Between Friends (Between the Raindrops #3)

by Susan Schussler

  “What?”

  “The tabloids know all the secrets about how Jon and Sarah met. I didn’t do it. Yet, I’m being blamed.” I can’t say anymore without raging. I close the now empty food cupboard and move to the dish cupboard. I slide my plates just inside the edge of the cardboard box and then pull my glasses onto the counter. One by one, I shove the four glasses I own haphazardly amongst my cereal boxes and chip bags. I really should eat more healthily.

  Alli still hasn’t said anything. I don’t care what she thinks. I stuff a few more items in the box and fold the corners in to close it. “The Wi-Fi router is mine, but you can use it until the end of summer. My dad has one and I won’t need it until I move to California.”

  Just then, Chase appears in the doorway of the kitchen. “What are you moving to California for?” He sounds annoyed.

  “Grad school,” I say. Didn’t I tell him where I was going to school? “I told you. I’ve got a full ride at UCLA. I’m pretty sure I told you.”

  “Nope.” He draws out the word. “When are you leaving?” He’s looking around the room, shaking his head like he used to when he was exasperated with my nagging.

  “Five or six weeks. I thought I told you.”

  He shakes his head. “I thought you were going to the U.”

  “No. It was always between L.A. and New Jersey, never here.”

  “L.A. is where Naked Sandwich lives?”

  Alli’s expression turns to confusion. I’m not going to explain. “Haven’t talked to him in three months. You’re more obsessed with him than I ever was.” Total lie.

  “With you moving out there, I have less time than I thought. You and I are going on a date tonight.”

  Jessica chooses that moment to check on the commotion in the kitchen. Great. Just great.

  “So you two are dating?” she asks.

  “Maybe,” I say. “I’m tired of people telling me what I can and can’t do, and then falsely accusing me of selling their secrets. If I want to date Chase, I’m going to.” I turn and lock eyes with him. “And, if I decide you’re too much of a pain to date, I won’t. My body. My brain. My choice.” I scoop the box off the counter and carry it out of the room, setting it on the floor next to the front door. Then I head upstairs for another box and to escape the crowd following me.

  Chapter 20

  Megan

  ALMOST TWO WEEKS have passed since I moved back into Dad’s house. Chase and I were too tired after the move to go on a proper date, so we ordered pizza. It felt a bit like high school, especially when my dad walked in on us. We were just eating so it wasn’t as embarrassing as it was in high school. The scowl that appeared on Dad’s face reminded me I had lied to him about Chase not being the ex I was going to get back with. It also reminded me about Dad’s opinion of Chase.

  Back in high school, my dad’s opinion would have pushed me into Chase’s arms just like my friend’s opinion did this time, but not anymore. It makes me more cautious. I had a long talk with Chase about us not sleeping together until I get to know him better. I’m pretty sure he expected us to just jump back into bed. We’re taking it slow. Saturday will be our first official date. He won’t tell me where we are going, but he wants me to wear a dress. He’s planning to take me out to a fancy restaurant and then we’re meeting a couple of his friends at a club. I think it’s good to get to know his friends. It will give me a better understanding of him than just believing what he shows me.

  Chase is in Las Vegas at a software conference, right now, and he won’t be back until late tonight. That’s why he scheduled our date for tomorrow. I’m glad I will have something to distract me tomorrow from the fact that I’m missing Sarah’s wedding. I don’t want to be sitting at home stewing over it.

  Over the last week, Dad and I have talked a lot about Chase. As he stated before, he doesn’t think I should give Chase another chance. His point is, I’m going to move anyway. And, to my defense, I’m going to be moving and if I don’t check out whether Chase and I belong together, it may be one of those points in my life I wonder what if.

  Surprisingly, Dad and Joann have dinner almost every night at the house. I guess I would have known that if I hadn’t avoided the house. Joann usually makes the meal and asks me to join them. Even my brothers have showed up a couple of days. Tonight, it is just Dad and Joann, and I offered to cook. I haven’t cooked for the family since the Thanksgiving from hell, but I figure I need to get over it.

