Love Me Still

by E. L. Todd

  I caught it and set it on the table. “Don’t throw shit at me.”

  She moved to the plate on the counter.

  I ran to it then snatched it out of the way. “I’ll hold you down and tie you up if you’re going to pull this crazy stunt on me.”

  Trinity’s eyes darkened like she accepted my challenge.

  When she gave me that look I realized just how bad things were between us. I set the plate down then tried to make a calm face. “Trinity, we need to talk…”

  “I’d prefer not to talk.”

  I grabbed her arm and pulled her to the couch. “Look, this has gotten out of hand.”

  She sat down and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “I know Skye is your best friend and you’re on her side. That’s totally fine and I completely understand it. You should be there for her. She’s not going through an easy time right now.”

  Her anger diminished.

  “But Cayson is my best friend, and I’m not on his side just because we’re friends. I’m on his side because I know he didn’t do it. Trinity, I know that’s hard to believe but it’s the truth.”

  Her voice came out calm, for once. “How do you know that?”

  “I just do. Cayson never lies, so if he were I would know. And he called me right after everything happened. He told me the exact same story he told Skye. If a girl kisses him in the middle of the night when he’s sleeping, then she’s a psychopath.”

  Trinity shook her head like she disagreed.

  “I wish you would take my word on this, but I understand if you don’t. It’s obvious neither one of us are going to change our mind about this. For the sake of our relationship, I think it’s best if we just never speak of it.”

  “We never talk about what’s happening between our best friends?” she asked incredulously.

  “No. We just never talk about how we feel about it. I wouldn’t tell you Cayson isn’t lying, and you wouldn’t tell me he’s a cheating asshole. That’s the only way we’re going to be able to do this. We have to keep it separate.”

  She sighed in acknowledgment. “I guess you’re right.”

  “I know it’s inconvenient either way but…I don’t know what else to do.”

  She nodded.

  “So…can we be husband and wife again?”

  A small smile stretched across her lips. “Yeah, I think we can.”

  “Good.” I pulled her into my lap. She was weightless and soft. “Because I missed you.” I buried my face in her neck and enjoyed her scent. My back was a little sore from sleeping on the couch every night, and I hadn’t slept well since it was uncomfortable not having her on my chest.

  “I missed you too.” She ran her hand up my back. “That bed is too big without a six foot two man inside it.”

  “And this couch is too small for a six foot two man.” I pulled away from her neck and rubbed my nose against hers. I’d been so pissed off over Cayson and Skye that I hadn’t taken care of my wife at all.

  “I hope I’m not too small…”

  I smiled mischievously. “It’s not a bad thing if you are.” I placed a kiss in the corner of her mouth. It was the first time I gave her any romantic affection since the shit hit the fan. “So…are we still trying to make a baby?”

  “Why wouldn’t we be?”

  “I don’t know…with the way things are with Skye and Cayson I wasn’t sure if you wanted to anymore.”

  “Whether they stay together or not, they’re having their baby. And we need to have ours.”

  “They are staying together,” I said firmly.

  Her eyes darkened like she didn’t like what I said.

  I sighed when I realized what I said. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “It’s just…they should stay together whether he did it or not. They got a baby on the way.”

  “You think Skye should settle just because they’re married?” That anger was rising.

  “Calm down,” I said. “I’m just saying this objectively here. They’re a family. Cayson and Skye strike me as the kind of people who will do anything to give their child the best life possible.”

  “I guess,” she said calmly. “But I don’t think Skye should make that sacrifice when he’s the one who screwed up their marriage. Together or apart, they’ll be great parents. I know Skye would put aside what happened for the well being of their child. If that weren’t true, she would tell everyone what Cayson did and not care about his reputation.”

  “Or maybe because she knows they’re going to work it out,” I reasoned. “She doesn’t want everyone to hate him when he goes back home.”

  She shook her head dramatically. “She’s never going to forgive him.”

  “Don’t say that…” I wasn’t an emotional person but I couldn’t stand to see my best friend get divorced when he didn’t even do anything wrong.

  “I’m just telling you what she told me.”

  “She might change her mind. She’s just upset right now.”

  “You know how Skye is,” she said. “She trusts everyone until they give her a reason not to trust them. And then she never gives that trust back.”

  This was a nightmare. I felt like shit about the whole thing. And if I felt terrible, I could only imagine how Cayson felt. I gripped Trinity tightly and pulled her to my chest. “Don’t ever leave me.” I’d be worse than Cayson if she walked away from me.

  “I won’t.” She rested her face against mine. “Don’t ever cheat on me and you’re safe.”

  “You never have to worry about that.”

  “Then you never have anything to worry about.”

  ***

  I walked into Trinity’s office at lunchtime. “You hungry, baby?”

  She was sitting behind the massive white desk. A vase of multi-colored flowers were on the surface, and they brought out the other colors in the room. Anytime I walked in here it smelled like spring. “I didn’t know you were coming by today…”

  “Well, here I am.” I leaned over the desk and gave her a hard kiss before I sat on the yellow couch that faced her. Floor-to-ceiling windows were behind her, and the skyscrapers of the city stood in the background.

