Saving Ever After (Ever After #4) (13 page)

“He’s a
total player, and I don’t get the feeling that you’re into that.”

“Oh,” was
all I said, but apparently there was a lot in my ‘oh’ because Jillian’s eyes
went wide, and she grabbed me by the arm, stopping me right in the middle of
the hall.

“Holy shit,
you already did him, didn’t you?” I couldn’t meet her eyes. I looked away and
my gaze landed on Heidi who was watching me with an odd expression. My entire
face heated in embarrassment.  Jillian took that as her confirmation. “Shit, I
knew it when he texted me to tell me he was taking care of you, or well I
didn’t know, know, but I suspected. Damn him, I told him to leave you alone,
that you were too nice for him. Have you talked to him since?”

I shook my head.

“Asshole,”
Jillian muttered. “Look, Heidi’s right. We love the boys, they’re our boys, but
they can be . . .”

“Complete
dicks,” Dawn finished for her.

“Yeah,
pretty much. Don’t feel bad or embarrassed though, you’re not the first girl
he’s done this too.”

“Yeah, he
has the attention span of a two year old when it comes to girls. We used to
hook up, but it got old fast,” Heidi shared.

“See, just
brush it off like Heidi. It’s really not a big deal, and if you don’t make it
one, he won’t. You guys will be cool, you’ll see.” Jillian grabbed my arm
again, pulling me toward the elevators.

Yeah Mia,
just be cool.

It was
easier said than done though. It wasn’t five minutes after we walked in the
door of this guy Marshall’s condo, that I spotted Leland flirting with a pretty
blonde thing. Was I jealous? I don’t really know. I don’t think so. Was I hurt
and angry that he could be so inconsiderate and blow me off so easily?

Hell yes.

At least
when I thought I’d made a mistake and didn’t really want to be with him, I was
still willing to talk to him and try to keep the relationship. I’d worried
about how he would feel and what he expected and wanted. It didn’t seem as if
he’d considered me in the aftermath at all. That didn’t just hurt, it pissed me
off, and my angry side is also my most reckless side.

Once that
anger started burning in my gut, it just kept building and my mind kept stoking
it with more fuel. Leila. Cait. Mommy Dearest. Workaholic Dad. Doucheface
Leland and his hoochie Barbie Doll. Chris and his perfect Katrina.

The more I
gave into the anger, the more I drank. With every drink, I just wanted to
escape these feelings. I didn’t want to be so mad, and I knew that all the
anger just stemmed from the hurt underneath it, but I didn’t know how to turn
off the hurt. The alcohol seemed to numb it, or at least make it bearable.
Nothing made it go away completely though. That didn’t stop me from trying to
drown it.

I forced
myself to join in conversations and laugh with everyone else. I even played my
first game of beer pong, and lost because by that point my motor skills were
beyond impaired. It was only by sheer luck that I sank a single ball, but I
kept playing and dancing excitedly every time I did it. People laughed and
cheered and I was a part of the fun, instead of watching it.

 At one
point, my partner, whose name I couldn’t even remember, pressed up against me
from behind. He tried to guide my toss by using me as his human puppet while
his other hand snaked up and down the front of me. I ignored the way his touch
made my skin crawl, because I was too far gone to care, but after we lost that
round, I stumbled away from the table.

I wasn’t
even sure what direction I was headed in, maybe toward the kitchen, or had I
just left the kitchen? To say I was a little disoriented would be an
understatement. I just wanted to find Jillian or Heidi or Dawn so one of them
could get me the hell out of here. Using the wall for support, I stumbled down
the hallway searching for them.

I reached a
door I was pretty sure was the bathroom and, thinking I could use a minute to
pull myself together, I pushed it open. It was not the bathroom. It was a
bedroom. An occupied bedroom. A very occupied bedroom. I knew the people
occupying it.

