by S. Nelson
“Well, I’m not going now, so you can forget about it.” I stalked away from her and into the bathroom. It was late and I needed to take a shower before bed.
“You are going because I’m not allowing you to chicken out.” When she sensed her words were falling on deaf ears, she followed me into the bathroom and was the one crowding my personal space in return. “You listen here. I love you as if you were my own sister, but I’ve listened to you cry for three months over that asshole. I’ve been your shoulder to lean on, talked you down from your bouts of hysteria, and have been there for you in every other way possible. Even force-feeding you so you didn’t starve to death. I was happy to do it. All of it. But right now, you have an opportunity to start living again and meet some new people, and damn it, you’re going to do it. You don’t have to marry the guy, you don’t even have to sleep with him, but you will put on your big-girl panties and enjoy one night out with friends. See where the night takes you.” She stunned me speechless. “Do you understand me?” she demanded.
How could I argue with anything she’d said? I couldn’t, so I gave in. “Fine.”
“Good. Now, is there anything else you want to talk about?” She laughed, knowing she’d essentially trapped me into a night of forced fun.
“Nope, I think you about covered it.” I quickly learned it was best not to fight her. She’d made some really good points, and because she was such a great friend, I decided to go along with her plans. Humor her. Who knows? Maybe I’ll actually end up having a good time for once.
~23~
Alek
Drunk.
I was drunk yet again.
It seemed the only thing I was good at following through with recently was downing large amounts of alcohol. As I lay on the couch, I couldn’t help but think back to the previous week. Apparently, I loved to torture myself.
It’d been seven long days since my planned encounter with Sara. She looked beautiful, of course, but her distress enveloped her, making her look tired. Weight loss was the first thing I noticed. She was too thin, obviously the result of her not eating. When I was close enough, I saw the dark circles hovering under her eyes. She did her best to cover them up, but it didn’t really work.
My heart leapt when she finally made eye contact with me. I lost my breath for a few seconds. No matter how much time went by, it would do nothing to squelch the sizzling desire which passed between us whenever we were close. I knew my presence was going to affect her. Hell, it affected me more than I ever wanted to admit. But I had to see her. I was going out of my mind not being able to talk to her. I wanted to beg for forgiveness so many times but never found my opportunity until that night.
I knew I was a dick for trapping her the way I did, but she wouldn’t listen to me otherwise. Seeing the anger in her eyes was a good thing; it meant she still had some sort of feeling toward me. When I leaned into her, I thought I caught a glimpse of desire there as well, but I didn’t have enough time to find out before she started yelling at me. I wouldn’t lie and say her words didn’t hurt me, but I deserved all she had to give and then some. Wanting nothing more than to tame her rage with a kiss, I knew better than to push her too far.
Winning her back again was going to be my biggest feat. I wasn’t sure if she would even give me a third chance, because that was exactly what it was.
My third chance.
I tried my hardest not to think about it, but I couldn’t forget the way that asshole claimed Sara…right in front of me. Who the hell did he think he was, touching her so intimately, clearly showing his sign of possession? I knew what he was doing because I’d exhibited the same behavior when she was mine. I knew it was Neanderthal-like but I was letting every other man in the room know she was taken.
She was mine.
Except she wasn’t mine anymore.
I was forced from my thoughts when the sound of my phone cut through the air. My hand dangled over the couch, desperately trying to search for the damn thing. Once I’d found it, I did my best to see who was calling, but my vision was blurry. Fuck it! I’ll answer it blind.
“Hello,” I slurred down the line.
“What the fuck, man? You missed our meeting. Again,” Kael berated on the other end. I heard him huffing into the phone. What? Did he miraculously think I would get my shit together simply because he was annoyed with me? “You’ve haven’t been yourself ever since you made that stupid, self-sacrificing choice.” He remained quiet, clearly trying to give me some time to react. I chose not to respond. “I told you not to do it, Alek. I told you not to make any rash decisions, to think about it before you decided to cut her out of your life.”
“I did think about it!” I finally yelled in response. “It’s all I fucking thought about, drunk and sober, night and day. It was the best choice for her. At the time.”
“Yeah. You keep telling yourself that. Keep trying to convince yourself what you did was the best thing for her.” Kael was obviously pissed off at me. He knew I was hurting, trying to assuage my pain with alcohol. Which was exactly why I missed yet another one of our meetings.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore, Kael. She won’t even talk to me. I’ve tried, but she hates me.” I blew out a drunken breath of air. “She hates me, Kael. What am I going to do?”
“Wait. When did you try to talk to her?”
“Last week, but some asshole had his hands all over my woman. He didn’t want her to talk to me, but I fooled him. I made him disappear so I could pin her against the car.” The scene played out in my head, but the words spewing from my mouth made everything sound weird.
“Jesus Christ, Alek. Did you attack her? So help me, if you harmed her in any way, I’ll kick your ass myself.” He was seething, his anger palpable even through the phone.
“How could you think I would ever do that?” Even drunk, I was offended he thought so little of me. But then again, I’d been drunk for the majority of the past three months, so it seemed he had cause to worry. “I love her, Kael. I love her so much,” I cried into the phone. If I knew anything about my good friend, I knew he was shaking his head at me.
