Conflicted (Secrets and Lies) (44 page)
"The pizza here is extraordinary so I'm fine with doing a group order if that works with everyone else," Ethan spoke up.
"That works," Bri and Trey said as they set down their empty cups.
"Perfect. Why don't you and Trey head to the bar to get the order in with another pitcher of beer? Bri and I are going to excuse ourselves to the ladies room."
"What do you want on it?" Ethan asked with a crooked smile.
"Trey knows what we will tolerate on a pizza. My advice is to get two. Get one that you two will agree on and one that Trey knows that Bri and I will eat."
"Well said Mia," Bri agreed.
She made her way out of the booth. Ethan slid out so that I could go with Bri while they went to the bar. As we walked, I hissed, "Do you think Trey will play nice while we're away from them?"
"If he knows what's good for him, he will," Bri muttered as we entered the bathroom.
We strategized on a plan to keep Trey cordial for the rest of the night because it was clear that Ethan suspected something was up. We didn't come up with much other than her continuing with her handy work whenever she had a chance. I wasn't opposed to her dragging him away entirely to ensure he remained civil. It frustrated me that we were even talking about it. If one more thing popped up regarding my mess with Harrison, I was coming clean with Ethan.
I opened the door for us so that we could get back to the guys. Before we reached the table, Trey cut me off by grabbing my arm. He towed me in the opposite direction. He gave Bri a quick peck and whispered in her ear. She nodded with alarmed eyes and made a beeline for the booth. Trey took us over to the side of bar that was out of sight from our booth.
"What Trey?" I asked, loosening the grip he had on my arm. Trey pointed to the opposite end of the bar. Micah was there with Ian O'Connor. "Fuck. What the hell is he doing here?"
The sight of those two together sent an icy chill throughout my entire body. It was beyond troubling to see Micah with Ian. I believed that Ian was Harrison's source on the inside. Micah with him made me wonder if he was part of Harrison's circle as well. I clutched my arms around myself to push my thoughts in a different direction. I didn't have time to dwell.
This whole evening just took a turn for the worse. They didn't notice us as we watched them from across the bar. After several minutes, Ian got up and went for the door. I pulled on Trey's arm so that we could get away without Micah seeing us. The effort went unrewarded when Micah spotted us. He made his way over to our side of the bar. As he closed the distance, I saw that there were no signs of him being high so that was a point in the plus column for now.
"Mia, we need to talk," Micah spat.
Trey took taking a protective stance against the tone projected at us. "Don't demand shit from her or I'll beat your ass again," he warned.
I patted his arm and took a brave step closer to Micah. It was so strange being terrified of someone that brought you nothing but comfort in the past. I inhaled deeply to squash the fear that was attacking me. "I know. How about we meet at O'Reilley's next week?"
"Why are here with that asshole?" Micah asked as fury swept across his face.
Trey leaned in to Micah with clear indication that he had better not start shit. Micah took a step closer towards Trey to show that he wasn't going to back down. I stepped in between them with my hands on each of their chests. To my relief, touching Micah for the first time in almost a year had no effect on me whatsoever. I could've been touching the bar because there was nothing there. It made more than happy to know that Micah had no effect on me. The rest of me felt like tornado was whipping around within me. My veins sliced open with the residual pain, anger, hate, and love that I had for Micah. Every inch that the funnel cloud hit stirred a different memory of him. It was difficult for me to breathe.
"Stop. We're not going to get tossed out of here so let it go. Both of you," I demanded.
"You didn't answer me. Is that piece of shit your new boyfriend?" Micah questioned.
His face went wretched as the words passed through his lips. Trey scowled as his arms folded across his chest. I glanced towards our booth but didn't have a clear view of it. We were out of sight so hopefully Ethan wasn't watching this or I'd have one hell of an issue on my hands if he came over here too. I let go of his reference of Ethan. I wasn't going to let my temper get mixed up in the raw emotions circling through me. I directed my attention to Micah who was shaking with the amount of rage running through him.
"I just started seeing him."
"You won't even give me a chance to explain anything to you," Micah fumed.
