Loving Sofia by Alina Man Page B

making me woozy. I realize that the only right thing to do at this moment is to move. I rush out when a strong hand grabs me by the arm and jerks me back.
    “Where do you think you’re going?” 
    “Let go of me Mark,” I say with unsteady voice. I pray that I can keep the tears from falling.
    “What happened that made you run away?” concern fills his voice.
    “I don’t want to talk about this now.  Please let go of me. I’m ok. We’re ok. I just want to go home.”
    “One more dance , and I’ll take you home after.”
    There’s no point in fighting with him so I just take his offered hand and walk to the dance floor.  Just as luck would have it, Give into Me starts playing.  He moves closer and my body molds against his.  I close my eyes and let him lead us into a slow agonizing dance.  Everything about him feels so right and yet so wrong.  I lean into him, his heartbeat drumming in my ear. He brushes his lips against my temple and I shiver involuntarily. That only makes him pull me closer.  I didn’t know how much more I could take and was happy when the song ended. I couldn’t wait to put some distance between us.  We both needed some distance.
    We say our goodbyes, and then walk hand in hand to his car. I feel like everyone is staring at us, talking behind our backs, making my escape uncomfortable.  We don’t say a word on the drive home; not that I wanted to talk about what just happened in the restroom.  He unlocks the door and lets me go in first.  I drop my clutch and wrap on the table . Turning to go up to my room, I walk past him and feel his fingers link with mine. 
    “Please talk to me,” he whispers.  “What happened in there that made you so upset?”
    “There’s nothing to say.”
    “The hell there’s not.  Wanna spend the night here in the foyer?  Cause I have nothing better to do , and I’ll wait here until you’re ready to fess up.”
    “Fine. I was just thinking about stuff that’s all. Mark , this, you and me, this is not healthy.  I swear we’re like a fucking old married couple.  We have a daily routine for fuck sake.  How the hell are we supposed to move on with our lives if we’re always together? Me being here is not good for you.  I am holding you back and that’s not fair.”
    “You’ve been thinking in the restroom? Are you for real , Birdie?”
    “I’m done talking tonight.  Go to bed Mark.  I’m tired and drunk. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    “Ah, no you don’t.  What is it about us that’s not healthy?  You are my best friend and it never bothered you before that I was not dating anyone. Maybe I am dating and just don’t like to bring her home, have you thought of that? Birdie, did someone say something to you?”  He waits for me to answer, and my silence is just what he needs to keep him going.  “That’s it, isn’t it? Tell me.”  I could tell how hard he was trying to stay calm. 
    “Does it really matter?” I answer in a small voice.
    “Are you fucking kidding me?  Please tell me this is a joke. This is what this is about?  Some stupid bitch talks shit in the restroom and you let her get to you?  And run at the first chance you get?”
    I can’t really tell if he’s hurt or angry , but before I have the chance to defend myself, he turns around and walks away. I am too stunned to say anything; too stunned to even move.  I feel like I’ve just been hit by a car, and am rolling and rolling down a hill at some incredible speed.  If that really happened, I still don’t think it would hurt as much as this does.  

Chapter 11.
     
    MARK
    Damn my head feels like shit. I can’t remember the last time I got that drunk.  Last night, after the blow off with Sofia, all I wanted to do was find a way to mute that pain my heart was feeling. I guess that’s what I did by drinking myself to sleep. I fell asleep with the same clothes on that I wore at the wedding, smack in the middle of my room, the lines from the rug