“And now here you are, and for the first time since we’ve met, Ryan isn’t my competition. And you know what? I find myself conflicted.”
“Bros before hos … even beyond the grave.” Nicole was usually not a snarky person, but her conversation with Avery had opened a lot of sore wounds.
“Nicki…” Aaron sounded like he was about to try to appeal to her sense of reason.
“You don’t have to say anything else.” Nicole folded her arms across her chest and looked out her floor-to-ceiling window at Main Street. Regret overwhelmed her. Why the hell had she moved back? Having to live in the same town with him and have her childhood mistakes thrown in her face was going to be torturous.
“It took me a long time to get over you. And when I fought with Ryan, I lost my best friend. Then you sent me that email telling me you couldn’t talk to me anymore.”
Nicole frowned and felt the puzzled expression she wore. “What email?”
Aaron narrowed his eyes at her question, and a look of understanding crossed his face as he shook his head. “That asshole. He thought of everything.”
Nicole felt her stomach drop, as she remembered Ryan teasing her about her inability to remember her passwords, calling her an airhead. It was suddenly clear why he’d changed their phone numbers after his fight with Aaron. Nicole felt nauseated.
Aaron stood and put his hands in his pockets.
“After he died, all I could think about was how the last time I saw him, I kicked his ass. I was depressed for a long time. I came home and threw myself into building a business. I was just starting to get my head together and live a little when you came back.”
They sat in silence for a while and Nicole imagined being in Aaron’s shoes. The power that Ryan still wielded over people amazed her. His presence so intense, he may as well have been sitting in the room with them.
Aaron came across the room to her. As he paused beside her, she felt detached as she looked up at him.
“I’m glad you’re back. I want to be friends again. But you and me?” He shook his head and looked away. “I can’t put myself through it again.”
Having nothing to say in response, she nodded. As she watched him walk out her front door, Nicole was crestfallen.
Aaron took a very long swig from his thermos of coffee and exhaled, seeing his breath. It looked like Mother Nature had finally decided to come out of her corner swinging to give them all a sound thrashing. Wondering what he’d gotten himself into, he watched Shilah adjusting his longbow, as Ron and Jack distributed deer scent quietly below their tree stands. It was the butt crack of dawn and he wondered why the hell he wasn’t in bed under a pile of quilts.
Aaron shook his head as Ron put his jacket back on, covering his tattoos. He’d been bitching that the last time he hunted he’d spilled deer scent on his clothes. Stinky or not, it was freezing outside and nobody was getting Aaron’s coat unless they pried it from his cold, dead carcass. Ron looked around intently as if he were Pan, the Lord of the Woods. Though Aaron had to admit Ron was a great hunter, he couldn’t help but smirk. This guy took himself way too seriously.
Ron closed his eyes and stood silent for a while, as if he could sense the deer. Meanwhile, Jack had returned to the other tree stand and was watching Ron as if he was his platoon leader and Jack was waiting for a signal. To his right, Shilah just looked bored. Aaron found himself biting the inside of his lip to keep from laughing as Ron took out a pair of antlers and shook them. If any deer observed them, they were probably pissing themselves laughing.
“So, are you going to this Halloween thing at O’Connell’s?” Shilah whispered.
“I kinda have to. Sean O’Connell is a buddy of mine, and he hosts karaoke. If I don’t go, he’ll have to do most of the singing and he’ll hunt my ass down. What about you?”
Shilah nodded.
“So what’s the deal with Jason and Avery?”
A wry smile spread across Aaron’s face at the candid way Shilah approached everything.
“So now I know why you invited me. Do you want me to pass her a note, maybe a mixed tape?”
Shilah smirked and held up an arrow as if it were a knife in a slasher movie. “Don’t make me scalp you.”
“What do you want to know, lover boy?”
“Anything would be helpful.”
Jack shushed them, and Aaron wiped the smile away and saluted him sarcastically.
“Lauren babbled something about a girls’ night this morning when I picked up Jack. Avery will be there. Pretty ballsy, aren’t you, working for Gates and sniffing around Jason’s ex?”
