One Simple Step (Journey Series) (20 page)

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be able to do that yourself soon enough,” he said, standing up and sliding his sunglasses back on. “He’s not giving up, Al. Just be prepared.”

“Wait, what?” I jumped up and grabbed Tyler by the elbow as he slid his hands into his faded jeans. “Not giving up on what, Tyler? We’ve been through for a while now. I’ve moved on with a guy that treats me how I deserve to be treated. Teddy cheated on me. There’s no coming back from that. He can’t just show up in my life whenever he wants.”

“Sorry, Al.” He shrugged his shoulders at me. “You know how Teddy is, he’s used to getting what he wants.” He lifted his eyebrows at me, and I knew he was talking about
our
situation in particular.

Teddy couldn’t stand seeing Tyler and I together when we dated. I think at first, I had done it to piss Teddy off, but I grew to love Tyler after a while. Just not the type of love that there should be when it came to a relationship. A kind of love that you couldn’t live without. The kind that I thought I had with Teddy, but now realized I had been waiting for Nick all along to genuinely experience it.

“That was a long time ago, things are different now. Just because Teddy wants something, doesn’t mean he’s always going to get it. When are you guys leaving? And why are you in Florida again?”

As long as I could avoid Teddy while he was here, I would be good. No matter how determined he was to win me back, whatever messed up plan he had going on, it wasn’t going to work on me.

“Actually.” His voice went up a pitch, and he pursed his lips at me. It made me think that he
really
didn’t want to tell me what he was about to say. “We’re hanging out around here for a while. We played our last couple of shows, and we’re holding off on scheduling any more right now. So, we’re chilling here for a bit, writing some songs, and stuff.”

“And by ‘stuff’ you mean me, am I right? Let me guess, that was Teddy’s bright idea?” I shoved my chair in, the metal squeaking loudly against the concrete pavement. I normally had a pretty level head.
Angry
and
me
just didn’t go together, but Teddy was really pushing my buttons. Jabbing at them over and over again was more like it. Why couldn’t he just leave me alone? Let me move on with my life. I was happy, and I wanted to stay that way. What did I have to do to get it through that thick skull of his? I guess I needed to be mean, a bitch. More like…Leah. I hated to even think it, but she would agree with me. Given the situation, Leah could go into instant bitch mode.

What would Leah do? WWLD. Yup, that’s exactly the kind of mindset I needed to have to deal with Teddy. So…Leah…WWLD. I needed to get a bumper sticker made up or something.

Tyler looked like he was ready to take off again, so I moved closer, and jabbed him in the chest with my finger. “You can tell Teddy to fuck off. He’s not getting his way this time, not with me, not ever. And…” I ripped the flower out of my hair and threw it in Tyler’s face, his mouth still gaping open, probably because I had actually told someone to fuck off. I mean it wasn’t to their face or anything, but I said it, and that’s what counted. “Tell him he can keep his flower. He was wrong, like usual, I hate daisies,” I lied, and Tyler knew it, but was smart and didn’t say anything as I whirled around and left him standing there.

I slammed my car door behind me, taking a deep breath once I was by myself, and blew it out, repeating the process several times. It seemed to help calm me down just a little bit. I’m not sure why I let myself get so worked up, it really wasn’t worth it, but I couldn’t help it. Teddy was…infuriating.

Why couldn’t he just leave me alone? If he had been so madly in love with me, he wouldn’t have cheated. No, this wasn’t about getting me back, even if he thought it was. This was about Teddy getting his way, like always, but this time it wasn’t happening.

“’kay, Al. Wear something sexy, I’ll be there around seven to pick you up.”

“You’re really not gonna tell me where you’re taking me?” I pouted my lips even though Nick couldn’t see me through the phone. He was planning something special for the past week, but wouldn’t give any hints as to what it was.

That’s one of the things that I loved about Nick. He always tried to make everything special. Any of our dates, time we spent together, even times we were apart, he always added that extra little touch. I had a box tucked away under my bed from all of the little mementos I’d accumulated since we started dating.

