“Of course,” she said sweetly. “I missed you, Stratton. I had to show you just how much.” Miriam stood up from the couch and came towards me, but I reached out and held her at a distance away.
“This isn’t a good idea,” I told her. “Even if something were to happen between us now, we wouldn’t be getting back together. And it wasn’t a good idea to show up like this, Miriam. You’re lucky that I felt bad for you.”
She frowned at me, her plump lower lip sticking out like a toddler’s. “That’s not the Stratton I know,” she said softly. “I thought you would be happy to see me. I missed you so much!” She eyed me up and down and I looked away. “You look even cuter than you used to,” she added. “What about me? Do I still look good?”
“Does it matter?” I gave her a pointed look. “I’m going to unpack and do some laundry. Find a flight, as soon as you can. I’ll take you to the airport tomorrow.”
“Stratton,” Miriam whined, pleading at me with her eyes. “Keep me company? Please? I’ve been out here by myself for days!”
I frowned at her. “Then you should have talked to me before you decided to do this,” I said. “Really, you can’t be shocked, Miriam. I can’t even believe my housemates let you in!”
“I told them I was your girlfriend,” Miriam said. “They believed me. And I didn’t sleep in the living room; I slept in your bed.” She grinned at me and I felt my stomach plummet. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”
I rolled my eyes and got to my feet. “Find a flight,” I said sharply. “I’m not playing these games with you.”
Miriam pouted but didn’t try to stop me when I pushed past her and walked to my room. Slamming the door, I ripped my sheets off the bed and lay down on the bare mattress. Everything looked exactly the same as it had when I left it, but knowing that Miriam had been alone in my room, I was sure she’d snooped through my shit. Sure enough, the papers on my desk were stacked neatly in a way that I never would have left them.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Leda. I understood why she was upset, but she’d completely overreacted. Would she have expected me to demand she kick someone out? I shook my head. Her rudeness had surprised me, much more than I was expecting. It was as if the trip we’d taken together no longer existed. The memories didn’t even seem real, but more like a dream that I’d just woken from. Reality was Miriam, bullying me into staying overnight. The Leda of Aspen who’d snuggled and kissed me all the time was fiction; it had to be.
Leda’s phone went straight to voicemail. I sent her a text asking if she was okay and predictably, it went unanswered. I rolled my eyes and threw my phone onto my desk. Women. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another.
When I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, Leda’s face haunted my mind. She was there, no matter what I did, no matter how I tried to force her away. It was like a taste in my mouth that wouldn’t go away, even after brushing my teeth. Even the clock on the wall seemed to say her name as it ticked by, the seconds moving agonizingly slow.
I barely slept that night. Every time I felt myself getting comfortable, I reached over for Leda. I kept thinking that we were back in the hotel in Aspen, and when I realized she wasn’t there, I’d jolt awake. At two in the morning, I lay awake, staring at the ceiling. The house was quiet except for the occasional light footfall in the living room and the hallway; I knew that Miriam wasn’t sleeping. The same sense of dread that I’d had since leaving Aspen had only grown. I expected that Leda and I would need to have about nineteen arguments after Miriam had left to process what had happened.
Raking a hand through my hair, I sighed unhappily. Why did things have to be so difficult? The only thing that stopped me from regretting all of my time with Leda was the memory of her smiling, of us having fun together on vacation. Maybe it was time to accept that we’d simply run the course. Maybe it was time for us to come to terms with the fact that it was simply a marriage of convenience.
There was a slight knock on my door.
“Hi,” Miriam said, peeking her face in. “Am I disturbing you?”
I glared at her. “I’m already disturbed,” I told her. “What do you need?”
She came into my room wearing some kind of filmy lingerie. It was exactly the kind of thing that Leda had worn on our last night in Aspen, only it seemed natural on Miriam. I tried hard to keep my eyes focused on her face.
“I just wanted to talk,” she said softly. “Can we talk right now?”
I shook my head. “Miriam, we don’t have anything left to say to each other,” I told her. “Don’t you understand that? We’re over. It’s not a good idea for us to talk anymore, and I hope you understand that after you leave.”
Miriam reached out for my hand and I jerked away, sitting up in bed and looking at her levelly. “Stratton, you don’t know what you’re saying,” she said softly. “I love you. I want to be with you. I don’t care that you cheated on me with that American, it doesn’t matter.”
“You’re being a fucking nut right now,” I told her. “I didn’t cheat on you because we’re not together, Miriam. We haven’t been for years. And we won’t ever be again.”
Miriam glared at me as though she was hearing the words for the first time. “You don’t know what you’re saying,” she said softly. “You don’t understand that I’m just as important to you as ever, Stratton.”
I got out of bed and quickly pulled a pair of track pants on over my boxers. Miriam reached out for me and I shifted my weight to the side. She misjudged the distance and crashed to the floor in a pile of long limbs. “Stratton,” she said, her voice sounding close to tears. “I love you, Stratton.”
