by C. M. Owens
“Get dressed,” I hear Ruby saying, which reminds me I’m supposed to be on girl duty.
“Why?” asks another voice, and I walk into the bedroom unannounced.
Bo startles when she sees me, but I just flash a smile at her. This is what I’m good at—being a good girl friend even to strangers. I just suck at all the other stuff.
“Bella, will you grab those black boots in the back of the closet?” Ruby asks me.
I’m dressed like I’m on the prowl, but in reality, I just want to go home and crash. Not that I let them know that. I’m not a total buzzkill.
“What’s going on?” I hear Bo asking as I fall in love with her amazing freaking closet. Holy jackpot! Can’t I just be gay and sweep Bo off her feet?
“We’re taking you to Silk,” I tell her as I force my eyes to zero in on the wall of incredible shoes.
I’m fairly sure I just whimpered.
I snatch up a pair of the most perfect black boots the world has ever seen, and maybe I drool a little.
“You said you wanted to get out more,” Ruby tells her. “Even said you needed to get over your issues with groups. And I don’t trust you to be alone anymore, so I’m taking you with us.”
“And the best way to get over a man is to get under a new one,” I add, forcing a smile I don’t feel.
I go back to help Ruby find a shirt for Bo, and I fall a little more in love with this closet when I realize it’s organized by the color wheel. Seriously, why can’t I be gay?
“You’ve showered today, right?” Ruby asks.
I hope she’s not talking to me. Surely I got the hospital smell off—
“I worked today, so yes; I’ve showered,” Bo tells her, and I try not to laugh at myself.
They talk about Jax and the breakup, which all seems a little sad to me. I don’t need to hear sad stuff. I need to hear about all the happy couples who are in love and happily living life. It motivates me to find my own slice of perfection.
But I’m starting to think that I’m such a horrible person that no amount of good deeds can redeem my tarnished soul. Maybe this is my punishment—staying in a lather, rinse, repeat cycle of all the wrong choices I’ve made.
Tonight, I’ll do another good deed, and that involves being a good friend. Eventually karma has to stop punishing me for the past and start rewarding me for the present.
Chapter 16
ETHAN
“You look like you need to hit something,” Jax Marshall tells me as I finish the first set of weights and move on to the next.
“You volunteering?” I ask dryly.
He snorts derisively while shaking his head. “So who is she?”
“Why does everything have to be about a girl?”
I move to the bench and lie down, ignoring him when he laughs under his breath. It’s Monday morning, and I’m still as pissed as I was when I went off on Bella. It’s not rational to be this angry over something as simple as our argument. It’s also not rational to be hung up on a girl I barely know.
“You’re getting sweat all over my shit. You’re supposed to be wearing a shirt,” Jax tells me without any real authority in his tone, so I know he’s fucking with me.
“Shirts don’t stop sweat.”
I lift the bar and start the set, and he stands behind me, ready to spot me, until Kode and Tria are suddenly calling his attention away. Thankfully.
After a few sets, I finally rise up, running a hand through my now-wet hair. Working Bella out of my system is going to be annoying.
I passed on going to Silk when Dane invited me, but now I wish I had gone, considering Bella was apparently there for a little while. I guess she parties as long as I’m not around to call her out on it.
I blow out a breath, refusing to think about her any longer. I’ll never leave the gym if I don’t stop thinking about her.
Just as I start moving toward the leg press, some chick steps into my path. My eyes move between her and another girl who has to be her identical twin.
“I have a king-sized bed that would look perfect with you on it,” the girl tells me.
I scan her face, but unfortunately it doesn’t match the one my fucking dick wants. So I walk away like she didn’t just offer to get naked, because I’m an ass like that. And she’s not what I want.
I’m never going to work Bella out of my system if I don’t stop thinking about her. Plugging in my earbuds, I crank up the music, and the rest of the world fades into nothing as I push myself to the limits.
