“Stop!” she said around more laughter. “You’re killing me! Was there makeup?”
“Yeah,” he grumbled. “And so many damn tea parties and dancing.”
Rolling onto her side toward him, she slapped him on the knee as tears were streaming down her face. “There was dancing?”
“Spice Girls. I was…” He groaned.”
“Oh, no. You can’t stop now. Which Spice Girl were you?”
“Sporty.”
“This is the greatest thing ever!” she cried happily.
“Okay, you can stop being so amused now,” he murmured.
Sitting up and doing her best to look serious. “Is that what you want? What you really, really want?”
Throwing his pizza down, he lunged for her, pinning her on her back. “That is not funny.”
That just made her laugh harder. “It is so funny that I can barely breathe!”
When he started to tickle her, she screamed but couldn’t stop laughing. “Cut it out, Sporty Spice!”
Probably the wrong thing to say since he just tickled her more. “I can do this all night, Chelsea!” he teased, but his fingers lightened up a little and now they were more like soft caresses. “You give up?”
Did she?
His hands moved to her ribs as he poised himself to start to seriously tickle her again and she knew she only had one option.
Holding her arms up, she said, “I surrender!”
Relaxing, Drew leaned back, straddling her. “Okay then. Good.”
“Whew, that was…I mean, it felt like…hmm. What’s the word I’m looking for?” she wondered out loud. “Oh, I know, it was like zig-a-zig-ah!”
He clearly knew when to admit defeat because he rolled off of her and picked up his discarded slice of pizza. “Fine. Laugh. I don’t care.”
After she caught her breath, Chelsea sat up and looked at him innocently. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“That was the perfect distraction. This whole day just…well, it got to me and it felt good to laugh.”
“The whole day?” he asked incredulously. “There have been some high points, you know.”
She patted his shoulder. “Yes, you’ve been wonderful, but you know what I mean, Drew. This is all just…it’s huge! Bianca’s been a part of my life for so long and I have no idea how to just…not have her in my life.”
“Maybe…”
But she held up a hand to stop him. “You said it yourself. She holds grudges. I don’t think I want to go back to the way things were before and then have this hanging over me too.” She let out a long breath. “I think I have to just do what I did earlier and learn to be okay with simply walking away. If I make any attempt to fix things between us, she’ll make me pay for it and use it against me forever. I don’t want to live with that kind of pressure.”
“And Kendall and Shauna? Will they still be your friends?”
Shrugging, she said, “Probably not. As much as it pains me to admit it, you were spot on where they’re concerned too.”
“Skipper and Midge?”
“Actually, Skipper was Barbie’s sister. Midge was a friend.”
“Not really the point here, Chels,” he said wearily. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah. I do. They’ll side with her. If anything, she’s probably called them both already to tell them what an awful person I am. It won’t be the first time, but hopefully, it will be the last.”
“Well that just sucks.”
“Tell me about it.” They finished eating and it was still relatively early in the afternoon. “Let’s talk about something more pleasant. What should we do for the rest of the day? Go sightseeing?”
“We can totally do that. Although I did get a look at the spa menu. After all the time we’ve spent in the car, it might be nice to go for some massages. What do you think?”
“That sounds glorious! Can we really do that?” She thought about all the costs of this stupid trip already and decided to throw caution to the wind. One more expense wasn’t going to kill her. If anything, she’d just work double at the clinic next week to try to make up for it.
“Want me to call and see if we can get an appointment?”
“Definitely. We deserve it!”
Why the hell did I have to tell her about the whole Spice Girls thing?
Drew forced himself to relax as the massage therapist began working on his lower back. They secured appointments for themselves–and not a couple’s massage session, even though that was an option. For some reason, he felt like he needed a little time to himself to relax and think some things through. He wasn’t kidding earlier when he said the whole thing today had turned into a shit show. It all played out pretty much how he thought it was going to, but that didn’t make him feel good.
Fighting with Jimmy was something that happened with more frequency than he would ever admit. Like Chelsea and Bianca, they were growing apart in so many ways, but the bonds of a lifelong friendship were hard to break.
Probably going to be a lot easier now…
It wasn’t like his friend was a bully like Bianca. Jimmy was going to be pissy about this for a long time, but he’d get over it. And Drew knew he was going to be fine with the wait. Maybe a little distance and time apart would be a good thing for both of them. Their lives were going in different directions and he couldn’t help but wonder if this was what was supposed to happen. How could either of them become the people they were supposed to be if they were constantly holding on to the guys they always were?
But…why can’t we be both?
“You’re very tense,” the therapist commented. “You need to clear your mind and relax.”
Easier said than done.
Drew let out a long breath and tried to simply focus on the sounds and smells in the room–the soft music, the smell of peppermint and lavender…
Probably should have mentioned I’m not a fan of lavender…
“Just let me know if the pressure is too much or not enough,” the therapist said, interrupting his thoughts.
“I’ve been in the car for almost two days straight. I’m not sure if I need a deep tissue massage or a relaxing one,” he explained. “Whatever you think I need, go for it.”
