Thursday Nights (The Charistown Series) (31 page)

Follow my heart not my head? Who is she, Confucius all of a sudden?

Annoyed by Lyla’s response, she called the one other person she knew who would give it to her straight.

“Hey, Ash,” she said when her friend answered. “Can you come over? I really need you.”

“Of course, honey. I have to get out of my place anyway. Ryan recently learned that playing his guitar to his cheesy groupie whores will get his dick sucked quicker.”

Janie recoiled at the bite in her friend’s tone.
Poor Ashley, she has it bad and refuses to admit it.

“Thanks, Ash. Should I run down and get us some coffee?”

“Only if mine has Baileys in it,” Ashley retorted. “Just kidding…kind of. Coffee would be great. I’ll be over in ten minutes.”

Within fifteen minutes, both Ashley and Janie were tucked in on the couch, draped in soft throw blankets, sipping their coffee.

“So, green streaks today, huh?” Janie reached over to touch the silky jade locks that would have looked ridiculous on anyone else but looked perfect on Ashley.

With an eye roll and a snort, Ashley tucked the loose streak behind her ear. “We’re here to talk about
you
.”

“Nice diversion tactic, Ash. One day soon it will be your turn, you know. But you’re right.” A huge sigh escaped Janie’s mouth as she handed over Max’s letter. Watching Ashley’s blank facial expression as she read Max’s words left Janie feeling frustrated and agitated. Those feelings doubled when Ash folded the pages and gave them back to her without saying anything.

“Go on, Jane, talk. You look like your head is about to explode.”

As if someone stuck a pin in a balloon and let it go, Janie stood up and started pacing the small room. “Did you know about any of this?” she finally asked after a minute of awkward silence. “Did you know he was married? Did you know about this Chloe? Do you know what she did to him? Because, all I have is this….this
note
. It’s not even a note—it’s a Cliffs note!”

Ashley’s face showed Janie the answer.
Affirmative
.

“How could you know and not tell me? I thought we were friends. I let you in, and you’ve watched me beat myself up over this. Why didn’t you tell me anything?” Hot tears traveled down Janie’s cheeks as she continued to walk circles on the carpet. Anger and hurt were things she could manage, but she felt humiliated. She trusted Max
and
Ashley, and now she felt like they had both betrayed her.

“Janie, sweetie, you need to turn around and look at me.” Ashley’s voice was kind, but there was no mistaking the command as a request.

Janie pivoted and looked at the woman she had also grown to love. Ashley’s eyes were glassy with unshed tears, but her face held a determination that demanded to be heard. Janie sat back down on the couch, wrapping herself up in her pink shield.

“I’ve been at Danny’s for almost six years. When I first started I had my own things going on, so I didn’t really pay attention to what was happening around me. But when I finally started to take notice, what I saw was a line of women who were interested Max. As much of a man-whore as Kyle was, Max was different. He didn’t flaunt his abilities; he just owned them. And women came from near and far to get a taste of Max DeLucca.”

Janie fidgeted, pulling the blanket tighter. Her stomach felt queasy.

Ashley must have sensed her discomfort because Janie felt the warmth of her friend’s hand gently cover her own. “Janie, you asked the questions, and you need to hear the answers. They aren’t easy to take in, but you still need to hear them, okay?”

Janie nodded silently, and Ashley continued. “When Ryan came to live with me, after…well, just after…he also started working at Danny’s, and he became one of the guys. Which by extension made me one of the guys, too. They would forget I had a vagina and talk in front of me.” Ashley paused a beat. “I can see it in your eyes, Jane. I know you want me to tell you all that I know, but I can’t. It’s not mine to tell. Did it break my heart watching was going on between you and Max. Yes. But if I had to do it again…” She stopped and looked sadly into Janie’s eyes. “I would do exactly what I did.”

“You should have warned me, though, Ash. I felt like a fool falling for someone who wasn’t even available. I feel like you knew what was coming and didn’t even try to move me out of the way.”

“That’s not fair, Janie. I did try. I told you the night we went out. I told you he was closed up tight. I told you to walk away. Because while I love and respect Max like a brother––” Ashley’s eyes filled with tears. Janie watched Ashley take shallow breaths and then clear her throat before she continued to speak. “I love you like a sister. I didn’t want you to suffer while he was trying to figure his shit out. He needed to go through his journey, but you needed to go through yours as well. You’ve had your own issues to deal with.

“So, no, I wouldn’t have done things differently because it had to be this way. I’m sorry if that hurt you, Jane. It was never to make you feel like you couldn’t trust me. If you think about it, you’ll see how much you can. I know you think I could have paved your way and somehow made it easier, but now you are armed with a proverbial backpack, and it’s filled with everything you need to survive. Just keep going. I promise, no matter what happens, I’ll be there in the end with french fries and milkshakes.”

