In Love With My Best Friend (9 page)
Read In Love With My Best Friend Online
Authors: Sheena Binkley
Everyone turned around as they watched Chelsea at the door.
“As you know, tomorrow is a very special day for me as I embark on
my journey as a married woman to the most wonderful man in the
world, Trevor Williams.”
The crowd started to clap their hands and whistle while Chelsea gave
a happy glance at Trevor. Trevor noticed the crowd was staring at him,
so he gave a fake smile as he looked down at his water glass.
“In honor of our special day, I would like to give my maid of honor,
Camille, a special surprise. I noticed how down you seemed lately, so I
thought this would cheer you up,” she said. She went out the door to
retrieve the surprise she had for me. I looked at the door, wondering
what Chelsea was up to.
As she stepped back into the room, she was holding the hand of the
person I never thought I would see again.
“I don’t believe this,” I whispered.
“Surprise!” Chelsea yelled.
I gave Chelsea the evil eye as I noticed Eric Taylor walking over to
me. Chelsea gave me a smug look before returning to her seat next to
Trevor.
“Eric,” I said, not knowing what to do or say.
Eric came over to me with a huge smile on his face. I had to admit, he
definitely looked good. Dressed in a pale-gray dress shirt, black and
gray tie, and black slacks, he pressed his mocha-colored skin against
mine for a close-fitting hug. I took in his appearance, observing that
he had cut his hair since the last time I saw him, which was now in a
close-cropped fade. His light-brown eyes were shining brightly at the
sight of me, which indicated how much he missed me.
I looked over at Trevor’s table and noticed he was not happy to see
Eric. His brown eyes were clearly throwing daggers in my direction. If
I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn I saw smoke coming out
of his ears.
at his light-brown eyes, taking in the woodsy cologne he was wearing.
“Chelsea mentioned about the wedding last week in Dallas and asked
if I’d like to attend. Of course I couldn’t turn it down, especially if
given the chance to see you again.”
“I know, but it wasn’t on my terms. I wanted to see if maybe we could
try again, see where things go.”
I sighed as I looked back at Trevor. He still had his eyes on me, trying
to figure out what was going on between Eric and me.
“Eric, this is neither the time nor place to talk about this.”
“I know. That’s why I was wondering if maybe we could talk about it
later at the bachelor/bachelorette party. Chelsea invited me to that as
well.”
“Actually, I was wondering if you’d like to go with me as my date.”
“I don’t know; I actually have to go straight there from here. I planned
the entire party, so I need to check and see if everything’s in place.”
“It’s cool. I could follow you there if you want.”
I looked at Eric and smiled. Although I ended the relationship, it wasn’t
because Eric was a bad person. In fact, during the year we’d been together, we had a lot of fun together. I mainly ended it because of my
love for Trevor.
“OK. I’m leaving now though so I can change.”
“Cool, I’ll just follow you.”
I gave another smile as I grabbed my clutch. Eric took my hand as we
headed toward the door.
Chelsea looked at the two of us and smiled. “Isn’t that sweet? Isn’t it,
Trevor?”
If looks could kill, Eric would have been lying on the floor right now.
Without even looking at Chelsea, Trevor eyed the both of us without
even saying a word.
Eric noticed the exchange between Trevor and me as he looked uncomfortably around the room.
sight of us being together made Trevor agitated.
“See you at the lake house,” I said as I went toward the door.
“Congratulations, you two,” Eric said as he followed me out.
A lone tear began to form in the side of my left eye. I quickly wiped it
away before Eric could notice.
“Shall we?” Eric asked.
“Yeah.”
ow, Chelsea can definitely be conniving,
I thought as I looked at my
fiancée.
After the little stunt she pulled at Maggiano’s, I couldn’t even look at
her right now. I knew that she knew something was going on between
Camille and me; that’s why she brought Eric back into the picture.
Chelsea had pulled some stunts in the past to keep women away from
me, but this one definitely topped them all.