“You’re delusional,” I told her. When she didn’t answer, I leaned down and grabbed her by the shoulders. She tried to slump back down again but I hauled her into a standing position. She was still so short; she barely came up to my chest. “Get dressed,” I told her firmly. “Get your stuff together.”
“Where are we going?” She looked at me dreamily. “Are we leaving?”
I nodded. “You’re going to the airport,” I told her sharply. “Now.”
Miriam fought my decision but I pulled her into the living room and wrestled her into a hoodie and a pair of snow boots. Standing in the foyer of the house, she looked ridiculous. I watched as she wiped her eyes with her hand.
“I can’t believe you’re kicking me out,” she said softly. “I always thought you’d fall back in love with me, Stratton.”
I looked at her for a long time before speaking. “It’s over,” I said finally. “And it’s time for you to go home.”
Chapter Eight
Leda
“Is that what you’re wearing?” Megan frowned at me as I pawed through my suitcase, holding up a slinky black cocktail dress. Since I hadn’t had any time to unpack at home after the trip, I was left with all of my dirty laundry from Aspen. The black dress was something that I’d bought anticipating a night out with Stratton. Except that our date night had never happened, because we’d ordered room service for practically every meal. It was the only dress that I had suitable to clubbing.
“It’s the only thing I have,” I said. “And what’s wrong with it? It’s short. Look,” I said, reaching for the filmy material in Megan’s hands. “It even has sequins!”
“Because black is boring,” Megan said, feigning a yawn. She tossed the dress at me and I caught it haphazardly. “Do you want to borrow something of mine?” I glanced up to see her holding a gold slinky minidress and a hot pink sequined atrocity.
“I don’t think so,” I said, trying to keep a straight face as I imagined myself in the pink one. “This should be fine.”
“Suit yourself,” Megan said in a flat voice. The way she raised her eyebrows at me made me definitely feel boring, but boring was better than being a laughingstock.
We were at a casino in West Virginia, getting ready to go out for her bachelorette. Megan’s cousin Amy had planned an evening for us of bars, clubbing, and some nightl
ife that she didn’t disclose over the phone. I had a sinking feeling that we were going to wind up in a strip club, but I’d made a secret promise to just shut my mouth and go along with everything as it happened. After all, Megan had been a really good friend to me. I knew that she probably had a million questions she was dying to ask, but she’d been relatively silent. Sometimes I caught her looking at me sideways, as if she was in disbelief, but she didn’t mention Stratton once.
“What are you wearing?”
Megan grinned. She held up a silvery satin halter top and a black pair of satin shorts. “It’s a joke,” she said when she saw my horrified face. “This was my uniform for modern dance in undergrad. Amy doesn’t think it still fits me.”
“It doesn’t!” Amy called out loudly from the next room. I giggled. “Mine doesn’t fit, and I’ve gained less weight than Megan!” She added, laughing hysterically.
“Bitch!” Megan called, but she was laughing too. I shook my head. It was a very different place than where I’d been with Stratton, but it was still surreal to me. Reality was starting to seem like something I’d left behind years ago, when we got married.
When we were all dressed and ready, Amy rushed down to the lobby. “I have to go find the others,” she said apologetically. “Just make sure Megan doesn’t come downstairs until nine o’clock, sharp.”
I nodded. “I’ll do my best,” I said. Sticking my head into the hallway, I whispered: “are we really going to a strip club?”
Amy laughed. “Shh,” she warned, putting a finger over her lips as she walked away. “Megan will hear you!”
I rolled my eyes and slammed the door behind me. Megan was primping in the mirror and adjusting her cleavage to the perfect display.
“I’m sorry about everything,” she said when she caught me watching her. “You probably don’t feel like partying right now.”
I shrugged. “It’s fine,” I told her. “I really want you to have a good time. Are you and Tyler still doing that…thing? Are you going to sleep with someone?”
Megan applied lip gloss and rubbed her lips together with satisfaction. “I don’t know,” she said finally. “We said that we could, but I don’t know if I will.”
“He’s in Vegas right now,” I pointed out. “I can imagine he’s probably trying to do that.”
Megan frowned and I felt a pang of guilt for drawing attention to the fact that her fiancé was probably out screwing another woman. “It doesn’t matter,” she said finally. “We’re here and we’re going to have fun, right?”
--
An hour later, we were crammed into a club, waiting to get drinks. Amy had introduced me to two more friends of Megan’s from undergrad, and I’d promptly forgotten both of their names. But the two of them, Amy, and Megan all looked like matching sorority sisters. I felt like their frumpy friend, the “ugly one” who would hang around to make them feel better about themselves. It was an ugly image, and not one that I wanted to keep in my mind.
At least, not until this adorable blonde guy came over to me. He eyed me from head to toe and I felt myself blush.
