Healed (16 page)

“Come here.”

I debated it for less than half a second before I removed the rest of my clothes and climbed into bed with him. As we each lay on our sides, watching, waiting for the other to speak, I realized that the sex had driven the anger right out of me—most of it, anyway. Part of me still wanted to be mad at him, but after having him inside me, I really didn’t feel like it anymore.

His hand moved up to push the sweaty hair from my forehead.

“I’m sorry for yelling,” he said, continuing to play with the ends of my hair. “But you do realize that I had no control over what they did?”

I shrugged. “I guess.”

His eyes focused on mine. “Then what’s all of this bullshit about?”

“Really?” I started to sit up and move away.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me back down to him. “Don’t leave. We’re finally talking instead of yelling, so talk to me. Why are you so pissed?”

“You really don’t get it, do you?” My voice got louder the more I rested and got my strength back.

“No. If I did, would I be lying here asking you?” He sounded exasperated but I couldn’t believe he was being this much of a dumb ass.

“You stood there and did nothing about it.”

“I took care of it.”

“No. You stood there stumbling over your words while that bitch tried to put her hands all over you.”

Once again I tried to pull away, but he cupped my face with his hands. “I never expected them to take it that far. I know they can do some really stupid shit, but when I turned around and saw her I didn’t know where to start.”

“So instead you said nothing and made me look like a fool.”

“Nobody thinks you’re a fool. Trust me when I tell you, people were giving them a ton of shit for what they pulled tonight.”

“Not that I saw. Everyone seemed to think it was pretty funny.”

“No—Luke, Doug, and Alex thought it was funny. After you left the rest of the brothers and I had a nice long chat with them about being assholes and upsetting fiancées to the point of causing a fight.” The quick flash of Andrew’s eyes told me that the conversation had been anything but “nice.”

“Is that what you were doing when you sent me home with Caleb and Angie?”

He shrugged. “You were already way beyond pissed, and I needed to deal with them without you interfering. I know you didn’t want to leave, but you can’t fight every battle. Sometimes you need to walk away and let someone else handle it.”

He was right. I was always so determined to deal with everything on my own that many times I forgot that I didn’t always have to be so independent. Instead, I could let others help, especially when my temper was in full swing.

“I’m sorry I freaked-out. I promise to work on controlling my temper and asking for help. But you need to promise me something too.”

“And what’s that?”

“Next time, please don’t just stand there with your mouth hanging open. Say something.”

“I can guarantee that there won’t be a next time but if it’ll make you feel better, I promise.”

“Thank you.”

His lips parted as his eyes focused on my mouth, his tongue snaking out, wetting his lips. “I guess it isn’t exactly make up sex if it’s during the fight, now is it?”

“Are you trying to get in my pants again?”

Andrew smacked his hand lightly against my ass. “Since you’re not wearing anything I think that’s a moot point. All I’m saying is, now we need to have make up sex.”

“Oh really? I guess it’s a good thing I agree with you then. Besides, in my book that was the best fight
ever
.”

“You can say that again. We can fight anytime as long as you promise the argument includes hot, rough sex.”

“Well, I’m not making any promises. Let’s just worry about what kind of make-up sex we can have.”

“I can handle that.”

“That’s good, ’cause I wasn’t giving you an option.”

And when his lips touched mine, I ceased to think at all.

Andrew

“DUDE, WHAT THE HELL’S
taking you so long?” Nick called down the hall.

“Give me a minute. I’ll be right there.”

I could have answered with the truth. Not that he wanted to hear that after a long day at work Emily had decided to screw my brains out, right before she left for Angie’s bachelorette party—saying it was her way of reminding me who I belonged to before our “night of debauchery,” as she called it—but I didn’t think Nick would appreciate that answer, especially since he’d gotten home from work right as Emily was screaming my name. Damn, I got hard just thinking about it.

Emily’s fear came from the fact that as the best man, Josh had planned the bachelor party. There was no doubt in my mind that she fully expected us to spend all night in a strip club, groping half-naked women, which completely baffled me. Did she really think I was that stupid? After what happened a few months ago?

I threw my work clothes into the hamper, not wanting Emily to see them whenever she got home tonight. With school finally being over we all had the chance at real lives. The only downside was now everyone—except Lauren and Morgan, Nick’s on again-off again girlfriend—had real jobs. The kind you couldn’t up and quit just ’cause you didn’t like your boss. Lauren and Morgan still had one year left, not to mention Angie who was choosing to go back while the rest of us had to become adults. At graduation it’d felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Emily had gotten a job with the historical society near the school, as a researcher. It was easy to tell how much she loved her work when she came home with a smile on her face.

And she wasn’t the only one. After I completed my internship, the partners offered me a full-time position. It was a dream come true, and more than I could have ever asked for.

Knowing Nick was waiting, I grabbed my wallet and phone and walked down the hall to the living room. Nick was wearing a hole in the rug, pacing back and forth, furiously texting on his phone.

“I can’t believe this,” he said, his gaze never leaving the screen.

“Can’t believe what?”

He stopped, mid-stride and looked up. “Did you know Morgan was going with the girls tonight?”

“Umm, I kind of thought she might. She
is
friends with Angie.”

“She can’t go with them,” he argued, running his hands through his hair as he started pacing again.

Huh?
“Why can’t she?”

He stopped short and whipped around. “Because there’ll be strippers.”

Oh, now this was just ridiculous. I tried to stop but I couldn’t help myself, and burst out laughing. Did he really think with Emily’s freak-out a few months ago that she would include strippers at the bachelorette party?

His eyes narrowed at me. “What’s so funny?”

