“I couldn’t be happier.” This time, her smile didn’t reach her eyes, and I felt a sense of dread simmering.
“What’s wrong?”
She picked at her fingernail before finally looking at me. “Dillon wants me to move in with him.”
I couldn’t help but look shocked. “What? When?”
She sighed. “As soon as possible. He doesn’t want to miss anything with the baby and … I don’t want him to either.” She looked up at me through her lashes, waiting for my response.
It made sense, and the rational part of me knew it did. Carrie was happy and in love. She was going to have a baby, and of course, she’d want to start her life with Dillon as soon as she could. But I couldn’t help but feel sad.
After everything Carrie had done for me in the past two years—moving in with me so I didn’t have to do this alone—I wasn’t going to be anything but supportive of her decision even if it felt like my whole world was crumbling. Slipping on my best smile, I acted happy for my friend.
“Of course, you don’t. I’m going to be fine, Car. Move in with Dillon. Wait, you said yes, right?”
She laughed. “Of course, I said yes! You don’t get the ring unless you say yes, Meela.” She spread her fingers wide and held her hand out in front of her again, exhaling a dreamy sigh. Her lovey-dovey expression didn’t last long before her face pinched.
“What’s wrong?” I was instantly on the alert.
“I wasn’t lying when I said my stomach was upset. The joys of morning sickness,” she said as if I was supposed to understand.
Maybe to someone who didn’t carry around years of issues, but I didn’t know anything about babies, pregnancy, or what to expect when you’re expecting. All through my life, I rebelled against anything family related and everything it entailed.
I didn’t have the heathiest example of a family, or love, or not bailing on your family to chase a drug addiction. My father had made sure that at the young age of just twelve, he would forever ruin my trust in the opposite sex all while saddling me with a good amount of daddy issues.
Father of the century.
“Let’s celebrate in tonight,” I told her.
“What? No! I’ll be fine. It’s not too bad now, so I need to enjoy the freedom of not having my head stuck in the toilet for the first trimester.”
I stared at Carrie as if she’d just said she was actually an alien and then proceeded to grow another head right in front of me. Who was this person, and where was my friend? She talked as if she was a veteran mother and already had two kids’ worth of experience under her belt.
It was strange to me how natural the early stages of motherhood suddenly became second nature to Carrie. Especially when I couldn’t get past the idea that something was growing inside her. It was only more proof that baby making was never going to be in the cards for me.
I didn’t have time for babies, and I definitely didn’t have time for men—especially men like Reed Pierce. He’d offered his friendship, but I wasn’t completely naïve enough to think that was all he was after. I was happy with my life and my career, and for now, that was enough. And when it wasn’t, I’d figure it out then.
Carrie waved a ring tainted hand in my face. “Are you okay? I know this stuff weirds you out.”
“Stop it.” I dismissed her worries with a roll of my eyes. “Honestly, I’m fine, Carrie. As long as I’m celebrating with you, I don’t care where we do it.”
“Good because we’re going out. I don’t know what brought on spontaneous Meela Davis, but I like her. We’ll get dressed up and go to that new place Taylor was telling me about.”
“What new place?”
“I don’t know.” She waved her hand. “Some new club that opened a few months ago.”
“LUST?” I asked, feeling my stomach drop.
She snapped her fingers. “Yes! You’ve heard of it?”
“I heard someone mention it.” I was starting to think I was asking for something I was not equipped to handle.
She clapped her hands and managed to look only slightly uncomfortable while doing so.
“Call your sister and see if she and Taylor want to drive up.” She jumped up off the couch. “I’m so excited. It’s been ages since we’ve been to a club.”
While Taylor and Kaylee lived a good hour away from Charleston, it was Friday night, and for a chance to go out, they’d be there in record time.
I watched Carrie get up from the couch and realized at that moment that our lives had just taken a turn in two totally different directions.
As I got ready to go out, I tried to tell myself that it didn’t matter what I wore or if my hair set perfectly. I didn’t need to prove anything to Reed, and I would continue to tell myself that for the rest of the night. All I wanted to focus on was being out with Carrie and enjoying what little time we had left together.
She knew me almost better than I knew myself, and she would instantly suspect something was wrong. I didn’t tell Carrie about Reed hijacking my lunch table or the things he said to and about me. I didn’t know why I didn’t tell her, but either way, I was ready to put this day behind me.
“Wow, you look … wow.” Carrie’s eyes were practically bugging from her head as she stood in the doorway to my bedroom. I hadn’t even heard her walk up, but there she was, staring at me as if she’d never seen me before and making me feel self-conscious.
“Will you stop it! It’s just a dress.”
“I wish I looked like that in my just dresses.”
I laughed. “That barely made sense.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“You always look amazing. Hence, your current knocked-up condition.”
Carrie adjusted her position on the doorframe and rubbed her stomach. “This was not a just dress situation. This was too much tequila and a faulty condom.”
I stared at her through the full-length mirror on my floor. “So it wasn’t planned?”
Her face pinched. “Hell, no. You thought it was?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t know what to think.”
“Why didn’t you just ask?”