  Trinity looked slightly awkward. “I’m having lunch with Skye today.”

  “Oh…why can’t we all go together?”

  “It’s a little awkward since you’re Cayson’s best friend.”

  “So, Skye and I can never spend time together anymore?” That was absurd. I needed to be around her anyway so I could dig up as much dirt as possible. She might drop a few hints of what she wanted. If I could figure out how to get her to forgive Cayson, I could fix this.

  “No…I just don’t know if we should give it more time.”

  “Trinity, I don’t get to see you that often as it is. If I want to have lunch with you, then Skye can deal with it.”

  “Fine,” she said. “But don’t nag her about Cayson. She needs to get her mind off it.”

  “Whatever.”

  Skye opened the door a moment later and came inside. “Hey, Trin. Ready for—,” She stopped when she realized I was in the room.

  I turned to her. “I won’t nag you about Cayson. I come in peace. I just want to have lunch with my wife. You’ve been hogging her lately.”

  “Slade,” Trinity snapped.

  “What?” I said innocently. “It’s true.”

  “We can get lunch another time…” Skye turned back to the door.

  “Skye, come on,” Trinity said. “We can all get lunch together. It’ll be fine.”

  Skye slowly approached the desk, the uncertainty in her eyes.

  I really hated this. Skye and I had become so close when Cayson was gone. Now it was like that never happened. “Sit down.” I patted the seat beside me.

  She eyed it before she lowered herself to the cushion.

  “Look, this is hard on everyone. I know you’re going through a really difficult time with everything that’s happened. I still believe Cayson
is telling the truth. Actually, I know he is. But that doesn’t mean it needs to affect our relationship. Together or apart, I still care about you and want to have a relationship with you.” It was the most sentimental I’d ever been with her. Right now, that was all she responded to.

  “Okay,” she said. “You’re right.”

  I sighed in relief.

  “So…lunch?” Skye asked.

  “What do you want?” Trinity asked.

  “Why do I always have to pick?” Skye asked.

  “Because you’re pregnant,” Trinity said. “What are you in the mood for?”

  “I’m just pregnant,” Skye said. “I’m not queen of the world.”

  This was going to take forever. “Tacos. Anyone got a problem with that?”

  Trinity shook her head.

  Skye did the same.

  “Then let’s hit the road.” I needed to get some food in my stomach before I went Godzilla on their ass.

  ***

  Trinity and I didn’t bring up Cayson. We steered clear of him as much as possible.

  “Any thoughts on baby names?” Trinity asked.

  “I haven’t put much thought into it, honestly,” Skye said. She picked at her food but didn’t eat much of it.

  “If you don’t like it, I can get you something else.” I went back to my previous role of taking care of her since Cayson couldn’t be around her whenever he wanted. It was the least I could do for him since I felt helpless in every other aspect.

  “No, it’s fine,” Skye said immediately.

  “Well, you need to eat,” I pressed. “You’re feeding another mouth now.”

  “Get off her case,” Trinity hissed.

  “No, he’s right,” Skye said with a sigh. She eyed the menu. “I didn’t really like my food.”

  I was on my feet. “How about a quesadilla? Just cheese?”

  “I can get it, Slade.” Skye tried to get out of the chair.

  I gently pushed her back down. “I got it. Chill, alright?”

  Skye didn’t fight it. “Well, thank you.”

  “I’ll get you some more water too.”

  Skye didn’t fight that either.

  I stood in line and eyed my watch.

  Someone walked through the doorway then approached me. “On lunch?” Cayson’s depressed voice came into my ear.

  I looked up to see him in slacks and a collared shirt. “Oh hey.” I wasn’t expecting to see him there.

  “Did you make up with Trinity?”

  “Yeah, we’re fine.”

  “Good.” He seemed truly relieved.

  This was a little awkward. Skye and Trinity were eating in the lobby, and I didn’t want Skye to think I told Cayson to join us on purpose. But I also didn’t want Cayson to think I was bailing on him. I lost either way.

  “Are you here with Trinity?” He eyed the tables in the rear. When he stiffened and released a loud sigh, I knew he spotted Skye.

  “Sorry…” I didn’t know what else to say.

  “Soon I’ll be completely annihilated from the group…because everyone thinks I’m a fucking asshole.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” I said. “Skye doesn’t want anyone to know. You’ll be fine. And I’m keeping an eye on her for you. You know, making sure she eats enough and doesn’t need anything else.”

  He nodded. “Thank you. She wouldn’t turn to me even if she needed something.”

  “I know…” I felt terrible for the guy. “I’m actually buying her a quesadilla now because she didn’t like her food.”

  Sadness filled his eyes. “Thanks…”

  I knew what he was thinking, that he wished he were the person getting Skye’s food. “I should get going…I have somewhere to be.”

  “I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what to say and it was the only thing that came to mind.

  “I know.” His shoulders slumped in sadness. “Believe me, I know.”

  Chapter Nine

  Jared

  “That was an insane day.” I bound the cash in a rubber band and tossed it on the counter. “When I opened the bar, I think twenty people came in. I hardly broke even my first year.”

