The Significant Other (The Relationship Quo Series Book 4)

by Nicole Strycharz

  She poked him, “The second. I’d call your baby mama first.” She looked at Chance and I to explain, “Gabe’s baby mama Brianna, is my bestest friend.”

  Gabe sighed, “What is it with American’s and the term ‘baby mama’? It sounds very-. We co-parent. She is the mother of my child.”

  I smiled at his avoidance of the label. “You have a kid?” I asked. I think Chloe mentioned it but I was busy seething.

  Chloe shook her head, “Don’t you read magazines or watch the news? Gabe’s daughter was the biggest news of the year when she was born.”

  Chance moved over the topic, “How is she; the little one?”

  Gabe had his phone out in two point three seconds and was scrolling through endless pictures of a fuzzy-haired redhead with apple cheeks. Chance gave him undivided attention and I remembered that Chance said he had a thing for kids.

  I watched him a second while he had his head bent over Gabe’s phone. He smiles from the heart when anything regards to children. It’s the one time he doesn’t look hard or dangerous and I think I’m starting to feel attracted to both sides.

  I came home to Liam sitting on my sofa with my girlfriend. They didn’t hear me come in because they were singing one of Blakgraz’s songs. They sound strong together. Never falling out of tune.

  Blaze is lying on the floor with Liam’s dog and I realized that Trixie is being careful not to hang out alone with Liam. Why? Because she wants him and she needs accountability or because she’s reassuring me?

  “That was great,” Liam adjusted his guitar over his lap, “you have…its crazy, your voice is… overwhelmingly good.”

  “See,” said Blaze. “Ma got serious pipes. She needs to solo.”

  “Thanks, guys. We’ll see,” she flipped her hair to one side, “I’m comfortable being on the sidelines.”

  “But you don’t belong there,” Liam toyed around with a tune on his guitar strings. “Adam said he’d give you a solo.”

  “If I ever did, I’d want you to back me.” She picked lint off her sweater, “You seem to be able to predict where I’m headed. Your voice supports my highs…”

  I held the door handle tighter, waiting to see how he’d play this. Liam wants her, I can see it.

  He sat back, “It’s Adam’s band and he knows what’s good for it. I’d be honored but I don’t think so.”

  I slammed the door again so they’d know I showed and Trixie stood up, “Hey,” she smiled at me.

  “Hey,” I put my stuff down and went to the fridge, ignoring Liam as he stood to put away his instrument. He knows to skip when I come home. I tolerate him in the apartment.

  Trixie came over and tried to kiss my cheek while I was pulling a bottled water from the fridge, “Hold on,” I lied, pulling out of reach. “I’m just thirsty.”

  She rolled her eyes knowing I was just being robotic. “We were thinking of going ice skating in Rockefeller Center…” She stuck her hands in the back pocket of her jeans. “The whole gang. Wanna come?” She looked so hopeful.

  “It’s not my thing…” I declined, glancing at Liam.

  “You played ice hockey…” She whispered.

  I bent my body over the island and drank then flicked the bottle, “You can go without me.”

  We looked into one another’s eyes until Blaze stood up, “Let’s go get the guys, Liam.” He winked at us before snapping his fingers at the dog, “They are either about to fight or fuck.”

  I winced at the word fight but Trix winced at the word fuck. We hadn’t fucked since before Valentine’s Day. Liam left with him and the dog and I straightened.

  “Skate with me,” she tried in a soft tone.

  “Don’t feel like it, babe.”

  She smoothed her hand up my arm and it made me sick to realize I didn’t feel anything. Nothing. I’d been able to feel something for her, always. Now something was different. “Stud,” she leaned her cheek into my arm and closed her eyes against my bicep. “I want you to come.”

  I pointed my bottle to the door, “Liam is coming. Skate with Liam.”

  She pulled off me and shook her head, “Nothing is going on, Adam. You’re the one who kissed someone else, not me. I forgave you. You wouldn’t forgive me for hugging someone else but-.”

