I stayed at Nate’s for a while longer after Mia left. We gave up on the card game since it really wasn’t fun with only two people, and instead turned on the Xbox. I really couldn’t even remember the last time I played any video games, and honestly, it was a little boring. I had no clue how Nate stayed up all night playing sometimes.
“Well, I’m gonna get going.”
“Really, J? Is it because I’m kicking your ass?” He grinned without removing his eyes from the screen, and I slid my shoes back on.
“Nah, I got shit to do tomorrow.” I sat down to tie my shoes. “So, what’s up with Mia? How’d she end up over here?”
He shrugged, pausing the game before setting the controller down. “We ran into each other a few nights ago at the Campus Pub. I thought she was hot the first time you introduced us, but I could tell she was into you and didn’t give two shits about me.”
I snorted loudly, wondering how I had been so dumb to think that Mia was okay with us just being friends. I should’ve known that she would lie about Della. It was my own fault, really, for believing anything that ever came out of her mouth.
“Anyway, I ran into her and she was all over my shit. I got her number, and we’ve hung out a couple of times since. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Why the fuck would I care, dude? I never had a thing with Mia. You’re more than welcome to try to handle that crazy shit.”
Nate laughed as I pulled open his front door. “Sweet. I love crazy chicks. They’re always the fun ones.” He winked right before I shut the door behind myself, and I shook my head as I walked to my car. Nate really had no clue what he was getting himself into when it came to Mia. Maybe they would balance each other out or something. Or they would just get into a whole lot of trouble together.
“MORNING, GRAMS. THOSE smell amazing.” I kissed her on the cheek, and walked over to the cupboard to start pulling out plates for the waffles she was making. It was a good thing I didn’t live here, because with all of her home cooking I would probably be the size of a blimp by now.
“Morning, dear. I’m so glad you stayed last night. Did you sleep well?”
“Yup.” I poured myself a glass of orange juice and then turned to take the syrup, butter, and milk out of the fridge. After dinner last night we had brought out some cards, and ended up playing pretty late, so I stayed the night. It was nice to feel like you were ten again sometimes, and have your family take care of you. I think Grams loved having me around so she could do just that.
“Thanks for keeping my old room set up for me. It’s nice to have somewhere to sleep in case I ever want to leave the craziness of my own place for a while.”
Grandpa closed his paper, setting in down on the table. “Well, you should get rid of that Mia girl. You wouldn’t have any craziness to deal with then.”
My dad walked into the kitchen just at the moment, kissing me on the forehead before taking a seat at the table. “Mia causing problems again?”
“No, actually we’re getting along right now. Even though Mom and Gerald are getting a divorce,” I tacked on at the end, waiting for everyone’s reaction. I don’t think anyone even blinked an eyelash.
“So, your mom’s divorcing again?” Grandpa asked gruffly. “Well, I guess that’s not a big surprise. That woman is the devil.”
“Oh hush, Harold. Lillian is still Della’s mother. You two have been getting along better, haven’t you?” Grams asked, setting a steaming plate of waffles down in the center of the table. Dad reached for the top one, but Grams quickly slapped his hand away, stabbing a fork into it and placing it on my plate. See? I was the center of Grams’s world whenever I was around.
“Yeah, I guess so. You know she isn’t exactly the warmest person, but we talk sometimes. As long as Mia doesn’t start causing problems again, we decided that she could stay at the house.”
“Sounds like you have it all figured out, Della.” My dad smiled at me before passing me the syrup and I dug into my waffles, drowning out their conversation. If only I had everything figured out. I felt like drama was drawn to my life like a magnet. Somehow, I kept getting myself into situations that I had no clue how to handle.
Yesterday, not even five minutes after I hung up with Marley, Chris called. That conversation was definitely awkward. It felt like I was talking to a complete stranger, and in a way I guess we were strangers, even though we shared so many memories. Going almost a year without having any contact with someone would do that, I guess.