"I'll talk with you next week. I moved on a long time ago Micah," I answered.
I looked him in the eye so he wasn't the least bit confused about us talking. As he gazed at me, there was no question that he understood that this wasn't about us getting back together. Our time together was over and everything upon my face reinforced that sentiment. Micah's face started to turn red as his temper started to climb.
"I'm still in love with you. Fuck Mia! We were together for over five years and you act like it meant nothing to you," Micah shot back.
"I'm not getting into that shit with you right now. I suggest you give me a day next week for us to meet so we can talk," I snapped.
Micah settled down a bit when he heard the ire in my voice. He knew not to push me. The mess running rampant in me would be enough for me to blow up.
Micah huffed. "Fine, can we have lunch next Thursday at Lockharts?"
I nodded and motioned for Trey to come with me. "I'll meet you there at one. We have to get back to our evening. I'd appreciate it if you left us alone. I agreed to what you wanted so give me this in exchange. It's the least you can do."
Trey grimaced as he walked over to my side not saying a word to Micah. Though it was what I asked, it made the heavy pressure in my chest increase as the pain tore through me. I finally realized that Trey would always be at my side. He'd never have the friendship he had with Micah and it was because of me. He made a choice and he wouldn't waver from it even when he was furious with me. Micah watched him close the space between us and came to the same conclusion. He let out a forced breath and pushed off the bar.
"I won't bother you. You look happy and that's all I've ever wanted for you," Micah stated.
He gave us a heavyhearted look on his way to the door. He paused for a moment to glance at me before leaving. His eyes were full of so much hurt that I had to look away. I knew that this brief conversation tore him up and it mixed me up too. It was the last thing I needed but that seemed to be my luck these days. I leaned into Trey for support so I didn't fall over. Trey placed his arms on my shoulders and gave me a gentle squeeze.
"You did well," Trey remarked.
I turned to face him. I wasn't nearly as content about this exchange as the tone in his voice expressed. I stepped towards the bar to order another pitcher of beer. I needed to have a decent excuse as to why we disappeared for so long. I wanted to rid myself of every raw emotion that Micah brought to the surface. I ordered a round of shots for us. The pitcher and shots were up in no time. I pushed one towards Trey and picked up mine. I slammed it down and thrived on the burn that trickled down my throat. It helped squelch everything else within me. Trey did the same and placed the empty shot glass upside down on the bar. I grabbed the pitcher of beer and we made our way back towards our table.
"I'm sorry Trey," I said softly.
"You have nothing to be sorry for Mia. Micah made his choices. After he destroyed you, it wasn't that hard for me to dismiss him. I'd given him plenty of breaks far too many times," Trey replied earnestly.
We walked the rest of the way in silence. When we got to the booth, it was empty. I set the full pitcher of beer down and looked around the bar. Ethan and Bri were at the opposite end of the place and engaged in an intense game of darts. I took comfort in her quick thinking with Micah's unexpected presence here tonight. She cornered them to a section into one of the nooks that was out of eyesight of anything at the bar. Trey let out a soft laugh coming to the same conclusion as he walked past me.
Before we reached them, he rotated to face me. His face was tight with worry. The unease in my stomach grew as he stared at me. "Did you know that he was involved with Ian?"
"No, I had no idea. I believe Ian also works for Ethan and that makes me question everything that much more," I answered quietly.
His eyes grew with distress. I nodded feeling the same way at the idea of those two working together. We didn't have time to figure out why Ian and Micah would be together. We knew that it was bad any way that you sliced it. It looked like Micah and I had one hell of a discussion ahead of us. It was also the last straw for me.
Ethan and Bri broke from their game to acknowledge our arrival. Bri gave Trey a swift kiss before stepping up to the line.
"I'm kicking his ass. It's great to play someone that I can beat. You two never give me a chance in hell at winning," Bri said with a cheerful grin.
Ethan strolled over to me. "I'm letting her win. She's horrible at this game. Where were you? You left with one friend and returned with the other."
I wrapped my arms around his waist. My hands grazed up his back until they hit the tips of his hair. Ethan slid his hands down my sides. He entwined my hands with his and leaned against the wall.
