All the Right Things
Copyright © 2014 Audrey Harte
Published by Audrey Harte
Cover art © by Christopher Neil
Interior Design by Angela McLaurin, Fictional Formats
https://www.facebook.com/FictionalFormats
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any print or electronic form without permission
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The subject matter is not appropriate for minors. Please note this novel contains profanity, explicit sexual situations, and alcohol consumption.
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AUTHOR’S NOTE
In Love in All the Wrong Places, Annie tried her hand at online dating, but it brought her nothing but a broken heart. This girl can't seem to catch a break in the dating world! While wondering what went wrong once again, she met an attractive, funny and sincere hip hop dancer in the parking lot at work. But just as Casey expressed interest in taking her out, he had to leave town to tour the country with an up and coming pop star. Annie was willing to wait for him to return, but then she received an apologetic text from Nate, the last guy she met on Craigslist.
Join Annie on her adventures in All the Right Things as she makes some of the biggest decisions of her life. While she thoroughly enjoyed the time she spent with Nate and is still attracted to him, he screwed her and then ditched her at the bar without a word. Will Annie accept Nate’s explanation and his heartfelt apology and give him a second chance or will she kick him to the curb? Or will Casey’s charm and determination to show her how a real man should treat a lady win her over? Or will both of these guys be left in the dust when someone from her past reappears?
To every girl who has chased a dream. Those who dream strive to be better people. Don’t ever stop dreaming and always believe in yourself. You can do anything you put your mind to, if you want it badly enough.
Nate: Annie, I need to talk to you. I’m so sorry and I want to explain everything if you’ll listen to me. I can’t excuse what I did, but I did have a very good reason for it, and I miss you and I want to see you and tell you everything. Please say you’ll hear me out.
Annie stared at her cell phone with a perplexed expression as she re-read the message from Nate for the tenth time. Her mind was racing as she drove back to the valley after having coffee with Casey. Sure, she’d secretly hoped he would call and explain, but hadn’t really expected him to. Annie wasn’t convinced he could say anything to make her forgive what he had done, but she had to admit a morbid curiosity to know what kind of excuse he would offer for fucking her in the bathroom of a karaoke bar and then leaving without a word.
Instead of heading to her apartment when she got home, she found herself at Alex’s door, knocking insistently until he opened it. Her neighbor and BFF took one look at her face, and without a word, stepped back to usher her inside. She made a beeline for his kitchen and got a glass to pour herself some wine from the recently opened bottle sitting on his counter, drinking it all in a few big gulps. Wincing as the chilled wine gave her a bit of brain freeze, she set the glass down and poured herself some more.
“Bad day?” Alex asked with a raised eyebrow as he sat down on a bar stool, reaching over to extract the bottle from her hand and pour the remaining wine into his glass.
“Not exactly… I mean, it was a pretty great day, all in all. I met up for coffee with Casey after work again, and that was good. The down side was when he told me that he’s going on tour tomorrow for a few weeks. He’s relieving an injured back-up dancer for some new pop star.”
“Cool for him, not so cool for you?”
Annie laughed. “It’s fine—I mean, yeah, I’m a little bummed that we were just starting to get to know each other, and now I won’t see him for at least three weeks, but he wants to take me out sometime when he gets back. And with the track record I’ve had lately, I think it’s a good thing if we can just talk for a few weeks and get to know each other before anything gets physical between us.”
“That’s probably smart.”
“Yeah… so then I’m driving home when I get a text message from Nate.”
“Say what?” Alex’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Annie just nodded, her eyes widening slightly as she raised her glass and drained it again.
“I know, right?”
“I think this calls for more wine,” Alex said as he left his seat to retrieve another bottle of Pinot Grigio from the fridge, taking a quick moment to pop the cork. After refilling both their glasses, he slid her glass over and took a long sip from his own. “By the way, I see that you got your hair did!”
“Oh, yeah—after work yesterday.” Annie reached up to run her fingers through the short bob. It would take some getting used to.
“I can’t believe you cut off so much; it’s super short! What made you decide to do that? Not that it doesn’t look great—it’s totally chic on you.”
“Thanks, sweetie… I dunno… I just feel like I’m going through a change right now and trying to start fresh with my love life, which—as you know—has been a total disaster lately. Well, not just lately.”
Alex nodded. “You do have the world’s worst luck with men.”
“Ha, you’re telling me.”
“Not that my luck is any better in the men department.”
“I can still ask Casey to find you some men in tights,” Annie said with a snicker as she grinned innocently at him. Alex looked like he was about to make a smart remark, but just then the doorbell rang, interrupting him. Looking a little embarrassed, she stood up and started to apologize. “I’m so sorry… I just barged in here. If you’re expecting company, I can totally leave.”
