Pieces Of You & Me

by Pamela Ann

  It wasn’t until we reached his place, with me sitting on the couch—still barefoot, mind you—when he finally looked at me… really looked at me like he used to.

  “Tell me, how the fuck did you end up in my best friend’s bed?”

  Okay, he was still fuming, I understood that. I mean, if I had found Liam or him in Josie’s bed, I would flip the switch, too. There was something about his tone, though, that made me somehow think that he was jealous of finding me in Jet’s bed.

  “We talked; that’s all.”

  I looked away, blushing. The bad ideas that my thoughts conjured up to get a reaction from him were truly awful, but I admitted, I liked getting his undivided attention. Even if he was addressing me with hate-filled eyes, I still had gotten his attention.

  Was I becoming pathetic? Double check.

  “You’re lying. You’re turning pink.” He crouched down, cupping my chin with his hand, maneuvering it to meet his turbulent eyes. “Tell me the truth. Did you fuck him last night?”

  Why did it matter? I was sure he and Jet had shared women. From what I’d heard, that was a common occurrence. Why was I any different?

  “And if I tell you I did, what would you do?”

  “Don’t lie to me,” he gritted out. His face was so close, I could almost kiss him.

  Staring at his lips, I was almost tempted. “I didn’t. Happy?” I broke our contact, feeling dumbfounded from all these conflicting emotions that were going through me. Liam, then Grey, Liam again, and now, Grey was taking hold of my thoughts.

  I was, in short, going out of my mind.

  He didn’t respond, so I managed to stand on my feet, hoping to end this madness with him. I didn’t understand him… me… us… it was too much.

  “Olivia?” he called after me.

  I spun on my heels, meeting his gaze.

  “Thank you for not sleeping with him. You can do the rest, but not my best friend.”

  Ouch. It would have been better if he had slapped me. At least I could have felt the sting and reel from it.

  “I’ll make sure to try.” Without another word, I gave him a sour smile and walked out of there.

  I was grateful that I didn’t have to run into Mom or Brett on my way back to the main house. My stomach was churning, so for the rest of the afternoon, I stayed in bed, ignoring the rest of the world.

  I needed to de-stress and the only way I knew how, was to read a great novel, get lost in it and wish that life wasn’t so difficult.

  Greyson had turned my world upside down. The question was, would I keep letting him rule it?

  ***

  I avoided the party scene for two weeks. Since Josie and Gavin were progressing steadily, I didn’t feel the need to show my face in the party crowd. Besides, after that incident with Jet and Greyson, I made sure not to stir the pot between friends again.

  The two looked like they were on good terms. Jet had tried to speak to me at one point, but I assured him that everything was fine and he had nothing to worry about. As for Greyson, he sure was looking happy. The rumor mill was busy spewing news about his exploits.

  One that had really caught my attention was when he was chased down by a cop while racing in the canyons, but for some lucky reason, Grey managed to lose him. It had been one lucky strike if you ask me.

  He was still the same. He liked to provoke danger and he was managing quite well in that sector, while my quiet life was suiting me fine. The only light I had was talking to Liam on a daily basis. Other than that, everything about my life was becoming boring.

  Grey and I hadn’t managed to speak to each other after that day in his pool house; well, privately anyway. He was civil towards me when our parents were around, but if he could ignore me, he would.

  Well, of course, it was only a matter of time until someone broke the quiet stillness of my life.

  “Please say you’ll come? My parents won’t let me go unless I tell them you’re there, too,” Josie begged. We were in my bedroom when she’d announced that the gang was planning a weekend trip in Big Bear.

  “I’m not sure if I should…” I didn’t want to interfere, most especially since Grey and Jet were going to be there as well.

  Josie looked desperate. I was sure since things were going so well with Gavin that she wanted some alone time with him.

  “Olivia, come on, girl—you need to have fun. You’ve been hiding for—”

  I held up my hand, not willing to hear her spiel on my current situation. Guilt trip much? It worked in her favor. “Fine. Fine. Count me in.”

