by Toshia Slade
“Let’s go.” He grabs his keys and we’re out the door. We’ll have to drive over to Lexington and hit the big party stores there, because we live in a smaller town.
Josh and I went in halves and bought a nice, little three-bedroom house out in the country. When we eventually go our separate ways one will buy the other out. That’s always been the plan. With it sitting on a two-acre lot, it makes a nice place to have a party. We don’t want anything crazy though and have our shit get broken. We’re just inviting some old college friends that still live around here and some people from work.
Josh and I both have a love for building things, so we both got business degrees and opened our own construction company, Murphy & Taylor Construction. I know, original. We do good work and we’re staying busy. We have two full teams and can build a house from the ground up. Our customers are always happy with what we build them and how fast we get it done, that’s all that matters. Next year, when Gabby finishes her degree in Accounting, she’s going join us, doing all the office work, crunching numbers, and keeping all of the paperwork straight.
Thirty minutes later, we’re pulling up to the Halloween store. Once inside, we grab a cart and start making our way down the aisles, throwing in decorations for inside and out— -skeletons, skull heads, spiders, and finally a jug of fog fluid for the fog machine we have from last year.
“Are we going to do the costume contest again this year?” I ask, holding up placing ribbons.
“Yeah, why not.” Josh shrugs his shoulders. It always adds a little competition and everyone tries to out-do the year before.
We make our way over to the wall of costumes and I stop dead in my tracks. There stands Gabby and Tiffany talking to a girl and pointing to a picture on the wall. Gabby’s in her work uniform, a tight pair of brown khakis and a bright orange polo shirt. She has her hair pulled up in a high ponytail, showing off her neck. I stifle back a moan remembering how sweet she tastes.
“Hey, Gabs.” Josh walks up, wrapping her up in a hug.
Her eyes are as big a saucers staring right at me over his shoulder. What is she thinking? Does she hate me now? Does she regret kissing me? Doubt starts to fill me. Was I just imagining her being as into that kiss as I was?
“Hi, big brother!” She pastes on a huge fake smile. Dammit. I don’t want her to be uncomfortable around me. I’ll fix this.
I walk up and wrap her in a hug. I say loud enough for everyone to hear, “Hey, Thumper.” Then, I whisper in her ear, “I’m sorry about last night. Please don’t be mad. We’ll talk later.”
I pull back and look into her huge green eyes. God, she’s beautiful.
“No need, we’re good.” She turns from me, facing Josh and Tiffany. My ass. She can barely look at me.
The salesperson comes walking from the back, handing Gabby and Tiffany each a costume.
“You two already picked yours?” Josh asks.
“Yep, we’re going to be the hottest cops in town!” Tiffany says, waggling her eyebrows and turns it around to show us.
I about swallow my tongue and I can’t even imagine how it’s going to look on Gabby. Holy mother of god, that’s fuckin’ hot. My cock twitches. I see Josh slam his mouth shut out of the corner of my eye. Yup, I bet he just had the same thought I did, except picturing Tiffany in it.
It says “Adult Officer Sheila B Naughty” across the front and man, does it cause all kinds of naughty thoughts. The navy blue zip-up jump suit is short and I know it’s going to show off her amazing legs. God, I hold in a groan, her ass is going to look amazing in it. The zipper stops low enough that it’s going to show more cleavage than should be legal. Oh, this is going to be bad.
“We still have to grab our handcuffs, sunglasses, and clubs,” Tiff says, batting her lashes. She’s eating this up, watching me, with humor in her eyes. Gabby must have filled her in on what went down last night.
This time I do groan and try to cover it with a cough. Josh shoots me a warning glare and Tiffany smiles big. Evil little wench knew what she was doing. Watching me, she missed the puppy dog eyes Josh shot her way. Ha, he’s as bad as I am. This is going to be so, so bad.
“I’ll go grab the stuff really quick and I’ll be back,” Gabby says, heading in the direction of the Accessories aisle.
This is my chance so I follow her. “Gabby, wait up,” I call out to her.
