Chapter 22
AUBREY
I bite my thumbnail as I wait for Isaac to get off the plane. Images of how awkward this weekend is going to be with Riff and Isaac in the same room flip through my head. I hope Riff keeps his cool and doesn’t do something crazy like I know he’s capable of when he gets angry. Poor Isaac wouldn’t stand a chance against his rage.
Isaac comes into view carrying a small, black bag and a suit bag in the same hand. He’s dressed casually in khakis and a blue polo shirt with his hair styled in its traditional fashion. He pushes his black-framed glasses up his nose and gives me a small wave.
He wraps his free arm around my shoulders and pulls me into him. “I’ve missed you.”
I squeeze him back and pat his back. “It’s good to see you. Did you have a good flight?”
“It was fine,” he answers as I take him by the hand and lead him towards the exit.
Things between us still feel forced and unnatural. It takes a lot of work to keep a conversation rolling between us, but I’m not ready to give up on making this relationship work.
We walk to the short term parking section of the lot and he follows me to Lanie’s car.
“A rental?” he questions.
I unlock the doors. “It’s Lanie’s. She let me borrow it to come pick you up.”
“Ah,” is all he replies.
We ride in silence on the highway. Like I said, conversation doesn’t come easy between us, which is odd because we work together. There should be a million things to talk about between us.
Tired of the silence, I crank up the radio. The beat of a pop tune plays through the speakers filling the cab with a little noise as we drive to Lanie’s house.
“What exactly are the plans for the night?” Isaac asks as he turns the radio back down.
“We’re decorating the dock and tent for the wedding tomorrow. Then we have a rehearsal dinner at some Italian place.”
He nods. “It’s odd to have a wedding on a Sunday, don’t you think?”
I shrug. “Not really. What’s it matter what day they get married on?”
“It doesn’t, I guess. I would think that most people would stick with a traditional Saturday wedding.”
I twist my lips as I evaluate his tone that seems a little snippy and judgmental. “Lanie and Noel are anything but traditional, so why should their wedding be?”
“Touche,” he replies.
Every inch of the driveway is full of delivery people when I pull in, forcing me into the side yard. Through the windshield I watch Zach direct a man with a bunch of flowers down towards the dock where the actual ceremony will take place. He glances over at the car and catches me staring at him and grins. It’s not just any grin either. It’s the one where he practically devours me with his eyes and makes things a little uncomfortable considering I’m dating another man.
I open the door and hop out of the car. He’s not going to give up even though Isaac is here. He really does have some nerve.
Isaac steps out of the car and opens the back door to retrieve his things. “It’s beautiful out here. Where did you say we are again?”
“Cedar Creek Lake. Lanie grew up here. Noel’s family actually lives right next door, so we are all staying here for the night.”
He rests his hands on the top of the car and stares at me. “Are you sure everyone’s okay with me staying here?” His eyes flick in Zach’s direction. “No one’s pissed are they?”
I shake my head, knowing full well that Zach doesn’t like him being here, but Isaac doesn’t need to know that. “You’re fine.”
On our way into the house, Zach steps directly in our path. “What’s up lovebirds? Did you have a good flight, Ken—” I cut him with a stare and he quickly corrects himself. “Isaac.”
I roll my eyes and try to sidestep him. “Don’t pay any attention to him,” I tell Isaac as I grab his arm.
“Oh, come on. Don’t be that way. I’m trying to be nice,” Zach says as he moves out of my way.
“You’re an asshole,” I call over my shoulder as I lead Isaac into the house.
Once we’re out of earshot, Isaac says, “Are you sure it’s over between the two of you?”
I shake my head. “So over. He’s the biggest man-whore in the band. I can never be with someone like him long term.”
He wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. “Good because I don’t want to get my heart crushed if you haven’t truly moved on.”
I tense at his words. That’s a feeling I know all too well and I hate the idea of having someone’s heart teetering in my own hands. I don’t want to hurt him.
****
The Italian restaurant Lanie picked for her rehearsal dinner is loud with the hustle and bustle of the busy wait staff working their way around keeping dinner guests happy. The white table linens and candles add an elegant touch to the room. Noel rented out the entire restaurant so the band could celebrate in private.