“What do I do with this then?” Janie asked holding the envelope.

“Let him come to you, Janie.… That is, if you still want him.” Finishing off her coffee, Ashley leaned over and kissed Janie’s head. “I have to get over to the bar. My shift starts in an hour. Do you forgive me?” The look of sincerity on Ashley’s face tugged at Janie’s heartstrings.

“Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t have heard any of it from you. This was Max’s history. Had he wanted me to know sooner, he would have told me. Clearly, he didn’t.” She sighed. “But where you’re concerned, all is forgiven. I’m really sorry I lost my shit on you.” With a smile and a wink, Ashley left Janie’s apartment.

Circus Peanuts

Thank God, for Gage
, Max thought as he made another loop around the track. Gage was working at the garage, but thanks to him the staff at Winston’s knew that Max could come and drive whenever there was open track time. Stretching his neck from right to left, he tried again, unsuccessfully, to relieve the tension that had been residing there since Monday night. Or as he took to calling it, “Monday Night Madness.”

He hadn’t expected it to be easy to win Janie back, but not knowing whether she’d read his letter or burned it was its own brand of torture. And Lyla—he let out a quick chuckle when he thought of their call earlier that morning—had said she would help him, but she under no circumstances would she tell him any of Janie’s thoughts or reactions to his “wooing.”

Wooing
. He laughed out loud—he was going to
woo
like he’d never
wooed
before.

He felt a knot form in his stomach. He never had this much on the line before, he realized as he pressed the gas pedal to the pad. Well, it didn’t matter anyway because he had set his plan in motion, and the only way he would stop it was if Janie herself asked him to.

Sweat trickled down his temples onto the collar of his shirt. He wasn’t sure if the perspiration was from the heat of the car or the past he was about to reveal. Swallowing down his fear, he looked ahead and continued to drive.

“Look, Ly, I am not in the mood to go out, but being that it is Thursday night, and you’re standing here looking all sexy, I will. I will
not
, however, go to Danny’s. I love Danny, but if he’s angry, that’s just tough shit. I can’t be around Max right now.”

“Jane…”

“Don’t Jane me.” Exasperated, she continued. “You read his letter. It says a little but not much. And it’s not good enough. I am angry, hurt, pissed off, and sexually frustrated. No Danny’s!”

“Ok toddler, Jane,” Lyla sighed with a grin. “Let’s go to Chopper’s.”

“But—”

“Not
buts
. You had your one veto. So we’re going to Chopper’s.” Janie dropped her keys in her purse, and they started their brisk walk to the bar. “How have things been at school between you and Nice O?” Lyla sucked at discrete topic transitions.

“Owen’s great. Tuesday and Wednesday were a little awkward, but by today things seemed pretty good between us. He really is a ni—” Janie stopped mid-sentence and looked at Lyla. They were strolling on the sidewalk up to the bar when the laughter burst out of them like bubbles.

“Say it, Janie. Go on, you know you want to!” Lyla’s smile was infectious.

“Fine!” Janie squealed. “He’s
nice
! He really is a nice fucking guy! He
is
Nice O. He’s kind and sweet, he’s been sympathetic. Today he even told me he was there for me if I wanted to talk. My God, Ly, why can’t I fall in love with
him
?”

Janie didn’t realize how loud she had been speaking until they entered Choppers and dozens of stares landed directly on her. She could feel her cheeks getting warm as she heard her trusty sidekick trying to contain her giggle.

“Shut it, Ly!” She walked up to the nearest empty bar stool and planted her embarrassed ass down. “Margarita, please, rocks, no salt. And give Giggles over here the same with salt.” Lyla started howling, and Janie couldn’t help but join her.

“Ladies, this round is from those gentlemen over there.” The beefy, tattooed bartender with the cigarette-strained voice thumbed his huge arm in the direction of two grinning men standing by the pool tables. The women raised their glasses toward them, nodded their appreciation, and settled back into their conversation.

“So, the redhead on the left is pretty hot,” Lyla said to Janie as she winked at the man who sent over her drink. “Hello? Earth to Janie!”

The sharp pinch to her triceps snapped Janie out of her reverie. “I’m sorry, Ly. I told you I would be crappy company. Maybe I should just go home.”

“Stay put, girlie.” Lyla hopped down from the stool and sashayed over to the jukebox. She was gone for several minutes before returning to the bar and grabbing Janie’s hand. “Let’s go.”

“Where to? And how many songs did you pick?” Janie questioned with a raised brow and a crooked smile.

A devilish grin swept over Lyla’s face, and her blue eyes twinkled. “I chose enough songs to keep your sweet ass here for at least an hour,” Lyla said as Maroon 5’s “One More Night” pumped out of the speakers. “Now, let’s go play some pool. Nick and Greg are waiting for us.”

“Wait, who?”