Chapter Twenty-Seven
The minute Adam opened the front door, Trish walked in with a sleeping Layla in her arms. Her sad eyes met mine and quietly we got my princess tucked into bed, and then we went down to the living room.
Trish was still acting weird. She was strangely silent and wouldn’t look at me. Adam walked into the room and sat down in the chair across from us. He must have noticed her behavior. “Trish, are you alright?” he asked her.
She finally looked up and to my horror, she was crying. She rarely cried. I’d only seen her cry a few times.
“Trish, what’s wrong with you?” My tone was panicked.
“I have a feeling this is all my fault,” she cried.
I had no idea what she was talking about. “What’s all your fault?” I asked frantically. I was so confused. I watched as she took several deep breaths.
“This thing with Destiny is all my fault,” she whispered.
“What? Trish, you’ve lost me.”
She glanced to Adam and then back to me. “Did Landyn tell you what I did?” Her voice was cracking now and I was getting frustrated with her talking in circles. “Trish, just spit it out.”
She sighed loudly. “Did you actually see Landyn having sex with Destiny?”
“No, but it doesn’t matter, it was obvious,” I stated firmly. She stared at me a brief moment before speaking again. “Lex, I’m not sure what you saw, but I’ll bet everything I own that Destiny went there looking for me.”
That still didn’t make sense, so I waited for her to continue.
She cleared her throat. “Okay. Do you remember the night you caught Landyn in the bathroom with Destiny...” I cut her off with a glare and, “How could I forget?!”
“Lex, I wasn’t finished. Do you remember when we left that party, how I swore up and down that I would pay her back?” She had one raised eyebrow at me. I had a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and I felt my throat closing up.
“I remember,” I whispered
“Well, I never forgot about it, and two days ago, the opportunity to pay her back was handed to me on a silver platter.” She paused.
“I went with Tony to a party at the Hotel Derek, only to realize when we got there that it was a family party, more specifically, Destiny’s engagement party.”
I gasped. “Oh God, Trish, I’m shaking. What did you do?” I asked her.
“I had a few drinks. I wasn’t drunk; not even close, just buzzed. Her asshole fiancé kept hitting on anything in a skirt, so of course I caught his attention while Tony was off mingling. The asshole kept begging me for a quickie, you know, because he wasn’t ‘technically married yet’...”
I closed my eyes and begged her gently. “Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him T.”
“I didn’t sleep with him, but it probably looks that way. I actually did my best to ignore him, but when the jerk got so drunk that he was slurring and stumbling, it just hit me how easily I could get a little payback. I was also pissed that Tony left me by myself the majority of the night when he knew exactly how I felt about his sister.” Her tone was growing intense.
“So, I went with the guy to his room, or their room. He undressed completely and I undressed myself down to my bra and panties; I was never fully naked. I grabbed his cell phone and started snapping pictures. He was so out of it he even posed for some of them. The pictures weren’t dirty, but they also didn’t leave a lot to the imagination.”
She got pensive for a moment. “I never even let the guy kiss me,” she whispered.
“There’s more you’re not telling me T. What else happened?” I asked, glad that I spoke calmly when really I was mess inside.
“I told the guy, I still don’t even know his name that I needed to use the restroom and I locked myself in there while I debated what to do next. When I got up the nerve to open the door the guy was passed out on the bed. I got dressed, stole his phone and left. I took a cab home.”
When she started crying again, I got up and sat next to her so I could hug her. “Tony called me a few times, but I was so mad at him for putting me in that position and so mad at myself for what I’d just done, that I ignored him. I’m in love with Tony. I really am, Lex. I’ve never been in love before. I’m still a virgin,” she whispered.
“What?” I asked, completely thrown for a loop. “What do you mean you’re a virgin? How did I not know this? God, have I always been so wrapped up in my own crap that I didn’t even know my best friend was a virgin,” I whispered angrily to myself. Trish just shook her head at me.
I made eye contact with Adam who was staring at Trish with eyes bugging out.
“It wasn’t just you Lex,” Trish said. “I could have told you, I should have told you, but... I don’t know... I guess it was a little fun trying to live up to my so called ‘promiscuous’ reputation when in reality I’m just a prude in the sex department.”
She gave me a sad smile before whispering, “I was ready to give myself to Tony.”
I squeezed my eyes shut wanting to make this all go away. I was still pissed at myself for being such a horrible friend and I vowed to myself that I’d make it up to her. “It’s okay, T. We’ll figure this out. I’ll help you make things right with Tony. He probably doesn’t even know you went to that guy’s hotel room.”