“What, Cam? I told you, we’re good.”
“Yeah, that’s why you can’t even look at me. Look…” I run my hands through my hair and blow out a breath. “I’m really sorry about last night. I’m not sorry I kissed you, because that was the best kiss of my life.” She shoots me a glare, her lips in a straight line, and starts to walk away from me. I grab her arm and spin her back around to face me. “Hear me out, please.”
She pulls her arm free and gives me a short nod, crossing her arms over her chest.
Man, she isn’t making this easy on me. My palms sweat and nervous energy buzzes through me. What if she really is over me? No, that kiss didn’t say she was over me. It said she very much wanted me.
“I’m sorry I did it the way I did, that wasn’t right. It just pissed me off and hurt me the way you dismissed me last night. I had too much to drink and I saw you dancing alone.” I shrug. “I pushed things too far and I’m sorry. You mean the world to me, Thumper, and I’ve realized a lot of stuff in the past month.”
“Apology accepted. Don’t do that shit again, Cam. You had your chance; you didn’t want it. I’m with Brandon. You need to respect that and let me live my life. If you want to continue being friends, you need to remember that.”
“Just be careful around that guy, I think there—”
“Cam!” Gabby cuts me off, holding her hand up. “Let me live my life. This is what I mean.”
I can tell that she’s ready to run again so I zip it, for now. “Okay.” I nod and a red bandanna catches my eye. Now I know what I’m dressing up as for the party. One thing I know about Gabby is that she has a weakness for cowboys. I grab the bandanna and a whip.
“What’s that for?” She points to the items and raises her eyebrow.
“My costume.” I smile down at her and poke her on the nose.
She bats my hand away. “What are you going to be?”
“A cowboy.” I add a little extra to my southern drawl and bite back the smirk wanting to break free.
She rolls her eyes. “You’re already a cowboy. How’s that any different?” She grabs what she and Tiffany need and starts heading back the way we came.
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” I grin. Oh, this is going to be fun. For the first time in months, I’m actually excited about something and can’t wait to see Gabby’s face when she sees Mr. Cowboy Taylor.
Chapter Twelve
*Gabby*
“What did Cam say to you?” Tiff starts grilling me as soon as we’re in the car.
“Said he was sorry, but he didn’t regret kissing me, just the way he did it. I wish he would leave me alone and let me move on.” I lean my head back against the headrest and look up at the roof, trying to ignore the ache in my chest from seeing Cam once again. Why won’t he just let me move on? And he’s “thought about stuff”? I’m afraid to even know what that’s supposed to mean. “I’m with Brandon. Cam had his chance, he didn’t want it.”
“Maybe he realized that he was a complete dumbass,” Tiff scoffs. “You’re a total babe. Anyone would be a dummy for not wanting to be with you.”
“Well, it’s too late. I told him he needs to stop and let me live my life.” I reach over and turn the radio up, letting her know I’m done with the conversation. Anger fills me. Is he just playing games with me? Why all of the sudden is he acting like this? Maybe he just doesn’t like the thought of me with someone else. He’s just going to have to get over it and himself.
I pull up a blank text on my phone and send Brandon a message. I need to be with him and get Cam as far from my mind as I can.
ME: I MISS YOU, WHAT
R U DOING?
We’re almost home before I get a reply back from him.
BRANDON: HANGIN WITH THE GUYS. WHAT U DOIN?
ME: RIDIN HOME WITH TIFF FROM LEX. GOT OUR COSTUMES FOR SAT. WANNA COME OVER?
BRANDON: CAN’T DRINKIN, JUST GUNNA STAY HERE FOR THE NITE
ME: OK, BE SAFE! SEE U TOMORROW? XX
BRANDON: YEA I’LL CALL U IN THE MORNIN.
What the hell is up with him? My boyfriend doesn’t even want to come and see me.
“Why the frown?” Tiff pulls me from my thoughts as we pull up to our townhouse.
“Brandon. I asked if he wanted to come over and he said he was drinking, so he’s going to stay the night where he is.”
