Just Friends (5 page)

“No, I’m sticking to the cocktails.
With no work tomorrow, I intend to get smashed,” Chase said.

“Same here,” Mitch said, lifting up
his glass.

“Lucky
bastard.”
He turned to Chase seeing his friend
smile.

Chuckling, he glanced behind him to
see Leah concentrating on the drinks. “You had her in your lap the last time.”

“Whatever,” Chase said.

“What are you guys arguing about?”
Leah asked, filling their glasses and then sitting between them once more.

“Nothing.
Not long left on the horror.” Mitch smiled at her trying to reassure her.

“Thank God. I hate these movies. I
don’t see any appeal. I guess you guys do, though.” She shrugged her shoulders
sitting between them.

“What do you mean by that?” Chase
got there first.

“Well, you get to see a lot of hot,
semi-naked girls running through houses. And don’t forget the big breasts.
Every guy loves a pair of big breasts,” Leah said.

Mitch stared down at her chest. She
was in double letter bras. He’d seen her size and would forever keep her size
in his memory bank.

“Be careful there, misses. Not
every guy wants a pair of big breasts,” Mitch said. He knew he and Chase were
not one of those men, but there were men out there who preferred smaller
breasts.

“I know. Sorry, I don’t mean to put
you all in one basket. Anyway, let’s get this movie finished, so I don’t have
to hurt one of you by sitting in your lap.”

 
Chase pressed resume on the remote. The pillow
went back up, and then she was in Chase’s lap for the remainder of the movie.
Mitch stroked her feet trying to offer her comfort. Several screams and a few
jumps later, the credits rolled up.

Leah jumped off Chase’s lap and
clapped her hands.
“My movie next.”

****

Chase watched Leah swoon at the
screen. She’d ended up on her butt on the floor. This is why he hated getting
her the romantic chick flick movies. She rarely stayed between them.

“Oh my
God.
He’s so sweet. She has to pick him. He loves her so
much,” she said.

Rolling his eyes he turned to see
Mitch was glaring at the movie as well. The other guy’s arms were folded, and
he looked pissed off.

“Why?” he asked, mouthing the word.

Chase opened his arms trying to
show his friend that he didn’t have a choice. The credits rolled up over two
hours later.

She turned to them with a smile on
her face. “See. True love does conquer all in the end.”

“It was a movie, sweetheart.” Mitch
unfolded his arms.

Chase stared into her eyes. She
looked so happy.

“I guess you’re ready for bed.”

“Nope.”
She giggled covering her mouth.

He frowned, staring at her
suspiciously. “How many cocktails have you drunk?”

She shrugged her shoulders.
“Too many to count.
Let’s play something.”

Leah jumped to her feet. This was
the problem with a semi-drunk Leah. She became very energetic whereas he and
Mitch tended to become relaxed.

“Come on, guys. I’ll make it worth
your while,” she said.

Chase was always a sucker for her
begging. He relented first, and then Mitch followed suit. They really were in
for it tonight.

Chapter Four

Her head was pounding. Leah opened
her eyes, moaning as the world finally came back to her in one long rush. She
couldn’t remember anything past the romantic movie they had watched. Putting a
hand to her head, she tried to roll over. A male arm covered her stomach. She
froze.

Shit.
What happened last night?

It was Friday night. She never went
out on a Friday. Turning her head she saw Mitch was in the bed with her. She
squealed and jumped out of the bed. Mitch yelled, and Chase crashed into the
room holding a baseball bat.

“What the fuck is going on?” Chase
asked. He held the bat high over his head. Leah stared down to see she was butt-naked.
Squealing, she grabbed the quilt and did her best to cover herself.

“Leah, what’s going on?” Mitch
asked.

“I don’t know.” She shouted the
words,
then
touched her head as the pounding
increased. “What happened last night?”

“What do you mean what happened
last night?” Chase asked.

Wrapping the duvet over her body,
she looked up at her two friends. Her whole body ached, and she was sure they’d
done something last night. “I can’t remember anything.”

Mitch and Chase looked at each
other.

“Nothing?” they both asked
together.

She took a step and winced as her
body protested the sudden movement.

“Oh crap,” Mitch said.

Chase whacked him with the bat.

“Why do I feel something did happen
last night?” she asked, feeling uneasy.

“I think you should go for a bath
and get freshened up. We can all talk in the kitchen when you’re done,” Chase
said, sounding the most logical.

Leah felt tears spring to her eyes.
Something had happened, but she didn’t know what. She was terrified. They were
her best friends. Why couldn’t she remember what they’d done together?

“Please, don’t cry, Leah,” Chase
said. He put the bat down, going toward her and wrapping his arm around her.

“I’m scared,” she said, staring at
Mitch as he glanced at the floor. They were in Chase’s room. What the fuck had
she done?

“Go and get freshened up. There is
nothing to be scared about. You’ll see. We’ll still be here.”

Taking a quick glance between them,
she nodded her head and then made her way toward the shared bathroom. Leah
locked the door. It was the first time she’d done that in all the years she’d
known them. She dropped the duvet wrapped around her and filled the bath with
steaming hot water. While the bath was filling up, she walked over to the sink.
Her mouth tasted awful. Opening the cabinet with the mirror on, she pulled out
some painkillers and took two with the tap water. Leah washed her teeth before
she even dared stare at her reflection.

