Page 14 of Enticed

“Clara? What are you doing here?” Kane says when he reaches me at the bar, sliding onto the stool next to me.

“It’s Friday! It’s time to drink! Tony!” I turn and shout across the bar, his head twisting in my direction as he rolls his eyes at me. “Get these boys a beer on me!” I lean over the bar, the few buttons undone on my blouse surely offering a prime view of my cleavage. But Tony is always the gentleman, never looking down to catch a peek. Once he reaches us, he pours Kane his IPA and Drew the same beer.

“Thanks man,” Kane says to Tony before taking a sip. “So, letting loose tonight, Clara?” He asks me again.

“Oh, she’s letting loose alright,” Tony mutters, gathering Kane and Drew’s attention.

“I can see that,” Kane chuckles, raising an eyebrow. “Are you meeting the girls or something? Olivia didn’t say anything to me about it…”

“Nope, just me, myself, and I!” I exclaim, the volume of my voice skyrocketing with each drink I take in as I dance on my stool to the music playing in the room. “What are you two doing here?” I ask, brushing some loose hairs from my face and sipping on my beer.

“Well, I come by almost every Friday night to catch a beer with Tony after the school week is done. And sometimes Drew joins me,” he juts his chin in Drew’s direction as he nods.

“Yeah, and soon this probably won’t be a possibility once the babies are born,” Drew adds, making Kane and him both light up the room with their smiles despite the significant change in their lives that is about to occur. Drew and his wife Tammy are also pregnant and expecting a baby in a few months—actually just a few weeks after Olivia is due.

“Oh, swoon alert! You two are going to be the best daddy’s,” I slur, almost falling off of my stool before Kane reaches out to stop me.

“I think you’re done, Clara,” Tony chastises me as he comes back over from refilling a drink for a lady down the bar, reaching for my beer even though I still have a few sips left.

“Hey, I’m a paying customer, Tony. You can’t take that away from me!”

Tony huffs and then leans in closer to my face. “I can, and I will. I’m the owner and it’s my job to make sure you don’t drink yourself stupid. I’d say you’ve had enough for tonight. I’m gonna call Cooper…”

“No, Tony. Please? I’m not ready to leave yet.” I look at the clock and notice it’s only six-thirty.

“I’ll be back,” Tony says before walking away as Kane turns his attention back on me. Drew left to use the bathroom I assume, leaving me facing my best friend’s fiancé all alone.

He leans in closer to lower his voice so only the two of us can hear him.

“What’s going on, Clara? I know you’re a free spirit and all, but this isn’t like you… being drunk as a skunk at six-thirty on a Friday? Your hair is a mess, you have make-up smudged down your face—which makes me think you’ve been crying—and what’s this about Tony calling Cooper?”

I close my eyes to fight off the tears again, even though I haven’t shed any since I was in my car.

I contemplate on how to answer him, but all I know is I’m so tired of dealing with all of my thoughts by myself—holding them inside until I feel like I could burst from the anxiety and fear. Before I can stop myself, the words leave my mouth.

“I can’t handle the flashbacks, Kane,” I whisper, unsure of why I’m divulging the information to him of all people, but I know that Kane was in the Army before and suffered from PTSD and anxiety, so I assume if anyone could understand, it would be him.

“The attack?” he asks cautiously and all I can do is nod. Everyone knows I was attacked and held at gunpoint, but no one knows what else almost happened. “Fuck, Clara. How long has this been going on? Have you been drinking a lot?” His eyes are locked on mine, but I don’t feel like he’s judging me—I feel like he gets it.

All I can do is look away though—because for the first time, I’m feeling ashamed in front of someone else.

“Clara,” he pulls my attention back to him. “I get it, believe me, I do. I’ve been there. And I’m telling you right now… you can’t keep doing this. You need to talk to someone. I can give you the name and number of my therapist. She’s amazing. She can help you,” he says as he grabs my hand and strokes the back of my fingers in a friendly way.

“You have a therapist?” I ask, realizing I never knew this about him. Olivia has never said anything.

“Yes. When the anger and anxiety got to be too much, I started seeing her and she’s changed my life. You can’t keep doing this to yourself, hun. Have you talked to anyone else about it? Even Cooper?”

I shake my head and feel the tears threaten to fall. “No… but Tony calls him to pick me up when I get like this,” I hiccup, which makes me giggle, breaking some of the emotional heaviness.

“Because he’s the only other person who understands what happened that night, huh?” He prods.

“Yeah, I guess,” I shrug before looking over Kane’s shoulder as Drew walks back up to us.

“Hey man… Tammy just called me and she’s got a craving for barbeque potato chips and cranberry juice, so I gotta pick some up and head home,” Drew interrupts us, pulling Kane’s attention from me.

Kane turns back to me and grants me a crooked smile, pulling me in for a hug.

“I’ve got to go since we drove together, but I meant what I said. I’ll send you Dr. Martinez’s number. Call her, Clara. Please,” he pleads, looking down into my eyes, asking me to trust him.

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