  “I really wouldn’t.” I agreed. “And I know that’s not fair and you know that’s not fair but you stay anyway so…”

  Her reaction was to nod, “Well, it would be nice to get touched and I don’t mean a high five instead of a kiss in public.”

  I laughed, “So cheating on me would be okay because I suck at public affection. Nice.”

  Her rage spilled over, “I’ve never cheated on you and I never will. I like Liam. Yes. I can admit that. He’s a nice person and he’s a talented artist. I want to help him because he’s my friend. Just like Blaze, Diego, and Knox.”

  “Like getting him a job at the bar?” I drank more water and watched her expression as she registered that I knew.

  “Yeah.” She acknowledged, “I asked Chance to give him a job at the bar. He’s homeless and broke.”

  “He’s been crashing with the guys across the hall, don’t pretend you don’t know.” I put in.

  She slipped her finger into one of my belt loops and tugged, “New York... I think it’s changing us more than we care to admit. That or…it’s making us come clean about who and what we are. If I look at Liam the way you look at our boss, maybe we shouldn’t be forcing this between us-.”

  My skin crawled, “What we have is safe. It’s not forced, it’s sure.”

  She sighed, “Is that another word for ‘friends that have pretty good sex on occasion?’” She hid a smile as she walked her fingers up my chest. “Let’s take a breath. Nothing has to change yet but let’s see what ‘just friendship’ does for us.”

  “You aren’t living across the hall with Liam.”

  Trix fought another grin, “We keep living together, but we don’t do other things… let’s see where we land when it’s over.”

  “So a couple that’s on a time-out playing roommates?” I affirmed.

  Jolee showed up; pausing our discussion. Trix and I went separate directions, to put space between us but the heat in the room was hard to miss. “Sorry,” said Jolee is a quiet voice as she took off her scarf. “Did I interrupt you guys?” she read her sister’s face as she asked.

  “No,” Trix lied.

  “Yes,” I contradicted.

  Trix looked to her sister, “We were all going to go ice skating. Wanna come? It’s the last week the rink is open.”

  Jolee looked between us. “Um, I might stay home. Get some shut-eye.”

  Trixie nodded and got her coat, “I’ll be home later.” She kissed Jolee’s cheek and tried to get past me.

  Sudden regret made me grab her wrist, “Hey,” I pulled her back to me. “Be safe…”

  She wriggled free, “Yeah, sure. Bye.” She cut me off and left.

  “Did you guys fight?” Jolee asked, putting tea water on behind me.

  “Obviously.”

  She blew out air between her lips, “What happened?”

  “I happened. My bull shit happened.” I drank the last of my water then threw it into the waste can.

  Jolee hopped up next to me to sit on the island and rubbed her thighs, “Ya know… she’s not like me. She’s not a slut. She loves you….”

  “I do know.” I put my back to the island and leaned with my hands in my pockets. “That’s the problem.”

  “You want to break up with her?” She sounded breathless. “You don’t love her anymore?”

  I swallowed but it didn’t work because my emotions had my throat tight. So I coughed once to breathe better, “I’ll never be out of love with your sister.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “I don’t know. I need to let her go but she’s all I know of love that works. It’s familiar, easy, safe…” I thought a minute. “It would be so much easier if she was the one to just-.”

&nbs
p; “She’ll never be the one to call it off,” Jolee affirmed what I know. “You were her first everything. She’s loyal. If she were a dog in a movie, she’d be the one the little boy has to kick to make it understand leaving is for her own good.”

  The serious moment plummeted with her analogy as I turned my head to cock my brow at her, “What?”

  She laughed at herself and leaned my way to wrap her arms around my neck, “Never mind bad example. I just mean that if you want to break up, don’t push her to do it by making her hate you. Give the love you had, respect by just being honest and ending it gently.”

  “When you say that, I want to barf. When she packs her shit to make a point I die. I can’t watch her leave me and not change my mind.” I let my head fall back on her shoulder. “Trixie is… everything to me.”

  She patted my chest, “Then do what’s best for her…

  you can start by going to the damn ice rink.”