“Let me get this straight. My fiancée, Caleb’s fiancée, and Josh’s girlfriend are allowed to go, but a girl you’ve been seeing on and off for the past year and a half isn’t?”

“But—”

“No buts, man. You have a half-assed relationship and then expect her not to do things with her friends—especially if those friends include girls who you’ve lusted over in the past.” Nick winced at the mention of his unfortunate attraction to Angie a few years ago. Yeah, that’d caused a few fights between him and Caleb. “Trust me I’ve learned the hard way with Em.”

“It isn’t half-assed.” He sighed and walked over to drop down onto the couch. Resting his arms on his knees, he looked at the ground. “Besides, I tried to make it more. She’s the one keeping me at a distance.”

“Have you tried talking to her?”

He shook his head “Well, no. I figured when she was ready, she’d come to me.”

I walked over and took the seat next to him. This was all too familiar territory for me. All I could think about was how I’d been afraid to tell Emily how I felt, and it could have cost me everything. “Then you have no one to blame but yourself. A word to the wise though. If she does agree to more with you, don’t in a million years think you can dictate when and where she goes. It’ll only end badly.”

After a few moments of silence he nodded his head. “All right, I’ll talk to her. After the wedding.”

I clasped him on the back. It sucked when you wanted one thing and you weren’t sure if your feelings were returned. “There you go. And if it makes you feel any better, there’s no strippers for anyone tonight.”

His head snapped up to look at me. “What do you mean, ‘no strippers for anyone’?”

“It means exactly what it sounds like. No strippers tonight.”

His eyes were as round as saucers. “But it’s a bachelor party!”

“So you’re okay if we have strippers, just as long as the girls don’t?”

“Yes!”

Rolling my eyes, I looked over at him. “You might want to wait a little longer for that conversation with Morgan. With that attitude, you’re more likely to get your ass kicked than get a girlfriend.”

“Ha ha, very funny, asshole. You mind explaining to me
why
there aren’t any strippers?”

I shrugged. “Em wanted nothing to do with the Chippendales, and ever since Josh and Lauren got back together, he’s been on his best behavior. Plus, I’m pretty sure he was scared to death of what Em might have done to him had he tried to order them.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“You’re unbelievable. I barely survived my last encounter with a stripper. I’m not going there again. Em would flip her shit.”

“What are we going to do all night?”

“Drink, like we always do. We are just going to be extreme about it.” I leaned back against the couch and closed my eyes.

“This sucks. I thought going into work hungover wouldn’t be so bad if I’d at least seen some naked girls.”

I opened one eye to look at him. “Would you stop thinking with your dick. It’s not like you were going to use it. You’re the one who chose not to take tomorrow off. I knew better.”

“Yeah, that was pretty stupid on my part, but who holds a bachelor party on a Thursday night?”

“A groom who doesn’t want to go to his wedding with a colossal hangover.”

“Good point.”

A horn sounded outside the window at the same time a text came in on my phone.

Josh: Here

Me: Down in a min

“Come on, Josh is here.”

He groaned and stood up. Following him to the door, I was more than a little curious about what Josh was driving. If he could get away with it, he usually drove Lauren’s car. Not that I could blame him. If Emily owned a BMW Z4 I think I’d find every opportunity possible to drive it as well.

Nick went out the door first and I was surprised to see a big-ass black Chevy SUV sitting out front. Not to mention the fact that there was a chauffeur too. That wasn’t what Josh and I talked about the other day. We’d agreed to see if some of the members of the team would drive us, or the other option was using cabs. Then he’d texted yesterday afternoon saying there was a change in plans and he’d pick us up. Never in a million years did I expect a limo.

“What the fuck?” Nick stared at the car. The door opened and out stepped Josh.

“Gentlemen, your chariot awaits,” he said, gesturing toward the door.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I let out a low whistle. “This is not what I imagined when you said there was a change in plans.”

“Don’t let him fool you,” Caleb yelled from the inside of the car. “My dad sent it. Now get your asses in here.”

Josh rolled his eyes as Nick climbed inside. He leaned over and whispered. “Yeah, Caleb and his brother decided to have a few shots before I got home from work.”

Great, Caleb was already ahead of the game, meaning he’d want us to catch-up pretty quickly. I was glad that Caleb had wanted Nick to be part of the bachelor party. After all of the shit that went down over Angie, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, especially after Caleb hadn’t invited him to be part of the wedding party. It sucked, but Nick said he understood, and really couldn’t blame Caleb for it. For the most part, they’d managed to salvage their friendship, but I didn’t think it would ever be the same as it was before.

Ducking my head, I stepped into the car. There were already a few bottles covering the top of the fully stocked bar and Caleb and Matt were facing backward, Nick plopping himself in the seat facing the bar. That left Josh and me the backseat, by the door.

“Longtime no see, Caleb.”

He nodded. Caleb worked at the same engineering firm as me. Right after they hired me, another spot opened up and he’d immediately turned in his résumé. Turned out they loved his work and had seen some of it from his internship. We’d started on the same day.

“Hey, Matt, it’s good to see you again.” I leaned forward to shake his hand.

“You too. Especially in these kinds of circumstances.”

“I see you started without us, Caleb,” Nick said with a laugh, looking at the covered bar.

Caleb shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe a few. And you guys need to catch-up.” Moving off of his seat, he knelt down in front of the bar, passing out shots of who knew what.

“Since we have a driver for the night, there are no excuses,” Caleb ordered.

“If we’re drinking shots, the least we can do is have a toast.” I raised my glass. “To Caleb and Angie.”

“To Caleb and Angie,” everyone joined in, raising their glasses.