Doing Better
stay
Lisa squeezed my hand as we entered the bar. I was extremely nervous, especially knowing the amount of people that were going to be there. It was half past ten and we were extremely late, which didn't matter a whole lot, since I was the reason everyone was here. Lisa thought it'd be a good idea to throw me a 25th birthday party. Of course the whole thing was supposed to be a surprise, but she ended up telling me a couple of days ago by accident. She wasn't the best at keeping secrets.
“Everything's going to be fine. We only invited the good ones.” She pulled me towards a booth in the back where a couple of people sat. Emma and Martin sat in the very middle, cuddling up to one another tiredly. They didn't get out much since their little guy entered the world. Whenever they did get out though, they were always the first to leave, which was expected. On the left side of them sat Rian and Alex who were chatting among themselves. On the right side sat Landon who smiled as wide as ever the second he saw me. He jumped out of his seat and ran over to me, pulling me into a long, much needed kiss.
“Happy Birthday.” He squeezed me tightly. He held my hand as we walked back into the booth. He slid in first and I followed. Lisa sat directly next to me and wrapped her arms around Alex who completely ignored Rian after that.
Lisa ordered us a round of drinks, which I happily took. It was a long day at work. We'd been behind all week and with my high position I knew I had to crack down. I felt bad, but people knew what they were signing up for.
I scanned the bar. There were at least two dozen people from work, including my boss inside. They were gathered around in various groups, talking and dancing. Today was the 30th, which meant this month's issues would be put onto shelves tomorrow. Everyone was super excited. We'd been planning this one in particular for months.
Landon gripped my hand and leaned in, giving me a kiss on the forehead. I smiled. He always made me feel warm and fuzzy even after a stressful day. I was thankful for him and everything he did for me. He was great.
“How was your day?” I leaned my head against his shoulder.
“Nothing special.” He took a sip of beer, sighing. “We're behind a bit, but it's because fucking Dean is so picky.” For the last few months Landon had been working with an indie company to develop some sort of game. I wasn't too sure about the details, because I guess he wasn't supposed to talk about it, but I could tell it was going to be really cool. He worked long hours to develop it and typically enjoyed it.
“Just punch him in the face.”
He giggled.
We had a couple more rounds of beer before moving onto shots. At this point, Emma and Martin had already retreated back to their house, while Rian had wandered off to talk to girls.
“Why didn't Zack come?” Lisa frowned.
Alex shrugged. “He doesn't like drinking all that much.”
“That's fair. We're a little wild.” Landon replied. Up until recently, Landon hadn't really met any of my friends. Not because he didn't want to, but because I was afraid of what he might think. After the whole falling out with Jack I felt like I needed to protect him from everyone. For a couple of months it felt like there was this wedge between myself and everyone else, like I'd done something wrong. I mean, according to Alex I fucked with Jack's feelings, but he did the same to me. I couldn't pretend like nothing happened, so I kind of avoided everyone for a while. Every so often Lisa and I would talk with one another, but our coffee dates had become sparse and our Friday night's out were basically no longer a thing. I didn't blame any of them for what happened, but I definitely needed a cooling off period and I'm glad I did it. After a while, once Landon and I had established we really liked each other I started involving my friends more. I apologized to them for taking time away and explained to them I needed some space. They understood. When they finally met Landon they loved him, which made things a lot easier.
“That's just you and Frances.” Lisa replied.
I rolled my eyes jokingly. “Yeah, okay.”
We drank some more until we were basically wasted. Alex and Landon wandered off to go find Rian, while Lisa and sat closely in the booth.
“You still talk to Jack?” I asked. Sometimes I wondered how he was doing, not because I missed it, but because I was genuinely concerned if he was okay. Since our fight I'd only seen him one other time. My boss and I were at a music event trying to get an interview with one of the bands. Him and the rest of the guys were there. It was during a period where I wasn't really over what had happened. He was pissed drunk and was screaming at Alex. At one point he looked over in my direction and instantly went pale. He shut up after that and wandered off into a crowd. I'm sure he'd seen me, but I didn't want to say anything.
“Sometimes,” Lisa glanced at the floor, “he hasn't been the same since you guys... well, yeah.”
I raised my brow.
“He's been drinking a lot, I guess. Alex is worried about him and has tried to get him help, but he won't listen. He keeps saying how fine he is, but we know he isn't. He misses you.”
I felt my heart break a little. Why was he like this? I didn't do anything wrong. I tried my hardest to give him everything I had, but he refused to take it and now this was what he was doing? It wasn't fair. “I'm sorry.” Despite everything I felt like I needed to apologize.
“For what?”
I shrugged. “I don't know.”
“He wasn't treating you right. He was being disrespectful and to be frank, a complete and utter psychopath. He was using you for so long. I'm proud of you for standing up to him.” Lisa grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard. She always knew what to say.
“Thanks.” I smiled.
“Plus, Landon is amazing.”
“I know.” I really liked Landon. It had only been a few months into the relationship, but I could tell it was going to last. We just understood each other. All of our needs and wants were on the same page at all times and sometimes it felt surreal. He was perfect.
The rest of the night was pretty average. We had a couple more drinks before moving to the dance floor. I convinced Landon to join us and we wiggled back and forth together for a good twenty minutes before he retreated back to the booth with the other guys. After that I talked to a couple of coworkers and my boss about how well we thought this issue was going to sell. We were all pretty proud of it.
Around two in the morning the five of us headed outside to go home. The bar we were at was just a few blocks away from Landon's place so we walked, while the rest of the caught a cab. It was cold outside so the two of us huddled together as we stumbled home. We stopped at a corner store on our way to grab the essentials: piping hot coffee, chips, and candy, before making our last leg of the journey home. Once inside we sat on the couch, drunkenly talking.