Chapter 17
BELLA
By the time I arrive at the restaurant Monday afternoon, I’m already five minutes late and really exhausted from a hell day at work.
“You look… surly. What’s wrong?” Allie asks as I sit down, hating my day.
My eyes flick to Brin, Ruby, Rain, and Tria, and I shrug in response. “Just tired,” I lie, well, partially lie. I really am tired. I’m not willing to explain the root of my surly attitude in front of everyone else. “Where’s Raya?”
“Oh, she’s with Kade. They’re tasting wedding cakes,” Rain tells me.
They study me like they’re waiting on something to be revealed, but I say nothing.
“Thought you were going to New York today,” I say to Tria.
“Thought I was too, but Kode’s meeting was delayed until next week. At least they told us before we got on the plane.” She pauses for a beat. “So, heard you made a scene at the charity ball,” Tria pries, staring at me with innocent eyes that don’t fool me one bit.
“I heard about that too,” Brin says with a smirk.
“Just owed him one,” I say with a shrug, but Allie is too intent on studying me. I’m not telling her about Ethan. It’s too embarrassing to confess.
She went through hell, and yet has always had her shit together. Me? I’m a mess who creates problems for myself. Problems like Ethan.
“I heard you were celebrating something the other day. Are you and Kode getting married?” I blurt out, desperate to shift the subject off me.
Tria’s drink pauses at her lips as her eyebrows go up in surprise. She lowers her drink while slowly shaking her head.
“I don’t believe in marriage,” she finally says with a shrug. “Fortunately, Kode isn’t the proposing type.”
“What? Why?” Allie asks, absently touching her own engagement ring.
“It’s nothing against marriage, per se, but I think some people stop trying once rings are exchanged. Mom always said Dad was the best boyfriend there ever was, but the worst husband there has ever been. I like the way things are between Kode and me. I’m happy, and so is he. There’s no reason to mess that up with something that could make us complacent.”
It’s hard to argue with that, but at the same time, it’s a little disheartening.
“I think Kode would be a good husband to you. He loves the hell out of you,” Rain points out. “Don’t let Edward take that away. Don’t give him anything else.”
Edward is their father who passed away before Allie and I became a part of the group.
Tria just shrugs at Rain. I regret asking the question because she seems a little distant now.
“How’s the new book coming?” I ask Rain in deflection, feeling guilty for putting Tria on the spot now.
She groans while shaking her head. “It’s going crazy. It started off as a regular romance, and somehow turned into a zombie apocalypse with vampire warriors. Don’t ask.”
Weirdly, I’m intrigued, but before I can announce that, Tria is hissing out a breath.
My eyes flick over to a table that is a good distance away from us, where some chick is sitting down with another chick, but I don’t know either of them.
“Is that Star?”
“Yes. Yes it is,” Rain says dryly. “And Chloe. It’s like a Sterling ex gathering.”
Ruby glares a few daggers at the one named Chloe, but she clears her throat and turns back around.
“Who?” Allie and I ask in unison.
“And Corbin,” Ruby says while cracking her neck to the side, her jaw clenching.
Rain pauses, but she doesn’t say anything about that. “And Star dated Maverick too.”
“And Ethan,” Tria adds.
My stomach flips, and my eyes move back over to the table.
“Which one is Star?” I ask before I can stop myself.
“The blonde with the legs for days,” Tria tells me. “That’s why the guys call ‘Star’ when they’re into a girl.”
“Huh?” Brin asks, apparently just as confused as we are.
“Star,” Tria and Rain both say quietly, as though they’re explaining, but they’re not.
“Maverick and Ethan were both into her, and she was playing them both. Maverick is younger than Ethan, and Star is right in the middle of their age gap. Anyway, Maverick and Ethan ended up in a fight that resulted in a lot of blood and almost an expulsion from school. Tag broke up the fight, and ended up taking a hit in the process. It took a while for Maverick and Ethan to mend fences, but when they did, they iced out the girl who played them. Anyway, that’s the story behind Star,” Rain supplies.
