Maybe if I repeated those words enough, my heart would get the message.
I threw my laundry into the washing machine and went to go meet Marlene at the hospital. While the babies had gotten a clean bill of health, she had to stay overnight as a precaution. I couldn’t believe there were twins growing inside her. TWINS!! Her little darling girl, Nil, would make an amazing big sister.
I knocked softly before I peeked my head around the corner of the doorframe. Marlene sat propped up against a mountain of pillows with a book opened in her lap. She appeared well rested, her youthful features unlined by the stress she had endured.
“Come in,” she called. Crossing the threshold, her eyes widened at the array of presents I held. “Did you buy out the gift shop?”
“Nearly.”
I set a teddy bear holding a heart that read “I love you” and a box of cheap chocolates onto her bed. She popped open the cardboard box. As she offered me a chocolate, I crawled onto the twin-sized mattress and sat cross-legged at the foot. If you erased the hospital smell along with the white walls, it would almost be like we were in Marlene’s old teenage room.
The fake taste of chocolate melted on my tongue. “Sorry. I should have bought you Fran’s instead”
“Don’t be silly. It’s the thought that counts.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Slightly panicked I’m going to have to push out two babies instead of one.”
“Nil wasn’t that big when she was born.”
“Nope, but it wasn’t an easy birth either. Remember?”
“I remember.” Nil’s heartbeat dropped for a terrifying minute but it went back up soon after. I patted Marlene’s knee in reassurance. “It turned out fine in the end, as did last night. Your kids are warriors.”
“They are little warriors, aren’t they? I should buy them capes.”
“I think that would clash with Nil’s princess costume. Speaking of Nil, was she excited to hear the news?”
A grin filled with love spread across her face. “Ecstatic. She already has names picked out.”
“What are they?”
“Georgie and Alfie.”
“No?” I said in mock outrage.
We doubled over in hysterics at the name that belonged to our high school crush. Head of the football team, Alfie had a thick mane of blonde hair and drove a Mustang. He was also a walking venereal disease.
“Can you imagine?” she squealed. “I couldn’t do that to my child.”
Gathering our composure, we passed the box of chocolates between us while we gossiped like the olden days. Our friendship had its strains, but we would always be like sisters.
As I shifted to stretch out my legs, Marlene stopped talking. Her lips curled. “You smell like the sea.”
“Sorry. I took a shower this morning, but apparently the stench of squid is hard to scrub away.”
“Did you say squid?”
“Correct. I went squid fishing with Matthew yesterday.” The look of shock on her face was hilarious. She opened her mouth to speak, but I beat her to the punch. “You were right. He isn’t a bad guy. However, don’t get some farfetched idea into your head that he is my future husband or anything. We’re hanging out. Nothing more.”
“Can I at least ask how this came about?”
“We’ve run into each other around Seattle and then he helped me when I busted my foot open…”
“WHAT?! How did you manage to slice your foot open?”
“It’s not a big deal.”
Her expression shadowed with displeasure. “It’s a huge deal! I used to be clued in on every single thing about your life down to the mundane details.”
“We grew up,” I said lamely. “You had a kid, got married, own a restaurant. We don’t have time to chit chat anymore.”
“I call bullshit. What happened is my inability to forgive you, which is ridiculous because I reprieved Luke…”
A couple of years ago, I committed the drastic mistake of not allowing Luke to see his daughter the day of her birth. It was done out of a fierce need to protect my best friend from the man who’d walked out of her life without a second glance. When Marlene uncovered this secret I had kept from her, it had driven a wedge in our friendship and it hadn’t been the same since.
“To be fair, he is the father of your children,” I said.
Her eyes locked onto mine. “And you are my best friend. Our relationship is equally as important.”
To hear her say those words lifted the weight of the guilt I had been carrying off my shoulders. Tears swam in my eyes as I tangled Marlene in a hug. She wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed me tightly.
“So does this mean the air is clear between us?” she asked.
“Duh!”
“I’m so relieved,” she confessed into my hair. “Because I needed to ask you if you would be the godmother of these two little nuggets. It would be hard to find anyone else that would love them like you would.”
I pulled free from our embrace. “Really?”
“You are already Nil’s godmother. I want my kids to stay in the same house. Also, Matthew would make an amazing father.”
She ducked as I threw a pillow at her, the heaviness of the moment lifted. I stayed until Luke appeared with breakfast. Being the nice guy he was, he offered to split his burrito in half. However, I faked needing to be somewhere and got out of their hair.
Later in the afternoon, as I was leaving the science building on campus, Koral’s shock of white blonde hair bobbed through the sea of students. While I wasn’t actively avoiding her, I also wasn’t seeking her out either.
Koral waved frantically and called my name. “Camille!” she screeched, elbowing students from her path. “Camille!”
A plastic smile stretched her lips as she halted in front of me. She wore a button-down plaid shirt with a flash of lacy pink bra and a pair of cowboy boots that hit the middle of her bare calves. A short jean skirt completed the slutty cowgirl ensemble.
“Hey,” I said. “Where’s the fire?”
“I need the notes for Dr. Thatcher’s class. Can I borrow them?”
