“Hey, Cara!”
Bryan stood from the long table at the front of the joint and squeezed Cara. Tamara and Stephen were there, along with Josh. They were just missing Samir and a few others who’d been invited out for the hell of it.
No Ellie.
Nate’s stomach stopped it’s churning. Ellie wasn’t a petty person, but she was hurting and that meant she’d lash out. Hopefully, she aimed those barbs at him, because he deserved it, but she could be volatile at times. Something Josh had already taken her to task on once during production meetings.
Nate hung back, watching Cara and the others. What if...what if she came out here? She was an accountant. There was a ready-made spot in their lives for her.
“Want to tell me why you’re staring that hard?” Josh sidled up to Nate, watching Bryan give Cara the arcade tour.
“Hm? Oh, nothing.” Nate shrugged.
“You know,” Josh’s tone turned dry, “you could just tell her you’re in love with her.”
Nate blanched and stared at his best friend. Had he just—? How did he—?
“Don’t look at me that way.” Josh crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s obvious.”
“How...when did you—”
“When you busted your knee, you were hopped up on so many drugs. You did a lot of talking.” Josh turned, following Cara’s progress around the room. “She’s not like you, you know?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Not like me?”
“It means that unlike you, Ellie is up front about things.”
Shit. Fuck. Oh, no. What had she told him? What did Josh know?
Nate had never confided in his friends about his tastes, or the times he’d thought to explore those deeper. And now Josh wanted to throw that back in his face? Two could play that game.
“Daphne’s divorced now,” Nate said.
Josh flinched and his eyes went a bit wide.
“Yeah, didn’t miss that, either.” Nate crossed his arms over his chest, mirroring Josh’s pose.
“That has nothing to do with this. What about you and Ellie? What about...about the other shit?” Josh pressed his lips together.
“Ellie and me are friends. We’ve already talked about things. And the rest of it, is between Cara and I.”
“Is there a Cara and you?”
“Maybe.”
Josh shook his head.
“What? You have a problem with this?” Nate dropped his hands.
“I don’t want you to hurt her. I’ve seen Ellie’s—”
“No.” Nate shook his head. He knew what Josh was talking about and it made Nate more than a little sick to think that Josh assumed it was him. “That wasn’t me.”
“Then explain it to me.”
Nate opened and closed his mouth, the urge to defend himself warring with the right and wrong of airing Ellie’s personal business. The mental picture of those bruises, though... It took a lot for marks to show on Ellie’s darker skin. Toasted almonds, she’d called it once. Those black marks on her arms... Those weren’t fun marks or love bites.
“Talking about me, boys?”
Ellie’s voice might as well have been a Taser to Nate’s spine. He whipped his head around, gaping at her. Ellie’s eyes were rimmed in thick, black eyeliner, making her green eyes stand out even more. Her long, black hair was messy, teased and huge today. She’d dressed to be noticed in some sort of wild, printed legging that looked like scales and long shirt thing with The Little Mermaid on it.
“Josh, my sex life is seriously none of your business.” She patted Josh’s arm. “But since you seem to need to know, those bruises you were so concerned about were from my ex. We got together for a weekend. Things didn’t go well and Nate was kind enough to pick up the pieces. Thanks for asking.”
She sauntered past, headed straight for Tamara...and Cara.
Oh, boy.
“What...just happened?”
Nate whipped his head around, staring at Bryan. Where the hell had he come from?
“Is that true?” Josh asked.
“Did I understand all that right?” Bryan asked.
“Both of you, shut up.” Nate gulped, his gaze on Ellie as she extended her hand toward Cara.
“Patio. Now.” Josh dragged Nate away, when all he wanted to do was shadow Cara around the floor.
Josh, Bryan and Nate stepped out into the sunshine. They were the only ones out here this early in the day.
“What the hell is going on?” Bryan blinked from Nate to Josh. “Is someone hurting Ellie?”
“That’s what I want to know.” Josh placed himself between them and the door.