“Stay right where you are; it’s just the pizza guy,” Alex said as he got up from his bar stool and reached into his back pocket for his wallet, making his way to the front door. After paying the delivery guy and shutting the door again, he set the pizza box down on the counter and opened the lid.
When she saw what kind it was, she clapped her hands happily. “Mmm, pepperoni, pineapple and green peppers—my favorite. See, this is why we’re friends. You have great taste in pizza.”
Alex laughed. “Dig in… I can’t eat the whole thing myself. At least my taste in pizza is better than my taste in men.”
He didn’t have to offer twice. Annie took the plate he offered her and grabbed a slice, then swore as she immediately dropped the piece back into the box.
“Holy shit, that’s hot!” she exclaimed, sucking on her fingers.
“Uh yeah, don’t burn yourself, sweetie.”
After waiting another minute to let it cool, she tried to pick up the piece again and successfully transferred it to her plate before gingerly biting into the hot, cheesy goodness. “Mmm, that’s good.”
“So, back to the text message from Nate,” Alex said around a mouthful of pizza.
Groaning, Annie rolled her eyes and didn’t respond for a moment, taking another bite of her pizza and chewing it slowly before she finally responded. “Right. Well, he texted back and apologiz
ed for ditching me the other night—said he had a good explanation, that he missed me and wanted to see me again.”
“Huh, interesting. So are you going to meet up with him?”
“Part of me wants to believe that he really did have a good reason, but part of me doubts that I can trust him again. Besides, I see some real potential with Casey. And I’m pretty sure that neither one of them is going to be down with me dating both of them at the same time, not that I would. But I do want to know what his reason was.”
“Me too.”
“Ugh, why do men have to be such dicks sometimes?” she huffed.
“Hey now,” Alex protested.
“Why do straight men have to be such dicks sometimes?” she corrected, smiling at him.
“Beats me, but I want to hear all about it after you see Nate. I’ll be waiting with a fresh bottle.”
“What? You think I should have him come over right now?” Annie looked at him incredulously.
“No time like the present, sweetie.”
“No! Are you crazy? I need time to mentally prepare for this meeting.”
Alex shook his head at her. “You’re stalling, Mami.”
“I’m not stalling. I just—I just need a night to think it through.”
“What do you need to think through? You just want to hear what his excuse is for now, right? Doesn’t mean you have to make a decision right away whether or not you believe him.”
Annie chewed her lip, looking doubtful. “I dunno… let me marinate on it for a minute.”
Alex bit into another piece of pizza and nodded at her, indicating his mouth was busy for the moment anyway. She really did want to hear what Nate had to say, and she’d rather make a decision on what to do sooner rather than later before it affected her chances with Casey.
“Alright.” Annie got up from her bar stool and patted the counter decidedly. “I’ll be back for more wine.”
“Atta girl!”
Annie’s hand trembled as she dialed Nate’s number and put the phone to her ear, listening as it rang once, then twice, then he picked up.
“Hello? Annie?”
“Hi.”
“Look, I can explain. I’m so sorry.”
“You should be.”
“I am, trust me. Can I… can I come over and speak with you in person about this? Please just let me explain.”
Even though she’d already made up her mind to let him come over, she felt like she had to make him suffer a bit first. She waited for several seconds and then sighed. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Please. I swear I didn’t mean to hurt you at all. I just… I need to see you face to face and apologize and explain what happened.”
Annie sighed and paused again for extra effect before finally agreeing. “Fine… I mean, yeah, sure. Why not?”
“Great. I’ll be there in about half an hour.”
“Okay.”
She ended the call and looked skyward. “Please God, don’t make me regret this.”
A moment later, she was knocking first on Alex’s door before letting herself in. He had her glass filled and ready when she walked in. She quickly downed the wine and held up her glass for more.
“He’s coming over,” she squeaked.
Alex smirked as he refilled her glass. “Oh goodie, I’ll be listening for your screams through the courtyard again.”
“Okay first of all, I am not sleeping with that jerk-off, whatever he has to say. If I forgive him, he’s gonna have to work for it this time. Second of all, I learned my lesson the first time and I won’t be forgetting to shut the windows ever again.”
“Whatever you say, chica.”
Annie rolled her eyes at him as she gulped down the rest of her glass and then set it down on the countertop. “Thanks, hon. I needed the drink and pep talk. I’m gonna go freshen up before he gets here. Love you.”
“Love you more!”
There was plenty of time for Annie to touch up her make-up and hair and tidy up the apartment before Nate got there. When she answered the door and saw him standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, his deep blue eyes so hopeful and apologetic, Annie’s first instinct was to throw her arms around him and say she forgave him. But the amount of hurt he had caused made her cautious; she wasn’t about to cave that easily.
“Hey,” he said quietly.
“Hey,” she said back, eyes narrowed and wary.
“You cut your hair.”
