Best Friends Forever (26 page)

Fifteen

“Fuck that bitch,” Lexi mutters for at least the fifth time since we got back to our room. She’s standing at the mirror with a cup of ice I picked up from the lounge for her. Using one piece of ice at a time, she’s trying to get the swelling to go down, to no avail.

“Who’s a bitch?” Audric asks from the doorway.

A smile eclipses my face and I walk over to hug him. Belatedly, I realize I am in no way prepared for our date. I step back from him and give him an uncertain look.

“Do we need to reschedule?” he asks, looking at Lexi.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” I say. “Lexi needs me.”

“I do not fucking need you,” she growls.

“See what I mean?” I say to Audric, giving him a wink.

“No, I get it. What about Sunday evening?” he asks.

“What’s wrong with tomorrow night?” I counter.

“Well, actually, there’s a beach party tomorrow night, and I was going to invite the two of you to go,” he says.

“Oh! Well, Lexi has to leave town in the morning,” I start.

“Fuck that. That bitch got in a cheap shot and I’ll call my mom and tell her I’m not coming. She knows how Hazel is, so it’ll be fine. Think anyone will notice my bum lip?” she asks Audric.

Like a smart man, he smiles. “Nope.”

I laugh at his candor. “He’s lying. You look like shit.”

“Fuck you.”

“Is that your whole vocabulary?” I ask, just to be a smart-ass.

She sighs. “I’m going to shower.” She grabs her shower bag, clothes, and a towel and heads off to the showers down the hall.

Alone with Audric, I pull him into the room. “I’m so sad we won’t be spending time together tonight,” I murmur, pulling him close.

“Well, we have a few minutes right now,” he whispers. He pulls away from me, only to close the door.

He seems to want this as much as I do when he pulls me into his arms, enveloping me in a full hug. He doesn’t go for my mouth, though, instead nuzzling my neck. He places soft kisses along my jawline and up to my ear. I shiver when his tongue flicks my earlobe. His hands on my waist drop lower to cup my ass and pull my body tight against him. I moan into his ear at the contact. Virgin or not, Audric knows how to turn me on.

“I want you so bad,” he confesses in a whisper.

“I want you,” I reply, pulling back to look into his eyes. He’s hot, but more than that, he knows the truth about me, about my past with Reece and Roman, and he doesn’t judge me for it.

“But we’re going to wait,” he says suddenly, pulling away.

Wait. What? “What?”

“I want to. You want to. That’s why we’re going to wait. Sex is easy. But I want this to mean something. You lost your V-card to Roman, who you didn’t even really like, and then you loved his brother. And you haven’t been with anyone since. Which means when we do this, I won’t take anything less than you loving me.”

He’s thought about this, I can tell, and while it’s a little disappointing that he wants to wait so long, especially since I have no idea if I can ever love someone other than Reece, it’s also surprisingly powerful. He won’t settle for some roll in the hay for his first time, and I admire him for it.

I sigh. “Okay. I’ll agree to that. If …” I grab the collar of his polo shirt and drag him close, “… you kiss me for real.”

“Anything for you,” he murmurs and then his lips are on mine.

I’ve been kissed by guys who know what they’re doing. Roman was more than experienced, and although we never talked about it, Reece wasn’t a virgin when I met him, either. But Audric’s kiss is so real, so enticing, and heartfelt, I can’t help but fall into it. He’s an expert at it, which makes me wonder if he’s kissed a lot of girls, but in the same moment, he’s almost naïve. He doesn’t touch me anywhere but my face, cupping my cheeks in his hands while he holds me still. Even when I squirm, desperate to get him to touch me somewhere, anywhere else, he remains solid.

His tongue slips between my lips and I lose my balance, though I’m fairly certain my knees buckled. He laughs a little against me, but gives me what I want. His arms come around me and haul me against his firm body. The contact is so intense, I moan. Taking that as a good sign, Audric deepens the kiss, tipping my head back and tightening his arms around me.

“Shit! Sorry!” I hear from the doorway.

Audric pulls away slowly, in no real rush to end our kiss. With one last peck on my lips, he turns to the door.