“I haven’t had a chance to study them for the test tomorrow.”
Her blue-ish green eyes rolled. “Whatever. You’ll probably get an A anyways.”
“I doubt that. Neural correlates of perceptual cognition has been kicking my ass. My least favorite topic so far. Where were you anyways?”
“Sleeping. One of my friends from New York was visiting and we hit up the bar scene in Pike and Pine -- hard.” Koral fingers went to her temples. “My head feels as if somebody bashed it open with a sledgehammer.”
“That explains the sunglasses.”
“Just my luck Seattle decided to be a cheery asshole the day I needed it to be cloudy.”
“I can’t give you the original copy of my notes, but I can scan them and email them to you.”
“Sure, that’s fine.”
“Okay. I’ll do it around four this afternoon after my last class of the day.”
My gaze was pulled across the quad like a magnet. Under the sweeping branches of a tree, Matthew leaned against the trunk, his arms crossed over his wide chest. His grey eyes crinkled at the corners, causing my heart to expose its tender underbelly. The dead sexy grin he wore felt reserved solely for me. At least, that’s what he made it seem like. As if we were on a private island and we were the two sole inhabitants.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Koral’s explosive outrage popped the spell Matthew had cast. About to ask what her problem was, it became clear based upon where her line of sight had wandered to.
“That asshole thinks he can show up here and apologize. Well, guess what, he can’t. Men don’t get a second chance at the goods. It’s a one-time deal…”
Her rant died as Matthew mouthed, “Hi,” to me, not Koral.
Her lips opened then closed like a fishing begging for air. She spoke in broken syllables. “What - how - why?
”
Insulted, my eyes narrowed. “Is it that surprising?”
“No, but I didn’t think you were the kind of girl who goes for sloppy seconds.”
“Real mature, Koral.”
She slammed her hands onto her hips. Rage seeping from her pores as she rose to her full height -- a staggering five-foot even. “Mature?! You are fucking the same guy I fucked less than a month ago.”
I hadn’t gotten into a fight about a guy before. Frankly, because it seemed pointless. Most men weren’t worth destroying a friendship over. Then again, some friendships weren’t meant to last. As Koral glared at me, the flimsy ties that bonded us together snapped.
“Before you jump to rash assumptions, you should get all your facts straight,” I said coolly. “We are friends.”
“I saw the picture.”
“What picture?”
“The picture in Telegraph Weekly.” Reading my blatant confusion, she expelled an annoyed breath of air. “You and Matthew walking down the street near the docks. He was looking at you as if you hung the moon. I thought it was how the picture was manipulated. Until right this very second when I saw that same look myself.”
I don’t remember any paparazzi being around last night. Part of their job description was to be stealthy though. Digging in my purse, I found my cell phone and swiped my thumb across the screen. The first news story that came up for Matthew Lee was a headline titled: Has Matthew Lee found love with mystery girl?
Clicking open the link, Matthew and my blurry faces came into view. The water in the background hinted at our location. We were strolling toward the dock, laughing. I didn’t see the look Koral was talking about. What I did see was the profound happiness in my expression.
“I’m leaving. I’ll get the notes from somebody who isn’t a backstabbing whore,” Koral spat.
Absorbed in the image before me, her insult barely registered. I uttered a dismissive, “Okay,” which enraged her further.
“Didn’t you hear me?! I said…”
My chin snapped upwards. “I heard you. I’m a backstabbing whore, blah blah. Got it. Bye.”
Koral’s fists clenched at her sides as her eyes grew round. She stomped her foot like a toddler and spun around on her heels. I returned my focus to my phone. Tracing the outline of my face with the tip of my finger, I stared at the screen, entranced. A light shone from within me as bright as the morning sun. And it was Matthew’s doing.
I witnessed the heated exchange between Camille and Koral from the safety of the magnolia tree. I learned long ago to stay out of catfights after getting punched in the balls by an irate ex who accused me of sleeping with her sister, which I had. To be fair though, they were twins and I was extremely drunk.
Koral threw her arms in the air, obviously frustrated with Camille’s lack of attention. Her eyes were glued to her cell phone instead. Curious as to what intrigued her so much, I began to make my way across the quad. Koral left in a huff but not before shooting me a scathing glare. I’m incredibly thankful we didn’t sleep together. She was the kind of woman who sucked you bone-dry, leech-like.
“Hey,” I said to Camille.
She didn’t answer or acknowledge me. Whatever she was looking at had her mesmerized. Scooting around her, I loomed over Camille’s shoulder and…
Seriously?
The lens of the paparazzi had caught a pixelated picture of us near the dock, my head tilted to the side, laughing at whatever Camille had said. That’s what had her so bewitched. I would have understood anger that her privacy had been violated, but not this daze.
“Are you upset?” I questioned.
She jumped at the sound of my voice. Slamming a hand to her chest, Camille glanced back at me. “I am now. What the hell? How long have you been standing there? Last time I checked, you were clear across the quad.”
“You were really inside your own head.”
“I like it better there.”
The picture of us faded to black as she switched her screen off. I wanted to ask her to bring it back. We looked good together, even if it was a mirage.
