“What’d you do to her to make her run like that? Do her up the butt?”
Harry wrinkled his nose at Jax’s words. “No, I wouldn’t do that the first time we had sex.”
Jax shrugged and pushed past him, making a beeline for the kitchen. “This coffee yours?” Jax hollered.
Harry rolled his eyes, then shut and locked the door. “Take it. I’ll brew another cup.”
“Thanks.” Jax slurped from behind him as he walked into his room and shut the door.
Harry shook his head and went to make another cup of coffee, reviewing the night before and this morning in his mind. Nothing stuck out as being weird, so he wasn’t sure if he was reading too much into how Emily acted.
Jax emerged from his room as Harry finished doctoring his coffee. “Want to fill me in on what went down last night?”
Harry turned to lean against the counter and sipped the hot brew before answering. “Last night went well. Though, it was a little weird at points. I don’t even know what this morning was.”
“How was it weird?”
Harry shrugged. “I had to take the initiative on everything, you know. She didn’t do anything unless I asked or directed her to. It was a little weird.”
“Maybe she’s inexperienced?”
“I don’t know…” Harry scratched his chin, which had light stubble on it. “It didn’t strike me as being that, honestly. Wouldn’t she be more…I don’t know, shy? I didn’t get that vibe. She didn’t cover her body or anything. She just…kinda laid there.”
Jax raised a brow. “She just laid there? And what? Thought of England?”
Harry snorted but nodded anyways. He hadn’t realized it before, but Emily hadn’t really done much of anything now that he thought about it. She didn’t touch him and she didn’t really participate. “That’s weird, isn’t it?”
Jax shrugged. “I mean, maybe a little? I’d chalk it up to nerves and give it another go. Maybe it’ll be different.”
“Hmmm…” was Harry’s only response as he sipped his coffee.
“See you at work?” Jax asked as he rinsed his cup and placed it in the sink.
Harry nodded and was left alone in the house. He wanted to stand there analyzing every nuance of his encounter with Emily, but he knew he didn’t have the time. It’d have to go on the back-burner for now.
Chapter Sixteen
Harry
If he thought things with Emily would improve, Harry was sadly mistaken. They didn’t. If anything, he kept finding things about her that annoyed him or turned him off. Not only was she judgmental of her pupils, but of most people she came across. She’d taken to pointing out various people when they went out and talking ad nauseam about their outfits, their appearance in general, or anything they did or said that she didn’t agree with.
If she was complimenting them, he wouldn’t have minded. But her comments were often rude and uncalled for. It was to the point that he wasn’t sure if he should call her out—or what he should do about it.
“I can’t believe she’s wearing that. It looks like a muumuu.”
“Her makeup is so terribly done. We can all tell her lines are crooked!”
“Someone needs to give her a mirror and a measuring tape because that outfit is way too tight on her.”
“I can’t believe those two are together. Can we say out of his league?”
On top of that, the sex hadn’t improved. She still didn’t take initiative when they were together; he had initiated the entirety of their sex life thus far. He found the lackluster sex coupled with her judgmental comments to be a huge turn-off. He’d actually begged off seeing her a few times because he needed to figure out what it was he wanted to do.
Was she fun to hang around? Yes.
But just because she was fun didn’t mean everything else would work.
He didn’t necessarily want to call it quits, but he couldn’t see it going any further. Even Jax commented on her once when she stopped by the warehouse to bring him lunch. She made a comment about Trinity that Jax overheard and he was quick to shut Emily down, telling her it was inappropriate to make comments about someone she didn’t know. Jax didn’t notice much that didn’t deal with him directly or with Karlie. So, for him to take notice of Emily’s attitude and say something to Harry made Harry take note. It also meant that Jax was better able to speak his mind than Harry was, apparently.
In addition to these doubts about Emily, Harry found himself thinking about Bailey more and more. He realized that in his endeavor to move on, no one matched her. Every girl he now saw was compared to her in his mind. And none of them held up. He needed to talk to her to find out what was really happening with them. Maybe she needed a little push and he could give it to her.
That brought him to now, only a little while before a planned date with Emily. Harry was nervous, more nervous than he was that first night with her because he was planning to end their 'whatever it was that they were doing.' He couldn’t see himself with her anymore and he was more confused than ever about his feelings for Bailey. Staying with Emily while he tried to figure it out just wouldn’t be fair to her.
Though he was worried his feelings would show through, dinner with Emily was pleasant. She made few comments about people and they concentrated on discussing how their day went. Harry had fun chatting with her face to face after dodging her for a few days. But he found himself holding back and he constantly tried to figure out how to break up with her.
When Emily declined a second glass of wine with dinner, he thought about how Bailey would have told the waiter to leave the bottle and joked about getting him drunk to have her way with him. When she said no to dessert, he remembered how he and Bailey would share dessert any time they went to dinner together.
He tried to push thoughts of Bailey from his mind, but she kept creeping back in. He’d notice something in the restaurant that she’d find funny and he’d immediately want to tell her, but not Emily since he didn’t know if she had the same sense of humor.
