“I don’t think Jessica was too excited to see me. I was relieved when you opened the door. She said something about coming back with her crossbow.”
“She has a crossbow,” I say with a laugh. I close the door and motion toward the stairs, because I don’t want to flaunt his presence and I don’t need anyone hearing our conversation.
“So you live with Jessica? Why does she want to kill me? She was always my favorite of your friends.”
“You just liked her big tits.”
He smiles because he knows I’m right. “So you still hang with your friends from high school?”
“Alli lives here too. And you have to leave before she gets home from class. I don’t need any more death glares from my roommates.” We round the corner of the hall and Jessica’s door is closed.
“I forgot about Alli until this past weekend,” he says as we enter my room. He scans the room, and adds, “Those were interesting pictures online this week of her kissing that movie star. She looks like she’s loosened up a bit since high school.”
“You saw those?”
“It was all over social media. Of course, I saw them. I keep up on what’s now.”
I shake my head. I don’t even know this new socially-aware, gift-bearing Chase. “So what’s this?” I hold up the package with the red bow.
“Open it.” He closes the door and then sets his backpack against it.
I sit on the bed and tear off the wrapping. It’s a phone—a really expensive phone.
“That’s sweet. What’s the occasion?” I say, and Chase plops down on my bed next to me.
“I can’t let you walk around with the antique in your purse. It must be at least four years old. People are talking. It’s bad for my reputation to be seen with you.” He smiles. “Besides, when you didn’t answer my texts, I figured yours was broken. It is, isn’t it?” He stares into my eyes, searching them.
It would be so easy to slip him back into my life. I know those eyes, that body. It would be effortless. All I would have to do is lean in and his lips would cover mine. I can almost feel them.
His fingers graze my cheek and curl around the nape of my neck as his eyes paralyze me. I’m a deer in headlights and I have two choices: I can run as fast as I can to get out of the road or get hit by the speeding semi-tractor trailer. Before this past weekend, I know I would have chosen the truck, but now that I’ve experienced such intensity with someone other than Chase, I can see it is possible. He is not the only one to light that kind of fire in me. I have choices.
I slowly stand up and as his hand slides down my arm, I say, “I appreciate the phone, but if there are strings attached, I don’t want it.”
“No strings here. I just thought you deserved some luxury.” He stands up, shaking his head, with eyebrows raised as if to say, well, I tried. He grabs the canvas and leather backpack he had staged near the door and sets it on the bed as he says, “Give me your old phone and I’ll transfer your data and number.”
“You can do that?” I don’t know why I question him. He was always good with computers. I hand over my phone.
“I’ve got mad skills, Meg.”
I chuckle because those are the same words Liam said about his bedroom skills.
“What’s so funny,” he asks. “Do you doubt my skills?”
“No.” I shake my head trying to erase Liam’s bedroom skills from my mind and clear the smirk from my face. But I can’t stop the giggle in my throat.
As I’m wrestling to regain focus, he pulls a sleek silver laptop from his bag. It looks space-age and expensive—definitely not the kind found on the shelves of the average electronics store. He sits down at my desk and boots it up. He plugs my phone into a port I have never seen before and starts to type. As his fingers fly over the keyboard, I see my documents, music, and contact folders appear on his screen. He clicks into my contacts and I’m about to start bitching when he says, “Naked sandwich? Is this that Hollywood guy?”
I nod, blown away by the fact he seems to know about Liam. I didn’t think there were any pictures in the tabloids of us except getting into the car. The contact picture Liam took on my phone was clear but the ones of me outside the club could have been any blonde.
“Please tell me you weren’t the meat. The thought of you between two guys…I could probably live with you being the bread, but the meat? That’s just gross.”
“Shut up. Get out of my personal stuff.”
“Seriously, I knew you would be more developed in the sex department. I mean, it’s been four years. It’s bound to happen. But naked sandwiches? That’s advanced shit and a bit slutty, I’d say.”
“I didn’t do a naked sandwich with anybody and you’re calling me slutty? You know…just forget it. I don’t want your stupid phone.” What a jerk. I was a virgin when I met him, and I can count the number of guys I’ve been with on one hand. He couldn’t even count the number of girls he cheated on me with on one hand.
“I’m just messing with you, Meg. You deserve a decent phone. Take it. I’m practically done.”
I reach for my old phone just as he pulls the cord off it. “I’m pretty sure all you really needed to do was take the card out of my old phone and put it in the new one.”
“Really? I guess that would work too,” he says, trying to look innocent.
I think it’s an act, but he’s too good of a liar for me to tell for sure. He shoves his computer back in his backpack and turns to me licking his lips. “Let me show you some of the features on this phone.” He slips his arm around me so we can both view the screen. Then he taps the display.
“This app allows you to record conversations. It’s one of my favorites.”
I glance, a scowl evident on my face. “What would I use it for?” I ask.
“You’re a student. You can record lectures. What did you think I meant? I’m legitimate. I don’t blackmail people anymore,” he says with a chuckle. “You never know when you may need to record a conversation, though. And, if you press this button, you can record phone conversations.”
