Lost

Eight.

Five Years Ago

I shook the water from my jacket as I scanned the room for my friends. I saw them sitting in a booth along the wall and started walking. They immediately looked concerned when they saw me. Probably a little from my drenched clothes and hair, and probably mostly because they didn't think I'd show up. Neither did I.

Ava moved over so I could sit beside her and Zuri was ready to dive into questions. Thankfully, she gave me her shot before doing so. Straight whiskey. Damn. She must be going through it tonight.

"What the hell happened?" Zuri asked.

"Yeah, please tell me he wasn't the absolute fucking worst, because I will severely kill Marcus for giving me his info."

I looked at Ava, her pretty green eyes big and earnest. She was ready to go to war if need be. "I have no idea what he's like, because he didn't show up."

"Are you kidding?" Zuri demanded even as Eva was already pulling out her phone.

"It's for the best, really. I'm not ready to be in a relationship and I only did this as a favor to you." I looked at Ava to see what she'd say to that, but she was still typing away.

"What do you mean not ready? You're totally ready."

"My business has barely started to get traction. I should be devoting every ounce of energy I have between that and you guys of course. I'm not even traveling home for a while."

Ava finally looked away from her phone. "We just don't want you to overwork yourself."

"Better that than heartbroken and depressed."

"This guy clearly wasn't a winner, but"

"You guys," I laughed. "I don't need a relationship to be happy. I've got you and my business and my family and that's all I need."

Zuri grinned and shook her head. "This isn't about you needing a guy to make you happy, this about you having some fun."

"Right, well, thanks for trying to get me laid, but I don't need you're help in that area," I laughed. "I'm gonna get some shots."

"You just got here, let me get them."

"You just want to check out the cute bartender," Ava teased her.

"No, no," she said already standing to leave. "I'm just a giver."

We both laughed and watched as she walked up to the bar. I could barely see through the wall of people, but I noticed there were two people moving around, making drinks.

"I swear I'm killing Marcus," Ava said, interrupting my thoughts. She was back to looking at her phone.

"What did he say?"

"Apparently the two were hanging out and Nick spaced on your date."

"Tell him not to worry about it and that I'll do my best to make sure you don't commit a felony."

"Do you want to reschedule?"

"No, not really."

"I figured you'd say that. I know you weren't super excited about going in the first place."

Zuri came back and placed a few shots on the table. "Okay, I worked my magic and these three are on Liam."

"Liam?" I asked.