It Was Always You (Love Chronicles Book 1) Page 8

  It’s odd that he hasn’t tried to call or text. Of course, that could mean I’ve totally destroyed our friendship. I’m not willing to be the girl he has drunken sex with. Last night was a huge mistake. It was me avoiding my real feelings in the only way I could think of.

  I park in my spot and lean my head back against the seat, allowing myself to think about last night for the first time without mentally berating myself. Nate, even drunk, had been so gentle and...loving. Or maybe that’s just the way I want to interpret his actions. If we hadn’t been drunk, it would have been the perfect start to a great relationship. Except we already had a great relationship and I probably ruined it. Even in college, I never threw myself at him, and there were plenty of nights where I could have. Maybe it was Aaron rejecting me and making me feel like I wasn’t good enough that’s making me so crazy. Whatever it is, I need to figure it out fast.

  I get out of the car and start for my apartment, food in one hand and keys in the other. I don’t acknowledge anyone on the way. I’m in a fog, and I plan to stay this way until I have to face the world again tomorrow morning.

  I put my key into the lock and open the door. It’s days like this that I wish I had a dog, someone to greet me when I come home. I head for the couch, my typical eating spot, but I stop short when I see Nate.

  He doesn’t say a word. Just stares at me, waiting for an explanation. An explanation I’m not sure I can give him.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nate

  Her face is pure shock when she sees me. The wrapped sandwich in her hand falls to the coffee table, but she doesn’t seem to notice she’s dropped it. “You’re still here?”

  Stating the obvious isn’t really Aria’s style, but I cut her some slack since I know I blindsided her. “You didn’t leave me a note or anything. I did get Monohan’s email, though. I guess congrats are in order. I didn’t realize you had to work today.”

  She swallows so hard I see her throat constrict. “Yeah, he called me into his office to tell me about the staffing change. I had stories to edit and a mess to clean up.” She sits down and reaches for her sandwich, unwrapping it and keeping her eyes off me. I know her well enough to figure out she’s hoping I’ll pretend last night didn’t happen. It’s clear from her body language and her desperate attempt to flee the apartment this morning that she regrets what happened.

  If I bring it up, will she flip out on me? Will it jeopardize our friendship? I lean back on the couch. “Well, I guess I should head out.”

  “That’s right. You have a date today, don’t you?” Her voice hitches at the end. “With your mystery girl?”

  How can she even think that? For being my best friend, she is awful at reading me. Still, that might be my only way to save face in this situation. “Yeah, and I have to shower and shave. You know the drill. I just wanted to stick around to say congrats on the job in person.”

  “Thanks.” She tilts her head in my direction, and her eyes linger on me for a moment.

  “I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” I say, getting up and patting my pockets in search of my car keys.

  She motions to the counter. “I saw you put them in the kitchen yesterday. They’re probably still there. It’s funny I didn’t see your car in the lot. I guess I was”—she shakes her head—“still disbelieving I got that promotion after all. I need some time to wrap my head around it so I can think clearly again.” She gives a nervous giggle.

  I hate how strained things are between us. “You’ll be fine,” I assure her. “You always are.” Wanting things to go back to normal, I add, “Feel free to call me if you need to talk.”

  “And interrupt your date?” She shakes her head. “I’ll be fine. Go have fun.”

  I turn away from her and grab my keys from the kitchen counter. Suddenly, I want to be far away from Aria. I yell good-bye and close the apartment door behind me without waiting for a response. I take a minute to catch my breath and regroup before heading to the elevator.

  Two apartments down, a door opens and Michelle steps out. She smiles when she sees me. “Hey, Nate.”

  “Hello, Michelle. How are you?”

  She steps toward me. “Good. I was heading out for a few drinks before dinner. Care to join me?”

  “I wouldn’t want to intrude.” I start for the elevator with her falling in step with me.

  She loops her arm through mine. “No intrusion. I actually don’t have set plans. I was going to grab a few drinks and see who was available for dinner. But since you are, I guess I’ve got that figured out already.” She smiles and presses the button to call the elevator.

  “I really should head home. It’s kind of been a long weekend already, and I have to check in with my boss about some ads for—”

  “Nonsense. It’s the weekend. Worry about work tomorrow.”

  The elevator arrives and we both step inside. There are three other people already onboard, which I’m grateful for because it means Michelle will tone down her flirting. Or at least I hope.

  She strikes up a conversation with an older couple and then the young boy with them. From what I can gather, he’s their grandson visiting for the weekend. The elevator stops at the lobby, and we all step out.

  “Next time you’re here visiting, you come knock on my door and I’ll whip us both up some ice cream sundaes with extra sprinkles,” Michelle tells the boy, bending down to his level. He looks to be about six and his eyes widen at the mention of ice cream.

  We exit the building and Michelle looks around the lot. “I take it you’re parked in Aria’s second space.”

  I nod. “But seriously, I need to go home.”

  She shrugs. “Okay, we can stop at your place first.”

  “No. Look, Michelle, I really do have plans tonight.” Going anywhere with Michelle is a really bad idea. For one, Aria can’t stand her. And two, if Aria finds out I was with her, she’ll think Michelle is the mystery girl. I’d never hear the end of it, and I’d have to come clean about who my mystery girl really is.

