Chapter Seven
“What?” What the hell is she talking about? I’ve never slept with anybody but her after a concert. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I saw you with my own eyes, I was there.”
“Where Regan?” By this time, Derrick had turned off the stove and pushed the pan of food to the side to cool.
“After your concert in Detroit.”
“I didn’t do anything but sleep after that concert.”
“There’s no way.” She was adamant, slamming her hand on the counter. “My flight arrived late so Brit took me back to the hotel so I could wait for you. I had to leave my bag at the front desk so I was down the hall getting a pop from the machine and when I was walking back to the hotel I saw you standing at a room when some barely dressed blonde sex goddess jumped into your arms as she kissed you and you both fell into the room and the door closed.”
He was lost for words, trying to remember exactly what happened.
“Derrick, I can tell you it’s not a good thing that you aren’t denying it. I was there, I know what I saw.”
But nothing happened. I would never have done that to her.
“Regan, I swear to you nothing like that happened, ever. On the nights that you weren’t with me, I was always alone in my room. I barely remember that night in Detroit, the guys fed me so many shots on the way back to the hotel but I slept alone. I do know that.”
“Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. I have never been that type of guy. I thought you knew that about me. Keaton’s the one that takes a different groupie to bed after every concert, not me.”
“Well let’s get Keaton on the phone and ask him then.”
“Really? Now?”
“If you didn’t do anything then you shouldn’t have anything to worry about, right? All I know is I left that hotel heartbroken and I need answers Derrick.” Her face was turning different shades of red and the rims of her eyes were glistening.
“Okay, let me get my phone.” If those guys set me up to hurt her, I will fuck them up.
He called Keaton’s number but got voicemail. No reason to try Ollie, he hated cell phones. So, he dialed Ash, praying to god he’d answer.
“Hey sport, what’s up, how’s Regan doing?”
“Ash I don’t have time to chit chat, we have issues.” He sat the phone on the counter and hit speaker so she could hear too. He didn’t have anything to hide that he could remember.
“Okay, what’s up?”
“Do you remember Detroit last year?”
“I don’t think anyone could forget Detroit, it was cold as shit.”
“Yes, but after the concert, at the hotel. What happened?”
“DJ what is this about? We were all shit faced that night.”
“Regan was at the hotel.” As she listened, she was tapping her finger nails on the granite.
“No, she wasn’t.”
“Yes, I was Ash.”
“Oh, hey Regan. Uhm I don’t remember seeing you there.”
“No? Well I remember seeing all of you, and the stacked blonde chick that went to bed with Derrick.”
“Oh shit.” Ash got seriously quiet.
“Uh what do you mean by oh shit? Ash, tell me, what the hell did you guys do? This isn’t funny right now.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought.” Regan picked up her empty cup and put it in the sink then grabbed her purse.
“Please, please don’t leave, I will get to the bottom of this if it’s the last thing I do.” He had both hands together praying she wouldn’t walk out on him. He mouthed the word please, begging her. He was hard-pressed to believe this was happening. That his best friends could fuck up, on purpose, the one really good thing he had in his life.
“I think maybe you should talk to Keaton about this.”
“I don’t fucking want to talk to Keaton and besides, we already tried him, he didn’t answer. Ash, talk now dammit.”
***
Regan listened closely as Ash backpedaled now that Derrick was pissed. He would be so hurt if his friends did something to him on purpose. She laid her purse on the dining room table and sat on a bar stool where Derrick was standing over his phone shouting.
“Tell me now dammit, before I jump in my car and come over there and beat it out of you.”
She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Derrick this angry. The four of them had always gotten along so well.
“Okay, but both of you please know that it was not my doing I swear. I had nothing to do with any of it.”
When Derrick looked at Regan, she could see the anger boiling in his eyes. She placed a hand on his arm and whispered. “You need to calm down.”
“You’re too nice.” But she noticed that he took a deep breath and relaxed his stance a little.
“Not meaning to throw anybody under the bus intentionally but it was all Keaton and Ollie. They thought it would be funny to get you all liquored up and they knew Regan wasn’t there so they brought one of the groupies back to the hotel with us.”
“She was in the limo? I don’t remember that.”
“She was next to the door beside Keaton I guess. I don’t remember seeing her either but then Keaton does so much dumb shit that I usually ignore whoever’s with him.”
“Okay so what happened then?”
Regan got up from the chair to go stand next to Derrick. This whole situation was starting to change. What she’d thought happened that night sounded like it was turning out to be a sham and she’d ended their relationship without knowing the truth. She felt like an idiot.
“Everyone knows you’ve never been interested in any of the girls that hang around so they wanted to play a joke. She waited until you were ready to go in your room and when you had it unlocked, she jumped on you, you lost your balance and you both fell into the room. The door shut behind you but those two yahoos stood in the hallway laughing up a storm. When you got her off you, Ollie said you dragged her out into the hallway and slammed your door. They didn’t hear from you til morning and the woman went to Keaton’s room.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me that?” She felt so bad for Derrick because he looked so hurt.
“When they told me, in very few words I let them know how stupid they were. Nothing happened so we all decided there was no point, it was just a dumb joke. Of course, now I feel like shit for Regan seeing all that go down. Regan I am so sorry. If I knew what they had planned I never would have let them go through with it.”
“Thanks Ash, but I think Derrick’s who you really owe the apology to.”
“And I’ll deal with you and the other two assholes later.” Derrick hit end on his cell without saying goodbye.
The End