“No one is hurting Ellie,” Nate said.
“What happened?”
“Josh—she just said—”
“I know what Ellie said, but I want to hear it from you.”
Bryan stood there, eyes wide, watching them.
“Look, it was back after she came to work for you. It’d been...a month? The stuff with Adam was bad. After work, she made some comments to me—I can’t remember them, but I know...they bothered me. So, I gave her my number, said if she needed a friend, if something happened, give me a call.”
“You slept with her,” Josh said.
“Not then, I didn’t.”
“You’re sleeping with Ellie?” Bryan’s shoulders drooped.
“He is.” Josh crossed his arms over his chest. Again. The big protector.
“Not anymore,” Nate said. “That weekend Ellie called me. I went to this house, picked her up and—I could already see the bruises. I was worried about her. I was going to take her back to her place, but she got...hysterical, so I took her to mine. I didn’t touch her.”
“When did you start sleeping together?” Bryan’s tone was weird. Off. Had something happened with Ellie? Was she...no, she wouldn’t sleep with two guys at once. She might call herself heartless, but she wasn’t cruel like that. So...was it Bryan? Did he have a thing for Ellie? It was hard to tell with Bryan. He liked everyone, and everyone liked him.
“A few weeks later.” Nate scrubbed his hand over his face.
“What about Cara?” Josh’s gaze narrowed.
“Wait—Cara, too?” Bryan frowned, his posture going tense. Different from how they talked about Ellie.
“Not like that,” Nate said quickly. “Ellie knew from the start that...I was emotionally unavailable. She knows I love Cara. And Cara knows...I’ve had...arrangements.”
“Wait—you were with Ellie? And now you’re with Cara? When the hell does this stuff happen, man?” Bryan wasn’t even trying to be quiet.
“Keep your voice down, man.” Nate scowled.
“Do you sleep with all our friends?” Bryan demanded.
“No.”
“Tamara?”
“No,” Nate snapped.
“Does Cara know about your—”
“Josh.” Nate stared at his friend, daring him to finish that sentence. “I’ve told Cara everything she needs to know.”
“And you weren’t going to tell us?” Bryan asked.
“I didn’t know what to tell you about Cara. We’re...working it out. I can’t tell you what I don’t know.” Nate wished he could rewind the day, cancel these plans. He couldn’t see Cara and Ellie from out here. What were they doing?
“And Ellie? What about that? How long was that going on?” Bryan’s face was a bit red, his lip curling.
“A couple months, man. It wasn’t serious.”
“Is that how you’re going to treat Cara? Nothing serious?”
“No,” Nate snapped. “It’s different with Cara. Ellie and I had a deal. We were friends. No emotions. Just—sex. If she found someone, we were done. There wasn’t anything to tell you about.”
“You’re a dick, man. I’m out of here. Fuck you.” Bryan stalked out of the patio gate, into the parking lot.
Josh and Nate watched him go, climbing into his sport wagon and peeling out.
“Never saw that coming,” J
osh muttered.
“Tell me about it.” Nate scrubbed a hand over his face. “If I’d have known...”
“I don’t think Ellie knows.”
“Fuck, Josh, I didn’t mean for it to be this way.” Nate sat down on a bench and leaned against the table at his back. How did everything spin so far out of control.
“Let me deal with Bryan.” Josh turned to face Nate. “You should stop this thing with Cara, before you hurt her.”
Nate gaped at his only remaining best friend. Seriously? He thought he was going to give up Cara? Like hell. He’d cut his balls off before he willingly gave her up. As for Josh’s concerns about the rest, Nate didn’t need the handcuffs and rope. So long as he had Cara, nothing else mattered. Maybe not even these so called friends of his.
6.
Cara blinked at the stunning woman shaking her hand.
What would it be like to be that tan? Beautiful wasn’t a strong enough word for her.
“Hi, I’m Ellie. I’ve heard so much about you, I feel like I know you.” The woman smiled and squeezed Cara’s hand.