  “You’re the best.” She squeezed the living crap out of me, kissing my face with her heavily coated lip glossed lips.

  What were friends for anyway?

  “We share a room. Take it or leave it.” That was the only thing I was worried about. I didn’t want to share a room with a random person.

  “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

  There were only three more days until Big Bear weekend happened. Here was to hoping that everything would be smooth sailing.

  Chapter 24

  Liv

  “I’m riding with you and Gavin,” I informed my friend beforehand, just in case she was having other designs in her head.

  Everyone was rounding outside our house since the vacation cabin we were staying at this weekend was owned by the Edwards, so it made sense that they started off there.

  I was about to haul my things out of my bedroom when Josie gave me a sheepish look. “About that…” She paused.

  God, if she told me that she was shoving me to Jet or Greyson, I would backtrack in a heartbeat. “Go on?” I glared at her, waiting until she finished her sentence.

  “Gav and I are both riding with Grey…” She bit her lip, looking sorry. “I was going to tell you, but I didn’t want you to be angry with me.”

  I glared some more. “The guy hates me. How can you not see that?” What did she think would happen? That I could just hitch up a ride without Grey noticing me as one of his passengers? Was she crazy?! Fucking hell.

  “He doesn’t hate you. Hate is such a strong word to use,” she tried to settle things. “He’ll come around. He used to like you—a whole fucking lot.”

  The keyword was used. He was going to mess around with women all weekend long; could I hold myself and pretend that I hadn’t thought of him on a daily basis? Better yet, could I carry on a conversation without blushing because I had been dreaming illicit dreams about him?

  “I don’t know… He might just kick me out of the car.” He so could. It wasn’t hard to picture him booting me out of his vehicle with his temper.

  “Just go with the flow. Things will be good. ‘Kay?” She pulled me out of my bedroom before I had managed to nod from her words of wisdom.

  Her excitement was bouncing off the walls. It was sad that a tiny bit of this happy aura couldn’t be rubbed off on me. Inside, I was dreading this short, two-hour drive. If I could bite my nails, I so would, but I needed to look composed, and nail biting would give me away.

  Gavin greeted Josie and me as he grabbed my weekend bag away from my hand. While he and my friend caught up, I was busy keeping an eye out for Greyson.

  A black Tahoe was parked on the driveway and there were a few other black SUVs with people buzzing around, talking and chatting on their phones. Jet was nowhere to be found, but I was sure one of the black SUVs were his, I had seen him a month back driving around with one. The black Tahoe was shared between Grey and Brett when they went outdoors. I didn’t know about men with black cars, but it sure did suit them. Grey especially, mood swings and all.

  “Hop in, Liv.” Gavin directed me towards the wide-open Tahoe door before he told Josie to do the same. “I’m gonna go check on the guys. Be right back.” He half ran towards the back entrance leading towards Greyson’s place.

  We both stared after him before the woman sliding next to me voiced her thoughts out loud.

  “Are you going to snowboard? I think I got all my outfits read
y. What about you?” She sat in the middle while I tried to sit behind the driver’s seat, hoping he wouldn’t catch me here.

  I hadn’t planned on doing anything except catching up on my reading. I wanted to avoid Greyson as much as possible. I was here for Josie, nothing more.

  “I have enough books to last me all weekend.” Compared to her extracurricular activities, my weekend sounded boring. What had she expected me to do? Have body shots with drunk men? Although a particular memory sprung to mind, leading my wicked thoughts astray.

  She let out a long sigh as if I was a hopeless case. “I’m going to drag you out to do things with me. He’s ruling your life, Olivia. Live a little. Fuck.”

  I stilled. “Who’s ruling my life?”

  “Greyson.” She frowned, looking sad. “After him—after that visit from Liam—you’re not the same. If you’re so broken without him, wouldn’t it better if you won him back? I know you have this whole plan with Liam, but doesn’t right now matter? Look at yourself. You don’t look happy anymore.” She held my hand, giving me strength. “Think about it. He might just be what you need to live again.”

