He knew something. I could tell by the look he was giving me, acting all innocent.
“It’s her own damn fault.” I muttered. “She’s the one that let an unwanted guest into our house.”
Stephan burst into laughter, “Finally. I see Oliver made it to your mother’s house.”
“This isn’t funny, Stephan.” I retorted throwing the maraschino cherry I had in my glass at his face. “Can you believe her? Why would she do such a thing?”
“Abby, don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit?” Kylie chimed in.
“No, Kylie, I don’t. Wait,” I looked back to Stephan. “You knew he was coming home?”
“Of course I knew. He slept over last night. I am still friends with him, you know.”
“Actually no, I didn’t. Would you mind explaining how his visiting escaped our phone conversation earlier today or yesterday or the day before yesterday? What a best friend you are.”
“I’m sure I mentioned something at some point,” he lied with a sly grin.
“You didn’t. Get me another cherry, and I might let this slip. Real ones. Not the cheap maraschino crap you put in your customer’s glasses.”
I smiled when I saw him go to the extra fridge all the way in the back store, to grab a fresh bag of cherries. He came back and dropped it on the counter, sticking his tongue out at me.
“So, Oliver is staying at your mom’s, and she didn’t tell you about it?” Kylie resumed.
“Exactly.”
I dangled a cherry in front of her nose. When she reached out to take it, I pulled it back fast and popped it into my mouth with a loud pop. She smiled and plunged her fingers into the bag.
“Well, I get why she invited him. I mean, it’s just normal considering his mother passed a few weeks ago. What I don’t get is why she didn’t tell you.”
“Seriously, Kylie?” Stephan pitched in. “You know Abby, right? Her temper has not changed one bit since she was sixteen. Hell, if I were her mom, I would have tied her to a chair until she agreed to kiss and make up with Oliver.”
“I get it. Abby can be a bitch, but she’s her mom.”
“Excuse me? Have either of you two noticed that I’m sitting right here? Stop talking about me like I’m not here,” I complained. “And just so you know, Oliver and I will never kiss and make up.”
Kylie ignored my comment and continued on as if I wasn’t listening. “I still think Jenna should have told her about––”
“Kylie, don’t,” Stephan warned.
I looked at them both curiously. It was unlike Stephan to use that kind of tone with Kylie. Me? Most definitely. Her? Never. But I chose to ignore whatever was going on between them. It was their thing, not mine; I had my own web to untangle.
“Thank you for understanding, Kylie. At least one of you does.” I shot Stephan a dirty look. “Tell me, Steph, if you and Oliver are such good friends, why isn’t he staying at your place?”
“Okay, babe, for the record, I get why you’re a bit upset.”
A bit?
“I just think you’re being a little juvenile about the whole thing. And to answer your question, he’s not staying at my place tonight because your mother invited him to stay with her for the next few days.”
Days? Ugh…
“So?”
“So maybe she thinks six years is a long time to keep a grudge. Maybe she thinks you’re being immature,” Stephan reprimanded. “Or maybe it’s because she considers him as a son and would like to spend some quality time with him because he’s been absent from her life for so long. Besides, you don’t even live there anymore. Why do you even care?”
His reasoning made sense, sort of.
“Babe, do you want to know what I really think?”
No.
“I think that the whole Oliver thing still hurts because you never got over it.”
He stole the last cherry from the bag and raised his eyebrow as if he was waiting for an acknowledgement. I refused to give him one even if I knew he was right.
“My replacement just got here,” he responded to my silence. “I’ll go wash up and change. Meet you back here in a few.”
Kylie and I watched him talk to Casey: he was giving her his requests for our private party. On the way up to his apartment, he dimmed the lights, and before the remainder of our friends arrived, we moved onto the bigger table behind us.
“So, Stephan. Huh?” I asked hoping it would change the subject.
She smiled. “Don’t you even dare, missy. Walk me through it, I’m dying to know. What happened?”