“That’s priceless coming from you. I wasn’t the one that made him spit blood the other night.”
Aaron smirked appreciatively, though confused since he’d merely shoved Jason. Shilah was one funny guy.
“I warned Jack not to invite him,” Shilah continued as he tied back his long hair and scanned the nearby woods.
“Good thing. I probably would have shot him,” Aaron murmured and Ron whipped his head around to glare at them. Aaron nodded in understanding and clamped his lips shut, and mimed locking his mouth up and throwing away the key.
“He probably wouldn’t have come anyway. He doesn’t strike me as the outdoorsy type,” Shilah whispered with a cocked eyebrow. He didn’t seem to be in the mood to be out here in the boonies any more than Aaron did. They both chugged more coffee in unison.
“So you were telling me about Avery and Jason…”
“They hooked up after college. I don’t understand it. Avery’s always been a smart girl. I don’t know, maybe he has a magic cock.”
Shilah, who’d just taken a sip of coffee, spat it out on a nearby tree. Jack shushed them loudly and looked like he wanted to shoot them both.
“I am so going home after this and going back to bed,” Aaron muttered.
“Speaking of bed, have you made up with Joy yet? She looked homicidal when you took off and left her ass the other night.”
When Aaron had left his house the morning after the fry, Joy’s car was still in his garage. Figuring she was still sleeping, he’d told himself if she still wasn’t back from Lauren and Jack’s when he returned, he’d go collect her. When he returned to the cottage, her car was gone and her key to his place was on the kitchen table. The drawer she had claimed for herself was empty and all the girly products she had all over his bathroom were gone as well. He figured she would call him when she cooled off. It had now been a full week without a phone call.
“Nope. I guess she’s really pissed this time.”
“She seems a little intense.”
“Bro, you don’t even know the half of it. All I had in my house was a TV, a couch, and a bed. A month ago, I came home and she’d gone to Rooms To Go or something. We’ve been going out for four months and now she’s following me around with a string quartet playing the Wedding March.”
“That blows.”
“Tell me about it. It’s like her biological clock is ticking like Big Ben.”
“Ah, well. I doubt you’ll be lonely for long.” Shilah deadpanned and Aaron turned to him in surprise. Shilah smiled at him in disbelief.
“Dude. I felt sorry for Joy. She was practically invisible to you when Nicole was around.” Aaron shook his head. There was no use denying it. He needed to stay far away from Nicole. The memory of that crushed expression on her beautiful face practically made him hurl. It reminded him of the handful of times he went to see her when Ryan had dumped her their freshmen year in college.
He gave it a month before he went to see her. Even at 18, he’d been insightful enough to know that being so fresh on the heels of the breakup, seeing him would hurt her. When he finally climbed in her bedroom window, she was on her bed sketching and listening to “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes. In just a thin Sex Pistols t-shirt and boxers, she was the sexiest thing he’d ever laid eyes on. She’d cut her hair, which now fell right at her jaw. She glanced up from her sketchpad when he entered the bed
room, and barely batted an eye at his sudden uninvited appearance. She eyed the cast on his left forearm as he sat down beside her on the bed and pulled a beer out of his inside coat pocket.
“Hey, little girl. Want some candy?” He held the beer out to her and she took it without a smile. He ruffled her cropped hair with a questioning look.
“Locks of Love. They need at least 10 inches. I’ve wanted to do it for a long time, but he didn’t want me to.” She sat up and Aaron realized she wasn’t wearing a bra. At that moment, sitting next to her on the bed was like walking a mile on sharp glass. He forced himself to focus on her face, which looked tense and troubled. “It looks like hell, doesn’t it?”
“Sweetness, you’d look good bald.” She gave him a halfhearted smile and leaned her head on his shoulder.
“I heard about your arm. Avery said you pulled Ryan out from in front of a car.”
“Yeah, dumping you isn’t the only stupid thing he’s pulled this semester.” He joked and she swiftly looked away, her wounded expression breaking his heart.