“I didn’t want to sound unsupportive.”
She laughed. “It was definitely not planned, but now that it’s happening, I’m so unbelievably happy.” She sighed, hugging her stomach.
I’d never seen Carrie light up the way she was right now, and I knew then that I truly was happy for her.
“So,” she said, snapping us both out of our haze. “Are you planning to see anyone special tonight?”
My cheeks blazed, and I avoided all eye contact. “Of course, not! I just figured I couldn’t wear jeans and a t-shirt to a club, right?”
“Mmmhmm, okay.” Her tone dripped with reservation. “But I’d believe that more if you had looked at me while you said that,” she called from the hallway.
Better than I knew myself, I thought.
I just had to get through tonight, and I could do that.
Monday, everything would be back to normal.
Seven
Meela
It was ten o’clock when we walked up to LUST, the hottest new club in Charleston. The pink neon script was buzzing with life above the club doors. It was such an odd name for a club, but I guess, in theory, it made sense.
Wasn’t that what all clubs were about? Getting drunk and lusting after the men or women around you? Not that I knew from experience. I was far from the type of girl who fell in lust with anyone. I kept my head in the books and focused on what was important to me.
The law.
Inside, everything was decorated in pink, gold, and black. Chandeliers and sheer material lined the ceiling, making everything appear sexy and sleek. Cocktail waitresses walked around with trays of pink and black tubes asking customers two questions … lust or bust?
Lust was a pink shimmering liquid with a thin pink candy floating at the top. Bust was black as tar, and I’d heard someone say it tasted like black licori
ce. It moved around the thin tube like dark fire. Looking at the crowd around me, I was sure that lust was the obvious choice for many of the clubbers.
I suspected a lot of babies would be conceived tonight after couples left the club. So when the waitress approached us, I declined both.
“You’re no fun, Meme.” Taylor pouted.
“I just like the good stuff. Where’s the bar?” I asked the waitress, following her finger as she pointed me in the right direction.
An hour, three shots, and two rum and Cokes later, Carrie and I had lost Kaylee and Taylor to a crowd of suit junkie stockbrokers. I loved my sister dearly, and despite the fact we looked alike—same blond hair and ice blue eyes—we were the complete opposite. She was wild and carefree to my tamed and reserved.
Taylor was Kaylee’s sidekick; they did everything together, and with our two-year age difference, I was glad she had someone she could relate to.
“On a scale of one to ten, how much do you wish you were at home in your turtle pajamas?” I asked Carrie, leaning against the bar. My question sounded ten times louder than I knew it actually was over the music and voices around us.
Her lips puckered to the side as she thought about her answer.
“I’m going to say a solid seven,” she said and pushed away her virgin something or other drink with a dissatisfied pout.
“I told you we should have celebrated in.”
Her expression changed, and it was one I was very familiar with. “I worry about you sometimes, Meela.”
I frowned. I’d expected the older sister role to come out in Carrie, but I didn’t expect her to say that.
“Why?”
“You don’t get out enough.”
Not her too, I thought with a silent groan.
It was bad enough Reed had basically said I was boring and predictable. I didn’t need her thinking it, too. She was supposed to have my back—tell me I was the fun one of the group—tell me whatever the hell I needed to hear to make me think everything Reed said to me was wrong.
But she wasn’t doing that.
Even if she didn’t know it, she agreed with him.
Go out more.
Have fun more.
Smile more.
Blah, blah, blah.
I had goals in my life, and being a party queen who smiled all the freaking time wasn’t one of them.
“Since when has the club scene ever been a part of my persona? And since when did having a goal turn into a bad thing?” I asked defensively.
“It’s not a bad thing, Meela.” She was quick to reassure me, touching my arm gently. “But when do you ever make time for you?”
“What do you mean?”
Her brows lifted, and she stared at me with wide, crazy eyes. “You know,” she stressed. “When was the last time you made time for YOU.”
“Oh, god,” I moaned.
My face flamed, and I looked around, half expecting all eyes to be on us. It had taken me a minute to catch her meaning, and I was sure at least one or two in our proximity had picked up on the significance of Carrie’s words faster than I had.
“I’m fine … in that department,” I assured her. Bringing my glass to my lips, I finished the rest of my drink in one swallow.
I signaled for another one, knowing if I was going to survive tonight, I was going to need to keep them coming.
“I just want to make sure. I know you’re super dedicated to your work, but you’ve devoted your first year as a lawyer to one-upping that asshole. I just don’t want you to forget why you became a lawyer in the first place.”
Before I could respond, her expression shifted again, and she was talking to someone behind me.
“What are you doing here?” Carrie yelled over the obnoxious music.
I turned around in time to see Dillon approaching us with a very stern look on his face. By the shock in her voice, Dillon’s appearance was unplanned.
“Me? What are you doing here?” he countered, wrapping a possessive arm around her waist and pulling her close.
I liked Dillon; he was absolutely smitten with Carrie, and he treated her the way a man should treat a woman. But the way he just basically marked her like his territory in the room full of horny drunk men was comical to me.
