by Ali Parker
Kari ordered a salad and Lisa wrapped up the order with a cup of vegetable soup. The server rushed off like his ass was on fire and Lisa chuckled at the thought.
"You really shouldn't scare the poor boy." Kari winked at her as she took the last piece of bread.
"I think scaring men is my M.O. Now, tell me more about these bitches who have to die." Lisa turned her gaze on Sicily.
"They were just talking about how hard it must be to run a bakery and keep your figure." Sicily paused as her eyes filled with tears again.
"And then one of them mentioned that the owner of that bakery was a little chunky, which was just a shame because she was such a beautiful girl," Kari finished and shook her head. "Women are just stupid."
"Were they being hateful?" Lisa asked as heat rose up her chest and coated her throat. To be in pain herself was one thing, but to see Sicily hurting gave way to rage. She needed to let her anger out on someone and it had been three or four years since she had been in a fight. Might be time to get in another one.
"No, just insensitive. They didn't know I was there, which is the worst part. I've gained weight... I know, I have." Sicily pushed a lemon around the small plate meant for her bread. "I love sweets and I just haven't been working out. Usually I can balance my intake with the amount of walking or running I do, but we've just been so busy with getting the shop up and going that I haven't had time."
"Well, I'm not saying you've gained weight or that you need to work out at all, but if you think you do, then what about going to get a membership with Drake? The man worships you." Lisa shrugged, trying to make her words have less impact than she knew they would. Sicily had always struggled with her weight. She came from a family of portly women. Any conversation they had regarding weight or exercise always turned into a game of accusations, Lisa always being on the losing end.
"See? I told you he liked you. Even Lisa can see it and she's not been around nearly as much as I have lately." Kari turned to Sicily, reaching out and rubbing the other girl's arm.
"I don't give two shits if Drake likes me. He probably just feels sorry for me or is looking at me like most men look at a home improvement project. I'm a fixer upper." Sicily sniffled, lifting the napkin to her face.
They needed to get off the subject. Lisa wasn't about to let her best friend sit across the table and drag herself into a pit of despair over a couple of pounds.
"Let's join the gym together." Lisa dunked her bread back in the butter. “I need to lose a little bit of weight and I know my heart could be strengthened after the last few days.” She smiled, but no one returned the gesture. The joke apparently wasn't that funny.
"I'm not joining the gym. Drake will be all up my butt and all over my shiz."
"Shiz? How old are you? It's shit." Lisa winked as Sicily smiled.
"So vulgar!" Kari threw in Sicily's usual go-to comment and they all laughed together. The server showed back up and put their plates in front of them, Kari and Sicily thanking the boy as Lisa kept her attention on the soup in front of her.
Why had she ordered vegetable soup? She didn't even like soup. It was ninety degrees outside. She let out a long sigh and pulled her napkin in her lap, sitting back and looking up at her friends. Kari and Sicily stopped their movements toward picking up their lunch to eat, and settled back in their seats.
"I love him. I love him and he showed up at the shop when Michael was there and had just kissed me. I didn't kiss him back. I don't want anyone but Marc, but I've ruined it." Lisa's eyes filled with tears and she let them fall. There was no reason to clean them up or try and stop the flood, the night before had proven the need to cry was yet to pass, nor would it for quite some time.
"Did you tell him that he misunderstood?" Kari asked, her voice much too soft and caring for Lisa's liking.
Pressing back a sarcastic remark, Lisa picked up her spoon and adverted her eyes to the brown liquid floating around in the cup in front of her. "He didn't give me a chance. He said a few really hateful things and left, flipping me off as his parting gift."
"You know he's immature, Lisa." Kari reached across the table and rubbed Lisa's hand.
"He loves you too, you know. He was all too happy to pack you up something and go to your office to force you to come home to us." Sicily tilted her head, her eyes filled with tears too.
Lisa licked her lips and lifted a spoonful of soup, leaning over to blow on it. "I've lost him for sure."
"That's not true, Lisa. You should have heard the desperation in his voice the day before he flew here. I was the one on the phone with him and he sounded so broken. I'm not sure he's going to be able to move past you."
"Well, he needs to." Lisa shrugged and slurped the soup into her mouth, cursing as it burned her tongue. "Why the fuck did I order soup? Freaking hot."
"Why does he need to move past you? You love him too. You just said it yourself. Get him back. It was a misunderstanding," Sicily pleaded with her.
Lisa looked up at her friend and felt a sense of rightness roll over her. She needed to tell Marc the truth, to make him listen to her, but he hadn't listened as she begged him to stay that night. He certainly wouldn't on the phone while they were a million miles away either.
"Go to New York," Kari urged her before picking up her fork and pouring salad dressing over the top of her salad.
Lisa reached across the table and picked a piece of chicken off the top of the lettuce pile, dipping it in the creamy white dressing before eating it slowly and licking her fingers. She waved the server down.
"I want a salad like hers please." Lisa smiled kindly at the boy as his cheeks turned red.
"Is your soup not good?" He took it from in front of her.
"It's great, I'm just not in the mood for it. I'll pay for it, just bring me a salad."