“Listen. Here is what you’re going to do. And so help me, if you don’t, I’m coming over there and we’re going to have it out.”
“You can’t take me,” I teased, a smile on my drunken face because I knew he was being funny.
“Yes, I can, especially since you’d probably be in one of your stupors.”
“Whatever. What do you want me to do?” Grasping the back of my neck, I pulled at the tight muscles, throwing my head back to try and relieve some of the pain. My little movement almost caused me to fall over.
“I need you to sober up. I had to delay the designer again and she didn’t seem too pleased, muttering something about other jobs and shit. I can’t move it again. If we want this place up and running by the projected date, you have to get your priorities straight and put down the damn bottle.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear because all of a sudden, he was yelling. Or had he been doing that the entire time? “I know. I got it. I heard you.”
“Good. Now, what time are you swinging by my office today? We still have to go over a couple more items before we can even give her the green light to start.”
“I’ll be by around two.” I was so done with our conversation. If I heard one more of Kael’s lectures, I was going to lose it.
After hanging up the phone, I stumbled over to the desk, put the lid back on my new best friend Jack and headed upstairs to clean up.
~~~~
I arrived at Kael’s office with five minutes to spare. I felt like shit and was sure I looked like it, too. If given the opportunity, I was sure my dear friend would be the first to point it out to me as well, trying to solidify his point about how out of control I’d become.
His office door swung open and I was surprised to see Adara sauntering my way, a satisfied smile spread wide across her beautiful face. When her eyes met mine, her smile faltered
for a brief moment. Still walking toward me, she opened her arms without hesitation and I walked right into them. It was nice to feel a woman’s touch again, although her embrace was in no way sexual, simply comforting.
“Oh, Alek, honey.” She kissed my cheek and hugged me tighter. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.” When my simple statement did nothing to satiate her, I tried to lie to her again. “Really.”
“Uh-huh,” she appeased. “You have to come over to the house. We would love to have you.” We were still wrapped up in our embrace when her husband strode out from his office, stopping for a split-second when he saw us. I knew he trusted me a thousand percent, but the sight of another man touching his wife was enough for him to still become a little riled. I didn’t blame him, either. I would have reacted the same exact way if he was touching Sara, even though she wasn’t mine any longer.
“All right, all right. Enough groping my wife, Devera. Hands off.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He’d broken out the tough love bit with me earlier, so as payback I decided to have a little fun with him.
I grabbed Adara, pressing my hands to the small of her back, and drew her closer to me. None of our intimate areas were touching, but he got the message. “I’m only too happy to accept the kind of comforting your wife is willing to give me,” I taunted. I saw the look of irritation flicker in his eyes, but I kept going. Plus, Adara was chuckling the whole time I incessantly teased her husband. “Be a friend, Kael. I’m hurting here. I need this.” As I leaned closer to whisper something in her ear, our hug was ripped apart.
“Not fucking funny, man.” He shot a disbelieving look at his wife, but it did nothing to squash the laughter which emanated from her lips. “Maybe if you weren’t such an asshole, you would have your own woman to molest.” I knew he was trying to bait me, but I was too wrapped up in the teasing moment to reflect fully on his words.
“All right already. Stop fighting over little ol’ me.” Adara laughed. She reached up, cupped the side of Kael’s face and tenderly gazed at him. “I’ll see you at home, honey.” Giving him a quick kiss, she turned around to walk away but not before giving me a friendly wink over her shoulder. My friend sure was one lucky son of a bitch.
If I waited for him to stop leering after his own wife, I’d be there all day. Pushing past him, I walked into his office, grabbed a bottled water from his fridge and plopped down on the couch.
We only had a limited amount of days left to hash out all the details before our newest project was set to go. So I’d better put my head on straight before Kael makes good on his promise and tries to kick my ass.
~24~
Sara
The night had finally arrived. I’d reluctantly agreed to accompany Alexa and Braden to Verdana’s new opening, where essentially they were setting me up on a blind date. At least I’ll eat some good food.
I’d been taking better care of myself, eating more to help replenish the weight I’d lost. I’d even started running. Each time my foot hit the pavement, it helped to clear away the cobwebs from my head. Running had quickly become an escape for me. Plus, it was great exercise.
“Girl, are you almost ready?” Alexa yelled from the living room. “Braden’s gonna be here any minute to pick us up.” Hell must have frozen over for her to actually be ready before me. But then again, I was taking my sweet-ass time, as I did with most things lately.
What’s the rush? What am I hurrying toward?
“I’ll be right there.” Semi-satisfied with the image staring back at me, I snatched my purse off the bed, flicked off my bedroom light and headed out to the front room.
We arrived at the newest grand opening right on time, bypassing the long line of patrons patiently waiting to enter. Braden was able to secure us VIP status, something I didn’t even know existed for restaurants. We were led right to a private section, a waitress in tow as we ordered our drinks, and settled in for what would hopefully be a good night. Braden’s friend James was going to be joining us in a little while. At least I had some time to loosen up before my nerves took hold.
