I Don't Do Lonely Well

“Dude, just come out with us tonight. You don’t even have to drink, just get out of the fucking house.”
I glare at Jack.
“Or wallow in sorrow some more. You’ve done this for a week straight. I thought we were in celebration mode over completing the album?”
I still don’t say anything.
“Whatever.” He grabs his keys and tells the rest of the guys to go. They frown and exit with him.
I pick up the couch pillow and lean it behind my head as I flip on the TV. I watch three episodes of Beyond Scared Straight before my phone rings. I assume it’s the guys calling to drunkenly beg me to come to the bar, but it’s not. It’s just Cody.
“Hey, man,” I greet tiredly.
“Hey, I’m supposed to call you and tell you to come to the bar.” His words are slurred a little, and I can hear Rian shouting in the background.
“Does Virginia know you’re drunk?”
“She’s here.” My heart beats a little faster, and I can hear Virginia’s laughter in the background. “You should really come, dude. I know she’s screening your calls, but she misses you. She won’t say it to me, but she does.”
“I’ve only called her twice, and I’m not drinking.”
“You don’t have to. Get out of the fucking house.” The line goes dead.

I take a deep breath and push open the door to the bar. “He lives!” Jack shrieks, stumbling off of his bar stool to greet me. He throws his arm around me and ruffles my hair like my mom would.
“Get off, you fucker.” I push him away, and Jack laughs. I greet the rest of the guys and turn my attention to Virginia. We haven’t spoken since that night almost two weeks ago. She smiles warmly at me, and I take that as an invitation to sit in the barstool next to her. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself,” she responds.
The bartender approaches us. “Two beers,” I order, and I can see Virginia glance at me from the corner of my eye.
“Can we get another round of Patron?” Rian orders.
“Rian! Stop giving my brother alcohol!” Virginia groans. Rian just laughs and passes Cody his shot. Rian pushes me two, and I take one and hand the other to Virginia.
I hold my glass up, and she clinks hers against mine. She downs her shot. “I’m definitely throwing up tonight,” she sighs. “That’s the fifth one. He won’t let me not take a shot.”
I let out a laugh. “That’s Jack for you.” I take the beer that was just placed in front of me and stare at it for a moment before taking a sip.
“You don’t have to drink, Alex.” I look up at her, and it almost seems like she’s asking me not to. I set the beer down. “I want to talk to you.”
“Alright,” I agree. She stands up from the bar and moves to a table farther away. She’s not drunk yet, but she definitely has a little drag to her step.
I take a seat across from her. “I don’t know if she told you, but I met up with Danielle before I left LA last week.” I feel my eyebrows rise. “She remembers what happened, and she admitted to lying to you.”
“How do you know she wasn’t lying?”
Virginia laughs. “I dated Jordan. I have a lot to hold against her.”
I shrug and nod. “I guess that’s true.”
“She told me that she took you back up to Jordan’s room because he wasn’t supposed to be back until late morning, and she had intentions.” Virginia rolls her eyes. “Fucking whore.”
“And?” I press.
“And she tried to get you in bed with her…” Virginia looks down at her hands for a moment. “You told her you wanted to, but you couldn’t. That’s when Jordan walked in, and they were yelling at each other. I got the argument from Jordan. Then he left, and she tried again to get you in bed. You told her you couldn’t because she has a boyfriend and you have a girlfriend.
I don’t have anything to say to her. I don’t know what to say to her.
“I know you didn’t do anything, but I’ve been ignoring you because you said you wanted to. You wanted to sleep with her…I just needed to collect my thoughts.”
I still don’t know what to say. “Babe…”
“But you didn’t, and you said you wouldn’t after the first time. I know how you are when you get drunk, and since neither of us can remember, I’m going to take the reasoning for saying that and blame it on being that drunk.”
“Yeah, I’m a little horny when I’m drunk, aren’t I?”
She laughs and nods. “Only a little…Overall, that night was a mess, and it was unfair of me to treat you the way I did. And I’m sorry. I really hope this doesn’t change us because I’m in love with you, and you’re the type of guy I can see myself spending forever with.”
My lips pull into a smirk. “How drunk are you?” I help her off of her bar stool, and her face flushes as she suppresses an embarrassed smile.
“I’m pretty drunk.”
“See, I didn’t think you were that drunk until you started confessing. You didn’t even swear!”
She giggles. “I know! I’m getting better.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders and lead her back to the bar.
“I’m going to have my beer now.” She rolls her eyes and drops down onto her barstool.

Virginia groans. “Dad, couples fight. You of all people should know that.” She rolls her eyes and silently mimics what her dad is saying to her. “Yes…Yes, everything is fine. Okay…O-okay. Okay, thanks…Love you too.” She hangs up the phone. “Dear god, that man talks forever.”
I laugh as she curls back up to me, pulling the covers up to her chin and resting her head on my chest. One over her legs is lazily draped over mine, and her hand rests on my stomach.
“Can we stay like this all day?” I fold my arms under my head.
“I’m okay with that idea,” I agree. “Quick question, though. It’s been burning for the past two weeks.”
“What’s that?”
“The girl Cody was with…who the hell was she?”
Virginia laughs and moves so that she’s lying on her stomach on top of me. “That was Bethany. She and Cody dated three years until he moved out here. They’ve known each other for probably fifteen years. I guess that there was some party in one of the hotel rooms, and she was there.”
“You guys had high school parties in hotel rooms?” Virginia nods. “That’s so weird.”
“Not really. I think it’s weird that you guys had parties in houses while parents weren’t home.”
“Well, I just think you’re weird.”
She scoffs and leans her head away from mine in playful disgust. “You said I was beautiful,” she pouts.
I unfold my hands from behind my head and run them up her arms. “You are.”