Living with Regrets (No Regrets book 2)

by Aimee Noalane

  “I don’t like the girls Oliver dates because he keeps pursuing the wrong one. And for your information, she cheated on him.”

  She grabbed her drink, and I took my bottle off the counter.

  “She’d hang around here and Timmy’s, the bar we usually go to, when Oliver preferred to stay home with his mom. I watched her leave with many different men on many different occasions. Dating Oliver never stopped her, and he never found out.”

  “If he doesn’t know, then why aren’t they together anymore? And you’re supposed to be his friend. Why didn’t you tell him she was toying with him?”

  “They aren’t together because she dumped him a couple of weeks before his mother passed away. She felt he wasn’t giving her enough attention or whatever.”

  “But his mother was dying!” I replied, appalled by the shallowness of this person I didn’t know.

  “Like I said, she’s a bitch. Besides, they weren’t a couple for very long. Maybe a month? Possibly two.” She shrugged. “I didn’t really keep tabs. As for your other question, Oliver doesn’t like me interfering with his love life. He and I got into enough arguments about his bad dating habits and he told me to back off one time too many.”

  I eyed the girl sitting on Oliver’s lap and took a sip of water. I wished I could just walk over there and drag her ass off his lap…

  “If I told him Sam cheated on him, it would only add fuel to the fire and he’d probably date her again just to prove me wrong.”

  I grimaced. I had a hard time believing he could be that stupid, but then again he and I were pretty much the same. When we wanted to, our stubbornness and stupidity could go way beyond normality.

  “I learned to not interfere a long time ago.”

  I watched as Sam put her hands around Oliver’s neck, talking to him way too closely, but he didn’t push her away. He simply looked at her with an amused expression.

  Oliver isn’t that kind of guy, is he? I mean I’m right here watching him, and he knows I am…

  “And for the record,” Laney says interrupting my thoughts, “I love Oliver, but my heart belongs to the guy sitting next to him. Justin and I have been dating for four years now.” She smiled. “Now, come on, break’s over. I love this song.”

  Oliver

  I exhaled in relief when I finally got Sam off my crotch. Her attempts to get in my pants were bemusing. I didn’t know how many drinks she had, but she was acting completely out of character. Or maybe she wasn’t, and I was just always too blind to notice.

  I saw Abby eying me suspiciously, but the curiosity on her face didn’t last very long. She went on the dance floor with Laney, unfazed by me having another woman sitting on my lap, nearly licking my face. Her lack of jealousy and her indifference towards Sam ended up confirming my suspicions about her and Tyler.

  I watched as she and Laney joined Mia and Lauren on the dance floor, dancing to some song I didn’t recognize by Iggy Azelea or Nicki Minaj? I didn’t know which was which: they both sounded the same to me. One thing was for sure, though, Abby knew the words, and she definitely could dance. How she could do it with heels like hers was beyond my comprehension, but holy fuck did she look hot…

  I groaned, turning my attention back to the guys that were sitting with me. I must have been on my third beer since we walked in. I knew I should be slowing down since I was the designated driver, but I decided against it. If beer would be my comfort for the night, then so be it.

  “Here, take this,” Noah replied, dropping a shot glass in front of me.

  “Nah, I’m good.”

  “Come on, Oliver. It’s New Year’s Eve. Loosen up a little. You’re sitting here moping like your cat died or something.”

  “Oh his cat didn’t die, Noah,” Justin mocked. “If you looked down his pants right now, I’m pretty sure you’d see it’s pretty much alive.”

  “You’re a dick, Justin.”

  “And you’re acting like an idiot, Oliver.”

  “Didn’t I tell you to drop it?”

  “What the hell are you two meowing about now?” Noah asked, laughing at his own stupid joke.

  “Abby.”

  “Oh yeah,” he smiled. “She’s fucking hot.”

  I stared at him, and he laughed.

  “She may be hot, but she’s taken now.” I picked up the shot glass, downing it. The bitter taste made me cringe. “You gave me tequila?”