  I make a pasta and vegetable dish. My dad avoids anything green, so I thought I would show him how good vegetables can be if cooked right with a good, spicy sauce. It’s a recipe I learned last summer, and even though I don’t have a written recipe to follow, it turns out pretty tasty. Over dinner, I explain why I’m not going to Sarah and Jon’s wedding. The words catch in my throat as I explain how Sarah called and uninvited me to the wedding. I still don’t understand her logic—some picture got leaked from her graduation party and was supposedly taken by me because I was the only one not in the photo. I don’t even remember taking the picture. If I was a revengeful person, I would open an account on Twitter and tweet the hell out of Sarah’s wedding invitation, but I can’t do that. I understand her frantic need to protect herself. I get it, but I’m not the one who betrayed her.

  I regret not getting the opportunity to defend myself to Nordstrom. I was looking forward more than anything to being able to talk to him. It feels good to get all of the garbage with Sarah’s wedding out in the open with Dad and Joann. I don’t mention Liam, though. Dad doesn’t need to know about him. Joann tells me Sarah will come to her senses someday and apologize. It won’t matter by then—too little, too late.

  After dinner, I change into a tank and my favorite workout shorts. Not because I plan to work out and erase the sadness that’s clung to me for days by raising my endorphin levels, but because I want to wallow in self-pity in comfort. With the wedding tomorrow, everyone in the wedding party is celebrating. Alli and Jessica have been on the island for five days and if Nordstrom hasn’t noticed before today, he is aware I am missing by now. My absence will just bolster his opinion that I sold his story to the tabloids.

  The doorbell rings as I head downstairs and I hesitate to answer it because I am not only wearing the smallest pair of shorts I own, but I have no bra on under my tank. I wonder if Chase got back early from Vegas and came straight from the airport. I open the door and freeze at the sight.

  Nordstrom stands on the porch holding a single pink rose and the most tentative smile I’ve ever seen. God, he’s gorgeous.

  My heart practically jumps out of my chest. I can’t fight the smile spreading across my face and I try. I really try. I step outside and close the door behind me. His eyes rake over my body, lingering on my almost nonexistent shorts and my nonexistent bra. I cross my arms over my chest and attempt to find the appropriate words to get the answers I need, while simultaneously stopping my body from wrapping itself around him. I focus on his smile and try to forget I have almost no clothes on.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be on an island in the Caribbean?”

  “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be—groom’s orders.”

  He hands me the flower and an envelope, which looks like hotel stationery.

  “Why are you here?” I ask.

  “Open it.”

  “No.”

  “Please,” he says. “For me.” His fingers comb through his hair and his dark eyes widen as they focus on mine.

  I have no idea what to expect as I slide my finger to break the seal. I pull out the white paper with an embossed stamp from the island resort and unfold it to note the author first. It’s not Liam.

  Dear Megan,

  Please accept our deepest apology. We’ve been stricken with the rare and sometimes fatal disease, Pre-wedding Assholism. The symptoms include: falsely accusing best friends of atrocious acts, stupidly uninviting them to your wedding, and uncontrollably grieving when you realized what you have done in your insane state. The o
nly way to recover and survive is to recognize you have contracted the disease and rectify the situation before it is too late. I know we have no right to ask anything of you, but if you could find it in your heart to forgive us and come to our wedding, you could save us from a debilitating end. Feel free to take your anger out on Nordstrom. He is our new whipping boy and at your disposal.

  Love always,

  Jon and Sarah

  I can’t help but break out laughing as I smack Nordstrom in the shoulder with an open fist. His jaw drops and he cocks his head in disbelief. It feels good to hit him. He obviously hasn’t read the letter.

  “It says I can do that right here. You’re lucky I didn’t hit you harder.” I hand the paper to him and let him read it before smacking him harder on the other side.

