Missing You, Missing Me (You and Me Series Book 1)

by Tylor Paige

  “Well, I’m not used to being center stage. There’s not much for me to say. Really happy for you guys. This wedding should have happened like eight years ago, but better late than never! We always knew in the end you guys would find your way back to each other. Can we get a cheer for these two?” He shouted and as the guests erupted into applause and various shouts as he gave the mic to Derek.

  “Alright, looks like they left me to do the cheesy, emotional speech. Cleo, we’ve been friends since the fifth grade. At first we thought you were going to be a drag, but our moms insisted we ask you to play. You were starting to depress everyone playing in the yard by yourself all the time,” he smirked. “None of us thought that it would turn into this amazing friendship. We’ve been through everything together. I’m not gonna get into the nitty gritty details, that will get us all in trouble. We’ve been together since the beginning and we’ll be there ‘til the end.” The crowd erupted in claps and cheers.

  “And Ethan. Welcome to the family, man.” He finished his speech and we leapt off the stage to let the hired band get back to playing. I wiped the sweat off my brow and saw Cleo rushing over to us. With huge grins on our faces we picked her up and held her sideways. Mark held her head, Derek had her feet, and I held up her midsection. She squealed with surprise as we smiled for the cameras. We each took a turn giving her a hug and kiss. She thanked us individually. I was last in line. By the time she reached me tears were sliding down her face.

  “That was the perfect song,” she whispered into my ear when we embraced. I kissed the top of her head. The band they hired resumed playing.

  “Can I have this dance?” I asked. She grinned and took a step back to let me put my hand on her waist. We moved to the dance floor and moved in slow circles. We laughed at some of the guests. I guess some were shocked that we were the ones to stand with her at the ceremony.

  “I was so nervous. There were so many people! I was worried that I would trip or that Duchess was going to burst through the door or something ridiculous!” She exclaimed. I scowled.

  “This is a happy day. Don’t think about her. Or him, for that matter,” I murmured low. Her face fell slightly, knowing who I was referring to. I pulled her closer to hug her as we swayed.

  “Do you think people are judging me?” She asked me, her voice barely audible.

  “Screw ‘em if they are,” I said quickly and she scowled. I sighed, “If there are people like that, they aren’t here. Look around.” Her head turned side to side, gazing out at the two hundred plus guests, all smiling. She looked back to me.

  “All these people came today to see you get married to the love of your life. They are happy for you. It’s a happy day. No one else matters,” I assured her. I saw Ethan moving through the crowd towards us. I kissed her forehead and pulled away just as her husband made it to us.

  “Can I steal her away?” He asked. I let her go and bowed out.

  “Just remember what we said. We were here first,” I teased and left them on the dance floor.

  I grabbed another drink from the bar and cruised the floor. I decided I needed someone to share a bed with tonight. Three more drinks in and I was there. I had been dancing with a hot brunette named Allie. She came with her roommate Jamie, one of Ethan’s friends.

  For a wedding she was dressed rather slutty. It was black and backless. The front dipped low. It did pass her knees though, so maybe that was her justification for wearing it. I didn’t care, as long as she let me take it off her.

  We paused in our dancing to get another drink. I glanced at my watch. It was after midnight. The party was still in full swing, the guests hadn’t thinned out at all. Cleo wouldn’t miss me, I bet.

  “So, Allie, you wanna get out of here?” I asked, pushing her hair back behind her ear. She raised an eyebrow suggestively and nodded.

  “I’ll grab a ride,” she said. I told her I had to say goodnight to the happy couple. I kissed Cleo one more time and shook Ethan’s hand, congratulating him again, hurrying out before I lost any of my buzz.

  Allie had a car waiting to take us back to her place. As soon as the car took off she pounced on me. I had to push her away so I could unbutton my shirt. She was intent on getting me naked as soon as she could. Thankfully the ride was short.

  Stumbling up to her building, we took the elevator up to her floor. Her hands were down my pants tugging at me. I closed my eyes and let out a groan. Oh, I missed this. I haven’t had sex in months.

  As soon as we were in her apartment, I picked her up and she directed me to her bedroom where I promptly banged her brains out.

  Acknowledgments

  This book started with a scene from a dream. (Cheesy I know) A young man and young woman were in a parking lot at night fighting over the fact that he was helping her plan a birthday party for their kids, even though he couldn’t even claim them as his own. He kept asking where the supposedly great dad was, but she couldn’t give him a good answer.

  I don’t remember how the rest of this book came to be, but that dream always stayed with me and still to this day is one of my favorite scenes in the book because it started it all.

  Now to get a little more real, I do have some people to thank. Steph Hightree, without you I wouldn’t have found my editor. Kristin Downer, my editor, you were the first one to read my book to completion and stuck with it despite the lack of commas or the ones placed in, weird, places, where they, shouldn’t be. My Beta readers, when I asked, you said yes before I could finish my sentence. I needed that support. Mae, my critique partner, you read some of my most intimate scenes first and helped me make sure they were just right. FrinaArt for the perfect cover, happened upon by pure chance. Caroline Andrus for making my book look pretty, and last but not least, Celina Saucedo, for taking a chance on me and my book by agreeing to narrate it. You will give Cleo a voice, and you are going to rock it.

  About the Author

  With her dark eyeliner, My Chemical Romance tattoo, and the Twilight series still proudly displayed on her bookshelf, Tylor Paige is punk rock kid. A sucker for a good love triangle and second chances, she knew the wonderful world of romance writing was where she was meant to be.

  When she’s not writing, Tylor enjoys watching cult films, procrastinating on twitter, and searching for the next book to add to her ever growing collection. She writes for the readers who love, obsess, and collect, like her. Her ultimate dream is for people to write fanfiction about her stories and characters. Perhaps she’ll inspire someone to write their own book boyfriend.

  Find me on:

  Tylorpaigebooks.com

  Twitter: @TylorPaige

  Facebook: Author Tylor Paige