The Beginning of Us (307 page)

"Well I don't know what this Riley guys has been doing to you, but whatever it is tell him to keep it up." Angie tells me.

"I agree!" Ruthie admits. “You seem so much more relaxed and confident. More of the old Char we all used to know and love."

"I know he brings out a better side in me, something that’s been missing. I really got a good guy this time ladies and I do not plan to give him up anytime soon." I say with pride in my voice.

I look past Angie's shoulder and I see him. "Fuck!" I curse aloud.

"What is it?" Angie says looking over her shoulder.

"Don't look Angie." I whisper.

"Oh shit!" Ruthie says as soon as she sees who I have locked eyes with.

RILEY

My lunch date with Char today was fucking fantastic. Heading back to her place for lunch was a brilliant idea, but I never would’ve guessed we'd left it the way we did. She said she loves me, she loves me. I am beyond thrilled that she shared her feelings with me and that they are as strong as mine are for her.

Heading back to work I am seriously on cloud nine and can't wait for her to come home so we can spend the rest of the night together.

When I approach my office, I have a message from Patty to head up to Bryce's office when I return from lunch.

I set my stuff down and make my way up to the next few floors. When I get off the elevator his door is closed so I ask Patty to let him know I am here.

She rings his line and asks me to take a seat. While I am waiting I check my phone and look over a few emails that have come in while I was away on lunch.

Bryce's door opens and he asks me to come in. I follow his lead and have a seat in the chair across from his desk.

"Riley I asked Patty to have you meet me up here because I need a favor from you." He tells me while sitting back down in his leather, high-back chair.

"Sure, what's up?" I reply.

"I know you haven't given me the go ahead with the general contractor position yet, but I need someone to head down to North Carolina tomorrow morning to meet with a few clients. Like I said before Roger and I were working on a few things in the southeast and now they want to see what we can offer. They did tell me there are others bidding on the job too, but I don't want to wait much longer to get our details in for their review."

"I understand completely. When will I be leaving?" I ask.

"We can get you a flight early tomorrow morning and will fly you back home after your meeting Friday afternoon."

"Consider it done." I tell him.

"That is great news Riley, I knew you wouldn't let us down." He says standing up next to me.

"Bryce, I would be honored to accept your offer as GC. Let's just say that this trip to NC is my official call to duty." I say raising my right hand to shake his.

"I am glad to hear you say that Riley. I will have Patty email you the flight schedule and anything else you will need to meet with the guys in North Carolina. Good luck to you!"

He returns the hand shake and I make my way for the door.

"Thanks Bryce, see you Friday night."

I leave Bryce's office yet again in a cloud of fog. I knew the move to Boston would shake things up, but I had no clue how quickly my life would change. I’m ecstatic to be the general contractor for my team and heading to NC to outbid some of our biggest competitors along the east coast.

I take a quick walk outside to catch my breath, this is happening. God I could not have asked for a better life right about now. I look up to the sky and say, "Thank you Mom and Dad." They are watching over me and are so proud of the man I have become.

I get my ass back into the office and finish up a few things before I have to meet the team to see another client. Some things are going to change now that I’ve taken on the GC position. I suppose we need to hunt ourselves down a building contractor now.

The rest of the day passes by in a blur. The guys were thrilled I’ve accepted the general contracting position and they are full of support. I told them that I leave for NC tomorrow, but first thing Monday we will be looking to bring on a building contractor to complete our team. There’s no doubt in my mind the level of skill these guys can bring and I am anxious to see what lies ahead for our crews.

After work I head right over to Derrick's to chat with my roommate. Since things with Char and I have gotten so intense, I barely see the guy. I figure the two of us can catch some grub together and catch up on the past few weeks.

By the time I make it to the house it’s a little after six o'clock and Derrick is sitting in the living room watching the game.

"Hey guy, whatcha doing?" I ask throwing my bag on the chair.

"Hey Manny, look who finally came home...yea Mommy is here, go get her boy!" Derrick tells the dog in a crazy tone.

"Shut the hell up man." I tell him while petting man's best friend.

"So seriously, what's been going on punk? I take it you and Charlie are pretty serious already. Will I be losing my roommate soon?"

Derrick is full of questions and I think the guy deserves to know what is going on, after all Char is like a sister to him.

"Well I can pretty much guarantee you know more than you are letting on, but if you must know I guess I can tell you." I say with a laugh and plop myself down on the couch next to him.

"Yea, I do. So I suppose I should fill you in on what Chloe has told me and you can fill in the rest."

"Figures." I say with a huff.

I proceed to tell Derrick about the past few nights and how I am feeling about Char. I tell him that she is fully up-to-date on my family drama and that I have told her I love her. He is a bit taken back given it only has been a few weeks knowing her, but he understands given that we are pretty much inseparable.

"So where is your little vixen tonight?" Derrick asks.

"She went to dinner with Angie and Ruthie from work, girl’s night out or something like that. I told her I would come over later with Manny. So I will need your key pal."

"Did she say where they were going for dinner?"

"Man you are so damn nosy! What the hell does it matter?" I shout at him.

"Geez dick head, relax. I was just asking." Derrick says putting his hands up in defense.

"Oh ok, yea she said they were meeting up at Snides on Fourth St."

"Shit Riley!" Derrick shouts standing up.

"What?" I ask confused why he is suddenly so pissed.

