“Um…I thought you said things wouldn’t get awkward between us if—”
He shook his head, taking another step back. “Do you know how fucking long it’s been since my wife and I have been out of the house? Our parents don’t live around here, and she doesn’t trust anyone to watch the kids. Then she tells me that we’re going out on a double date and that Blaire’s parents are going to watch the kids for us. And now, you’re gonna try to ruin that for me?”
It took everything in me not to crack a smile. I couldn’t imagine having kids, but I’m sure they were a lot of work. His wife was a stay-at-home mom and she was always calling, telling Ty that she was ready to be admitted to the mental hospital after one of the kids pulled some crazy shenanigan.
“Let me guess? Does this have something to do with that girl?”
I shrugged my shoulders. Ty wasn’t Della’s biggest fan, especially since we picked her up from that frat house, where they had been smoking pot. He thought she was immature. Sure, Della could be immature about some things, even though I would never actually say that to her. I knew better. She had been through a lot in her life; she deserved to have a little bit of fun every once in a while. It wasn’t like she was a stoner, partying every night, as far as I knew. I’m sure Mia would’ve probably informed me of that.
“Well, could you just put that on hold for the week? Please, I’m begging you, dude. Let me have a night out with my wife. If you nix things with Blaire, she’s not gonna want to go out with us, and then we won’t have a sitter. Are you really gonna do that to me?”
I blew out a breath, knowing that this would be a mistake, but I had to work with him every day. I guess I could understand where he was coming from. “Fine, but I’m ending things after that. You’re not gonna be pissed, right?”
“Nope.” He grinned widely, slapping me on the back. “Not at all. Just don’t mess shit up before then.”
MY BODY TINGLED as I let out a loud moan, my fists clenching the cool sheet beneath me. His warm tongue trailed over every inch of my body, tracing each part to memorize it before moving to the next. His hands were following his tongue’s descent as he worked his way up my body, starting near my toes. I never thought I would find getting my feet kissed sexy, but it was. My hips bucked off the bed, pushing against his mouth, trying to show him what I needed. Everything he was doing was driving me wild. I wanted more. I needed more. Right now.
And then my damn alarm went off.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes, trying to get that dream to stop replaying in my head, but it was still so fresh, it just wouldn’t go away. Damn Justin Parker and his magical tongue. One ride on it, and that’s all I could think about. He must’ve put some kind of spell on me with it so I wouldn’t stop thinking about him. It most definitely worked.
I dragged myself out of bed, and started getting ready for the day. It had been days since seeing Justin and he was still on my mind. I really needed to get over him. I kept myself busy with work, school, and hanging out with the girls. You wouldn’t think I had a minute to even think about him, but somehow I still found time.
A knock sounded on my door just as I was packing up my bag for the day. It was Friday, so thankfully, I only had one class, and then I could come home and relax for a bit before going over to my grandparents’ house. My dad was in town, so the four of us were having dinner together. My relationship with my father still wasn’t as close as I would like, but he seemed to be trying. He called me at least three times a week, and tried to visit monthly.
He was more involved, asking about school and my relationship with my mom. I knew they didn’t get along, but he wanted me to have a good relationship with her, even though she was more than difficult most of the time. I wonder what he would think about her divorcing Gerald and possibly moving onto husband number three. He hadn’t really been in any relationships since my mom—that I knew of anyway.
“Come in.”
The door opened and Mia popped her head in. I swallowed a groan at seeing her already this morning. It was shocking more than anything. Mia was not a morning person, unless that is, she was coming in from a late night of partying.
It seemed like Mia was behaving herself more, though, after everything that went down. I had to really think about letting her stay here. I knew it I wasn’t the only one it affected, so we called our first ever house meeting, held over cartons of Chinese take-out and a bottle of cheap wine. Zoey and Callie were up in the air. They didn’t like how Mia treated me and really didn’t get along with her, but they felt like I needed to make the final decision. I felt like we were having a council meeting and I was the deciding vote. So, we decided to have a talk with Mia. If she promised to start making some changes, she could continue to live with us. I don’t know why she really felt living with us was necessary. I’m sure if she just called Gerald, he would give her any money she wanted. We weren’t the party police. If Mia wanted to go out, then more power to her, but she needed to start actually being nice to us. So, she promised she would work on it.
“Hey, Della. Do you have class?”
“Yeah, I just have one today.”
“’kay, well I’m glad I caught you. I actually got in early last night. This is the first time I’ve been up before eight in a really long time.”
I raised one brow as I nodded my head, surprised that the word early was even in Mia’s vocabulary. “What’s up?”
“Well, you know how we were talking about getting along better and all that the other night? I think I came up with a way.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” She clapped her hands excitedly, a little too chipper for me at this hour of the day. “I think the four of us should have a girls’ night! What do you think?”
“I don’t know, Mia.” I responded slowly, visions of her idea of a girls’ night playing out in my head. I’m sure it was a whole lot different from the ones we were used to.
“Oh, come on, Della.” She pouted her bottom lip. “I’ve never been invited to one.”
“Ever?”
She shrugged one shoulder at me. “No. If you haven’t noticed, I don’t really have any girlfriends to hang out with, I’ve never really gotten along with many girls.”
