“No thanks. I’m driving tonight.” He shakes his head and returns his hand to mine.
“Reid, what the hell are you wearing? Maddy said you weren’t dressing up.” I ask as I stifle a laugh.
“What, don’t you think it’s true?” he asks as he looks down at the gift-wrapped box he’s wearing. It has holes cut out of the top for his head and the sides for his arms.
“Well that depends. If you’re going as A Dick in a Box, then hell yeah, you’re spot on.” That comment makes Maddy snort in laughter. He wasn’t exactly nice to her before the two of them started dating. But, since then, he’s been perfect. I can’t deny that I have a huge soft spot for my best friend’s boyfriend. The fact that he takes me out to lunch once a week just to keep on my good side is a nice touch as well.
He laughs at my snippy comment and smirks at me. “Read the tag. You’ll get it,” he says.
I eye the tag that’s folded closed and choke on my laughter when I read,
To: Women
From: God
Jack chimes in through my giggling and eye rolling, “He wears it every fucking year.”
“What? I am.” Reid’s voice is laced with humor. He kisses Maddy sweetly and she rolls her eyes at him.
“You sure are, Reid. But does that mean I get to unwrap you later on?” Maddy’s playful words definitely have an effect on him. It’s cute to see them together. They’ve both been under each other’s skin from that first night they met, and ever since they got together officially, they’ve been the cutest couple ever. There’s just something about them that tells me they’ll make it.
“Come on. Let’s go get you a drink,” Reid says to Maddy as he walks her out of the living room and into the kitchen. Jack and Cammie follow behind them and just as Bryan and I move to follow them, Liam, Bryan’s soccer teammate, walks up behind us and claps Bryan on the shoulder.
“Hey, Bryan. I didn’t know you’d be here tonight,” Liam says as he stands in front of us.
“Hey, Liam. Yeah, my girlfriend, Melanie, is friends with Jack and Cammie,” Bryan explains as he points to Jack as he walks into the kitchen. Liam says hi to me and politely shakes my hand, but there’s something fishy in the way he looks at me.
“I guess it’s not such a small campus, after all, huh. I’m in the Physical Therapy program with Jack,” Liam explains as he lets go of my hand, which I promptly return to Bryan’s.
“I didn’t see you at the party after the soccer game. What happened?” Liam asks as he takes a gulp of his beer.
Bryan laughs a little. “Yeah, well, when I saw you throwing up in a shoe, I figured I missed the party. So Melanie and I left and well . . . we had our own party.” A heated blush creeps up my neck and across my face.
“Bryan!” I gasp and swat him on the arm.
“What? We did.” He kisses my forehead and wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side.
I roll my eyes, but when he moves his hand from my shoulder to the base of my neck and starts playing with my hair, he’s forgiven.
“I’ll let you guys catch up. I’m going to go find the girls. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I stretch up in my toes and kiss Bryan on his cheek, but out of the corner of my eye I see Liam give me an ugly stare. I don’t really need to find the girls, but I just want to get away from Liam.
Before finding the rest of the group, I decide to stop in the bathroom and freshen up. Luckily, since it’s still early, there’s no line so I go right in. After I’m done washing my hands and reapplying my lip-gloss, I reach for the door. I nearly stumble through it as it’s pulled open from the other end. Tripping over my own feet, I land into someone in a slutty nurse costume.
Straightening myself, and pulling my face out of her tits, I’m less than pleased to see that I’ve just motor-boated Courtney.
Just my freaking luck!
I adjust my headband of cat ears and move to walk past her without saying a word, because, honestly, she’s the last person on Earth who I want to talk to.
Well, that plan goes to shit, when she grasps my wrist and pulls me into the bathroom with her. For a skinny bitch, she’s pretty strong.
After she slams the door behind her, she eyes me up and down. “What do you want, Courtney?” I practically spit my words at her. I wish I had fewer manners, because spitting in her face actually sounds like a great idea.
“I want you to back the fuck off Bryan.” Her words are dripping with venom and hate. Of course, they make me laugh.
