Just You

I left work after another stressful day. Some of the employees were awesome; some didn’t take too well to an “outsider” being hired in as management. A particularly ornery girl, an eighteen year old named Lydia who seriously needed an attitude adjustment, did not like me at all. It was getting to the point where I’d have to fire her. She was rude to customers, didn’t do her fairly easy job, and was a complete bitch to other employees. I had already talked to her, but she wasn’t getting it.

Sighing, I walked to my car and unlocked it. I pulled my phone out of my purse and dialed Mikayla’s number. There were a few rings before it went to voicemail, which meant she and Jared were…getting to know each other, inside and out.

I threw myself in the driver’s seat and groaned at the thought of calling Jensen. He is my best friend but I feel like I’ve been relying on him too much. It was only a week ago that I called, asking him to meet me at the bar. But I didn’t have anyone else in LA. So, I bit my lip and dialed his number.

After a while of ringing, I sighed as a recorded version of his voice floated over the phone. His voicemail, damn. Do I leave a message? Do I not? I had a mental battle until there was a beep. Well, I guess I better leave a message.

“Hey Jay, its Angel. I was just wondering if you wanted to grab a beer at the bar. I’m heading there in about an hour or so. Meet me there if you want to. Bye.” It was short, sweet, to the point, and said nothing about my shitty day.

I eased into the street carefully and started my way home. I drove home carefully to avoid letting my agitation seep through. There wasn’t even the distraction of the radio to keep me entertained, just my own thoughts. One thought kept popping up, I’m going to do something stupid tonight.

Not stupid as in try to kill myself again, but other than that, I wasn’t sure what stupid meant. I pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car, locked it, and went to my apartment. Once inside, I went straight to the bathroom and stripped. I took a cool shower, making sure to use the good smelling body wash I had for special occasions. I needed to pamper myself tonight.

After that, I wrapped myself in a towel, blow-dried my hair, and put on my makeup. I went for a dramatic-eye look and glossy lips and got dressed in a baby doll shirt with a low cut neckline and jeans. I put on a pair of heels, grabbed my keys, wallet, and phone and put them in a purse. Locking the front door, I headed out to my car and started it up.

As the engine turned over, I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed. What am I doing? I thought. I’m just going to get myself into trouble.

No, dammit, I deserve this. I need this. This is what’s happening. I’m going to go out and have fun!

With newfound determination, I pulled out of the apartment’s parking lot and headed to the bar. Here’s to a good night.



I’d already had three drinks when he came up. Six foot two, muscular, cute, bright blue eyes, curly brown hair. Brent had recently cut his hair so it was close to his head, so I got a full view of those blue eyes that I fell in love with so long ago. I quickly looked down as he spotted me and headed over. He sat down and I sighed into my glass.

“Drinking alone?” He asked, full lips coming to a curve.

“Would you believe me if I said Jensen is just in the bathroom?” He chuckled and shook his head.

“I’ve been watching you since you came in.”

“Because that’s not creepy.” I scoffed.

“Well, I kept two creepy guys from trying anything with you. So don’t bitch.” His words were harsh, but he was smiling as he said it.

“Thanks but I don’t need your help.”

“That’s bullshit Anjilika. Look at you. You’re a beautiful woman in a bar, alone. What were you thinking?” I sighed, knowing there was no way out of this.

“Well get a drink and we’ll drink together.” He grinned a beautiful smile and I knew this was a bad idea.

Oh well.