“Hey, Destiny. No worries. You need Cheyanne?” He releases me, and I wobble on my feet for a second, having just been so thoroughly kissed.

“Yeah, sorry. I can come back …” she pauses, her eyes averted. I can tell she doesn’t want to wait.

“No, come on in. I was just leaving, and I’m pretty sure Cheyanne and Lexi were going to have a girl’s night,” he says, stepping farther away from me.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll talk to you tomorrow night, Audric?” I ask him, knowing I want to get him alone for more of those crazy kisses of his.

“Of course. I’ll pick you up at eight,” he offers.

I smile as he leaves and then turn my attention to Destiny. “What’s up?”

Just then, Lexi walks in, wearing only a towel and I laugh at her. “What’s up, Buttercup? Are you hanging with us tonight?”

Destiny sits at my desk chair and spins around to face us once Lexi closes the door. “Yeah, but I’ve got an ulterior motive. It turns out, Nolan cheated on me, with Hazel, no less, who was supposed to be my best friend. I want to take the bastard down. And the bitch he was fucking, too.”

I Love You, Man

Destiny

One

There are few things in this world that irritate me as much as a cheater.

And Nolan James is the biggest cheating asshole on the planet. I mean, it’s one thing to cheat on someone you don’t love, or who doesn’t love you, but for him to cheat on me… I loved him. I was so in love with him, I never saw what was right in front of me.

But everything is about to change. After my conversation with Cheyanne and Lexi these last few weeks, I know that those two will take care of Nolan for me. They’ll help me exact my revenge, on Nolan and Hazel. They’re both going to suffer. It was Lexi’s idea to seduce Nolan, although the whole plan is not for her to actually sleep with him. Instead, she’s going to get him naked and spurn him, but only after Cheyanne and I make sure Hazel sees them together.

The bitch ruined my first real relationship, I see no reason why I can’t ruin hers. She deserves it, after all.

We’ve only been back in class for a few weeks, but I’m exhausted with my course load. The endless nights of homework have slowly been draining me of all my energy. Luckily, today is Saturday, and there’s another beach party this weekend. I didn’t go to the last one, choosing instead to wallow in self-pity, staying in my room, alone, while all my friends went to the beach. Well, there was also the fact that it was cold as hell.

This past week wasn’t too bad, but I swear, I need warmer weather as soon as humanly possible. The temps reached sixty today, so I agree with Cheyanne and Lexi’s pleas to go with them to the beach. I start to make excuses for myself, but they shoot them down immediately.

“You’re coming to the beach, bitch, and that’s that,” Lexi says, right after she and Cheyanne barrel down my dorm door and start rummaging through my closet. Lexi is pushy and demanding, but she’s always honest. I can count on her for that much.

Cheyanne is more comforting, but she doesn’t lie, either. She just goes easy on the truth, to soften a potential blow.

“You know it’s easier if you just go along with her,” Cheyanne mutters to me.

“Yeah, I know,” I agree. “Fine, I’ll go. Are you two dressing me?”

“Hell, no. You’ve just got a dress I want to wear,” Lexi explains. “I saw you wearing it my first week here and I’ve been obsessed ever since.”

“Sure thing. Have at it,” I gesture to the closet she’s already inside of. “What should I wear?”

“You’re from Florida. You need to wear something warm. You’ll freeze out there tonight,” Cheyanne insists.

“I’m not made of glass,” I protest, knowing she’s right.

“Of course not,” Lexi agrees. “But you’re still from Florida. Cold to you is like fifties. And it’ll be lower than that tonight.” She doesn’t even look at me, continuing her trek through my closet.

“I want to get an apartment,” Cheyanne announces out of the blue.

Her comment pulls Lexi out of the closet. “What? Why?”

“I’m sick of the dorm life. It’s so boring here. I want to live on the beach.”

“Hell, I’m all for beach living. Want to get a place together?” Lexi asks.

“Yeah. I think my parent’s will help out, but I’m guessing I’ll need to get a job,” Cheyanne sighs. “What about you?” She looks directly at me.

“You guys want me to live with you?” I’m shocked. The three of us have only been friends for a month or so.

