by V. Kelly
“Travis wanted to talk, so I left with him.”
“Why couldn’t you talk here?”
“You know why, Max.”
She briefly makes eye contact with me before shying behind her hair. I reach out to move her hair back, but she jumps away from me, almost as if my touch will disintegrate her skin. “Breezy, what’s going on?”
“Last night was a mistake, Max.”
“No. It. Was. Not.” I say each word firmly and with power. This time I grab her wrist and move her hand from my chest so it fits around my waist. I lift her chin until I see her beautiful green eyes. They’re starting to form tears. “Look at me, Breezy. Last night was meant to happen. It’s been something I’ve craved for a very long time. I’ve wished on stars to know what it would be like to be with you, and it finally came true. Breezy, I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but I really think that you and I are meant to be together.”
She gasps, takes a step back, and holds up her arm again. “Max, you’re my best friend, but we aren’t meant to be together.”
“How can you say that? I know you felt exactly what I felt last night. What happened between us can only be described as perfection. My heart beats only for you, and every second you spent in my bed, my heart raced faster than it ever has, swelled bigger than my chest could take, and warmed my body to the point of overheating. You are everything I’ve ever wanted in a relationship, and it’s always been you that I’ve wanted to be with, Breezy.”
She looks at me in shock. Tears are streaming down her face. When I go to wipe them away, she jerks away from me.
“Max, don’t say things like that. We CANNOT be together. I won’t allow it. I will not put our friendship in jeopardy for some insane idea that we could work as a couple. You’re a man-whore, Max. You’ve had so many women in and out of your bedroom that I lost count. How can you say you want to be with me, when every weekend you’re at the bar picking up some new barfly? I don’t share, Max. I’d rather be with someone who only has eyes for me.”
“I do only have eyes for you, Breezy. Those other girls meant nothing to me. I only slept with them to get over the fact I couldn’t have you.”
“Bullshit,” she mumbles.
“It’s not bullshit. It’s the truth. Let me prove it to you. Kiss me again and feel the connection we have together. I know you can feel it just as much as I can.” I gently grab her waist to bring her in closer, her hair moves behind her back exposing her neck. As I lean in to kiss her, I see this gargantuan hickey right smack dab on top of her jugular. It’s in an odd shape, almost like the shape of Maine. I drop my hold on her and take a step back.
“Max, let me explain,” she instructs, covering her hickey with her hand.
“You went from my bed to his?” The anger has set in my stomach. The sickness is back,and I feel like vomiting all over again.
“No, nothing happened,” she steps towards me.
“You have a fucking hickey on your neck that wasn’t there when you left your bed this morning, and nothing happened?” She nibbles on her bottom lip. “No, don’t do that, Breezy. Lip nibbling is not okay right now. I want the fucking truth. Did you go from having sex with me to having sex with him?”
“NO!” she yells. “It’s true that I may have made out with him a little bit, but WE DID NOT HAVE SEX!” She’s crying and shouting.
I feel a tear fall from my face, and I quickly wash it from my cheek. “How can you spend an entire night in bed with me, having the fucking best sex either of us have ever had, and then go running straight into his arms like what we have is nothing?”
“Because it is nothing!” She blurts. “Max, you know I care about you, but I don’t think of you in that way. I’m sorry if you want something more than a friendship with me. I refuse to ruin our friendship over something as trivial as sex. Sure, we had an amazing time last night. Our chemistry was off the charts, but can you honestly say you expected more afterwards? Why is it such a big deal? You have girls in and out of your bed constantly. I’m not anything but another number for you.”
“That’s a fucking lie and you know it. Another number? Are you kidding me? Breezy, the only number you have ever been is number one. No girl will ever compare to you. You’re it for me. I only slept with other girls because I couldn’t have you.”
“Max, stop saying that.”
“Why? It’s the truth.”
“Because, I don’t feel that way towards you. Besides, I got back together with Travis.”