After paying the bill, they left the restaurant and decided to walk through downtown. The first few minutes were silent until Emily asked, “You haven’t told me about any of your upcoming shows. Any good ones?”
Harry shrugged and glanced at her before looking down the mostly empty sidewalk. “We have a lot of repeat venues coming up. That means a lot of the same people that always enjoy our stuff, so that’ll be nice.”
Emily nodded. “Anything soon?”
She was most likely angling for an invite and he wasn’t sure he could talk his way out of this, so he decided to be vague. “I need to check. I’ve had a lot of requests recently and a few cancellations, so I can’t say for sure.”
Emily’s hopeful face fell at his words. “Oh, of course. Just let me know.”
They lapsed back into silence and Harry searched his mind for something they could talk about that wouldn’t make this any more awkward. He’d already asked her about what she did while they were eating, so he couldn’t ask about that.
He shot a glance her way, trying to determine if she was as uncomfortable as he was. From what he could tell, she looked fine and not worried in the least. He carefully slid his phone from his pocket to check the time. It was just late enough he could claim an early day.
He cleared his throat. “Want to head back to your car? I’ve got an early day tomorrow and quite a bit still to do tonight.”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” She looked perplexed but went along with his suggestion without a fuss.
They turned back toward the restaurant. Since they were now leaving, Harry picked up his pace and Emily was forced to walk faster to keep up. He noticed after a few moments that she was struggling to keep up, so he slowed down again. Now that he was almost to the end of the date, though, he was ready to be home so he could analyze what was going on in his head.
“My car is just over there.” Emily gestured to a small compact a few spots over from where they were on the sidewalk. Harry nodded. “Aweso
me. I guess I’ll leave you here then.”
Emily nodded as well and they both stood there awkwardly. What should he do? Kiss her? Hug her? He decided to go for a cheek kiss and leaned down. Unfortunately, she seemed to think he was going for a regular kiss and turned her head so their lips brushed. Harry abruptly stood, his face heating. She smiled shyly at him, her cheeks bright red. “I’ll talk to you later?” she asked as she backed away.
He nodded and she turned to walk to her car, looking back at him as she clicked her remote to unlock it. Once she was inside her car, Harry turned and walked to his own car. His mind raced from that accidental kiss. He couldn’t get it out of his mind and it wasn’t because it was mind blowing or any of that sappy shit. It was because he felt absolutely nothing when it happened. He didn’t have an urge to kiss her again. He didn’t have an urge to see her body again. Whatever initial attraction was there seemed to have fizzled on his end.
He also realized as he got ready to leave that he hadn’t actually ended things with Emily. He left it ambiguous and open-ended. He felt a small frisson of worry about it but decided it wouldn’t make that much of a difference.
Was this how it would always be if he and Bailey didn’t end up together? Would he constantly think about her and compare any woman he met to her? If so, he wasn’t sure that’s what he wanted. It was imperative that he talk to Bailey. One way or the other, they were going to hash out this relationship of theirs and either try dating or go their separate ways. He couldn’t envision any other outcome.
Chapter Seventeen
Bailey
Bailey blinked as she came to. She tried to figure out what it was that woke her up. It was a Saturday, which meant she was left to her own devices and didn’t have to worry about staying sober or keeping up appearances.
A pounding on her door drew her attention and she realized that must have been what woke her. Each thud on the door sent a searing pain through her head. How long had she been drinking? How long had she been out? Who was at her door?
“Bailey, come on! I know you’re in there! Open up!” Karlie called through the flimsy wood.
She groaned at the sound of Karlie’s voice. She’d have to act like she was somewhat okay so her friend didn’t catch onto what Bailey spent her evenings and weekends doing.
“Bailey! I swear to God, if you don’t open this door, I will.”
Bailey couldn’t bring herself to move from the couch. It was comfortable and she didn’t want to move. It cradled her aching body. And boy did her body ache. She hurt everywhere, not just her head. Her head started to droop as sleep tried to claim her once more.
Clinking sounded from the door and she slowly turned her head. Karlie stepped inside the apartment and stopped, her mouth dropping open as she looked around the space.
Bailey looked around also and winced, which made her head hurt worse. She hadn’t realized her apartment looked like it did. There were empty wine bottles everywhere: her coffee table, the floor by the couch, and it looked like a few had rolled to the door.
“Bailey, Jesus, what happened?”
She tried to talk, but her mouth was so dry and her tongue felt three times its normal size.
Karlie dropped her purse and the bag of takeout food she had in her hand to the floor before picking her way through the debris that littered Bailey’s tiny living room. Bailey didn’t bother moving. She heard clinking and the sound of a faucet. A few moments later, Karlie’s legs appeared in her vision.
She heard the sound of the glass being placed down on a table before she felt Karlie’s hands on her forearms. “Come on, work with me here. You need to sit up.”
Bailey flailed as she brought herself into sitting position. The room spun and her stomach rolled as she came upright. She blew a long breath out as she tried to control her body. She didn’t want to upchuck on her best friend.
After a few moments, it passed and Karlie pressed a cold glass into her hands. “Drink.”
