My eyes narrowed. "A formality?"
Stay calm.
Stay calm.
You don"t want to be that crazy b.i.t.c.h who makes a scene in the bookstore.
"That came out wrong." He held up his hands. "I just meant... we were halfway to being broken up anyway. We stopped hanging out, unless it was for s.e.x, and we were both okay with that. I mean, you knew I was always going to lunch with Amber and you never even cared. It didn"t bother you at all," Caleb defended with a helpless shrug.
"Because I trusted you," I all but shouted, thoughts of being calm completely gone. "Don"t you dare make me feel bad because I trusted you."
He had the decency to look ashamed as tears welled up in his eyes. "I"m sorry, Naomi, I am. But you didn"t need me. Amber... well, she makes me feel important."
My mouth dropped open in horror as he revealed something he"d never told me before. "I-I made you feel unimportant?"
Caleb shrugged once more. d.a.m.n, his shoulders were getting a workout. "Guys like to feel needed. And, I mean, apart from killing the occasional spider, you didn"t need me."
I closed my eyes as I tried to shove my emotions back. "Look, I"m sorry." I opened my eyes to see his horrified expression at my apology. "No, I am. I"m trying not to be the crazy, bitter ex-girlfriend, especially because I know you"re right. We were over," I said, bypa.s.sing the talk about how apparently I made him feel irrelevant. "I don"t know if we"ll ever be friends like we once were, but I"m willing to try. Not now, but maybe in a few months, we can try... if you want."
He nodded eagerly. "I want that, and I know I"ll want it later, too."
"Fine. I gotta go." I turned around and exited the bookstore without another word, leaving with a whole h.e.l.l of a lot, but without getting anything I actually came for.
I stumbled toward Swerved after the cab dropped me off. This afternoon and my text messages with Damien felt miles away. I"d felt my phone vibrate a few more times, but I never checked it.
I reached the door just as a lip-locked couple stepped out. I made a gagging noise as I pa.s.sed them and slipped into the club. It was a Tuesday night, so not much was happening, only a handful of couples were on the dance floor and only half the bar was filled. My gaze bounced around looking for Damien, only to be met with disappointment.
"Naomi?"
"AH!" I yelled as a hand gripped my elbow. Turning around too quickly, I lost my balance and stumbled into a boulder. I blinked rapidly as I stepped back and started poking it. When did boulders develop hands? Another yelp left my throat as the boulder"s hands gently gripped my wrists.
"Naomi." The voice was firm, but kind. Since when did boulders talk? My gaze lifted and... oh... not a boulder. Just an extremely solid chest. An extremely solid Damien-shaped chest.
My eyes narrowed on him. "You"re not a boulder," I said accusingly.
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?" He stepped forward and sniffed before wrinkling his nose. "How much have you had to drink?" The question was clearly rhetorical as he guided me to the bar and gently pushed me in a seat before getting the bartender"s attention and ordering a water.
"And a couple shots of tequila, please." I burped, because I was a lady like that.
"Absolutely not," Damien said in a rough voice, a concerned frown on his beautiful face.
"Excuse you, but you ain"t my mama."
He laughed. "Something tells me you wouldn"t listen to me even if I was," he mumbled as the bartender"s gaze flickered between us. Damien motioned his approval as she filled two shot gla.s.ses to the rim and slid them across the counter. Picking one up, I looked at Damien and nodded to the other.
"I"m at work."
"Suit yourself." I brought the gla.s.s to my lips just as a guy came up on my left and s.n.a.t.c.hed the other shot. Mouth wide open, I watched him toss it back and smirk before leaning closer. I quickly shut my mouth and lowered the untouched gla.s.s as I swiveled toward him.
"Oh, did you want to join me for a drink?" I asked in a sickly sweet voice. I heard Damien grunt behind me, he knew I was about to be an a.s.s. That made my smile a little more real.
The guy"s smile widened at my "invitation" as he gave me a sleazy once-over. "Absolutely, baby."
My smile vanished as he stepped closer and put a hand on my knee. I could feel Damien stiffen behind me, but before he could react I grabbed my shot and threw it in the guy"s face. Damien and the bartender chuckled as his face twisted in anger, the grip on my knee tightening.
This club and my knee did not have a good relationship.
Damien"s laughter immediately broke off as he noticed. He quickly stepped around me and shoved the guy"s hand off before roughly pushing him backwards. "Get the h.e.l.l out," he barked. "Or you"ll leave with more than just a stained shirt." The guy relented quickly, and a minute later he was out the door.