Trip sulks in his chair, bummed by the prospect of not having any random chicks around until Noel’s older cousin in her forties starts giving him the old fuck-eye.
“Dude, she so wants me. I’m going to Cougar land tonight,” Trip tells Zach who is sitting between us. “That chick wants my nuts. Look at how she licks her lips when I look over.”
Riff and I both glance over at the next table and watch the busty, bleach-blond do exactly what Trip said the moment he looks over. Zach and I both laugh at the same time.
“Did you see that!” Trip exclaims. “I’m hitting that tonight!”
“Have fun with that, bro,” Zach says.
“Maybe she has a daughter or something and we can get them to take us back to their place,” Trip says.
Zach shakes his head. “Better rope Tyke into your plans, because I don’t get down like that anymore.” His gaze shifts to me. “I’ve got something much better in mind.”
I swallow hard and try to calm my nerves under his heated stare.
“I don’t think I was supposed to bring this present to the rehearsal dinner,” Isaac says breaking my attention away from Zach’s intense stare. Isaac stuffs the box he carried in with him between his feet.
“I’m being nosey, but what did you get them?” I ask.
“A crystal vase. I know it’s not much and they probably don’t need anything, but I figured it’s the thought, right?”
I lean over and kiss his lips, trying to ignore the fact that Zach’s right beside me. “It’s very sweet.”
“Rolls,” Riff says while practically shoving the breadbasket in my face.
I shove it away with my hand. “I’m fine. Thanks.”
He sits the basket back on the table. “I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss out since you seemed pretty busy and all.”
I fight the overwhelming urge to reach over and smack him in the face and then scream, “What do you want from me?”
When I can’t take looking at Zach a second longer, I slide my chair back and stand without warning.
Isaac peers up at me concerned. “You all right?”
“I’m fine. Just need to use the ladies’ room.”
I storm off in the direction of the restroom and shove the door open. I throw my purse down on the counter and lean against it as I fight back the crazy, mixed-up emotions I feel inside. One minute he likes me…the next he doesn’t. His psycho mood swings are giving me whiplash.
I stare at myself in the mirror, wondering what happened to the levelheaded girl I was a short time ago. Feeling this way is the very thing I wanted to protect myself from, and yet here I stand, miserable that the man I really want didn’t want me back. When I offered him my heart, he crushed it in the palm of his hand like it meant nothing to him. I refuse to let him do it to me again.
I sigh. Why couldn’t he tell me he loved me back when I told him in the bar? Why now when I’m trying to move on and give Isaac a chance. He’s making me feel like the villain in this situation.
The lock on the door clicks behind me and I see Zach step into view through the mirror. “What are you doing in here? You aren’t done torturing me yet?”
He shoves his hands into his jean pockets and nods. “I deserve that. I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting. It’s childish and I really don’t have a good excuse other than seeing you with him is driving me bat shit crazy.”
I turn to face him. “How do you think I felt when you said you were with those two women and then pulled the girl into your lap at the bar? Do you think this is easy for me? I’m trying to move on like you told me to do, but I can’t with you always making things so difficult for me!”
He takes a couple steps and wraps his fingers around my upper arms. “I’m sorry, all right. I’d take it all back if I could. I don’t mean to hurt you, Kitten. I fucking love you and I don’t know how to handle it.”
Shock registers on his face as he realizes what he’s said to me. He rubs his face and takes a deep breath before looking me square in the eye. “I love you.”
“You love me?” I whisper. “Why did you wait until now to tell me?”
He bites his lower lip. “I thought I was doing you a favor by pushing you away. As much as I hate to admit it, a guy like Isaac would be a much better choice than a piece of shit like me. I wish I could give you every part of me, but I’m so fucking broken that I’m not sure where to start.”
I place my hand over his heart. “Start by giving me this. All I ever ask is that you love me back just as much as I love you.”
“What if I can’t? I don’t know how to love someone.”