Chelsea gave me a peck on the cheek while I drove down Bentwater
Drive, heading towards her parents’ lake house. I shrugged myself
from Chelsea, concentrating on the road ahead.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“Stop it! I know you brought Eric here to keep Camille away from me.”
“Trevor, I think it’s time for you two to cut the strings from each other
and move on. The relationship you two have is clearly not healthy.”
“Says who? Camille and I were friends way before we met, so you can’t
just take her out of my life.”
“I’m about to be your wife. If you want this marriage to work, then I
suggest you do.”
I shook my head at Chelsea as I continued to drive.
“What happened to trust? Clearly it’s not available at the moment.”
“That went out the window when I walked in on you and her doing
God knows what.”
“Nothing happened, Chelsea.”
“If I didn’t come when I did. I have asked you time and time again if
there were feelings between you two, and you both flat out said no.
How am I supposed to trust you now when you two are practically
having sex with your eyes?”
“Am I? If you two wanted to be together, then you should have been.
I’ve invested too much in this wedding to just let it slip away. Now be a
good little boy and make the right decision tomorrow, got it?”
I looked at Chelsea wondering if she drank too much of the “happy”
juice her Uncle Leo was supplying to everyone at the rehearsal dinner.
This was not the Chelsea I fell in love with. Instead she had turned into
a jealous woman who was trying to one-up my friend.
please? I don’t need anyone asking questions.”
“Whatever.”
We drove the rest of the way in silence, which was a good thing since
I didn’t want to talk anyway. Twenty minutes later, we were at the lake
house looking at how beautiful the place looked. Camille outdid herself
with the setup, complete with clear twinkling lights inside and outside,
cream-colored balloons throughout the main room, and a blown-up
picture of Chelsea and me sitting on the mantle (which I’m sure was
Chelsea’s idea). The DJ was already there, set up and spinning a dance
tune near the corner of the room. Several guests were already there, either eating or drinking at the bar next to the fireplace. I headed straight
to the bar and grabbed a vodka bottle and glass from the bartender.
The bartender gave me a strange look from the incident.
If I’m going to get through tonight, I need to get drunk fast.
“Are you at least going to say hello to your guests?” Chelsea whispered.
“No,” I said as I tipped the glass to my lips and drank the entire glass
straight up.
Chelsea gave a scoff as she turned on her heel and walked toward a
group of friends. I poured another glass, not caring about anything at
the moment.
Once I put the glass up to my lips, I noticed Camille walking in with
Eric. She changed out of the outfit she wore to the rehearsal and was
now wearing a peach-colored mini dress. The color definitely made
her skin glow. Next to her was Eric, the guy I did not want anywhere
near her.
“You might not want to be so obvious with the staring, man.”
“Does it matter? Chelsea knows anyway.” I said as I downed the glass
in one second.
“Why are you doing this to yourself ? You’re getting married tomorrow.
You should at least be happy.”
let me drink in peace.”
Charles sighed as he went over to the center of the room to talk to
some friends. I poured another glass and started to drink; dulling any
type of pain I had right now.
he place looks great, Camille.” Eric said as he and I walked
into the lake house.
I had to give myself kudos for a job well done. The place did look
good considering the amount of time I had to set everything up. I tried
to get to the party before any guests arrived to do last-minute touches,
but I had to make a last minute stop on the way here.
Tia was a lifesaver with the party. She arrived early to the house and
gave instructions to the decorator, DJ, and bartenders to set up. As I
was trying to look for her through the crowd, my eyes darted straight
to the bar. I noticed Trevor throwing back drinks as if he was drinking water. Trevor was not a heavy drinker, so I knew the situation was
definitely taking its toll on him.
“Are you OK?”
“I’m fine. Couldn’t be better.”
“I know you have feelings for Trevor. I think everyone can see it. And
how he looked at me, I know he does too.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“It’s obvious,” Eric said, smiling.