He nodded and left as Lisa picked a crouton off Kari's plate only to be swatted at. They chuckled and Lisa sat back, trying to decide how much to share. The girls across from her were like family. They were the only ones that she let into her life at any level, and they weren't really invited past a certain point. Marc had seen more of her, touched all of her, and branded himself across her and he hadn't stayed. He had labeled her worthless and let her go.
"Will you not even consider it?" Sicily asked.
"No. I can't. My pride won't let me, and if that failed, my past would remind me why it's better to be alone. I'm just better off on my own." She shrugged and picked up her drink, lifting it to her friends in a pathetic excuse for a cheers. She brought it to her lips and tilted her head back, draining the poison in four painful gulps.
Chapter 21
He hadn't been able to get a flight out until just after lunch on Friday. To say his sister was pissed at him would be a mild understatement. Marc had been sitting at the airport for the better part of eighteen hours by the time he loaded the plane to head home, but misery had been his company. How Lisa could do something so vile to him left him breathless. Love hadn't been a part of his past and he was more than assured it wouldn't belong in his future.
Nothing hurt more than the death of his father, but seeing his woman wrapped up in a much better version of him came really fucking close. The man she had in her office was older than her... by quite a bit. He reeked of wealth and the possessive way he held her, followed her, comforted her, gave Marc the impression that they had been together before - many times.
He swallowed down his regret and got on the plane, finding his seat and sinking down into it. Slipping his headphones on, Marc cranked up the music, not giving two shits who he might be bothering. He was a punk ass college kid. Might as well start acting like it.
***
An hour later he was walking down the large hall of LaGuardia Airport, the familiarity with his surroundings helping to drown out the depression that screamed for his attention. He needed to get back on campus and get ready for the tests he had coming up the next week, but that sounded like hell. Maybe his mother would be willing to let him take her to
dinner. He needed to get some of the shit he had been through off his chest.
Growing up his mom had always force him and Kari to divulge everything to her, which he hated at the time, but now it helped him process pain or disappointment so much faster. He texted her and got a quick reply that she was working the late shift at the hospital and would make him breakfast the next morning instead.
That was almost as good a deal, but he needed someone tonight.
Drayer was up next on his list. His buddy was glad to have Marc home, and more than willing to meet for beers and wings if Marc was paying.
"Typical." Marc chuckled and got in his car before responding that he would pick up the tab if Drayer would drive his heart-broken ass home after he got royally fucked up.
It was a date, but not even close to the one he wished he were on.
***
"Awwww fuck man. You walked in on it?" Drayer ran his hand over his face as the color drained from it.
They had been best friends as far back as Marc could remember. Drayer had his heart tossed in a blender and handed back to him in smoothie form all the time. Marc was there to help bring him back, to instill in him a sense of lust versus love. How many times had he warned Drayer not to get involved with some chick because it was inevitable that he would be crushed by her wanton ways?
Now it was his turn.
"Yeah. I think the hardest part about all of it was that I felt like she deserved him." Marc shrugged and lifted the beer to his lips, drinking deeply and wishing there were something he could take to burn Lisa from his thoughts.
"You mean because she's a bitch and he is too? Or what?"
"No. She's high class, man. Like way out of my league. This dude was too. He was rich and older. He was exactly the kind of guy I could see Lisa with. They fit..." Marc wiped his mouth on the back of his hand as his stomach swirled precariously. He was going to vomit if he wasn't careful. He hadn't eaten since being at Sicily's bakery the day before, and the thought of Lisa with anyone would send him over the edge - fast.
"That's bullshit. You can have any girl you want, Marc. I think this is for the better, dude."
"I don't want another girl or just any girl. I want my girl." Marc sat back and let out a long breath as more people piled into the bar. He waved at a few familiar faces and turned back to Drayer.
"You don't need an old lady, Marc. Find someone just out of high school that's legal. You need a young, dumb-ass girl who doesn't know what she's doing. That way she never tells you how to do your shit and you still have hot sex because she's trying so hard to impress you. Come on, man. You taught me all this shit."
"Yeah, and it’s shit. I don't want some young pup. I want the woman that makes my balls ache just by smelling her perfume. I want the woman that makes my mouth go dry and my knees weak when she walks by. I want Lisa, Dray. I know she doesn't want me, but fuck man... she's all I can think about."
"Oh, you got it bad. We need to get you some pussy. Get you back on track."
"Not interested." Marc tilted his head back and drained the rest of his beer.
"You say that now..."
"I took those two girls back to my place last week, Drayer, and couldn't go through with it. I don't want anyone beneath me or above me but Lisa. I want her time, her attention, her body. I want her heart."
Drayer ran his fingers through his hair as he called the waitress over. "Lust or love, kitten?"
The girl put her hand on her hip and cocked her head. "Excuse me?"
"He wants your opinion. Do you prefer lust or love?" Marc responded, lifting his bottle toward her and nodding at her order tablet. "I'll take another beer please."
"Oh." She smiled and wrote down the order. "I would choose love any day. Sex is good, but when you love the person you're sleeping with... wowza."