Tears fill my eyes and when I blink the warm, salty liquid flows down my cheeks. “You can. You already have. You love your mom and Hailey. I see it every time you talk about them, what they meant to you. I want you to let me in. I love being with you. I love the way you make me feel. I do want to be with you, but I’m afraid you’ll crush my heart.”
“I swear I’ll never hurt you again. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving how much I love you if you let me.” He cups my cheeks in his hands. “I love you, Aubrey. I think I have from the moment you first turned me down.”
I smile at him and wrap my arms around him. It’s crazy and us together makes absolutely zero sense, but I can’t fight the feelings I have for him. “I love you, too.”
I close my eyes and focus on how good he makes me feel. It would absolutely crush me at this point if this doesn’t work out again, but I can’t worry about that, because right now I know he’s being sincere.
He kisses me like he’s never kissed me before. It’s like he needs me to breath. He grabs my hips and hoists me up on the counter. “Thank god you picked a dress to wear tonight. This would be a lot harder in if not.”
He reaches up my skirt and yanks my underwear down before sliding them the rest of the way off my body. There’s no time wasted as he circles my clit with the tip of his finger in a forceful rhythm. I bite my lip and throw my head back as I moan from the sheer pleasure of his touch. I’ve missed being with him so much.
Within a minute my eyes roll back and my entire body shakes as I come hard against his hand.
I gasp as I come down from the high. All the time we’ve spent learning each other’s bodies comes in handy during a quickie like this.
Zach unzips his pants and shoves them along with his boxers down to his thighs before he grabs the base of his shaft and guides it into me. A long moans flies from his mouth as it pushes his cock all the way in.
“Oh, god,” I cry as softly as I can while he plunges into me.
We hold each other’s gaze and I chew on my bottom lip. Zach leans over and nips my ear, grazing his teeth along my skin. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I breathe.
He grips my hips harder as he drives into me desperate to find his release. Small beads of sweat form on his brow as he works his way deeper inside me. I can’t peel my eyes away from his face as he rocks into me again and again in a steady rhythm.
Long strands of my ponytail come loose and cascade around my shoulders. I can only imagine what a mess my hair must be after this.
He wraps his arms around me and I arch my back against his hands. To make him come faster I clench my muscles around his cock and hold them as tight as I can.
“Fuck, Kitten.”
Both of his hands find their way into my hair after he pulls the elastic band from it, allowing it to fall around my shoulders. I wrap my fingers around the edge of the counter and brace myself as he picks up speed.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” he says against my lips. “Shit.”
His entire body tenses under my touch. I squeeze my legs around him as he lets out a string of curses as he releases inside me, groaning so loud I’m sure the entire wedding party heard us.
He kisses my face all over. “You’re fucking amazing, Aubrey. Every time keeps getting better. I promise I’ll love you until the day I die.”
I kiss his lips and rest my forehead against his. “What am I going to do about Isaac?”
He rubs my back. “Tell him you’re with me and he needs to go home.”
I shake my head. “I can’t be rude to him. He’s my boss I still have to deal with him.”
He kisses my neck. “Fuck that job. I want you to stay with me all the time anyway.”
“I didn’t work hard for my degree to flush my first job opportunity down the damn toilet. Can we play it cool for this weekend and I’ll let him down gently Monday.”
He sighs. “We can do that, but if I see his lips touch you, I’ll rip them off his face.”
“You’re impossible,” I say.
After a few last kisses I slip on my panties and try to fix my disheveled hair. We leave the bathroom together while still adjusting our clothes and I freeze in my tracks. Isaac waits down the hall from the bathroom with the gift he had at the table in his hands, waiting for us to come out. The moment our eyes connect, he starts shaking his head and turns on his heel.
Instantly, I feel like total shit because I know what it’s like to want someone who doesn’t fully want you back. I always swore I would never be that person, yet here I am doing the exact thing I hate.
“Isaac?” I call his name as he blasts through the door to the parking lot.
He marches out towards the car, but doesn’t stop as I keep calling his name. When he reaches Lanie’s car he jerks on the locked door handle a few times before yelling, “Fuck,” loud enough for the entire state of Texas to hear him.
