Secret Love (The 4Ever Series Book 2)

by Isabella White

  “Michael staying at your mom’s?”

  “Yes, it’s about freaking time, too,” a female voice replied. More than likely Kate’s. The woman then told Rod a joke, which had Holly rolling her eyes. But when Rod failed to get the punch line, a surge of happiness rolled through her.

  Jake laughed, though, the hardest.

  Kate sounded like a fucking airhead. How she’d become a doctor was beyond her. She was probably great in bed, and most likely the reason Jake had ended up with her. Stupid fucking idiot. The minute she thought those words, the bouquet of flowers jumped into her head again.

  As fast as she could, she pulled her hand out of Rod’s, gestured toward the bar with her head when he looked back at her. At his nod, she hightailed it to the bar.

  “Birthday slut, over here!” Bridgette yelled, standing on her chair in the corner. It went without saying that the entire bar heard, and raucous laughter broke out in the bar. Holly’s face turned red when heads turned her way. She gasped as she approached the table. Oliver, Teresse, and her roommates were all seated at the table. When she approached them, everyone got up to kiss her on the cheek.

  “I must tell you that I’ve seen someone practically crawl out of Rev’s room every morning, I wonder who it is?” Holly teased, kissing Bridge on both cheeks.

  “Ha ha,” said Bridgette, swinging her arm around Holly to give her a hug.

  “What is this?” Holly asked, in turn hugging Teresse, and then Ollie. “And here I thought you had to work, mister.” She looked at Rev, who was smiling at her.

  “Your birthday party, of course,” Teresse said.

  Holly’s eyes scanned the table top. It was lined with presents. She shook her head.

  “Look at you. Where did these curls come from, missy?” Teresse asked.

  “I didn’t have time to pull my straightener through it.”

  “That’s natural?” Teresse huffed. Holly pulled a face. “They are gorgeous, you lucky cow.”

  “Sit, birthday slut,” Bridge practically shoved her onto the chair. She removed her cowboy hat and replaced it with a tiara.

  Holly laughed.

  Rod eventually returned with an insane amount of shots on a tray. On the count of three, the shots were downed, followed by whistles and cheers. But she wasn’t done, because Rod handed her a tall, fizzy drink.

  “What’s this?” she asked him.

  “Drink and be jolly.”

  She shook her head but drank it anyway.

  A couple of drinks later, which had been accompanied by jokes and loud laughter that made her stomach ache, her presents were placed in front of her. Shyly, she opened them one by one, thanking everyone in turn. She got a beautiful bracelet from Rod, who helped her put it on. Julia and Rev had pooled their money to give her a Guess gift card. Teresse had gotten her a lovely throw for her bed, and from Ollie, she got another gift card.

  “Not so fast. Here’s mine.” Bridge placed a weirdly shaped and wrapped object in front of her, which to Holly, looked like a vibrator. “You need this. Badly. You cannot, my friend, cope without it. And since you’re not getting the real thing…” she trailed off.

  “Oh my fuck. What did on earth did you get me!” Holly yelled, without meaning to. Her mind was fuzzy because Rod kept placing drink after drink in front of her every half hour or so.

  “I bought you the vegetarian kind.”

  “The vegetarian kind?”

  “They say tofu is just as good as meat, but fuck tofu, I say. Find yourself a piece of meat, girl, because there’s nothing like the real thing.”

  Bridgette placed a bottle of whipped cream on the table, then pushed the vibrator closer to Holly. Giggling, she shook her head; this kind of thing was so typical of Bridgette. The others were cracking up with laughter.

  “Do I have to open it right now?”

  “Hell, yes, you do. I need to know if you can handle this fucker.”

  Blushing at her friends’ laughter, Holly tore the paper off.

  “Bridge, seriously!”

  “Why is your face so red Holly? We’re all adults here,” Rev teased.

  “Shut up!” She pointed a finger at him.

  “I’m so sorry about this, Teresse. I promise, I’m not this kind of girl.”

  “Hear, hear!” Rod shouted.

  Oh, for heaven’s sake! Keep your voice down. It would just be her luck if this vibrator caused either Rev or Rod to blurt anything about a certain little girl she had back home. She’d really be screwed then.