“You’re better off without him, Nicki.” He meant it. He’d caught Ryan leaving their dorm room with some sorority slut. Ryan was high on his freedom, and Aaron had convinced him to do the right thing and break up with Nicole. Ryan had to get sloppy drunk to call her. They were walking home from the bar after the phone call, and Ryan had freaked out and had a meltdown about making Nicole cry. Distraught, Ryan had inadvertently stepped out in the street just as a car whipped around the corner. Aaron courageously yanked him out of the car’s path. The car’s side mirror hit Aaron’s forearm, giving him a fracture. It was karma. Aaron knew his reasons weren’t altruistic when he pushed his agenda on Ryan, but Ryan’s behavior was thankfully worse than his own.
“Then why do I want to shrivel up and die?” Her voice quivered slightly. Torn, he pulled her into a hug, chanting to himself the mantra that she was like his kid sister, trying not to think about her lack of underclothing and the bed beneath them.
As she broke out her markers and doodled on his cast, they talked for an hour about what was happening at J.P. High and about his classes. She created a masterpiece, a caricature of him as a superhero in a cape. As she focused on her drawing, he focused on her. She looked up suddenly and caught him staring.
They regarded each other silently and he inched his mouth forward, capturing her lips in his. Nicole shocked him by climbing onto his lap and kissing him aggressively. With only one functional arm, she held him captive, physically and emotionally. Her greedy response was the green light he’d always wished for. She tasted just like he knew she would: irresistible. Before he realized he’d done it, his good hand was cupping her unrestrained breast. His brain managed to engage before he got too carried away. She was hurting and she was looking for comfort. He didn’t want to just be a placeholder in her life. Pulling away from her, he pushed her off of him and stood.
“Nicki…” he began, trying to find his true north. He knew he could get lost in her, and he couldn’t settle for being her rebound guy.
“I’m sorry.” She was lying on her bed, hiding her face with her arms.
“I’m going.” He fled the room through the window. He owed it to her and to himself to give it a couple months. Maybe then the sting of her breakup from Ryan would be less raw.
When he did finally return, she was dating Jason Gates, a world-class douche.
Shaking off his unpleasant trip down memory lane, he focused on the issues that were current and real. He’d screwed everything up with Joy, who he was sleeping with and actually dating. He’d trashed his personal life like a bull plodding around in a room full of collectibles and wasn’t sure how he could undo any of the damage. Worse, he wasn’t even sure if he cared.
“The Nicole thing isn’t happening.”
“You could have fooled me.” Shilah cocked an eyebrow.
“There is way too much twisted history there. If we were going to be together, it would have happened a long time ago. I need to call Joy. That was a dick move I made the other night.”
“If you say so.” Shilah shrugged, and his condescending tone made it sound like he was talking to a crazy person.
“Hey!” Ron yelled, making them both jump out of their skin. “How ‘bout you two ladies get in touch with your feelings on your own time … we’re trying to get shit done here!” Jack nodded in agreement. The echo of his yell was deafening. A giant buck fled through the brush. Springing into action, Shilah took aim before anyone else could react. One arrow later and the beast lay still on the ground.
“Can we go home now?” Shilah whispered and Aaron chuckled.
“We’re here! Let the party begin, Bitches!” Lauren’s voice carried over the roar of the crowd, and Avery suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Lauren crossed from the front door to the oak bar and high-fived the O’Connell brothers, who were catcalling in appreciation of her tight mobster costume. Their perpetually grouchy father, who was wiping down the bar, couldn’t suppress a smile.
As Avery maneuvered her way through the crowd in her black stilettos, her witch’s hat bumped into an inflated pumpkin hanging from the ceiling. She already needed a beer, but her skimpy black dress was so tight, she was almost afraid to drink one.
“You guys find a table—the first round’s on me,” Lauren called to them as she turned back to the O’Connell’s. Jules plunged ahead of Avery, pushing people out of the way in her Grim Reaper costume. Avery turned to Nicole, who had sewn her Red Riding hood cape by hand. Complete with a flouncy blue skirt, braided hair, and hiking boots—it was dead on.