  “Apparently I just have to take being beaten by you. That’s what a whipping boy does, right?”

  I nod.

  “Well, I’m not going to let you keep hitting me unless you agree to come to the wedding with me.” He looks down at me, his dark eyes sparkling with anticipation.

  “I’ll have to think about it,” I say. “Come back tomorrow.” I reach behind me, open the door and take a step back.

  “The wedding is tomorrow. I have to come back with you before the wedding or Jon doesn’t want me back at all.”

  “Harsh. I guess the bromance is over.” We fall into our banter easily.

  “No. Because you are coming back with me tonight. Let’s go pack your stuff. And get a bra on you. How the hell am I supposed to not touch these?” His hand hovers inches above my right nipple as it salutes him in complete obedience. Electricity shoots through my body, ricocheting off every extremity at the thought of him touching me. Somehow, I forgot how his presence awakens me.

  “Come meet my dad,” I say, turning and walking through the doorway. Though the last thing I want to do is to bring Dad into this, I need to let him know I am leaving for the wedding. I can’t just disappear for days anymore without him noticing. We find him and Joann on the screened porch, off the kitchen.

  “Dad. Joann. This is Liam Nordstrom. He’s friends with Sarah and Jonathan, and has flown…” I turn to Liam and ask. “How long was your flight?”

  “Six hours.”

  “Really? That long? Wow, they really owe you.” I smile at Liam and then turn back to Dad. “He’s flown six hours to apologize and ask me to go back with him for the wedding.” I turn back to Liam. “Can I even say that with all the non-disclosure agreements?”

  “Under the circumstances, I think you can,” says Liam.

  “So you are going to go to Sarah’s wedding after all?” Dad asks.

  I turn to Nordstrom and his eyebrows are raised as if he is asking the same question and he’s nodding in encouragement. He mouths, please.

  “I guess, I am.” He said please after all. I smile at my dad and Joann. After our discussion at dinner, I think they understand.

  “Have a good time,” Joann says, returning a smile.

  My dad takes out his wallet and then holds out a wad of cash to me. “Take it,” he says. “You don’t have time to stop at the bank. The wedding is tomorrow. When is the flight out?”

  I take the cash and look to Liam.

  “Whenever we get there. The plane is on standby, waiting for us. But we can’t leave any later than two AM or we could be late for the wedding.”

  I head upstairs to pack, motioning for Liam to follow me. I don’t know what to think about him being here. Does he finally believe I didn’t talk to the vultures? We reach my room, which is a whole different issue. My room is a total disaster. But I can’t care. There is nothing I can do about it. At least I have the excuse about still unpacking after the move. I hold the door open directing Liam inside. When we are both inside, I close the door and turn to face him.

  “Why are you here? And what changed Sarah’s mind?” I ask placing my hands on my hips and pursing my lips.

  “Can I sit down?”

  I nod.

  He sits on the edge of my bed and admits, “I’m here because Jon asked me to come.”

  “So you don’t want to be here?”

  “I didn’t say that. I’m not the type of guy who jumps off a cliff because his friend tells him to. But, I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t asked. I’d be partying on the beach with my bros.”

  I guess I can accept that. “What changed Sarah’s mind about me? I know what the letter said, but what really happened?”

  “Sarah caught Red taking pictures of the reception area this morning. She never turned her phone in. There was a big blow up and she confessed she sold out to the press.” He glances at me with raised eyebrows as if to say can you believe that?

  I’m pissed. I glare at him. “Alli sold them out to the vultures and I got blamed. And the only reason they believe me is because they caught her red-handed.” I walk over to him and smack him in the stomach with an open hand. “They sent you because they know I couldn’t resist you. Damn it.” I hold up my hand as if I’m going to hit him again but pause in midair.

  He smirks, probably because of my lack of resistance. Then he reaches over his head and pulls his shirt off. “Does this help?”

  Cocky bastard.

  “Yes.” I hit him again. “The skin on skin sound makes me feel better.”

