Safe Distance Read online

  I smile at the two of them. “Sorry, fellas. Damn job runs me ragged. And this one here spends all her free time with Justin.” I nod at Amanda. That’ll get their attention off the fact that it’s been months since we’ve been here.

  “Justin. Now who the hell is Justin?” Earl asks incredulously. “You girls are too damn young to be spending all your time with boys.”

  “Oh please,” Gordon interjects. “You were nineteen when you met Penny. And she was only seventeen. And I seem to recall you marrying her not even a year later.”

  “Yeah, and we were stupid. Don’t be stupid like we were, girls.”

  “Stupid, huh? I’m sure Penny would’ve loved to hear that. She’s probably rolling in her grave right now.”

  “Didn’t say we weren’t happy. And that I wasn’t lucky as hell. Just said we were stupid for getting married so young. Her especially. She could have done so much better.”

  “Not gonna disagree with you there. Never did see what she saw in you.”

  “Would you like to? I can gladly give you a peek,” Earl responds, his hands going to his belt buckle.

  “Shit, Earl! You were the one that was just talking about how young these girls are. You sure you really wanna scar them for life like that at such a young age?”

  Earl flips Gordon the bird and turns back to us. Amanda and I look at each other, shaking our heads at their antics.

  “You gonna answer my question, girl? Just who in the hell is Justin?”

  Justin walks in the door just as he gets the question out. “Umm, me?”

  Relief floods Amanda’s face. “Hey, baby.” She turns and gives him a quick hug before turning back to face her inquisitor. “This is Justin. Justin, this is Earl and this is Gordon. These two are responsible for many drunken nights and one-night stands.” She winks at Justin. Gordon, however, doesn’t see it.

  “Bull. Shit. We never let you girls have more than two beers. And we sure as hell didn’t let you leave with any assholes.”

  Amanda giggles at Gordon’s outrage. She loves to push all his buttons. She grins at me, and I give her a small smile. I know she’s just teasing him, but sometimes I wish she wouldn’t. These past few years, Gordon has sort of been like the father I’ve never had. He’s the only one besides Amanda who knows all about me. He’s spent many long hours listening and talking to me. A lot of late nights letting me cry on his shoulder. Amanda knows some of this, but not all of it, and it kills me when she upsets him. Even for the sake of a joke.

  “She’s just kidding, Gordon. She loves to get you all riled up. You know that. Don’t pay any attention to her,” I say, placing my palm over his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

  “That shit ain’t funny. Especially in front of this guy. I don’t know this guy. I don’t want him getting any ideas that I’m letting this girl get liquored up and stumble her way out of here with him.” His attention turns to Justin. The sneer on his face is unmistakable. Gordon doesn’t like that Amanda brought him here.

  Justin’s face is white as a sheet. “No, sir. I wouldn’t think you’d—er, that is, I wouldn’t try to—” Justin stammers and looks at Amanda, panic evident in his eyes. “I, um, I care about Amanda, sir. I wouldn’t ever try anything like that, with her, or with anyone. Ever.”

  Gordon gives Justin an appraising look. “Hmph,” he mumbles. “We’ll see.” He gives them both a dismissive wave, and Amanda pulls Justin toward one of the pool tables.

  Earl goes out to join them and I’m left with Gordon. I pull up one of the bar stools and plop down. “My usual, Gord.”

  “Am I supposed to know what that is? It’s been months since you’ve been here, honey. Us old farts can’t remember things that long,” he scolds as he pours my drink.

  I laugh. Gordon looks like he should be the leader of a motorcycle gang. Big bushy beard, long hair—though it’s thinning on top, patched leather jacket, worn jeans, big silver rings on almost every finger. And he even rides a Harley. But as far as I know, he’s not—in a gang, that is. It’s too bad, really. He’d be a badass club president.

  Shaking off my Sons of Anarchy thoughts, I respond to his rebuke. “I know. I know. I’m sorry, Gord, really. I get home from this bullshit job and just wanna crash. My weekends are all spent laying on the couch and binge-watching Netflix lately. And Amanda’s really with Justin a lot. Go easy on him, by the way. He’s a good one. She’s different with him. Happier. Happiest I’ve seen her in a long time, actually. And he treats her like a queen. You’ll like him, once you get to know him.”