My favorite was a thin silver band that he bought one night at a carnival that we had checked out on the boardwalk. He had our initials added to it before slipping it onto my finger and giving it a kiss. Then we rode every ride, and pigged out on cotton candy, fried veggies, and French fries.

By the time we were done, I felt like I was going to throw up, but it had been one of the most fun nights of my life. I had tucked the ring away in my box as soon as I got home. Nick figured I just didn’t want it to turn my finger green, but I explained to him that it was because I didn’t want to lose it since it was loose on my finger. It was special, and something I wanted to hold onto, a little something to remember that day by, forever.

He let out a low laugh, and I squeezed my eyes shut at the sound. It was one of the sexiest things I had ever heard, and it got me every time. “No, I’m really not. I gotta get back to work. I’ll see ya in a bit. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” I grumbled into the phone before hitting the end button, and tossing it on my bed. Remy walked in as I started flipping through my closet to figure out what I was going to wear for our mystery date.

“Here, this came for you while you were out this morning.” She tossed a box on to my bed, and I eyed it as I laid a stack of sundresses down. It was addressed to me, but there was no return information. I had a feeling I knew who it was from.

Tyler was right when he said Teddy wasn’t going to give up so easily. A couple of weeks had gone by since the day that I had left Tyler at the cafe, during which I started getting random little notes—on my car door, on my to-go cup of tea from the little café I liked to stop at. All were from Teddy. All had ended up in the garbage.

I mean, he was being thoughtful. Each note said something he loved about me, words that I really hadn’t heard when we were together, but they didn’t mean anything to me now. They didn’t mean anything at all the minute he touched another girl.

“Why don’t you open it? I really don’t care what it is.”

“Um…okay.” Remy gave me a confused look, plopping down on my bed to pick at the tape. “Do you know who it’s from or something?”

“Unfortunately,” I groaned, holding up a strapless maxi dress, and quickly throwing it back towards my closet. Nick was a leg-man, and while he never told me what to wear, I knew he loved to see them. “It’s most likely from Teddy.”

“Teddy?” Remy repeated back to me as she popped the box open, and pulled out two smaller boxes. “And how do you know they’re from him?”

“He’s trying to win me back or something, I’ve been getting things from him nonstop lately. He’s actually in town, but I haven’t seen him.” I dropped down onto the bed next to Remy, and she placed a box in each of my hands.

“Ally, I swear you are like the queen of keeping things in. Why haven’t you mentioned anything about this before?” She crossed her arms tightly, her lips forming a straight line. “I thought he was going to leave you alone, seeing that you’re divorced and all. But now he’s
here?
Do you think you need to get a restraining order on him or something?”

I muffled a laugh with my hand at Remy’s very serious expression, and the suggestion of a restraining order. Teddy wouldn’t hurt a fly. Sure, it was annoying, but he would eventually get a clue and leave me alone. “No, Remy. I think that would be a little extreme. It’s not that big of a deal, so I didn’t think to tell you about it.”

I pulled open the first box, and couldn’t help but smile at the single cupcake that was in a clear plastic container with bubble wrap surrounding it. I knew exactly where it was from: the best bakery ever, which I had found while being out on the road with the band. I couldn’t even remember what the place was called, but it was in a tiny town in Tennessee.

Every time we passed through the state, I made sure Bobby made a beeline just so I could get a single cupcake. Each one always had an intricate design, and this one was no different. The icing looked like it was a white lace overlay, and there were different sized hearts in various shades of red surrounding a date in the center.

I was puzzled by the date since it hadn’t even happened yet, so I set it aside and opened the second box. Inside was another note.

Great.

“Here, I don’t think I can read this.” I shoved the paper towards Remy who was eyeing the cupcake, so I opened the container, and broke it into two. “You’re so lucky you’re one of my best friends, or I totally wouldn’t be sharing this with you. Best. Cupcake. Ever.” I stuffed my half into my mouth, and closed my eyes, savoring the richness of my favorite flavor, banana nut, with a cream cheese frosting.

“That is amazing,” Remy said around a mouthful. “Are you sure this came from Teddy? Because I really can’t see him remembering something like that.”

