“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe when you tell your family that I’m back in your life.” Her words were covered in resentment. But I wasn’t having it. She’d put my family and me through too much, and my memory was too long to allow her to be the resentful one.
My family still didn’t know I was seeing her again. I was worried that if Trupti came near my mom, it might give her a heart attack. My friends helped me deal with my anger, but Mom nursed me through my depression, my sadness, my sullen outlook on life in general. And I know it weighed on her. She spent months reassuring me that love was still possible, that I would find my match one day. If she knew I’d gone back to Trup, it would break her heart. I couldn’t do that to Mom until I knew we were serious, that Trupti and I were both in this for the long haul. And in times like this, I wasn’t confident my mom would ever know.
Or if I was honest, that I wanted her to know.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes, letting Trupti know I wasn’t playing into her trap. “Walk before you run, Trup.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“None of this is real until you can brave my friends. That’s what I mean.”
“Your family means more to me than your friends, Dev.”
“Then it should be easy, shouldn’t it? If they don’t mean as much, you don’t have as much riding on it. C’mon, it’s just four days.”
“Four days with no escape and nothing but hanging out with your friends. I can’t exactly leave the resort, now can I?”
“Why not? We’ll have my car. You can go wherever the hell you want.”
“That’s not the point, and you know it. I’m a terrible skier. You and I both know I’ll end up waiting in the lodge most of the time anyway.”
“Allison doesn’t ski either. You can hang with her.”
“Lovely.”
“Allison is nice.”
“Allison hates me. How do you expect me to ‘brave your friends’ if you’re in denial about how they actually feel about me? About us?”
I sat up, placing a hand on her hip. She was wearing my favorite Yeezus T-shirt. “Rip off the band-aid, Trup. Come on… I want you there, isn’t that enough?”
Trupti rolled to her back and stared up at the ceiling, placing her hand on her belly. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Ugh, stop being such a goddamn drama queen.” I climbed out of bed and walked to my bathroom, pressing my hand into the doorframe. “So, who am I gonna kiss at midnight, huh?”
She sat up and glared at me. “Seriously, that’s what you’re worried about?”
“Well, I mean…yeah, kinda. I want you there. Why is that so hard for you to get?”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she swung her legs over and stepped onto the floor. Even when she was being rude, she was ridiculously hot. Her wavy black hair spilled down her shoulders and her bare, toned legs called to me from across the room.
I always was a leg man.
“Grow up, Dev.”
I crossed the room and took her hands in mine. “We were supposed to spend New Year’s together. Of course I want to kiss you at midnight. This was supposed to be the start of a new year—our year, remember? That was why you agreed to come with me in the first place.”
She looked away, gritting her teeth. “Things change.”
“Yeah, I guess they do.” I turned my back to her, no longer wanting to spare her feelings. I was tired of walking on eggshells with Trupti and tired of giving my friends endless excuses on her behalf. I walked to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me before running the shower. As steam filled the room, I inhaled deeply, attempting a calming breath.
It didn’t work.
I wasn’t sure how much longer I could be patient with her. As much as I cared about Trupti, this was getting old. And I couldn’t ignore the harsh reality that was right in front of my eyes.
We were at an impasse. One I wasn’t sure we would ever get past.
She wanted my family to know, and I wasn’t ready for that—not until she made an honest effort with my friends. And she clearly had no intention of letting them in.
So where the hell do we go from here?
The scalding hot water of the shower soothed my nerves as I let it pour down around me. I was going to go to Brighton Resort to ski, drink, and ring in the new year with my best friends. And I was going alone.
So be it.
An hour later, both of us eager to get the hell out of my condo, Trupti and I parted ways. No kisses or hugs. No contact at all, in fact. And that was fine with me. I was too pissed to fake pleasantries.
“Text me later,” she said, climbing into her car, not even looking back as I stood with my hand gripping the button on my trunk.
Whatever.