  He shrugs. “I don’t like anyone. And I don’t trust anyone with my girls until they prove themselves to me. So we’ll just see about this Justin.”

  I laugh again at the tone he and Earl keep using when they say Justin’s name. Like it’s the foulest word they’ve ever uttered. Like it physically pains them to say it.

  “Okay. But keep an open mind with this one. I promise you’ll like him. And you trust me, right?” I give him my biggest smile and puppy dog eyes, the ones I know he can’t resist.

  He shakes his head. “Alright, alright. I’ll give the kid a shot. One foot out of line though, and I’ll give him an entirely different kinda shot,” he rubs his hands together and smiles.

  Now it’s my turn to shake my head. “You’re incorrigible.”

  He throws back his head and laughs. “Graduates college and comes in here talking all smart-like. You ought to know us old bar rats don’t know them big words.”

  “Oh please. You taught me the damn word. Don’t give me your shit.”

  He laughs at me again. Looking over at the pool table and seeing Amanda, Justin, and Earl still heavily involved in a game, he comes around the bar and pulls up a stool next to me. His face is serious as he sits down.

  “What’s up, baby girl?”

  I lean into him and his arm comes up around my shoulders. I rest my head on his shoulder and sigh.

  “Nothing. I’m fine. Really. Just stressed with this job. They give me all the bullshit jobs. And I know I can do better than that, if they’d only give me a chance. Instead, I get to sit back and watch a bunch of incompetent morons take on the big clients, while I stuff mailers for doggy pedicures into envelopes. It’s not fair, ya know?”

  He kisses me on the top of the head. “So quit.”

  I wish it were that simple. Quitting would mean admitting I spent four years of my life getting a useless degree. Because all through college, whenever asked what I was planning to do with an English degree, I’d say Marketing. Marketing firms are known to hire English majors because they’re good with words. They can make something mundane sound more exciting. More appealing. So I told myself that’s what I’d do.

  But I hate it. If I’m honest with myself, even if I was given the big projects, I’d still hate it. Coming up with stupid slogans and finding ways to get people to spend money they don’t have on shit they don’t need was never how I imagined spending the rest of my life.

  Unable to say the words out loud, instead I lift my head from Gordon’s shoulder and look him in the eye. “I just need to tough it out for a while. Everyone starts where I am. Especially women. In a predominately male field, I need to prove myself even more. So I’ll run myself ragged, working these tiny but incredibly time-consuming accounts. But someday, I’ll be where Sue is. I’ll be at the top,” I say, hoping the assured tone I’m trying to portray is coming across.

  Inwardly, I cringe. I don’t want to be where Sue is. She’s incredibly well respected by our peers, but I know she still has to prove herself to clients. I can’t imagine having to spend the rest of my life trying to measure up. I’ve done enough of that already.

  Gordon pulls me back into his side and gives me a squeeze. “You’ll figure it out, honey. You always do. You’re too smart not to.” My fake enthusiasm obviously didn’t fool him.

  I sigh. “I hope so, Gordon.”

  He stands up and heads back around the bar. “You want anything to eat?”

>   “Actually, we’re meeting some people here. Supposed to be here soon. I’ll probably wait and eat with them.”

  He nods, and we both turn to watch the pool game going on behind us. From the way she’s acting, Amanda is winning. And Earl isn’t very happy about it.

  I laugh at their antics, occasionally throwing out my own remark. Ten minutes later, the door finally opens and Ryan walks in. Chris and Emma follow behind him.

  I wave at Ryan and he heads toward me, pulling out the stool Gordon recently vacated.

  To say I was surprised when he’d texted me the other night is an understatement. I honestly didn’t think I’d hear from him again. After how strange I’d acted when he asked for my number, I figured he’d decide I wasn’t worth the trouble or the drama and delete it as soon as he walked off. Or maybe I’d just hoped so.

  So when his name popped up on my screen, I’d been caught off guard. His asking when we could hang out again came as an even bigger shock. My usual unease returned. So I told him I was busy, hoping he’d take the hint and leave me alone. No such luck.

