Free Stronger by Misty Provencher

smiles.
    "I probably shouldn't," he says and even though my smile lags, I hang onto it. 
    "That's fine," I say.  "I'm going to get moving then.  Nice meeting all of you."
    "Why don't you stay with us instead?  We're more entertaining than Mojitos," the guy on the couch says.  Doubtful, but the reference to the Mojitos sends my eyes to Shane.  Aidan told them about my belly button, but Shane is still acting like he doesn't have a clue of who I am.  Miss Air Quotes still looks like she'd like to incinerate me.  Shane steps forward.
    "You're welcome to stick around," he says.
    "I can't.  I'm meeting friends," I say.  It's not a lie.  I meet friends at Modo's every night.  "Have a good night."
    Aidan rises off the arm of the chair. 
    "You sure you can't stay?" he asks.  His gaze reaches for me, instead of his hands, and it's stronger than if I was trapped in his arms.  I can see that he wants to make me stay, like he wants to beg me or tie to me to a chair, but I just smile. 
    He's got to be just a neighbor. 
    No matter how much I would love to have him begging me, or tying me to his furniture.
    We're just not going there.  We can't. 
    And I've got to get out the door.
    "I'll see you around, Aidan," I say. 
    "Absolutely." His eyes drop, along with his smile, as I turn away.
     
    <<<<>>>>
     
    The evening at Modo's is not what it should have been.  I'm annoyed and I can't put my finger right on the exact reason why.  Part of it, I think, is that no one measures up on the ruler that has Aidan burnt into it tonight.  I can't get my neighbor off my mind, no matter how many shots I down. 
    And then there are the drinks.  They all taste flat and pissy.  Every single one stirs thoughts of Aidan's next-door-soiree that seemed like a full-blown, intervention of strangers.  I should've knocked Miss Air Quotes in the head and called out Shane, the one-night-wonder.  I should've let her know that her boyfriend's tongue once had an intimate conversation with my belly button.
    "I thought you'd be here," a man's voice says from my elbow and the voice is unmistakable.  I turn to him with a frown.
    "What the hell are you doing here, Des?"
    "Checking up on you."
    "Three times in two weeks?  You're starting to act like you're my husband or something."
    "You can always look at your ring finger, if you forget."
    "Don't get me started," I grumble. 
    "You look lovely..."
    "Seriously, why are you here?"  I snap.  "You know we shouldn't be seen together in public like this."
    "Change of rules." He shrugs.  Like it's that simple to just reconfigure the whole game.  He steers me away from the bar, to a corner table where I can hear what he's saying.  Grabbing a waitress, he orders me a Slippery Nipple and himself a Hole In One, twerking his eyebrows at me as he does it.  He tips the waitress a twenty, dumping it on her tray without even looking at her, once the drinks are on the table.
    He takes a slow sip, watching me over the top of his glass.  I can smell the warmth of the booze clinging to his words.  "I see you all the time, right beneath Claudia's nose at the house, so I thought, why not here?"
    Yeah right.  What I think really happened is that he just got a good look at Aidan and it's just like dangling a carrot in front of an ass. 
    "I can tell you why not here.  Because Modo's is hardly a 'professional meeting' kind of a bar.  You're going to blow your cushy ride if you're not careful," I say, chewing on the straw in my drink.  "Maybe end up in jail.  Besides, I don't want you here.  This is too confusing as it is."
    "There's nothing confusing about it.  You are my designer.  It's not like we can't meet for drinks to discuss a project.  Christmas is coming. I'm meeting you to discuss plans for an upcoming party."
    "That I can never attend."
    "It's a conflict of interest." His eyes flash.  He knows it's a veiled threat.   Des doesn't do threats well.   "And you are a loyal wife.  Your husband's