"That bar is owned by Marc's family and the fucker is in town this week. Fucking hell! I was hoping she wouldn't bump into him. Man we got to head down there in case she sees him." Derrick says pacing the living room.

"No way in hell man! There is no way I am going down there. She will think I don't trust her and I’m a stalker." I stand and run my fingers through my hair.

"Fuck man what do we do?" Derrick asks.

"She is a big girl Derrick. You can't fight her battles for her. If she runs into Marc she needs to deal with this on her own. If she needs us she will call us." I try to tell him with all the confidence in my girl.

She will be okay, right?

Chapter 30

CHAR

I can hardly breathe as I see him walking toward our booth. I was well aware this was his parents bar, but I also knew that they never come here anymore since they moved to Florida a few years ago.

I take a deep breath in through my nose and exhale through my mouth as I give him a big smile.

"Marc, wow what a surprise to see you here in town. How are things in Tennessee? How is Natalie?" I ask trying to hold it together.

I can feel Ruthie's hand grab on to me for support. These girls are the only lifeline I’ve got in this moment and oh god I wish Riley was here to touch me and make me feel better.

"Char you are beautiful as always. I am in town to visit with some friends for the Labor Day weekend and thought I would stop in to see how the bar is doing. It seems like the typical crowd is here for a Wednesday night." He says with his trademark smile releasing his two dimples on either side of his face.

Marc is an extremely attractive man. He just so happens to also be the biggest asshole on the face of the planet. He stands about six feet tall, has a body only a gym god could have, his hair so blonde it’s almost white, and eyes so blue you can see through them. Like I said he is the biggest ass face in the world. 

"Well we are in the middle of a pretty intense conversation here, so you might as well run off Marc." Angie yells to him.

"Yes, well I don't want to disturb you fine ladies. I'll see you around." He says looking between Angie and Ruthie.

"Oh and Char, you will definitely see me before I leave." He winks right at me and walks away.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Angie asks looking in my direction.

Ruthie's hand is still in mine and I can barely feel her fingers interlaced with my own. All oxygen has been deprived of my body and I am about to pass out.

"Char, take in a deep breath through your nose and slowly let it out of your mouth. Breathe in and let it out. Good! Do it again...in and out. Good! One more time honey, in and out. How are you feeling now girly?" Ruthie asks rubbing at my left arm.

"Better thanks! God that sucked! I haven't seen him in over a year and he thinks he can just waltz over here and act as if nothing ever happened?" I say in a whisper.

I take a few more deep breaths and shake off the uneasy feeling Marc left with me. I have full function of my hand and I call the girls' attention to my wine glass.

"Let's not let his little appearance ruin our girl’s night out. Come on ladies. Raise your glasses. I have a toast to make." I tell them.

The three of us raise our glasses and I say, "To new beginnings and even better love lives."

"To having great sex with hot guys." Ruthie says.

"To great friends and living through them and their amazing sex lives." Angie says.

The three of us burst into laughter and continue to drink our beverages. I am so glad these two ladies are in my life right now. Running into Marc was not easy, but without them it could have been a whole hell of a lot worse.

We each have another drink and share a couple of appetizers to help soak up the alcohol. We chat about our love lives or lack thereof and what we plan on doing for Labor Day weekend.

Before long we realize the time and that we’ve been sitting in or booth sharing some quality girl time for more than a few hours. I look at my phone to check the time and it is well after 10 o’clock. I see there is a message from Riley and check it out. The time stamp reads 8:30.

Riley - Hey babe! Manny and I are here! See you soon, love you!

Being it’s so much later from when he sent the message I quick send him a reply.

Char – Sorry, I just saw your text. I am having so much fun with the girls I lost track of time. Leaving soon, love you too! xoxoxoxo

I toss my phone back in my purse and let the girls know I am going to be heading home for the night. They each agree that it’s time to close up our tab. We pay our ways, give each other a hug good-bye and head out of the bar for our cars.

Lucky for them they both got spots in the side lot, where I had to park along the street down the block. I make my way to my ride along the well lit street. I can see a figure standing next to my Jeep and I can already tell the asshat that is standing there.

As I approach the side of the road he stands up from against the side of the Jeep and puts his arms out for me to come to him. He must be fucking crazy, what the hell is he thinking? Does he not remember the hell he put me through last year?

"Marc, what do you want? We said our pleasantries in the bar and now I would like us to go our separate ways. Please move out of my way so that I can go home." I say in a harsh tone.

"Char, but I miss you so much. Nothing in my life has gone right since you walked out on me." He says still holding his arms out.

"Are you forgetting that I walked out on you because you fucked my best friend Natalie? Speaking of which, where is your girlfriend right about now?” I say through clenched teeth.

“I don’t want to talk about our past. I just want to discuss our future.” He says moving closer to me.

"What the fuck Marc! Do you not remember anything that happened last year? Are you delusional or something?" I shout in his direction.

“Char relax baby, it was a mistake. Everything I did, it was all because I loved you so much and I was so scared.”

"Marc, I don't believe a word you say. It’s over between us and nothing will ever take away what you did to me. You hurt me Marc. You broke my heart. You fucked my best friend. I will never forgive you for that." I continue to scream at him and beat my hands against his chest.

"I know baby and I am so sorry. I tried to live my life without you in it and I just can't. I need you back Char. I want to go back to where we were before this whole mess happened." He tells me while trying to bring my body closer to his.

"No Marc! It will never ever happen. We are over! Do you hear me over? Now get the hell out of my way so I never have to see you again."