by Cee, DW
“Shit! All right! I’m leaving. I can’t handle your nagging.”
Al chuckled. “One day, Man...she’s gonna take revenge and bust your balls. I hope I’m there to see it.” He laughed some more and left.
Before anyone else “busted my balls,” I went up to Jake and Emily’s suite.
“Hey, Emily. I hope I’m not bothering you.”
Emily was unhappy with me too. She barely let me through the door. “Come on in.”
“I was hoping to speak with Delaney. Is she here?”
“She’s already turned in for the night.”
Shit. “How was she before she went to bed?”
Emily said nothing. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t say a word since her husband charged at me in anger.
“You!” Damn! Now it was my best friend who was after my balls. “You better have a damn good reason for making my cousin cry. You are on my shit list.”
Even pissed with me, he had time to do a quick make out session with his wife before taking me down to a quiet corner, far away from the wedding party.
“What the fuck is the matter with you? Do you not know my cousin? Are you still having that difficult of a time understanding her?”
“I’ve been trying to apologize.” I defended myself.
“You’ve always been good to my family and the Reids think of you as family. Why the hell are you so disgruntled with Laney? She has to be the nicest one of us all. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen her cry, but tonight, she was sobbing. My wife was in tears because Laney was in so much pain. We both stood outside her door with no fucking clue how to console her. What the hell did she do so wrong that you put her in such a state?”
“I’ve nothing to say. I got pissed when I saw her with Brent and I lost it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Jake. She just brings out emotions I’m not used to—I feel like I don’t know who I am when I’m with her.”
“You are one fucked-up dude!” Jake let out a sigh. “At the beginning of the night, I see you flirting with my sister—a woman who is dating another man, might I add. And at the end of the night, you’re mouthing off to my cousin—a woman you swore up and down to me you were done with—because she was in the arms of another man. What does that tell you?”
“I don’t know. With Jane, everything is so simple. We are friends, we have a great relationship, and we don’t fight. There are no extreme emotions. I like that. That’s how a relationship should be. With Delaney, I’m up, I’m down, I’m fucking all over the map. She pisses me off at every turn. It’s like when Rachel and Becky used to drive me crazy when they started dating. I hated having to be their older brother and they hated having me as an older brother.”
Jake was even more exasperated with me, now. “You’re equating your feelings for your sisters with your feelings for Laney? Damn! You are messed up. What happened to your confession at the movie theater when you told me being with Laney was like being in heaven? Why are you now acting like you’re in hell and you want to bring everyone down with you?” Even while chastising me, Jake took out his phone and texted his wife.
“You seriously sexting your wife while I’m sitting right next to you?”
“No. I’m telling my wife to go to bed, and not wait up for me. I think this is going to be a long night for us.”
“You have to tell her to go to bed?”
“I don’t want her waiting up for me. She’s very pregnant, she has two active children, and she’s tired. But, she’ll stay up for me because two people in love with one another do things like that. We want to spend as much time with one another as possible, no matter how exhausted. We will make time for each another, and we can’t wait to hop into bed together—not just for sex, but for the pillow talk. We share what happened that day. She tells me about the kids and I tell her about work. We ask each other questions and constantly affirm our love for one another. Don’t you want that in your life?”
Did he really need to ask me if I wanted his ideal life? “Hell yes, I do, but Delaney is not that woman for me. Jane suits much better than a girl ten years younger than I am.”
“Dammit, Donovan! You know it’s not Jane. You’re being an asshole. She’s with a good guy. Max is the right man for her. I don’t care who you think is or is not for you as long as you drop Jane from that thought.”
“Do you think I want to keep thinking about a woman who’s taken? This is torture for me too. But she’s the one who comes to mind when I think of the perfect relationship.”
“Who is she?”
Damn. He got me there. Who was she? “Let’s talk again later. My head hurts. You can go back to loving your wife and I’m going to go back to my room to sleep off this shitty day.”
“Leave Jane, and Laney for that matter, alone!” He warned one last time.
The next day at breakfast was no better than the one before. Delaney walked in with Ellie, and surprisingly brought her over to me when Ellie pointed my way. I gave lots of love to my goddaughter who seemed to be the only girl to love me back, unconditionally.
“Good morning, Elizabeth. Did you sleep well?”
She nodded her head yes like she knew what I was saying, and hugged me with those chubby arms of hers. I blew raspberries all over her cheek and she cackled away. I loved the sound of her cackles and her request for more didn’t go unheard.
James walked over with Delaney to see what all the commotion was about at our end of the table.
“You want to sit with Auntie Jane?” Jane tried to coax James to her, but he shook his head no and pointed at me.
“Come up here, Buddy.” My godson climbed up my leg with the help of Delaney, and sat on my lap while Ellie was cradled into my body.
“You going to be OK with both of them?” she whispered.
I nodded an affirmative and asked just as quietly, “Are you OK?”