“You didn’t answer me. Are you upset somebody took our picture?”
“No. You’re a rock star. That’s what happens when you’re famous.” Her adorable nose twitched. “Although I wished they had captured my left side, not my right.”
“All sides of your face are beautiful, Camille.”
Heat blossomed on her cheeks as she blushed. “Always the charmer.”
“It’s a gift.”
“And so humble.”
She was pulling the distraction card -- again. “Tell me why you were so enraptured by the picture then.”
“I hadn’t seen my face on a gossip rag before. It was weird.”
Her shifted gaze told a different story. I would have pushed further until she cracked, but the perturbed look in her eyes stopped me. She had seen something in the picture I hadn’t.
“All right,” I conceded. “Are you done for the day with classes? Marlene said you were, but…”
Her eyebrows quirked to her hairline. “You called Marlene asking about my schedule? Isn’t that a little stalkerish?”
“It would be if we didn’t have an agreement.”
“It doesn’t say in the rules you can show up unannounced at my college.”
“No, but what it does say is that whatever I say goes. And right now, I’m saying we have another adventure afoot.”
“You sound like a nerd when you say things like ‘afoot,’” she said dryly.
“Admit it. You find it sexy.”
“Obnoxious, yes.”
“Would it change anything if I took off my clothes?” My hands inched to the hemline of my t-shirt. “Because if that’s the case, I have no problem with nudity if it helps support my claim.”
“You wouldn’t.”
In her words, I heard a challenge, and I never backed down from a challenge. Students gaped openly as I exposed my ripped torso that hadn’t seen a gym in a month. Although my eight-pack didn’t look so bad as a six-pack -- in my opinion. Camille seemed to agree. She drank me in like a tall glass of water. Once my fingers landed on the button of my jeans, the yearning faded in her eyes.
“Are you nuts?” she whispered loudly.
A group of women catcalled as they passed, along with cheers of encouragement. As I took a bow, they giggled. Camille tried to hide her amusement behind a frown but the twinge at the corner of her lips gave her away.
“The media is going to have a field day.”
“Let them. Getting naked on the U-Dub campus isn’t the worst thing they’ve caught me doing.”
“If that’s the case, then why is it never displayed in the rag sheets?”
“My record company has enough money to throw around to bury the darkest secrets.”
“I’m afraid to ask.”
“You should be.”
Camille gestured to my discarded grey V-neck on the lawn. Our game had come to an end. “You win. Now will you please cover your horrid body? I might puke if I have to stare at it any longer.”
Laughing, I did as she asked. “You’re bad for my ego.”
“Somebody has to be. Otherwise it would explode.”
“Touché.”
I loved that Camille didn’t treat me like a celebrity. A straight shooter, she wasn’t afraid to let her sense of humor show and accidentally offend me in the process. It was a breath of fresh air since everybody else walked on eggshells because, God forbid, they pissed off the talent.
Camille aded her backpack. “Where are we going this time?”
“Kickboxing.”
“Are you kidding?”
My finger drew an imaginary circle around my face. “Does it look like I’m kidding?”
“That’s why I’m scared.”
“There is nothing to be scared of. Tonto is the best in the business.”
“When I signed this agreement, I thought we would be jetting off to Paris in your private jet to dri
nk lattes and eat croissants on the Seine. So far though, you’ve brought me to a dock to fish for squid in which I got ink on my favorite pair of jeans. And now kickboxing. Those are two very random activities.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don’t own a private jet. I’m not nearly that wealthy. Secondly, while it does sound lovely to sit at a café in Paris, it doesn’t teach you anything while fishing and kicking boxing do.”
“I didn’t know you were a secret sensei.”
“Very funny,” I said. “But if I recall, you are at my mercy.”
“You make it sound like you are my dominant or something.”
An image of Camille spread-eagle on the bed, wrists tied together and at the mercy of my desires caused a heady rush of blood to my pulsating dick. It thickened and pressed painfully against my zipper.
“If I was your dom, Camille, I would force you to your knees and make you put that smart mouth to use,” I said huskily.
Her pupils dilated. “You can’t say things like that when you were the one who wrote the rule about not having sex. It’s like taunting me with a sinful chocolate cake locked in a box.”
“You were the one who wrote that rule,” I reminded her.
“Oh yea…”
Camille’s admission that she wanted me equally as much as I wanted her almost made me forgo the stupid fucking rule. However, it was there for a reason. What exactly that reason was had become murky in my lust-ridden brain. Shaking it off, the dust settled and rationality settled in. If we crossed the line into lovers, it would speed up the clock to the impending demise of our relationship. I wanted the opposite. I wanted the hands of time to slow down so I could cherish these moments with Camille.
“Stop calling me your dom then,” I said. “We aren’t in a Fifty Shades of Grey novel.”
“Fine. What should I call you then?”
“‘Matthew’ will suffice. Or ‘Your Majesty.’”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re insufferable.”
“Good. Use that annoyed energy on the punching bag.” I relieved Camille of her backpack and swung it over my shoulder. It looked lighter than it was. “Jesus, what do you have in here?”
“Books.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
Broken Lullabies Page 9
