by Claire Adams
The weight of him against me was almost too much. Why the hell did I wear a dress and heels to this thing?
We moved slow as hell across the diner; he was shuffling as if he were a drunk zombie, his back leg dragging behind him. I propped him against the wall and opened the front door, grabbing onto him again. He had the sense to grab onto the railing which helped us get down the front steps.
His feet kicked divots into the gravel parking lot.
By some miracle, I got Parker into the passenger seat of my car without injuring either of us.
He flopped over and I had to reach around him to connect his seatbelt.
“I’m going to be right back,” I said to Parker, handing him a water bottle. “Drink this.”
He held the bottle in his hands and didn’t bother to take a sip. I’d have to work on that once we got to his house, or he was going to have a massive hangover.
I tossed my heels into the back seat and jogged over to the building, the gravel digging into my feet. It was better than breaking my ankle. I locked the front door. I’d already secured the back door earlier, so everything was buttoned up for the night.
I turned around and took a breath. Okay, now I needed to button up Parker after getting him safely home.
While driving, Parker didn’t have any of his usual complaints about the way I drove. It was actually nice to have silence from him. Halfway home, his head dropped and leaned on my arm. I’d let him rest the remainder of the way. Maybe when we got to his house, he’d have a burst of strength so I wouldn’t have to drag his ass inside.
Parker had enough strength to get in the front door, but he started to lean heavily on me again as we crossed the foyer.
“This wedding is going to be great,” he muttered. “If it's anything like that party, whoop, it’s going to be a doozy.”
“I’m sure it will be fun,” I said, trying to be encouraging. I didn’t want to risk saying anything about his bride-to-be. Parker could be two types of drunk: really happy or really depressed. I feared if I said something about Rachel that rubbed him the wrong way, then I would lose this happy drunk.
“I’m most excited for the wedding night,” he tried to waggle his eyebrows but he ended up holding them both up as he stared at me with wide eyes.
I let out a laugh and quickly recovered. “I’m sure you are.”
“Yep. Me and Rachel are going to do it for the first time.”
I helped him sit down on his bed and took a step back. “Wait, for the first time? Haven't you had sex yet? I thought that’s what the whole ‘put a ring on it’ proposal was for?” How could he marry someone he never had sex with? What if they weren’t compatible in that way? Then they would be stuck in a sexless marriage.
He kicked off his shoes and tried to get his shirt off, but his fingers fumbled over the buttons. “She said she wanted to wait after I proposed.”
“Let me help you,” I said, not wanting to ruin his shirt.
He dropped his hands to the side. “She’s so classy. Not like other girls.”
I held my tongue. Nothing good was going to come out of my mouth. This nearly confirmed her gold-digger status. How could Parker be that blind? She was clearly using him. I had to admit that it felt good to know that they hadn’t been intimate yet. But it would come soon enough. I wondered how long she could hold him off after they were married.
And I hoped to god that he signed a prenup! I made a mental note to slide that into the conversation before their marriage. It was the only way to protect what he worked so hard to build.
I helped him with his shirt. After opening the buttons, I slid the shirt back and he pulled his arms through the sleeves. I gently folded it and placed it on one of the chairs next to the bed. I tried to focus on anything but his amazingly sculpted chest.
I moved him to a lying-down position and he managed to get his own pants off. He wore boxer briefs, but I covered him quickly, already feeling strange stripping him down while he was so intoxicated. I didn’t bother with his socks.
“I’m going to—” I said at the same time as he said, “Lay with me.”
I stared at him. His eyes were open and they were clear. “Just for a minute.”
“Okay,” I said and sat down next to him. I cleared my throat and laid down with enough distance to not make this weird.
Within seconds, he moved closer and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him. His body was warm against mine and I closed my eyes, taking it all in. I knew he was only being this way because he’d been drinking, but it felt incredible to have him hold me.
“I’m so lucky to have you,” he said, his hot breath tickled my ear.
“We’re both lucky. Not a lot of people can say they’ve had a friend as long as we have.”
He sighed. “I wished things could have been different between us.”
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “How do you mean?”
He moved a chunk of hair off of my face. He traced that line again and his finger left a trail of warmth across my face. “I love our friendship, but I want to be a risk-taker like Kenneth and go after my best friend.”
My mouth went dry. Was my engaged best friend telling me that he’d thought of us in a relationship? Just as I had so many times before? “Parker, I don’t think you mean that.”
“Oh, I do, I wonder about it a lot. Especially recently.”
“Why recently?”
“Because of the wedding. Seeing you at the overlook made me want to see you there in a white wedding dress, coming down the aisle toward me.”
I let out a slow breath. This was getting serious very quickly. I wasn’t sure what to say. Should I open up about my feelings too? If there was any moment to do it, this was it.
“Parker, I feel the same way.”
“You do?”
“I think I do.”
He sighed heavily.
I was losing him. If I was going to get this off my chest, then I had to do it soon.
“I think I love you as more than a friend.” I laughed against his arm. “That’s crazy, right? I mean, gosh, I really don’t know what I mean.”
He snuggled closer to me and whispered in my ear, “I love you….”
