“Not like…that. Just as a friend.” I glare at him and his smile falters for a second before it spreads even wider, his cocky persona a mask which hardens on his face.
“You keep telling yourself that. I don’t need you to admit it yet. I’m happy with my girlfriend, anyway. We have so much sex; you couldn’t handle me, Chels.”
“Oh, gross, shut up. Too much information.” I smack him on the arm as Aiden approaches us. His eyebrows are pulled together and his jaw is locked, ticking. “Hey,” I greet him, keeping my voice quiet, timid. My eyebrows scrunch together, matching his expression.
Nate glances over his shoulder and sees him approaching. His knee-jerk reaction is rolling his eyes and walking away. He can’t even stand to have a brief, friendly conversation with us. It’s childish, but Nate has a tendency to react as such.
He goes to clock out for his break, walking to the registers. “Chels,” he calls from the back of the store, drawing my attention back to him.
I spin to answer him. “What?”
“I’m having people over tonight to swim and play games. You should come.” Though he and I are close at work, we’ve never hung out outside of the store. The invite comes from left field and, for a moment, I’m taken aback.
I don’t answer right away because I don’t know what to say. He joins Aiden and I once more at the front of the store. “What do you say? Some buddies are coming over, you can meet my girlfriend and my parents.”
His parents? I give him a weird look. “My parents are super cool. We’ll all be drinking; they won’t care if you drink as long as you don’t drive.”
I weigh the options in my head. It’s summer, he’s fun to hang out with, the mall closes at six, and I don’t have any other plans. “Sure, why not?”
“Don’t sound so excited.” He rolls his eyes at me. “You can follow me home after work if you want.”
While that would be the best option with me being downright incompetent where directions are concerned, I have to decline. “I’ll need to change and get my suit.”
A leering grin pulls at his lips. “You don’t need a swimsuit.”
Aiden was standing beside us, but after hearing that he scoffs and walks away. He’s being weirder than usual with Nate tonight. I know they don’t like each other, but still.
“Shut up, yes I do. I can’t hang out with your parents or girlfriend naked. Don’t even say another word,” I tell him, when he opens his mouth to likely say something else stupid or gross. “Text me your address after work and I’ll come over.”
He leaves the store to grab food and I start straightening up. Someone comes up behind me, and I pray it’s not a customer. I’m not a people person like I told Seth during my interview. People always lie during interviews, right?
I turn around and lift my head to meet his gaze. A sneer covers Aiden’s face mixed with utter disgust. “Are you really friends with that guy? He’s such a douche.”
“Yeah, well, so are you and I still like you.”
His mood shifts and a sexy grin pulls at the corner of his lips and he looks at me as if to say, touché.
The stockroom door slams and Reese walks out from where he was hiding in the back doing paperwork. Aiden’s gaze is still on me and he nods when I return the stare. He walks with a swagger as he joins his friend at the back of the store and I can’t help but watch him go.
I think Reese catches me staring at his friend’s ass, so I go back to my cleaning duty. It’s been a weird shift.
∞ ∞ ∞
I sit down on the steps at home with my right arm around my golden retriever and my left arm around my border collie. The worst part of vacations is leaving them. Hell, the worst part of leaving home at all is leaving them. But there’s nothing better than coming home to the chorus of puppy barks and wagging tails.
I have a bag packed with my bikini and towel sitting on the counter beside my purse. I’m petting my dogs and alternating giving them kisses as I get ready to head out once more.
“Where are you going now?” My mother’s voice is high-pitched and laced with disbelief because I haven’t been home much, but it’s summer. What does she expect?
“To Nate’s house. He’s a friend from work.” She squints her eyes as she stares at me with scrutiny and judgement.
“Does Dan know about this?” Who gives a shit about Dan?
“Yes, and despite the fact I don’t need a man’s permission to hang out with friends, he’s fine with it. I’ll be home later.” I grab my bag and head out the door, but not before offering my dogs another kiss each.
