InHap*pily Ever After (Incidental Happenstance) (52 page)

“I
am, nice to meet you,” Tia replied, shaking her hand.

“Wow.
It’s awesome to meet you. I just love your story—congrats on your engagement.
You’re a lucky girl.”

“Don’t
I know it,” Tia smiled.

The
waitress was at the table before they even sat down. “Oh my gosh, it’s so nice
to meet you!” she said to Tia. “You’re ring is so gorgeous. Congratulations.
Your future husband rocks.”

“Thanks,”
Tia smiled, “and yes he does.” 

“I’ll
have a vodka martini—extra dirty,” Lexi interjected.

“It’s
been a bit of a rough night for my friend,” Tia said by way of apology. “Thanks
for understanding.” She took a quick glimpse at the wine list and ordered a
glass of merlot. Jessa ordered a chardonnay and the waitress hustled off to
fill their orders.

Lexi
raised her glass for a toast. “To my best friend, and her InHappily ever
after.” Tia’s and Jessa’s eyes met across the table and they shared a knowing look.
They tapped the rims of their glasses together and took a cautious sip. Lexi
downed half of her drink in one swallow.

“Lex,
we don’t have to do this. Why don’t we just pick up some junk food on the way
and go straight to the room? I know how much you must be hurting—it isn’t
necessary to…”

“You
know, I gave almost five years of my life to that bastard,” she hissed. “He
played me for a fool, but we’ll see who’s going to really pay in the end. And
that’s all we need to say about that.” She finished her drink, and motioned to
the waitress for another, then turned to Tia. “Obviously, this isn’t the
celebration we all had in mind, but you just found your wedding dress, T, and
that’s a big deal. It’s more than worthy of a little party, and I’m not going to
ruin that for you.”

“Maybe
we’ll just get a couple of starters, and then head out.” She thought it would
be a good idea to get some food in her to soak up the alcohol—Lexi’s second
drink was delivered, and she took a good hard pull.

“Are
you kidding me? We’re having dinner on your fiancé’s dime. I have every
intention of enjoying it.”

Tia
and Jessa frowned at each other. Neither of them knew quite what to do; this
was completely uncharted territory. They asked questions with their eyes—is it
better to keep her out so she can at least have something else on her mind?
Should we get her the hell out of here and let her get the emotions out?

As
much as the girls tried to keep the atmosphere light, the mood was heavy and
somber. Lexi tried really hard to keep up a strong façade, but the other girls
could see right through her, and neither could really have a good time knowing
how much she was suffering. Lexi felt guilty for ruining Tia’s day, Tia felt
horrible for her best friend, and both Jessa and Tia were very glad that they
had a room in the city together—at least Lexi wouldn’t have to face the night
alone knowing that Ryan was with another woman. 

Lexi
made it halfway through the main course before she broke apart—the three
martinis she’d efficiently slammed likely helped her along the way to a
breakdown, but the girls were nonetheless impressed with how well she’d held it
together. Her fork was halfway to her mouth when she suddenly looked from Tia
to Jessa, and the tears started flowing. She dropped the fork and her shoulders
hitched as the emotion took over. “How could he do this to me? To us?” she
croaked, trying to control the sobs that took over her body. Tia called for the
bill and they cut the evening off, taking Lexi back to the hotel room and letting
her cry as they sat by feeling helpless. Tia and Jessa took turns soothing her
until she fell into a fitful rest; sitting silently by well into the night just
in case she needed them.

Lexi
wasn’t about to be bested, or played for a fool. She woke up with a wicked
hangover—her head throbbed uncontrollably and her stomach rolled like a
tropical storm—but she sucked it up and begged off Tia’s attempts to come home
with her. Downing a couple aspirin on her way out the door, she shot off to the
grocery store to pick up as many boxes as they’d give her, then returned to her
apartment and cranked up her stereo as loud as she dared. With angry chick
music thumping from her speakers, she purged her apartment of all Ryan’s
belongings—every sweatshirt, his toothbrush; which she gave a little dunk in
the toilet for good measure; his favorite CDs, his goddamn Obsession
cologne—and dumped them unceremoniously into boxes. Every picture containing
Ryan’s image was yanked from its frame and tossed into a box that she’d burn
later. She ignored three phone calls from Ryan, but wasn’t surprised at all
when she got a text saying that he was going to spend one more night in New
York to ‘keep the momentum going.’ “Fuck you and your momentum,” she said to
the phone. Tia called twice and Jessa once—she assured them she was doing fine
and refused their offers to come over and babysit her.

 On
Monday she rearranged her schedule so that she’d be out of work by noon,
collected a rental car, and went to Ryan’s apartment to do the same thorough
cleansing. She tore every picture of the two of them in half, leaving his image
with the ragged edges of where her photo used to be in various frames on walls
and end tables. She took all her dishes, silverware, mugs, clothes, and
everything else she’d stored at his place and took it all back to her
apartment. Then she parked outside his office building and waited for him to
leave work.

As
she expected he left at his regular time, and she followed him in the rental to
a gym not far from his office. He jumped out of the scarred Mustang and walked
over to another car, tapping on the driver’s side window. The same woman from
the other night hopped out and greeted him enthusiastically, throwing her arms
around him and pulling him in for a passionate kiss. Lexi cringed watching the
exchange, but waited for them to enter the building before using her set of
keys to open the door of the Mustang. She popped the hatch and unceremoniously
dumped all of his belongings into it, pulling the shade over the contents. Then
she took her sets of keys to his apartment and the car, hung her engagement
ring on the carabineer, and put the keys in the ignition, locking the door with
the fob before slamming it shut.

In
the daylight she could see the damage she’d done—the gleaming silver scratches,
already tinged with rust in a few spots, glared angrily against the custom
paint job. Ryan had left several messages on her machine to tell her about the
unbelievable vandalism, toting the airport parking lot as a place full of thugs
and criminals. She’d ignored every one.