“I don’t think I will use that app except for class. What else does the phone have?”
“Here’s your music. The app you were using filtered out all the musical dimension. This one allows you to hear every aspect the artists infused into their work.”
Who is this guy? And how did he get so knowledgeable? He shows me how to work the app, which saves me months of figuring it out on my own. He introduces me to a couple of new apps I’ve never seen before as well and my brain is starting to turn to goo. I probably won’t remember much more. “I need to take a break. Do you want something to eat?” I skipped lunch and I’m starting to get hungry.
“How about a naked sandwich? One of your housemates could be the other bread. Jessica maybe?”
Is he ever going to let it go? “I’m not getting naked with you.”
“I’ll watch. I don’t have to be naked. Two breads are better than no bread at all.” He leans back on my bed like he’ll wait or maybe he’s picturing it in his head. I get up and walk to the door, turning back to him. “Do you want food or not?”
He sits up. “Yeah. Let’s go out. Do you seriously live with your high school friends? Who does that? You’re supposed to move on and leave childish things behind after you graduate.”
“I left you behind. I like my other high school friends.” It is getting easier and easier to resist him.
“Ouch,” he says, as he meets me by the bedroom door and hands me my new phone.
By the time we get to the café restaurant just a few blocks from the house, it feels like old times between us—early old times—when he still seemed to worship me and not use me. He motions for me to choose my seat before he chooses his and tells me he will be paying—little pockets of respect I never saw near the end. We talk about his family, his parent’s divorce—which I didn’t know about, his brother and sister, and how he was the only one still speaking to his dad.
“Who would have though
t that Dad and I would ever get along? When Ashley quit college to become a glassblower, he completely disowned her. She’s doing all right though. She’s never asked him for money. She’s asked me, but not him, and I’m happy to help her. Why not help family? There are plenty of strangers taking more than their share.”
“You are not the same person I dated in high school. The old Chase would have told his sister to go to hell.”
“That’s not true. If I had the money back then, I would have helped her and Tegan. Though my brother seems bent on making his way without anyone else’s help.”
“What happened with your parents?”
“My drug problem drove them apart. They argued about it all the time. Then Mom cheated and that pretty much sealed the deal.”
“Sorry. I always liked your parents.”
“It happens. You have to move forward and not dwell on the past. That’s something I learned in treatment. If I hung onto all the crap I was responsible for, I would drown myself.”
Wow. The elephant in the room just tripled in size and is now sitting on my chest. He has to know about my mother. Both his parents were at her funeral. Maybe he was so out of it back then he doesn’t remember. I’d changed my phone number—tired of his rambling texts and all hour of the night calls pleading for me not to leave him. He knew what he needed to do to get me to stay, but he couldn’t give up the drugs. I sit in silence unsure if I can face where this conversation is heading, unsure if I can breathe.
“So how did your friend Sarah meet the infamous bad boy Jonathan Williams? He doesn’t seem her type.”
“What you really mean is, why is she dating my type.”
He laughs. “Yeah, why is she dating your type while you date frat boys?”
“Williams seems like a nice guy. He’s nothing like the tabloids make him out to be. They’re wrong. Imagine that.” I pause, trying to curb my bitterness. “They met through friends and I was skeptical at first, but I think they are really good for each other.” I’m not telling him they met online and I’m not going to talk about Sarah’s personal life with him.
“You were skeptical because they started with a long distance relationship and you don’t believe in those.”
“How do you know what I believe?” He’s right, but how does he know?
“When my sister left for college, you spent hours trying to convince her she should break up with her high school sweetheart. You said long distance relationships never work and you were right. They broke up before Thanksgiving her freshman year.”
“I didn’t remember that.”
“I remember a lot about you, Meg.”
He obviously doesn’t recall our last year together. But, I know he’s trying to make a better impression this time around.
“So what’s up with you and naked sandwich guy? You don’t believe in long distance relationships, but you got his number, so it has to be more than a one-night stand.”
That thought brings a smile to my face. Why did he give me his number if it was just a one-night non-hookup?
“Are you going to see him again?”
I shrug unable to erase the smile from my face. I know, I’ll see him at the wedding and I’ve already made plans in my head about the trip. I’ve thought about Nordstrom every couple of minutes since I left Los Angeles. I’ve tried to take our night for what it was. But no more midnight fantasy of Ashton Post, now Liam stars in my all the time fantasy. Luckily, I can still separate fantasy from reality.
“Because I think you and I are great together. We always have been. We still have that spark between us. I can feel it and I know you can too. You can’t deny it.”
“You can’t deny he’s hot.” I have to say something, my imagination still picturing the wedding week in high definition.
The server takes our order and brings our drinks before he speaks again.
“I don’t like him. I looked him up online. He’s got a bad reputation. Honestly, Google the guy. You’ll see. He only dates blondes, for God’s sake. He probably has all kinds of twisted Hollywood fetishes.”