“Why the hell not? Then I can raid your closet whenever I feel like it,” Lexi winks at me and then tucks her head back in, as if everything is settled.

“We’ll get a three bedroom condo,” Cheyanne says. “With an ocean view! They are super cheap this time of year, and then we’ll host epic beach parties of our own.”

I laugh along with her, still uncertain. “I’ll think about it.”

“Found it!” Lexi calls from the closet. “And there is no thinking about it. I’ll have my father look into a condo. He’ll buy it and we can all live there for free. The guy walked out of my life when he divorced my mom five years ago. He owes me.”

Both of these girls come from families with at least a little bit of money, and it makes me a little nervous. They are way to cavalier about money for me, but I can’t help but think that an oceanfront condo would be pretty freaking nice. I smile at the two of them.

An alarm goes off on my phone on my desk and I rush to it. “Shit! I have to go meet Andre for lunch!”

“Oooh! Are you two official now?” Cheyanne asks.

“No. I’m just not ready, I guess. I mean, he’s totally willing to wait, but Nolan kind of fucked up my heart, you know?”

“Honey, we know exactly how you feel. Men are pigs, especially dicks like Nolan. But don’t worry, we are going to pay him back tonight,” Lexi assures me.

“Tonight?”

“Yeah. It’s perfect. I’ll get Derp away from the crowd and then you guys wait about twenty minutes and then find Hazel and ask her where the hell Nolan is. Claim you need to ask him something about the dorms. He might not be our resident person, or whatever, but he still knows all the rules of the campus. Though why he insists on breaking almost all of them, I’ll never know.” She laughs at herself before looking directly at me. “You going to be okay with all this? We don’t have to.”

Her worry over me is comforting. “Thanks, but no. I want them both to pay.”

“Awesome. So get your ass to lunch and then come by our room after so we can all get ready together. Oh yeah,” she says, tossing a pair of skinny jeans and a sweater on my bed. “Wear this with that black scarf. It’ll keep you warm without having to wear a jacket.” Lexi winks at me and then she and Cheyanne are out of my room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Two

I arrive late to lunch, but Andre doesn’t seem to mind. He’s waiting at a table for me, and although I’ve gotten several worried texts from him, a smile lights up his face as soon as he see me.

“Hey,” he greets me with a hug and then pulls out my chair for me to sit.

“Hi.”

He sits across from me. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” I answer, my mind already thinking about tonight. I had been so sure about this a month ago, but now… I’m not as convinced it’s going to give me the closure I want.

“Liar.”

I look up at Andre. “What?”

“You’re lying. What’s bothering you?”

“Oh, Lexi and Cheyanne are helping me pay Nolan back for cheating on me,” I mutter, then order a glass of water and my lunch when the waiter appears.

Once he orders, Andre looks at me. “I kind of thought punching Hazel in the face was payback enough,” he chuckles.

“Yeah, well, I’m not done with those two.”

“What’s the plan? Any way I can help?”

“Lexi is going to seduce Nolan and once they are in a compromising position, we are going to make sure Hazel finds them.”

“Harsh,” he comments but looks thoughtful. “I like it. It’s a fitting end for the two of them.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I say, looking away.

“You don’t want to do it?”

I sigh. “I’m not sure. Everything is just all messed up. I was in love with him, Andre. In love. It’s hard to just let that go.”

“Are you telling me that you’re still pining for him?” He looks angry, and I can’t blame him. I know how he feels about me, and I feel like I’ve been leading him on the last few months.

“I’m not, not really. But I lost my virginity to him, Andre. Please understand that.”

We sit in silence until our meals come and then we eat, still in silence.

When I can’t stand it anymore, I finally speak. “Please don’t be mad.”

“Don’t be mad? Are you kidding me? I’ve been in love with you for years, Des, and you’ve been telling me the last few months that you want to be more, but until you get over the asshole, you want me to wait for me. And now you’re telling me that you’re still in love with him.”

“I didn’t say that! I said I was in love with him,” I protest, but Andre is already standing, his wallet is out and he’s dropping several twenties on the table.

“I’ll tell you what, Des – when you’re ready to move on from that dick, you let me know. Until then, I can’t be your friend,” he mutters.

