Trouble

I was on the dance floor when Trouble approached. Tyler had named her Trouble, I didn't know he had her pegged until she was on me. Her drunken hands slithered their way around me, pulling me into her and I noticed her smoky eye make-up was smudged more than it should be. Her face was earnest and needy . "I know you probably don't like me, but I just love you, you're so cool. I want to dance like you, I want to be you."

Oh fuck

The last thing I wanted was a drunken best friend grinding on me to impress her boyfriend. I pulled away from her gently, and smiled to let her know it wasn't personal. "Sure I like you."

"Show me how you dance like that. Dance with me." She had that teach me line down pat. I could tell it was practiced, used over and over on the guys in her life. Then she straddled my leg and began to arch her back.

I leaned in to be heard over the music, spoke almost directly into her ear. "I like you just fine, I'm just not playing lipstick lesbian with you on the dance floor. I did all that and more ten years ago and it's about as exciting as Friday in the cafeteria.  Once you've had fish enough to know you prefer steak you don't play around ordering the Fish anymore."  She was already staring at me with a mixture of awe and fear as she dismounted from my leg so I decided I didn't need to add that if I was going to have fish it sure wouldn't be in the form of a fish stick.

"Okay, sorry Dew(ed)" she said.

"No biggie. Besides, I'm taken." I told her. Her eyes traveled down to the rock on my finger. " Oh and there's him too. Actually he wouldn't mind as long as he could watch." I laughed "But that's because he's stupid and hasn't ever done that."  She started to ask me more questions but I couldn't hear her now that she wasn't holding on to me like a monkey.

I just smiled again and distanced myself farther from her, dancing a little longer before I made my way back to the crowded table. A smoke or two later I realized I needed to make my way to the ladies room again. I saw her feet when she came in after me, under the stall door. "Deeeeeew(ed)…. Is that you in there?" She asked.

Jeezus christ!

"Yeah. It's me." I said dryly as I exited the stall and began washing my hands.

"I'm so glad you do that! Not everyone washes their hands in here, you know?" She was nervous for some reason.

"Yep."

"Oh god, I'm so drunk. Can I ask you something? Oh shit… I don't want to be the drunk girl in the bathroom asking for advice but you seem, I just know you know things and I want to ask you but I'm drunk. I'll shut up."

I stared at her patiently, making no move toward the door as thirty seconds passed.

"Shit, I'm just going to do it anyway. Okay so… ummm…. Do you think it's possible to be in love with two people at the same time? How can you tell he's The One?"

My shock must have shown, but she interpreted it as shock that she would ask a stranger about her love life. She babbled on quickly filling me in on the bare bones of the story while I marveled at the universe's strange ways. "See, they both love me but I just don't know, I love them both and god I'm a slut. He wants me to choose and I don't know anymore." She looked so young to me, standing there in her going out costume.

"Maybe it's not either of them." I offered. Her eyes were huge. She looked as though that hadn't occurred to her. Then she shook her head a little.  "If it's The One you know it."  I added  "And you shouldn't fuck with it."

She lifted my hand to admire the ring again, turning it this way and that. "You're so lucky you've already found him and now you're living happily ever after." I pulled my hand away quickly and pushed the swinging door open so we could be back in the smoky bar. "It's not always the same thing."