The bartender approached us, and she ordered two flights anyway, one for her and one for me.
“Why did you do that?” I rubbed my forehead. She never listened to me. Even without Travis in the picture, it would never have worked with her.
“Because you need to loosen up. You can have a few sips, right?” She gave me a charming smile.
“Yes, fine.” I wouldn’t argue with her right now. I had to save my energy for what might come later. I set my menu on the bar top.
“So, when are you seeing Tex again?” She sipped her water.
“Uh, not until Tuesday. We have a tutoring session.” I watched the bartender set our margarita flights down, and then we both ordered an assortment of street tacos. I took a sip of the strawberry margarita. Maybe if she saw me drink it, she’d lay off me about it.
“Yeah? You two seem like you’re getting close.” She drank from a jalapeño margarita. “Oh, that’s strong.” Covering her mouth with the back of her hand, she giggled.
I narrowed my eyes at her. Why was she mentioning that? “Yeah, he’s a decent guy and we’re becoming friends.”
“Well, just don’t spend all your time with him and have no time left for me.” She tried my mango margarita and her eyes lit up. “Oh, that’s a good one.”
She might get drunk before we talked in earnest. “Yeah?” I stirred the strawberry margarita.
“Yeah, try it.” She pushed it toward me. “Go on.”
“Okay.” I tensed my jaw before taking a short sip, the sweet of the mango mixing with a tang of lime. “You’re right, that is good.”
“Then you can have that one.” With a grin, she drank from her classic margarita. “It’s a little too sweet for me.”
I rolled my eyes. She would push these drinks on me. I wasn’t surprised.
After finishingthe margarita flights and eating most of our tacos while she prattled on about nothing, I wiped my fingers on my napkin. A light buzz floated inside my head despite my attempt to drink mostly iced tea. But it was time to discuss what I came here for. I faced her. “Sara, we need to talk.”
She downed the last of her jalapeño margarita and turned to me with a lop-sided grin. “Oh? Are you going to ask me to be your girlfriend? It’s about time, really?—”
“No, that’s not it.” As my stomach knotted, I fisted my hands. “It’s the opposite, actually. We need to stop dating.”
She gaped a moment, blinking a few times, and then her lips bowed down. “What?”
“I, I…” Shit, I fucking hated this. Grabbing my napkin, I wrung it in my lap. “I don’t have the same feelings for you as you have for me.” The knot in my gut twisted. Would she cry? What would I do then? “S-so, we should probably not date. I mean, we could still be friends.”
“It’s Tex, isn’t it? You like him.” She lifted her chin as she wrinkled her nose. “I knew it. I knew you were gay. You hardly even kissed me.” She jabbed at my chest with a long fingernail. “I saw how you looked at each other.”
I stared at her. “No, I’m not gay. I swear.” I took a hard swallow. It was the truth. “And this has nothing to do with him. I’m just not attracted to you that way. Not romantically.” Okay, partial truth.
She scoffed and looked off toward the long windows—the sun beating down on the shopping plaza outside. “Well, at least you told me before I caught genuine feelings for you.” Her gazereturned, softer now. “I know I can be pushy sometimes. It’s gotten me in trouble with guys in the past.” She fingered the stem of one of her margaritas. “I thought you’d be more prone to look past it.” She shrugged a shoulder. “You know, because you're sort of a nerd and don’t get a lot of chances to date.” Her gaze cut to mine.
My heart stung. What did that mean? “I’m not a, a—” Clamping my mouth shut, I puffed out a breath from my nose. She was right.
“Sorry, but it’s true.” She nudged my chin and grinned. “You’re cute, though.”
“So, you’re not mad at me?” I set my napkin on my empty plate. I’d been anxious about nothing.
“No, not really.” Her breath caught, and she grabbed my forearm, resting along the bar top. “You can start tutoring me again though, right? We started doing profit-and-loss statements and I’m lost.”
“Sure, I can tutor you.” I pulled my wallet out of my shorts pocket. “I’ll uh, get lunch. It was supposed to be a date.” Now I didn’t know how to feel. Would I feel better if she’d been more upset? It was almost like I was the one being rejected.
“Okay, thanks.” She drank the remaining margaritas, one by one, but there’d been only sips left. “Are we still going to shop? I shouldn’t drive home right now.” She eyed me. “You said we could be friends.”
She was right about one thing. Shewaspushy. Plus, she recognized my people-pleaser nature. She knew I couldn’t say no. “Sure.” I paid the bill, and we left the restaurant.
As I primpedmy hair in my bathroom mirror, my phone buzzed with a phone call. Since my apartment was on the way to the Varsity Tavern, Evan would pick me up. There was only a minute before he’d arrive. I had to make this quick.