And then he’s gone, out of the restaurant, and possibly, my life. As the tears fall, I get up from the empty table and walk out, ignoring the looks I get from several patrons. My life is falling apart, and it feels like a big snowball, rolling downward and getting larger and larger.

Andre doesn’t understand. He’s in love with me, yes, but my feelings for Nolan are still running rampant, no matter how ridiculous they are. And I’m not exactly ready to jump into another relationship so soon after losing my virginity to someone I thought I could trust.

Okay, so it’s been like three months. Technically, I should be over that sorry piece of shit. But it’s just not that easy. Maybe breaking him and Hazel up will cure me of this stupid love disease. Maybe I’ll be able to move on, finally, and get my life back to where it’s supposed to be. I should be concentrating on my schoolwork, but my grades are good enough, so I’m not too worried.

I leave the restaurant, embarrassed that so many people witness our altercation, but I manage to walk out with my head held high, a feat I consider a great success. In the cab back to class, I think about Nolan.

We were happy. I mean, the first week of school, he and I started dating and it was perfect. He was cute and funny, a star athlete with a hot body, but I managed to keep myself in check. I didn’t sleep with him right away, choosing instead to hold myself back, as long as I could. I only last a couple weeks, of course, but it was better than giving it up right away, like some slut. Like Hazel.

I thought she and I were friends. We hung out a lot first semester, going to the movies and beach parties, pretty much just having a great time all around. Unfortunately, she was playing me. I always was too trusting.

But not anymore.

In fact, my current friends, Cheyanne and Lexi, make me nervous. They are playing along with my need to be avenged, and they seem happy enough to do it, but I don’t doubt for a second that they’ll throw me under the bus, first chance they get. Everyone, I’ve found in college, is out for number one. No one watches each other’s backs, not like what I’m used to.

In high school, my friends were actually trust-worthy and honest. They wouldn’t dream of being my friend and then sleeping with my boyfriend behind my back. I guess I’m just from too small a town.

The drama in college is overwhelming. There were new rumors from some random phone number every week during the first semester, but since we’ve been back, it’s been radio-silent. Maybe I’m on edge, wondering what the next rumor will be and who it’s going to be about. Whoever is ruining everyone’s lives has serious mental health issues, in my opinion.

I arrive at school, pay the cabbie and make my way to my dorm room. The girl I’m rooming with is very sweet and much more naïve than I am, which is actually hard to believe.

“Hey, Claire,” I say, tossing my purse in my chair and dropping onto my bed.

Claire is young. She only graduated high school last semester, which was a semester early. She’s smart as hell, but again, she’s naïve.

“How was lunch?” she asks.

“A nightmare. Andre wants to date me,” I say, realizing immediately how dramatic and conceited I sound.

“Oh, yeah, all those guys chasing you – sounds like trouble to me,” she laughs.

I shake my head. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I know. So Andre didn’t like that you aren’t ready yet, huh?”

“Not one bit,” I mutter.

“Well, you did kind of make out with him last semester and then leave him in the lurch,” she gives me a hard look.

“I’m sorry I told you anything,” I moan, laying back on my bed and covering my face. She knows the whole story, but I am seriously wondering if I made a bad decision telling her the truth. It all came around to that trust thing.

“No, you’re not. You know I’m not the type to tell anyone anything. Besides, I’m too young for anyone to even notice me here. They all think I’m like this crazy, super smart genius, which I am, of course…”

“Whatever. Are you coming to this party tonight?” I ask her.

I’ve invited her a thousand times, but she’s evasive.

“I’m not sure. Underage drinking isn’t really my thing,” she hedges.

“First of all, we’re all underage, except Nolan. And second, you don’t actually have to drink. There’s music and the bonfire, plus walking by the beach. Maybe you’ll finally meet that special someone,” I tease.

“Oh God, if he’s there, I might actually die,” she groans.

“That sounds promising. Does lover boy have a name?”

“Yeah. But he won’t be there. He goes to a different school,” she sighs.

“Well now you have to tell me his name,” I sit up, giving her a stern look. “Tell me.”

“Fine. It’s Ryan Callahan.”