack the whip on someone. I took a seat across from him and looked at him with a nervous glance. He didn’t say anything at first. His intense dark-colored eyes locked on me and I felt like a child that had just been caught with my hand in the cookie jar, but there were no cookies to at least make the punishment worth it.