The Competition

Nance slide her hands up under my shirt as I kissed down her neck, her fingernails scratched at my skin and I groan, telling her that loved it when she did that.

"Tanner?" Nance went stiff under my lips. I glanced up at her and she was standing there with this outraged look on her face. I asked her what was up. "My name is Nancy! Or Nance!" She snapped at me.

"Umm, I know what your name is, I've been saying it for the part four years Nance."

"Then why did you call me Sara just now?" She pushed me away from her, "Who have you been screwing around with?"

"Who have I...?" I shook my head and just laughed. "It's none of your business who I've been seeing since you kicked me out of the house!"

"Oh?" She crossed her arms and glared at me. "You mean the house that you lost when you went into 'business' with those jerks?"

"Don't even start Nance, it's over and done with, get over it!"

"Get over it?" She shrieked, "How could you have been so stupid to get involved with those guys? You knew their rep in town and you still used my house as collateral for that stupid loan!"

"It was a legitimate business Nance! How was I supposed to know that they were going to be using the restaurant as a cover to peddle crack? You knew I wanted the restaurant and that was the only way I could get it!"

"It was always about you, wasn't it? Never once did you stop and think about me!"

I took a step back from her, took a deep breath and then spoke. "Everything I did was for you! You didn't want to work! I was trying to get the business off the ground and make enough so that you wouldn't ever have too! You wanted to get married and I was trying to make that happen!"

"Oh right, it was all for me!" Nance rolled her eyes, she had already covered herself up and I was really thankful for that, for once I didn't want to see her naked. "The big pile of ash and soot was a great gift Tanner!"

"Of course it was all for you, you selfish bitch!" I yelled at her. "I worked my ass off to try and give you want you wanted but what did you ever do for me? You wouldn't even talk to me after the restaurant went up in smoke, you thought I burnt the damn thing down! It was the only thing making me happy!"

Silence settled over the room as Nance glared at me. My first thought was to say I was sorry but I didn't, I wasn't sorry I said it, it needed to be said - I wasn't happy with Nance.

"I think you should go," she hissed.

I nodded, "Yeah I think so too."

I left the hotel, drove straight home and crawled into bed to get some sleep before my shift that night.

It had been a whole day but I swear I would still catch a whiff of Sara's scent when I rolled over onto my stomach.

I didn't get much sleep that day. When I fell asleep, I would dream of Sara. She would be with me and then suddenly she would be gone and I wasn't able to find her again.

That night, I was half asleep as I walked to work. I was late leaving my house so I didn't expect to see Sara at all but not long after I turned onto the highway, she went flying by. She didn't look like she was going to stop but suddenly her break lights came on and she whipped her car around to come back for me.

"Hey," I smiled at her when I got in her car. I wasn't sure how I should act after Saturday afternoon so I just sat there, staring out the window as she spun the car around and stepped on the gas.

There wasn't a work spoke until we turned into the parking lot. "Fuck me," Sara muttered. "What is he doing here?"

"Who?" I scanned the parking lot, not seeing anyone but there was a truck I didn't know sitting next to the spot Sara always parks in.

"Ken," she said as she slid into the spot and shifted into park. Without wasting any time, she turned off the car and jumped out, into the arms of the guy who had gotten out of the pickup beside us.

"Did you miss me?" Sara asked Ken after giving him a kiss.

Instead of answering her, Ken watched me get out of her car. "Who's your friend?" I want to say he asked but it sounded more like demanding to know to me.

Sara looked over her shoulder at me, then turned. "Tanner," she smiled at me. "I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Ken." Her hand laid flat against Ken's chest when she said his name and all I could think of what waking up with her in my arms.

I mumbled something that I hoped sounded like 'nice to meet you' and then I excused myself. Billy was at the entrance when I got there, he was watching Sara. "Makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

"What does?" I asked as I went to open the door.

Billy gave me a funny look and laughed, "You don't fool me for a minute buddy, I know you have a thing for Sara." His smile faded a little, "There's no point in even dreaming of that one, I've been trying to get her away from him for the last couple years."

I told him I didn't know what he was talking about, "Who Sara is dating isn't my concern."

"Whatever you say buddy," Billy took one last look at Sara with Ken before entering the building in front of me.

Work that night sucked, I wasn't in the mood to be there.