Aaron starts heading right towards me, a look of anger on his face, and suddenly I am in panic mode. Oh fuck! Barb finally told him about her and me! Oh shit! He's coming over to kick my ass, to punch out my teeth, to break my nose and smash a beer bottle over my head! Oh... oh fuck!

"Hey Carl," he says, leaning on the bar next to me.

"Oh. Hey." Okay, Carl, cool it. Don't blow the cheese. "Um. How's it going?"

Aaron sighs and looks at the mirror over the bar. "Women. You know."

"Yeah." We stand in silence for a bit.

"So what's going on with you and Barb?"

Oh FUCK! I knew it! "What?"

"You and Deb. What's going on with that? Barb told me you two are a bit of an item."

Oh God. Oh God oh god oh god I can't take this. "Well..." I'm trying to lie, trying to tell him about some relationship with Deb I have that I don't really have that apparently Barb's using as some lame cover. "You know..." I reach for my glass and knock it completely over on the bartop.

"Oh shit," Aaron says, straightening up. "You okay? Relax! You seem so nervous!"

"No, I'm fine, really..." I say, scooping up ice cubes.

"Let me buy you another drink."

"Really not necessary, Aaron..." I start to say, but Aaron already has his money out and is signalling the waitress.

My drink comes and Aaron holds his glass up. "A toast?" Oh sure, why the fuck not. I hold up my glass. "To our women," he says, looking over at Deb and Barb on the couch. Barb looks at me and I immediately see my sense of worry mirrored on her face. "Jesus," Aaron says, clinking his glass to mine, "They'll be the death of us yet."

"Here here," I mutter, then drink.

Deb finally comes over and puts her hands on Aaron's shoulders. "Sorry, Aaron," she says. "I was jonesing for a cigarette pretty bad."

"No, that's fine," Aaron says, and heads back to the couch.

Deb takes Aaron's place, looks at me for a second, then wipes her forehead with her hand in comic exaggeration. "Nice talk?" she says.

"Oh yeah," I say. "Just dandy."