“Well, I guess we could do something.” I can’t believe I said that.
“Awesome!” she squealed. “Do you think everyone’s free tomorrow night?” I nodded my head in response, not wanting to tell her that we were already planning a girls’ night of our own. I felt guilty for never thinking to invite Mia, but I guess it had been partly her fault, too. She never seemed like she wanted anything to do with us.
“Even better. I’ll plan everything then.”
“Mia, I don’t think that’s such a—”
“Don’t worry, Della.” She waved one hand at me, backing her way out of my room. “We won’t do anything too crazy.”
Oh, shit. What did I just agree to?
Class went by quickly, and soon enough, I was on my way home before heading to my grandparents’ house. My phone rang right before I turned into our driveway, and I smiled when Marley’s name flashed across the screen.
“Hey girl, what’s going on?”
“Not much. Heading home before I go out tonight.”
“Sounds like fun, I wish we lived closer.” I frowned as I stepped out of my car. Who knew when I would be back for a visit, it wasn’t as if I went to see my mother that often. Plus, I wasn’t even sure if husband number-three-to-be lived in Connecticut. She could be moving to California for all I knew.
“I know, me too. We need to get together for a visit soon, maybe I could come down there during break or something.”
“That would be awesome.” I collapsed onto the couch, the silence of the house greeting me.
“So, I was actually calling for a reason.”
“Oh, yeah. What’s up?”
“Well, you know how you were talking about how you were kind of not happy with the way things went down between you and Chris t
he last time you saw him?”
How could I forget? The last time I saw Chris, my mom was kicking him out of my bed. Talk about awkward.
Chris Zander was my high school sweetheart. My first love. My first everything.
And the father of the baby that I aborted.
His name didn’t bring up many good memories, to say the least. When I thought about my first time, I thought about something romantic and sweet, not shit-faced drunk at some party. I tried to stop Chris; at least I think I did. I’m not saying he raped me, because I don’t think Chris would do that, but I did tell him that I wasn’t ready. He talked me into it eventually since I was so drunk, promising to pull out since he didn’t have a condom, but he broke that promise.
He was actually pissed that I got an abortion, blaming my mother for forcing me, and then blaming me for not being able to stop it. Eventually, he must have realized that we weren’t really ready to have a baby anyway, and his anger with me subsided. He wanted me back. And I made the stupid decision to sleep with him again, giving him hope when there wasn’t any there to find.
After I abruptly left for North Carolina, he relentlessly tried contacting me, but I ignored him. Apparently, that didn’t sit well with him. He started threatening my mom, saying that he would tell everyone about the abortion. Of course, Mom didn’t want that to happen. Sure, it was evidently talked about amongst my group of friends, but my mother didn’t want her friends knowing anything about it. Eventually, Chris must have just given up, because after that, I never heard anything about him again. Until now.
“Well, yeah. I feel a little guilty about leaving the way I did, and then shutting off contact with everyone from my old life.”
“So, you wouldn’t be opposed to hearing from Chris?”
“Um….” Sure, in theory I thought clearing things up with Chris would be a good idea, but I wasn’t sure about actually talking to him. Things would definitely be a little…awkward between us, to say the least. Our last encounter ended with him sleeping next to me, whispering into my ear about our future, a future that would never be possible for the two of us. It had scared the shit out of me. “I guess so.”
“Oh, good!” Marley squealed. “Because I already gave him your number. He’ll probably be calling you soon.”
“Well, good thing I don’t care,” I grumbled, annoyed with Marley. “Listen, I need to get ready for dinner with my family tonight. So, I’ll talk to you later.”
“All right. Oh, there’s one more thing that I didn’t mention, Chris is sort of in town.”
“What?” I shrieked. “And you gave him my number? What does sort of in town mean, anyway?”
“He’s about two hours away doing some kind of work for his dad’s business in Chapel Hill.”
Two hours was nothing, especially if Chris was determined to see me. I guess I would just see what he had to say, and try to avoid meeting up with him.
“Okay, well I guess I’ll see if he calls me or not.”
We said our goodbyes, and I headed to my room to get ready for dinner with my family. I was looking forward to seeing everyone, and having a nice, relaxing Friday night because I had a feeling tomorrow night would be far from calm.
“I HAD A really nice time, Justin.” Blaire leaned forward like she wanted to kiss me but I turned my head just at the right time, and her lips landed on my cheek. She sighed loudly as I pulled away from her, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my shorts.
Usually, it was the guy getting pissed about things not moving quickly enough in the physical department, but this time, it was Blaire. That girl wanted me and, I swear, I wasn’t even being cocky about it. She had been dropping hints all throughout dinner.
Her foot “accidentally” rubbing against mine, her skirt inching up higher and higher all night, that loud laugh that girls do to everything you say, even when it’s not funny. Her hand landed on my thigh as I drove her back to her apartment, and I patted it awkwardly before removing it. I never thought I would be turning someone down that was clearly willing.
“You sure you don’t want to come up?” she asked, her dark lashes fluttering rapidly. I gripped my stomach, scrunching my eyes up a bit. This used to work on my mom every time, so hopefully it would work on Blaire, too.