My heart literally stops. It’s like it exploded into a million fragments, each of them devastated by this new curveball she hurled in my direction. I made love to this woman. I poured my heart and soul into her and gave her everything. I dipped my dick into her without protection because the consequences didn’t matter to me, and yet, she goes running straight into his arms—dismissing everything we have together like it was one big mistake. I’m not a fucking mistake.
“You did what?”
“I got back together with Travis. I told him we could try again.”
“So you slept with him?”
My fists clench, my jaw tightens, and I’m infuriated to the point of wanting to hit something to make me feel better.
“No,” she repeats. “I stopped it before anything happened. I told him I wanted to take it slow this time. I didn’t want to hurt you, or betray you.”
I grab her arm a little too forcefully. I tug her behind me and push her into the bathroom. Then I grab her neck and force her to look at the hickey. I’ve never manhandled Breezy this way in my life, but it’s like I’m on auto-pilot and can’t stop myself.
“Do you see that?” I yell. “That right there betrayed me. That right there fucking breaks me in two.”
“I’m sorry, Max,” she cries.
“No! You can’t fucking cry right now, Breezy. You don’t deserve to cry. You want to push me away and run away from me, then fine. Congratulations, you’ve officially succeeded.”
“What do you mean? Max, come on. Please don’t throw away our friendship over sex. See, I told you everything that happened last night was a mistake.”
Hearing her say it one more time sends me over the edge. My fist goes crashing into the mirror, shattering it into a million fucking pieces, just like my heart. The glass rains down into the sink, and she squeals, cowering towards the shower curtain. I pull my hand back and little tiny shards are embedded in my skin. I don’t feel the pain. Nothing hurts more than Breezy’s betrayal. Seeing the fear in her eyes snaps me back into reality. I drop my hand, turn away, and take off.
“Max, wait. Where are you going?”
I’m out the door and into my car before she can say another word. The moment my hand hits the steering wheel, the pain of smashing the mirror hits me full force. I rip my shirt and wrap my hand up, driving immediately to the hospital. I’m pretty sure I broke the fucker, too.
On the way to the hospital I call Tony. He shows up a few minutes after I get there and sits in the chair next to me. He looks at my hand that’s covered in the bandage and grimaces.
“Who won?”
“Breezy,” I mumble.
“Aww shit. What happened?”
“We had sex last night. She broke my heart.”
“Wanna talk about it?” He asks.
A few young nurses walk by and giggle when Tony flashes them his goofy smile. He waves at them and they wave back, still giggling. I look up at him and shrug my shoulders. Talking about it will only make things worse.
“We had sex last night. She broke my heart,” I repeat robotically.
“I get that, but how did she break your heart?”
“Left our bed. Went out with her ex. Came back with a hickey and tried to say nothing happened. Then she told me she doesn’t see a relationship with us working, and that last night was a fucking mistake. She also said that she’s just another number to me.”
“Yeah, number one,” Tony remarks.
“That’s what I told
her.”
Tony is about to say something when one of the hot nurses comes out calling my name. We both get up from the chairs and follow her into the screening room. Her name tag says Paula. She starts by assessing my hand. She unwraps the piece of my shirt that I was using as a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding. There are still pieces of glass in my blood-covered hand. All of the sudden, Tony begins to sway.
“Is that blood?” He asks.
Next thing I know he hits floor.
“Oh shit, Tony,” I exclaim jumping up to help him.
“You stay there,” Paula instructs. She falls to her knees and picks up Tony’s head.
Tony is completely unconsciousness. With the way his head hit the concrete floor, I’m not sure if he can bounce back from it either. Paula looks up and tells me to push the call button. A few seconds later the other two nurses, who were with her in the lobby, come crowding in.
“What’s wrong with the ginger?” A tall lanky brunette asks. She drops to the floor and grabs Tony’s hand, pulling it up to her chest. If he was awake right now, that hand would be full of boob. I think she’s trying to take his pulse, but with the way she’s holding him, you would think she was trying to get him to cop a feel.