"Told you." Marc looked over at Drayer as the girl walked off. He tried to follow her movements, but honestly could care less what she looked like. "I just wish I could convince myself that what I saw with Lisa and that guy was something different than it was."
"No chance you were wrong?"
"They were sucking each other's faces, Dray. I walked into her office and set a plate of food on her desk and she didn't notice me because she was too busy licking the inside of his mouth clean."
"Dayum," Drayer called out loudly before tapping his fingers on the table. "Yeah. I can handle a lot, but cheating isn't part of the deal. You want a threesome? Good with me, but no fucking around with someone when I'm not there."
"You would have a threesome with a girl and let another dude be the other member?"
"Hell yeah, but she'd have to be my girl." Drayer took a drink of his beer and lifted the empty bottle, mouthing to someone behind Marc that he wanted another.
"Would you let the guy... you know..."
"What? No. I'd let him take her and touch her, but he better not touch me."
Marc let out a sigh. "I was starting to wonder, dude."
"Oh yeah? You interested in taking a girl together?"
"Um, fuck no. Lisa is the only girl I want, and if you or any other mother fucker thinks it wise to touch her, you got an ass whooping coming your way."
"Did you kick that guy’s ass?"
"No. I didn't even think about it actually. I was so stunned, so fucking shocked." Marc ran his hands over his face and growled softly. "I can't let this go, Drayer."
"Then stop dicking around and go get her. You gave up. Maybe she needed you to fight for her."
"Why would she need that?"
"Maybe the rich old guy was after her, but she wanted you. Maybe you just walked in when the guy kissed her. Did she look like she was grabbing him or holding him against her?"
"I can't remember." Marc closed his eyes and tried to picture the moment again. He needed to see if there might be any validity to Drayer's thoughts. Pain laced his chest as he envisioned Lisa and the other guy making out, the picture he painted was far worse than the reality he remembered experiencing. "Fuck that. I don't know. I just know that I need to get over this chick. She's ruining my life. I tried to get her and she cheated on me."
"Were you guys really together?"
"Yes. We had agreed to try out this relationship thing and I was working hard at it. Since when have you known me to take food to some bitch just because?"
"This is true. Did you pack up the to-go thing? I would have died to see that."
"Hell no. My sister did it." Marc laughed and checked his phone. What was he waiting for? Lisa wasn't going to call or text. Even if by some extreme miracle he hadn't seen things right with her and the rich guy, he had ended things pretty vulgarly with her.
He shuddered at how heinous he had been. Calling her a whore in four or five ways before he left had been the mark he wanted left on her, but just thinking about the look on her face, the pleading sound in her voice broke him in half.
I'm a bastard.
"Well, we're all going dancing tomorrow night and you're coming." Drayer lifted his arms in the air and let out a loud yawn.
"No, I'm not." Marc let his eyes move around the room, several girls checking him or Dray out.
"Yeah, you are. I told the guys you would be back and there are a few freshmen ball players that are coming to meet you. You're a legend around here, remember?"
"Not interested."
"How about this. You come with me tomorrow and I'll go with you to that stupid ass biker thing next weekend."
Marc's attention turned back to Drayer, his friend having refused him time and time again in the past to do something as daring as renting bikes and trying to fit in with the roughnecks for a long ride.
"Really? I have two tickets because I was going to take Lisa, but she's obviously not going. I was thinking I would cancel, but if I don't have to..." Marc smiled and crossed his arms over his chest.
"You go tomorrow night and I'll go next weekend. Deal?" Drayer extended his hand across the table.
Marc reached out and shook it as re
alization dawned on him. "You totally told some girls that you want to fuck that I'll be there tomorrow night, didn't you."
"Yep. Your fame is going to get me laid."
"And you're going to get us killed on that biker event if you don't cut your hair."
"You're one to talk. You look more like an all-American college frat boy than any of us could possibly hope to pull off.”
"Then we both die. Lisa loves pulling my hair when we fuck. I'm not touching it in case the stars realign and give me a chance to bring her back to the dark side."
"You think you could ever trust her again?"
"Nope. I'll cut the hair... probably best that way."
"Yep. Fuck her." Drayer lifted his beer in the air and slammed it against Marc's.
"Yeah. Fuck her."
Chapter 22
Lisa got up early Saturday morning, her client showing being an hour away, but not until just after lunch. She would rather hang out in the office than stay at home and let her friends dote on her. They had tried to get her to watch a movie the night before but she came up with some research related to work that she needed to focus on. The truth was, that for the first time in her life, listening to sappy heart-breaking music and eating chocolate-covered gummy bears sounded better than anything else offered. She almost felt like a teenager again.
Having dressed quickly in a cream-colored dress and a beige jacket and heels, Lisa left the house as the sun was rising. A quick glance over her shoulder before getting in the car left her scarred. The beauty of the sunrise over the edge of the bay was breathtaking. It was a moment that captured the essence of beauty. It pressed the desire to love even farther down her throat, as if every sappy commercial and love song on the radio weren't working already to make that happen.
She got in her car and pressed a few buttons on her phone, Metallica screaming from the radio console a few minutes later. She let out a long sigh and headed for the office, happy to have something to take her mind off of everything, if even for a few minutes.
