ELEVEN

                                    

                                          
A L Y S S A 
"I was away and I'm just an arrogant son of a bitch, who can't admit when he's sorry."
. . .
Ashley: You down to hang out next week?
I smile down at my phone, looking at the text my new friend sent me. My mind takes me back to Friday night, where I got to know the bartender a bit more, whose name happens to be Ashley.

"You okay, sugar?" a feminine voice asks.
When I turn around, I see it's the bartender from earlier. She's still got her apron on and her hair is tied up in a bun now, bringing more attention to her beautiful face.
I take notice of her nose ring and her bright red lipstick.
I'm doing my best not to ogle her.
"I saw what happened with those guys," she adds and offers me a soft smile. "Just wanted to check in with you."
My tensed-up features soften at her words, and I send her a smile back. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Sadly, it's just men being men."
"That's true," she sighs. We hold eye contact for some seconds, where neither looks away.
"I'm Ashley," she introduces herself.
"I'm Alyssa," I reply.
Then, she cracks a smile. "Can I offer you a drink, sugar?"

Me: Let's do it
Ashley: Mine or yours?
My heart skips a beat.
Me: Mine.
"What are you smiling about?" Zoe's voice comes from beside me, and I see she's joined in on my walking over campus along with Zainab.
"Just a new friend I made," I shrug. "How was your weekend?" I ask both of them.
Zoe parts her lips, ready to rant about whatever happened, but her excited smile dies on her face when she looks ahead of us.
When I follow her gaze, my jaw clenches when I lay eyes on Charlie.
Charlie has obviously seen us already because she's taking an obvious detour to avoid us.
That doesn't stop me from loudly saying; "Oh, look who it is. The slut."
Some other students look over, but no one really pays any attention.
I don't miss the flinch on Charlie's face, even from this distance, and feel satisfaction course through me, knowing that I've somehow hurt her.
It's not because I humiliated her once, that I'll stop at that. I see an opportunity, I take it.
The image of her and Matteo is still burned into my mind, and my blood boils every time I think about it.
"She definitely heard that," Zainab says as we all watch Charlie scurry away from us.
"She did," I confirm, gripping my bag tightly between my fingers.
Zoe stays quiet, and only says goodbye when she leaves for her class.
"How was Friday night?" Zainab asks.
"Good, guess who I ran into at the club?"
Zainab awaits my response, eyebrows raised. 
"Roman," I whisper, and her eyes widen.