"We got sidetracked at the bar. We grabbed another round and it turned out to be a good decision since you two finished off that pitcher. After you wrap up this game, we can play in teams. I'm sure Trey and I can show you a thing or two about darts," I said spiritedly.
I nestled my back into him. With our hands around my stomach, Ethan let out a peaceful sigh. Trey nodded to the idea with a cocky smirk. Bri shoved him while looking at me nothing short of annoyed. She realigned herself to throw again.
"You two are so damn arrogant at times that I want to smack both of you," she huffed.
Bri threw a dart at the board not hitting a number in sight. Trey refrained from howling with laughter. I tried to suppress my own laughing but the redness in Trey's face pushed me too far. I started laughing as she collected her darts. It caused Trey to join in with me. Ethan tilted his head to me with a raised eyebrow.
"I grew up in a bar so naturally I'm good at darts and pretty much any other bar game. I've been playing them since I was old enough to grasp the concept of how the rules worked. Once I figured it out, I started challenging my friends. By the time we were teenagers, we were pretty lethal at most of them," I clarified.
Trey gave me a heartfelt grin. We learned a lot playing countless bar patrons. Trey pulled Bri closer to calm her irritation. He swept in for a deep kiss to make the scowl on her face disappear. Bri beamed at him before she turned to me with a less amused look. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bartender placing our pizzas at our booth.
"Looks like you two caught a break tonight. Our food is done," I pointed out.
Ethan fell in step with me as Trey and Bri followed behind us. As they neared the booth, Bri yanked Trey towards the bathrooms. She gave him a salacious grin as they strode away. Trey licked his lips while grabbing her ass. They hurried along having no shame in what they were about to do. I slid into the booth and grabbed my cup as Ethan settled in next to me.
"Do you intend on sharing anything tonight or am I supposed to draw my own conclusions as to where those two are off to now?" Ethan asked.
I filled our glasses with beer before taking a piece of the pie. "I don't think where they went or what they are doing requires an explanation. It's quite obvious," I answered around a bite of pizza.
Ethan was not wrong. The pizza was mouthwatering. Ethan had already devoured two slices of the pie he was sharing with Trey. A crumb fell to the corner of his mouth. His tongue slid out to lick it away. My body jolted at the action with a variety of desires. It longed for his tongue to work its magic on me. I shook my head refraining from staring at him any longer. My thoughts were on their way to a very dirty place. It wasn't the time or place. It didn't stop my eyes from darting towards the bathroom. I forced myself to focus on my food. It was the only thing to distract me from giving into the strong urge to do exactly what Bri did with Trey. I finished off my slice. My beer was at the bottom so I grabbed the pitcher to replenish my glass. I glanced over at Ethan while filling up my glass. He was staring at me with a mischievous grin.
"What?"
"I was just thinking about where your friends disappeared to and where you more than likely picked up your openness in public places."
I kicked him to deter taking the conversation in that direction. It wasn't helping my body calm down in the least. I suspected that he knew what he was doing to me too. Ethan flashed his signature smile as he polished off a second slice.
"Are you having a good time?" I asked, picking up another slice.
"I am. Bri seems like a lovely girl and it's obvious Trey cares very much about her and you. I already knew that about him from the other night."
"I've been meaning to ask you about that little exchange. What happened?"
"I could tell that he didn't like the idea of you leaving with me. It's clear he's very protective of you. He wasn't going to get in my way so I made sure he knew it."
I didn't have a chance to ask anything else. Bri and Trey were back. They kept their eyes from mine making me even more entertained with their behavior. Her neck and cheeks were a deep red and he had a smug grin on his face. He picked up a piece of pizza from the pie Ethan had been eating off while Bri grabbed a slice from the other one. They reached for the beer pitcher to fill their glasses at the same time. Bri pulled back and let Trey fill their cups. I rested into Ethan's side and he draped an arm around me. When Trey finished pouring, I picked up the pitcher and topped off our glasses before taking another drink. Ethan released my arm and snatched the empty pitcher.
