*****
Gavin slowly began to wake up, and as he lazily trailed kisses down my neck, stroking my body, and turning me towards him, I forced the thoughts of Reid from my mind.
The uneasy feeling lingered like a fog around me for the next week. As I studied for finals, proofread my papers, ran on the treadmill, made dinner with Gavin, my unease would be there in the back of my mind, waiting to be acknowledged.
When Saturday arrived, I woke up feeling completely tied up in knots. The idea of facing Reid made me feel almost sick with tension. I didn't know how to deal with what he'd said. I didn't know how to act around him. Should I force the issue and confront him? Should I act as if everything was normal?
In the end, I did neither. I texted Ainsley and bailed on the game, saying I was too busy cramming for finals.
Instead, Gavin and I went out together to start our Christmas shopping. We walked idly hand-in-hand through the stores, teasing each other playfully. I finally felt the tension of the last week start to ease.
We stopped for a late lunch at our favourite Thai place. As we hungrily devoured our spicy green curry and pad Thai, Gavin asked me, "What do you want to do tonight?"
"It's Derek's birthday today, remember? We're heading out to some bar downtown." I caught the vague grimace on Gavin's face and laughed. "I'm obligated to be there, but you're off the hook. You don't have to come."
"Thank you," he said, clearly relieved. "Derek is cool, but I don't know if I'm up to the whole brodown tonight."
Rachel's boyfriend Derek on his own was a nice, if rather bland, guy. He and Gavin got along well enough. His group of friends, however, were completely obnoxious idiots. They had all been friends since high school, and whenever they were together, all of them regressed into teenage boy mode. Whenever we hung out with them, Gavin always ended up sitting to the side, feeling painfully awkward as they tried to out-douche each other. I couldn't blame him for wanting to skip another evening like that. Frankly, if I could have bailed without hurting Rachel's feelings, I would have.
Gavin dropped me off at my apartment and I studied for a few more hours before I had to start getting ready. The bar we were going to was fairly new and I hadn't been there before, but I'd heard it was a more upscale place. I showered, put on some makeup, and curled my hair into long loose tendrils. I put on a silky, slightly sheer dark pink top and skinny charcoal pants. A pair of black, heeled ankle boots completed the outfit.
Rhiannon showed up just after 9, and we headed downtown. There was already a pretty big line forming outside, and I was very happy that Derek had the forethought to put his party on the list. We bypassed the line, and as we went in, ignoring the glares of all of the 21 year olds shivering in their skimpy outfits with no coats, my eyes caught those of a tiny, pretty blonde girl. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place her. She stared at me and Rhiannon for a moment longer, before turning and whispering to her friend, both of their eyes on us.
That's weird, I thought to myself. I shrugged and followed Rhi in. Bitches be hatin'.
Rachel, Derek, and all of his friends were sitting at two massive booths in the back of the bar. I waved at Rachel, who was penned into the corner of the booth talking to one of the guys' girlfriends, Ashley, who I'd met a few times over the years. We hugged Derek and wished him a happy birthday before being crushed into a booth with the guys. They were in fine form, yelling over each other as they reminisced about their wild high school and college antics. Rhi and I smiled along, but rolled our eyes at each other when they weren't looking. We'd heard most of these stories before, many times over.
About an hour after we got there, Derek's friend Eric arrived. One of the perpetually single guys of the group, Eric was gorgeous, with dark almost black hair, olive green eyes, and an easy, cocky grin. Somehow he managed to weasel his way in on Rhi's other side, and immediately began laying on the charm. He'd been trying to get with her for years, but I had a feeling he was going to be spinning his wheels again tonight. He was sexy, smart, and funny, but definitely not Rhiannon's type. Too smooth, too practiced. She matched his banter easily, but I heard the cynical note in her voice and I could tell she saw right through him. He leaned closer, and Rhi pulled back so far she was practically in my lap.
"Bathroom?" I suggested, and she nodded eagerly.
"Don't take too long," Eric said, smirking. Rhiannon smiled tightly at him.
As we touched up our makeup in the bathroom, Rhi groaned, "God, Eric cannot take a hint."
I laughed, rearranging my curls. "He's smitten with you! Poor guy!"
She rolled her eyes. "Please. He's just too into himself to accept that any girl could resist him."
"I dunno," I said, playfully. "He's pretty persistent. I think he actually likes you."
"He just likes the chase," she said, dismissively. "He's a player through and through."
We went to grab a drink from the bar on our way back to the booth. The place was now packed, and Rhi kept a loose grip on my wrist so we wouldn't get separated. I was leaning over the bar, yelling my drink order to the bartender over the music, when her grip suddenly tightened, her nails digging into my wrist painfully.
I yelped, turning towards her. My words died in my throat as I looked into her face. She stared, stricken, over my shoulder.
She looked like she'd seen a ghost. I knew who she had seen without her even saying a word. Only one person had ever been able to shatter Rhiannon.
"Matteo," she choked out.
I followed her gaze to the familiar figure on the other side of the bar. He hadn't seen us yet. He looked happy, laughing over his shoulder to someone behind him.
I looked at Rhi, who was swallowing hard, trying to regain her composure. It was the first time we'd run into him since their sudden break up a year ago. Rhi and Teo had been together since our sophomore year of college. They had been the golden couple, his dark Argentinian looks highlighting her exotic beauty. Many guys had laid themselves at Rhiannon's feet over the years, but Teo, with his gentle, soulful spirit, was the only one who she'd ever truly fallen for.
After four years of seemingly blissful coupledom, the sudden break up came with no explanation. Teo packed up his stuff and was out of their apartment within a few hours. Rhiannon was devastated, only leaving the apartment to go to class and the hospital. She lost so much weight she started to look like a corpse. It was only in the last few months that she had started to come out of it, but the scars were deep and lasting. She had held every guy at arm's length since then, and her once vivacious personality was considerably muted.
I was mulling this over when I heard Rhiannon choke back a sob. I looked back over at Matteo, and what I saw filled me with a murderous rage.
He was still standing at the bar, but now he'd been joined by a tiny, blonde who was wrapping her arms around his waist. As she tilted her head back to look up at him adoringly, I recognized her as the girl who'd been staring at us outside the bar.
He raised his head to order a drink. I could tell the moment he saw us. His smile fell off of his face as he took in Rhi's shocked sadness and my furious glare. He looked guiltily at the tiny Barbie beside him.
Rhiannon had finally gotten her explanation.
Oohh, this is going to be interesting!
ReplyDeleteGuys are unbelievable sometimes. mum
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