After that, he forced himself to focus on the massage and reaping the benefits of it and hoped Chelsea was doing the same. Then his mind wandered to their earlier conversation–pre-Spice Girls and Barbie–and he could still see the sad look on her face. This whole thing was going to be harder for her to get over. He had a feeling the drive back home was going to be like one giant therapy session and he knew he was no Dr. Phil.
Maybe I should look up some of his quotes to use just in case…
And that had him thinking about going online and checking in at work. He may be the boss, but this was the longest he’d been away from a computer in a long time. It wouldn’t be the worst thing to take an hour or so once he was back in the room to make some calls and make sure there was nothing pressing that he needed to help out with. Hopefully Chelsea would be so relaxed that she’d want to nap or something.
Hell, they were both going to need to shower before they went anywhere because the amount of oils this guy was using on him was going to make it difficult to put any clothes back on!
Then he thought of Chelsea all oiled and up and thought work could wait a little longer.
By the time his hour was up, Drew felt much better and definitely more relaxed. He thanked the therapist and went to the changing room to get dressed. The spa robe was pretty plush and he considered taking it, but…stealing wasn’t his thing.
Stretching, he slid his shoes on and was about to turn to leave when he spotted Jimmy.
Shit.
“You’re still here,” his friend said, and he couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or not.
“Uh, yeah. We decided to stay the night and head home tomorrow.” They stood there in awkward silence until Drew knew it would be best to just walk away. “See ya, Jim.�
�� He walked out of the room and stood there for a minute and realized he felt okay.
No drama, no fighting, just…nothing.
Weird.
He went no more than a few steps when the door opened and closed behind him. “Drew?”
So close…
Looking over his shoulder, he said, “Yeah?”
Slowly, Jimmy walked toward him. “That was pretty intense earlier, huh?”
They started walking down the long hallway and out of the spa. “Yeah, it was.”
It was a strained conversation at best, and once they were out in the lobby, Drew was more than a little anxious to part ways.
“Listen, I…I know you tried,” Jimmy said after a long moment.
“Tried?”
He nodded. “Yeah, to help with Chelsea. I never should have put that on you. I know how you feel about her and believe me, if Bianca hadn’t told Kendall about what we were doing, none of us would be here right now.”
“I guess…”
Looking around, he asked, “Want to go get a drink?”
“Uh…” Honestly, he didn’t.
Jimmy motioned to a small sitting area surrounded by a ridiculous amount of oversized potted plants. “Can we just talk for a few?”
“Sure.”
It wasn’t until they were seated that he spoke again. “I hate this shit. In all the years we’ve known each other, we’ve never let a woman get between us.”
Drew nodded. “True.”
“So why now? What’s the big freaking deal this time?”
Wait, was he referring to Bianca or Chelsea?
“I mean, how can you defend her?”
Okay, Chelsea.
“Because she’s not wrong, Jimmy. This whole thing…you just got engaged, for crying out loud! Why didn’t you put your foot down and tell Bianca that you wanted to wait?”
He raked a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I know. Like I said earlier, it just snowballed. And she’s so happy…how could I disappoint her?”
“How can you keep giving her everything she wants? Eventually you’re going to have to disappoint her. Everything can’t go her way. No one person can be the only one winning. That’s not how relationships work.”
Leaning back against the oversized chair, Jimmy sighed. “Ugh, I hate talking about this shit. We’re not a bunch of girls. I wish you had just kept all this to yourself.”
“Yeah, well…you involved me when you asked me to try to stop Chelsea from finding out.”
Shaking his head, he said, “I knew Kendall would blab. Personally, I think Bianca did it on purpose.”
“Did what?”
“Let it slip about the trip. She knows Kendall is the world’s biggest blabbermouth.”
“But why?”
“To piss Chelsea off,” he said with a smirk. “I think she just wanted to make her crazy and show her that all her opposition didn’t bother us.”
“But clearly it does.”
He shrugged. “Yeah. A little. I mean, what did I ever do to Chelsea for her to hate me?”
“She doesn’t hate you, Jim. She refers you for jobs all the time, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah…”
“She just thinks you and Bianca aren’t a good fit. That’s all.”
“Seriously? Because she acts like she hates me.”
“Well, hate’s a strong word. It’s…well…you’re not her favorite person to hang out with.”
“That’s not the way Bianca describes it.”
“Yeah, well…I learned that Bianca seems to have a way of not describing things in the best way where Chelsea’s concerned.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Jimmy, come on…”
“No,” he demanded. “What the hell does it mean?”
With no other choice, he told him about the multiple conversations he and Chelsea had and all the ways Bianca had described them to each other. When he was finally done, he waited to see how Jimmy was going to respond. His expression was hard and his glare was heavy.
“I wouldn’t lie to you,” Drew finally said, hoping to prompt his friend into saying something.
“I think this girl must have either a magic mouth or vag,” Jimmy sneered.
“Excuse me?”
