“What am I going to say to Davis now?”
“He doesn’t know anything happened other than you went home and went to bed after dinner, right?”
“I guess.”
“So just pretend it didn’t happen.”
Obviously she’d never had sex with Caine. Pretending it didn’t happen was like trying to eat only one Pringle out of a full can. “I’m a terrible liar.”
“So don’t lie. If he tries to talk about anything between the two of you, just say you’re at work and would rather not talk here. Postpone having the conversation until you’re ready. And even then, if you only want to be friends with Davis, you don’t need to tell him anything else.”
I took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m acting like an idiot. I feel guilty, and that’s what this is all about.”
“You have nothing to feel guilty about. You’re a grown woman who’s single. Did you make any commitment to Davis during dinner?”
“No. I told him I needed to think about things.”
“So.” She put her hands on my shoulders to calm me. “You’re fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. Take a minute or two, and then go back out there and act like a woman who didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Okay.”
“You good?”
“I think so.”
Ava went back out to the bar while I took a minute more to compose myself. She was absolutely right. I had nothing to feel guilty over, and Davis had no idea what had happened last night. I can do this. Keeping Caine out of my mind for a little while wasn’t so tough.
I took a deep breath and swung open the door, feeling much calmer.
Until…
I looked over where Davis was sitting and saw a man sitting next to him. That man was Caine.
Ava saw me standing frozen in the doorway and walked over. Her eyes were wide. “Did you know either of them was coming?”
“Nope. Guess both decided to surprise me. Fuck. What the hell am I going to do?”
“Okay. Let’s think about this. You still haven’t done anything wrong. Although clearly you’re going to act like a weirdo when you go over there.”
“Clearly.”
“Does Davis know who Caine is?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t think so.”
“How about Caine?”
“He knows who Davis is from the picture on the wall in my apartment. I’m assuming he’ll recognize him, if he hasn’t already.”
“Okay. I have a plan.”
“Thank God.”
“You’re going to have to go over there and act like nothing’s wrong.”
“That’s your plan? What kind of a plan is that?”
“The only one you have. Go back behind the bar and say hello, and then I’ll stick close if I need to intervene.”
My eyes flicked over to where the two men sat at the same moment Caine looked over at me. His face was unreadable. My stomach felt sick. I wanted to go behind the bar, grab a bottle of anything, chug it, and retreat out the back door.
Ava smirked, knowing what I was thinking. “We can have a drink when it’s over. Just rip the Band-Aid off and go over there. It might not be so bad.”
She handed me a ticket with a drink order. “Table three wants some fru-fru drink. It will keep you busy back there for a few minutes anyway.”
Swearing under my breath, I took the ticket. “Stay close.”
Ava smiled. “I will. I can’t wait to watch the show.”
I wagged my finger at her. “This is all your fault, you know.”
“My fault?”
“If you knew blue from brown, I wouldn’t have told off the wrong guy that night. Caine and I might not have gotten off to the rocky start we did, and we might have kept things professional.”
Ava hooked her arm with mine. “You’re welcome then. Let’s go.”
Behind the bar, I busied myself making Ava’s drink order at the opposite end from where Davis and Caine were sitting. I avoided looking over as long as I could, but eventually curiosity won out and I found both of them watching me mix the drink.
I waved nervously and shook the drink in the shaker for way too long. Then I wiped down the counter and asked the only other two patrons if I could get them anything else. With nothing left to do and four eyes on me, I had no choice but to face the inevitable.
I took a deep breath and headed to the other end of the bar. Since I’d already said hello to Davis, I looked to Caine first. “Hey. I didn’t know you were stopping in.”
He glanced sidelong at Davis and then stared me down. “Yes. Apparently I should have called ahead for a reservation.”
Shit.
Davis, oblivious to Caine’s identity and the meaning of his comment, laughed. “Yeah, this place is an old man’s bar. It’s empty at night. I only come for the pretty bartender.”
The muscle in Caine’s jaw flexed.
I pointed to Davis’s empty glass. “Would you like another?”
“Sure.” He pointed to Caine. “And I’ll buy my friend here one, too.”
Caine stared at me. “No, thanks. On second thought, I’m going to call it a night.” He stood abruptly, and the legs of the stool screeched on the floor as he pushed it back out of his way. “Get home safe, Rachel.”
And just like that, Caine was gone.
“What’s up with that guy? I take it he’s a regular?”
I took Davis’s glass from the bar. “He stops in once in a while. Let me get you that refill.”
Ava met me at the other end of the bar. “What the hell happened?”
“Nothing. Caine left.”
“Because of something Davis said?”
“No. He just left.”
“So he just left you to spend the evening with a guy he knows you had a relationship with once and who wants to try it a second time?”
I knew she didn’t intend for it to be hurtful, but she was right, and the truth stung. That was exactly what had transpired. Caine had bowed out. He wasn’t in it for a fight. He wasn’t in it for anything other than what we’d had—sex. Anything else I’d built up in my head was just wishful thinking.
Rachel
I had no right to be angry.
Although not having a right to feel a certain way and actually controlling how I felt were two different things. I tried in earnest to disguise my bitterness after class the next day. As usual, I’d waited for the room to empty before going down to speak to Caine. I’d held an extra-help session before class, and he liked to keep the sign-in sheet to see who was making an effort. I handed it to him.
“You were late.”
“No, I wasn’t. I got here right on time.”
“I was referring to the extra-help session.”
The session hadn’t even been held in a building Caine taught in. And I was barely late.
“I was literally two minutes late. And you’re checking up on me?”
He stared at me. “I don’t like lateness. Maybe you should plan to start the sessions later if you have to work late or whatever.”
It was the or whatever that let me see past the blank mask he wore.
I squinted. “Were you looking for me this morning for a reason or just checking up on me?”
“Just be on time, Rachel.”
“Answer my question.”
Caine had turned away from me as he packed up his bag, but he stopped to look at me. His eyes were dark. “Not here. I can tell this conversation is not going to be one I should have in my classroom.”