"I see you don"t exactly need a defender," Damien said as he pushed some hair back from my face. I stared at him with wide eyes. G.o.d, he really was beautiful. He was wearing all black like usual, a tight T-shirt stretching across what I knew was a perfectly sculpted chest and jeans that made me irrationally jealous of denim. His beard looked just as perfect as it had when I first met him, and I longed to run my fingers along it before burying them in his loose, blond locks.
I ripped his hair tie away so I could do just that. He let me, but his eyes were concerned as they moved around my face.
"Naomi?"
"What?" I murmured softly, scooting closer to the edge of my seat.
He looked around before focusing his intense stare on me. "Are you alone?"
"Yep." My head bobbed with my rapid nods as I moved my hands down to rest on his broad shoulders.
Damien frowned. "I thought you didn"t like to get drunk in public."
"I don"t," I answered truthfully before I hiccupped. I was surprised he remembered me telling him that. "But I trust you to take care of me." Our stare was intense as our gazes stayed locked.
"What happened that has you so upset? You never texted me back. I was worried," he said softly. The distressed look on his face left me breathless. Damien grabbed both my hands and brought them to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss on each one before holding them to his chest and raising his eyebrows in question.
But I couldn"t answer. Because now that I was sitting in front of him, I realized I wasn"t upset anymore. If Caleb hadn"t cheated on me, I wouldn"t have met Damien.
I shivered as the thought left me cold.
Now, that would be something to be upset about.
My gaze zeroed in on her chest, and no, it wasn"t for the obvious reason. Although her t.i.ts did look fan-f.u.c.king-tastic in her tight shirt, they weren"t what caught my eye. It was the necklace.
My "reason."
She hadn"t worn it since that day. I knew, I checked.
"I"m gonna make sure the guys can cover me and then I"ll take you home. Okay, sweetheart?" This time when I called her "sweetheart" it was completely sincere, not a trace of mockery in my voice, and I vowed there never would be again. Her warm smile told me she understood as much, despite her inebriated state, and she nodded.
Naomi hiccupped as she stood up before stumbling forward and falling against me. I immediately wrapped her in my arms, and when I pulled her back to look down at her, her face had paled and her eyes were fluttering.
"Hey, hey, are you okay?"
"I"m fine," she slurred as she struggled to stay standing.
I narrowed my eyes and looked around. "No, you"re not. Sit there," I said, pointing to the far end of the bar, where a couple of the girls were cashing out. "I"ll come get you when I"m done."
She struggled in my arms before giving up and poking me in the chest. "Listen, mister. I didn"t leave one skunk"s a.s.s just to deal with another."
My eyebrows rose as I continued to hold her. "Skunk"s a.s.s?" I asked, struggling not to laugh.
"Yes. Skunk"s a.s.ssssss." She drew the last word out as she shook her head before letting it fall against my chest.
"Seriously, are you okay?" I whispered against her ear as I rubbed her back.
She caught me by surprise when her arms wound around me and she held on tightly. In a whisper of her own she added, "I will be."
I looked down at the top of her very still head and continued moving my hands in small circles on her back. With a deep breath, I pulled back and set my hands on her shoulders before slowly spinning her around and leading her to the end seat.
"Will you ladies watch her for a minute?" The three regulars smiled and nodded before returning to counting and splitting their tips. I turned back around to find Naomi already seated and looking at me.
"Wait for me?" My eyes focused on her suddenly lucid ones as they bounced around my face. They fluttered closed as my fingers traced a soft path from the crown of her forehead to her jaw.
"Yes," she breathed out. "I"ll wait for you."
Light rain drizzled around us as Naomi and I left the club. I picked her up and carried her quickly across the lot so we didn"t get too wet. And she must have been really drunk because she didn"t say a d.a.m.n word about it. She closed her eyes as I settled her in the pa.s.senger seat and shut the door. I quickly made my way around and got in, starting the car immediately.
I cleared my throat before asking, "What happened?"
"I ran into my ex." Her voice sounded far away as she used the condensation to draw shapes on the window.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"There"s nothing really to talk about."
"Why don"t I decide that?" I pushed.
"It"s not important," she mumbled once more.
"Again, I want to decide that. It"s important to me. You"re important to me."
She shrugged and her hand paused for a moment before she resumed drawing her flower. "I feel stupid. I-"
"You shouldn"t feel stupid because he cheated. He cheated on you. He gave up on you. And that makes him the dumbest f.u.c.k alive." Somehow I managed to ground that out without raising my voice.