  Sitting next to Amanda and Justin had been awkward. They always do their best to make me feel welcome and included, but I know they want more alone time. What couple wouldn’t? So when Ryan promised he was only after friendship, I threw caution to the wind and said what the hell. It’d probably do me some good to make new friends. Even of the male variety.

  Now he slides onto the stool next to me, an easy smile on his face.

  “Hey. Sorry we’re a few minutes late. Chris is impossible to take anywhere. We stopped to pick up Emma on the way and he spent the next twenty minutes clowning for her two roommates.”

  Gordon comes out of the back then and sees Ryan there. I never thought to give him a heads up that it was a guy I was meeting here. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea. I open my mouth to introduce them when he cuts me off.

  “Ryan? What are you doing here? It’s not Saturday, kid. Got your days mixed up?”

  “Meeting up with some friends. Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get to see me twice this week. Chris can’t miss Saturday karaoke nights.”

  My mouth is hanging open. Ryan knows Gordon? Gordon knows Ryan? Saturdays? Those used to be our nights here. And karaoke? When the hell did that happen?

  Gordon looks at my face and chuckles.

  “Karaoke?” I ask incredulously.

  The Gordon I know would never have allowed karaoke in his bar. The Gordon I know would rather gouge his eyes out than listen to people sing terrible songs in off-key voices.

  “Not my doing, I assure you. Chris brings his own damn karaoke machine. These two started coming here right after you guys stopped. After a few weeks, Chris said this place needed some livening up and disappeared. Thirty minutes later, he’s running in the damn door with a fucking karaoke machine in his arms, asking me where to set up. I tried to get rid of them, but Earl wouldn’t hear of it. So now, every Saturday, I get to listen to Chris and Earl howl at each other.

  I laugh. Oh my god. This I have to see.

  “What are we doing here on a Friday, then?” I ask, turning to Ryan. “I so need to be witness to Earl singing ‘I Will Survive.’”

  Ryan, apparently just making the connection that I know Earl and Gordon as more than a casual acquaintance, looks confused. “You’ve been here before?”

  “Yep. We used to be the Saturday night regulars. But apparently we’ve been dethroned. Hey, Amanda,” I call. “Gordon and Earl here have found some new talent. We’ve been replaced.”

  Amanda looks at me. She has absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, but she immediately plays along. “Earl! How dare you?” Looking at Ryan next to me, she continues, “I see. Falling for the next pretty face that comes along. I thought we had something special.”

  Earl chases her around the pool table, finally grabbing her around the waist and lifting her off the ground. He carries her off. “That’s it, young lady. You’re grounded.” He plunks her down on a stool and sees Chris standing off to the side.

  “Chris! It isn’t Saturday, is it? Shit, did I miss a day? Dammit, Gordon, did you let me sleep through Friday?”

  Gordon rolls his eyes and ignores him.

  Chris drags his girlfriend over to the bar. “Jesus, old man. You getting Alzheimer’s? You might wanna get that checked out. And my name ain’t Chris either. In fact, I’ve never even met you. Who the hell are you?”

  Earl reaches over and smacks him upside the head. “Who is this poor girl? I’m assuming she’s both deaf and blind to be here with you. Sorry, dear.”

  Emma looks at him blankly. After a moment, she points to her ear and shakes her head.

  “Shit! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that. I didn’t really think—I was just giving you shit, kid. I didn’t think she was actually deaf.”

  Emma and Chris burst out laughing. Earl looks back and forth between them. “What the fuck?”

  Chris picks Emma up and twirls her around. “God, I love this girl. You should have seen your face, Earl. Priceless.”

  He finally sets her down and introduces her to the others. Earl immediately starts in on her, grilling her on what she could possibly see in Chris.

  Chris rolls his eyes at Earl and pulls out the stool on the other side of me. “So, Haylee,” he says, sliding onto the seat, “my friend here thinks you’re pretty awesome. Says you might even be more awesome than me.” He gives an exaggerated roll of his eyes, like the thought of that is completely ridiculous. “So you know what that means? You’re gonna have to prove it. Because, as far as I can see, you are nowhere near this level of awesomeness.