“And why exactly would I do that?” I cross my arms over my chest and stare her down.
Courtney takes me by surprise when she steps into my personal space and pokes her bony finger into my arm. “Because it makes me look bad!” Her finger presses into my shoulder to accentuate each of her evil words.
A snarky and dismissive laugh escapes my lips. Unfolding my arms from my chest, I poke her back. “And, please tell me, how the hell does it make you look bad?” I huff and try to walk past her. But, once again, she grabs my wrist and digs her fingers tips into my skin.
Oh, it’s on now, bitch!
I let out a deep, steadying breath and turn calmly toward her. Wriggling my wrist free from her grimy hands, I place both of my hands on my hips and just stand there waiting for her to answer. Her eyes skim over my body before she speaks and I have a feeling I know what words are going to come out of her mouth. I brace myself for the blow that I know is about to knock me over. Her lips curl up into an evil little smirk, and she says, “Because he picked a fat, little wiry-haired bitch over me.” Courtney steps into my face again and pokes me in the shoulder one more time. “Now, if you don’t leave him alone, I’m going to have to do something about it. Just you wait and see.” Her words are a calm but evil whisper. Unwilling to let her get the best of me, I glare at her, showing her that her words mean nothing to me.
“Well, maybe if you weren’t a,” I tap my finger on my lip as I call up the perfect words. “Oh that’s right—a shallow, cold, heartless, bitch you wouldn’t have lost him in the first place. Besides what kind of person, if that’s what you can even call yourself, actually insults a child. You fucking bitch.” I’m practically vibrating in anger recalling what she said about Emmie.
Rolling her eyes skyward and huffing at me, she says, “Whatever. She’s a fucking little retard and it doesn’t even matter. It’s not like I insulted Bryan. I don’t even know why he cares.”
Before I can even hold myself back, my palm stings sweetly against her cheek. “Don’t you ever fucking call her that again! She is not a retard!” Gripping her chin in my hands, I force her eyes, which are now filled with a few tears from my slap, up to meet mine.
“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to leave Bryan and me alone, for good. He doesn’t want you, and after this little insight into who you really are, I can totally tell why.” I release her chin and push her back slightly before glaring at her one last time. “You’re not even worth the air I wasted on this conversation. Now, get the fuck out!” I hold my head high as she walks past me and out of the bathroom.
I really hope that puts an end to her whole “I’m going to get Bryan back” campaign.
When some of the adrenaline fades, reality sets in. What the freak? She’s acting like they were engaged or something like that. Yet, as much as I don’t want to let her words affect me, I can’t deny that they do. They speak to every issue I’ve had to this point and force me to question what Bryan and I have shared. The freaking bitch!
Trying my best to seem unaffected, I splash some cold water on my face and touch up my make-up once more. A knock on the door startles me and I call out, “I’ll be right out!”
Exiting the bathroom, I walk past a huge line that’s snaking its way down the hall. People give me the evil-eye as they wait. Great, just what I needed—more people hating on me!
By the time I make it back into the living room, a crowd of people are dancing to some loud club mix. I see Bryan off to the side
; his back is to me as he’s engaged in a conversation with someone I can’t see beyond his body. When my eyes land on his solid back, a warm feeling of comfort and security anchors me. Courtney can say whatever the hell she wants, but I know that she’s not who he wants.
As I make my way toward him, I nearly stop in my tracks. My gut churns and anger boils hot and fierce in my veins. Of course, Courtney is standing right in front of him. But what’s more shocking than that, is that she’s wrapped around Liam like a vine. I don’t know if she’s trying to make Bryan jealous or what, but the only thought that crosses my mind is that she looks like a whore. A bitchy, whore dressed up like a slutty nurse.
Bracing myself for the worst, I pad over to Bryan’s side and I’m more than a little hurt when he startles at my touch. He doesn’t include me in the conversation or look at me warmly or anything like that. In fact, he doesn’t say anything as he pulls me away from his little chat with Courtney and Liam.
