Chapter Sixteen
Sienna
Parker’s fingers moving down my arm created a flurry of shivers to travel across my body. “Stay here,” I said, extracting myself from under him. His head lolled and I managed to get him sitting up straight. He was grinning like an idiot, and I couldn’t help smiling, too. He was adorable normally, and even more so when he was shit-faced.
I went over to Tony and the girls. “Tony, we gotta get everyone out of here.”
“Party pooper,” Tammy said and threw her napkin at me.
I clenched my jaw and started at the wadded up napkin on the floor. Did she seriously just do that?
Tony’s eyes went wide. “Okay, ladies, we’re moving the party elsewhere.”
I gave Tammy a death stare as she scooted out of the booth. She and Calista walked toward the front door and grabbed their coats, throwing them over their salacious outfits.
“Should I stay and clean?” Tony asked, glancing at the girls.
I knew he wanted to seal the deal with one of them and I wasn’t about to be a cock-block. “No, I’ll come in tomorrow and do it. Enjoy your night, and thanks for everything.”
Tony kissed me on the cheek and escorted the girls out of my diner.
I kicked the napkin that Tammy had thrown at me and turned back to Parker. His eyes were half closed, and his mouth slackened.
“Come on, Parker.”
“Whhhaaa—” he dragged on. His eyes fluttered open and then widened as if he’d forgotten where he was.
This was going to be fun.
He slid out of the booth and I had to grab onto him before he hit the floor. I should have asked Tony for help, even if he did have his hands full.
“Parker, help me out here,” I said, gently tapping his cheeks. “Wake up.”
His eyes sprung open. “Where’re we going?”
“I’m taking you home.”
“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” Parker slurred.
“I didn’t drink anything.”
“Really? I thought you did….” he trailed off.
The weight of him against me was almost too much. Why the hell did I wear a dress and heels to this thing?
We moved slow as hell across the diner; he was shuffling as if he were a drunk zombie, his back leg dragging behind him. I propped him against the wall and opened the front door, grabbing onto him again. He had the sense to grab onto the railing which helped us get down the front steps.
His feet kicked divots into the gravel parking lot.
By some miracle, I got Parker into the passenger seat of my car without injuring either of us.
He flopped over and I had to reach around him to connect his seatbelt.
“I’m going to be right back,” I said to Parker, handing him a water bottle. “Drink this.”
He held the bottle in his hands and didn’t bother to take a sip. I’d have to work on that once we got to his house, or he was going to have a massive hangover.
I tossed my heels into the back seat and jogged over to the building, the gravel digging into my feet. It was better than breaking my ankle. I locked the front door. I’d already secured the back door earlier, so everything was buttoned up for the night.
I turned around and took a breath. Okay, now I needed to button up Parker after getting him safely home.
While driving, Parker didn’t have any of his usual complaints about the way I drove. It was actually nice to have silence from him. Halfway home, his head dropped and leaned on my arm. I’d let him rest the remainder of the way. Maybe when we got to his house, he’d have a burst of strength so I wouldn’t have to drag his ass inside.
Parker had enough strength to get in the front door, but he started to lean heavily on me again as we crossed the foyer.
“This wedding is going to be great,” he muttered. “If it's anything like that party, whoop, it’s going to be a doozy.”
“I’m sure it will be fun,” I said, trying to be encouraging. I didn’t want to risk saying anything about his bride-to-be. Parker could be two types of drunk: really happy or really depressed. I feared if I said something about Rachel that rubbed him the wrong way, then I would lose this happy drunk.
“I’m most excited for the wedding night,” he tried to waggle his eyebrows but he ended up holding them both up as he stared at me with wide eyes.
I let out a laugh and quickly recovered. “I’m sure you are.”
“Yep. Me and Rachel are going to do it for the first time.”
I helped him sit down on his bed and took a step back. “Wait, for the first time? Haven't you had sex yet? I thought that’s what the whole ‘put a ring on it’ proposal was for?” How could he marry someone he never had sex with? What if they weren’t compatible in that way? Then they would be stuck in a sexless marriage.
He kicked off his shoes and tried to get his shirt off, but his fingers fumbled over the buttons. “She said she wanted to wait after I proposed.”
“Let me help you,” I said, not wanting to ruin his shirt.
He dropped his hands to the side. “She’s so classy. Not like other girls.”