The other nurse, a redhead herself, heads over to a cabinet while Paula and the brunette start arguing back and forth.
“He needs mouth to mouth,” Paula demands. She bends down to put her mouth on his when the brunette pushes her away.
“He fainted. I have a pulse. He’s fine,” Sierra says.
“I’m still giving him mouth to mouth,” Paula grins. She bends over Tony ready to administer C.P.R.
Sierra pushes her away from him. “If anyone should give him mouth to mouth, it’s me.”
“No way, I got here first, Sierra.”
“Don’t be such a hussy Paula. Don’t take advantage of him because he’s sleeping.”
“Um girls?” I question.
Neither of them acknowledges me. I’m starting to feel a little woozy myself, and I realize when she unwrapped the bandage that some of the glass came out, causing the blood to come out even faster.
“Fine, we’ll take turns giving him mouth to mouth,” Paula agrees, But I’m going first.” She bends down again. Her lips are almost on Tony’s when Sierra grabs Paula’s blonde bun and rips her head up.”
“No, I’m first. I don’t want to kiss him after you do.” Sierra now takes a domineering stance over Tony’s lips and is about to place her mouth on his when I start seeing black.
“Girls, I think I’m dying,” I shout.
Both girls look up simultaneously, and notice me sway on the bed.
“Oh shit,” Paula gasps. She jumps to her feet and rushes to my side. “I’m so, so sorry. You’re losing a lot of blood. Here, let’s get you fixed up.”
“Good job, you idiots,” the last nurse says. She holds some kind of stick under Tony’s nose, and he shoots to his feet.
Sierra glares at her. “Melinda, we could have woken him up,” she barks.
“Fine job you did of that. While you two were arguing about who was going to make out with the unconscious red head, the hot Italian almost lost his entire blood supply. When will you two learn that work is not a place to pick up guys?”
“Wait, you guys were arguing about who was going to give me mouth to mouth? How come I don’t remember this?”
“Cause you passed out like a bitch,” I reply laughing. Really, I should’ve kept it to myself, because before I know what’s happening, I pass out myself.
It doesn’t take me long to bring me back, but when I do come to, a strange man in a white jacket is standing over me.
“Welcome back, Mr. McGowan. I’m Dr. Tracy. I apologize for the lack of competence from my staff when it came to your care. We don’t normally have such bad manners.” He glares at the two nurses standing in the corner. “But, in their defense, we don’t normally get guys as good looking as you and your friend in here either.” He winks at me.
Tony laughs.
He assesses my wounds and two hours later he’s finally ready to release me.
“It looks like the mirror won this round, Mr. McGowan. I pulled a total of seventeen shards of glass from your fist. You also broke three of your fingers and six bones in your hand. As you can see, we have cleaned your wounds and applied a cast. Unfortunately, you will be wearing it for quite some time.
I look down at my hand and groan. The ginormous white cast encompasses my arm; I can barely move it. There goes lifting weights for a while.
“Whatever made you that angry, I suggest staying away from. You could break your hand further if you get into any more fights like this one.”
He scribbles something on a pad of paper and hands it to me.
“What’s this?”
“It’s your prescription for pain meds. Baby that hand for a while, okay?”
I nod. He scribbles some more.
“What’s this?” I ask taking another piece of paper away from him.
“That’s my cell phone number. If you need anything, anything at all, please give me a call,” he winks at me again.
Holy fuck my doctor is hitting on me. A balding middle-aged man with a fucking bolo haircut slipped me his phone number. Tony gets molested by two hot nurses, and I get my doctor’s phone number. Could this day get any worse?
“You’re free to go now. Tony made sure to tell me all about your problem with herpes. I assured him that this prescription wouldn’t mess with the medication you’re on.”