Though her hand shook, Bailey held onto the glass and brought it to her dry lips. She struggled at first to swallow the water, but eventually, her mouth moistened and she quickly gulped it down.
“More,” she rasped, holding the glass out to Karlie.
She took it and regarded her. “Why don’t you shower first?”
Bailey rolled her eyes. “I don’t need to shower. I haven’t done anything.”
Karlie snorted, placing the empty glass on the table. “Haven’t done anything my ass. You smell like a brewery. Get your ass in the shower, or so help me God…”
“Pfft…” Bailey laid her head back. She was tired again. She just wanted to go to sleep and wake up to do it all again.
A stinging sensation brought Bailey back to full consciousness. “Hey!” She cupped her burning cheek. “What the fuck?”
Karlie cocked a brow. “You stink. Seriously. Get up and go shower.”
Karlie grasped Bailey on her upper arm and pulled. If Bailey were sober, stopping Karlie would have been easy. Drunk and hungover? She stood no chance and soon found herself standing on wobbly legs. With a light push, Bailey staggered through her bedroom and into the bathroom. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Karlie leaning against the door jamb with her arms crossed.
“I can shower by myself,” Bailey said petulantly.
“I’m aware. But I wouldn’t put it past you to turn the water on and not bother getting in. So strip.” Karlie pursed her lips and cocked a brow, waiting for Bailey to get a move on.
“Seriously?” Bailey asked in disbelief.
“Don’t act so surprised. How often did we do this in college?” That was in college though, when they were both drunk and much, much younger.
Bailey turned back to the shower and turned the water on. As she stripped, she grumbled the entire time about busybody friends and being forced to do things she didn’t want to do. Once naked, she quickly stepped into the overly warm shower.
“I expect you to squeak when you’re done,” Karlie said before the bathroom door closed and Bailey was alone again.
She sagged against the cold tile, letting the hot water cascade over her. She was so embarrassed now that she was more awake and had a chance to process Karlie being in her apartment to discovering her after one of her benders. She’d done so well hiding everything from people too. She made sure she didn’t drink too much during the week. She bought her alcohol the next town over at the big box store because she was less likely to be recognized there. She always cleaned up at the end of the weekend, taking her glass bottles to the recycling center before work on Monday.
She must have overdone it the night before and she was paying the consequences with not only a headache but her best friend waiting for her with food and questions.
She roused herself and went through the motions of cleaning herself, finding that she did, in fact, feel better once she was clean. She turned the water off and ran her fingers through her hair, wincing as they caught in some tangles.
She vigorously rubbed her body with her towel before wrapping it around herself and stepping up to her mirror. She swiped her hand over the glass to wipe the condensation away and winced at her reflection. Though it was still distorted, she could tell her face was puffy from overconsumption of alcohol and her skin looked sallow, not at all like it normally did.
She grabbed her comb and refused to look at herself as she went about her normal bathroom routine, emerging fifteen minutes later from her room dressed and with fully combed hair, feeling ten times better.
“Wow, look at you. You actually look normal,” Karlie teased.
Bailey shrugged as she snagged the water glass from her coffee table and walked to her sink to refill it, gulping the water down before filling it again.
“Thirsty?” Karlie asked.
Bailey looked at her and saw that she’d not only cleared off her table to put the food she’d brought out, she’d also gathered all the wine bottles that littered her apartment into a bin to be removed later.
/> “Thanks for cleaning up,” she muttered, looking at the ground as her face heated. She couldn’t believe her best friend had done that.
“Hey, don’t be embarrassed. You pulled me from my funk with Jax, so I think I can clean up after a bender. Even if I don’t understand why you went on it. Come on, sit, eat.”
Bailey glanced up and saw that Karlie had gotten her favorite Chinese. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten in over twenty-four hours. She shuffled to the table and dropped into a chair. “Thank you for…everything.”
Karlie shrugged as she passed Bailey a container of steamed rice. “You don’t need to thank me. You’d do the same for me. We’re best friends. What friend would I be if I didn’t help you out from time to time?”
Bailey nodded but still felt bad. They sat in silence as they each dished their food out and started eating. After several minutes of silence, Karlie cleared her throat, drawing Bailey’s attention to her. “So…want to fill me in on what’s bothering you?”
Bailey’s stomach rolled at Karlie’s question. She really didn’t want to tell her but had a feeling Karlie wouldn’t let this go. If she considered what she would do in Karlie’s shoes, she knew she wouldn’t let up until everything was out in the open.
She cleared her throat. “Ummm…well…God, this is so embarrassing.”
Bailey dropped her fork and placed her head in her hands. Having to say it all out loud really brought everything into focus for Bailey. What was she thinking letting alcohol 'solve' her problems?
“It can’t be that bad.” She felt Karlie’s hand on her arm, making her look up. Karlie looked worried and it was for that reason alone Bailey knew she had to push past her own embarrassment.
She blew a raspberry. “Well, I’m not sure how to put this, so I’m just going to say it. I decided that alcohol was the answer for what I was feeling.”
“And what were you feeling?” Karlie prodded.
Bailey took a few moments before answering. “I’m in love with Harry.”
Harry (Southern Sands Book 2) Page 11