“Josh lies,” Cara blurted out. He was always telling people the nicer versions of stories.
“Yeah, but Nate and Bryan don’t.” Ellie winked.
“I’m so glad you could make it out today.” Tamara pulled Ellie in for a quick hug.
The two women made Cara feel out of place and gangly. Where had the guys gone?
She peered over their shoulders at the patio door where Nate, Josh and Bryan had disappeared earlier and prayed for their swift return. Alone with strangers was not how she wanted to spend her day.
Tamara’s...significant other saved Cara from much more awkwardness by starting up a game. Tamara had a clear competitive streak and proceeded to shit talk her boyfriend while Ellie and Cara watched.
“You game much?” Ellie asked.
“Hm? Oh, yeah, when I can.” Cara smiled, many fond memories of mashing buttons while the guys called out strategy.
“Want a go?” Ellie gestured to the old Mortal Kombat game.
“Sure.”
They slotted in their pennies and picked their characters.
“Oh, Scorpion, huh?” Ellie said it like a taunt.
Was there something wrong with that? By Cara’s estimation, he had one of the best skill set moves. After all, she’d cycled through all the available characters, trying to figure out how to beat the guys. She’d had the best luck with Scorpion.
“Round one. Fight!” The automated voice announced.
Cara zeroed in on the two characters, Kitana, with her metal fans, and Scorpion, with his iconic armor. She swiveled the joystick and attacked. Playing against the guys had taught her that many a time it didn’t benefit her to sit back and let them set something up.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Ellie danced in place, doing her best to defend.
Cara bit her lip and grinned, dealing one blow after another to her opponent.
“Get over here!” the Scorpion character yelled.
She knock Ellie’s avatar off her feet and delivered a hard one-two death blow.
“How—did you?” Ellie pivoted, hand at her hip, gaze narrowed, lips pressed together.
Uh-oh... Should Cara have let the other woman win? She shifted her weight from foot to foot.
“Again.” Ellie slapped her coins on top of the slanted game surface and plunked one in for each of them.
A little shaken, Cara turned back to the game. She should throw this one. Let Ellie win. Playing games with girls was always...different. She never knew if she should win, hardly try, or what. With guys, there was a clear sense of competition.
“Round two. Fight!”
Cara flicked her nail against the side of the button and hung back. Ellie paced Kitana back and forth.
“Come on,” Ellie growled.
Well, might as well get this over with...
Cara charged in, but didn’t attack first. Ellie dealt the first blow, then another before Cara began her quick attacks.
“You aren’t even trying,” Ellie said.
This was a no-win situation. Cara mashed a few buttons down, delivering some damage, but it wasn’t focused. She could do better. Ellie clearly knew the move set and the mechanics, but she wasn’t as...practiced. Whereas Cara had spent a good deal of time at an arcade with the guys until Nate got his first game system.
“You waste my time?” Kitana mocked from the screen.
Ellie stepped back, hands on her hips.
“You let me win,” she said.
“N-no.”
“Again. Don’t go easy on me this time.”
“Ellie’s all bark and no bite. Mop the floor with her ass.” Tamara leaned against the cabinet.
Cara wasn’t sure about that, but since Ellie had figured out Cara’s tactics, there wasn’t anything to do but beat her. Again. And again.
They went five more rounds before Ellie finally grinned and presented her palm for a high-five.
“Way to go, girl.”
Cara glanced from Ellie’s palm to her face. Was this a trick? Was she going to get mashed in the face?
She lifted her hand and gently tapped her palm to Ellie’s.
No face mashing.
No “too slow” slap upside the head.
Just a high five.
Well, that was nice.
“What next?” Ellie asked.
“Move over. I want a go.” Tamara nudged Ellie out of the way and pulled out a couple of coins. “I should warn you, I play video games for a living.”
After six rounds with Tamara, Cara felt pretty good about her three victories. Ellie’s ribbing from the sidelines, though harsh, was funny and equally divided.
