My Real (3 page)

We walk into Skye’s and wait for the hostess to seat us. She goes to clean off our high top, we are regulars so our normal waiter stops over to say hello while we wait.

“You look hot tonight, Bailey. What’s the occasion?” Cory asks.

“It’s her Re-bachelorette party. We’re celebrating her freedom,” Ella explains as I blush. I’m not used to this kind of attention from a guy. Dave is the only man I ever dated, and he rarely, okay never, gave me compliments like this.

“Well, congratulations! First round is on me. Take a seat,” Cory says as he walks away to get our drinks.

We sit at our table and look at the menu. Well, Ella looks at the menu. I get the same thing every time I come here. I actually have a specific meal that I eat at every restaurant I go to. When I find something that I like I figure that I should just stick with it. Why order something different with the possibility of not liking the meal? It’s not a risk I’m willing to take.

I look around the restaurant as Cory sets our drinks down and I gasp.

“Oh my God, Ella, Andrew Cooper is here. Oh, please don’t let Jessica be here too,” I say as I duck behind my menu.

Jessica was my best friend all through college. We were freshman roommates and never left each other’s sides until graduation. Sophomore year, we met Andrew. They started dating, and the three of us were inseparable for the remaining three years. There were many rumors that drifted around campus about the three of us, none of them true. We were just friends. That’s it.

“I don’t see a girl with him,” Ella says as she looks around the bar.

“Are you sure you don’t see her? I don’t feel like adding an awkward dinner to my list of things that went wrong today,” I mutter on as I try to hide behind Ella breathing deep with anxiety.

“Bailey, he’s at the bar with a group of guys. Why are you worrying about her? She’s the one who stopped talking to you,” Ella asks.

I continue to look around. Ella heard many stories about Jessica when we first started teaching together. I was a complete mess those first few weeks of school that year. It’s amazing I even got the job with how horrible I looked. I would sit with my scrapbooks and cry to Ella about losing my best friend. Ella heard about Jessica for weeks.

“You worry too much, Bailey. You need a drink,” Ella says as she pushes my beer toward me as I thought back to what caused all the problems with Jessica and me.

We were a week away from graduation and Jessica and I went to our last college party. Jessica was off playing beer pong and Andrew and I were playing Asshole. I went to the bathroom and passed the beer pong table and heard Jessica talking. She was telling everyone that I was a flirt and I couldn’t stop hanging all over Andrew. When another girl called me a slut, instead of defending me, my best friend agreed and started laughing. I couldn’t believe that she would accuse me of flirting with Andrew after the horrible things she did to him. I ended up walking home from the party alone. When I confronted her later, she tried to deflect the whole situation so she didn’t look bad. She screamed and made a huge scene in the quad. I haven’t talked to her since we graduated and I don’t want to start now.

“Bailey, he sees you,” Ella whispers out of the side of her mouth.

“What?” I say as I sit up and look right into Andrew’s eyes across the bar.

Andrew was one of my best friends through college. The three of us shared everything with each other. He gives me a sexy side smile and then looks back to his friends who I just now recognize as friends of ours from college. My heart is racing from just one smile. He was hot in college but now he’s just, wow. I watch him for a minute while he talks and laughs with Jake and Sam. His smile reaches his eyes with genuine happiness.

He has on dark washed jeans that fit his backside perfectly and a white button down shirt opened to see just the top of his rock hard chest. On his feet are perfectly worn leather cowboy boots. He wore them all the time in college even though he was the furthest thing from a true cowboy. One of the things I loved about Andrew was that he towered over me. His chestnut hair looks like it’s a few weeks overdue for a haircut. I used to cut his hair in college. Anything to save a buck he’d say.

I remember back to the first time I met Andrew in the cafeteria. I saw him walk in the cafeteria our sophomore year. He was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. Back then, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be with a guy like that. He had very kind eyes. He was talking to a group of friends when he walked in. Jessica saw me checking him out and immediately started telling me that he was the guy she was talking about earlier. Well, there went that fantasy. If Jessica had her eye on a boy, then he was hers. Not that I had a chance with him anyway. Not with someone like him.

Bailey James, or I guess it’s not James anymore. I heard she married Dave soon after we graduated. Either way, she looks fantastic.

“Andrew, what in the hell are you staring at man?” Jake asks as he punches my arm.

“Asshole, that hurt. That woman over there,” I say pointing over to the table where Bailey is sitting. “That’s Bailey James. Do you remember her? I haven’t seen her since graduation,” Andrew explains.

“Oh yeah, when Jessica completely humiliated her in the quad,” Jake says.

I can’t get over how amazing she looks. She was cute in college but now. Damn. I thought back to one of the many times she made me fall in love with her. It was during junior year.

I walked into Jessica and Bailey’s apartment and slammed the door. Jessica was sitting on the floor painting her nails. Bailey, sitting on the couch behind her, jumped up and walked over to me while Jessica continued to paint.

“What’s wrong?” Bailey asked.

“My professor. He’s saying that I plagiarized a girl in my class, because there were too many similarities. We both have to do the whole thing over for half credit,” I complained, throwing my bag to the ground.