After putting my luggage in the car, I drove out of my parking garage into the street, realizing I hadn’t even looked out my window before leaving on this trip. It was snowing. Hard. But I didn’t care. I needed to get to the resort and blow off some steam. More snow just meant there’d be more on Mount Rainier for all of us to enjoy.
On a good day, the drive from Seattle would take me about an hour and a half. But after driving for two hours, I’d barely just gotten out of the city. I called Peter.
“Yo, how much snow are we supposed to get?”
“Nothing major, but I guess the storm could be turning. Where are you?”
“I just got out of the city a few minutes ago. The farther I go, the heavier this shit is.”
“Maren just looked it up. She said it’s supposed to calm down within the hour. I guess you just left a little too early.”
“Lucky me,” I sneered. “Oh well, I had to get outta there anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t really feel like talking about it.”
“You said I, not we.”
Damn it. Peter was too smart for my own good.
“You’re a quick one, McTavish. You got me; I’m flying solo. Again.”
“Sorry, man. I swear we weren’t going to give her a hard time.”
“Oh I know. She’s gonna have to shit or get off the pot, because she’s pissing me off, and my patience is getting thin. Really thin.”
“I hear you. Listen, don’t let it ruin the trip, okay? We’re gonna have a great time. Maren’s taking forever to pack, but then we’ll be on our way after we drop off the cat.”
“You’re boarding Big Tuna?” Peter’s cat was old, fluffy, and sweet as hell. I wasn’t a cat person, but I loved Big Tuna.
“Nah, just taking him to my folks. He hates being alone, and they’ll spoil him rotten.”
“Sounds like your parents.” Heavy snowflakes came down fast and furious against the windshield and I grimaced, gripping the wheel. “Okay, man, I’d better watch the road. It’s coming down real heavy.”
“Oh wait. Hold on. Maren wants to talk to you real quick.”
Oh Lord, if Maren had something to say, that could only mean one thing.
Lyra was coming on our ski trip.
Lyra, Maren’s best friend and my arch nemesis—we drove each other crazy and could barely handle being in the same room without bickering. If Trupti was coming, I wouldn’t give Lyra a second thought. We’d be in our own little bubble, doing our thing. But now… Now I had to deal with one of my least favorite people on Earth. For four freaking days.
“So…” Maren began, I could picture her smiling on the other end of the line.
“What?” I was already irritated.
“Lyra’s taking the shuttle and is almost to the resort. She said she’s about fifteen minutes away.”
“And?”
“And so, it’ll probably just be the two of you in the suite before the rest of us get there.”
“What about Scott and Allison?”
“They’re getting in later tonight. Scott had to work.”
I huffed into the phone. “What the fuck, Mare? Why didn’t you guys give me a heads-up? I would’ve waited, stayed home awhile. Shit, I wo
uld’ve gone to a coffee shop for three hours…or five.”
“C’mon, Dev.” Maren sighed into the phone, but I shook my head, feeling defiant. First Trupti and now this. I had zero patience left.
“What? I’d do just about anything to avoid being stuck with her. You know this.” And she did. Maren knew almost better than anyone just how badly Lyra and I got under one another’s skin. The feeling of disdain was totally and completely mutual. Lyra despised me just as much, if not more, than I did her.
Maren’s tone softened. “It’ll just be a few hours. We’ll get there as soon as we can. Besides, you two can tolerate one another for a little while, can’t you?”
“Highly doubtful.”
“Dev!”
“Fine. I can handle the Mistress of Evil for a few hours, I guess. Pretty sure I packed my earbuds… Maybe I’ll just tune her out until you arrive.”
“That’s the spirit,” she deadpanned, and a chuckle escaped my mouth. I loved irritating Maren. She was such a sweetheart, but if you crossed her too far, look out! She was cute when she was mad, though, and so I loved to poke and prod and get her to that breaking point. And even at her worst, she was nothing compared to the headstrong piece of work that was her best friend.