“Hi,” he said with a grin. He stuck out his hand. “I’m Aaron.”
I blushed. “I’m Leda,” I told him, straining my voice over the sound of the thumping bass. “My friend’s getting married,” I added, feeling stupid. “She’s the one over there.” I pointed to Megan and the others at the bar, but Aaron didn’t follow my line of sight. He kept staring at me and grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“Do you live around here?” He started moving to the music while he was staring at me. Even though he seemed goofy, the effect was somewhat charming. I liked how uninhibited he seemed. It made me start to relax, and I took a long gulp of my drink.
“A couple of hours away,” I said back, bobbing my head awkwardly to the beat of the bass. “Are you on vacation?”
Aaron grinned wolfishly and reached out for my elbow. “Come dance with me and I’ll tell you all about what I’m doing here,” he said smoothly. My drink slopped over my fingers when I jerked away and Aaron made a face. “I’m not going to bite you,” he added. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
I blushed even brighter than before. “I’m sorry,” I said. When he gave me an expectant look, I followed him to the dance floor. At the bar, Megan and the others didn’t seem to notice that I’d disappeared.
Just as we made our way onto the crowded floor, the song changed to a slower one. Aaron put his arms around my waist. After a moment I felt so self conscious that I put mine on his shoulders and let him draw me close. When I was right next to him, I could feel how muscular his frame was. He smelled differently than Stratton did; more woody, like cologne. When I closed my eyes, I felt like I was back in high school.
“So your friend is getting married?” Aaron asked, softly this time. I nodded.
“Yup,” I said into his neck. “That’s why we’re here.”
Aaron winked at me. “So does the bachelorette plan to kick off the evening with any male company? I have some friends that were asking…”
My heart fell to my stomach when I realized that he’d only singled me out because I was obviously the uncool girl of the group. When Aaron pointed over to his friends, I saw they were watching Megan and Amy twist around with obvious desire in their eyes. I bit my lip.
“You could have just asked them,” I said crossly, pulling my arms back down to my sides. “You didn’t have to single me out like this.”
Aaron laughed. “Relax,” he said. “Do you always think the worst? What if I talked to you because I liked you the most?”
I narrowed my eyes. Aaron hadn’t stopped swaying to the music and standing there while he danced around me made me feel like an idiot. I sighed. Remember, you promised to make tonight fun for Megan, I thought. Doesn’t this count as part of that.
“Yeah, I think my friends wanted to meet some guys,” I said slowly. “Come on. I’ll introduce you.”
Aaron grinned. He followed behind me to where Megan and Amy were reclining on a black velvet loveseat. When Megan spotted him, she shot me a confused look.
“Hi,” she said skeptically. “What’s up?”
I rolled my eyes. “Want company?”
Megan’s voice changed when she realized what I meant. “Of course,” she purred. “Who’s this?”
They shook hands and Aaron went off to grab his group of friends. Megan eyed me up and down, her eyes traveling over every inch of my body. If she’d been a guy, it would have made me uncomfortable.
“What’s his deal?” She asked, narrowing her eyes. One of her other friends stumbled between us, bearing a tray with pink shots all over it. Some of the alcohol spilled and I could feel it leaking onto my toes.
“He and his friends want to party,” I said, shrugging. The girl handed us all a shot and we poured them down our throats. The pink liquid tasted violently alcoholic and sharp and I gagged, thinking I was going to throw up. But when I caught my breath, I realized Aaron was standing next to me, patting me on the back.
“You wanna dance more?”
I sighed. “Sure,” I said after a beat. “Let’s get another shot first.”
Aaron widened his eyes and held up his hands. “Whoa, party girl alert!”
After our second shot, Aaron and his pals led the way to the dance floor. Before I knew it, Megan was sandwiched between two frat boys, closing her eyes and rolling her hips to the music.
“Your friend really likes to go wild!” Aaron whispered loudly in my ear. “You girls want to come back upstairs to our room after this?”
I shot Amy a look. “I’m not sure,” I said, narrowing my eyes at her. “I think Megan might be tired.”
Aaron grabbed my shoulder and gave me that same wounded puppy look that he had earlier. A chill of nervousness shot down my spine and I backed away, just as Aaron stepped closer. He grinned at me again.
“Don’t spoil your friend’s night,” he said, smiling. “Come on, don’t you want to make sure s
he has a good send-off?”
I bit my lip. “Sure,” I said, trying to smile. My heart was pounding in my chest. “I’ll be right back.”
Aaron waited patiently as I dragged Amy off the dance floor. When we looked back at Megan, she was still dancing, with the crowd of frat guys around her.
“Do you think this is a good idea?” I hissed. “He kind of gives me the creeps.”
Amy rolled her eyes. “They’re horny frat boys,” she said under her breath. “But they’re not dangerous. We’ll be fine. We can keep an eye on Megan and make sure se doesn’t do anything stupid.”
BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) Page 146