“No, it’s not okay. Nothing’s okay. I didn’t do anything with the pictures right away or the guy’s phone; I changed my mind at the last minute. But when Ryan attacked you last night... I was desperate to do something. I couldn’t help but feel that none of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for Destiny. I was furious at Landyn too, but I’ve always known that you loved him no matter how much you lied to yourself.”
She paused and while she took a moment for herself, I tried to offer her some comfort. “I understand completely Trish. I also blamed Destiny. If it makes you feel any better, I think I broke her nose tonight. I’ll tell you the story when you’re finished, but it felt great.”
She gave me a shaky smile. “You don’t understand, Lex. The story gets worse. While I was sitting in the hospital waiting room with Layla, I forwarded the pictures to Destiny from her fiancés phone.”
I felt my eyes grow huge. “What?” I breathed out.
“I’ve ruined everything. I’ve called Tony over and over again since I woke up this morning, but he won’t talk to me. While I was packing, he sent me a text message telling me that he saw the pictures, and wants nothing to do with me. I assume Destiny went to Landyn with the intention of finding me since you’re my best friend.”
This was crazy! I was having a hard time digesting all this information so I couldn’t decide which part was worse; that my virgin best friend, who never told me she was still a virgin, just lost the guy she was in love with by doing me a favor she promised to make good on years ago, or the fact that I didn’t trust Landyn enough to give him the opportunity to explain himself.
Was that why Destiny was there? I vaguely remember Landyn saying something about her looking for Trish, but I couldn’t be sure.
I was tired; exhausted more like it. I squeezed Trish’s shoulders. “Everything’s going to work out, T. It has to. I’ll make it work out. I don’t know where either one of us can go from here in our relationships, but we’ll get through it together like we always do. I promise.”
“I’m just so sorry Lex. I never considered the consequences until it was too late.” I just squeezed her even tighter.
“I feel like I should say something profound to make you ladies feel better, but shit, you girls are nuts. Thank God I’m still single,” Detective Adam chimed in.
Trish and I both glared at him. “Shut it, copper. You just wait until you find a woman. She’ll have your head spinning so fast you won’t be able to walk straight. Actually, I might just have to find that woman for you,” I said deviously.
“I don’t want her if she’s anything like you two,” was his comeback.
Trish and I were both so taken aback by his comment that we sucked in air at the same time.
Surprisingly, he started laughing, more like howling. “I’m just joking! Calm down hens and unruffle your feathers. I tell you what... I’ll make you a deal. You both are more than welcome to find me a woman as long as she’s equally as hot as the two of you put together. An attitude like Trish here, with her sweet ass and olive complexion, along with your big, beautiful hazel eyes, long silky hair and tight little body, you got a deal.”
Trish and I looked at each other for quick confirmation and smiled. “Deal!” We shouted out at the same time.
He had a huge grin on his face while he shook his head at us. “Glad I could cheer you up. If only it wasn’t at my expense, but good luck on the hunt,” he said sarcastically, but I knew deep down he really wanted us to find him someone. We didn’t get into too much detail about his past earlier, but there was something special about this detective.
I’d worry about that later. Right now... sleep. I needed to hit the sack. I’d decide what I was going to do in the morning and help Trish with whatever she decided.
I grabbed Trish’s hand. “Come on; let’s go get some sleep, get this night over with and hope tomorrow will bring us something good.” We both stood up and I looked to Adam. “I guess you were right. Now, maybe tomorrow you can tell me exactly how I’m supposed to fix everything. Good night.”
When we made it to the stairs Adam spoke. “I have a feeling you won’t have much to fix, Alexis. The man I saw wouldn’t have cared if you beat him over the head with that bat you had earlier. He’d forgive you of anything.” Somehow I didn’t think that was true, but I wished so hard that it was, it brought tears to my eyes. I gave him an unsteady smile, jogged up the stairs to the guest room and cried myself to sleep.
******
There was incoherent alertness tugging at back of my sleep induced mind. I knew I was still in Adam’s house, in his guest bed, but I felt the warmth of a body cocoon me as legs entangled with mine. I was glad I took off my jeans before falling asleep. I felt hot breath at my neck as light kisses were pressed to my skin. A large, calloused hand slipped between my hold on Layla. The hem of my shirt lifted and Landyn caressed my stomach and the baby growing inside me.
Please let me remember this dream when I wake up.