“I gotta go, Mare. All this talk of Lyra is really upsetting, and the last thing I need is to get into an accident due to emotional distress,” I teased, a wicked grin on my face as I watched my windshield wipers flip back and forth, squeaking softly against the glass as the large snowflakes continued to land in heaps on the glass.
“You’re such an ass, but we love you. Be safe, and we’ll see you soon.”
I gripped the wheel and exhaled, mentally preparing for Lyra Castillo, utter pain in my ass.
Chapter 2
LYRA
“The roads look pretty rough, folks. It’s going to be a bit longer than the itinerary suggests. Please be patient and know that we’ll get you there as quickly and as safely as we can.”
People around me groaned and grumbled, but I smiled down at my book, knowing I had more time to escape into the story I was currently obsessed with. I’d read every word Jane Austen had ever uttered, but every time I reached the end of a story, she left me craving more. And so I was rereading my favorite book of all time, Pride & Prejudice. Again. And pretending I was a member of the Bennet family, losing myself in every page, in every word.
My mother had two names for me…soñadora was the first…and the one I heard most often. I was a dreamer, a fantasy chaser, the one who’d written her happily ever after back in chapter 3. But real life never seemed to measure up to the fictional characters I’d read about, and so my actual happily ever after seemed unattainable. Rather than pout about it, I’d followed my true passion—books.
Happily reading while the others on the Brighton Resort shuttle grumbled and complained, my phone buzzed from my purse at my feet. I smiled when I saw my best friend, Maren’s name on the screen, but scowled when I read the content of her message.
-Don’t kill me, but Dev will be getting there soon after you….and Peter and I are running late. His cat puked right before it was time to go. Took forever to clean it up.
-Ugh. You have to stop sneaking him people food!
-I know. Peter already gave me a lecture.
-But Dev, seriously? Is he bringing his girlfriend at least? I haven’t met her yet.
-Neither have I, but no, she can’t make it.
-Can’t or won’t?
-You decide.
I needed a smirking emoji. Badly.
-Just get here quickly, okay? I’m not feeling all warm and fuzzy toward Dev lately.
-When have you ever?
-LOL good point, I guess.
-But, yes, we’ll get there as soon as we can.
I glanced out the window of the shuttle bus, barely able to see the trees as we drove by. The snow was coming down hard and the air was thick, as if the window was covered with a sheet of vellum paper. But it wasn’t. It was snow. Just snow.
For a moment, I panicked, imagining Maren and Peter getting stuck in the snow, unable to make the trip, leaving me alone with Dev for days.
We’d kill each other.
Lord, don’t make me take a life this weekend. It’d be a shitty way to start the new year.
Dev was one of Peter’s best friends and, since Maren and I were so tight, we’d been forced together more times than I could count. He was gorgeous, yes. But I’d never met another soul who could get under my skin as quickly as Dev Modi. He was a pill. And he loved to push every button I had, and he did it with pride. If being a douchebag was an Olympic sport, Dev would win the gold. Every. Single. Time. And I proudly told him as much.
Now before you start feeling sorry for the guy, I was under no misapprehension that Dev thought highly of me. Oh no. His opinion of me was just as low. He called me a pain in the ass and a stubborn piece of work every opportunity he was given. And he had a lot of opportunities. He and my mother had that in common.
My mother called me a dreamer, yes, but she also called me a chica obstinada or stubborn girl. She loved to regale family members of stories of my willful, headstrong childhood. How when I was three years old, I became obsessed with The Wizard of Oz and demanded that everyone in the family refer to me as Dorothy. I imagined myself as Dorothy Gale and expected everyone to refer to me as my new favorite character. My father happily called me by my new moniker. Frank L. Baum was one of his favorite authors, and he took it as an opportunity to introduce me to the classic books. But my mother? She refused. Totally refused. Instead, she would flick her wrist, roll her eyes, and call me chica obstinada. I was three.
Gee, I wonder where I get it.