  “I’ll tell you what, though. I’ll drive you to the bar. I’m assuming you’ll be taking a taxi home at the end of the night, right?”

  “You’re sure I can’t persuade you to come along?”

  “Sorry. Plans are plans.”

  Her face falls, but not for too long. “I’ll take you up on your offer for a ride.”

  I motion toward my truck, letting her lead the way.

  “How’s Aria doing?” Michelle asks as I hold open the passenger door for her.

  “Really well, actually. She just got a promotion.”

  “Good for her.” Her words don’t match her tone. She climbs up into the seat, and I shut the door.

  I walk around and get in the driver’s seat. “So, which bar are you headed to?” I start the engine and back out.

  “Last Call. Your friend has the best bar around.”

  “Caleb does well for himself. That’s for sure.”

  “It’s a shame he’s engaged.” She looks down at her left hand, and I can’t help wondering if she’s imagining an engagement ring on her own finger.

  “Sara is great. They’re pretty much the perfect couple.”

  “No such thing.”

  I glance at her briefly as I turn onto the road. “Why do you say that?”

  “Men will never understand women, and women will never understand men. We’re not meant to.”

  I laugh. “So you’re making a case for gay marriage then.”

  She shrugs. “To each his own. Though I kind of think in that case, two women would drive each other insane. Same for two men.”

  “So no relationship is a good relationship?” I ask.

  “I don’t know. You and Aria are certainly an exception.” She shifts in her seat to face me. “When I first met you two, I thought you were sleeping together. You know, using the ‘friend’ label to mask a relationship you wanted to hide from the rest of the world.”

  “Why would we want to hide our relationship? If we h
ad one?” I add.

  “People are strange. Who knows why they do the things they do?” She brushes her hair behind her ear. “Tell me something.”

  I already don’t like where this is going.

  “How do you two do it?”

  I know it’s not what she means, but my mind goes back to last night. Being with Aria surpassed all my expectations. While we both clearly had too much to drink, we were very much aware of what we were doing. The way her nails dug into my back and the sound of her moans in my ear... I’ll never forget it, and for as long as I live, I’ll yearn to experience it again.

  “Okay, fine. Don’t share your secret. I could never have a male friend anyway.” She waves the thought away.

  I pull into Last Call but don’t park. Instead, I drop Michelle off at the front door. “Here you are.”

  “Thanks for the lift. And if you ever do want to go out for drinks, let me know.” She smiles at me and gets out.

  I wait for her to disappear inside before I pull away. So much has happened in a few short days, but if I really stop to think about it, it’s not happening quickly. This has been years in the making. My feelings for Aria developed slowly over time and only got stronger with every year that passed. But why is she suddenly initiating things between us? Is it really out of loneliness? Or the stress at work?

  I can’t make any sense of it, and I’m not going to figure it out sitting in the parking lot of a bar. I pull out much faster than necessary and head home to drown my sorrows in a hot shower.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Aria

  I stare out my apartment window, drumming my fingers on the sill. “He left with Michelle.”

  “Michelle from your building?” Ashley asks.

  “Yes.” I check my tone. No reason to bite Ashley’s head off. “You don’t think that’s who he’s seeing, do you? That would explain why he doesn’t want to tell me her name. He knows I can’t stand her.”

  “Don’t go jumping to any conclusions yet. Tell me exactly what you saw.”

  “I went to the window.” To watch him leave because I’m completely pathetic. “And he walked out of the building with Michelle. He could have easily picked her up when he left my apartment.”

  “Okay, that’s true. Or she was leaving at the same time. Pure coincidence.”

  “They talked in the parking lot, and then she got into his truck with him.” I twirl a lock of hair around my finger like I used to when I was a little girl.

  “How long did they talk?”

  “I don’t know. A few minutes. Not long. They could have been discussing whose car to take.” How did I not see this? It all makes perfect sense. Nate would question a relationship with Michelle because he knows it would be awkward for me. But we live in the same building, so it makes sense that he’d run into her and maybe even develop feelings for her. “What do I do?”

  “Nothing. I mean, what can you do? Nate is a grown man. He’ll do what he wants to, and that includes dating who he wants to.”

  “But why...?” I can’t bring myself to say it.

  “I don’t know why he slept with you. Maybe it was because he was drunk, or maybe he was curious about what it would be like. You two are close. In so many ways, you make sense together. Maybe he wanted to see if there was something there.”

  So then him going out with Michelle means there isn’t. The kiss the other night might have triggered his curiosity, and he got it out of his system last night when we slept together. Now he’s free to move on and pursue Michelle. I rub my forehead because thinking about all of this is giving me a headache. Not to mention a heartache.

  “I have to go.”

  “What are you going to do, Aria?”

  “Nothing, like you said. Talk to you tomorrow.” I hang up and lean my head against the glass. It’s warm from the sun beating on it. I take a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before releasing. Ashley has to be right about this. I need to stop acting like a lovesick fool and focus on my new job and being Nate’s best friend, like I’ve always been. Nothing’s changed. Not really.