  She ventured a quick look at the bar, running her eyes over Jake’s table. He was still there. She was embarrassed to open her present in front of Ollie and Teresse. But in the end, she did, since she didn’t really have a choice.

  “Shots!” yelled Rod. A waitress appeared with a bottle, then filled everyone’s glasses.

  “I’m too scared to ask what the cream is for.” Holly looked at Bridge.

  “You know exactly what the cream is for.”

  Bridgette grabbed the vibrator out of her hand, waving it around for all to see. Holly felt her face burn from embarrassment. The entire bar was cheering. She covered her head with her arms, willing herself to become invisible. If a hole would’ve just opened up in the floor, she would have gladly thrown herself into it.

  Hearing a sputtering sound, Holly looked up and groaned. Bridgette was squirting the whipped cream on the vibrator’s tip.

  Smiling, Bridgette handed the cream-topped vibrator to Holly and said, “A little demonstration, if you please.”

  “No. Fucking. Way.” Holly wanted to die.

  “Party pooper, party pooper,” was shouted around the table.

  “C’mon, Holly, be a sport!” begged Rod.

  “Shot!” Holly yelled.

  With four shots downed for liquid courage, she went for it. Bringing the tip of the vibrator to her mouth, she deliberately licked the whipped cream off, slowly. It was a messy job.

  Her friends cheered her on, and Rod gave a resounding whistle when the vibrator was completely clean. In the spirit of being a good sport, Holly stood, bowed, then fell back onto the chair, almost missing it completely. Bridgette laughed along with Holly. Rod managed to grab her before she fell to the floor.

  “If you want my number, I’ll be here all night!” a stranger yelled across the bar at her. Rod thought it hilarious, and he laughed hysterically.

  “Get in line, mister!” Oliver yelled.

  Holly’s eyes grew and she pulled a face at Ollie. She was sure Jake would have heard that.

  “See? You’re already raking in the numbers,” Rod whispered to her.

  “Oh, I don’t need numbers anymore,” she said, hitting Rod playfully on the head with her new toy, one she knew she would never use.

  Abruptly, the music in the bar stopped. Following everyone’s eyes, Holly saw one of the waiters roll out a trolley. An obscene amount of shots was on the trolley, carefully stacked up in the form of a cake with a sparkler on an actual small cake right on top. It looked stunning. Every single person in the bar sang to her. Shyly, she stood, then bowed to everyone.

  “Okay, Holls.” Rod pushed her down. “Please, grace us with one of your songs.”

  Holly laughed again. “I’m not there yet.”

  “What song?” Bridgette had gotten louder and louder as the night went on.

  “One you will maybe hear tonight, depending on my mood later on.”

  Rod told them about the hilarious songs Holly made up whenever she was drunk. That only had Bridgette egging her on more.

  “That’s not how it works.”

  Bridgette tickled her upper thigh, which had her jumping in her seat, laughing. She had to admit, she was having the time of her life. She was having such a good time, she didn’t give two shits if Jake had seen it all, couldn’t have cared less. Maybe that display had made him remember exactly how she’d been. And if that made him feel a tinge of regret, she was more than happy.

  JAKE

  Of all the n
ights Kate could have arranged for Michael to sleep over at her parents’ place, she had to pick tonight. He didn’t want to do this with her anymore. Holly constantly occupied his mind, and he felt extremely guilty about it. He was being forced to do one thing when he really wanted to do another.

  He smiled inwardly, wondering what she’d thought about the bouquet of flowers he’d secretly ordered for her, and if she’d even realized they were from him. He’d had no idea it was her birthday today, but when he heard the staff singing and then saw Downsend hugging her, he’d wished he could’ve taken Downsend’s place for those few short seconds.

  He’d told the florist he was buying them on behalf of a friend, going so far as to pretend he was talking to someone when he in fact chatted to an empty chair, so that Samuel, the florist he usually purchased Kate’s roses from, would buy his story. He even jokingly added that his friend needed the words Happy B-day, Bee Puke written on the card. Sam bought the whole story. Jake couldn’t believe how good he’d become at deceiving people.