Heidi must
have skipped a lot of classes in grade school because she didn’t know shit
about past and present tense. There was no “used to” about the hooking up her
and Leland were doing. She and Leland were very presently screwing in the
bedroom. They didn’t even look up to see that I’d walked in on them. I stood
there, somewhat stunned, just long enough that the image of the two of them was
burned into my mind, and then I got the hell out of there. Again, I wasn’t even
sure what I was supposed to feel. I searched for the jealousy, but it wasn’t there.
I think I was more upset to learn that Heidi was a fake friend. Not altogether
surprising, but it still sucked.

 I continued
down the hall, just wanting to get out of there. I came to another door and
just as I pressed my hand against it for support, the door fell inward and I
went with it. I would have ended up sprawled on the tile, probably with a head
injury, had the person inside not caught me.

I’d found
the bathroom.

“Woah
there,” a male voice said softly, “I’ve got you.” And he did. Have me, that is.
His strong arms were wrapped around my body, holding me up, because my own legs
weren’t doing a very good job of it.  He tried to steady me on my feet, but
when it became apparent to him that I couldn’t get myself upright he left one
arm tucked around my waist. I looked up and got my first real glimpse of my
rescuer.

Damn
. I knew I was drunk, but
I was pretty sure that even if I wasn’t, he would still be beautiful. He was
like a prettier, younger version of Legolas, all fair hair and skin, with
sharp, but stunning features. His pale blonde hair fell softly around his face,
curling at the back of his neck, and I had to fight the urge to run my fingers
through it to see if it was as soft as it looked.

“Shit, you’re
priddy for a guy,” I mumbled, eliciting a low laugh from Legolas.

“And you, my
dear, are wasted.”

“You, pridddy
boy, don’ miss anythin’ doya?” I was having trouble getting my words out, but
he seemed to be able to understand me, which meant I was doing a better job
than I thought.

He laughed
again. I liked the sound of his laugh. It was nice. Not as nice as Chris’
laugh, but it was still nice. I sighed and leaned my head into his chest. He
smelled good too. Not Chris good though.

Mmmm
Chris.

I wished he
was here.

“You just a
fan or have we met before?” Legolas asked me.

“Huh?” I
frowned up at him.

His chest
vibrated with low, soft laughter. “I feel at a slight disadvantage that you
know my name and I don’t know yours.”

“Shit, your
name is Legolas?” Had I said it out loud on accident, and no way was that
really his name. I wasn’t quite drunk enough to not call bullshit on that.

He laughed
again. “What? No. You called me Chris.”

I shoved off
of him, “Woah, buddy, you are not Chris,” I told him, jabbing my finger into
his chest.

“Uh, yes I
am,” he said slowly, as if he thought I was a little challenged, which at the
moment I was, but still, I knew this was not my Chris.

“Noo,” I
said adamantly, or more like slurred loudly. “You listen here, I know Chris.
You can’t tell anyone I know Chris, but I do. And you . . . Are. Not. Him.” I
jabbed him again. “Because he is not here,” I sighed. “He is . . . he is . . .
he left. He went to
her
place.”

“Oooh kaay,”
Legolas said. He looked partially amused, and partially afraid that he was
talking to a lunatic. “How about we go find your friends? I think it would be a
good idea to get you out of here.” He kept his arm around my waist and helped
me out of the bathroom.

“I was
looking for them, but I can’t find Jillian. Do you know Jillian?” I asked him.

“Actually, yeah,
I do, but if that’s who you came with, we better find you a new ride home.”

“Why, did
she leave me too?”

“No, but
she’s not in any shape to take you anywhere, darling.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, so is
there anyone else here who can take you home?”

“Just Jill,
and Heidi, but she’s naked and on top of Leland right now. Dawn is here
somewhere too, but I can’t find her either.”

“Yeah, you
won’t. They’re having their own little party in another room. We don’t want to
go in there.” His face wrinkled in disgust and I could hear disapproval in his
voice. “So there’s really no one else here that you know?”

“Nope. Just
Jill and Heidi and Dawn, and Leland, but he’s a douche monkey, ass face, jerk
hole, and last time he said he was going to take me home, he did
not
take me
home
.”

He stopped
suddenly and looked at me, “Did Leland do something to you?”