I recounted everything from the moment I stepped into my mom’s house, and all she did was laugh at me.
“So, the big question: what does he look like?”
“Oh. My. God. Kylie. When I got there, he’d just stepped out of the shower. He was half naked with damp hair and a few days’ old scruff. He’s tall, and his abs with the tattoos… They’re unreal. He’s freaking hot.” I liked my lips unconsciously thinking of his dark eyes watching me. “I swear if I could, I’d spend hours just tracing the art on his body.”
“Oh, yeah… Abs,” she mocked. “You are clearly still very mad at Oliver Langton.”
“Shut up. You don’t get it, Ky. I wish you could just see him.”
She chuckled. “Well, my dear, your wish has just been granted.”
I turned around, and sure enough there he was, standing at the door with Stephan. Oliver was wearing the same lose faded jeans he had on earlier, except he had a shirt on. The dark red baseball cap he was wearing looked so much like the one I had bought him for his birthday years ago. Everything about him was drawing me back in and I hated myself for it.
“I must say, Abbygail, your imagination is not that farfetched. Shit, babe, he looks like sex on a stick.”
You have no idea…
“Stupid Stephan,” I grumbled. “Fuck it. I need another drink.”
Kylie’s laughter resonated even louder and got everyone’s attention.
“Well, if it isn’t my good friend, Abbygail,” the barmaid voiced as I reached the bar.
“Hey, Casey. How are you?”
“I’m cool, but something tells me you aren’t. Now tell me, how can I help you?”
“You can help me by getting me a beer.” I turned to see both guys looking at me. “And could you please give me a shot of Tequila?”
She dropped the shot glass before grabbing the beer from the fridge. I gulped it down and slammed the glass against the counter in frustration. The burn inflamed my throat as I swallowed.
“Abby,” Stephan warned from behind. “Slow down on the booze.”
It took me everything to not say ‘yes, Daddy’ but I didn’t. Instead of following through with his request, I ordered two more shots and chugged them one after the other. The physical burn helped appease my emotions as it ran down my throat, but the soothing feeling didn’t last very long.
“Abby,” Stephan threatened. He walked up to me and put the two empty shot glasses on the other side of the counter. “Don’t do this.”
I took a step back from him. “Why don’t you just mind your own business?”
“Abs––”
“I can’t believe you pulled the same shit as my mother on me. You’re a fucking traitor, Stephan.”
He crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow at me. I knew it was his way of telling me I was taking the whole thing a little too far, but I ignored him and made my way back to the table Kylie was standing by.
The remainder of our group of friends walked in while Stephan and I had our brief confrontational moment. I knew they’d all noticed our arguing when they came in, but fortunately they chose to ignore whatever was going on between us.
I hadn’t seen Zoey and Ava in such a long time.
With school being over for the most of us, and life catching us by surprise, we’d decided to skip out on our summer reunion. The last time we were all together had been during Zoey and Tristan’s wedding celebration in Maui
. After the celebration, Zoey moved away with her husband to Montreal, and I hadn’t seen her since. I smiled as she walked in with her small bump: we were about to have the first baby of the fantastic four.
As for Tyler, well, given our recent break-up, that story was a little more complicated. To make a long story short, we dated, we had a huge fight, he kissed another girl, I saw him, he said it wasn’t what it looked like, and I didn’t believe him. I left our apartment the same week and moved back to Carrington. I hated him.
Well, that’s what I tried to convince myself anyway… deep down, I knew that was a lie.
Tyler’s eyes met mine first, then Oliver’s, and then he looked back at me. I saw the hurt as he shook his head and walked to the bar.
Tonight will be a bad, bad night.
“Look, look, look!” Ava shouted, jumping up and down, holding some paper thing in her hand. She hadn’t noticed that she’d interrupted the staring competition I was having with my ex.
“Ava, sweetie, I’ll be able to look as soon as you stop hopping like a freaking kangaroo.”