  He snickered: he knew I hated tequila.

  I turned my head back to the dance floor, torturing myself just a little bit more. As if she sensed my eyes on her, she stopped dancing and looked at me giving me one of the most breathtaking smiles. Watching her sparkling blue eyes shine, I grinned. How I wish I could make her mine.

  Mia saw me looking at Abby and took her hand, breaking the contact between us as she made her spin back to face the girls. Her eyes crossed mine. Mia and I had history and her overly affectionate nature towards Abby was pretty confusing. When another shot glass magically appeared in front of me, I took it without knowing what it was and let the heat burn all the way down, soothing my desires for the girl I couldn’t have. Mia smirked and turned back to the company she kept.

  “So,” Justin asked breaking my trance, “are you going to do anything about her?”

  “Who?”

  “Abbygail.”

  “Nope.”

  “Come on, Oliver,” Noah criticized. “Anyone looking at you right now can see you’re yearning for her. Even Sam started scowling when she realized your attention was—”

  “Who cares about Sam? And you don’t even know what you’re talking about. Abby and I, we’re friends. Nothing more.”

  “To be honest, Oliver,” Justin interfered, “I’ve been studying her. I think Laney might have a point. Why don’t you just try and talk to Abby. Maybe what you saw at the hospital wasn’t them getting back together.”

  “Did you notice her show any reaction when Sam was sitting on me?”

  “No.”

  “How do you think Laney would have reacted if you had another girl sitting on your crotch right in front of her?”

  “She’d be pissed.”

  “That’s my point. Abby wasn’t upset at all. She barely gave me a side glance when she saw Sam trying to dry hump me.”

  “Maybe she was just playing it cool.”

  I sighed. “You guys just don’t get it. I saw her kiss him.”

  “I’m not arguing that you didn’t—”

  “I told her to move on, Justin. I told her that Tyler still loved her—that she should give him another chance—” I took another shot. “Our night together was our closure. Period.”

  “Well,” Justin said standing to greet Laney approaching the table, “I still think my girl is right, and you should have a talk with Abby.”

  When the girls came back Justin stretched out his hand and sat Laney on his lap. I didn’t feel like watching them kissing, so I turned my head and noticed that Abby wasn’t with us. I gave the bar a quick run over and spotted her walking to the restrooms.

  Patiently standing on the opposite side of the ladies’ room, I waited for her to come out. I wasn’t sure what my game plan was. I didn’t know what I was going to do, nor what I was going to say, but one thing was for sure, I was definitely starting to feel the effect of the alcohol loosening up my mind.

  The second she stepped out, I snatched her and pushed her roughly against a somewhat private corner. She gasped in surprise but relaxed the moment she saw that I was the one holding her against the wall.

  “For Christ sake, Oliver. You fucking scared me.”

  “Well, that’s what happens when you wear something way too sexy in a fancy nightclub,” I teased.

  “What? People here can’t help attacking young women in surprise?” she backfired. “This isn’t my first time clubbing, Oliver. I’m a big girl. Trust me, I can take care of myself.”

  She tried to push me away, but I just held my position, imprisoning her with my arms and grinning wicke
dly at her. She met my eyes, and there was something innocent in her stare that made my desire for her grow harder.

  “Oliver,” she growled.

  Her breasts were moving up and down with every intake of air she took. She watched me as if she was wondering what my next move would be. I could see her hesitation clearly. She pulled her hands up to touch me but brought them back down to her side when she saw me watching her. The similarity to the locker situation from six years ago felt all too real.

  Tell me what the hell you’re thinking… please…

  She closed her eyes, exhaled and bit down on her bottom lip.

  “Abbygail,” I murmured back.

  From where we were, we could hear the faint countdown to the New Year. I was still holding Abby up against the wall while we silently stared at each other. Her blue eyes opened to mine. They were unreadable. My heart was telling me to taste her lips, but my mind kept reminding me that I couldn’t because she belonged to another.