  Tonight, he was going to have to pretend bigtime, like never before. He wasn’t in the mood to have sex with Kate, and he knew she’d be all over him as soon as they got home. For the past few weeks he’d been like a hound dog, banging her whenever his fancy took him, but it wasn’t because of what she did to him. It was all because of Holly. He loved Kate, without a doubt, but he ached for Holly, would always ache for her, and now that she was within his reach, it killed him that he couldn’t do anything about it.

  Just then, his phone vibrated.

  We are having drinks with Toni and Gustave, seven at Downstairs. XOXO

  Cool, he replied.

  He was relieved, though he’d have to pretend that he was horribly drunk and not feeling well. Luckily, he still knew how to fake a throw-up session.

  He couldn’t believe he was starting to contemplate this plan. He was sure this was his gut telling him Kate wasn’t the one for him, and that he should call off their wedding. But… what would he tell his mother, his entire his family? That Holly had come back and was messing with his mind?

  How could he put his family through that all over again? He never thought he’d forgive her so easily. It felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. However, his grandmother had always said that if you loved someone, you loved them warts and all, and God knew he loved Holly.

  On the other hand, his family would never forgive her for what she’d done to him. A horrid thought crossed his mind, but he tried to imagine what life would be like without any of his siblings, his parents. He couldn’t fathom the thought. As much as he loved Holly, he loved his family, too.

  He took a shower at Downsend, then dressed in jeans, a button-up shirt, and his leather jacket. Grabbing his keys, he left. He pulled into Downstairs’s parking lot shortly before seven. He found Kate, Toni, and Gustave already seated at a table right by the entrance.

  Gustave smiled and got up. “Hey, bud,” he greeted, shaking Jake’s hand and slapping him on the back. Looking over Gustave’s shoulder, Jake saw Toni smiling at him. “Long time no see.”

  “I know, work is hectic.”

  “Jake’s mission in life is to save every head case,” Kate joked. Even her lame, fucking jokes were starting to annoy him.

  The conversation flowed, and drinks were ordered. Thankfully, the waitress was quick on her feet, and his Chivas on the rocks was placed in front of him within minutes. Looking around the bar curiously, his eyes landed on a table against the far corner and was surprised to see two interns from P&E there. Squinting, he saw Teresse with them. Scrunching his eyebrows, he wondered why she was there with them since she worked at Downsend. The door clanged again. Jake felt irritable. Why the hell Kate always put them right in front of the entrance was a huge fucking mystery.

  “Rodney,” Kate exclaimed. He looked up and saw Rod’s figure walking towards their table.

  Listening with one ear, Jake realized Kate was making another lame joke, and forced himself to laugh along with the rest of the table when Rodney didn’t get it. He leaned back in his chair to look past Rod, and caught a glimmer of short, strawberry blonde curls peeking out from beneath a cowboy hat. Abruptly, the girl turned and headed toward the bar. He felt as if someone had knocked the air from his lungs. Not to give how he was feeling away, Jake smiled at Rod and joined in the conversation, but in the back of his mind he couldn’t help wondering how the hell Rod, a guy he worked with every single day, knew Holly. Had it been her who’d given Ty’s files to Rod? It couldn’t be.

  “We’re here, birthday slut!” he heard someone yell. Kate and Rod continued to joke with one another, but he wasn’t paying them the least bit of attention. “Look, I’ve got to go, but enjoy your night,” Rod’s voice brought him back to the present. Tipping his cowboy hat at them, Rod left.

  For the remainder of the evening, Jake was distracted. At one point, he heard dares being yelled from the table in the corner. Practically everyone in the club turned to look, Jake included. The last thing he’d expected to see was Holly licking cream off a… vibrator. Inwardly, he groaned.

  The bar exploded in raucous cheering. Jake fumed, disliking the comment from a fucker who yelled that he wanted her number.

  “Get in line, mister!” Oliver yelled, too.

  Jake was convinced that that fucking asshole wanted a piece of her. It made him green with jealousy.

  Jake closed his eyes as Holly’s laughter reached his ears. He forced himself to remain seated because all he really wanted to do was get up and go join their party.