“Hey, I love you.” Landon smiled.
I felt like I was melting. I put my cup of coffee on the coffee table and jumped on top of him. I grabbed his face and my hands and kissed him quickly. “I love you too.”
“Everything's going to be fine. We only invited the good ones.” She pulled me towards a booth in the back where a couple of people sat. Emma and Martin sat in the very middle, cuddling up to one another tiredly. They didn't get out much since their little guy entered the world. Whenever they did get out though, they were always the first to leave, which was expected. On the left side of them sat Rian and Alex who were chatting among themselves. On the right side sat Landon who smiled as wide as ever the second he saw me. He jumped out of his seat and ran over to me, pulling me into a long, much needed kiss.
“Happy Birthday.” He squeezed me tightly. He held my hand as we walked back into the booth. He slid in first and I followed. Lisa sat directly next to me and wrapped her arms around Alex who completely ignored Rian after that.
Lisa ordered us a round of drinks, which I happily took. It was a long day at work. We'd been behind all week and with my high position I knew I had to crack down. I felt bad, but people knew what they were signing up for.
I scanned the bar. There were at least two dozen people from work, including my boss inside. They were gathered around in various groups, talking and dancing. Today was the 30th, which meant this month's issues would be put onto shelves tomorrow. Everyone was super excited. We'd been planning this one in particular for months.
Landon gripped my hand and leaned in, giving me a kiss on the forehead. I smiled. He always made me feel warm and fuzzy even after a stressful day. I was thankful for him and everything he did for me. He was great.
“How was your day?” I leaned my head against his shoulder.
“Nothing special.” He took a sip of beer, sighing. “We're behind a bit, but it's because fucking Dean is so picky.” For the last few months Landon had been working with an indie company to develop some sort of game. I wasn't too sure about the details, because I guess he wasn't supposed to talk about it, but I could tell it was going to be really cool. He worked long hours to develop it and typically enjoyed it.
“Just punch him in the face.”
He giggled.
We had a couple more rounds of beer before moving onto shots. At this point, Emma and Martin had already retreated back to their house, while Rian had wandered off to talk to girls.
“Why didn't Zack come?” Lisa frowned.
Alex shrugged. “He doesn't like drinking all that much.”
“That's fair. We're a little wild.” Landon replied. Up until recently, Landon hadn't really met any of my friends. Not because he didn't want to, but because I was afraid of what he might think. After the whole falling out with Jack I felt like I needed to protect him from everyone. For a couple of months it felt like there was this wedge between myself and everyone else, like I'd done something wrong. I mean, according to Alex I fucked with Jack's feelings, but he did the same to me. I couldn't pretend like nothing happened, so I kind of avoided everyone for a while. Every so often Lisa and I would talk with one another, but our coffee dates had become sparse and our Friday night's out were basically no longer a thing. I didn't blame any of them for what happened, but I definitely needed a cooling off period and I'm glad I did it. After a while, once Landon and I had established we really liked each other I started involving my friends more. I apologized to them for taking time away and explained to them I needed some space. They understood. When they finally met Landon they loved him, which made things a lot easier.
“That's just you and Frances.” Lisa replied.
I rolled my eyes jokingly. “Yeah, okay.”
We drank some more until we were basically wasted. Alex and Landon wandered off to go find Rian, while Lisa and sat closely in the booth.
“You still talk to Jack?” I asked. Sometimes I wondered how he was doing, not because I missed it, but because I was genuinely concerned if he was okay. Since our fight I'd only seen him one other time. My boss and I were at a music event trying to get an interview with one of the bands. Him and the rest of the guys were there. It was during a period where I wasn't really over what had happened. He was pissed drunk and was screaming at Alex. At one point he looked over in my direction and instantly went pale. He shut up after that and wandered off into a crowd. I'm sure he'd seen me, but I didn't want to say anything.
“Sometimes,” Lisa glanced at the floor, “he hasn't been the same since you guys... well, yeah.”
I raised my brow.
“He's been drinking a lot, I guess. Alex is worried about him and has tried to get him help, but he won't listen. He keeps saying how fine he is, but we know he isn't. He misses you.”
I felt my heart break a little. Why was he like this? I didn't do anything wrong. I tried my hardest to give him everything I had, but he refused to take it and now this was what he was doing? It wasn't fair. “I'm sorry.” Despite everything I felt like I needed to apologize.
“For what?”
I shrugged. “I don't know.”
“He wasn't treating you right. He was being disrespectful and to be frank, a complete and utter psychopath. He was using you for so long. I'm proud of you for standing up to him.” Lisa grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard. She always knew what to say.
“Thanks.” I smiled.
“Plus, Landon is amazing.”
“I know.” I really liked Landon. It had only been a few months into the relationship, but I could tell it was going to last. We just understood each other. All of our needs and wants were on the same page at all times and sometimes it felt surreal. He was perfect.
The rest of the night was pretty average. We had a couple more drinks before moving to the dance floor. I convinced Landon to join us and we wiggled back and forth together for a good twenty minutes before he retreated back to the booth with the other guys. After that I talked to a couple of coworkers and my boss about how well we thought this issue was going to sell. We were all pretty proud of it.
Around two in the morning the five of us headed outside to go home. The bar we were at was just a few blocks away from Landon's place so we walked, while the rest of the caught a cab. It was cold outside so the two of us huddled together as we stumbled home. We stopped at a corner store on our way to grab the essentials: piping hot coffee, chips, and candy, before making our last leg of the journey home. Once inside we sat on the couch, drunkenly talking.
“Hey, I love you.” Landon smiled.
I felt like I was melting. I put my cup of coffee on the coffee table and jumped on top of him. I grabbed his face and my hands and kissed him quickly. “I love you too.”