“Trust me, I’m shocked too. Read the letter, I can guarantee it’s from Teddy.”

“Alright.”

Ally-Cat,

I know I’m probably annoying the shit out of you with all of these notes, but I really don’t care. You said I never cared to know your favorites, well this is me proving you wrong. Yeah, I might have made some mistakes in the past, not giving you the attention you deserved, but I’m going to make up for that now. You might be a little confused by the date on the cupcake, that I’m sure you’ve probably eaten by now ‘cause they’re so damn good, but you’ll figure it out soon enough. I want a new beginning with you, and that’s what we’re going to have, even if you don’t know it yet.

I love you more than you’ll ever know,

Teddy

P.S. That cupcake was just the first of a dozen, there’s more to come.

“Oh, wow. He really is trying, isn’t he?” I frowned at Remy as she handed me back the letter, and I read it again. He was starting to slowly chip away at the ice around my heart I had up as a blockade when it came to him, but that didn’t mean I was going to run back into his arms.

I loved Nick.

Nick was different. Nick had never hurt me. He didn’t need to prove that he knew me, or cared about me, or how much he loved me, because he showed me that every day.

“So, what are you gonna do, sweetie? He seems like he’s really trying but—”

I cut her off with my hand. “It’s too late for that, Rem.” She nodded her head in agreement, as I stood back up and began shuffling through my closet again. “What’s done is done. I’ve moved on, and now he needs to. He’ll figure that out soon enough if I just keep ignoring him.”

“Well, sounds like you have it all figured out, then. You’re a smart girl, Al. What you have with Nick is good—perfect, in fact. Some girls would be confused by all of this, but you have your head on straight. Let’s just keep it that way.” She gave me a quick hug. “I’m gonna go take a shower and head into work. I’ll see ya Thursday for sure, right?”

“Oh yeah, your first official ‘Throw-down Thursday’. Aren’t you so excited?”

Throw-down Thursdays were epic, well, according to Danny at least. We always seemed to end up at Clammy’s on Thursday nights, so they became sort of a tradition, and Danny officially named it. He tried to outdrink everyone, and somehow that made it a throw-down, except for no one really could, or tried to outdrink him. Whatever it was, it was always fun and interesting. I knew Remy needed a night out, so I invited her, hoping she would have a good time, and so I could have a little girl reinforcement.

“So excited,” she answered with a roll of her eyes before giving me a wave and shutting my door.

I finished picking out my outfit for the night, and placed everything in the bathroom so I could take a bath and work on my hair before Nick arrived. I saw the letter again as I was grabbing clothes to put back in my closet.

I could tell Teddy was trying, anyone could see that. Maybe he had finally figured out how a relationship was supposed to work, but it was too little too late for us. I hoped that he would be able to find someone that he could be happy with, like I was with Nick.

Chapter 21

Nick

“Hey, Aaron, I’m gonna head out a little early. You need anything before I leave?” I pulled off my tie as I walked out and stood behind the front desk, where he was training a new clerk. I still hadn’t been able to find someone that was decent enough to fill the spot Ally had left behind. Hopefully this new girl, Kim, would be the one. Aaron definitely seemed fond of her.

“No, I think we’re good,” he replied, distracted by Kim who, at the moment, was bent over retrieving a dropped pen. I really needed to have a discussion with him about appropriate behavior in the workplace. “You going out with Ally tonight?”

“Yeah.” I rubbed a hand across the stubble on my face, wishing I had time to stop back at home before picking her up. “I have a few errands to run though, so if you need me, just give me a call.” I patted him on the back, leaning close to his ear so only he could hear me. “And try to keep your eyes on Kim’s face.” He turned a bright shade of red as I smirked at him and exited through the front entrance.

I couldn’t blame the guy. It was hard to control yourself sometimes, especially if he was really interested in Kim. Ally and I only let things get out of hand at work one time, that night in my office, and it had been one of the best nights of my life. Every time I was sitting behind my desk, I could picture her laid out over it. It was hard to get any work done sometimes if I let my mind drift too far.