The drive to Nate’s house is confusing and takes me about forty-five minutes. It would be quicker if I wasn’t a dunce with directions.
I think I’m here.
I park my car along the street and see him come out of a door two houses away. I’m parked outside the wrong house, but I got close which, for me, is a win.
“Why are you parked all the way down there?” He’s laughing at me because there are plenty of parking spaces in front of his house. Oh, well.
I ignore the question and walk up his driveway. He hugs me—it appears he’s a big hugger—and leads me inside. I hope his family isn’t full of huggers. I don’t think I can handle a bunch of strangers suffocating me with their embraces.
“Mom, Dad, this is Chelsea. These are my parents, and this is my girlfriend, Donna.” He stands beside his girlfriend. I don’t find Nate to be the most handsome guy in the world. He’s not tall or dark. He’s short, with sandy blonde hair, an average body, and a dirty sense of humor.
But his girlfriend is nothing I would’ve expected. She’s an inch or two taller than him with long, greasy brown hair. She’s heavier set than her better half and pimples and acne scars cover her face.
“Hi, it’s so nice to meet you.” Her smile is genuine and when Nate looks at her, I see his eyes sparkle. Anyone could see clear as day how smitten he is. If they’re happy, I’m happy for them.
“Hi, Donna, it’s nice to meet you too.” I’m uncomfortable and I’m not sure where to go or what to do from here. A bunch of people litter the living room and I’m sure as shit not going to go introduce myself.
“Would you like anything to eat or drink?” Nate’s mom asks me in a soft voice. She’s gorgeous, looking way too young to have a kid in college, and her eyes are kind. Her reddish hair is styled, hanging down over her shoulders. She’s rocking a bikini better than even I could. I can tell how in love she is with her husband with how they interact though he seems intimidating.
“I’m okay, thank you though.” She scurries into the kitchen and takes a cookie tray out of the oven. The aroma fills the room and a bunch of guys barrel into the space, grabbing hot cookies from the tray.
“Thanks, Mrs. S.” The guys say in a chorus as they ooh and ahh over both the cookies and the woman who made them. Two of them whisper about how she’s a total MILF, and it makes me even more uncomfortable. Guys are gross.
“Come on, wanna go swimming? Do you have your suit?” Nate asks me with his arm still around his girlfriend.
“Yeah, I brought it, I’d just have to change.” My voice wavers at the end as I’m interrupted.
“Yo, Nate, up for a game of pool?” A male’s voice calls from another room.
“Hell, yeah!” The guy comes into view. He’s short and skinny, with blond hair and a diamond earring in his left ear. They open a door from the kitchen that leads down to the basement and head downstairs. A couple more guys follow, and I scan the room for an escape.
Would it be rude to leave now?
As luck would have it, my phone vibrates against my butt from my back pocket. This could be my chance to make a break for it. Please be Callie or my mom or anyone who can help get me out of here.
It’s not. It’s a message from Aiden, of all people.
Did you really go hang out with that douche tonight?
Why does he even care? I’m snarky in my reply because he can’t tell me who I can and can
’t hang out with. It’s not like I ditched him for Nate or something.
So what if I did?
“Come on, you can sit with me.” Donna’s voice pulls my away from my phone and she motions with her hand for me to follow her.
I push my phone into my back pocket once more, praying for another message, but Aiden doesn’t respond again. What a weirdo.
“So, you work with Nate?” She asks me as I sit down on the sofa next to her.
I nod. I don’t even know him that well and now I’m making small talk with his girlfriend in his basement. It’s weird. I’m regretting coming here and already I’m looking for an escape.
“How long have you two been dating?” It’s the natural progression of this conversation, even though I loathe small talk.
“Five years.” She smiles though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “We started dating in high school. I’m a year older than him. Now we go to separate colleges five hours away and it’s hard sometimes, but he…”
She keeps talking but I block her out. I don’t care about their entire relationship. She seems nice enough but there’s something about her I don’t like, though I can’t put my finger on it.