“This place is amazing,” I raved, my eyes roaming over the fixtures of the expansive building. We were surrounded by white and stainless steel which was quite masculine, but there were splashes of sensual colors mixed throughout. Beautiful artwork decorated the walls while exquisite candles complemented the center of each table. The flickering flames added to the ambiance of the restaurant, making it appear more cozy and intimate.
“Yeah, a buddy of mine is co-owner in this little endeavor, so of course I agreed to come out and support him.” His arm was slung over Alexa’s chair, stroking her shoulder as he glanced around the room. I was so happy my best friend found love. She certainly deserved her happily ever after. But sometimes her happiness drove home what I’d lost.
Plus, I forever felt like a third wheel, even though both of them assured me it wasn’t the case. I knew they were concerned about me, but I declined most of their invitations because I not only wanted to be alone, but I also wanted to give them some time together. I knew, as much as anyone, how important the first stages of a new relationship were. Getting to know each other, even learning how to deal with the stubborn parts of the other person’s personalities were obstacles best done alone.
And those two sure had their work cut out for them. Braden was a kind man, but he was pretty intense, sometimes acting as if his word was law. Alexa was stubborn in her own right, sticking to her guns each time he was acting like an ass. Yeah, they definitely had their trying times to deal with but they seemed to really care about one another, despite all of the other noise.
“Well, it’s a great place. Your friend should be proud of his accomplishment,” I offered.
“Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Here comes the man of the hour now.” I wasn’t paying attention until Braden stood from his seat, walked away from our table and shook hands with someone. When he moved out of the way and I’d gotten a glimpse of who he was talking to, I’d felt as if I’d been sucker-punched in the gut.
My eyes were as big as saucers, but they were nothing compared to how far wide my mouth had fallen.
Kael was staring right at me as he approached our table. What the hell? How does Braden know him? The next thought in my head, of course, was if Alek was there, as well. I knew what good friends they were so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him, even though it was the last thing I wanted.
“Sara, how are you?” Kael politely asked.
“Fine, thank you. And you?” I fidgeted in my chair, glancing around everywhere to see if he was there.
In the midst of my roving eyes, I landed on Alexa’s face, which was one of pure confusion. She leaned over the table, curiosity getting the better of her. “How do you know Braden’s friend?” she whispered.
I wasn’t sure if I could answer her while holding back the rush of emotion which was sure to spill over. Trying to calm myself, I was able to finally give her something. “Kael is good friends with Alek.” I blew out a nervous breath so loud, I was surprised no one at the table made a comment.
“Oh,” was all she could say, obviously realizing the same thing I did just moments before. The enormity of the situation wasn’t lost on either one of us.
Once the introductions were finished, Kael asked to speak to me in private.
He started first, mainly because I didn’t even know what to say. “How are you doing, Sara? Really?” Such a loaded question. One I wasn’t comfortable answering. His loyalty fell to Alek and the last thing I wanted to do was put him in an awkward position, finding himself on the side of defending his asshole of a friend. But he was going out of his way to talk to me, so the least I could do was give him a truthful answer. Maybe I’ll leave the name-calling for another time.
“Honestly?” He nodded. “I’ve been better.” It was all I was comfortable saying right then. My curt response said enough. I wanted so badly to ask him if Alek was going to be there, but I didn’t want him to t
hink I was still hung up on him. Not knowing what guys talked about, I worried he would run back and tell him everything I said.
“I told him he was making the biggest mistake ever letting you go, but he didn’t want to listen to me.” He looked a little uncomfortable, but he started it, so I was going to finish it. Plus, it would be nice to release some of my anger onto someone other than poor Alexa.
“Well, I’m sure Cora was only too pleased he broke it off with me.” Saying her name was torture on my tongue, acid to my ears.
“Cora? His ex-fiancée? What does she have to do with any of this?” The look of confusion on his face was priceless. His good pal obviously didn’t tell him everything.
“She was at his house the night he broke up with me. Well, he didn’t actually say the words. No, he wasn’t man enough. He simply stood there, not saying a damn thing. I left and never heard from him again. Well, up until a week ago when he apologized but not saying exactly what for. Thankfully, I was able leave before he humiliated me with more lies.”
Kael still looked confused, not quite sure what he should and shouldn’t say to me. I understood, guy code and all that. He didn’t want to overstep, but at the same time he looked like he wanted to offer me some comfort, a small slice of revelation and relief.
“He’s not back with Cora, so I’m not even sure what all that was about, Sara.” He glanced around, making sure there was no one else nearby to hear our private conversation. “He broke it off with you because the sheer guilt about the things which have happened to you while he was in your life, up-close and personal, were too much to bear. He thought by letting you go, he could better protect you. Like he did before he met you.” Before I could even comprehend the impact of his words, he blurted out, “That’s why you guys are no longer together. I tried to talk him out of it numerous times, mostly when he was slumped over his couch, drunk as a skunk. He’s not doing well, Sara, and if he sees you here tonight, I fear something bad will happen.”