“Well, let’s have a Girls’ Night! Pop in some Magic Mike and have a couple drinks… It’s been a really long time. I miss my best friend.” Her bottom lip pops out and she gives me puppy dog eyes.
“I’m sorry, Tiff. Let’s do it. I promise I’ll try to spend more time with you. Between school and work I try to spend all of my free time with Brandon.” Guilt consumes me. I’ve been so busy with my life that I’ve completely forgotten my best friend. I live with her, yet I know nothing of what’s going on in her life, and as close as we’ve always been she probably hasn’t had much to do. We need to find Tiff a man.
“Hey, I get it. No need to explain. I’ll just enjoy you when I get you.” She winks and smacks me on the butt. “Now get your sexy ass in there. We’ve got some sexy dudes wanting to dance for us.”
I laugh and shake my head. I don’t know what I would do without this girl. She always knows how to get stuff off my mind. After taking our shoes off, I wrap my arms around her, feeling emotional and like a shitty friend. “I love you, Tiff.”
“I love you too, biotch. Now, let’s go get out of these nasty-ass work clothes and curl up on the couch.”
“I’m going to take a quick shower. See you in fifteen, skank.” I laugh and run up the stairs, dodging another smack on my ass.
After showering and putting on my comfy flannel PJs, I head down to the kitchen. Tiff still isn’t done, so I go ahead and make us both a drink. We love our fruity drinks! We always have wine coolers or rum mixed with orange juice, pineapple juice, and a splash of grenadine—easy to make and so good. I love watching the red from the grenadine stream down through the drink too. Reminds me of the beach. We’ve taken trips to Florida and Myrtle Beach, but my dream place has always been Bora Bora. A dreamy sigh escapes my lips. One of these days, I’ll make it there.
I grab both of our drinks and head to the living room, getting the movie started. Everything is ready when Tiff comes down the stairs.
“This is why I love you! Drinks made and sexy men ready to go.”
“Whatever, you just love me for my ass.” I roll my eyes and flop down on the couch, pulling a blanket over my legs and feet.
“You got that right.” She takes a drink from her glass. “Mmm, you make these so good.”
I hit play on the remote and we settle back into the couch, drink in hand. I do miss nights like these. We used to do this all the time. I couldn’t tell you the last time we spent more than an hour together.
Tiff gasps and turns to me. “Oh. My. God! I meant to ask you… Did you see what Josh was dressing up as?”
“Um, no.”
“He’s doing the Magic Mike thing. He’s wearing the bow and the white cuffs with black dress pants.” She fans her face. “I know he’s your brother, but Jesus, Gabby, I may have a stroke.”
I gag. “Okay, okay, I get it. Please shut up. And I think my brother so just ruined Mike for me.” I scrunch up my nose.
“And did you see Cam’s face when he saw our outfits?” She covers her mouth, but I still hear the giggles.
“No, I was too busy avoiding his eyes, but I did see my brother’s jaw drop.”
“I know. He probably flipped knowing that he’s going to see his sister dressed in a get-up like that.”
“Don’t think that’s why he looked the way he did… since he was looking right at you.” I smirk at her.
“Whatever, Josh doesn’t look at me like that.” She takes a drink and tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She is the most outspoken and confident person I know, except when it comes to Josh.
“Mmhmm, if you say so.” I drop it and leave it alone.
My phone chimes and for a minute, I get excited thinking it might be a text from Brandon saying he changed his mind. Nope.
CAM: THANKS FOR LISTENIN N FOR BEING MY FRIEND :)
Warmth blooms in my chest and spreads through my veins. Stupid traitor heart. But I can’t fight the grin that spreads across my face or the giggle that slips past my lips.
ME: UR A DORK! JUST BEHAVE!
“Why do you have a goofy smile on your face?” Tiff raises both brows, but I don’t miss the worried look on her face. Damn, I really have to start making more time for her.
“Just Cam being stupid. I think he was making sure I really am going to start talking to him again.”
“You’ve been in each other’s lives for ten years, Gabby. You just stopped talking to him. It has to make it hard.”