  “I never knew that about you, Meg. It puts a whole new light on our non-hookup.”

  I chuckle at the mischievous look on his face.

  “I can’t believe Alli did that. Why would she just let me hang? Alli knew I wasn’t guilty and she acted as if she believed I could be. What a bitch. I didn’t sell you out either. You know that now, right?”

  He looks at me as if analyzing my words and then says, “Yeah.”

  “And Sarah is not that much better than Alli. She should have known I would never sell anyone to the press. She just should have known that.”

  “She said she was sorry. She and Jon meant it. It was sincere.”

  “I know. I’m just…mad.”

  “Well, you can be mad on the plane. You have a six-hour flight to get over it, because it’s Sarah’s wedding and I think she needs your support more than ever after Alli betrayed her.”

  He’s right. She apologized. I can make her grovel after the wedding. Tomorrow is not the day.

  ***

  Two hours later, we board a gorgeous private jet at the Humphrey Terminal. It reminds me of our houseboat with its glossy wood accents and white walls.

  “These are our best bet if we want to get any sleep,” says Liam, pointing to two chairs that look as if they recline into beds. I plant myself in one and he sits next to me. The attendant gets us settled and runs through safety procedures just like on a normal flight, except she is talking only to us or rather me, since Liam already heard her presentation. She seems to have developed a camaraderie with Liam. I gather from their conversation that they played cards to pass time on the last flight.

  The plane is taxiing and within minutes, we’re in the air. When I look over at Liam, I see his mask going up and feel him distancing himself.

  “Did Seth ever come home?” I ask, aching to talk to him.

  “Yep. He did. He’s in treatment.” He has his unreadable face on.

  “I’m glad everything worked out,” I say. “I didn’t sell you to the press, you know that, right? I told Alli about Seth. It must have been her. I’m sorry.”

  He nods. Then he reclines his chair. “We should get some sleep or we’ll be zombies in the pictures tomorrow.” He pulls up the dividing arm between our chairs and pushes my chair into a reclining position. He motions for me to flip on my side. I don’t want to because I won’t be able to see him, but I think he plans to snuggle and I can’t pass on it. His arm curls around me and I can smell the hint of his cologne. So good. “We’ll talk more tomorrow,” he whispers.

  I know he’s a flirt and this is the way he treats all women. I’m not special to him, but it still feels good being in his arms. The heat rad
iating off his body sends tingles to my toes. Knowing he is so close, my body purrs. I’ve thought about his hands on me so many times. I’ve thought about his tongue dragging across my skin, and the way the heat of his body pressed against mine burns in the most delicious way. And now, that’s all I can think about. His long fingers inch under the edge of my shirt and I start to fantasize about making up for the non-hookup we had three months ago. I’m wide awake, staring out the window at the black sky. I hear his breathing even out and I can tell by the weight of his arm he’s fallen asleep.

  I must have nodded off too at some point because now I am flush against Nordstrom’s hot body and his morning wood is pressed between my butt cheeks. I’m not going to read into it. I know it is biological, but it makes me realize just how long it’s been since I’ve gotten any. I probably should have slept with Chase just to curb my need. Dammit! I forgot to send Chase a text. He’s going to come pick me up for our date and I won’t be there. I don’t have a phone to text him. I left it at home because it would just get confiscated when I arrive on the island, anyway.

  “Liam,” I whisper.

  No response.

  “Liam,” I say again, louder.

  His hips gyrate and he rubs against me with a sexy growl.

  Screw Chase. I am not moving from this position.

  He rubs against me again as his hand skims across my stomach and softly cups my breast. He squeezes my breast, pushing against me again, and then mumbling unintelligibly he falls back to sleep. Even unconscious he’s good in bed.

  Chapter 21

  Megan

  I FEEL LIKE such an idiot. The whole time he was at my house and with me on the plane, he was playing me. Liam acted sweet, but he was acting. And I believed him. I believed it was more than a favor to Jonathan. Stupid me.