She smiles a little. "No. In general. Would you have sex with me?"
"In a heartbeat." I hold her hand under the table because if she moves it any closer to my crotch, my zipper might break.
"How long?" she asks.
"How long for what?"
"How long before you'd have sex with me?"
"Whenever you're ready."
"What if I was ready right now?" She runs her fingers through the back of my hair.
"I won't do it when you're drunk."
"I'm not drunk," she says, her eyes closing as her head falls to the side.
"Yeah, you're drunk." I lift her head up and she opens her eyes. "Let's stick to doing other things tonight. Then some other night, when you're sober, we'll see if you feel the same way."
"Can I have my drink back now?"
"If you promise to sip it, not slam it."
"Fine. Now give it back."
I slide it over to her and she picks it up and takes another big gulp.
"Callie, you're going to get sick."
"Stop worrying about me and focus on your own drink."
She doesn't seem like someone who drinks to get drunk but I guess I was wrong.
"You want to dance?" I ask. I don't like to dance but if it gets her to take a break from her drink, I'll do it.
"Not right now," she says, sitting back and surveying the room. "It's weird how the world just keeps going."
I turn to her, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Right now, people are sick, injured, dying, and yet the world just goes on. People are oblivious to other peoples' problems."
I hold her hand. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"No." She looks down at her drink. "It's just a comment."
"It didn't sound like just a comment." I gently squeeze her hand. "You want to go outside and talk?"
She shakes her head. "No."
"Callie, I know something's going on with you. Just tell me what it is."
Her eyes lift to mine, and I see the sadness in them, the pain.
"What is it, Callie?"
She swallows, then says, "A little over a year ago I—"
"Nash." I hear a voice behind me and look back and see Katie standing there in a short, sparkly teal dress with big diamond studs in her ears.
"Hey." I glance at her, then focus back on Callie.
"Nash, I'm talking to you," Katie says in a demanding tone.
I keep hold of Callie's hand as I turn toward Katie. "I'm in the middle of a conversation here, so maybe we could talk later."
"I don't wait," she spits out.
God, I hate girls like this. Thinking the world revolves around them. But I try to be polite and say, "I'm sorry, Katie, but I can't talk right now."
She yanks on my shoulder. "I don't like being ignored."
I take a deep, calming breath and turn to her. "And I don't like being interrupted. I'm talking to someone else right now. If you want to talk, we'll talk later, because right now, I'm busy."
"Doing what? Talking to HER?" She points to Callie. "The town loser?"
I get out of my chair and face Katie. "Why the fuck would you call her that?"
"Because that's what she is. She hides away in her house all day. She never comes out except to work at that coffee shop or go to the grocery store. And people say they've seen her at the store counting to herself like some psychopath. She should be locked up in a mental ward. She's crazy."
"And you're a bitch. Now get the hell away from me."
"How dare you call me that! You're an ass!" She throws her drink at me. Luckily it's clear so doesn't stain my shirt. She storms off and I turn back to Callie but she's not there. "Callie?" I look all around me but can't find her. Her glass is empty. And so is mine. She drank the rest of my whiskey. Great. So she ran off and she's drunk.
Maybe she just went to the restroom. I head over there and ask one of the girls waiting in line to go in the restroom and call her name. She does, but says Callie isn't in there. I return to the bar, searching for her.
Bryce comes up to me. "Who are you looking for?"
"Callie. Have you seen her?"
"No. Why? Did she take off?"
"Yeah. I gotta find her. I'll see ya later."
I hurry outside, but she's not in the parking lot. I hear some noise on the side of the building and walk around it and find Callie crouched down, her body shaking, her hands covering her face.
"Callie!" I race over to her. She's sobbing. I crouch down in front of her and pull her into my arms, then sit on the ground, holding her in my lap. "Callie, don't listen to her. She's a bitch. A cold, heartless bitch."
Callie grabs hold of my shirt and buries her face in my chest, still sobbing.
What Katie said was rude and mean, but I didn't think it would affect Callie so much. She knows Katie's a bitch, so why is she letting her affect her this way?
"Callie, just forget about her. She only said those things because I ignored her and she was pissed."
"It's not that," Callie says, sniffling.
"Not what?"
"It's not just about Katie."
"Then what's going on?" I stroke her hair. "Please, just tell me."
"I shouldn't be here," she whispers.
"At the bar? Why?"
"It's wrong."
"Why is it wrong?" I ask, feeling like she's finally going to tell me something.