Against my better judgment, I agreed to meet up with him for a late lunch on Sunday. Like Marley told me, he was a couple hours away, doing business for his dad’s company. He never mentioned for how long, and it made me wonder. Hopefully, this would just be a one-time thing.
“ALL RIGHT, LADIES. We need to get this party started with a little pre-drinking action.” Mia handed each of us a shot glass where we were all crowded together in Callie’s room, getting ready for the night Mia had planned. She still hadn’t clued us in on any details yet. It made me more than just a little worried. But I think a night with all four of us together would probably do some good. Mia could feel like she belonged, and then maybe, she would actually be nice.
I tipped my head back, squeezing my eyes shut as the liquid burned its way down my throat. “Shit, Mia.” I covered a cough with my hand as I opened my eyes. “What in the hell was that?”
Mia rolled her eyes, taking the empty shot glasses from each of us. “That is called a good-time. Please tell me you’re ready to have one.”
I plastered a smile on my face, dropping down onto Callie’s bed that was overflowing with clothes. “Sure. Can you at least tell us where we’re going, though, so we can get dressed?”
“Oh, yeah. We’re going to this new club downtown that I heard about. It’s supposed to be awesome. Care if I pick something out for you to wear?”
Zoey and Callie both gave me a look that said, “No-way-in-hell should you ever let Mia dress you.” I was thinking the exact same thing, but she seemed excited about it, so I slowly nodded my head. “Um…sure. But I get to change if it’s anything too crazy.”
“Oh, please, Della. I would never do that.”
Shots that I lost count of and two hours of primping later, we were finally ready to leave. I didn’t need to use my veto on what Mia chose. She actually didn’t make me look like a hooker, which surprised the shit out of me. Instead, she had gone through my closet for about fifteen minutes before selecting a pink dress—my favorite color. It tied around the back of my neck, and that was basically all that held it up since it was backless. The material was clingy and made me wish I hadn’t eaten that extra waffle this morning, but oh well, it looked good enough.
I shook my head at the choice of shoes that were from her closet. There was no way in hell that I could walk in a pair of heels that high, especially since I was already wobbling from all of the alcohol we consumed back at the house. All three of us halted as soon as we stepped outside, gawking at the black stretch limo that was parked in front of our house.
“Um…what’s that for?” Zoey asked, her auburn curls bouncing as she whipped around to question Mia who clapped her hands together before jumping off the last step.
“That’s for us. I figured this way, we won’t need a DD, and all of us can drink.”
“Oh boy,” Zoey muttered. “I think we’re gonna get into some trouble tonight.”
Callie giggled before looping her arm through Mia’s and they skipped ahead of us as the driver got out and opened the back door. “I think you’re right,” I agreed as Zoey and I followed behind them.
We ducked our heads into the back, and Mia was already picking up a bottle that had been chilling in an ice bucket. “Mia,” I began, taking a small sip out of the glass she had pushed into my hands. “This really isn’t the type of girls’ night we usually have. Don’t you think we need to slow down a little bit?”
“Oh, Della.” She rolled her eyes as she drained her glass and then began to refil
l it. “I promised to start behaving myself, but everyone needs some fun every once in a while. I figured it would be fun for all four of us to just have one crazy night together. Unless you just want to go back home? I guess we could watch movies or something.” Mia tried to not look disappointed that I wasn’t excited about her night out. I just didn’t want things to get too crazy, and I knew with Mia, they normally did.
“Fine, just promise me that we won’t end up passed out at some random guy’s house before the night’s over?”
“Of course not, Della. We wouldn’t want that to happen, silly.”
Zoey and Callie laughed as the four of us all clinked our glasses together, yelling out a collective cheer just as the limo stopped, and the driver came around back to let us out. Mia led us to the front of the line, giving the guy with the clipboard her name, and he quickly undid the velvet rope that was holding everyone back. Mia was pulling out all of the stops tonight. I’m sure most of it was with Gerald’s money, and I felt guilty that she was just throwing it around without a care in the world. Mia might be trying to change at home, but it certainly didn’t seem like she was trying to change anything else. Quit being a downer, Della. I really needed to shut my brain off for the night. Tonight was about having fun with my roommates, and I was going to do just that.
