by Alexa Davis
“I don’t...” I wasn’t even thinking about the words leaving my mouth because I didn’t care. “I don’t really...”
I flicked my eyes backward to see Eliza looking pale and freaked out. The moment our gazes connected, she darted her eyes away, but the damage had already been done. She had seen me connecting with another woman, and she didn’t seem to like it. In fact, she looked seriously perturbed about the whole thing.
Maybe she did like me after all – a thought that made me smile widely. Maybe that big speech that she made back at home about returning to normal was all a brave act. Maybe she didn’t mean it at all.
“Sorry, I have to get these drinks back to my friends.” I blew Phoebe off quickly, not even caring to look at her reaction, and I made my way back to Eliza, excited to see where the night would lead. The possibilities were now endless...
Chapter Eighteen
Eliza – Saturday
Shit. My heart was pounding furiously in my chest. I hated seeing Milo with that woman; it literally drove me mad. She was one of those faces that I’d seen around Florence, but she wasn’t anyone I knew. But now I detested her. I wanted to punch her in the face or at least wrap my arms around Milo to stake my claim.
But I couldn’t, because I didn’t have any claim. We’d decided to be friends, on my insistence, which was exactly what we had to do because he would be leaving soon. That part held up, no matter what I wanted.
“Don’t panic,” Laynee hissed the second she saw my freaked-out expression. “He’s blown Phoebe off; he’s coming back. He’s resisted her charms, which is saying a lot because she is a mega slut! He must like you.”
Ugh, why am I so desperate for that to be true? I was such a fucking idiot. I stared at Laynee in a panic, but before I could spill all my issues, Milo was back with us, and we had to act normal. Luckily, she took over the conversation for a moment, allowing me to sit back and sort my thoughts out.
Was I a fool to push Milo away? Should I have kept hooking up with him until he went home so that I didn’t have to see him getting with anyone else? How the hell would I feel if he brought someone back to the cabin and I had to hear them going at it from the next room? I’d been living in the Eliza/Milo bubble for such a long time that I’d totally forgotten about everyone else, and now that might smack me in the face.
I’d fucked it up, and now I was going to have to drink until I didn’t care whether or not Milo brought someone else back to sleep with. With that thought in mind, I grabbed the glass in front of me and slugged it back quickly, needing to feel its effects.
I was going to have to get through this night somehow!
***
“Is this what you guys call a club?” Milo teased, sending me and Laynee into peals of laughter. “It’s tiny! I’m used to huge, glamorous places. I don’t know if this is going to do.”
“I know, but it’s all we got,” I squealed, much happier now that I was drunk. Sure the problems were still there, rationally I knew that, but I was far too buzzed to care. The awful shots Laynee had been buying me were doing the trick. “So, we don’t have any choice. We have to suck it up – and now that you’re in Florence, so do you.”
“You go and get us some drinks. We’re going to the bathroom,” Laynee insisted, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from Milo. “We’ll meet you in a minute.”
The stark white lights of the bathroom hit my eyes hard. I blinked a few times, probably looking like a total idiot, which was confirmed by Laynee’s laughter.
“Oh, my God,” I gasped in a silly voice. “This place is designed to make me feel like shit.”
“Okay, I didn’t bring you in here to talk about how wasted you are. I want to know what’s going on with you and Milo.” She sounded so serious that it actually took me back for a second.
“What do you mean?” I’d kept this to myself because I was scared of revealing to my friend how into this I was getting. I also thought that saving the information about my hot night of sex with Milo until he left would be a good idea because I was so afraid of her saying anything to her, but now my walls were crumbling, and I needed to talk to someone. I needed some advice, and she was the only one who could give it.
“You keep shooting these looks at each other. There is so much heat between you. Something happened, right?”
I bit my lip and nodded slowly. “Yes, it did. I can’t even describe it to you, it was so good.”