  I narrowed my eyes up at her, “God, I hate you.”

  “Ditto,” she kissed my head.

  Chapter Fifteen

  TRIXIE

  Okay, so ice skating is totally my thing. This is a super chilly April but worth it. Liam and Diego sat on a bench drinking cocoa and Blaze and I was tearing it up when Chance showed. I was surprised to see him but then I saw it was Bianca that talked him into it.

  She’s such a bitch; deliberately flying past me to see if I’d fall. “Nice try,” I called over my shoulder.

  “Wasn’t it, though?” she asked, showing off her skills with a graceful spin. “Don’t crack the ice on your way down, sugar.”

  I made a face like a kid, “I’m from the mountains, I was skating before you knew how to crawl.”

  “Did your parent’s lose you in the snow since you’re the same color?” She laughed as she sped off.

  I gave her the finger but my mittens really took the cattiness from it.

  Chance laughed from the sideline and I made my way over.

  “Coming out?” I asked.

  “Nope,” he returned.

  “Can you skate?”

  “Nope,” he confirmed.

  “I’ll teach you.” I tried to be sweet because being mean back with a guy like Chance wouldn’t help. “First lesson, don’t fall with your feet under you. You’ll spear your ass.”

  My comedic side didn’t distract him from studying my face.

  “You been crying?” He asked.

  Why yes. I have. On my way here I took a separate cab and silently teared up. I thought I covered up the evidence. “It’s the cold.” I fibbed. “Come on, I’ll teach you for real.”

  “Nope.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t. After all, your hotness might melt the ice…” I tried playing the flattery card.

  He only looked back at me flatly.

  Blaze came gliding by and grabbed me along the way. We held hands and laughed a lot. He knows I’m not okay too but he also knows I’d rather not talk about it. So instead he makes me laugh and flirts with passing skaters.

  After a good hour, I stopped and changed to my boots before going to get cocoa. I think I’m falling in love with New York. It’s just happening. It’s working its way into my heart with its locations and it’s fast pace.

  Chance signaled to Bianca to let her know it was almost time to head back and she nodded. He gave me a chin lift, “Try to be on time.” He snapped.

  “I’m always on time,” I snapped over my cup.

  He tilted his head at me, “I sense sass.” He lazed to where I sat and hovered. He may be a bastard but God. It’s like his body has brain cell damaging heat waves.

  I lifted my eyes, “I’m just tired of taking your crap. If anyone should be acting like a dick, it’s me. You kissed my boyfriend, remember? I’m trying not to hold a grudge but you need an attitude adjustment. Like, an attitude adjustment that’s so adjusting you turn out to be an entirely different person.”

  He just watched me. “He kissed me.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I didn’t kiss your boyfriend, Sweetheart. He kissed me.”

  “Is that supposed to hurt me?” I asked.

  “Not my problem either way.” He stopped when Bianca showed up to hold his arm. She gave me a narrowed eye like she knew something was up, just not what. Then they left.

  I took a breath but it didn’t help my nerves.

  “You okay?” Liam asked. He came to sit next to me and Buddy stood at his side waiting for a pet.

  “That depends. How much did you hear?” I tried.

  “Enough.”

  I held my cup close for warmth. “I don’t know what I am.”

  We were quite a while and then he sat forward, “Listen,” he pet Buddy as a way to avoid looking at me I think, “I uh… I might be… going away… for a little while.”

  I sat straighter. “Why?”

  “I found a possible job opportunity but it’s like two hours away. I have to apply but if they don’t turn me down over my past…”

  I raised my brows and pressed my lips together, “Ya know, guys really suck.” I shook my head, “My boyfriend is failing me, my boss is jealous so he hates me and the one person I can kind of talk to about any of it, is leaving.”

  He stopped petting Buddy to hold my hand, “Hey, It’s not like that. I’m in part the reason your life is getting shitty. I need to get a job. This streak has to break. I can’t stay homeless. I don’t want to be this person. I’m depressed, Trixie. This isn’t where life was supposed to go. I have to keep trying to change it.”