Tria is cursing, and my eyes move back to the table where a third girl is joining them. Who the hell is this one?
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Rain growls, grabbing the butter knife like she’s on the verge of attacking.
“Rain, put the knife down,” Tria hisses, clutching her sister’s arm before Rain can stand.
“I’ll just cut her a little. I swear I won’t do much damage,” Rain promises, still glaring at the newest chick.
Damage with a butter knife?
“Is that Fiona?” Brin asks. “Dale’s ex?”
“Yes,” Rain says, trying and failing to get up when Tria all but sits in her sister’s lap to keep her stationary.
“You can’t stab her in a crowded restaurant,” Tria whisper-yells.
“No one will see it. It’ll be like on the prison movies,” Rain goes on. “Just walk in front of me for cover.”
I don’t know whether to laugh or be worried.
Allie’s expression says the same thing.
“You can’t stab her here. This is one of the few nut-free establishments I can eat at,” Ruby says to Rain, only adding to the lunacy of our current conversation.
Fortunately, Brin’s phone rings, and she answers while Tria keeps Rain from reenacting a prison shanking scene.
“Oh! Oh! Yeah! Oh! We’re on our way!” Brin squeals, hanging her phone up and standing so fast her chair flips over.
“What?” Tria asks as Rain stops struggling.
“Ash! She’s in labor! Baby on the way!” Brin yells as she starts racing toward the door.
Allie and I get up too, and Allie tosses down some money for the drinks they’ve ordered. Rain grabs a roll from the dish in front of her, and I laugh when she launches it across the restaurant and pegs Fiona right in the back of the head.
Rain flips her off, and Fiona’s eyes widen when she sees her assailant. I’m worried by the fact she turns pale, and I start to wonder if Rain really would stab her.
“Baby!” Tria reminds Rain, dragging her away as Allie and I race outside.
“I’ll catch up to you,” I call out, not willing to tell anyone my car is still at the hospital.
So I start jogging, happy that I wore sneakers.
By the time I reach the maternity ward, everyone is already there, and Allie frowns when she sees me. It wasn’t much of a jog, so at least I’m not sweaty, but I am a little breathy.
“What’s the word?” I ask the very full waiting room.
“Nothing yet,” Wren states as he chews on his thumbnail and bounces his knee.
Allie leans back, relaxing. All the men look nervous, including Kade Colton. I think there’s wedding cake on his face.
Raya walks in with a round of coffees, passing them all out. I frown when I notice one face missing. I mean, even Maverick is here, cracking jokes about anything and everything. But Ethan isn’t.
Surely he’s not so pissed at me that he’d miss the birth of a friend’s kid.
Grabbing my phone, I send a message to him. He was their friend long before I was.
ME: You can come to the hospital. I’m heading home. You shouldn’t miss Tag’s baby being born. And honestly I shouldn’t be here for it, considering Ash and I aren’t that close yet.
I read it three times to make sure autocorrect hasn’t fucked me over, then I press send.
“Hey, I need to get back to the house. I forgot there’s a guy coming to fix my sink,” I tell Allie, hating the fact that I’m the one who’s lying now. But I can’t tell her what’s going on in front of everyone.
“Okay… It’s messed up again?” she asks, confused.
“Yeah. Damn thing is a pain in the ass. Call me and let me know when the baby is born. Okay?”
She nods, but I get out of there before she can ask any questions. She seems to know I don’t want to answer anything in front of anyone, so she doesn’t follow me.
I never should have messed with Ethan even a little. Now I’m lying to my best friend and losing the group of friends I just got. It’s not like Ethan and I did more than just a kiss. It’ll die down eventually, then we’ll get used to being around each other without all the crazy sexual tension between us.
Until then, it’s time to lie low.