She gasped. On either side of her
neck was a love bite. They were purple, and the skin showed the shape of two
different lips.

“Fuck,” she said, then covered her
mouth so neither Mitch or Chase could hear her. “What the fuck have I done?”

She’d never been good at holding
down alcohol. It was one of the reasons she avoided drinking out. Closing her
eyes, she tried to will the night before back to her. No memory resurfaced. She
was all alone.

A chill filled her body. Gazing
down the length of her body, she saw other little signs of love-making. The
most basic came with the unmistakable sore feeling between her legs.

Biting her bottom lip, she climbed
into the water. She loved Mitch and Chase, and she felt like they’d finally
crossed that line last night. Only, she couldn’t remember a thing.

She dropped her head into her
hands, feeling like the world’s worst friend.

****

Chase watched her go waiting for
the sound of the bathroom door closing. When the sound came followed by the
lock sliding into place, he felt like a complete shit.

“She doesn’t remember, Chase.”

He turned to his friend seeing the
look of concern on his face. On the outside Chase tried to remain calm, but on
the inside he was falling apart. Last night had been the best night of his life,
and now the woman he loved more than anything didn’t even remember it.

“I’ll see you in the kitchen,”
Chase said. He needed time to think.

Going through to the kitchen, he
saw the celebration breakfast he was going to make. The bacon was now burnt and
the eggs crisp. He grabbed everything and threw it all in the trash, making
some coffee instead.

Last night, she’d confessed how
much she loved them. At the time he’d thought she had drunk too much, but he’d
been taken in by the sincerity in her voice. He closed his eyes, feeling the
first tear beginning to fall. Life was being unfair to him. If he’d known she
was too bloody drunk he’d never have gone through with it.

She’d begged them to take her.

“I should have known,” he said to
himself.

Mitch joined him several minutes
later. The sombre look on his face was reflected in Mitch’s expression.

“I can’t go back to being just
friends, Chase. I love her too damn much.”

He shook his head. “We can’t rush
her.”

“If I’d known she was too damn
drunk.”

Chase reached over and touched his
friend’s hand. He knew what Mitch was saying. In all of their years neither of
them had ever taken advantage of a woman in a drunken state. They’d never needed
to. To think that Leah hadn’t been in control and yet they’d done what they’d
done left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I need to get out of here,” Mitch
said.

“We need to talk to her first and
get this settled. You saw the fear in her eyes. I don’t want Leah looking at me
with fear.”

The sound of the bathroom door
opening invaded their conversation. They both remained silent as Leah walked
out of the bathroom. She was wearing a robe.

“I’m going to go and get dressed,”
she said. Her voice was so silent, Chase struggled to hear it.

Chase wiped his eyes to try to stop
the tears from falling. He’d never cried, and he wasn’t going to start now.
Getting up from his seat, he poured himself, Mitch, and Leah a coffee.

“I don’t know what to say,” Mitch
said.

“We’re still friends, Mitch. Say
what needs to be said.”

Twenty minutes later, she came out
of her bedroom. She wore a pair of jeans and one of Mitch’s old shirts.

She took the lukewarm coffee from
him and sipped. He watched as she sat down, wincing as she did.

Chase looked away. He needed to
look away.

“I know what happened last night,”
Leah said.

Both of them turned to her.

“I mean, I don’t remember what
happened, but I know we did something.” She bit her lip, stopping herself from
speaking.

“We had sex,” Mitch said.

Chase glared at him as Leah let out
a gasp.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“We started playing spin the bottle,
only we did it as truth or dare. The person who spun would ask either a truth
or dare,” Chase said, trying to gain some control over the conversation.

“How did that lead up to having
sex?” She looked hesitant. Her hands were tight around the mug. “Who slept with
whom?”

“We all slept together. Mitch and I
shared you.”

Silence met his words.

Leah looked like she was going
insane. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at each of them. “Did I beg you?”
she asked.

Chase glanced at Mitch before
nodding his head. He was going to be truthful.

“I begged you to fuck me?” she
asked.

“Actually, you begged us to make
love to you.”

“And you did?” she asked, slowly.

They both nodded their heads again.
Chase saw the despair in her eyes.

“I need to get out of here,” she
said, standing up.

“You don’t have to leave, Leah.
Nothing has changed,” Mitch said, getting up.

“Nothing has changed? I begged my
two best friends to have sex with me. How can that not change anything? I need
to go and do the laundry. I’ll be back later.”

Chase watched as she grabbed the
sacks that had been left by the door. Her body shook with the movement as she slammed
out of their apartment.

“We fucked up last night,” Mitch
said.

Not wanting to hear any more, Chase
grabbed his coat and left the apartment. He needed to clear his head. Last
night had been the best night ever. It was the night all of them should have
been enjoying for years.

He walked along the deserted street
wishing Leah had woken up remembering. She’d told them both how much she loved
them and that she’d never be able to pick between the two of them. How could
someone not remember those words?

Chase walked through the city park
as people were just getting started with their day. He nodded to people he
passed not seeing or hearing any response. His life felt like it was over
before it had even begun.

****

Mitch moved over to the sink to
clean the mess Chase had left behind. Leah loved a clean kitchen, and coming
home to the mess from breakfast wouldn’t leave her in the best mood. He rolled
up his sleeves and began cleaning away the mess.