I fake laugh and add a few “ohs” and “yeahs” when it seems necessary, but I’m checked out of this conversation. I’m saved when Nate comes over and interrupts his girlfriend’s yapping, planting a loud, wet kiss on her mouth. I think I throw up a little in my mouth and have to turn away to swallow it down.
I get up because I don’t want to become the bed these two have sex on and go sit on another chair across the room.
“They’re always like this. You’ll get used to it.” The guy with the ear piercing says. My resting bitch face is ineffective here, considering people continue to come up and talk to me as if I’m holding a fucking sign that reads ‘Be my friend!’
“Gross.” I wrinkle my nose in distaste.
“Oh, my God. Do you like him?” Mystery guy says to me and my mouth drops open before I crack up.
“No. No. God, no. Absolutely not. We’re just friends.” I bite my cheek to stop myself from laughing any more. “I’m Chelsea.”
“I know. Nate’s told us a lot about you. I’m Ian. That’s Drew and Felix.” He points across the room to the other two guys, a skinny white guy and a bulky Mexican. I wave and offer a small smile.
For being a “pool party”—a term that reminds me of adolescent summer birthday parties—everyone is in regular clothes except for Nate, his parents, and Donna. I’m glad I didn’t wear my suit over or I’d be out of place, which is weird since I thought it was a pool party.
After an uncomfortable length of time, my friend severs his mouth from his girlfriend’s. “You didn’t have to move, Chels, you could’ve joined us.” His lips are red from the inappropriate make-out session and Donna rolls her eyes in irritation.
“Ha ha.” I squint my eyes at him, knowing he’s only joking.
I need to keep my eye on her, even though Nate’s the one always making sexual comments and innuendos. She seemed friendly enough, but she could just be feeling me out.
The girlfriend remains attached to Nate’s hip the rest of the night, even following him upstairs to get more drinks when he insisted he didn’t need help. We all play pool, watch some TV, and play card games until after midnight.
“I gotta get going. I have a long drive home.” Nate walks me out and I say bye to everyone, his friends and parents included. Donna goes to give me a hug, but Nate stops her.
“She hates hugs.” Confusion tugs at my brows and my lips curve downward. He hugs me all the time, yet he remembers I hate hugs? Or does he just not want his girlfriend hugging me? Weird.
On his front porch he envelopes me in a hug and for once I hug him back. The night wasn’t all that awful.
“I hope you had a good time. Sorry about Donna.” I’ve never seen Nate be sheepish, but there’s a first time for everything.
“It’s fine. She was marking her territory. She—”
“She’s heard a lot about you and you’re gorgeous. She’s intimidated.”
“She has no need to be.” I laugh it off, but I notice when his faces hardens into a frozen mask.
“Right. Well, we should do this again sometime.” I nod and walk away. “Text me when you get home.” He calls after me and I tell him I will.
What a weird fucking day.
6
Damned if I Do Ya (Damned if I Don’t)
Work is dragging. The beginning of the summer is slow since the holidays have long-since passed and it’s not yet back-to-school season.
“Hey, Chels, did you see the rankings from last week?” Seth approaches me with a wide smile and I can’t control the eye-roll that consumes me.
Every week our overall numbers are calculated to see who the best salesman was. I stopped looking at the rankings months ago because I got sick of seeing Aiden’s name at the top of the list.
“I don’t need to check the list to know who ranked at the top.” Irritation and sarcasm drip from my voice as my boss laughs at me.
“It’s not who you think this week. You should go check.” I walk to the back of the stockroom where the list is held. Reid or Reese probably got first this week, but it’ll be nice to see how low Aiden ranked for once.
I stare at the sheet of paper in shock. There’s no way this is real. “I told ya.” Seth says from behind me.
My name is on top of the list and Aiden ranked number two, right behind me. But I fucking beat him.
“Can I take this list out and wear it as my name tag?” Seth chuckles at my ridiculousness. He doesn’t realize I’m dead serious.
