The Morning After
Starting from Zero Box Set
Maggie Dallen
Contents
The Plus One
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
Love Times Two
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Less Than Three
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
About the Author
Love Is in the Air
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
The Plus One
Starting from Zero
Prologue
One year ago….
Drew should have known better. That last whiskey had been a bad decision, and meeting up with his friends at a karaoke bar was a disaster waiting to happen.
Everyone knew that anger and karaoke did not mix. Drinking and karaoke, yes. One could not exist without the other, that’s what Livvy had said the first time she’d dragged him to one of these bars hidden away in the city’s tiny Koreatown. Basically just one long avenue block jam-packed with restaurants on the street level and karaoke bars up above.
But even in his drunken state, he was dimly aware that this was a mistake. He should calm down and sober up before facing his best friends. Because it wasn’t just anger that had him shaking as he walked into the dimly lit bar. It was everything—all the emotions he’d been suppressing for the past three and a half years. Almost four. From the very first day of college he’d been holding it in, and now…well, now it was all ready to combust.
A cute brunette was up on the stage enthusiastically butchering “Dancing Queen” to a laughing crowd. He didn’t recognize her. She wasn’t from his group. But he spotted his friends a second later, they were sitting up front, close to the stage.
Of course they were, Livvy wouldn’t have it any other way. She’d been dragging them to these bars for years now and with graduation only two weeks away, she’d been bound and determined that they all have one last night of drunken singing fun.
That was how she’d put it—drunken singing fun. And there she was. Right up front, next to the stage, laughing at something one of their friends had said.
God, she was gorgeous. Her long blonde hair had been thrown up in a loose bun on top of her head, showing off her long neck and slender shoulders. As he watched she threw her head back, her pretty, delicate features alight with laughter. Then she came to stand and he stopped walking. He stopped breathing. He watched her and for one blissful moment, the off-key singing disappeared and the crowd of tipsy twentysomethings around him ceased to exist.
There was only her.
She spotted him and her smile was everything. The fact that she smiled that way at the sight of him was humbling. It made everything worthwhile, even the long nights of aching for wanting her or the torturous afternoons spent watching her moon over her boyfriend, as if he deserved it.
She was hurrying toward him, weaving through the crowd, looking like a ballerina with that hairstyle and the fitted V-neck tee. His gaze moved lower, over her ample breasts and full hips. Even better, she looked like a ballerina with a body. She consistently complained about needing to lose weight, apparently oblivious to the fact that she had the kind of body that could make grown men weep.
He should know, he’d been suffering from a constant state of frustrated longing since the day they’d first met. Which was the same day she’d met her boyfriend, who was also Drew’s best friend. Or he had been up until today. Because today he’d learned the truth. He supposed he’d always had a suspicion. He’d known deep down that his roommate wasn’t good enough for Livvy. But he’d chalked those feelings up to jealousy.
No one would be good enough for his Livvy. Not even him.
But today he’d learned the truth. At first he’d thought it might be baseless gossip, but then he’d done some digging and the truth became clear. His best friend was cheating on Livvy—the love of his life.
She reached his side and he tried to shove those thoughts away. He didn’t want to ruin her night. He didn’t want to hurt her. He’d already resolved to talk to the jackass first. Give him a chance to do the right thing and tell her the truth himself. She deserved that at the very least.
Her arms wrapped around his neck and his resolve nearly faltered. She needed to know.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, and he could tell by the sing-song way she spoke that she’d already had a few drinks. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled with laughter and joy and… Holy shit, she deserved so much better than the heartbreak that was in store for her.
There was no way around it, because she deserved to know. If he didn’t tell her, Drew would. It was that simple.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” he said. At least, that’s what he tried to say, but his words were slurring and all his energy had gone into suppressing the rage that had been eating away at him all afternoon.
Her soft, warm hand slipped into his as she led him toward the table where their friends were all gathered. As they drew close, he saw him. His best friend. Former best friend as of today. The cheating bastard who was about to break Livvy’s heart.
And just like that, his control snapped. Three and a half long years of keeping his feelings in check and the restraints snapped in a heartbeat.
Livvy smiled at him over her shoulder. “You have to sing tonight, Drew. Everyone else is being lame.” As always, she bubbled over with life, and enthusiasm, and laughter.
The brunette had left the stage and Livvy didn’t even give him a chance to stop and talk to their friends, she was dragging him to the side of the stage where a DJ of sorts waited to take requests.
“You’re up next,” she said. Wrapping her arm around his, she stood on tiptoe to talk directly into his ear. “Come on, Drew, show ‘em how it’s done.”