  I laugh. I haven’t said more than ten words to this guy in the two other times I’ve seen him. And here he is, telling me I have to prove myself to him. Normally, I’d be outraged. But there’s just something about this guy that I like. He’s like that crazy uncle who comes to your house and acts like he lives there. You’re a little uncomfortable, but you can’t help but love him.

  “Oh really? And just how am I supposed to prove this, Chris? Because as far as I can see, I have more awesomeness in my little finger than you do in your whole damn body.”

  Ryan laughs behind me. Chris shoots him an evil glare and says to me, “I’ll be right back.”

  I hear Gordon curse under his breath. I glance at him and he’s shaking his head. Chris is already flinging the front door open again, a big black box in his arms. He walks and sets it on a table, running the cord to a nearby outlet. I realize too late what it is.

  “No. No, no, no, no, no. I am not singing, Chris. You can just get that idea out of your head right now.”

  He fires up the machine and puts the microphone to his lips. “Fine. You’re just conceding to my awesomeness. It’s probably better this way anyway. I wouldn’t want to embarrass you. Nobody can beat this.” He gestures to himself, waggling his eyebrows at Emma.

  I roll my eyes. He can goad me all he wants. I’m not singing.

  The music starts playing and I immediately recognize the song. Seriously?

  He sings the first verse normally, standing over by the machine. I think maybe he just likes the song. Maybe this is his normal choice. The one he sings every week.

  However, as the song builds up to the chorus, I know I’m wrong. He walks over next to me. When the chorus hits, he sings right in my face.

  “IIIIIII am the champion, my friends, and I’ll keep on fighting to the end.”

  I turn on my stool, plunking my head down on the bar. I cover my ears and shake my head. I should’ve known.

  “I am the champion. I am the champion. No time for LOSERS because I am the champion OF THE WORLD!” He shouts the word losers in my ear and then screams the last three words at the top of his lungs. The microphone screeches, but that just makes him yell louder.

  I jump from the stool and grab the microphone from his hand before he can continue. Turning off his song, I scroll through the others, trying to find the perfect one. I can’t believe I�
�m doing this.

  My eyes land on the perfect song. I push play and immediately walk back to Chris. He’s taken up residence on my vacated seat.

  “You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht.”

  He instantly bursts into laughter. Ryan is grinning at me like I’m the best thing on Earth. And Amanda is looking at me with tears in her eyes. This is the most spontaneous thing I’ve done in a long time. I know that means a lot to her.

  Pushing thoughts of Amanda out of my mind, I turn back to Chris as the chorus starts.

  “You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you. You’re so vain, I’ll bet you think this song is about you. Don’t you? DON’T YOU?”

  I yell the last two words in his ear, just like he did with me. He lets me finish the song, and I sing every word directly to him, playfully tousling his hair and poking him as I do. Once I’m done, he stands up and throws his arms around me.

  “You win. You’re the awesomest. The most awesomest awesomer that ever awesomed. I bow down to you. And if Ryan here turns out to be a dud, you have to promise we’ll still be friends. Because I need your awesomeness in my life.”

  I laugh. I’ve never heard someone use the word awesome so many times in one sentence. And create so many new derivatives of it at the same time. I decide Chris is pretty awesome too and tell him so.

  “Okay, fine. We’re both the awesomest. It’s a tie. Put us together and we’re dangerously awesome. We need to get some warning labels made up. ‘Proceed with caution. Extreme awesomeness ahead. May cause blindness and incredible jealousy.’”

  Speaking of jealousy, I look at Emma to see her reaction to his arms around me. She’s holding her stomach, doubled over in laughter. Chris lets me go and pulls her into his arms. “At least I’m awesomest in your eyes, right, baby?”

  She nods and he presses a kiss to her lips. I turn to Ryan, embarrassed to witness their display of affection.

  “That was awesome. Er, I mean, really great. You’ve had enough awesomes thrown at you for one night. But really. Most people don’t know how to take Chris when they first meet him. But you gave it right back. Stunned the shit out of him too.” He laughs.