Not Scared Anymore

Chapter 10 - Kevin

Kevin was nursing a beer, alone at a table for two, while waiting for his date to show up. It was his fifth first date in three weeks, and none of them had gone well yet. He met this girl, Kathryn, at Randall's goodbye party. They hadn't interacted much that night, but a few days later he got a text from an unknown number asking if he was Randall's old boss. It seemed Kathryn asked Randall for his number, and they had texted a few times since. She had texted him an hour ago asking him to meet her tonight.

Kathryn was running late. Kevin was trying not to look at his watch every two minutes, but his fear of being stood up was mounting. He always tried to arrive early for social events. Her last text said she was on her way, so he took a few deep breaths and tried to relax.

The door to the bar opened, and he saw Kathryn step inside. She looked around the bar, clearly searching for him, so he stood up and waved. She caught his eye and blinked a few times before heading towards him. He noticed she looked unsteady on her feet.

"Hi, Kathryn. Good to see you again."

"Hi! Yeah, you too! Sorry I'm late, I was out with the girls from work and then getting a cab was a nightmare."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Have a seat." They both sat and Kevin could feel the awkwardness in the air. Kathryn reached for the cocktail menu and started talking a mile a minute about her cab ride until the waiter came over.

After giving her order, she disappeared into the restroom. Kevin watched her stagger into the door frame on the way in, and was sure she was already quite drunk.

When she came back, Kevin asked if she wanted to get some food, but Kathryn shook her head and downed half of her drink. Kevin felt like a fish out of water with no idea how to proceed. Kathryn though, just started talking again.

She was very animatedly explaining all the drama from the girl's night out earlier, and all Kevin had to do was smile and nod, making the occasional surprised noise. He had no idea what she was talking about.

Fifteen minutes later, her drink was gone and she finally seemed to run out of story. Kevin took the last sip of his beer, and looked up to see Kathryn pulling her sweater up over her head.

"What are you doing?" He spluttered.

"Ugh, its just so hot in here. It's fine, I've got a tank top on. Oh, whoops!" The tank top was stuck inside the sweater and she shoved it back down haphazardly, but not before nearly everyone got a clear view of her bra. There were two guys sitting at the bar openly staring at her, and one subtly giving Kevin a thumbs up. He cringed, while she tried to flatten her staticky hair back down.

"Okay, how about I go grab us both some waters. Sit tight." He got up and hurried to the bar. Passing the guys who were still staring at her, he whispered, "show's over guys. Close your mouths and leave her alone." He didn't stop to hear their responses, but at least they stopped staring.

He ordered their waters and paid the tab. As he headed back to the table, Kathryn was looking at her phone. He could see her swiping through tinder, and she looked up guiltily when he placed the water down.

"Oh thanks!" She grabbed the glass and took a long drink, then fished for an ice cube with her fingers. She dragged it along the back of her neck and around to the front of her chest. Her face was flushed, and Kevin could feel worry starting to gnaw at him.

"Hey, Kathryn?" He waited for her to open her eyes and look at him, and noticed she was having trouble focusing, "are you feeling okay?"

"Oh, yeah I'm totally fine, just warm." Her smile came out crooked and she tipped forward slightly when she waved him off.