“Really?” I laugh. “You think his reputation will be worse in my mind than yours because of what tabloids say? You don’t know me well if you think I will listen to the tabloids. I have experienced your reputation firsthand. Do you remember when you told me you were going to visit your grandparents for the weekend and you ended up spending it with Anita Harris? Your reputation sucks.”
“That was the old me. I wouldn’t do that again. I’ve seen what’s out there and I know what I want now.”
“Well, forgive me for not trusting you. We have history, both good and bad.”
“You have to let the bad crap go. You can’t hang on to it. It will eat you up inside.”
“Or protect me.”
I had forgotten about Anita Harris or at least I had pushed that specific betrayal far enough down that I hadn’t thought about it for years. It was Anita’s best friend who told me about it. I questioned her motivation, so gleeful and willing to share. She had pictures, proof of Chase’s cheating. It was the first proof I had. I almost resented the girl, with her innocent freckled face, more than Anita. I don’t even remember her name now. It was Chase’s fault more than Anita’s anyway. He was the one I was in the relationship with. He’s the one who lied to me and then begged me to forgive him. I was stupid back then.
“Give me a chance to prove it to you. Let me take you on an official date on Friday. I’ll show you how I’ve changed.” His cunning blues stare me down.
“I’ll think about it,” I say, breaking eye contact.
During the meal, he brought up Liam three more times, trying to convince me the guy was a poser. He didn’t ask me once what happened at Peterson’s party and I was puzzled, until I figured out he must have talked to Candice.
“Why don’t you take Candice out on Friday?” I say. The server had just collected our plates and dropped off the bill. His lips purse with a slight smile like they always did when I caught him doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing.
“That’s what I love about you, Meg. You always see right through the bullshit. I could never get away with anything. Somehow you always knew.”
“Call it intuition.”
“Yes, I have talked to her.”
By talking, he most likely means her lips were wrapped around his dick and yet he’s still trying to get back together with me. I give him a skeptical look.
“She told me what happened at the party after I left. Sorry I messed up what you had with the giant, but his blatant douchebaggery tells me it wasn’t serious between the two of you.”
He knows everything that happened that night. No wonder he’s upped his game.
Chapter 13
Megan
I’M PACKING UP my tablet and notes at the back of the small lecture hall when a text comes in on my new phone. The message flashes briefly at the top of the screen and I spot the words “naked sandwich.” Enough about the naked sandwich already. I had labeled Liam’s contact that just as a fun reminder of our night. As I click on the message, all ready to rip Chase a new orifice, I gasp because the picture of Liam and me at the club lights in the text thread.
Liam: Want a Naked Sandwich, Meg?
I literally laugh out loud and five people at the front of the room waiting to ask the teaching assistant questions turn to stare at me. I can’t believe he’s texting me. I was starting to feel the night with him was a hallucination. I zip my backpack and throw it over my shoulder as I head to the door with my phone in my hand and my stomach in my throat. I never thought I would hear from him.
Me: That depends. Will you be making it?
Liam: As long as we’re naked, does it matter?
I smile at the thought.
“Billings, are you going to the study session at three o’clock?” The fingers of some guy from my class lock around my arm, stopping my forward momentum. I try to tear my attention away from my phone to answer him, but it’s hard. I meet
his gaze and realize I’ve tutored him before in the math lab. I only work there a few hours a week, but I remember helping him before the last exam.
“Yeah, I’ll be there,” I say, and he lets go of my arm.
“Good, because I’m completely lost and the TA just keeps repeating what he’s already said. He thinks if he says it again louder, I’ll understand somehow. I need you to simplify it or at least explain it better.”
“I’ll do my best.” I look back at my phone.
“Great. I’ll see you later,” he says, and I deliberately walk in the opposite direction from him just to refocus on Nordstrom.
Me: I’m in. Did you get Jon’s approval yet?
I still can’t believe I’m talking to him. I probably shouldn’t have brought Jon into this, though.
Liam: Not yet. What are you doing right now?
Me: I just got out of class. I was thinking about getting a late lunch.
Liam: Will you be naked?
Me: Is there any other way to eat?
Liam: Wish I was there. Send pictures?
Me: Sure. What are you doing?
Liam: I’m at the studio, trying to firm up the cast for next season. I’ll be here until seven and that’s only if everything goes well. If it doesn’t, I could be here all night. Can I call you when I get home?
We never really talked about his job. I have no idea what he does on a daily basis. If he actually calls me, maybe I’ll get more insight into his life.
Me: I’ll be up.
Liam: Gotta go.
I laugh as I stow my phone in my bag and make a mental note to send him a picture of a sandwich. I don’t send nudes. I won’t have time to go back to the house if I want to make the study session, so I head toward the sandwich shop in search of a sensual looking sandwich. It’s amazing how a couple of texts can change my mood so dramatically. I need to tell someone about Liam, but Alli has a lab right now and Jessica will be in her nursing clinical all afternoon. I don’t care. I type out a multimedia text to them. My words scream excitement and I probably look ridiculous smiling to myself.
Between Friends (Between the Raindrops #3) Page 12