“Sorry. I must’ve eaten something bad. I think I’m just gonna head home.”
“Oh.” Her nose crinkled slightly. “Well, we’re still on for tomorrow with Ty and Emily, right?”
“Absolutely,” I responded and she smiled brightly. I could hold out on things with Della until then, so I could make my partner happy. And then I would let Blaire down easy. She really was a great girl. I’m sure she would handle it okay. I didn’t think Blaire would have problems finding someone else.
We said our goodbyes and I got into my car, but instead of heading home, I drove to Nate’s. He called me earlier and invited me over for poker night, so I told him I would try to make it. We hadn’t hung out lately, since I was so busy with my job. Nate didn’t really understand the responsibilities of being an adult.
I was surprised when I saw Mia’s car parked right out front. Surprised wasn’t even the best word to describe it, really. I had only introduced Nate and Mia once before, and they really didn’t seem like they hit it off or anything. I don’t think they said more than two words to each other, actually.
I was even more surprised when I walked in and Mia was straddling Nate’s lap while they both laughed loudly about something.
“What up, J?” Nate called out from underneath Mia, like there wasn’t anything unusual going on.
Mia popped up, twisting her body around, before sitting back down on Nate’s lap. “And what have you been up to tonight, Mr. Parker?”
“Um….” I scratched my head before dropping down onto the couch. “Not much. What’s going on here?” I pointed to the two of them, and Mia giggled.
“Oh nothing much. Just hanging out.” She stood up quickly. “So are you two ready to get your ass beat at some poker? Oh, maybe we should play strip poker.” She turned around as she headed into the kitchen, wiggling her eyebrows, and I swear, Nate got the biggest damn smile on his face that I had ever seen.
“Yeah, I think I’ll pass.”
Nate’s fist popped out as I walked past him, slamming into my shoulder, and I smirked as I dropped down into a chair at the kitchen table. “Sorry dude, that’s gonna have to wait until after I leave.”
We started up a game of poker, and I was surprised to see that Mia actually knew how to play. After a few hands, she had about half of the chips neatly stacked in front of her. That girl was pretty good at bluffing.
“I fold.” I threw my cards down, and got up to raid the fridge. Nate’s place was a true bachelor’s pad. There was hardly ever anything in the cabinets, but there were always dirty dishes stacked on the counters, along with pop cans and beer bottles. Every time I came over, I felt half-tempted to clean up all of the shit, but I probably wouldn’t even get a thank you. Instead, he’d probably tease me about hiring me as his maid. Whatever. Messes irritated me, unless they were Della’s, those I could handle.
I managed to find a leftover box of pizza in the fridge, and after closely inspecting it to make sure there was no mold, I put a couple of slices on a paper plate and took them back to the table with me.
Mia reached over to snatch a mushroom, popping it into her mouth. “So, have you gotten rid of that girl yet?”
I didn’t bother answering her. I had to watch what I said around her because I was afraid she would leak it back to Della. It was possible Mia was still playing me, so I didn’t quite trust her again. But, clearly, it looked like she was moving on with Nate if the way they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other was any indication. I kind of felt like I needed to leave, so I could give them some alone time.
“Your silence speaks volumes,” she said sarcastically while eating the crust that she stole from me. “Well, I have a plan. The girls and I are going out tomorrow night.”
“Really?” I asked, dumbfounded by the fact that Della was willingly hanging out with Mia.
“Yup. We’re having a girls’ night, but I’m sure Della wouldn’t mind if you just happen to show up, especially if she’s liquored up a little bit. That girl doesn’t handle her alcohol very well.”
“I don’t need Della to be drunk to get her, Mia.”
“Oh, really?” She raised her eyebrows, motioning her hands around. “Then where is she exactly?”
I grunted in response, grabbing up the deck of cards to shuffle them so I could distract myself.
“My point exactly. So, what do you say? Want to meet up with us tomorrow night?”
“I’m down,” Nate piped in and Mia patted his shoulder.
“Great, you two can come together.”
“Can’t.” I shook my head and began dealing out the cards. “I already have plans.”
“Oh, really? With that girl?”
“Listen, I’m doing it as a favor and then I’m breaking things off with her. Then I can get Della back.”
Mia picked up her cards, smiling smugly as she set them back down. “Well, hopefully you have a nice night out. Where are you going?”
“Nope, no way in hell am I telling you that.”
“Um…okay.” She gave me a weird look, before picking up another card. I knew better than to believe she was just trying to make conversation or something. Mia was trying to play me, to figure out where I was going. There was no way I would let that happen. The last thing I needed was Della showing up somewhere, and seeing me with Blaire. That would be a fucking catastrophe.
We finished that round of cards, and Mia got up, whispering something in Nate’s ear before she waved at me. “Well, I’m heading home early. Need to rest up for the big girls’ night. I’ll see you boys later.” That was beyond weird. Mia was normally the last to leave anywhere, and I was sure that she was going to hang around so her and Nate could have some alone time. Judging by the disappointed expression on his face when she walked out the front door, he was thinking the same thing.
Twisted Bliss Page 10