  Think of right now… as in Greyson. How the fuck did I manage to think of him without shriveling from his hate-filled glances?

  My thoughts halted when I saw the guys had started to stroll towards us, Jet included. Grey wore dark shades, geared in black from head to foot. Even from afar, my body was wired to respond to him.

  It was the most frustrating thing in the world.

  I was holding my breath as I watched him round the driver’s side, sending out thank you prayers for having tinted windows as he and the rest hopped on board. If I could stick my face on the window I would because I didn’t want to make any eye contact, especially with the driver.

  “You guys set?” I heard him ask and everyone chimed in their excitement.

  I was the only one dying here. It was only a weekend. I could easily survive it… that was until I accidently looked into the rearview mirror and my eyes clashed with his fiery golden ones. It was only a second before I broke away from his penetrating stare.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  He knew I was here, in his car, and I didn’t know what to think, what to do. The only thing I could always count on was him being busy with women once the party started. Hopefully, by then, he’d forget that I was part of this trip.

  Where was Edith or Tiffany? How come I hadn’t seen either one?

  ***

  The two-hour drive seemed like it was going to go forever due to, for whatever reason, the fact that he was having a silent battle with me. It was as if he was daring me to look into the rearview mirror, and each and every time I succumbed, he’d be there… waiting.

  This happened five times, and each time our eyes clashed, he would just stare until I broke contact. He was fucking with me, and it was working.

  I didn’t think my heart settled from being dislodged in my throat for that entire drive to that rustic cabin, which would accommodate all fifteen of us.

  “Where’s Jet?” I asked Gavin the second I had the chance when he was unloading the bags out of the trunk. Josie was right next to us, busily texting her parents, and Grey was inside the cabin, turning on the heat and making sure everything was working fine.

  He shrugged as he handed me my bag. “He’s coming afterwards. He went to go and get a couple of his cousins that are visiting from New York.”

  “Cool. Thanks.” There was nothing weird between Gavin and I, and thank goodness for that. I think he would be better off with Josie. Their personalities meshed with each other.

  Josie decided to hang around downstairs with Gavin as I hunted down for our bedroom together. I was told that all the rooms were available; all except the master bedroom. That room was reserved for Greyson.

  I had no idea where his bedroom was located in this massive log cabin. Since his was going to be huge and well equipped with all the bells and whistles, I had to follow my gut and scout for the simplest room, knowing it would be the total opposite of his. The room consisted of two full-sized beds, a shower and a decent size sitting area. It also overlooked the mountains covered with powdery snow, which glimmered like white crystals contrasting the pine trees.

  It’s so beautiful here, I thought as I released a melancholy sigh. Loneliness wasn’t a common occurrence, but as of late, I got a tinge of deep yearning for company from time to time. The only thing I could blame it on was relying so much on Liam during the summer season, and of course, that one-week stint I’d had with Greyson.

  It truly was heart-warming to see Josie happy with her newly blossoming relationship with Gavin, but I had to admit, I did miss my friend sometimes. I thought Gavin would treat her so much better than her ex-boyfriend. Who needed a double-timing, piece of shit scumbag anyway?

  From the sound of things, it looked like everyone was downstairs, catching up and unwinding. I wanted to join in on the fun, though I somehow felt left out. Apart from Josie, the rest were just school friends; there was nothing real there other than a bunch of people I studied with and partied with on occasion. Since everyone was probably drinking and lounging, I decided to take a nap. Maybe when I woke up later, I’d feel much better and would be able to stomach some alcohol in my system.

  I slept like a baby, and when it was time to wake up, at first I was startled at my foreign surroundings. It took a while to dawn on me that I was in the cabin; it was hard not to recall after I heard shrills of laughter coming from downstairs.

  Sighing, I decided to take a quick shower and join the rest of the gang. My reading could start tomorrow. Tonight, I planned to enjoy and take full advantage of getting drunk and partying until the break of dawn. That was why we were here after all.