“I have never seen this place so packed.”
“Do you think we’ll find a table?” Nicole asked. It was the most they’d spoken since Nic had told her about Ryan’s affair. Avery had no idea what to say to Nicole and was mortified that Ryan had treated her that way. Avery was glad they were going out and hoped it would allow them to clear the air. She witnessed Jules claiming a table by kicking out the two people who were milling there. The two men skulked off, looking stunned.
“I guess so.” Avery took a seat, happy to be off her feet. Why did looking good have to be so painful?
“Look at Shilah. He’s hilarious!” Nicole laughed and pointed across the room. Shilah chatted with some guys playing darts, doubly challenging in the crowded bar. He was dressed as The Lone Ranger. The mask added a naughty quality to the already gorgeous guy, and Avery felt instantly aroused. She smiled lasciviously, thankful she’d dressed so provocatively.
“Thanks again for the booze donation, Pat. We couldn’t have done it without you. And you always have my vote for mayor!” Lauren leaned over the bar and hugged Patrick O’Connell, the curmudgeonly bar owner. He was a legendary sour puss, but Lauren could always get him to smile. He’d been very generous with liquor for the fish fry, and she wanted to personally let him know how much she appreciated his help.
“Anytime for you, lass.” He smiled in spite of himself. “What can we get you?”
“Lots of beer. I’m here with my girls and they need to loosen up!” Lauren’s enthusiasm was a bit forced tonight. Halloween was a rough time of year for her and she thought if she faked a good mood long enough, it might just stick.
“Shit, is that Nicole Andros? Holy Christ, I had the biggest crush on her in school!” Colin O’Connell exclaimed with a wide smile as he poured a pitcher of beer. He stared fixedly at Avery and Nic’s table. Normally, Lauren would have given him a hard time about the accent he and his brother affected when they were around their dad (or when they got drunk), but she was too annoyed with the VIP treatment Nicole was getting.
“Dare to dream, boy’o,” Sean O’Connell remarked, loading a tray with glasses and a pitcher of beer. Colin checked his refection in the mirror behind the bar and ran a finger through his dark, wavy hair.
“Jesus, would you just help her with the tray?” His father snapped.
“Gladly.” Colin’s enthusiastic reply made his brother laugh.
Colin took the glasses and pitcher from Sean and headed off with Lauren toward the table her friends had claimed.
“Nicole Andros . . . she looks exactly the same. Unbelievable.”
“She’s Nicole Harper now. She married Ryan.”
“But he’s dead, right? She’s single now…” he continued as he dodged a couple of drunks.
“Nice, O’Connell! Don’t forget she’s also a mom…” Lauren scowled.
“Yeah … a mom I’d like to f—Hey ladies! Welcome.” His lascivious tone rubbed her wrong and she shot him a dirty look. With his dazzling smile plastered in place, Colin was at Nicole’s side fawning all over her. After about five minutes of listening to him rave how she’d been his first crush and how he’d always drooled over her, Lauren was ready to claw out her own eyes and ears. It was obvious by the expression she wore that Nicole was flattered, but had no idea who he was.
“Aren’t you supposed to be tending bar? They look busier than a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest.” Lauren took a long swig off her second beer.
“I’ll go with you. I need something else to drink,” Nicole offered and he lit up like a firefly.
“All right, then.” Colin grinned and they headed away together.
Lauren rolled her eyes and shook her head at Jules and Avery. It was only 7:00 and she already wanted to bitch slap someone.
“I love your costume, Lauren,” Avery said.
“It was either this or Rizzo from Grease. I figured I would need something a little more threatening to keep the girls off of Jack.” She snapped her black suspenders and adjusted her fedora.
“He’s mighty popular.” Jules sipped her beer.
“Tell the truth. Does it bother you, the way that girls are always all over him?” Avery asked as she yanked her witch hat off of her head.
The Perpetual Quest for the Perfect Life Page 10