“Let’s find a table over this way,” Mia directed, and we all followed her across the darkly lit club, our night really just getting started.
“THANKS AGAIN, MAN. I needed this so bad.”
I slapped Ty on the back as we headed out of the restaurant, Emily and Blaire walking a few feet ahead of us as we made our way back to the parking lot. “Sure, buddy.”
We caught up with the girls and then piled into Ty’s SUV to head over to some club. It was a newer one, Nate had never even been there, and he was usually the first in line to check them out.
I blocked out their conversation, smiling over at Blaire who kept grinning at me occasionally. Dinner had gone okay, I guess. She definitely wasn’t as flirty as she was the other night, which was a good thing, but she and Emily kept talking about double dates that we could all go on together. I felt guilty for continuing to sit there, agreeing with whatever they were talking about, when really, I just wanted to get the hell out of there and go find Della. I had even parked my car at the club we were going to because I was planning on ending things with Blaire as soon as Ty was ready to go for the night. I figured that way things would be less uncomfortable.
“Justin, we’re here.” I felt a hand land on my leg, and I glanced up to see Blaire giving me a confused look.
“Um…yeah, sorry, lost in thought. Let’s go.” She slipped her hand in mine as we walked across the road to wait in the line that was starting to form. Luckily, we were fairly early so we didn’t have to wait too long. Sometimes these lines could go on for hours.
We followed Ty and Emily who were leading the way to a back table that was on the opposite side as the main entrance. Ty and I went up to the bar to get drinks, leaving the girls at the table, which probably wasn’t a good idea. They were most likely gossiping the whole time.
I turned around, watching the crowd as we waited for our drinks. “So, you still planning on ending things with Blaire tonight?” Ty asked, resting his elbow beside me. I nodded my head in response and he snorted. “You’re a dumbass. She’s so into you, and you couldn’t give two shits. Are you really sure about this Della chick? What if she turns your ass down, and then you’ve lost out on a chance with Blaire?”
“I’m not taking no for an answer from Della. Simple as that.”
“Oh, shit. That’s your plan? Really? Well, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. You’re so damn full of yourself.”
The bartender set our drinks down behind us and I grabbed Blaire’s and mine before heading toward the table, but froze in place when my eyes landed on Mia. She waved wildly at me, and I groaned as she stepped in my direction. That wasn’t even the worst part. Della was here. Fuck my life. How could this possibly be happening? I really knew how to keep screwing things up, over and over. I should’ve just ended things with Blaire right away. Now, things with Della were going to be ruined, once again. She would see me here with a girl, probably assuming it was the girl that I told her I was dating, and know that I was still with her. And that would probably make her think that the day in the gym meant nothing to me, which was the farthest from the truth, though I could understand why she would assume that.
Mia stopped before completely coming over to me, motioning with her hands toward Della, who was dancing with Zoey and Callie and hadn’t spotted me yet. “Sexy, right?” Mia mouthed to me, pointing at Della. I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement. Her hair was pulled up, revealing the smooth skin of her neck. The dress she wore clung to every curve of her body, and I noticed it showed off my favorite asset of hers very well when she turned toward Zoey and bent over just a little. Her legs went on for miles, given the shoes she was wearing, and though I couldn’t see her eyes very well, they looked a little glassy. Clearly, she was drunk. Fuck me. I wanted to go out there, drag her against my body, and beat the shit out of every guy that was currently staring at her. All at the same time. Mia wiggled her fingers at me before heading back toward the girls, and I shook my head, following Ty who was already halfway back to our table.
I had no fucking clue how Mia knew where I was. I hadn’t told her on purpose last night because I was worried she would do exactly this. This was definitely not a coincidence, and I couldn’t tell if she was doing it to piss Della off or what. It seemed like she was actually trying to get Della to avoid glancing my way.
Our table was on the opposite side of the club as theirs, so I guess that was a good thing.