I touch his arm. “Will you give me a chance to explain?”
He jerks away from my touch. “Jesus. How could you do this to me? Why did you ask me to come down here if you still have a thing going with him? I ask you point blank and you told me there was nothing going on.”
Tears well in my eyes and my entire body shakes. The look on his face crushes my heart as I realize this game Riff and I played has finally caught up with me and is affecting someone else. I never meant to hurt Isaac and right now the harsh words from his beautiful lips are deserved.
I drop my head, unwilling to face him. I deserve his cruelty, so I don’t defend myself.
The wedding gift he’d bought for Noel and Lane slams into the ground at my feet, tearing open. The crystal vases inside the box shatters upon impact and shards of glass litter the parking lot.
“How long Aubrey? How long have you been sleeping Riff behind my back? Did this go on last weekend, too?”
I lift my chin and find Isaac’s usually delightful blue eyes dark and narrowed. There’s no excuse for me to be crying other then the guilt I feel as the tears glide down my cheeks. “I—I’m sss…orry.” My words are a weak stutter, but I suddenly have no control of the panic wrecking havoc on my body.
He shakes his head. “Sorry? You’re sorry. That’s the best you can do? You lead me on for nearly two weeks and all you offer is a half-assed apology.” He throws his hands out. “And that’s only because you got caught! What? Were you planning on stringing me along until he got tired of you? Because you know he will. You told me yourself he’s the biggest manwhore in the band. What makes you think you’ll be any different? That you mean anything to him?”
This is the most angry I’ve ever seen Isaac and it’s hard for me to witness the nicest man I’ve ever known lose his head right in front of my eyes. The one thing I never wanted to happen did. I’ve ruined this relationship, but I love Zach. I can’t fight my feelings for him.
“I don’t know what else I can say,” I whisper, still at a loss.
“There’s nothing you can say. People at the office were right to gossip about you and call you a fucking whore.” His words tear at my heart and I bury my face in my hands.
“That’s enough!” Zach’s voice cuts across the lot and I suck in a quick breath. “Don’t you say another goddamn word to her or so help me…”
Isaac laughs. “So help you what? She’s my date. I can say what ever the fuck I want to her, so butt out!”
“She is mine,” Zach growls as he steps between Isaac and me. “And she’s been mine long before you ever came into the fucking picture. She’s only with you because I couldn’t get my shit together. You were a distraction.”
Isaac’s eyes narrow. “Whatever. You’re probably right. She’s not worth it anyhow.”
Without warning, Zach draws back and blasts Isaac square in the nose with his fist, shattering Isaac’s glasses. Isaac grabs his face as blood pours from his nose while shock registers on his face. “Don’t you ever talk about her like that again you son-of-a-bitch.”
“Not a problem.” Isaac’s watering eyes flick to mine. “Aubrey, you’re fired. Don’t bother coming back to the office. I don’t ever want to see your face again. I’ll have your personal belongings shipped to you.”
I nod as the realization I’ve lost more than my companionship with Isaac hits me hard and tears flood down my face.
Zach watches me cry and he growls, “Shut the fuck up and leave already you fucking Ken doll want-to-be or I’ll make sure you never speak another word to her or anyone else ever again.”
Isaac shakes his head and throws his hands up in surrender, clearly not wanting to test Zach’s threat.
The tension in Zach’s drawn fists relaxes as Isaac heeds his warning and walks away. Tears keep falling as I hate myself for being an awful person, but know deep down being with Zach is the right thing to do.
“Don’t cry.” Zach pulls me into a tight hug, wrapping his strong, tattooed arms around my small waist. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
I sniff. “Me too, but if that’s the price I have to pay to be with you, I’d do it all over again.”
“I want you to know, I meant what I said earlier. I love you with every inch of my broken soul. I know it’s a mess, but I’m giving you all the pieces, hoping you can make sense of it. I love you, Kitten.” He kisses my lips and warmth surrounds my entire body and a sense of security flows through me as we stay wrapped in one another’s arms.