Then
she dropped off the rental car, picked up her Beamer, and headed for the
country club. Once he realized what she’d done he’d likely swing by her
apartment first, then look for her at the club when he found her not at home.
She’d turned off her phone so he’d have to go searching for her physically if
he wanted to make contact. Considering that he thought that she was completely
in the dark about the affair, she figured he’d catch up to her eventually, wanting
answers.

She
felt him standing behind her as she sat at the bar. There was so much negative
energy radiating from him that it was like a wall behind her; something hot and
solid. She was willing to bet that he knew she was aware of his presence, but Lexi
had no intention of breaking the barrier first. She took a small sip of her
mineral water and placed the glass down on the bar top, refusing to acknowledge
him. After a short wait she heard the jingle of keys behind her and she smiled
to herself, imagining the expression that must have crossed his face when he
first saw it dangling from his ignition. She slowly swiveled her stool to face
him, careful to keep her face completely impassive.

            “Lexi,” he
said, his hands palms up, the keychain dangling from his middle finger. She
could see the engagement ring still swinging from the metal ring. “What the
fuck?” he grimaced.

            She shrugged,
raising her eyebrows at him. “I think
who
the fuck is a much more
appropriate question,” she answered coolly. “Don’t you?”

            “I don’t know
what you’re talking about,” he croaked, but his eyes shifted just enough to
give him away. The jig was up, and he knew it.

            “You know
exactly what I’m talking about,” she said simply. She raised her eyebrows
again, and maintained her calm demeanor.

            “We need to
talk,” he hissed, noticing some of the other people at the bar leaning toward
them. He tucked the key ring into his pocket. “Let’s go back to my place.”

            “I don’t have
anything to say to you.” she said, loud enough for the patrons around them to
hear, “and you don’t have anything to say to me either—at least nothing that I
want to hear.” She started to turn her stool back toward the bar, but he caught
the arm of the chair before she could turn her back to him.

            “Come on,
Lex,” he whispered urgently, taking in all the interested eyes that were
already focused on them. “We’re not doing this here…just come with me so I can
explain; please.” He squeezed her arm, trying to pull her from the stool.

            Lexi raised
her voice just a bit. “Get your hands off me you cheating bastard! I’m not
going anywhere with you.” 

             “Shit,” Ryan
muttered, leaning in and trying to shush her. “You can’t just leave things like
this! We’ve been together for five years, Lexi. You owe me the right to
explain. It’s not what it looks like.” She smirked at him and shook her head.
“I don’t know what you think you saw in the gym parking lot, but I’m sure
you’re making too much of it.”

            Her stare
turned icy, and he felt the chill coming from her. “I know exactly what I saw,”
she hissed. “I don’t need your take on it, but thanks anyway.”

            “Fuck! You
can’t just walk away like this—it isn’t fair. You cleaned out my apartment; you
destroyed all our pictures…” 

            “Those are
pictures of a relationship, you cocksucker—pictures that show a progression
toward a future. Since you destroyed the relationship, the pictures mean
nothing. Your new girlfriend would have made you take them down anyway, so I
just did you a favor.”

            “A favor?” his
voice squeaked. He took a deep breath to hold his temper down and lowered his
voice. “She’s not my girlfriend, Lexi, it’s work, damn it. She works for Truitt
Industries, and she’s helping me out with the project, that’s all. It’s the one
that’s going to help me make partner, remember?”

            “It’s also the
one that canceled our wedding.”

            “Postponed—it’s
just postponed, Lex,” his words sounded more like a plea than a statement.

            “No,” she said
impassively. “It’s definitely canceled, Ryan.”

            “All you could
have seen was a kiss on the cheek in the parking lot. I can’t believe you’re
jumping to conclusions!”

            A slow
sardonic grin spread across her face. “And on Saturday? When you were in New
York? With Wes?”

            She watched
his eyes shift, his lip twitch; saw his face begin to falter. He looked down at
the ground before forcing his gaze back to hers. “What about it?”

            “I saw you,
Ryan. I was standing there watching the two of you walk into the damned hotel
when I called and you lied to my fucking face, all dressed up at the
Intercontinental with your goddamn overnight bag that
I helped you pack
.
I was standing thirty feet away from you during the phone conversation where
you lied and told me you were heading in for a meeting with your boss, you
asshole.” 

            “Shit,” he
muttered, the color draining from his face.  Then his expression changed
completely; desperation flooding his eyes. Their conversation had become an
attraction, and he spoke as quietly as he could. “It’s all this goddamn stress,
Lexi, that’s all!” he groaned. “Please let me explain! Do you have any idea
what the past few weeks have been like for me?” he groaned. “What I’ve been
going through?” He felt the heat rising in his cheeks and his voice got more
desperate.

 Her
answer was another shrug and a slight frown.

            “I’ve had
people offering me money to attend our wedding, Lexi, just so they can be in
the same room with Dylan Miller! I had someone offer me ten thousand dollars
just to sit at his goddam table. People are asking me if they can invite their
nieces and nephews, their neighbors, and they say that they’ll crash the
reception anyway if they’re not invited. The whole thing was turning into a
goddamned circus, and… ” He swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. Her
expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. There was no pity there, no
understanding, and certainly no forgiveness. He took a deep breath and finished
his sentence. “…none of it was about me, Lexi, or about us—we haven’t even
picked out invitations yet and it’s all about Dylan Miller—it’s our fucking
wedding!” His breath was coming in ragged gasps now, because he wasn’t at all
sure that he could pull this off anymore. He couldn’t read anything in her
expression except for ice—she wasn’t buying any of it, and he had nothing else
in his repertoire to try and make her understand.