  I took my hand back to wipe under my eye, “It’s fine, Liam. It’s not you, it’s just me. Just,” I stood up and watched the band skating. “Tell them I’m going to the club to get all set up.”

  He stood and hesitated to talk, “You have got to be the best human, I think I’ve ever met. You’re so cool, you’re so great. This isn’t to ditch you. Trust me I want to stay more than you think. I want-.” He let his eyes linger in that way. Oh. It’s mutual then. The little gnawing of desire, the little whatever it is that Adam sees. He feels it too. I didn’t think so. “I want to stay,” he looked me up and down to press his point. “That’s not going to happen, though. For lots of reasons.”

  I stepped up and tugged his coat front before kissing his cheek. “I’ve gotta go.”

  I left him there and went walking. I didn’t go to the club because I really need to think. I got a text from Knox saying that Adam showed up at the rink a minute after I left.

  Classic Adam, trying to show me why I love him but now it’s too late.

  Another thirty minutes went by and I hopped a cab. Adam messaged me.

  “Where are you? I’m at the club and I don’t see you. Sing with me tonight?”

  I smiled. Singing together would sooth us, but…

  I got out of the cab twenty minutes before we were supposed to go on. The street was so full of people waiting to get in, the line stretched a couple blocks. I walked around to the back where the stage was and sighed before reaching for the handle.

  Someone hit me over the back of the head and I fell into the door so hard it rattled on its hinges. “Jesus,” I groaned. My head was splitting and the pressure was making me sick.

  Whoever it was that hit me, waited until I turned around to deliver a painful punch to my stomach and when I curled over another blunt blow came down on my back.

  I fell flat on the side street and felt a dry heave come up from the pain. I hacked up nothing but then someone kicked me in the ribs and I curled into myself to avoid more hits.

  The guy drew back to kick me again but then someone else leapt from nowhere and pinned the fucker. The heels of my boots scrapped the walk as I tried to sit up but everything hurt.

  I made myself look as I pressed the heel of my palm into my splitting head. “Liam,” I mumbled as I saw him mopping the pavement with my attacker. It was Liam. The guy got the jump on him, though and had him on his back.

  I tried getting up but fell over. �
��Liam,” I saw the guy that was beating me up struggle to keep Liam down but I was no help at all.

  The door to the club opened and Chance made powerful strides past me. When the attacker on Liam saw Chance coming, he voiced an ‘oh, shit’ and tried to scurry off but Chance caught him by the back of the jacket and threw him down beside Liam.

  Liam shifted out of the way but looked no better than me at this point.

  Chance scared the fuck out of the assaulter. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about because my hearing was in and out but then Chance was picking me up. I must have blacked out. He carried me inside and upon being spotted by Adam, I heard my boyfriend flip out and go into a fit. I think I saw Blaze and Knox holding him back from going outside to finish the guy that did this.

  Chance brought me up to his apartment above the club and Jolee was suddenly there but then someone screamed at her and that’s all I remember before going under for hours...

  Chapter Sixteen

  TRIXIE

  “Morning…” said a sexy man voice into the quiet.

  I groaned and shut my eyes tighter.

  “Psst,” said the voice. “Sweet Girl; gotta wake up. I want my apartment back.”

  Ah ha. It was Chance. I opened my eyes and squinted against the light. It was raining outside so the room wasn’t killer bright but still...

  “Hey,” I saw him sitting on the bed. Oh, I’m on Chance’s bed. Nice. It smells like him. For the record, he smells like a drug that makes ovaries go boom.

  He held out a cup of coffee. “Try sitting up.”

  I did and it sucked. So I just kind of slumped against his headboard. “My head,” I breathed and held it.

  “You took a good hit, but you’ll live.” He pushed the coffee at me. I took it but then I noticed how full his apartment was. Adam was asleep in a chair near the bed. I can see into the living room from the open door. Blaze and Knox were out cold on the sofa… kind of man-cuddling which put a smile on my face. Diego was knocked out on the other sofa and Liam was on the floor with Buddy.