"Coffee then home," I said, grabbing onto her thighs before standing up to start walking.
After a thirty minute walk, during which I'm pretty sure she dozed off, I finally set her down on a sofa in the cafeteria.
"Sorry I left," she whispered, taking my hand as I pulled away. "Scared. Wasn't thinking. Don't leave."
Then she dropped my hand and was dead to the world once more. I took this time to get us coffee. By the time I returned, she was seated at one of the tables, looking worse for wear.
"Hey," I said gently, setting both cups down on the table before me and taking a seat. "Want to tell me what happened when Frankie and I left the diner?"
She shook her head no and I decided to let it go. If she didn't want to talk about her mom, I wouldn't force her to. There was something I had no qualms about dragging out of her though. When she tried to take a cup, I moved it out of reach. She looked at me quizzically. I wasn't done asking questions. The surest way to get an honest answer out of Stacy was to get her drunk. This had been bothering me since we left the party.
"What's the big idea?" she said, reaching out for the cup again. "Look, I know I shouldn't have taken off like that or gotten drunk on a night like tonight. I'm sorry. May I have my coffee now?"
"Nope," I said, holding onto the cups firmly. "Why does Kyle Felps hate my guts?"
Stacy took a deep breath and sucked in her lips, licking them nervously.
"I don't know. The coffee, Scott," she insisted. "I need to be sober and awake in case Frankie calls."
This night had been rough all around. It was our anniversary and we were spending it in a college cafeteria, after running around all night.
We needed something to take our minds off the Jenny situation. Plus there was a story here and it was making her nervous, which meant that it was good. No way was I letting it go.
"Nope. I think you do know," I said, raising one of the cups into the air, out of her reach, while drinking from the other.
She covered her mouth with her hands, refusing to let the words out. She was drunk off her ass, but she still knew she would sing like a canary any minute now.
"Coffee's amazing. So all your exes hang out together. What's that about?" I persisted, setting the coffee cups down to go over to her side of the table.
She shook her head vehemently as my fingers wrapped around her wrists and I pried her hands away from her mouth.
"They're in an I Hate Scott Brady Club that convenes on campus every Saturday," she blurted out. "Shit," she cursed a moment later, struggling against my fingers even in her drunken state.
"Interesting," I said, letting the information sink in. "What about the other thing?"
She smacked her lips shut, her eyes pleading with me. I had never met someone so self aware while they were drunk. It was so cute.
"Don't make me kiss you, Stacy Kendrick," I said, pulling her arms to her sides and lowering my head to hers.
"Scott please," she begged through closed lips.
It had been a while since she begged me for anything outside of the bedroom, other than doing the dishes. I really was a fool for her. Bringing my face closer to hers, I gently let my lips brush hers.
"Sometimes when I was in bed with Kyle—" she said and I saw red.
Nope, whatever it was, I didn't want to know.
"—I'd call out your name," she finished, her whole face turning red as a tomato as her eyes widened.
Well that was unexpected. I stared at her for a few seconds, then burst into laughter as I tried to brush it off. But something was happening inside me. I felt possessive. Flattered. Yearning. Affection.
"You're such an asshole," she said with a defeated sigh. "Can I have my coffee now?"
"It's no big deal," I said, still laughing. "People say the wrong name sometimes."
"Did you ever say mine, you know, with other girls?" she asked, looking anywhere but at me.
"No baby," I said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I never thought of you during sex. Not until it was just you and me. It was a chore to do because I was with someone that wanted to and I've never once associated you with something I didn't enjoy," I told her honestly, not wanting to hurt her feelings. "Explain the rest of them."
"My coffee is getting cold," she said, still refusing to look at me.
I slid my hand under the table, down between her thighs. It was unlikely that this was turning her on like it was me, so inevitably that meant she'd be ticklish there.
Sure enough, within seconds of my drawing light circles along her inner thigh, she let out a string of giggles.
"Come on, Kendrick. Tell me why all your exes hate me," I said, smiling as I watched her throw her head back in laughter and try to move my hand away.
She looked so carefree it warmed my heart. If I could have made the moment go on just a little longer for her, I would have.
"It didn't just happen with Kyle, okay?" she fessed up.
I immediately stopped to let her finish, my hand lingering on her thigh.
She looked me in the eye like it was a point of pride and said, "It's happened with every boyfriend I've ever had. So now they are friends, having bonded over their shared trauma or whatever. Hence their I Hate Scott Brady Club. Which is kind of pathetic, since two of them are married now."
I wanted to have a go at her, but the words wouldn't come out. Instead I just reached behind me, picked up the coffee and handed it to her.
Just how long have you been waiting for me, baby?
I thought about kissing her, but I was frozen in place. It was like I had gone back in time to that moment when I decided she was better off as my friend. For the first time in seven years, I regretted it.
"Don't make it a thing. People say all kinds of weird shit during sex," she said, taking the cup and getting to her feet, suddenly sober as a judge as she walked away from me.
I followed her quietly as she had her coffee, uncomfortable and completely at ease all at once. I knew where she was taking us and I had something for her when we got there.
When we arrived at the library, I slid my hand into hers and said, "I want to show you something."
"You want to show me something in the library?" she asked, like pigs flying was more likely.
"I was going to take this to my grave, but since I dragged your little secret out of you, fair is fair," I said, clearly capturing her interest.
I led her to the computer lab, where I sat her down in front of a monitor, then got a chair for myself to join her.
"Ready?" I asked, looking at her as my fingers hovered over the keyboard.
"For a secret? Absolutely," she
said, beaming at me, her embarrassment still lingering on her cheeks, but otherwise forgotten.