The Long Haul – Part 2

~ ZARA ~

For the first time in a long time, I wanted to get drunk. I was ready to just escape my brain.

As he passed out the drinks, Ash stood right next to me, not touching me with his hands, but his arm brushing mine, his hip nudging me now and again when he leaned this way or that.

And my friends all drank this in, avidly, shooting me looks of pure envy while they sucked their drinks down because they wanted a reason to send him back to the bar so they could ogle him again.

Two hours later, I was past my limit on both alcohol and patience.

"No, we gotta go," I slurred as we stood on the sidewalk with my colleagues who were all heading to a dance-bar down the street. "I needa… do things tomorrow."

It was a lie. I was so glad that I didn't have work in the morning so I could sleep as long as I wanted to. It was the only time my chest didn't ache.

I would have done nothing but sleep if I wasn't still trying to pay bills.