I could only hope that my time alone with Dev would be limited and that Maren and Peter would arrive just in time to break up whatever argument we’d gotten ourselves into so we could retreat to separate corners.
“I can’t remember the last time it snowed like this,” the woman next to me said to herself. I wondered if she was expecting me to respond. Reluctantly, I glanced up from my book, making eye contact and raising both eyebrows, pressing my lips together.
“How about you?” she asked with a hesitant smile. I closed my book and nodded.
“It’s been a while,” I said in agreement. She looked slightly familiar, but I couldn’t place her. Maybe she’d been to Maren’s shop, The Lit Wick. When I worked for Maren, I interacted with hundreds of faces, so it wasn’t unheard of for me to find people familiar with absolutely no reason to do so.
“I hope my husband can make it to the resort,” she said, looking slightly anxious as she tucked her blond hair behind her ear. She was petite, her features delicate. I wanted to put her in my pocket, she was so cute.
“Why isn’t he with you?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Work. We’re meeting there.” She shifted in her seat, like she didn’t want to talk about it.
“Oh,” I said, unsure of what to say next. I didn’t even know this person’s name; I wasn’t about to be her therapist.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to get weird. I, uh…I don’t talk about what he does very often, but he’s on tour.”
“A musician?” I asked, intrigued.
She nodded. “Leo Nash.”
“Seriously?” I asked, bewildered. “Sorry, I mean… I’m going to try to play it cool, but I know I’ll fail miserably. I’ve been a Nash fan for-ev-er.”
She laughed, extending her hand. “Sam.”
“Lyra. I thought you looked familiar. I’ve probably seen you in a few gossip rags.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” she said with a laugh. “And it’s nice to meet you too. Thanks for the distraction. I’m not a big fan of snow.”
“Me neither. I mean, I love to ski but hate driving in it.”
“Same.”
“So, he’s on tour, huh?”
“Yeah, he’s meeting me for New Year’s but then has to get back to it.”
“Why aren�
��t you with him?”
“Good question. I just had a lot to do back at home this time around. Knowing me, though, I’ll end up on a plane in a few weeks.” She laughed.
If I was married to Leo Nash, you couldn’t keep me away. That man is unbelievably sexy.
“What about you? Are you meeting someone at the resort?”
“A bunch of us, yeah. We’re gonna ring in the new year. Skiing, cocktails, all that good stuff. We’re renting one of the suites.”
“So are we!” Sam said with a wide grin. “I bet we’ll probably run into each other.”
I smiled. “I hope so.”
A half hour later, we finally rolled into the front entrance of Brighton Resort, and the entire bus erupted in applause for our driver, who’d gotten us there safely without any hiccups. Once I saw the large, modern building, my pulse slowed knowing that I’d soon be resting comfortably, book in hand, in our suite.
Sam and I had exchanged cell numbers in case we wanted to meet at the bar for a drink later in the afternoon. I was relieved to have an escape hatch from Dev in the event that Maren, Peter, as well as Allison and Scott were all later than planned. Leo wasn’t arriving until morning, so she welcomed the company too.
After checking in at the front desk, I took the elevator up to the top floor of the resort and smelled the fresh scent of pine as I pulled my suitcase behind me. I reached the Bingley Suite, and as I entered the large space and turned on the lights, I was taken by the rustic charm of the expansive suite that resembled a log cabin in the woods. Not only did it have a huge kitchen, two fireplaces, and four bedrooms, there was a hot tub on our private deck and a cozy living area with couches and armchairs.
I decided to let the couples enjoy the two bedrooms with king-sized beds and placed my luggage in the room closest to the living area. It had a queen bed, two nightstands, and a large bureau. Shedding my coat, scarf, and hat, I tossed them onto the bed and grabbed my book, plopping down on one of the inviting armchairs, settling back in with Mr. Darcy.
I could definitely get used to this place.
Bang.
Stuck With Me: A With Me in Seattle Universe Novel Page 2