  Beatrice cleaned up the tables with the other workers then joined me at the counter. She wore a short black dress with her hair in a braid over one shoulder. Her green eyes glowed in the dim lighting of the wine bar. I had a feeling she was the reason so many customers came pouring inside. “It’s the location, the design, and all the marketing I did.”

  “Well, you were the best business partner I could have asked for.”

  “You’re lucky I don’t ask for a bigger share.” She set the wine glasses on the counter. Red lipstick was on a few. She gave me a playful smile so I knew she was kidding.

  I opened the safe and tossed the money inside. “We’ll need more workers. There were so many customers I actually had to work tonight. Can you believe it?”

  “Poor Jared,” she said as she pouted her lips. “He actually had to walk around and interact with other human beings.”

  “You’re a natural at it. I’m not sure how you do it.”

  “People come by the winery for wine tasting all the time. It’s the same kind of atmosphere.”

  I checked our inventory. “Your wine had the highest sales by far. Good thing we got the bottles dirt-cheap. We made a killing off those.”

  “We’re very lucky. Most businesses don’t survive nowadays. At least new ones.”

  “I think we’ll be fine.” I shut the register and locked it even though there was no money inside. “Where should we go to celebrate?”

  “Sleep?” she said with a laugh. “I’m exhausted.”

  “I’m tired too. But I’m also hungry.”

  “We can get something to eat then turn in for the night.”

  “We should get something good to celebrate,” I said. “And something to replenish all the calories we expended running around like crazy.”

  “Ooh…burgers and shakes.”

  “You’re one smart girl.”

  “Yeah, I know.” She flipped her hair over one shoulder in a buoyant way. “Let’s lock up and go.”

  ***

  Beatrice only ate half of everything on her plate, but she devoured her milkshake.

  I practically inhaled my food like a gorilla, but I didn’t care about my lack of manners because Beatrice already knew I behaved like a grizzly when I was hungry. Surprisingly, we returned back to our former relationship. It didn’t seem like we even kissed or I rejected her advance. I assumed we would still be friends but not be what we were.

  I was wrong.

  “I’m excited our business is a success but I’m not looking forward to working two jobs.”

  “Quit the vineyard,” I said with a mouth full of food.

  “Sorry?” The corner of her mouth was upturned in a smile.

  I chewed then swallowed. “Quit the vineyard.”

  “I can’t just quit. It’s a family-owned business.”

  “Well, I’m sure you could work part-time. Jeremy seems like he can handle a lot on his own.”

  “But I don’t want to ditch him.”

  “I’m sure he already anticipated this.”

  “I guess that’s true…” She munched on her fries. “Maybe I can be per-diem or something, just help when he needs something. Working two full jobs isn’t something that gets me excited.”

  “The checks will.” I wiggled my eyebrows. “And we can finally go to Italy together.”

  “Finally?” she asked with a chuckle. “Did we agree on going there to begin with?”

  “Yeah. You don’t remember?”

  “I can’t say I do.”

  “Well, when the money really starts pouring in we’ll take that trip. I’ve always wanted to see the Alfami Coast.”

  “I heard it’s beautiful.”

  “Then let’s do it. We’ll call it research for tax purposes.”

  “Sure. Why not?” She shrugged like it didn’t really matter
to her.

  I clanked my milkshake against hers. “To new beginnings.”

  She smiled and returned the toast. “New beginnings.”

  Chapter Ten

  Skye

  I stepped into the room and examined the walls and hardwood floors. The white paint was ordinary, and there wasn’t a tone to the room. This would be the baby’s room but it couldn’t stay bare. It needed color and decorations. It needed life.

  Now that I knew I was having a boy, I decided to paint it a deep navy blue. I wasn’t sure what the theme would be, but maybe it would be spaceships or pirates. I looked through a few baby magazines to get a few more ideas before I decided to pursue it.

  I headed downstairs and grabbed my purse when someone unlocked the front door and came inside.

  It must be Cayson.

  The fact he barged in here like he still lived here pissed me off. This wasn’t his home anymore. He said goodbye to that part of his life when he fucked some girl in a tent. “You really need to learn some boundaries.” I turned around.

  “What?” Slade stood there with his sleeves of tattoos and looked confused. “You gave me a key for a reason, right?”

  I sighed in relief when I realized it was him. “For when you lived here. You don’t anymore.” I extended my hand so he could hand over the key.

  “Hey, I should have one just in case.”

  “In case of what?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. You might need me for something.”

  When he said that I was reminded of the fact there was no other man in my life. Cayson betrayed me, and now I was in this mansion all by myself. “What are you doing here, Slade?”

  “Just checking on you. Do you need anything?”

  “Why didn’t you just call? You didn’t need to drive all the way out here.”

  “I don’t mind. So, you need anything?”

  I guess it would be nice to have him carry all the paint and equipment from the store. Sometimes I forgot I couldn’t do certain things because of my pregnancy. I didn’t want to strain myself when I didn’t have to. “Actually, yes.”

  “Great. What is it?”

  “I’m decorating the baby’s room and I need to pick up paint and supplies. Want to come with me and carry everything?” That worked out perfectly. Slade wasn’t a construction worker but he was knowledgeable enough.