Sunburn

FOUR

            I wanted to avoid an awkward evening with Owen and Katie forever. Unfortunately, the universe wasn't about to let that happen.

He cornered me before work the following week, catching me on my way into the office on a particularly stormy Wednesday morning. I was thoroughly windswept, struggling to swipe wet hair from my cheeks and battling with an umbrella that had turned inside out four times on my way over. My mind was elsewhere; all I wanted to do was stand in front of a heater until my clothes were dry again. Owen had cornered me the minute I arrived, poking his head round the door as I was trying to shake out of my dampest layers. I was on autopilot, and when he asked about my plans after work, my mind instantly assumed small talk. The "Oh, not much, you?" had escaped me before I realised the consequences, and I was left with no escape.

So, thanks to nobody but myself, an awkward evening of third wheeling was on the cards.

"What's the big deal?" Erin asked, later that afternoon. Technically, her lunch break had ended ten minutes ago, but with the arcade pretty much dead she was lounging on the second chair in the office, watching me work. "It's only drinks. A couple of hours at most. I'm sure you'll make it out alive."

"It's just... ugh." I couldn't find the words – or at least any that wouldn't make me sound pathetic. "He's my ex. And it's just weird, me sitting there across the table, while he's probably got his hand on the knee of his new girlfriend. What are we even supposed to talk about?"

"How about the last three years?" Erin shot me a look. "I don't know about you, Sydney, but people usually have a lot happen in that time. I don't think conversation will be that hard to come by."

By this point, I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't getting any work done, and pushed the laptop away. "I'm not convinced. I just think I'm going to feel like an idiot. He's obviously got his life together. He's got his own apartment, even. And what am I doing? Back at home and as single as when I left."

"So you're single," Erin said. "Big deal. Does it matter to you, or because Owen's not?"

I shifted my gaze to the floor. "Maybe the second one."

"Exactly. And once you get over that, this whole thing sounds like it's going to be easier to deal with."

I rolled my eyes. "Do you always speak this much sense?"

She grinned. "Yes. It's a talent of mine. I've got a no-bullshit approach to giving advice, and it's served me well so far."

"Not such a big fan at the moment," I mumbled. "Even if you are right."

"Just go out for a bloody drink." Erin removed her feet from their spot on the office desk, letting them hit the ground. "You're hot, you're single, and this place puts money in your bank account. Who cares if you live at home? Most people do after graduating. It doesn't mean you will forever."

Despite myself, I couldn't help smiling. "Ugh. You're right. I'll go."

"Thank God," she said. "And afterwards, you're gonna tell me everything."

So that was how I ended up here: inside the stale-smelling pub on Walden high street, beside an empty space on a four-seater table shared with Owen and Katie. We hadn't been there more than five minutes, and already they'd been insufferably nice. My rum and coke had been paid for by Katie; she'd insisted, despite multiple protests, that the first round was on her. Not only did having a near-stranger pay for my drink make me feel bad, 'first' implied there were more to come.