Her eyes met mine and with a sad smile she said, "I don"t feel stupid because he cheated. Why would I? I dated him for five years, I trusted him. I won"t feel stupid for that."
I frowned. "Then why do you feel stupid?"
She turned and looked out the window once more. "He seemed really happy today," she said softly. "And I just can"t believe I never noticed how unhappy he was with me. I feel kinda stupid for that." Naomi sighed. "And I think he was right..."
"About?" I prompted as I backed out and started down the street.
"Me wanting him "cause he was convenient." Naomi let out a humorless laugh. "When we first broke up, before I met you, all I was thinking about was that I was alone. Not that I was without him, just that I was without someone. I wasn"t missing him because of who he was but because of who I was without him, and it shouldn"t be that way." She began banging her head on the window and muttering, "Stupid, stupid, stupid."
"Hey, hey." I looked around at the deserted road and put the car in park before reaching over and grabbing her by the shoulder. "Look at me. Didn"t we just decide you weren"t stupid?"
"That"s not the reason I"m stupid. I"m stupid because I have all these stupid and confusing feelings and I didn"t even love him. I"m angry and sad and insecure right now, and it"s all stupid."
"Yeah, feelings are stupid sometimes."
"And they don"t even matter in the face of the most important thing."
"What"s that?" I asked, my heart in my throat.
"You." Her warm brown eyes stared straight into mine as she smiled, a smile that radiated trust and security and affection.
I never doubted my pursuit of her. But that right there, that one word from her mouth made it all worth it. We still had things to discuss, but it was enough to know that I was the most important thing to her.
Moments later, she leaned against the window and promptly fell asleep. I put the car back in drive and headed toward my apartment, already dreading having to wake her up when we got there. Naomi didn"t seem like the type of person who would be fun to wake up.
Five minutes later I pulled into the nearly full lot, parking as close to my apartment as possible. The rain made solid contact against the windshield as I contemplated the best way to get Naomi upstairs without waking her. Reaching back, I grabbed a blanket and placed it in her lap before getting out and quickly jogging around the car. I made quick work of wrapping her up and lifting her out of the car. She barely stirred as I jogged across the lot and up the stairs.
"Day?" Naomi mumbled as she curled toward my chest.
My breath caught as I looked down at her. Her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks as they closed once more and her breathing evened out. I had just stopped in front of my door and I was frozen. She"d given me a nickname. I"d never had a nickname before (besides Ellie"s, which was the result of her not being able to say my name when she was a kid), and it was pretty stupid that it made me so happy now.
The door flew open and Ellie appeared in a black tank top, tiny blue checkered shorts, and plain black thigh-highs. She quickly pulled the banana popsicle out of her mouth, her eyes wide.
"Is she okay? What"s she doing here? Weren"t you at work?" She leaned forward and sniffed Naomi before pulling back with a look of sympathy. "She"s drunk?"
I sighed. "Are you gonna let me in or do we need to play twenty questions first?"
Ellie attempted to narrow her eyes, but it was always a little difficult to be intimidated by a person who was essentially a puppy. She stepped back and quickly shut and locked the door before trailing after me like... well, a puppy.
"Where are you going?"
"To my bedroom." Silence followed me as I laid Naomi on my bed and removed her shoes. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw my sister gnawing on her bottom lip. "What?"
"Are you guys together now?"
"Ellie-"
"What are you doing?" Her shriek cut me off as I began covering Naomi with the comforter. Before I could ask what I was doing wrong, my sister came over and started unzipping Naomi"s jeans. "You can"t let her fall asleep in jeans. The hangover she"ll have will be bad enough. Here, hold this." She shoved her popsicle into my hand as she began pulling Naomi"s jeans down.
"Grab her something comfy from my closet."
"Why can"t I give her something of mine?"
She pointedly looked at my barren closet before looking at the mile-high pile of laundry on the floor. I reluctantly left them and quickly made my way to her room. Ellie was tall and willowy, nothing like Naomi"s more filled-out form. But luckily Ellie liked to wear baggy clothes, making it easy to find something. When I returned, Ellie was standing outside my closed door waiting for the clothes. I handed them off before heading to the kitchen, grabbing a water bottle and some Advil, all while juggling Ellie"s d.a.m.n late-night snack. I came back to find Ellie slipping out the door, immediately reaching for her popsicle that had now dripped onto my hand, leaving a sticky residue.
"Can we all go to breakfast tomorrow morning?" she asked in an excited whisper.