“That’s crazy. You didn’t copy. I sat next to you the whole time you wrote it,” Bailey said with concern on her face. “That paper counts for half of your grade. Do you want me to talk to him about it? You need a good grade in this class to get into calc 2,” she continued as she put her hand on my arm. My attention was now not on my failing paper; it was on my girlfriend. She continued to sit there, painting her nails not concerned at all that this failing grade was going to totally fuck me over. She didn’t even lift her head. While Bailey was so concerned she was even willing to take on the professor for me. Something is wrong with this picture.

“No,” I answered. “I can’t ask you to do that. I’ll just do the paper over and take some fluff class to bring up my GPA.”

“No, let’s go,” Bailey said as she pulled on her shoes. “We are going over to his office right now,”she said as she took my hand and pulled me out the door. I looked back to close it and Jessica still hadn’t looked up.

Jake brings me back from the memory when he
slams down the empty beer glass that he just finished chugging. I ended up getting an A on that paper because Bailey fought with Dr. Smith about it for fifteen minutes. Fought for me. I fell for her right then and there in that office. Jessica never asked about the paper or what happened at the office.

“So, are you going to talk to her? Because if you don’t, I am. She’s fucking hot,” Jake says as he starts to get out of his seat.

“I’m going to talk to her,” I answer as I push Jake back down. That memory brought back every feeling I ever had for Bailey.

I look back over at her and see she is now hiding behind the girl she is with. I stand from my chair at the bar and turn toward her table. I see her friend look over at me and then quickly say something to Bailey. She’s warning Bailey I’m coming. Bailey peaks up over the menu and her eyes grow when she sees me. I lean across the table and pull the menu out of her hands and fold it on the table.

“Hi, Bailey. How are you?” I ask, taking in every inch of her beauty. “I haven’t seen you in years. You look amazing,” I say with a smile I can’t hide.

“Hi, Andrew. How are you? What are you doing here? Is Jessica here?” she rambles on as she stands. She used to do that when she was nervous. “I’m good. What are you doing in town? I thought you and Jessica moved to Georgia after we graduated. I heard you got married,” she continues to ramble.

“Moved back. I’ve been here for a few months,” I explain.

“We are celebrating Bailey’s Re-Bachelorette party tonight,” Bailey’s friend exclaims with a gleam in her eye.

“Wait, you and Dave are divorced?” I ask quickly with surprise. She’s not with him anymore? She can’t be single? Can she? Holy Shit.

She holds up her ring-less left hand as her only answer.

I take a step closer. Is this my chance? I was friends with her for three years and dating her best friend forced me to stomp down any feelings that I had for her.

“You’re not with Dave. Are you seeing someone now?” I ask as I move even closer.

Please say no. Please say no. If she says no I’m kissing her here and now. I’ve waited so long to touch her.

“No, wh …”

She barely has the words out of her mouth before my lips are on hers. I bring both hands to her face and hold her gently in place. Her body stiffens at the surprise embrace. Her lips are in a thin hard line. I slowly bring one hand down to her neck and around to the back of her head as she slowly starts leaning into me and kissing me back. I pull her toward me so her breasts crush into my chest. It’s a slow passionate kiss, the best damn first kiss ever. Hell. It’s hands down the sexiest kiss I’ve ever had. My pants are officially too tight. When we start getting whistles from the patrons of the bar, I slowly pull away, still holding onto the back of her head.

I lean in and whisper in her ear. “I’m sorry. I’ve wanted to do that since sophomore year. Come outside with me.”

She looks up at me. Her eyes are wide with equal amounts of excitement and trepidation. She nods her head slowly like she isn’t quite sure. I hold out my hand to her and lead her out the door.

All of my memories of Andrew come rushing back at me. I was so attracted to him when I first saw him, until Jessica sunk her claws into him. Once they started dating, he was always around. He was always so kind and considerate. I tried very hard to keep my feelings for him platonic. Jessica was dating him, and he’d never be interested in me anyway. For the most part, I did a pretty good job at it, but I won’t lie and say I didn’t have some wild fantasies about him.

My brain stopped working when I saw him slowly start leaning toward me. My entire world stopped. I haven’t been kissed like that in a long time, maybe ever.

What the heck is happening? Why did I kiss him like that in the middle of the bar? Even more disturbing is why do I want to kiss him again? Why not? I’m a grown woman. I should be allowed to have a little fun. Why won’t my head stop spinning?

As Andrew and I weave through the tables with our fingers intertwined, I can’t even begin to wrap my head around what is happening. My emotions that are running wild. I quickly turn and look at Ella back at our table and the smile on her face is devilish. She is thrusting her hips in an obscene motion while Jake and Sam laugh and cheer.

I turn back around as Andrew leads me out the door, down the stairs, and across the parking lot behind a huge black truck. He leans into me and pushes me against the truck. His face is inches from mine as I breathe in his smell. My lace panties are soaked already from one kiss. The anticipation is overwhelming. Why isn’t he kissing me? My heart is racing.

I’m done waiting.

I lean toward Andrew’s lips and he takes over from there. There is no slow, sweet kiss.

He crashes into my lips. My whole body feels like it is on fire.

Andrew slowly starts kissing down my neck as his hands move from my face, down my arms, and then come to rest on the small of my back under my tank top. He slowly starts rubbing his hands up my sides. I start getting in my own head and the little voice is saying stop.

Wait. What am I doing? This is Andrew. Andrew who is married to my ex-best friend. I’m so confused.