Ava was ecstatic about the news that her best friend was pregnant. The only thing that made her angry about it was that she probably wouldn’t be there for the baby’s birth. For as long as I knew Ava, her dream was to become a doctor, but after her first semester of university, she switched her major. She decided to be a humanitarian nurse, and since the job involved a lot of traveling, we didn’t see her very often. We were actually lucky to have her home for our reunion: she was leaving for Peru a week later.
“So what’s it going to be, Auntie Ava?” I asked, finally noticing that what she was holding in her hand was an ultrasound picture.
“A girl. My first niece is going to be a girl.”
I laughed at her enthusiasm, but mostly at the face she made once she realized that what she just said was silly. I looked over to a glowing Zoey and took her into a hug. If she was anything like her mother, that baby girl was going to be a true princess.
“I’m so happy for you and Tristan. You two are going to be great parents.”
“Okay, people,” Kylie shouted, coming from behind me. “I just ordered us some Tequila shots. Please come and take one. I’d like to make a toast. Oh, and Zoey, here’s your water.”
Zoey stuck her tongue out at Kylie. “Rub it in, why don’t you.”
I chuckled and grabbed my glass from the tray Kylie had set on the table. Stephan grabbed his own, put his arm around my shoulders, and kissed my temple.
“Do I need to cut you off?” he whispered for only me to hear.
“No.”
“Are you going to slow down?”
“Are you going to stop hiding things from me?”
“Are you willing to stop acting like a juvenile child where a certain you know who is concerned?”
“Are you going to fuck Kylie raw tonight?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
“Nothing,” I smiled. “I just wanted you off my back.”
“You’re an idiot,” he chuckled. “But since you’re asking, probably yeah. And she’ll be shouting my name so loud, you’ll be able to hear it all the way to your house.”
“Pfff. Unlikely.”
“Hey, Pain in My Ass One and Two?” We both looked up to Kylie and every curious face watching us. “I’m trying to make a toast here.”
“Sorry, Ky, we’re stopping now,” I answered with a smirk. Stephan and I were nowhere near done.
“I think tonight I’ll be showing Kylie what it really feels like for her ass to be in pain.”
“Eww, pig. TMI.”
We both laughed.
“I think we should stop,” Stephan argued. “She’s getting that lawyer stare we really hate.”
“Are you two finished?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
He and I answer at the same time, roaring into laughter, again.
“Told you,” Stephan whispered.
Kylie was officially glowering, and all eyes were on us, but for the only time that evening, I couldn’t care less what the others were thinking. This was Stephan and I, being us, and at that exact moment, it’s exactly what I needed.
“I’m sorry about the traitor thing,” I whispered to my best friend.
He smiled reassuringly.
My relationship with Stephan had grown a lot with time. To a stranger, we probably looked like an old couple, but in reality we were just inseparable friends. As much as he could annoy the hell out of me when he was in a playful mood or when he wanted to get his point across, I knew that the moment things got tough he would put on his over-protective big brother shirt and take care of me. “Don’t sweat it, babe. But I’m warning you right now, if you don’t slow down, I’ll do it for you.”
“Okay so first of all,” Kylie started, noticing that we had all gotten quiet. “I would like to thank Stephan for once again graciously inviting us to his bar so that we can maintain our tradition. Secondly,” she glanced discreetly at Tyler and me. “I don’t care what’s going on in our lives next year, we are not skipping the beach reunion. It sucked not seeing you all summer.”
She was right.
I missed my friends. We never should have let our personal issues come in between our friendship, but in our defense, Tyler and I had been broken up so recently, it just wouldn’t have worked.
“And thirdly, I would like to welcome back an old friend. It has been too long, Oliver, and we are all…” She gave me a not so subtle wink. “Happy to have you back among us.”
Oliver raised his chin as a sign of thanks and tipped his glass in her direction with a smile.
Could this guy be any sexier?
