Scandal: The Lies We Tell (Volume 1) (5 page)

   By the time the crowd scattered to find the nearest bar at the cocktail hour, my cheeks were sore from all the awkward smiling. “That was intense,” I said as we walked back to the car.

   “Welcome to my life,” Nick responded with a grimace. “Everyone hates politicians until they need something. Then they’re the most popular people in the room.”

   We drove to the reception in silence.
Nick was still tense and I couldn’t think of anything to say that wasn’t a comment on the wedding- the very topic I was trying to avoid. Since the town was so small it only took us two minutes to drive to the reception but I was still anxious to get out of the car.

  
“Drink?” Nick said as soon as we walked into the lobby. An open bar was up and running just feet from the entrance.

   I nodded and he
took off without asking what I wanted to drink. Without Nick by my side, I felt very out of place in a crowd of people that all knew each other very well. I rocked on my heels and twisted a strand of hair between my fingers.

  
“Charley, right? We met back at the chapel.”

   I whirled around and found a woman that looked vaguely familiar holding out a dainty hand for me to shake. “Of course,” I said, though I barely remembered meeting her.

   “Diana,” she said helpfully. “I’m friends with Craig and Nick. We went to college together.”

   I tried to form some kind of coherent thought but words escaped me so I nodded instead.

   “I’m so glad Nick found a date to this circus. No one should have to face this alone.” Diana made a face like she smelled something rotten. “Plus now he’ll look less pathetic.”

   “So you and Nick are close?” I wasn’t sure yet if I liked Diana, but she certainly was honest and I could appreciate that.

   “Sure. He introduced me to my husband, Peter. He was best man at our wedding.” This time her face emoted pity. “It’s a shame what happened with Heidi. She really did a number on him. He’s been so pathetic since the break-up. Dating those slutty bimbos. Present company excluded, of course.”

  
“Of course.” My mouth suddenly felt very dry.

   “I see you’ve made a friend,” Nick said, handing me a drink.

   I ignored the remark and took a grateful sip. “Beer?”

   “I took a guess.” Nick continued to ignore Diana. “Would you like something else?”

   “No. Beer was a good guess.” I smiled and took another sip.

   Nick nodded, pleased that he had guesses correctly. “So, Diana, have you managed to insult my date yet?”

   “Without a doubt,” she replied. “So far she seems less trampy than the others but she doesn’t talk much.”

   “You talk enough for ten people.” Nick was smiling but I could tell that he wasn’t entirely joking. “Where’s your husband? Shouldn’t you be nagging him or bossing him around?”

   Diana waved a dismissive hand. “He can wait. I want to learn more about your lady friend.”

  
“Not now, Dee.” Nick was done with the friendly banter.

   “What’s up your ass, Coop?” she asked with flashing eyes.

   Nick placed his hand on the small of my back as he squared off against his friend. “I like this one and I’m not going to let you scare her away.”

   “Huh.” Diana’s head tilted as she studied Nick. “So you do. Good. I’m sure I’ll like her, too.”

   “Two people who like me in one room? I guess there really is a first time for everything.” I almost cringed at the amount of sass in my tone but Diana laughed.

   “You and I are going to be good friends.” She winked and toddled away on her impossibly high heels.

   “I apologize for everything she said, which I’m sure was crass and rude.” Nick shook his head as he watched her leave.

   “Don’t worry about it. I kind of like her.” So far she was the only person that had even bothered to talk to me. When I looked at Nick, he jaw was clenched. “How are you doing?”

   Nick looked away. “Just dandy. I love weddings.”

  
“Salt in an open wound?” I asked as nonchalantly as possible.

   “Something
like that.” Nick flinched and turned back to me. “Charley, I’m sorry. I had no idea this wedding was going to bother me so much. I thought I was over everything that happened with Heidi.”

   “Nick, don’t worry about it.” I touched his arm. “
Can I do anything to make it better?”

   A slow smile appeared. “I’m sure you can. I’ll let you know.”

   This time I gave into the urge to hug him and he returned my embrace enthusiastically. His hands stroked my back as he exhaled into my neck. “For the record, just being with you helps.”

  
“Ditto.”

   Nick went to get us another drink while I made my way into the ballroom to find our seats. According to the place card I was handed at the door, we were sitting at table 8. The other seats at the table were already filled and nobody looked in my direction as I stood behind the two remaining seats. After a pregnant pause, I slipped into my seat as quietly as possible.

   “I agree, Alexa. No one thought he would actually attend. After what happened with his engagement, he must be mortified.” The skinny woman across from me was talking loudly to the woman on her left, presumably Alexa.

  
Alexa spoke equally loud. “Oh, yes, Talia. It was terrible what happened. We all agree about that. But I think we all can also agree that he wasn’t completely innocent in the whole thing.”

   “What do you know?” Talia leaned so far forward in her seat that she nearly slid right off it.