I pulled my arms up and held him closer to me. I closed my eyes and tried to take a mental picture of all of this. Could we really be like Harriet and Kenneth? The perfect couple that I admired and loved?
“Rachel,” he said, and then his breathing slowed.
Wait, what? Did he say I love you, Rachel? My lower lip trembled. Embarrassment crashed over me. How could I have been so stupid? I actually believed what he said to be true. He was shit-faced and muttering about things that weren’t true. He probably was mixing up me and Rachel in his little speech.
“Parker?” I said.
He started to snore softly, and heat flashed behind my eyes. He was asleep. Right after he called me Rachel.
I waited a few more minutes until I knew he was completely passed out. It was torture just sitting there, stewing over how he just crushed my heart with one stupid word. I didn’t want to risk waking him up and him telling me all of these lies again. It hurt too much. I had allowed myself to get built up by his speech. And for one moment, I’d had a glimmer of hope for us. I wasn’t this girl. When did I become this girl? The one who pined for her best friend after he was engaged. It was ludicrous.
Once his breathing steadied, I moved his arm off of me and slid out from under him. I made sure he was positioned on his side before I left the room. As much as I was pissed at him for getting my hopes up, I wanted him to be safe and taken care of. I’d thrown the party and taken him home; he was my responsibility.
I poured a glass of water from the kitchen tap and found a bottle of aspirin in the bathroom. I put the glass and bottle on the side table and made sure he was comfortable before turning off the lights and leaving the bedroom.
I couldn’t believe I’d led myself on and started to fall for him when he didn’t even kn
ow who he was holding. I knew he was drunk, but how could he not know it was me? I felt like absolute shit. I closed and locked his front door and walked dejectedly toward my car. Once I got in there, I gave myself a moment to collect myself. I wiped my tear-streaked cheeks and turned the engine. I took one more look at his house and tried to hold onto those last moments before my best friend broke my heart.
Chapter Seventeen
Parker
I woke the next morning with a blasting headache. I kept my eyes closed, unsure how much worse it was going to get if I tried to open them. I groaned and reached out next to me. The other side of the bed was empty.
Good, I didn’t go home with some stripper. The rest of the night came back to me in bits and fragments, but it turned blank right around the time Sienna and I sat down at the booth. How the hell did I get home? I cracked open one eye and realized the room was still shrouded in darkness. I blinked a few times, even though each time I did, the movement radiated in my brain.
There was something on the side table. I scooted over and the sheets against my skin were like sandpaper. It was going to be one of those hangovers.
I grabbed the glass of water and chugged it. I opened the pill bottle and took two aspirin and swallowed them dry. The chalky taste mixed with the aftertaste of the alcohol was a disgusting combination. I really needed to brush my teeth.
It took me a while to get into a seated position. The right side of my body ached, and I promise myself I wouldn’t drink again for a while. I rested my head in my hands and tried to recall more of the night before. I worked my way through from start to finish. I remembered the strippers. Then I ate with Sienna and had a good conversation with her. Tony had his own lap dance and then was talking to the strippers across the dining room. Sienna had come to my side of the booth to sit with me and then…nothing.
I came up against a roadblock; no matter how I tried to get around it, my brain wasn’t allowing me to remember. It was incredibly frustrating.
I reached down to retrieve my pants. I pulled my phone from my pocket. I didn’t have any messages and my battery was almost dead. And I was surprised to see it was already four in the afternoon. Holy shit, I’d slept all day. I’d drank a lot more than I realized. Once the liquor had started flowing, I didn’t remember not having a glass in my hand. Why didn’t I drink any water? How did Sienna let me do that?
She did want me to have a good time. And by getting me drunk, there were sure to be moments she could make fun of me for. Hmm. I’d have to get her back for this once I was able to move without wanting to throw up.
I flipped through to find Sienna’s number so she could fill me in on the details.
Before I could press the call button, someone knocked on the front door. I smiled and placed the phone on the bed. Sienna was here. At least I could ask her face-to-face. And maybe she would have some coffee for me. Or possibly some greasy hangover food. No matter how bad I felt, I was always up for her food.
I stood up and the room tilted. Once I got my bearings, I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and headed out to answer the door. She banged on the door again, and it sounded like a hammer in my head.
“Coming,” I croaked then cleared my throat. I must have had more whiskey; it always made my voice hoarse.
I opened the door and was prepared for Sienna to bust my balls about something stupid I did last night, but instead, I was surprised to see Rachel standing there.
“Rachel?”
“Hey, babe,” she said and pushed through the door, lugging her bags. She rolled them to the middle of the room and stood them up. She turned and crossed her arms, looking me up and down.
I must have looked like a wreck. I raked my hands through my hair. “What-what are you doing here? I thought you were staying another couple of days.”
She looked like perfection, a deceiving quality. She walked over to me and rubbed her soft hands over my chest. “Can’t a girl come home and see her fiancé?”
I glanced outside the door before I kicked it closed behind me. “Sure, but I’m just surprised is all.”
She smiled. “I want to tell you about the whole thing!” She started unloading every single detail of the trip.