Maybe it’s because I’m bristled with anxiety from my exchange with Courtney, but my words come out harsh and accusatory. “What’s up with that? What the hell were you guys talking about? Why did you pull me away like that?”
He doesn’t have a chance to answer me. His phone must vibrate in his pocket because I don’t hear it ring. When he looks at the screen to see who is calling him, his eyes looks a little scared. “I have to go outside to take this. I’ll be right back.” And then he walks away from me, leaving me all alone in the middle of a Halloween party that I didn’t even want to go to in the first place.
Scanning the crowd, I don’t see any familiar faces. Maddy, Cammie and Lia are nowhere to be found, and since Jack and Reid are never more than a step away from their girls, I don’t see them either. All I see is Courtney and Liam staring at me from across the room. The air around them stinks of some kind of conspiracy, and I have a feeling that the ugly looks Liam was shooting at me before I left to go to the bathroom are part of Courtney’s plan to come between me and Bryan.
No longer able to stand their harsh scrutiny, I step out onto the porch where Bryan has taken his call. When I see him holding his phone in front of his face, instead of pressing it up against his ear, I know immediately who has called him.
Emmie.
I stay to the side because I don’t want her to see me on the screen. Bryan has told me that she has a difficult time adjusting to new people so I don’t want to overwhelm her. But Bryan catches sight of me out of the corner of his eye and he smiles over at me. He holds one finger up to the side to let me know that he’ll just be another minute. I nod and wrap my arms around my chest, trying to block out some of the chill in the late autumn air.
Through the loud, raucous intensity of inside, I can hear bits and pieces of the conversation.
“It’ll be okay, Emmie. I promise,” he coaxes her, but it’s obviously not working when he adds, “They’ll calm down. Just stay in your room. Tell me about your new book. Yeah, the one I downloaded for you. What do you think?”
Bryan’s face lights up like a flash of lightning when she starts talking about whatever book he must have set up for her. I’m lost staring at him and daydreaming about how sweet he is, when I catch the tail end of his last sentence.
“ . . . no I’m not alone. You don’t have to worry, Emmie. I’m with my girlfriend, Melanie.” Bryan’s warm eyes look over to me and his face softens. I take a step closer to him, but still stay out of view. I’m close enough now that I can hear Emmie ask, “Can I see her?”
Bryan eyes me warily, unsure about how I’ll react. Surely, he’s thinking about how Courtney reacted, or maybe he’s thinking that I don’t want to talk to his sister. Keeping my voice low enough so that only he hears me, I say, “I can talk to her.”
He reaches out his hand to mine and pulls me to his side. Holding the phone in front of us, he centers it between our face so that Emmie can see both of us.
She bounces in her seat and laughs with such giddiness that it’s contagious. I chuckle and ask, “What’s so funny, Emmie?” I smile and make a silly side-eyed face as I stare into the screen of Bryan’s smartphone. I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, but there was something so bright and alive in her laughter that I couldn’t help but be playful in my question.
“You’re a kitty cat, Melanie!” She laughs again as she points up at my headband. I reach up to touch the ears that are sticking up at the top of my head. I kind of forgot about them. She’s still lost in her innocent laughter so I “meow” at her and she laughs even harder.
When her chuckles subside, she proudly holds up a pretty pink princess costume. Placing the sparkly crown on her head, I gasp and sigh. “Oh, Emmie, you are the prettiest princess ever.”
“Really?” I can hear the disbelief in her voice and I just want to climb through the phone and hug her tightly.
“Of course, you are! You’re a beautiful little princess and don’t ever let anyone tell you any differently.” Now, if only I could apply my own words to myself–that would be progress.
Emmie shrugs her shoulders and tucks her chin shyly into her chest. “I think you’re beautiful too, Melanie.” Her soft words force a ball of emotion to rise in my throat. It’s the first time in my life that I truly believe a compliment for what it is. It’s her innocence, her shyness and playfully attitude that help me see myself through different eyes.
Instinctively, I lace my fingers with Bryan’s and squeeze tightly. I lean into his shoulder and feel the heat rolling of his body. He lightly places his lips to the top of my head and whispers, “Thank you” so that only I can hear him.