She turned around and didn’t bother answering. If I wasn’t with a table full of family members and didn’t have two kids on my body, I would’ve grabbed her hand and held her against me the way Ellie was clinging. Her beautiful blue eyes were bloodshot and swollen, and the smile she gave everyone never reached her heart.
As I was busy giving each child raspberries on their cheeks, Brent was standing next to Delaney trying to make a move on her. Jake saw my pissed off look and gave me a stern warning. Jake told Brent to back off, but the asshole kept up the pursuit.
“Laney? A cup of coffee, that’s all I ask,” Brent begged.
With both kids in hand, I got up when I saw Brent whispering something in her ear, and her giggling at what was said. I seriously saw red. Dropping each kid with each parent, I walked up to Delaney, who had handed a note to Brent. He read it with a smug smile, and gave me a triumphant look. I swear if Jake hadn’t held me back, I would’ve taken him down.
“What’d you write that made him laugh like that?” My sister and Jane asked simultaneously.
“You didn’t give that asshole your number did you?” She refused to answer me and that’s when I put my foot deeper into my mouth. “Outside, now! Let’s talk!” I yelled at her like the idiot that I was.
“Buddy,” Jake warned. “Go back to your seat. You’re causing a scene.”
I only left when I saw the chief giving me a get the hell back in your seat look.
“Hello, Nephew. You’re back! How was the wedding weekend?”
“The devil’s lair!”
“Why? What happened? Something go wrong with the wedding?”
“The wedding was fine. I hung out with Becky, Jane, and Al when he finally arrived, but it was Delaney that made my life a nightmare.”
Bee proceeded to snort from laughing so hard. “I knew something wasn’t right when she came by a few minutes ago and practically threw this dress at me with some stupid apology of not being able to clean it properly. She barely said a sentence to me. She flew out of here as though someone was chasing her.”
“She was
here? When?”
“Like a few minutes ago.”
“Shit, I missed her.” I flopped on Bee’s sofa and groaned, “I fucked-up so badly this weekend, Bee, and Delaney is so pissed with me. I don’t know how to make things right.”
“What did you do this time?” She asked and eventually groaned loudly as I relayed the weekend’s story to her. “You’re such an imbecile.”
“An imbecile? That’s all you’re going to call me?”
“Oh, I’ve got a few other delicious words, but I’m going to hold onto them and unleash as I see fit. So what will you do now?”
“First thing I’m going to do is to beg you to let me buy this dress off you.” I pointed to her prized creation.”
“Damn you, Nephew! I had a feeling you might say that after you saw her in it. She looked beautiful didn’t she?”
“Beautiful doesn’t come close to describing how she looked. She stunned everybody when she walked in after the bride. Trust me when I say Ashley had nothing on our Delaney. All eyes were not on the bride. In my life I’ve seen a lot of beautiful woman, and I was with a very beautiful woman for ten years, but I swear when I saw Delaney walking in your creation I was...I was...speechless. You have to let me buy the dress and give it to its rightful owner.”
“Damn!” Bee swore, acquiescing to the inevitable. “Do you know how many hours it took me to sew all those crystals and beads? Do you know how many times I had to cut and re-cut the fabric to get it just right? Do you know how many nights I stayed up to come up with the perfect sketch for this dress?”
“You too know that the dress belongs to Delaney. You’ve already given in. Admit it and let’s move on to the next topic.”
“What’s the next topic?”
“You didn’t give me these did you?” I held out my cufflinks and button covers.
“No,” she said while looking through each of them. “These are beautiful. Where did they come from?”
“When I went to put on my jacket, I found these in each of my pockets. I didn’t think twice because I thought you had put them there.”
“But...?”
“After I accused Delaney of flirting with all the guys, she couldn’t get away from me fast enough, and there was this camellia dangling from her neck all the way down to the end of her back. That’s when I realized it was probably Delaney who put these in my pocket.”
“Good for her. She has exquisite taste. Is there more to this story?”
“I’m going to the Chanel store to get her something similar to the necklace she was wearing. I don’t think I’ve seen the one she was wearing that night, so I assume it was probably her grandmother’s.”
Bee let out an uncharacteristic giggle. “Only you would know a Chanel catalog inside-out.”
“So are you going to give me the dress?”
“So now I’m giving it to you? What happened to buying it from me?”
“You know what I mean. I have to make this up to her, Bee. She may never want to talk to me again.”
“I don’t think it’s a gift she wants from you.” Bee gave me a knowing look. “Why don’t you try being honest with yourself and with Laney and see where that takes you.”
“I’m being honest when I say from now on, I’m going to revert to thinking of her as a sister. No more of this silliness between us.” Bee’s non-speech gave me pause. “One more favor?”
“I swear...I’m going to bar you from my place if you keep coming here only for favors.”
“Could you text Delaney on the pretense of wanting to have dinner with her? She won’t answer any of my calls or texts.”
“Oh, all right!” Bee answered with a begrudging smile. “I won’t be happy if she gets upset with me for doing this.”
“She won’t. She’s a sweet girl. She won’t blame you for what I did.”