As everyone toasted to Kylie’s speech, Oliver’s eyes fell on mine. I lifted the shot glass up to my lips, and he did the same. Without looking away, he swallowed and licked his lips, letting the tip of his tongue linger on his piercing. The golden liquid burned as it ran down my throat, but its heat felt nothing like the ‘whatever’ fire that went on between the two of us.
I felt Stephan’s body shake. I turned my gaze to my best friend and realized he was laughing at us.
“What?”
“Never kiss and make up? My ass.”
I growled which only made him laugh harder.
···
As the girls and I started talking, Zoey recounted how incredibly exciting it was to see her baby on the colored monitor. She also explained every detail of Ava’s reaction when she saw her future niece. Apparently Ava nearly cried. Zoey and Ava were close, and the fact that she didn’t know how long her assignment in Peru would be saddened her deeply. Kylie took the picture from Ava’s hands and examined it closely. By the expression on her face, I immediately deduced that something was off.
“What’s that?” Stephan asked me while I listened to the girls talk about the ultrasound.
“It’s a picture of Zoey’s baby. What’s with Kylie? She’s looks out of it all of a sudden.”
Stephan left my side as soon as the words escaped my mouth. He whispered something into Kylie’s ear and they both disappeared in the back room.
“What was that about?” I heard behind me.
“Chase.” I jumped into his arms, and hugged him tightly even though it was something I never did. I could blame my reaction on the alcohol, but deep down I knew it was because of the two pair of eyes that had been scrutinizing me all night. “Thank God you’re here. I’m so happy to see you.”
“Yes, I can see that. Is everything okay? You’re being overly affectionate.”
“Uh sure. I’m pissed at my mom. Kylie is crying, but I’m not sure why because Stephan just whisked her away. Tyler has been giving me an evil glare all evening. My best friend is a traitor, and I think I may have had a little too much to drink. Can you put me down please? I really need to pee.”
With a tight smile, Chase settled me down. “Abby,” he pried as I headed towards the ladies’ room.
There was so much judgement and disapproval in his tone. “Is there any particular reason why you’re drunk right now?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Even though he was right about questioning me, Chase knew better than to butt into my business. It was true. I normally kept my drinking to a minimum. In most cases, that meant none. It was too easy for me to get lost to my cravings. I knew that, and the guys in my life knew it too. It’s why Stephan had been warning me all night, it’s why Tyler kept an eye on me, and it’s why Chase grilled me.
Drugs, alcohol, and sex––they became my way out when the ache became too much. I craved the loss of control and gave myself away to what I needed, when I needed it.
My friends and my job helped. I got better with time. A lot had changed in my last years of university. My relationship with Tyler saved my life in more ways than one. But deep down, I was still the same Abby…
Pain. Lust. Hate. Chaos.
They consumed me slowly. And that night, for the first time in a long time, I wanted to give into them again. It was easier for me to surrender than to face my fears. For the first time in years the guy that left me was standing in the exact room as I was. I hated it, but I also needed it. It was confusing. Every emotion of love and hate I had buried to obliviousness, were resurfacing and eating me up from the inside. And as the dark gaze of the guy that had ripped my soul apart met mine for the umpteenth time that night, I wanted it back.
It scared the hell out of me.
I met Chase’s disapproving glare one last time before walking away. “We all have our weaknesses, Chase, and this is how I choose to cope with mine.”
Oliver
My heart nearly stopped when her blue eyes landed on me. She was wearing tight dark skinny jeans, with a long, plum fitted tunic, and flat black knee high combat boots. The neckline of her shirt dipped low in the back, leaving her shoulders and shoulder blades bare, fitting her luscious body perfectly. When I’d seen her that afternoon, she’d been wearing a tailored suit. I thought she was gorgeous, but it seemed so unlike her, or at least what I expected of her. She had let down the bun and her now straightened hair fanned over her shoulders in a mixture of different shades of dark and golden browns, completely different than the last time I saw her, yet fitting her flamboyant personality so well.
Living with Regrets (No Regrets book 2) Page 2