Instinctively, her hand went up to touch the hair that was now gone. “Yeah. You don’t like it?”
“No, I do. It looks good—you… look great.”
“Thanks,” she said, letting her hand drop back down to her side.
“I got you these flowers… kind of lame, I know. But uh, the florist told me that white roses can show apology while the lavender ones can express feelings of infatuation, delight or adoration. So like if I wanted to let a girl know that I’m so sorry I fucked things up and that I’ve fallen head over heels in love with her and hope she’ll forgive me and give me a second chance, this was what I should get.”
“Well, Nate, I don’t really know what you want me to say. I mean, the flowers are a nice gesture, but you can’t buy me off with roses and a pretty little speech. You still haven’t explained why you just disappeared the other night. I’m pretty sure you knew you could’ve hooked up with me well before the night at the karaoke bar, but you made it seem like you were interested in more than just a casual fuck.”
Nate winced as he glanced around the empty courtyard. “Ah, yeah, I know. I’m a dick. And I did—I do want more than that from you. But uh… can I maybe come inside and talk with you about this so we don’t give your neighbors a private show?”
Annie hesitated momentarily before nodding her consent, then reluctantly stepped back to allow Nate to enter the apartment. He handed her the flowers, then stood there waiting for her to close the door and sit down on the couch. He remained standing as he rubbed his hands together nervously, looking up at the ceiling and clearing his throat before finally looking her in the eye.
“Alright, let me start at the beginning so you understand what led to me disappearing on you that night. As I told you before, my job is being a mentor at a rehab facility for young men who are trying to get clean from drug or alcohol addiction. What I didn’t tell you is why that is what I do.” Nate glanced down at the ground for a moment as he cleared his throat again, then finally sat down on an armchair and began to explain.
“Look um,” he started, and then paused to take a deep breath before continuing, “my parents were junkies all my life, so it wasn’t a huge surprise when I started using at a very young age—thirteen, to be exact. First it started out with drinking, smoking cigarettes and weed, maybe doing some shrooms occasionally, and then it changed to coke and ecstasy. By the time I was sixteen, I was addicted to prescription meds and seriously considering trying meth. But I’d seen what it did to my parents, and a part of me was still holding out against that.”
Annie nodded solemnly as he paused. “I see. Wow, that is pretty crazy. So obviously you’ve given that all up since then?”
“Yeah, I made a friend through a ballet class who was sober. She’d gone through her own set of addictions and pulled through it after going to rehab. She never gave up on me and was my biggest supporter through it all. It took two years, and of course I fell back into my old habits a few times, but she helped me through the worst of it and wouldn’t put up with any of my bullshit. I’ve been sober for five years this June.”
“Well, congrats on that and I know it must have been a long, hard battle for you. I’m so sorry I didn’t realize, or I probably wouldn’t have invited you out to a bar,” Annie said with a rueful smile.
“Not your fault. It’s not necessarily something I bring up right away until I’ve gotten to know someone a little better, which is what I was trying to do with you, but… well, I got a little carried away at the bar. I seriously didn’t inten
d for that to happen… but we had built up all that sexual tension between us, and you just looked amazing and—God, did you smell good enough to eat. I know it’s not a good excuse, but I couldn’t help myself.”
“So you weren’t planning on that happening, yet you had a condom in your pocket?”
“I always carry a condom in my pocket.”
Annie smirked. “Well, always better to be safe than sorry, I suppose.”
“Safety first.”
“Okay, well that still doesn’t explain why you left the bar without saying a word.”
Nate grimaced and ran his hand through his hair, rubbing the back of his neck as he studied the floor. “Yeah, so, the thing is… my sponsor is this girl who I’ve known almost the entire time I’ve been sober. We’re pretty close, and I didn’t realize that she was secretly hoping for our relationship to turn into something more, but I guess I probably should have. I’d been talking to her about you, and I called her the couple of times I was feeling tempted to break sobriety—both times happened to be when I was with you.”
Her eyes widening slightly, Annie nodded. It was all beginning to make sense now.
“The first time was the night I crashed your weekly dinner date with Alex. The second was at the karaoke bar. Both times, she advised me to leave immediately. The second time, she told me that you were threatening my sobriety, and that I needed to get up without saying anything and leave—that ultimately, it would be better for you. I was so fucked up in the head that I just did as she advised—well, and I trusted her. But I haven’t been able to forgive myself or think about anything else since I left you there. After our next meeting, Sasha, my sponsor, asked me to give her a ride home. When we got to her place, she invited me in for coffee and said we could talk more. But after she tried to kiss me in the middle of me trying to tell her how badly I felt about leaving you there without saying anything, I realized what her true intentions had been all along. Needless to say, I left immediately, and she is no longer my sponsor.”
All the Right Things (Love in LA) Page 1