“I needed time.”
“I know you did and I understand, but don’t shut him out completely. You all are friends. Just remember that.”
How can I forget that we’re friends, the reminder is always there. “Yes mom, now shut up. I wanna watch Channing.” I don’t think I’ll ever be able to shut Cam out completely.
We spend the rest of the night drinking, chatting, and replaying our favorite dances. This is just what I needed, girl time.
Chapter Thirteen
*Gabby*
The next morning Tiff and I hang around the house, doing a little homework, cleaning, and catching up on our laundry. By one, I still haven’t heard from Brandon, so I decide to go pick up a pizza and surprise him with lunch. I call in an order to the same place we had our first date, throw on some clothes, and head out to pick our order up.
Thirty minutes later, I’m standing, pizza in hand, knocking on Brandon’s door. His car is parked out front, so he should be home. I’ll try the doorbell and if he doesn’t answer then I’ll take the pizza home, and have lunch with Tiff.
A few seconds after ringing the doorbell a guy with short brown hair that I’ve never seen before answers the door. He’s wearing just a pair of boxers, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
“Hi, is Brandon here?”
“Upstairs sleeping.” He walks off, leaving the door standing open, and flops down on the couch.
My brows scrunch together from the mess that greets me. Beer bottles are all over the coffee table and end tables. I walk into the kitchen to see more of the same thing with a couple bottles of liquor, vodka, and whiskey mixed in. He lied to me. He was here drinking. Why couldn’t he have told me? I would have come here and hung out with him.
I clear a spot and sit the pizza down. Heading back out of the kitchen, a clear spot on the counter catches my eye. I’m no expert, but I’m not an idiot either. I know exactly what half straws and a card are used for, along with a cigarette cellophane with white residue covering it. What the hell is going on here? I start to get nauseous and break out in a cold sweat. My hands are clammy and shaking.
On wobbly legs I walk through his apartment, dodging a few bodies passed out on the floor, and head up the stairs. I make it to Brandon's door and it’s shut. I’m almost afraid to see what’s on the other side. What else has he lied to me about? I knock. No answer, so I try again.
“Go the fuck away!”
I stand there, speechless and unsure of what to do. I feel a brick settling in the pit of my stomach. What if he’s in there with someone? Determination takes over my body. No! I stand taller. If he’s with someone, I need to know. I don’t want to be with someone that is going to lie and cheat on me.
“Brandon, it’s me.” I don’t give him a chance to answer before I open the door. He’s sprawled out on the bed and pulls th
e pillow off his head as I walk in.
“Gabby, what are you doing here?” Confusion in his voice, he sits up and glances at his alarm clock.
“I hadn’t heard from you and wanted to surprise you with lunch. Little did I know I would be the one that gets surprised. What the fuck is that on your counter? You letting people snort coke in your house now? And why did you lie to me, Brandon?”
A small flash of alarm passes across his eyes and then it’s gone. “What did I lie about, Gabby?” He asks, climbing out of bed and pulling on the jeans that were lying on the floor by his bed.
“I wanted to see you last night and you said you couldn’t because you were out drinking. You were going to stay there.”
“How was that a lie?”
“You made it sound like you were at a friend’s house! I could have come here and spent time with you.”
“It was a guy’s night, Gabby. Why are you acting like this?” He throws his hands in the air, and then places them on his hips.
“Because I walk in and there are beer and liquor bottles all over the place! And you couldn’t have just said it was a guy’s night? And what about the shit on the counter?” I cross my arms over my chest and pop my hip out, letting him know I’m not going to back down. “I’m not an idiot, I know what the shit is for.”
“I told you I was drinking. What’s wrong with that?” He storms over to his dresser, yanking drawers open.
He’s avoiding answering me about the drugs and it’s making my blood boil that much more. “Nothing is wrong with drinking. But there is something wrong with you making me feel like you don’t want to spend time with me and for me finding that shit on your counter!” My voice rises with each word, and I point my finger down to the floor, indicating the kitchen below us.