Skipping with glee out of the stockroom, I spot Aiden checking out a pair of shoes by the men’s wall.
This may be my one and only chance to rub it in his face that I finally beat him. I’ll be damned if I miss out on this opportunity.
“Oh, Aiden!” I sing at the top of my lungs. He looks up at me, and his face portrays annoyance like he knows why I’m acting so chipper.
“I take it you saw the list.” He replaces the shoe on the wall and leans against a pillar, crossing his arms.
“Damn right. Number one salesperson. How’s it feel to suck at sales? Is this how high and mighty you feel all the time? What a rush.” My smile is broad and my ego has inflated tenfold.
“Don’t get used to it. Next week you’re going down.” He puffs out his chest and narrows his eyes, acting like the big shot he is.
“You’re probably right, but for now I’ll bask in the glory and not let you hear the end of it.”
He walks away shaking his head and I throw mine back laughing.
I truly don’t know how I beat him in sales for the week considering I try my best to avoid customers at all cost, but I’ll take it.
As the hours pass, I keep busy by cleaning the store, but I get bored with that pretty quick.
I walk up front of the store where Aiden is now standing. Though I’m tempted to bring up my victory again, I refrain.
I lean next to him on a table, our forearms resting side-by-side though not quite touching. The air sizzles between our arms; the hair rising at the electricity.
“Got any plans for the weekend?” He looks down at me and adjusts his glasses on his nose. I’m not doing anything special since I just got home from a week with my friends.
“I’m staying at my boyfriend’s house,” I groan, irritated at my plans. “It’s so annoying because he goes to bed super early and I just sit there, awake, bored and doing absolutely nothing.” He works two jobs and has to wake up at like, three in the morning. I understand why he goes to bed early. Doesn’t mean I like it.
In the back of my mind I’m still planning on dumping him. The longer I drag this out the worse it will be. Yet, I can’t seem to spit the words out.
“Well, talk to me. Text me if you get bored,” he offers, seeming sincere.
“Okay, I will.” A genuine smile spreads across my face and now I can
’t wait to be at Daniel’s tonight. I’m not even sure why Aiden would want to talk to me, but I won’t complain.
I’m glad the rest of the day passes at lightning speed. I even get to Dan’s house earlier than usual because I’m excited to start the night.
He’s in his garage working on his car when I pull up. Shocker. He glances over his shoulder while continuing to work under the hood. “You’re here early.”
“Yeah,” I shrug. “Is that a problem?”
“Well, you didn’t ask. I’m a little busy right now. You can go inside and watch TV or something. I’ll be out here for a while.” With that, I’m dismissed.
I head inside, making myself comfortable on the couch. His dog begs me for attention so I crouch down, petting his big belly. Sitting beside the dog, I crack open my book and read for a while. I’m already bored and I just want to text Aiden now.
Dan can’t go to bed soon enough, if you ask me.
When he comes inside, he orders a pizza and puts a stupid car movie on that I have no interest in, but since he wanted to watch it, I’m stuck. The evening drags slower than I could’ve imagined.
After eons pass, Dan stretches and turns off the movie. “I’m going to bed. You coming?” He heads down the hallway ahead of me while I stay behind to clean up our trash.
His heavy footsteps climb the stairs with audible thumps. I grab my bag with my pajamas before following my boyfriend up to bed.
I take my time in the bathroom changing and brushing my teeth. His parents don’t let me spend the night in their son’s bed since they’re religious, but they’re off on vacation so I’m able to sleep in his room. For once I wish they were here so I could sleep in the spare room and have privacy to talk to Aiden.
When I enter the bedroom, Dan has already burrowed himself under the covers. I sit against the headboard re-reading the Harry Potter series for the umpteenth time. The second his head hits the pillow he begins to snore and butterflies blossom in my belly. I pull up Aiden’s contact and text a simple, hey.
I put my phone on silent to not disturb the sleeping beast beside me because don’t need him asking questions about who I’m talking to or what we’re talking about.
My Almost Page 5