I polished off the shot and tapped the bar for another one. A pleasant burn traveled down my chest and comforted me. I needed more of that burn before the night was out. As I drank a hand slid over my back and then someone sat next to me. I glanced over and saw a familiar face.
"Christa," I smiled as she grinned at me and flipped blonde hair over her bare shoulder. Even in the winter, she loved to show off her body. "How you been?"
"Good," she purred. "I would have been better with you though. I called you before the blizzard hit to see if I could come and bunk with you for a few quiet days away, but you never called me back."
I bristled. Joanne. I'd been so worried about getting her to a safe place and then we'd spent all that time by ourselves, locked in each other's arms. I still remember the feeling of her breath as it washed over my skin and the way she blushed when I poured out too many compliments at a time. I missed the hell out of her. Had she left yet? Was she on the road and out of my life forever this time?
"So
rry," I said when I realized Christa waited for me to say something. "I had a lot happen and ran into an old friend so I've been pretty out of it."
"Oh?" She asked. "Who is she?"
I blinked at her. "How do you know it's a woman?"
Christa chuckled. "No man makes them puppy eyes unless a woman is behind his troubles. What happened to her?"
I shrugged. "Doesn't matter now. She's long gone," I said as I downed my drink and ordered another for me and one for her too.
"Well, let's drink to being single and sexy," she laughed.
"Amen to that."
We clinked our glasses together and downed them like they were water. I examined Christa out of the corner of my eye. She wasn't a bad looking woman and she never had been. In fact, we'd hooked up several times over the years so I'd probably hung around her more than I hung around other women.
However, the more I stared, the more I saw the things I missed about Joanne. She was slightly curvy and her locks were silken and smooth. I'd learned every inch of Joanne's body over the time we'd shared together and it was different than Christa's.
I wanted Joanne. It drove me nuts.
I had to get her out of my mind or I was going to do something crazy like hop on a plane and meet her in Vegas. Even though I had no idea where she even lived. I knew it was insane, but that's how I felt every time I thought about her. She'd buried herself into my brain and it didn't look like she ever wanted to let go.
I needed to drink more so I did just that. Christa and I got into a drinking contest with each other that turned into both of us laughing and talking so loud people shook their heads at us. I put down my last empty shot glass and waved a hand.
"No more," I groaned. "My head is going to kill in the morning and it's all your fault."
"My fault?" She said. "You're the one that keeps throwin’ em back. Sure you don't want one more?"
"Hell no. I'm great and I don't love the idea of throwing up everywhere if I put one more drink inside of me."
"Yeah, probably a good idea," she laughed.
Christa finished her last drink and I closed out the tab. I didn't even listen to the total, I didn't want to know. I just handed over my card and let it be swiped so that I could get the hell out of there.
"Hey," Christa said as she squeezed my arm. "Do you want to get out of here and go to my place?"
I contemplated her offer for a minute. My mind was fuzzy around the edges and I definitely felt a little less like I was going crazy, but Joanne was still on my mind. I'd tried to drink her away, maybe it was time to try whatever it took so I could have a better distraction.
"Well?" She asked as I hesitated.
"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here," I said.
"Come on."
I followed Christa out of the bar and into the cold air outside. She shivered and I draped my jacket onto her shoulders. It instantly reminded me of Joanne wearing my huge clothes. She looked so small and sweet in them and I had loved dressing her up, to be honest. The way she smiled as my sleeves fell over her slender hands and how tiny she looked in my clothes made my heart race.
"I think we should call a cab," Christa said as she typed on her phone. "There's no way either of us can drive."
"Yeah, no. Call a cab. I don't feel like dying tonight."