Beer Garden: Part Two

I squinted my eyes. Yup. It was definitely Scott and I definitely didn't know the girl he was talking to. I took a deep breathe before jumping to any conclusions. I obviously didn't think Scott would do anything to hurt me, and if he did he obviously wouldn't be stupid enough to do it while I was there, but something about their body language didn't sit right with me.

I rolled my shoulders and tried to steady my step as I walked over to him. I was drunk but composed.

"There you are," I cheerfully greeted Scott without addressing the girl he was with. "I've been looking for you!"

"Hey, babe," he replied, kissing me so quickly on the cheek that I saw some of his beer spill out of his glass.

I pressed my lips together and turned my attention to this unknown girl.

“Hi, I’m Caroline,” I said as cheerfully as I could.

“Oh, Caroline,” Scott interjected. “This is Amy.”

I turned to him. “Oh, Amy,” I mimicked, emphasizing that simply giving me her name was not sufficient.

Scott stared at me for a second before turning to Amy. “Amy, this is my girlfriend, Caroline. I’ve told you about her.”

“Oh, the infamous girlfriend!” Amy shrieked.

I smiled while trying to suppress a look of confusion. “It’s so nice to meet you,” I managed to reply.

Amy stood up and pulled at the bottom of her dress. “Well, I better go find Bruce. It was nice running into you, Scott, and I hope I get to see you soon, Caroline!”

As she walked away, my mind started connecting dots. “Bruce,” I said out loud. “So I guess that was Bruce’s fiancé?”

“Yeah, Amy, the one I talk to you about all the time,” Scott replied and I could see his jaw clench. Scott always tells me about this engaged couple he works with; Bruce and Amy. Bruce is higher up and Amy is a receptionist. Scott feels like she’s only after his money and the lifestyle Bruce could provide for her.

“Well,” I said putting my arms around his neck. “She’s not what I imagined her to look like.”

Scott let out a heavy breathe as he put his hand on my lower back. I could enjoy cuddling up to him in this secluded corner for a few minutes. He didn’t seem all that pleased with me, though.

“Caroline, you stormed over here like you just caught me in the act or something.”

I scrunched up my face at him. “No, I didn’t.”

“Yeah, you clearly thought something was going on.” Scott looked down at me. He looked legitimately hurt.

“I didn’t mean to,” I quietly replied, looking off to the side. I could see all my friends several feet away, talking and laughing. “I just didn’t know who she was,” I began. “If you saw me off in the corner with some guy, you wouldn’t like it.”

“I trust you,” he shot back. “I mean, don’t you trust me?”

I looked back into his eyes and they were pleading with me. I suddenly felt so guilty, even though my logical side was telling me that he was overreacting. I was mainly wondering when I’d be able to escape this conversation to get another drink.

“Of course I trust you,” I said. “I just wanted to see who she was, okay?” Before he could answer, I grabbed his hand and insisted we go to the bar. Martin and Jessica were waiting for drinks when we walked over.

“Hey, you two,” I quickly greeted them. I needed Scott to forget about our almost, sort of fight as soon as possible.

Martin turned to me and I sensed a bit of uneasiness in his expression. “Where have you two been hiding?”

I laughed off Martin’s question and turned to look at Scott. He was trying to get the bartender’s attention and I couldn’t tell if he had dropped the Amy issue yet or not. It’s not like I walked over and attacked the girl for Pete’s sake!

He ordered us each some type of apple flavored ale and I took a big gulp as soon as I got it. I needed to drink more.

The rest of the night was drama free and I enjoyed catching up with all of my friends. Around 2, most of us decided to head back to the train station. Once seated on the subway, I rested my head on Scott’s shoulder. “Are you mad at me?” I drunkenly asked.

“No, Caroline,” Scott replied rubbing my shoulder. “I just don’t enjoy feeling like you don’t trust me. I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“I know,” I replied as I closed my eyes. Scott seemed awake enough so it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if I fell asleep on his shoulder. He continued talking though.

“I’ve never cheated on a girlfriend. Ever. And I’ve never lied to you. Not once.” I was beginning to realize how drunk Scott really was. He would never talk about this with me sober.

“I know,” I simply responded again. I didn’t know what else to say. Was this really still a discussion?

“If there’s one thing that’s going to kill this relationship, it’s jealousy.”

I lifted my head and looked at him. He was sitting straight and didn’t turn to look at me. “That’s not going to happen,” I said.

“Okay, good. It’s just Jenna was so jealous and I don’t want to be in a relationship like that again.”

 I silently nodded. I was kind of shocked. Scott never talked about Jenna with me. I really didn’t know much about their relationship at all.

The subway suddenly came to a stop and our conversation ended there, as well. I really wanted to know more about what caused him and Jenna to break up, but I didn’t feel like prying. I was just glad that Scott didn’t want our relationship to end like theirs did.