I grabbed our drinks and headed back over to the couch. I pushed my way through the crowds and saw Dana emerge into view. Then I noticed she was not alone. I stopped in my tracks. Dana was sitting with a slim and attractive redhead. I stood and watched as the redhead grinned and laughed flirtatiously at something that Dana was saying. So much for Dana being tired, she looked very awake and was beaming at this attractive woman sitting close to her.

How dare this redhead parade in here and try to steal Dana away from me? I felt a great pang of jealousy. I had been looking forward to sitting and chatting with Dana, without any disturbance. I took a deep breath and walked over to the two women.

Dana didn’t even notice as I reached her and stood waiting with her drink. I set the glass onto the table quite firmly and it was then that Dana looked up. She had looked totally involved in everything this woman had been saying, and looked a bit startled when the glass hit the table, like she was coming out of a dream world. “Alice!” She looked at me with a grin on her face. “Al, I want you to meet Lara, she’s a chef at the country club where I play tennis. Lara, this is my friend Alice”. Friend. Not best friend, not close friend, just friend. I looked over to the redhead who was smiling at me. I instantly disliked her. “Hi Alice, it’s nice to meet you” She still had that stupid grin on her face and I smiled weakly at her.

“You too Lara” and I sat in a black leather chair facing them. I should have been on that couch, next to Dana, close to her. But Lara had taken that place. Bitch.

“Lara’s a brilliant chef Alice, she sends me some fantastic food, and it’s all really healthy” Dana placed her hand on top of Lara’s that was resting on the couch next to her then removed it again. She probably didn’t want to seem so full-on this early. It killed me that I still knew what she was thinking, even though she was thinking of another woman, not me.

“Well I don’t want to ruin your fitness” Lara laughed and looked at Dana, who responded by looking into Lara’s eyes. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I pulled myself up from the chair.

“Well, I’m not feeling great so I think I’m gonna head home. Have a great night”. I turned to leave.

“Wait, are you okay what’s wrong?” Dana asked me with concern.

“Oh, I’ve just got a headache. I think I need an early night. I’ll be fine, you two have fun. See ya” My smile turned into a frown as soon as I turned away from them and I headed out of the door.