Then she was gone, heading back to their friends, and her seat next to her boyfriend.
Drew barely knew what he was doing.
No, that was a lie he’d tell himself later. In that moment he knew exactly what he was doing, he just refused to think it through.
He couldn’t take it any longer. He had to tell her how he felt and the DJ was waiting for him to speak. He knew exactly what to sing. It was an eighties song—she’d appreciate that. They both loved the eighties, it was their thing. One of many “things” they shared.
As he took the stage and the first chords started, he looked over to the table and met her gaze. She was laughing. She thought it was a joke. Even her ass of a boyfriend was smiling, even though he knew exactly how Drew felt about Livvy and always had. Only their friend, Avery, was frowning. She was the only other person in the world who knew how he felt about Livvy. He saw a flicker of concern as she realized what he was about to sing.
Her eyes widened meaningfully. No. Don’t do this.
He took the microphone the DJ handed him and met Livvy’s gaze once more.
Too late.
Chapter One
The darts struck the white stock paper with a satisfying thud that echoed in the nearly empty bar. Bam. Bam. Bam.
Olivia leaned back to assess her handiwork. Her throws were getting better. She might not have hit the bullseye, but the wedding invitation was sufficiently murdered.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw her co-worker, Lena, sidle up beside her. “Seriously? Are you still obsessing over that thing?”
That thing was the wedding invite for her ex-boyfriend’s wedding in a few weeks. Olivia didn’t answer. She assumed the question was rhetorical.
Lena sighed. “Why don’t you just skip it?”
Olivia’s long blonde ponytail whipped over her shoulder as she turned to face her friend. “I can’t skip it, they’re my friends.” She was using the term “friends” loosely here. They’d agreed to stay friendly because they moved in the same circles, but she could barely stand to be in the same room as her ex and his bride-to-be.
Lena tipped her chin down so she was looking up at her from beneath furrowed brows. It was the same look she gave to Crazy Pete when he came in looking for his twin.
Crazy Pete didn’t have a twin.
“Sweetie, they’re not your friends. He’s your ex-boyfriend and she’s a skanky ho who used to pretend to be your friend.” Lena had never been one to mince words. “You are under no obligation to attend this stupid wedding. It was cruel and unusual of them to even ask.”
Olivia shrugged. Since she’d taken the circuitous five-year route to graduation and Lena had been a year behind them in school, they’d gotten close this past year as Olivia watched her former circle of friends disband. They’d all gone off to pursue careers while she’d stayed behind to finish up her degree while waiting tables at their college bar alongside Lena. This meant that while Lena knew all the players in the drama of Olivia’s life, she wasn’t part of the group so she didn’t truly understand the dynamic no matter how many times Olivia had tried to explain it.
“I’m just saying,” Lena continued, following closely behind her. “You could just tell them to suck it instead of taking it out on a piece of paper.”
It was too late for that. She’d already RSVP’d that she’d attend…with a plus one. In hindsight she supposed her friend was right. She probably should have invented some sort of excuse to skip this nightmare. But three months ago, as she’d cried over the invite in her hand, her pride had reared its ugly head. She’d been determined to prove that she’d moved on, as if she was totally cool with it all. Saying yes had seemed like the best way to do that.
In her defense, she’d responded months ago and had optimistically assumed that by the time the wedding came around she would be cool with it all.
She was not.
Up close the invitation was just as irritating as ever, even though it was now riddled with holes. She pulled one of the darts so she could see the offensive calligraphy. “God, I hate that phrase.” She’d mumbled it under her breath—sounding more than a bit like Crazy Pete—but Lena still heard her.
“Dude, plus one is just a phrase people use for weddings when they don’t know who you’re going to bring. Much as I love to hate on the ex and the ho, I really don’t think that their sending the invite to you and a plus one was the insult you think it was.”
Maybe. Maybe not. That didn’t change the fact that the phrase stung. She turned to face her friend. “They know I don’t have a plus one.”
Lena shrugged. “So get one.”
Olivia gave a little snort. “Right. Like it’s that easy.”
“It is.”
Olivia ignored her again. She refused to have the online dating conversation one more time. She’d tried it. Three times, to be exact. Each time worse than the last. No, thanks. There was no way she’d be repeating that disastrous experiment. Besides, the wedding was mere weeks away, not nearly enough time to find Mr. Right and convince him it wasn’t weird to join her at her ex’s wedding.
“You know what you should do?” Lena paused dramatically so Olivia lifted her eyebrows.
“I’m listening.”
“You should invite someone who would totally piss them off.”
Olivia laughed. “Like who? Crazy Pete?”