Turning my attention back to Emmie, I let her know that I’m going to go now so that she can finish talking to Bryan. I stand to his side once again and I’m close enough to hear him say, “I know, Emmie. I think she’s beautiful too.” His eyes travel the length of my body and the air no longer feels chilly. “Yes, I like her too, very much.” His soft lips break into an adorable lopsided smile on his last words and it makes my insides turn to goo.
Through my hazy visions of what those lips are capable of, I hear Bryan say, “Okay, Emmie. You go read your book now. Put Mom on the phone, please.” He pushes a few buttons to change his phone out of video mode.
Placing the phone up next to his ear, I see his back straighten. He’s bracing himself for something.
Keeping my voice low so that his mom can’t hear me, I ask, “Do you want me to leave you alone?”
The question garners a “don’t be ridiculous” glare and a tight squeeze of the hand. So I stay by his side and listen to him talk his mom about the fight she just had with his dad. While Bryan’s calming her down about his dad having to leave abruptly for another surprise business trip, I consider saying something to him about the weird vibe I got from his dad while he was at the game. I consider it, but it just doesn’t feel like the right time.
So what I do instead is decide to conceal my reservations. Besides, “I have my suspicions about your dad” doesn’t exactly seem like it would have a calming effect on him right now. I don’t mention anything to him about the weird looks from his dad at the game, or the fact that I’m pretty sure that he wasn’t on the phone with a business partner at all. I don’t say anything about Courtney and her snide remarks. I bite back my concerns about her and Liam plotting against us.
I keep all of those concerns buried deep inside and just nuzzle closer to him. I try to calm him, and when he’s done on the phone, rather than going back into the party, I offer to take him back to my empty suite to distract him further.
I’d rather not go back in there anyway.
“Are you sure you want to do that? What about your friends? Weren’t we supposed to be hanging out with them?” he questions, but I can tell that he really wants to get out of here as well. My heart swells more than a little at knowing that, even when he’s dealing with some serious shit, he’s still thinking about me and my friends.
“I’ll text them on the way. I think they’ll be just f
ine spending the night here.” I arch my eyebrow and shoot him a knowing look. “Besides, we have plans tomorrow to go hiking with them. They’ll understand.”
He nods and mumbles, “Okay.” Then he pulls me into his arms and kisses me with the sole purpose of forgetting. I’m not sure exactly what he’s trying to forget, but I’m more than willing to help him get lost.
Sitting in Bryan’s car on the short drive back to my suite, I dial Maddy. I’m not all that surprised that she picks up on the first ring.
“Mel? Where are you? I walked away for like a minute and you were gone!” Her voice is frantic. We kind of have this “no girl left behind” mantra.
I roll my eyes and look over at Bryan who has just heard Maddy yell at me over the phone. “Calm down, Maddy. I’m fine. I’m with Bryan . . . something . . . umm . . . came up.”
She chuckles and I hear Reid in the background. “Sure.” She draws out the word insinuating what any best friend would insinuate.
I clear my throat in the hope that it will stop her laughter. “Would you stop it? Listen, we’re heading back to the suite. I know we were all supposed to hang out tonight, but something did really come up.” Her laughter subsides and she sobers when she hears the seriousness in my voice.
“Is everything okay, Mel? Do you guys need anything?” Maddy’s concern is evident and I even hear Reid chime in behind her making sure that I’m okay.
“Yes, Maddy. I promise everything is okay. I just wanted to call you and let you know. That’s all.” Bryan reaches across the console and squeezes my hand. “I know Bryan was supposed to drive, but will you girls be okay there for the night?”
“Don’t worry about that at all.” Maddy dismisses me. I’m pretty sure Reid won’t kick her out of his bed.
“I’ll call you in the morning. Maybe we’ll get together for breakfast before we go hiking or something like that.”
“Of course. And Mel, if you guys need anything, call us. We’ll be right there. We’ll see you guys in the morning.”
The Love Series Complete Box Set Page 61