I shoot Tony the worst look possible. He’s trying to stifle his laugh. I feel the doctor before I hear him. His lips are right by my ear.
Holy creeper.
“Just so you know, that doesn’t change my attraction for you.”
“Okay, time to go,” I shout, jumping from the bed. I grab Tony’s arm and pull him from the room. I can feel the doctor’s eyes on me the whole time. Once in the lobby, I punch Tony.
“What the fuck, Tony? Herpes?”
“Hey, don’t get mad. It’s retaliation for making those girls think I was gay a couple months back. How was I supposed to know herpes wouldn’t scare him off. I was trying to do you a favor. That doctor was staring at your junk while you slept.”
I shudder.
“We need to file a sexual harassment suit against the employees of that hospital. Between my almost molestation by the hot nurses and your doctor hitting on you, we’ll definitely get a good chunk of change.”
“Can I go to your place? I want to get out of here.”
“Sure, but Emma is there.”
I give him a look and say, “Are you serious?”
He shrugs, “What can I say? She did me in man.”
“So you’re monogamous now? No more wingman?”
“No more wingman.”
“Well that sucks, especially now.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m moving out, and I was hoping to move in with you.”
“Wait, you’re moving out of your house?”
“Yeah, I want all of my shit out by the time Breezy gets off work tomorrow. I don’t plan on returning home until I know she’s left for work. I’m going to go buy a storage unit to hold my big stuff, but the rest I’m going to pack into boxes and get the hell out of Dodge.”
Tony looks concerned. “Are you sure you aren’t jumping the gun man? I know you’re pissed about Breezy getting a hickey and jumping back into a relationship with her ex, but don’t throw away ten years of friendship over sex.”
I shoot him a pained look. “Tony, it wasn’t just sex.”
“Then what was it?”
“I made love to her, man. I gave her my soul last night. I poured ten years of love and yearning into eight rounds of the hottest sex imaginable. Every single one of them was bareback.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“I couldn’t help it. I always said the girl I fucked bareback would be the girl I marry. We both know who wears the vei
l in my dreams.”
“Yeah, Dr. Tracy,” Tony says with a laugh.
“Shut up, fucker,” I say, “if I could make a fist, you’d be eating it.’
“Good thing you’re a cripple now,” he grins. “So where you planning on staying since you can’t crash with me?”
“Well, Dashawn is out. I don’t think I can stay with them. I fucked Maggie, and that would be slightly awkward. I guess I have to go back to my parents’ house.”
“Will they take you in?”
“They don’t have a choice. I have nowhere to go.”
“That’s even more of a reason for you to stay. Work shit out with her, Max. Don’t be a douche.”
I sit there contemplating what he’s saying and sigh. “Do you love Emma?”
His face twists. “I don’t know. I guess so. I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Do you see yourself marrying her?”
He shrugs. “I’ve had the thought once or twice.”
“I think about marrying Breezy every minute of every day. I want her to have my babies. I want to grow old with her and make her happy.”
“Okay, we both know that you are in love with her, so why do you have to move?”
“Imagine waking up every day to the woman you love in the arms of another man. Imagine watching him make her smile instead of you. Imagine her laughing, but you don’t have anything to do with it. Then imagine that same woman you love telling you that you’re nothing more than a mistake. That every day from the night you slept together to whatever days pass, are spent pretending that you don’t having feelings for her, only to salvage what little slice of friendship is left There’s no more wondering. There’s no more fantasy. I finally had Breezy, and frankly, I can’t spend another day in that house with her, unless she’s mine and mine only.”
Tony is quiet for a second. “When did you turn into such a wussy?” He asks, punching me in the arm.
“When I fell in love.”
He laughs. “Fine, you big idiot. I still disagree with you about moving out, but I’ll help you.”
“Thanks, Tony. I owe you one.”
He smiles. “Actually, I kinda owe you one.”
“Why is that?” I ask, putting my good hand on the handle of my car.