She grabbed my hands, screamed like a loon, and jumped up and down. “Oh, my God, that’s so exciting. I didn’t even realize I was a third wheel. I’ll find a way to leave you guys alone.”
“No, don’t.” I grabbed her hands hard. “Don’t leave me with him. I told him I didn’t want anything to happen again. I told him we should just be friends.”
“Why? Are you crazy?”
“He has to leave.” I shrugged as if it didn’t hurt. “There’s no point in starting anything.”
“But you like him, and he clearly likes you.”
“That’s the problem,” I shot her down before she could get on a roll. “So let’s just get back out there and have some fun. Take my mind off him.”
The night turned into something of a blur from that moment. I could recall drinking and dancing and laughing, but all in short bursts, and none of it very coherent.
I wasn’t a great drunk, which was why I didn’t usually drink too much, but that had all gone out of the window. If I wanted to forget Milo and Phoebe at the bar, then I had more than done that.
“Come on,” Laynee whispered to me what felt like hours later. “It’s time to go home.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but a wave of exhaustion hit me. Actually, getting the hell out of there to bed sounded like a good plan. I rested against her arm and let her and Milo guide me outside.
As we waited for a cab, my mind started to spin once more. All I could think about was Milo with Phoebe, and it made me realize that during the time I was dancing with Laynee, we’d left him by himself at the mercy of all the women in there. He was probably hit on a million times and now wanted to take one of them back. Maybe he felt awkward because of what happened between me and him, so he turned others down because of that.
I needed to fix that. I needed to show him that I was totally cool with just being friends.
“You know, I can stay with Laynee tonight if you want the cabin to yourself?” I slurred, staggering against him. “I don’t mind if you... you want to take someone back...” The words were like daggers in my chest, so I had to force the smile on my face.
“Don’t be crazy,” he chuckled. “I’m coming back with you. Let’s sort out a ride.”
I glanced over to my friend, who wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at me before hugging me goodbye. “I just saw Romy, and you know that she lives down the road from me. We’re going to walk home together. Call me and let me know what happens with you two.”
As I waved her off, I giggled a little manically to myself. It did make me feel a whole lot better that I’d managed to get some of my emotions off my chest with Laynee, since she always found a way to make me feel better about things. Maybe she was right and Milo did like me; maybe that was the reason he hadn’t taken Phoebe up on her offer. Sure, that outcome left me in a lot of trouble, but it made me feel good, too.
“Eliza!” Milo yelled, grabbing my attention as he stepped into the nearest cab, so I raced to join him. “Get in.”
I slid in the backseat next to him and slowly felt his arm snake around me. It felt so right to be so close to him; it felt so nice. His presence was so warm and comforting, it made my heart race like crazy. The urge was there, to lean in and kiss him, but luckily, the surly driver’s presence was there to remind me that we shouldn’t.
Friends... we’re just friends.
I turned away from Milo, acting like I was watching the world go by, when really, I was doing my best to get my thoughts in order. Everything whizzed past, but all I could think about was him.
; I kept remembering his hands all over me, his tongue exploring me, the pleasure he gave me... To be perfectly honest, my brain was doing totally the opposite to what I wanted it to, making it very difficult to keep away from him.
He paid the driver and we stumbled inside, with Milo practically propping me up. I allowed him to guide me toward the bedroom, the whole time my emotions stirring inside of me. As I lay down on the bed, I had to clamp my lips tightly together to stop myself from asking him to lie with me.
“Here, I’ve brought you a glass of water and some aspirin,” he whispered kindly to me, while lightly stroking my hair. “Tomorrow might be rough – do you feel sick?”
“I’m okay,” I groaned. “But I am sorry about all of this. You could have been having much more fun. You could have had any of the girls tonight, and you’re stuck here with me. That sucks.”
“I went home with the one girl that I wanted to,” he insisted with a smile. “I’m just glad I’m here to look after you!”