  My phone rings in my hand, and I look down to see David’s name on the screen. “Hey, David. What’s going on?”

  “We’re all going out for drinks to celebrate. Come join us.”

  “Who’s we?” I ask, even though I know Nate can’t possibly be included since he’s on his date.

  “Emily, Mara, Leah, Marty, Becky, Damon... You know, the gang. You in?”

  I could sit around here and sulk or go have some drinks with friends. “I’m there. Which bar?”

  “Last Call. Where else?”

  With all the bars in Priority, everyone still ends up at Last Call. It’s gotten quite the reputation as the “It” place, which is fine by me since I can walk there if need be.

  “I’ll get ready and see you there.”

  “Yes, Madam Editor.”

  I laugh because I can picture him saluting even though we’re on the phone. I hang up, take a quick shower, and reapply my makeup. I opt for comfy clothes, capri jeans and a cute black top that’s flowy and very summery in every way but color. I’m out the door and walking to Last Call thirty minutes later.

  David spots me when I enter and yells, “Hey! It’s the lady of the hour!” He rushes over and gives me a one-armed hug. “Look, everybody, it’s the woman who saved us all from graying prematurely at the hands of Oliver Strauss. A toast!” He raises the pint glass in his hand, the contents sloshing all over but luckily not spilling since he already drank most of it. “To Aria!”

  “Hear, hear!” Emily says. Her eyes linger on David’s arm, which has lowered and is draped around my waist.

  I step away from him and join the group at the bar. Caleb comes over with a huge smile on his face. “Nate told me about your promotion.”

  “He did?” When did he have time? Unless he called Caleb before I got back to my apartment this afternoon.

  “Of course. He’s proud of you. I am, too. You drink on the house tonight.” He hands me a Corona Light, which I’m grateful for since I’m not looking to get trashed. I’ve had enough of that lately, and it hasn’t done me any good.

  “Thanks, Caleb.”

  He looks around. “So where is Nate? I thought he’d be arriving with you.” He wipes a spill caused by Emily, who is acting like a drunken coed to get David’s attention.

  “He has a date,” I say, quickly taking a sip of my beer.

  “Oh, lime!” Caleb grabs a lime from a container behind the bar and sticks it in the top of my Corona.

  “Thanks.” I push it down but don’t do my thumb trick.

  “I didn’t realize Nate had a date tonight. He forgot to mention it when we talked.”

  “Yeah, well, I think that’s because he’s dating Michelle from my building.”

  Caleb’s brow furrows. “Michelle is here.” He points over my head, and I turn to see Michelle sitting at a table in back with two other women.

  Then Nate’s not dating her. Ashley was right. They just happened to be leaving the apartment building at the same time. Knowing Nate, he offered to drive her so she didn’t have to walk in those heels she always insists on wearing.

  I suppress a smile as I turn back to Caleb. “I guess I was wrong. He won’t tell me who he’s seeing. I assumed it was Michelle.”

  “Nate wouldn’t date a woman like Michelle. She’s too in-your-face. With everyone, not just men. It’s like she’s running for mayor or something, except her way of shaking hands is more like groping your arm or sticking her fake boobs in your face.”

  I laugh, which feels great after the weekend I’ve had. “I always liked you, Caleb.”

  “Hey, now. I’m engaged.” He winks to show he’s only teasing. “Though I keep telling Nate he should scoop you up before someone else does. You’re quite the catch, Aria Carmichael.” He points to the group of writers and editors I’m with. “These guys know it, too.”

  “These scrubs?” I scoff.

  “Hey,�
�� Becky, one of the news staff writers, protests. “You love us and you know it.”

  “I do. I can’t deny it. I work with the best writers in Priority.”

  “And one giant ass by the name of Oliver,” Marty pipes in. “Did you have to get him promoted? Now I’m going to have to put up with him being my boss instead of the other way around.” Marty’s the news editor and the person Oliver formerly reported to.

  “I’m sorry, Marty, but it wasn’t my doing. Mr. Monohan made that decision.”

  Marty scoffs. “Let’s be honest. Marjorie Strauss made that decision.”

  “Can’t argue with you there.” Something sharp sticks me in my right eye. “Ugh, eyelash. Would you excuse me for a second?” I make my way through the group and to the restroom, blinking in the process to try to dislodge the eyelash from my iris, where it’s currently camped out.

  “Aria.”

  I stop at the sound of Aaron’s voice, and at that moment my eye tears, removing the eyelash. I turn to face Aaron with the tear trickling down my cheek.

  “Hey, don’t cry.” He reaches for my cheek, brushing the pad of his thumb against it.

  I jerk back. “I had an eyelash.” I swipe at my cheek, drying it. “What do you want, Aaron?”

  “To talk. I heard you were promoted again. That paper is very finicky with their promotions. Taking them back and then reinstating them. You should think about applying to a larger paper. Now that you have ‘editor’ attached to your name, I’m sure you could land something better.”

  I cross my arms. “My journalism career doesn’t really concern you.”

  This time it’s his head that jerks back. “Just trying to look out for my girl.”

  “I’m not your girl. Haven’t been for a while. Though I met her in the restroom the last time I was here.”