I sighed.
“No, well, it was just a mistake. I don’t want to talk about him.”

“Okay, then
we won’t, but you’re completely right. He is a douche monkey, ass face, jerk
hole.”

I giggled
because it just sounded silly when he said it. “Yes he is. A big ass face,” I
agreed, getting myself all fired up again. “In fact I’m going to go back in
there and give him a piece of my mind. I’ll show him he shouldn’t mess with
me.” I started bouncing back and forth on my heels, throwing fake jabs, or at
least trying to, but my balance wasn’t so good. “I’ll merc his ass.” I started
to shove past Legolas to get back to the bedroom where Leland was, but Mr. Hot
Elf Guy, grabbed my arm and pulled me back into him.

“Woah,
killer. How about we go outside and see if we can both sober up a little bit
instead? Then we’ll figure out how we’re getting you home.”

“Okay, I
guess so.” I nodded and went along with him, a little disappointed I wouldn’t
get to use my jab on Leland’s pretty face.  We were half way out the door when
I remembered the incident that had led to me wanting to mess up Leland’s face.
Following a hot guy out the door hadn’t turned out so well for me then. I
planted my feet firmly, digging them into the floor, halting suddenly. “Wait,
you’re not going to take me back to your place are you? I don’t want to do that
again,” I whispered.

His eyes
regarded me carefully and almost sadly, “No sweetheart, I’m not going to take
you to my place. I promise you can trust me. You’re safe with me. We won’t go
anywhere you don’t want to.”

“Okay.” I
smiled at him, glad that I had someone I could trust.

He tugged me
to his side again so he could get us outside and down the stairs. Once we made
it, we dropped down onto the bottom step. There were only a few other people
outside, smoking and drinking. It was much quieter than inside.

“I still
don’t know your name,” I told him and he chuckled.

“Yes you do,
I already told you, it’s Chris.”

Oh, he was
back on this. I turned and looked at him sternly. “You’re not Chris.”

“Yes. I.
Am.”

He wasn’t
going to give up, so I slid my phone out of my pocket. “No. I’ll prove it. We’ll
call him right now.” I started scrolling through my contacts, looking for the
number Chris had put in my phone last night.

“No, wait
Mia. You don’t have to call anyone. I swear, my name is Chris.” I ignored him
though, because it was already ringing.
Oh, I like this song,
I thought
as I listened to the ringback. It stopped when a familiar deep voice answered.
It reached right through the phone and inside my chest, warming everything up.
“Hello.”

“Chris,” I
whispered airily, completely forgetting why I’d called him, only that I loved
the sound of his voice.

“Mia?” Oh, I
loved the sound of his voice saying my name even more. I wanted him to say it
again. “Mia, are you okay?” Now he sounded urgent. I looked over to see the
imposter smirking at me and I was reminded that I had called Chris for a
reason.

“Chris, tell
this guy that he’s not you. He keeps trying to tell me that he is, but he’s a
phony.” I thrust the phone at phony Chris and giggled at my thoughts. Phone.
Phony. Woah, my stomach rolled. I tried to stand so I could find some bushes in
case I needed to hurl. I thought it would be rude to get sick right there on
the walkway, but as soon as I did, my head started spinning.

Oh, shit.

Everything
was getting a little blurry and I was pretty sure the walkway was slanted
because I felt like I was going to tip over. I could hear someone talking.
Legolas. It was Legolas. He was on my phone talking to Chris. Chris. I wanted
to talk to Chris. I spun to try and take my phone back, but instead ended up
tripping and falling on the steps. My shin smacked one step. It hurt a lot, and
I couldn’t make myself get back up.

“Shit, she
just fell,” I heard someone curse, pretty sure it was Legolas again, but I
couldn’t be sure because he was a little fuzzy. I needed to lie down. Yeah,
that sounded like a good idea. I lowered my head to one step. The cool surface
felt good on my clammy skin. I just needed a little nap, then everything would
be better. I shut my eyes and tuned out the voice that kept saying my name.