I held my tongue. Nothing good was going to come out of my mouth. This nearly confirmed her gold-digger status. How could Parker be that blind? She was clearly using him. I had to admit that it felt good to know that they hadn’t been intimate yet. But it would come soon enough. I wondered how long she could hold him off after they were married.
And I hoped to god that he signed a prenup! I made a mental note to slide that into the conversation before their marriage. It was the only way to protect what he worked so hard to build.
I helped him with his shirt. After opening the buttons, I slid the shirt back and he pulled his arms through the sleeves. I gently folded it and placed it on one of the chairs next to the bed. I tried to focus on anything but his amazingly sculpted chest.
I moved him to a lying-down position and he managed to get his own pants off. He wore boxer briefs, but I covered him quickly, already feeling strange stripping him down while he was so intoxicated. I didn’t bother with his socks.
“I’m going to—” I said at the same time as he said, “Lay with me.”
I stared at him. His eyes were open and they were clear. “Just for a minute.”
“Okay,” I said and sat down next to him. I cleared my throat and laid down with enough distance to not make this weird.
Within seconds, he moved closer and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him. His body was warm against mine and I closed my eyes, taking it all in. I knew he was only being this way because he’d been drinking, but it felt incredible to have him hold me.
“I’m so lucky to have you,” he said, his hot breath tickled my ear.
“We’re both lucky. Not a lot of people can say they’ve had a friend as long as we have.”
He sighed. “I wished things could have been different between us.”
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “How do you mean?”
He moved a chunk of hair off of my face. He traced that line again and his finger left a trail of warmth across my face. “I love our friendship, but I want to be a risk-taker like Kenneth and go after my best friend.”
My mouth went dry. Was my engaged best friend telling me that he’d thought of us in a relationship? Just as I had so many times before? “Parker, I don’t think you mean that.”
“Oh, I do, I wonder about it a lot. Especially recently.”
“Why recently?”
“Because of the wedding. Seeing you at the overlook made me want to see you there in a white wedding dress, coming down the aisle toward me.”
I let out a slow breath. This was getting serious very quickly. I wasn’t sure what to say. Should I open up about my feelings too? If there was any moment to do it, this was it.
“Parker, I feel the same way.”
“You do?”
“I think I do.”
He sighed heavily.
I was losing him. If I was going to get this off my chest, then I had to do it soon.
“I think I love you as more than a friend.” I laughed against his arm. “That’s crazy, right? I mean, gosh, I really don’t know what I mean.”
He snuggled closer to me and whispered in my ear, “I love you….”
I pulled my arms up and held him closer to me. I closed my eyes and tried to take a mental picture of all of this. Could we really be like Harriet and Kenneth? The perfect couple that I admired and loved?
“Rachel,” he said, and then his breathing slowed.
Wait, what? Did he say I love you, Rachel? My lower lip trembled. Embarrassment crashed over me. How could I have been so stupid? I actually believed what he said to be true. He was shit-faced and muttering about things that weren’t true. He probably was mixing up me and Rachel in his little speech.
“Parker?” I said.
He started to snore softly, and heat flashed behind my eyes. He was asleep. Right after he called me Rachel.
I waited a few more minutes until I knew he was completely passed out. It was torture just sitting there, stewing over how he just crushed my heart with one stupid word. I didn’t want to risk waking him up and him telling me all of these lies again. It hurt too much. I had allowed myself to get built up by his speech. And for one moment, I’d had a glimmer of hope for us. I wasn’t this girl. When did I become this girl? The one who pined for her best friend after he was engaged. It was ludicrous.
Once his breathing steadied, I moved his arm off of me and slid out from under him. I made sure he was positioned on his side before I left the room. As much as I was pissed at him for getting my hopes up, I wanted him to be safe and taken care of. I’d thrown the party and taken him home; he was my responsibility.
I poured a glass of water from the kitchen tap and found a bottle of aspirin in the bathroom. I put the glass and bottle on the side table and made sure he was comfortable before turning off the lights and leaving the bedroom.
I couldn’t believe I’d led myself on and started to fall for him when he didn’t even know who he was holding. I knew he was drunk, but how could he not know it was me? I felt like absolute shit. I closed and locked his front door and walked dejectedly toward my car. Once I got in there, I gave myself a moment to collect myself. I wiped my tear-streaked cheeks and turned the engine. I took one more look at his house and tried to hold onto those last moments before my best friend broke my heart.