“I’m starving,” Tamara announced. “Let’s see if the boys got food yet.”
Their trio wandered around the games, back to the food area. Josh, Samir, Stephen and Nate sat staring at their phones, none of them speaking to each other. There was a strange, off-beat vibe that put Cara on edge.
She slid into the one open seat at the end of the table, closest to Nate, before one of the other girls could take it. Nate glanced at her and gave her a quick, tight smile.
“Okay, who’s feeding me?” Ellie asked. She put her elbows on the table and smiled. “Where’d Bryan go?”
“Oh, he had a work thing. Something about a server update.” Josh shrugged.
He was lying.
Josh shrugged when he lied.
Cara glanced at Nate, who was staring at the table.
Something had happened while she played Mortal Kombat. She didn’t like not knowing what was bothering her friends.
Lunch was a chatty affair. Tamara and Ellie kept the conversation going, and the guys responded, but no one seemed...involved. When it came time to decide what next, one by one Josh, then Samir, then Stephen made noises about needing to do other things, be elsewhere.
“Well, I guess it’s time to blow this popsicle joint,” Ellie announced. “Cara, it was great getting to meet you. Keep Nate in line, okay?”
She grinned and winked at Cara...like they both knew something.
Cara watched the others, who hugged who, who avoided each other. Small, social cues that were telling.
The guys weren’t even looking at each other.
She kept her thoughts to herself all the way to the car. She even waited for Nate to start the engine and belt in.
“What happened with Bryan?” It was the logical issue she could see.
“I’m sorry, Cara.” Nate sighed. “He... Between us?”
“Of course.”
“He likes Ellie. None of us realized it and I...said some stuff I shouldn’t, because I didn’t know and now he’s being Bryan.”
She nodded. Out of the three of them, Bryan was the most sensitive. He’d been raised with four sisters and as a result of being the only guy in the house, had a different take on life. Cara had often turned to Bryan for advice and understanding where Nate and Josh couldn’t see things
.
“Ellie doesn’t like him back?”
“Ellie’s...got stuff going on in her life that...is hard to deal with.”
“Oh.”
And Bryan, being Bryan, would want to save her from whatever the big, bad monster was. He’d been there for his sisters, and Cara, in that capacity often enough. It was one of the things she loved about Bryan, but also something that’d gotten him in more trouble than he could handle.
“So, what now?” she asked.
“I was thinking...I’d show you were I work. Do a quick drive by some of the sights, then—pizza and a movie at home?”
“I like the sound of that.” She smiled, relieved to not have to face down any more complicated social situations.
At least this time, whatever was going on with the guys, didn’t involve her. There was enough going on with just the two of them anyway. No need to invite trouble.
Nate unlocked the apartment door, anticipation and anxiety warring within him.
Bryan wouldn’t stop texting him.
Josh wouldn’t answer.
And Ellie had sent him a subjectless email he didn’t want to look at. When the emails got long, she never gave it a subject. Probably because she used them all in the body.
All Nate wanted to do was focus on Cara. Being with her. What they might have. Figuring out things after tomorrow. He was invested in whatever they could have, yet he was being pulled in a dozen different directions.
This sucked.
“Why don’t you pick a movie?” He pulled the door shut, juggling the pizza, ice cream, sodas, his keys and the thrift store bag of books Cara had snagged.
“You know, I could carry something?” She stood back, watching him with her arms crossed over her chest.
“I got this. Pick a movie.”
He hoped it was something he’d seen before. Zoning out, sorting through what to do next, would be good for him.
“Where...are the movies?” Cara glanced around.
“Oh, no, they’re all on my media server. Just turn the TV on and it should already be pulled up.”
“You and your techno magic.” She wagged her finger at him. “I’m going to change real quick, that okay?”
“Go for it.” Though, he was going to miss the donut-print skirt. It was both long and short enough to give him ideas.
The Adorkable Girl and the Geek (Gone Geek 5) Page 6