  “Ugh, I can’t stand girls who dye their hair strawberry blonde,” Kate snickered. “She works at Downsend, right?” she asked Jake.

  “Who?” Jake feigned his ignorance at her question.

  “That girl over there.” She pointed at Holly. “The one who just practically acted in a mini-porno with that vibrator. Some women are so cheap.”

  “Oh, I didn’t notice. I go to hospitals to save lives, Kate, not check out their employees. Besides, I only have eyes for you.”

  “Aww,” Toni cooed, giving Gustave a scolding look. “Why don’t you say such sweet things to me anymore?”

  Kate giggled and touched his chin, planting a juicy kiss on his lips. “Good comeback, mister.”

  “It’s not a comeback, it’s the truth. I have no idea who she is, or whether she works at Downsend or not.”

  Smiling, she turned to speak to Toni. Jake hated the lies. Jake had told Kate about Holly, but she had no clue what Holly looked like. Only that she’d had strawberry blonde hair. Kate had also become obsessed with strawberry blondes, but she couldn’t tell the difference between the natural kind and the one achieved via a bottle. She really wasn’t one of the smartest women around, since her cousin had tried to change her blonde hair to a strawberry blonde. It was pathetic, but what could he do?

  He watched Holly go off somewhere, holding hands with Rod. For the first time since he’d met him, Jake hated him just a tiny bit. He drained his glass. He had to leave before they got back.

  Calling the waitress over, Jake settled the bill, giving some lame-ass excuse that he needed to pick up some files at P&E. Thankfully, both Gustave and Toni bought it. Outside, he gave Gustave a playful slap on his back and dropped a friendly kiss on Toni’s cheek. “See you guys soon. Drive safely,” he said, slipping his hand into Kate’s. He felt Kate squeezing his hand and led the way to her car.

  Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned in closer. Jake stroked her back softly as she whispered in his ear. “Don’t take too long. We don’t get alone time anymore.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, yeah? What is it, exactly, that you have planned for me tonight?”

  “Just get your ass home, mister, and you’ll see.”

  Bending slightly, Jake kissed her on the lips.

  “Hurry up,” she said again, and he winked.

  Once he’d settled her in her car, he closed the door and walked to his SUV, doing the same. He started his veh
icle, then drove behind her a ways, until he had to turn off toward P&E. Kate honked once and disappeared down the road. When Jake stopped at the traffic light, he banged his head hard against the window. He’d wanted to wish Holly a happy birthday so badly. He sat there with that thought lingering in his head. Fuck it. He was going to do it. Making a U-turn, he drove back to the parking lot he’d just vacated, parked, got out of his vehicle, then strode to the entrance.

  Tonight, he would kiss her. Even if it was just the top of her head, but he was going to wish her a fucking happy birthday.

  HOLLY

  “Come, my princess,” sweet-talked Rod, “it’s time to dance like we’ve never danced before.” He grabbed her hand and led her down the stairs to the dance floor. Bridgette followed, too, with Julia and Rev in tow.

  They danced to a few songs until Holly needed to something to quench her thirst. A beer would do just that. She couldn’t handle another sweet cocktail. Reaching the bar proved difficult, though, and she found herself squeezing past a throng of people.

  “Hi, you the birthday girl tonight?” the girl attending bar asked her.

  “Yes, I am.” Holly placed her tiara on the bar’s counter.

  “Happy birthday to you…” she sang. “What will it be?”

  “Any shot will do, thanks, and a light beer as well,” Holly replied. “I feel the need to pass out tonight.”

  The girl laughed, placing a shot glass in front of Holly. Grabbing a bottle off the shelf, she poured a dark purple liquid into the shot glass.

  Bringing it to her mouth, Holly downed the purple liquid. Her eyes closed, and her lips formed a sour pout as the liquid traveled down her throat. Placing the shot glass down on the counter, she tapped it twice with her forefinger.

  “Make that another two!” Jake’s voice yelled from beside her.

  Surprised, Holly turned and smiled, then did a double-take. “What are you doing here?”

  “Same as you, taking a break!” he yelled over the loud music. “I didn’t know it was your birthday today.”