  With my desire for her running faster than my brain, I let one of my arms come off the wall, and softly grazed the length of her body. My hand traveled from her neck down to the hem of her short dress. Her heart beat so fast. I was confused by the way her body reacted to my touch. My fingers were begging me to discover exactly how damp she was. The thought of her wearing nothing under that dress crossed my mind and made my dick jolt. I exhaled loudly needing to control my cravings, but I couldn’t help myself. I raised her dress just an inch higher. She didn’t stop me and never let her eyes shy away from mine. I felt her shiver. Her knees buckled under my touch, yet she remained silent, waiting for my next move.

  I grabbed her right thigh from behind, right under her bare ass and squeezed, pulling her lower body closer to mine, trying to provoke her. The way we were standing, any passerby could see her barely covered body against the wall, and she didn’t even seem to care, which only made me want her more. I inched my face closer to hers and she maintained my stare. If I’d moved half an inch to the left, my mouth would have been on hers.

  “If I wanted to,” I murmured, “I could make you come for me: right here, right now.”

  She shivered and moistened her lips.

  “I could rub my thumb against your sweet wet clit and tease you until you beg me to thrust my hard dick inside you.”

  I could feel her trembling, but she didn’t move. She just bit her bottom lip and watched me. Still not saying a word. Still waiting. She was driving me nuts with her silence.

  Was she daring me to or not to? I was so fucking confused.

  At some point, midnight passed, and I finally came to my senses. I took my hand away from her damp skin and pulled back. I broke our gaze and I leaned in to kiss the corner of her mouth.

  “Happy New Year, Abby,” I whispered traveling my breath along her jaw.

  I pushed myself off the wall and walked away.

  “Oliver,” she whispered again. It was the first word she had said in I don’t know how long. There was lust but also sadness in her voice.

  It took a lot of self-control, but I didn’t look back.

  Deceit

  Abbygail

  After Oliver left me panting in the middle of the restroom hallway, he vanished. When I made my way back to the table where his friends were sitting, I scanned the bar but couldn’t find him. No one had seen him, and what had me worried was that I couldn’t feel him either.

  Justin and Noah had gone looking for Oliver when Laney saw my concern. She obviously thought nothing of it, but when I told her what happened, she sent her boyfriend out to look for him. He finally showed up about forty-five minutes later with Justin by his side. As soon as I saw his eyes, I could tell something was wrong.

  “Give me your keys, Oliver. I’ll drive us home.” It dawned on me when we made our way outside that I was the only one who hadn’t had a drop of alcohol.

  “Uh, no. I don’t think so.”

  “Oliver,” Justin responded “Don’t be a jerk. Give Abbygail your keys. She’s the only one that didn’t drink tonight.”

  “Back off, Justin. I’m not drunk. I’ll get us home—don’t worry.”

  Justin shrugged, seemingly satisfied with Oliver’s answer, and so did Laney. Both climbed in the back seat while Oliver sat behind the wheel. I, on the other hand, climbed the front bumper of his pickup truck, parked my ass on his hood, crossed my arms, and glared at him.

  “Get in the car, Abs.”

  “Nope.”

  He stepped out glowering at me and leaned on his open door. “Stop being a bitch about this and get into the fucking truck, Abbygail. I’m more than capable of getting us home.”

  I frowned. “Did you just call me a bitch, Oliver Langton? I swear I feel like we just turned back time to a month ago… oh no that’s right, you called me a whore back then. I’m sorry,” I hissed. “I got confused.”

  I turned my head back to the parking lot. I was so mad at him.

  “I never called you a whore,” he fired back.

  “You insinuated. Same fucking thing! And since we’re on the name-calling subject, don’t call me Abbygail when you’re pissed at me. You sound like my mom, and it makes me want to punch you in the face.”

  He burst out laughing. “I do not sound like your mom!”