“Please don’t yell,” I said, rubbing my temples. “Sienna and Tony threw me a bachelor party last night.”
“I hope it wasn’t at her disgusting diner. You could probably get a disease from there.” She stuck out her tongue and made a gagging noise.
If anything, I would get a disease from the strippers. Sunny’s was the cleanest diner I’d ever visited. Besides, I wasn’t going to get into this with her now. I had no patience and no energy.
“Anyway,” she said. “On the plane ride there, we were sitting behind a child. In first class! I made them move the family across the plane by telling the flight attendant that I wanted a refund if I was going to have to listen to a screaming child after paying so much for the ticket, then…”
For the lack of us speaking while she was gone, she was certainly making up for it now. I fought hard to pay attention, but what I really wanted to do was call Sienna and figure out what the hell happened last night.
Rachel tagged along with me all around the house, even while I showered. She was never this attached before. I should have been grateful—I was marrying her, after all—but today was not the best day for her to be clingy. I just wanted to get in touch with Sienna and find out what I had missed out on.
The shower felt refreshing and offered me a chance to drown out Rachel for a few minutes. Her muffled words weren’t discernible in the stream of water cascading over my head, offering me a small moment of peace. Guilt pressed on my chest so I took a quick shower so Rachel wouldn’t have to repeat herself. It was one of her pet peeves, and I didn’t want her voice to get even more high-pitched than it already was. I wasn’t sure my throbbing head could take it.
When I got out of the shower, Rachel was standing there, holding my phone out.
“Did someone call?” I asked. Sienna wouldn’t be too happy if Rachel answered her phone call.
“No,” she said. “Are you expecting someone to call?”
“No,” I said and wiped my face with a towel.
She narrowed her eyes for a moment before thrusting the phone at me.
“I want you to make reservations for dinner tonight.”
I took the phone from her. “Where do you want to go?”
“You choose,” she said. “But make it a nice place.”
“Sure thing,” I said.
“We’ll talk more then. I want to freshen up, then we can leave.” She winked at me then turned on her heel and strode from the room. Her clacking heels echoed across the space until they were gone.
I sighed. She knew I could get a spot at any restaurant I wanted. Flashing my money was her favorite thing, and if the restaurant wasn’t full, she’d know I didn’t try hard to get into an exclusive place.
My phone was dangerously close to being dead. I had one phone call to make before I had to charge it.
Rachel would make my life hell if I didn’t schedule a reservation. And I wouldn’t have the privacy I needed to speak with Sienna about last night. I was sure if Rachel heard the conversation, she’d have a lot of questions. And I wasn’t prepared to talk to her about last night. At least not until I got all the information.
I sighed. Sienna would have to wait.
When we arrived at the restaurant, Rachel acted surprised that we’d gone to such a nice place. I was still recovering, so I didn’t have the energy to remind her that she was the one who wanted a fancy place. I ordered a bottle of wine for the table but I knew my glass would remain empty. I guzzled both mine and Rachel’s glasses of water before the waiter returned to take our order.
“So, as of right now, you have a venue, officiant, and what else?” Rachel said, flipping through her phone. She was half-paying attention like she always did, but for some reason, it annoyed me. It seemed like everything she did annoyed me today. It
was unfair to her that I was hungover, so I tried to muster up the energy to talk to her even though I really didn’t want to get into this right now. I didn’t even want to leave the house, and now she wanted to talk about the wedding? Balls of stress built up in my shoulders.
“That’s it. I didn’t have time for anything else yet. The band I put a deposit on didn’t have availability for the new date. The caterer was checking her calendar and was supposed to get back to me.”
I’d left my phone at home to charge while we were at dinner. When Rachel went home for the night, I’d be able to call Sienna and get all the information I needed to ease my mind. Not knowing what happened last night created a sense of anxiety in me. I hoped I didn’t say or do something stupid. By the lack of Sienna’s phone calls, I had a really strong feeling that the part of the night I didn’t remember was very important.
“Parker, are you even listening to me?” Rachel said.
I didn’t realize I wasn’t paying attention to anything she’d said. My brain was still fuzzy and I must have zoned out.
“What did you say?”
Rachel sighed. “We still have so much to do. I think I’m going to have to hire someone to help me since you were obviously not the person for the job. I’ll need your checkbook so I can put down all the deposits. And I need to get my dress fitted…”
She continued on. I interjected an appropriate “sure” and “uh-huh” as needed, but I didn’t contribute more than that.
I could barely choke down my dinner since my stomach was still rolling from the night before. I had the waiter wrap up my meal and I got the check before he even offered dessert. I knew Rachel wouldn’t want any and I needed to get home and call Sienna. Or maybe she already called me and wondered why I hadn’t gotten back to her in almost an entire day.
Rachel seemed put off by us rushing out of there, but I ignored her.
After paying the check, I called for the valet. After he pulled the car up to the curb, I opened the door for Rachel. I tipped the valet and shuffled over to my side. I was almost home-free.
We had to go back and get Rachel’s things at my place. I wished I would have packed them in the car so I could take her home right away. But my brain wasn’t functioning well at all since I woke up hours ago.