“Eric, I’m really sorry Chelsea put you in the middle of this. You don’t
deserve to be in our problem.”
“It’s OK. It’s not your fault. I just wish things could have worked out
between us.”
“You’re a great guy, and you deserve a woman who has the same feelings for you. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that woman.”
“Your heart sometimes can’t deny the feelings you have for someone.
Trust me, I know.”
I looked down on to the ground, not expecting Eric to say the words
he was expressing.
He put his hand onto my chin and aligned my face with his. “I didn’t
get to say it, but you look beautiful tonight.”
I smiled at Eric’s compliment. “You look good too. I’m pretty sure
there are some single women here tonight.”
“Maybe, but I’d rather spend my time with you, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.”
After Eric and I mingled for an hour, the DJ started to play one of my
favorite songs; I felt the need to dance. Usually I would need a drink or
two to get me to loosen up, but right now, I needed to do something
to get my mind off of my issues with Trevor.
“Let’s dance,” I said as I took Eric to the makeshift dance floor in the
center of the room.
While half of the guests were already on the dance floor, Eric and I
found a small area and got into the rhythm of the music. I noticed Tia
was on the dance floor as well, dancing with Charles. I never would
have expected that, since the two barely had said two words to each
other since high school. Tia looked at me and then at Eric, confused as
to why he was here. I didn’t get to tell Tia about Chelsea’s surprise, so
I put up two fingers to my ear indicating I’d call her later.
As the beat started to intensify, I turned around and began grinding
on Eric. Although Trevor might be looking, I didn’t care at that point.
Trevor and I would never be, so not only did I need to move on, but
he needed to as well.
Eric put his hands on my hips, while I put my hands in the air, feeling
the pounding beat of the song. Before I knew it, I heard screaming
from guests as Trevor went up to Eric and punched him right in the
face, causing him to fall onto the floor. Before Eric could retaliate,
Trevor got down on the floor and began punching him. Several onlookers moved out of the way to avoid being hit, as Chelsea ran over
to the scene.
tell the two to stop, but my mouth couldn’t form the word.
Eric regained his balance as he went up to Trevor and decked him
across his jaw. The two were continuously punching each other when
Charles and a guest pulled them apart.
Trevor and Eric.
“Your fiancé was the one who punched me first!” Eric exclaimed.
There was blood coming from his lip as he wiped some of it with his
hand.
onto him, preventing him from moving.
Chelsea looked at me and came up to my face. “This is your fault. Why
don’t you take your slutty ass home and leave my fiancé alone?”
I couldn’t take anymore of Chelsea’s badgering. I slapped her across
her face, causing her to lunge after me. Tia ran over to me and pulled
me back while one of Chelsea’s friends held onto her.
“With pleasure!” I yelled back.
I turned around to look at the shocked crowd. I sighed as I went toward the door without even looking back.
“Camille, wait!” Tia yelled as she was running behind me.
“I need to get out of here. I simply can’t take any more of this.”
“I don’t blame you. What happened in there was crazy.”
I went over to my car and leaned against the door. I took several deep
breaths as I tried to regain my breathing.
Eric walked over to us. He said to me with a look of concern, “Are
you OK?”
“I’m fine. I just need to get out of here.”
“You want me to drive you home? You shouldn’t be driving right now.”
“I’m fine, Eric, thank you.”
“Don’t worry, Eric. I’ll see to it that she makes it home,” Tia said,
smiling.
Eric looked at Tia and smiled.
I looked at the two, wondering what was going on.
I looked toward the house and noticed Trevor walking outside. He was
heading straight to me.
“I need to go,” I said as I opened my car door.
“I’ll follow you home,” Tia said as she walked in the direction of her
car.
Even though I should probably have talked to Trevor, right now was
definitely not the time. I turned the ignition on and pulled out of the
parking spot.
in began to flow out, causing me to scream in frustration.
Why can’t we just move on?