I kept my thoughts and feelings to myself, though. The girls already thought my inability to wrap my head around anything relationship related was abnormal. Tonight was the first time Carrie had brought up my single status in a long time. Over the years, Carrie and even Kaylee had no choice but to accept I was perfectly fine going stag for the foreseeable future.
“You’re pregnant, Carrie. You should be at home,” Dillon pleaded.
“I’m fine,” Carrie said, obviously forcing a smile. “We’re celebrating my and Mee’s big news.”
Dillon looked at me as if noticing for the first time I was standing there. “Big news?” He raised his eyebrows at me.
I tried to wave off the attention, but Carrie was there to fill in the blanks for me. “She won another case against douche face.”
“Congrats. So are you the big, bad lawyer around the courthouse now?”
“Hardly. I’m just finally happy to have one upped that self-righteous son of a ...”
No. It couldn’t be. I was seeing things for sure.
But I wasn’t, and there across the club was Reed fucking Pierce.
“Shit,” I cursed.
I turned away but not before Reed saw me. The slow grin that spread across his face released a swarm of nerves inside my stomach, and I clutched Carrie’s arm for dear life.
“What? What’s wrong, Meela?” Carrie’s eyes went wide with worry, and I wondered if her face mirrored my own. Right now, I felt like my own eyes were no longer a part of my face.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I repeated
“Meela, what? You’re freaking me out.”
“He’s here,” I whispered directly into her ear.
“Who?” Carrie questioned, and she immediately went on alert as she searched the room for a familiar face. She lifted on her tiptoes to get a better look.
“No, don’t look,” I hissed, pulling on her arm until we were both hunched over. “Shit!”
“Will you stop saying that, and tell me what the hell is going on? Who’s here?”
“Reed.”
“What?” Her eyes went wide, and her jaw nearly hit the floor. I was glad she was finally a part of my freak-out. “He’s here? Shit.”
“Now that we’re on the same page, let’s get out of here.”
“Wait, I need to see him in person. Please?” she begged. “Where is he?”
“Carrie,” I growled. She was seriously killing me right now. “Whose side are you on?”
“Yours, always, but I need a better idea of what we’re up against.”
“That’s your defense?” I scoffed.
“Meela,” she whined. “I need a real-life version to go with the name.”
“I can’t even with you right now.”
“The faster you point him out, the sooner we can get out of here.”
I knew she wasn’t going to go anywhere until I did as she demanded. “Three o’clock, freakishly tall, dark hair, a face—”
“You’d want to sit on? Yep, I think I found him.”
“Jesus, Carrie. Really?” Dillon snapped.
She lifted her hand without taking her eyes off Reed and patted the side of Dillon’s face. “Yours is too, honey.”
“I’d be better convinced if you could take your eyes off him long enough to look at me.”
I rolled my eyes, but Carrie’s reaction was to be expected when it came to the looks of Reed Pierce. He had this effect on most women, and I’m sure some men, too. Except, maybe Dillon. He was looking at Reed like he was premeditating, and I was pretty sure murder would look like that if it was an emotion.
“Wow, the internet does not do him justice.”
She was losing focus.
I grabbed her chin between my fingers and
forced her to look at me. “Does the phrase mortal enemy mean anything to you?”
“Mortal enemies don’t usually look like that, my friend.”
I dropped my fingers from her face and sneaked a look over my shoulder, but the crowd had grown thicker, and I couldn’t see past the bodies right in front of me.
“Can we just go now?”
“Meela, this is ridiculous. You don’t have to hide from him, and we’re definitely not going to let his presence ruin our night out.” She paused. “Besides, I’m pretty sure he already saw you.”
I knew he’d already seen me. Damn him and his freakishly tall self. The way he had looked at me was currently burned into my mind, sending a rush of anxiety and unwanted excitement through my veins. Something I wasn’t used to feeling from the opposite sex and especially when the opposite sex was Reed Pierce. Obviously, I’d outdone it on the alcohol.
“I need to leave. Now.”
“I think it’s a little too late for that.” Carrie forced a tight smile.
“Why?”
“Well, because he’s about five feet behind you.” She pulled her arm free and straightened. I followed but much more slowly. “Now you can say it,” she whispered through pursed lips.
“Fuck,” I breathed, because I needed something a little stronger, and shit just wasn’t going to quite cut it.
“Should Dillon and I go?” Her question was almost frantic, and I knew he would appear at any second.
I glared at her. “Only if you want your unborn child to be motherless!” I hissed.
“He’s here.”
I turned just as Reed approached us, and my glare found his knowing smirk. “If you’re not careful, people are going to think you’re secretly in love with me.”
“You know, I’m pretty sure stalking could be considered grounds for harassment.”
“Is it stalking when you knew I would be here, Ms. Davis?” His eyes dipped from my eyes to my lips and back again.
I hated when he did that because it let me know he was thinking about that stupid freaking kiss again. I controlled the urge to lick the burn along my lips.
“I did not.”
“I believe I mentioned it when we had lunch together.”
“You had lunch together?” Carrie asked, and I could see in her eyes that she had a million questions, her number one being why I hadn’t told her.
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