Lena turned serious. “Like Jordan Catalano.”
Olivia blinked at her in horror. Jordan Catalano was Lena’s nickname for Drew. Her ex-best friend. He was so not a Jordan Catalano. Okay, maybe he looked a little like the My So Called Life character, but that was it.
And the fact that he had a band.
But that was where the similarities ended. Jordan Catalano was quiet and shallow and maybe even a little dumb. Drew was none of those things. He was loud, obnoxious, smart, and irritating.
And her ex would freak if she brought him.
Lena was watching her with barely concealed excitement. “Right? Am I totally right?”
She gave a grudging nod of agreement. “It wouldn’t go over well.”
“Are you kidding me? Didn’t the three of you have some epically awesome friendship before Drew ruined everything?”
“Mmm.” She kept her mouth shut, feigning a keen interest in the dust that had collected on the dartboard’s ridges. She’d told Lena the whole sordid story one night when they’d both gotten hammered after work. Now she wished she hadn’t. It was a piece of her college history better left forgotten. It was easier that way.
They’d all met freshman year. The two guys had been roommates and she’d been in their Intro to Psychology class. It had been friend-love at first sight. By the time second semester rolled around, it had been love-love for her and her ex, while Drew had become her very best friend. The kind of best friend she’d always wanted but had never found. Not in grade school, and definitely not in junior high. Though she’d had a couple close friends she’d really cared about in high school, even those friendships paled in comparison to what she’d had with Drew.
Right up until he’d ruined it.
“Tell me again the song he sang that ruined your friendship?” Lena sounded like a child asking for a beloved bedtime story.
Olivia sighed. “Jessie’s Girl.”
Lena sighed as well, but hers sounded dreamy. “That’s right.” Then she gave Olivia a judgy look. “I still don’t get why you were so upset about a stupid karaoke song.”
She took a deep breath. “He sang it to me.” Even to her own ears, it was a lame defense. How could she explain the look that had been in his eyes as he’d belted out that stupid song?
Lena shrugged. “He was drunk.”
“He sang it in front of my boyfriend,” she added.
“Your ex-boyfriend,” Lena corrected.
Sure, now he was her ex-boyfriend, but he hadn’t been that night. That night there had still been a chance for them. “He sang it to me in front of my boyfriend whose name is Jessie.”
The answering silence was broken by the sound of the bartender clinking glasses as he put them away. Finally, Lena conceded, “I’m not saying it was a cool thing to do. I’m just saying it might be time to forgive the guy already.”
She pressed her lips together and crossed her arms. She had been willing to forgive him, he was the one who’d shut her out. Losing her best friend on top of losing her boyfriend had been unbearable. She was still hard-pressed to say which had been a greater loss.
Drew. Definitely Drew.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t such a tough dilemma. Losing her best friend had been like losing her other half. But she’d made one attempt to talk to him and he’d shut her down. He had no interest, it seemed, in keeping up any kind of friendship, not even a lame pretense of a friendship like she had with Jessie and Camille. To Lena, she said, “He doesn’t want to be forgiven.”
Lena rolled her eyes. “He’s too stubborn. Just like you.”
Maybe. Maybe not. All she knew was she’d made an attempt right before graduation. Maybe it wasn’t a grandiose gesture, but she’d tried. In a fit of nostalgia at the thought of all her friends moving on without her, she’d approached him at the bar where a bunch of seniors had gone to celebrate. She’d had off that night but had come to the bar anyway. Drew and Jessie weren’t speaking any longer but they’d come to some sort of truce where they could be in the same room with one another even though there was no love lost there either.
He’d stared at her like she’d grown a second head when she’d drawn near, wrapped an arm around the freshman floozy who’d been trying to paste herself to his side, and turned away. No, that wasn’t quite accurate. First, he’d said, “The ladies’ room is that way.” He’d helpfully pointed to the hallway leading to the bathroom and then turned his back on her.
Ass.
Maybe it was for the best that he’d been a jerk that night. Not because she couldn’t forgive him a stupid karaoke song. It wasn’t about that. It was the fact that he’d crossed the line—the invisible but always there line that made it possible for two hormonal, heterosexual twentysomethings of opposite sexes to be best friends. He’d crossed the line that there was no coming back from.
The thing was, the thing that Lena never really understood, was that Drew didn’t really like her like that. He never had. It had always been platonic between them, so whatever had been going on in that drunk mind of his, it had clearly been a temporary fit of insanity. If he’d somehow managed to convince himself he had feelings for her, they would have been out of his system by the time he woke up the next morning. He could have just slept it off.
The Morning After: Starting from Zero Box Set Page 1