  Dressed in cashmere leggings as well as a black, cable sweater paired with my black, flat boots, I headed for downstairs.

  Fifteen people in one place could get rowdy, however the moment I entered the living room, all eyes were on me.

  “Ah, you must be Olivia!” a tall, dark-haired man, roughly in his early twenties greeted me.

  The first thing I thought was, who the hell was he? Second, damn, was he single? Liam and I had been having a little tiff for a few days now. He’d said that I was becoming insensitive. Could this be a prime example? Looked like it.

  Giving him a friendly smile, I greeted him. Everyone was basically lounging around, some talking while the others played pool and video games. Grey was at the pool table, playing with Jet. From here, I had a great view of him. He’d changed his clothing, from dark to light. I was enjoying a carefree chat amongst everyone, including Gavin, when the dark-haired man again approached me, sitting himself right in between Josie and I.

  He didn’t address me much, but he made me hyperaware of him. I was laughing about his college life joke when I caught Greyson’s gaze, deeply frowning at me.

  It wasn’t until our dinner of steak, mashed potatoes and green beans that the dark-haired man decided to introduce himself as Jack. We sat at the wooden dining table, fitting us all. Grey, of course, where he could see the entire group. He was already pink from drinking beer, but that didn’t stop him from drinking more wine during dinner.

  Through the course, I was conversing with Jack, Jet’s cousin, who also happened to be an NYU student who had a toe fetish. Yes, I’d learned about this interesting tidbit after he had told me why he’d broken up with his ex. He was actually a funny guy, so funny, in fact, that I was too buzzed to realize that I had agreed to go in the hot tub with the five of them. But hey, I was in vacation mode right?

  Half an hour later, I was sipping on my white wine with my bikini on, enjoying the contrast of cold temperatures and the hot, bubbly water soaking my flushed body.

  I was fine… up until Greyson decided to join us, gracing the rest of us with his chiseled body. If his intention was for me to drool over him, then he’d gotten that and then some. I had forgotten how he looked undressed, but now, I had doubts that that luscious mem
ory was going away.

  It bothered me that he’d chosen to sit across from me. The hot tub was made for a party of ten and he could’ve chosen other spots, yet no, he had to sit across from me while I got all hot and bothered just from looking at him.

  He kept brushing his hair with his fingers, giving it that wet look, as he laughed and sipped on his beer. Did I mention how gorgeous he looked flushed from alcohol?

  Looking away from him was a hardship, it was as if the booze in my system had gotten my body humming, yearning for his touch.

  As more guys from school entered, including some of Grey’s friends—Damon, Baron and Jet—we had to make room, leaving us with very little space in between people. Jack had gotten bold and fished me out of my spot then placed me on his lap. He had done it so fast that I barely managed to protest from his “playful” antics before it was over.

  At first, I was uncomfortable, but when I saw Greyson had started flirting with Tiffany’s sidekick, Sam, I became a little angry. So angry that when they chimed “body shots”, I decided to step out of the tub, excusing myself to get a glass of water.

  Maybe the strong, aggressive feelings I had with Grey only came out when I was drinking. Whatever it was, I wanted it out. I needed to sober up or I would end up begging him to take me to bed. Fuck, yes, it was that bad. I was at that point; a point of no return. Life had so much to offer, but as of right now, I was rooting for a guy that was off limits.

  The kitchen had people around and I wanted a little privacy so I decided to go downstairs where there was a lounge area with a projector screen and a fully stocked bar.

  Holding the towel that wrapped around my body against my chest, I slowly made my way downstairs, hoping no one was around. A smile broke from my face when I found it empty. Making my way towards the bar, I pulled out a chilled bottled water, cracking it open, and then took a careful sip as I moved towards the fireplace. In the dark, the flames danced before my face, warming me and enchanting me by their captivating beauty.

  Fire truly was beautiful, however it could unleash its damaging, ugly side. It also took lives.