“Look, I appreciate that you took one for the team and slept with Chelsea. I mean, that had to be some desperate measures for you to have to do that. But she must have been a great lay for you to take her word over mine.”
Drew couldn’t speak even if he wanted to. He couldn’t believe what Jimmy was accusing him of.
“I’m going to let this all slide since you’re obviously still wearing sex goggles. Once we get home and you get rid of her, I know you’ll go back to being reasonable.” His phone chimed and he held up a finger to Drew. It was Bianca calling, and Jimmy was promising to come back to the room right away. “I love you too, baby,” he cooed before hanging up. He stood and looked down at Drew. “Get all you can out of this girl while you’re on the road and then get your head out of your ass.” He clapped Drew on the back. “But seriously, dude, I owe you one. Sleeping with Chelsea was a brilliant way not only to distract her but to get me the information I need to make sure she doesn’t worm her way back into Bianca’s good graces. You’re a good friend.”
And then he was gone.
Drew had no idea how long he stayed in his seat, completely dumbfounded.
What the hell just happened?
How had they gone from nearly punching each other out a few hours ago to Jimmy thinking he had slept with Chelsea for the sake of saving this ridiculous wedding?
Groaning, he rubbed his forehead. All the relaxing he had done during the massage was gone, and, if anything, he was way more tense than he was an hour ago.
Biggest waste of money ever.
Slouching down in the chair, Drew had no idea what to do. It pissed him off that he didn’t defend himself–and Chelsea–but while Jimmy was going on and on and on, he just couldn’t seem to find the right words. Did he even tell Chelsea about this or did he just keep it to himself? After all, no good could possibly come of it. It wasn’t like she was going to talk to Bianca or Jimmy any time soon.
If ever.
Okay, that was one issue down, he thought. The best thing to do was to simply pretend that this conversation never happened.
Now he just needed to take a few minutes to relax before going up to their room. No doubt she’d take one look at him and immediately see that he wasn’t the least bit relaxed.
Quick, think relaxing thoughts!
That was easier said than done. On average, Drew knew he was a pretty chill guy, but now that he was trying to force himself to relax, he had no idea how to do it!
“It can’t be that hard,” he muttered. People always say things like “Go to your happy place” so…
I’m out on my boat for a day of fishing. Drinking a cold beer and the fish are biting like crazy. All the guys are there and we’re laughing and joking.
Jimmy calls out, “Hey, guys! Did you know Drew slept with Chelsea to help me out?”
He immediately tensed back up and cursed. That was clearly not the way to go. After taking several deep breaths and letting them out slowly, he opted for a different approach.
I’m at home and enjoying a big bowl of macaroni and cheese–a classic! The Rangers game is on and they are kicking the Islanders’ asses. The announcers are doing the play-by-play commentary when Sam Rosen looks right at the camera and says, “And the Rangers are leading seven to one! It’s been one hell of a game! And speaking of games, did you all hear about the game Drew Russo is playing? He slept with Chelsea Cooper to save his best friend’s wedding! He’s our MVP of the game!”
Scrubbing a hand over his face, he hissed, “Shit.” Something had to give–had to help. So after another round of deep breaths, Drew leaned back in the chair and forced himself to relax and think of only pleasant things.
A cold beer.
Sex with Che
lsea.
Ice cream sundaes.
Eating frosting off of Chelsea’s naked body.
Playing a perfect golf game.
Shower sex with Chelsea.
“I’m screwed,” he said after a minute. He could sit in this damn spot all day and she was going to be on his mind and this stupid situation was going to eat away at him. The only thing left to do was to go up to the room and pray that Chelsea wasn’t done with her massage yet. Then he could shower and make those business calls and do his best to use that as a distraction.
Standing, he stretched. And as he made his way to the bank of elevators, he felt like this might actually work.
14
“Son of a bitch!”
That was the third time she’d stubbed her toe on the damn desk chair, and yet she still didn’t think to move the stupid thing out of the way. At this rate, she’d have to hop on one foot while trying to make her speedy exit.
Tossing the last of her things into her suitcase, Chelsea prayed she could get done and be out of the room before Drew got back. Her heart was hammering like mad in her chest and several times she had to will herself to not get sick.
Sleeping with Chelsea was a brilliant way not only to distract her but to get me the information I need to make sure she doesn’t worm her way back into Bianca’s good graces. You’re a good friend.
That one statement had been playing on a constant loop in her head ever since she’d overheard it.
It had been a complete fluke that she and Drew had gotten done with their massages at the same time. She had been about to call out to him when she noticed Jimmy walking with him. Then her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and stupidly, she stood behind a wall of plants and listened to their conversation.
With trembling hands, she closed the suitcase and quickly made her way out of the room. As much as it would be completely normal to go down to the lobby in the elevator, she didn’t want to run the risk of running into Drew. With no other choice, she went to the end of the hall and down the emergency stairs.
Ugh…I really should start going to the gym again. Going down the steps should be much easier than this.
Wrong Turn: Road Tripping Series Page 16