Blaire asked me a few times if I wanted to dance after I sat back down with our drinks, but I told her I didn’t dance. One, because I didn’t want to run into Della, and two, dancing could be highly erotic. If I were going to dance with any one person tonight, it would be Della. Luckily, Della was sticking close by Callie, Zoey, and Mia, because if any guys came along, I would have to go out there.
Talk about awkward.
By the end of the night, my knee was twitching and my jaw was so tight, I could feel a massive ache in the back of my head. Ty shot me a questioning glare as they all stood up to leave and go home for the night, and I remained in my seat. I wasn’t leaving. No way in hell. Della was still here, and judging by her wobbling legs and the way her body was moving on the dance floor, she was hammered. I wasn’t going anywhere. I stood up, tugging gently on Blaire’s elbow in order to talk to her away from Ty and Emily. Ty glared at me, probably knowing exactly what I was doing, since I was pretty sure he’d spotted Della earlier. It would be kind of hard not to, since I had been staring at her all night.
“Look, Blaire. You’re a really nice girl, but I don’t think things are going to work out.”
Her mouth opened and closed a few times, and then her eyes narrowed at me. I could tell she was pissed. I was pissed at myself for being such an asshole about the whole situation, but I couldn’t help it.
She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, straightening her shoulders as she put on what I could only describe as her lawyer face—cold and stern, with a hint of bitchiness. I had only seen it one other time when the topic of politics came up. I told her I didn’t give two shits about the subject, and she went off.
“Don’t try to give me that ‘you’re a really nice girl’ bullshit. Are you really trying to do this to me? You should feel lucky that I’ve stooped so low as dating someone like you.”
I took a step back, which only caused her to move closer to me, jabbing her finger into my chest. “You’re an asshole, Justin Parker. I know your kind. You move on from one girl to the next, getting rid of each one when they start to get boring. Well, I’m anything but boring. You’re really missing out on this.” Her chest heaved as she pointed to herself and I glanced over at Ty, who just threw his hands up in the air, and th
en turned the other way. What in the hell was I supposed to say to that? I definitely wasn’t expecting that to come out of this tiny woman, but I couldn’t let myself care.
“Whatever.” I shrugged one shoulder, and stared out at the sea of dancers. “Have a nice night then.”
I left her standing there, stewing, and headed in the direction of the dance floor. Luckily, Della was still out there. Mia beamed brightly at me when I walked up, pulling on Callie and Zoey’s hands. They each gave her a puzzled look before spotting me over Della’s head, and then willingly went along. Finally, I had my girl right where I wanted her.
I COULDN’T REMEMBER the last time I drank so much. Actually, I don’t think I ever had. Starting with the shots back at home, whatever that was in the limo, and then all of the fruity drinks I was getting from the bar, I was almost positive I would have liver failure by the time morning came.
But I was having fun.
Mia definitely knew how to party; she had plenty of practice lately. Callie and Zoey seemed to be having fun, too. “Is that Drew?” I elbowed Callie, and she grinned lazily at the glaring white screen of her phone. I don’t know why I even asked. I took a sip of my drink, licking the sweetness from my lips before setting it back down.
“Yeah.” She grinned before tucking her phone back into her clutch. “Just checking in with him. He was a little shocked when I told him I was going out with Mia. And a teensy bit worried, I think. C’mon let’s go dance some more.” She tugged on my hand, and we joined Mia and Zoey who decided not to take a break.
I have no idea how long we were actually out there, only stopping occasionally to rehydrate. We were all actually having a good time together, and Mia hadn’t started with any of her catty remarks, so that was always a good thing.
I felt a pair of hands land on my hips from behind, and I rolled my eyes. I loved how guys thought they were just allowed to come up and dance with you without even asking. It hadn’t happened too many times tonight, probably because all four of us stuck together, but it sure was irritating when it did. I moved my hands upwards and shoved at the set that was on my waist. “Thanks for asking, but no.”
Twisted Bliss Page 11