  “Yeah, you do. And this isn’t funny, Oliver. Did you know that I lost a friend once in a car accident? He claimed he was ‘good to drive’, just as you are now. He smashed his car into a tree trying to avoid a deer, and he was going over a hundred and twenty-five kilometers an hour. I’m not getting into that car with you behind the wheel. So either you give me the keys now, or I sit on this hood until I’m a hundred percent sure there is not a drop of alcohol left in your blood. It’s your decision.”

  He stepped away from behind the door and walked over to me, handing me the keys.

  “I’m sorry, Abbygail,” he purred. He might have been mocking me, but the sound of his voice had desire flowing all through my body.

  I hopped off the hood a bit dazed and climbed in the truck. I might as well have been drunk because it sure felt like I was.

  “For the record,” I asked as I started his car, “tell me honestly. How drunk are you right now?”

  He plugged in the GPS, and then turned his face, fixing his eyes on mine, holding my gaze. “Not enough.”

  When we left the parking lot, I gave him a side glance. He looked lost and angry. Oliver was driving me crazy with his mood swings. I would have given anything to read his mind or lash out at him until he’d explain what the hell was going on with him, but it would have to wait at least until I dropped off Justin and Laney at their apartment.

  After the half-hour, I parked the truck at the curb in front of Justin and Laney’s home. I turned around to say goodnight but noticed they were asleep, holding each other. They looked peaceful and definitely in love. It was a wonder how I hadn’t notice the nature of their relationship earlier in the evening.

  “Hey, Laney?” I whispered as I touched her knee.

  She opened an eye.

  “We’re here.”

  She brought her hand to Justin’s face and caressed his stubble. He smiled lazily while she whispered something only he could hear.

  “Thanks for driving us home safely, Abby.”

  I smiled.

  “I’ll call you back after my weekend trip with Justin. We’ll go out for breakfast or something.”

  I nodded and watched her reach to Oliver’s side of the car. His head was leaning on the passenger window. He hadn’t looked at me since he’d sat down. She gave him a kiss on the forehead, and whispered something in his ear before she stepped out. He simply nodded without moving his eyes.

  “Who was the guy?” he asked after we left Laney’s apartment complex. He wouldn’t look at me, but at least he was talking, which was more than I expected.

  “What guy?”

  “The guy that smashed his car into the tree.”

  “Oh.”

  Crap.

&n
bsp; The perks about working with teens were that I had a vivid imagination and was quick to make up stuff in order to get my point across their inflamed heads. I didn’t know if Oliver was drunk or not, but I wouldn’t take the risk. I also knew very well that if I talked about losing someone important to me, he’d listen. So basically, I lied to him and now I had a kink in my plan because I didn’t think that he might decide to question me about it.

  “What?” he turned, frowning at me.

  “Well, the thing is, the car accident was a lie.”

  “I thought we didn’t lie to each other.”

  “Well, we don’t.”

  “Then why the hell did you just lie to me?”

  “It’s just—”

  “No. You know what? Never mind. I don’t care.” He turned his head back to his window.

  “Oliver…”

  “I said drop it, Abby.”

  “Oliver, you’re not being fair. You were so stubborn. It was the only way I knew how to make you listen.”

  His whole body pivoted. “By lying to me?”

  “I only lied because I love you too much to risk losing you.”

  He snickered and turned up the radio, ignoring my comment completely.

  ARGH!!!

  The drive between Laney’s apartment and Oliver’s house was torturous. Excluding the sound of the lame music coming from the speakers, it was silent. The tension was driving me crazy, and I was starting to get a headache. When we got home, Oliver stepped out of the car and let Freckles out of his house. I tried to regain my composure, so I sat in the car and replayed our evening in my confused mind.

  A loud bark pulled me out of my thoughts. I don’t know how long I was out for, but when I looked up, Oliver was sitting on the steps, hunched over with his head between his legs. Freckles was sitting silently by his side watching with her head on his lap. Her attention got diffused as soon as my door slammed. She left her owner’s side in one giant leap, and grabbed her ball charging at me. All I could do was laugh while she jumped on me wagging her tail.

  “Do you mind looking after her while I go inside?” he asked with a pained expression on his face. “I won’t be long.”