He was too sweet, too nice – it was crazy. It made me need to lean forward and kiss him all over again. I wanted those lips pressed up against mine once more. I didn’t, though, mostly because my head felt too heavy and I was afraid I might actually throw up. I simply smiled at him instead and allowed my eyes to flutter closed.
“Goodnight,” he whispered before I heard the floorboards creaking and him creeping away. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night,” I groaned in reply.
“Hey, before I go,” he hissed, causing my eyes to snap back open. “Who is Josh?”
Oh, God, did I talk about Josh? How embarrassing. Why the hell would he have picked me if I chatted drunkenly about some other guy? “Oh, he’s someone I dated for a while ages ago. I... I didn’t even like him, not really, not like...” No, God, don’t say “not like you!” “We drifted apart, then I saw him kissing someone else on New Year’s Eve. Like, right in front of my face. I don’t care; it just sucked, that’s all.”
I watched his face break out into a bright grin. “He sounds like an asshole. I thought that when Laynee mentioned him.” Damn, Laynee! What the hell did she do that for? “You deserve so much better... and you’ll get much better, trust me.”
As he closed the door behind him, I wished it could be him. He was incredible, much better than I could have ever wanted, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Once he was gone, I allowed my imagination to take control, and I pictured all the things I wanted to happen. It was much easier than thinking about how sad I’d be when he was gone. I imagined him staying with me, touching me, tasting me all over again, and those images filtered into my dreams, giving me the most pleasant night’s sleep that I’d ever had.
Well, until about five a.m. rolled around and I had to jump up to finally be sick. Then it became one of the worst nights ever. I was sweaty, shaky, and hot all over. The hangover I was about to suffer would be horrific. Luckily, the salon was closed all day, so I could just sleep it off.
Chapter Nineteen
Milo – Sunday
It felt good to wake up fresh faced after a night of drinking. After seeing how drunk Eliza was getting, I had decided to pace myself so that I could be there to look after her. I sat up in the bed, remembering her drunken words to me as she lay on the bed in a near state of sleep. Did she actually think that I’d be considering having sex with someone so soon after her? Did she assume I thought that way? Had I not done enough to show her I wasn’t that kind of guy? Did she honestly believe there was anywhere in the world I would have rather been than with her? No other possible scenario even came close!
I might not have managed to learn too much from Laynee, but at least I now knew there wasn’t anyone who had her heart. Clearly, it was the betrayal from her ex that got to her, more than the actual guy, which was fair enough. No one wanted to see someone they’d spent time with hooking up with someone else.
That I could work with.
Not that I knew exactly what I planned to do with that information, but it was nice to have it all the same.
She was jealous last night, though, actually affected by the thought of me with someone else, which spoke volumes. I felt like that meant something. It made me grin to myself, at any rate. It made me feel like she saw me differently than anyone else – and liked what she saw.
As I walked through the front room of the cabin, I noticed the place was a mess. At some point in the night, Eliza must have staggered through, probably racing to the toilet to throw up, and she’d knocked everything everywhere in the process. While I couldn’t make up for sleeping through her sickness in the night – which I now felt terrible for – I could tidy up a bit. Self-inflicted pain was awful; if she’d been sick, then she wouldn’t be in the mood to clean up, so at least I could help her in the respect.
I set about getting everywhere neat and tidy for her, the entire time smiling happily to myself. Eliza was an unexpected adventure, a treat I enjoyed. Even without everything else, her company was amazing. She made me recognize that I didn’t need to spend forever among the same kind of people. She reminded me that there was so much else to the world. She just made me see things in a whole different light.
Once everything was done, and I surveyed the place with a sweet satisfaction, I flicked the ancient coffee pot on to go and wake Eliza up with something to drink. She undoubtedly felt like a dehydrated mess, even with the water that I left for her, and I wanted to be the one to help her out.
As the water boiled, I thought about my own coffee machine, back at home, that would have me a hot drink completed in seconds. I realized I didn’t miss it even one bit. I wouldn’t have minded waiting forever for a substandard brew to stay here...