Chapter 18
ETHAN
Killing my bike just outside my house, I pull my phone out and see Bella has sent a text. I start to not read it, but I can’t help myself.
BELLA: You can come to the hospital. I’m heading home. You shouldn’t miss Tag’s baby being born. And honestly I shouldn’t be here for it, considering Ash and I aren’t that close yet.
The fuck?
I quickly go through my phone, because Bella’s message was thirty minutes ago. No one else has called or sent a damn text. Is she fucking with me?
No, Bella wouldn’t do something that messed up.
Quickly, I dial Tag as I head inside to grab the keys to my car, but it only goes to voicemail. Instead, I call Rye, but his phone goes to voicemail immediately like it’s turned off.
Finally, I call Wren, and he answers.
“Hey, can’t talk right now. Ash is in the delivery room.”
“And you didn’t think to call me?” It comes off a little bitterer than I intend, but hell, it pisses me off that none of my friends bothered to call me and let me know.
“Oh shit, man. I’m sorry. I guess I forgot you’re actually here now, and I didn’t really think about you wanting to be here for the baby either.”
And that pisses me off more.
“Fuck you, Wren. Just because I don’t want a kid of my own doesn’t mean I don’t want to be there when my friend’s is born.”
Putting my phone on speaker, I back out in my Shelby, and I squeal tires toward the hospital.
“Fuck, sorry,” he says, as I hit third gear.
I just hang up and try not to let it get to me the way it is. Out of everyone, the only one who bothered to think of me was the girl I told to fuck off last week. As soon as my tires skid to a halt in a parking place, I shoot Bella a message back.
ME: Thanks for telling me. Apparently no one else thought it would be important to me. You’re welcome to be here, Bella. It won’t bother me at all.
I put my phone in my pocket, and ride the elevator up to the maternity ward. As soon as I step off, Wren is there with Rye, and they both look like someone has slapped them.
“Really fucking sorry, man,” Rye says, grimacing.
“Me too,” Wren grumbles. “I feel like an ass.”
I shrug like it’s no big deal, even if it is. “Yeah, so when’s this baby coming?”
“Right now,” Tag says, beaming at us with tears in his eyes as he walks out and wipes at his face. “My daughter is here. She’
s healthy, beautiful, and has a set of lungs on her that will scare the shit out of anything within a mile of our house. She’s fucking perfect,” he adds, choking up as he wipes his eyes again. “They’re just cleaning her up right now.”
Cheers erupt from behind him, and piles of our friends come out to hug him, congratulating him as he laughs and tells us a very gross play-by-play. He comes over to me, and he gives me a hug like we’re two chicks, but I hug him back until he finally pulls away.
He moves on to Wren and Rye, and then he pretty much sprints back to the room. “Oh!” he calls out, grinning ear-to-ear. “We’re naming her Autumn, but calling her Fall for short.”
Trip is his son, so I guess Fall makes sense. Well, if any of that makes sense.
I move to the waiting room with everyone else as they all talk about different things they’ve bought. I realize I really am an ass, considering I haven’t bought a damn thing.
It looks like it’s going to be a while before we get to go back, so I decide to head out and buy a gift. Just as I reach the elevator, Bella is stepping off with a couple of wrapped presents in her hands.
She freezes when she sees me, and I prepare for a big scene.
“Sorry,” she says instead, moving by me, but I grab her arm gently and blow out a breath.
“No, I’m sorry. I blew up. I hate being labeled, and I don’t like being called a liar.”
“Out of the two of us, I’m the only liar here. You had every right to blow up, and you didn’t owe me an explanation to begin with,” she goes on too calmly as she steps out of my hold. “You leaving already?”
“Forgot to buy a gift,” I say with a shrug, pocketing my hands.
She immediately thrusts a pink box at me, and my eyebrows go up.
“I bought two, because I couldn’t decide what to bring.”
I take it warily, wondering why she’s being so cool after I basically called her desperate.