All day at work today, I couldn’t concentrate on the task at hand. I had so many clients I needed to contact and so much work that needed to be done, but I couldn’t focus. All I could think about was the dinner I was going to have tonight and the apology that needed to be said. After Bee’s, I went home and really thought through what I wanted to say and how I wanted to explain to her that we would only stay friends. How was I to let a girl know I only wanted to be friends with her when she and I never reached any level of intimacy? What would I say? I find you attractive, but you’re all wrong for me? Since it was difficult for me to stay away, I needed her help in keeping me away.
“Could you hold this for me till my...” Date? Friend? What the hell was she? “...till after dinner?”
“Sure,” the hostess answered. “Would you like to wait for your guest at the sushi bar?”
“Yes.” Did I need a stiff drink even before she arrived? No, I needed a clear head to make a sincere apology and a clean break.
With a blink of an eye, I would have missed her. She walked in, spotted me, and headed straight for the exit sign. I burst out of my seat, grabbed her by the hand and held her tightly against my body. This felt so good and so right.
“Don’t go,” I pleaded. I wasn’t above begging tonight.
“I don’t want to hurt anymore,” she pleaded back. It killed me that she was still so hurt by my jacked-up statement.
“I won’t hurt you anymore, I promise.” This was a promise I intended to keep.
When I finally convinced her it was safe to spend a few hours with me, she sat, nervous and almost shaking. I held onto her as long as I could, but at a sushi bar, it wasn’t easy to do. After ordering drinks, food, and explaining about Bee’s absence from our dinner, I got to the heart of the matter.
“I’m sorry for getting upset with you and for what I said. Brent is the biggest asshole and it pissed me off when I saw you walking in with him. How do you know Brent?”
“I don’t know him.”
Then why the fuck would you walk in with him like he was your husband? You two looked better than the bride and the groom. That was what I wanted to say, but I didn’t. Instead, I convinced her to tell me why she was in his arms, and I clearly explained to her that under no circumstances should she ever contact this asshole ever again.
I believed she understood.
“Look, when you asked me if I ‘fucking flirted with every guy who crossed my path’ and ‘if I knew how to say no to men...’” shit, she was tearing again, “you destroyed my joy, my self-esteem, my faith in you. You’ve known me all my life. You’ve been a significant part of my life the last few months. How could you believe what you said?”
“I’m sorry, Delaney. That’s not what I meant to say. It just came out all wrong.”
“I think that is what you meant to say,” she said sadly. “You are under some crazy notion that I have a string of suitors and I go out with all of them. I think there was a time not too long ago when I told you I’ve never been in a serious relationship before. I believe you and Jane laughed at the fact that I’d never been involved with any man.” Shit, again! There was that time. “I’m not that popular and most of the time when I go out with someone, it doesn’t go much beyond a first date, let’s-get-to-know-one-another stage.” She looked to me for a response, but I really had nothing. “This is what I don’t get. One day, you are making fun of me for never having been seriously involved with any man, then the next day you’re accusing me of being a slut. Which is it, Mr. Taylor? Am I the neophyte or the nympho in the world of relationships?”
This girl was a crack-up. I loved her sense of humor and her Mensa-sized vocabulary. “Who could get into an argument with you without a dictionary?” Putting one arm around her waist, I brought her into me, kissed her on the temple and apologized one more time. “I’m sorry. I will not accuse you of anything anymore out of fear that you will tear apart all my accusations. You should’ve applied to law school as well, Miss Smarty Pants.”
“We’ve had this conversation before. I can forgive your overbearing big brother attitude...” I didn’t he
ar what she was saying because I couldn’t get over how good she felt in my arms. Like all the other times I’d held her, I couldn’t let go and she made no issues about staying in my arms. “...as a matter of fact, yours was the first real...” Now that last statement got my attention.
“I was your first what?” Sex had never been of part of our relationship so that couldn’t have been it. What else could a man do for a woman where he was her first? Shit, had we had sex and I didn’t remember it? Hell and damnation! If we had, I’d better have remembered because my best friend would surely kick my ass for loving and leaving his cousin. Why couldn’t I remember what we’d done?
“Nothing.” She was not getting out of this.
“Oh no you don’t! You can’t say something like that and not finish your statement. Give it up Delaney Reid!”
“No,” she pleaded. “It’s really embarrassing. I can’t finish that statement. It shouldn’t have even come out to begin with.”
“There’s no fucking way you are getting out of this one. I know how to get it out of you.” She wouldn’t give me the answer until I brought out my secret weapon. I asked a server to bring over the box and I could see temptation in her eyes. This girl had a beautifully expressive face and her expression right now told me she wanted to make a deal with me.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a gift for you I had the hostess hold onto till we were done with dinner. This is yours in exchange for the rest of that sentence. Just agree. I know this is a weakness of yours. I’ve heard stories about you sneaking down early Christmas morning to open up, and then rewrap your gifts. Curiosity will kill you, Little Girl.”
She went back and forth but finally gave in. “All right. You’ve got a deal, but I get to decide when I’m going to give you the rest of the information.”