I knocked lightly on her bedroom door, but got no reply, so I peeked around the door. She looked like death warmed over, but somehow still cute. Despite knowing that she’d been throwing up, I still wanted to kiss her. She was just that lovely.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” I said quietly. “I just brought you in a coffee. I’ll leave it on the side so you can have it when you wake up...” I wasn’t sure why I was talking to her when so was obviously crashed out, but I felt a little weird about being in her room without a solid reason.
“Milo?” she eventually grunted, without even opening one eye. “I think I’m dying.”
“Have something to drink. That will help,” I reassured her. I sat on the bed beside her and pulled her into a sitting position. As I handed her the mug, I noticed that her hands were trembling a little, so I gripped onto it with her to prevent her from any unnecessary spills.
“Maybe we went a little overboard last night,” I teased, chuckling lightly while rubbing her back tenderly. I would have sat there all day doing that if I thought it would help.
“Ugh, you don’t say,” she moaned, rubbing her forehead. “I’m sorry if I was a nightmare or a massive idiot.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for – it was a lot of fun. Laynee is great, too; you have a good friend in her.”
Her eyes flickered to the floor, and I noticed Veil curling up in a ball by her hand. She allowed her arm to roll off the edge of the bed so she could pat him while she recovered. No wonder Veil loved her – she seemed to absolutely adore him! I cocked my head to one side as I watched him lapping up the attention, noticing it was more than that. He actually looked like he wanted to look after her because she wasn’t well. He was protecting her.
“So, I think I’m going to pop to the supermarket,” I told Eliza tactfully, recognizing that she still needed more sleep. “I’ll pick up some stuff for dinner...”
“Oh, no, don’t talk about food!” she cried out, clutching her stomach dramatically, making me laugh.
“Dinner isn’t for hours yet. Trust me, you will be hungry by then! Anyway, is there anything else you want while I’m gone?”
“No, thank you. I think I might just sleep for the rest of my life.”
I had planned on taking Veil out with me, but as
soon as it became obvious that he didn’t intend to go anywhere, I accepted that and went out by myself.
It made the drive quiet and peaceful, but it also gave me some time to remember how amazing Eliza looked last night. As the night started, and she was all dolled up, she looked incredible, but as things went on and she became disheveled, she somehow managed to look ever better. Less anxious, happier, more carefree. Messy, sure, but adorable with it.
As she drank, I wanted to slide my hand into hers; as she danced, I wanted to wrap my arms around her waist; and as she slid next to me in the cab, I wanted to claim her as my own forever. This whole being friends thing wasn’t going to work out for me. I had no idea how I was going to do it.
“Hey, Milo!” I heard a voice calling out my name as I moved out of the car. “How you doing?” I turned around, and much to my surprise, Landon was waving back at me. “You still on for tomorrow?”
The tour, of course. I nodded enthusiastically at that. “I’ll be there at seven a.m. sharp. I’m looking forward to it!” It amazed me that Landon remembered me so well. Florence might have been a small place, and face-to-face customer skill were essentials, but this was on another level entirely. This guy had his priorities right – every time I saw him, he impressed me more.
“Great, can’t wait.” He grinned happily, before shifting his shopping bags in his arm. “Anyway, I better get moving, but I’ll see you in the morning.”
Saying our goodbyes, I felt all positive about his company again. I might have been dubious about the whole thing, I did still have doubts, but he was such a great guy who knew what he was doing. There had to be something in that.
***
“So, you are hungry now, right?” I teased Eliza as I placed the plate down in front of her. “You better be, I’ve been cooking all day!”
“Sure, all day,” she laughed weakly. “Thank you for this; it’s very needed.” She chewed in silence, her expression thoughtful. “You know, this is why I never get drunk. I hate the whole not remembering thing the next day. I can recall small flashes, but that’s about it.”