   “Well, mostly it’s just gossip. But Katie’s sister Betsy worked with some woman that was supposedly sleeping with the senator for years. I’m sure Heide knew about it, too.
Everyone
knew about it.”

   It took me that long to realize they were talking about Nick. I didn’t want to hear any more gossip from women who couldn’t even be bothered to acknowledge my existence.

   “It’s a shame Nick couldn’t keep his pants on. Their wedding would’ve been lovely.”

   I opened my mouth to interrupt them but someone beat me to it.

   “I see we’ve been seated with my fan club,” Nick said smoothly, placing our drinks on the table with a loud thud that caused the others to look in our direction at last. He took his seat next to me, his knee bumping against mine.

   “Nick.”
Alexa turned a bright shade of pink.

   “I take it you’ve introduced yourself to my date?” Nick took my hand. “Charley, these are some catty women that know
Carrie.”

  
  “It’s a pleasure I’m sure.” I didn’t even glance in their direction. “Let’s hope the food is better than the company.”

    “I don’t see how it could possibly be any worse.”

   No one spoke a word throughout dinner. Nick and I maintained our stern expressions in the interest of making the others uncomfortable, all the while engaging in excessive groping underneath the table. Nick’s hand was all the way up my thigh when they announced that the dancing would begin in five minutes.

   Nick and I groaned at the same time and his hand resumed its journey. I stopped him just as his finger traced the edge of my panties.

   “Come with me,” I urged, rising out of my chair. Nick was startled but her recovered quickly and followed me across the room.

   Since the reception location was really just an old mansion, I assumed there were plenty of rooms we could duck into to release some sexual tension. I led Nick up the stairs and he stopped me once we were on the second floor.

   “I appreciate the enthusiasm but we don’t have to do this. We could just go back to the house.” Nick’s cheeks were flushed and he sounded slightly out of breath.

    I didn’t give him a chance to recover. Instead, I grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket and pulled him close. “Why wait?” I asked pressing my lips eagerly against his and forcing my tongue inside.

   Nick responded by lifting me against him and backing me up until I was pinned against the wall. One hand caressed the side of my neck while the other slipped below the hem of my dress.

   I lifted my leg and wrapped it around Nick until we were pressed together, his bulge against my sweet spot with just layers of fabric in the way.

   “Let’s find a room,” Nick panted. He pulled away reluctantly and opened the door to the first room on the left.

   We had both stepped all the way into the room and closed the door before we realized we weren’
t alone. In fact, the groom was standing next to the bed, caught quite literally with his pants down.

   “Shit, Craig. Sorry, we thought the room was empty.” Nick started to back us out of the room.

   “Nick.” Craig reached for his pants and lost his balance. He caught himself before falling but not before taking a couple of steps to the right, revealing the reason why he was in the bedroom with his pants around his ankles. Mayor Hutchinson stared at us from his seat on the bed.

   “Shit,” Nick said again while I stood dumbly with my mouth hanging open.

   “This isn’t what it looks like.” Craig hurried to fasten his pants. “Nick, it’s not what you think. I swear.”

   Nick shook his head several times as if he could clear the image from his brain. “We were just leaving.”

   “We’re sorry,” I echoed lamely as I hurried to follow Nick. I caught up with him in the lobby downstairs. “Nick. Stop.”

   “I can’t talk about this right now, Charley.” When Nick turned around his eyes were wide and his hands were shaking.

   “I think you have to, Nick. You can’t ignore what we just saw.” I noticed that several people milling around in the lobby were watching us. “Let’s go outside.”

   Nick charged ahead of me and we walked around the building until we were out of earshot of any eavesdroppers.

   “You need to talk to Craig and let him explain. Maybe it really wasn’t what we think.” I knew my protest sounded silly but the situation was too ridiculous to be true.

   “Craig was upstairs in a bedroom with
his pants around his ankles during his wedding reception with someone that wasn’t his wife. With someone that isn’t even female. He’s a cheater and a liar.” Nick gave me a skeptical look. “What else could that have been?”

    “I don’t know. That’s why you need to talk to him.”

    “Nick.” Craig appeared, looking utterly distraught. “We need to talk, man.”

    Nick glared at him. “Not now
, Craig.”

    “Nick, you have to let me explain.”

    “What could you possibly need to explain? It’s pretty obvious you’re cheating on your wife with Brad.” Nick continued to stare down his friend. “Am I wrong?”

   Craig sighed. “No, you’re not wrong.”

   “I’m going to go back inside and let you two talk,” I said, backing away slowly. Nick still looked pissed but at least he wasn’t yelling anymore.

   “Thanks.” Cra
ig shot me a grateful look.

  
My first stop was the bar where I ordered two drinks. After finishing one right there, I took the other and found a quiet corner of the ballroom where I could watch people dance around like chickens. I was aware that some people were watching me, wondering where Nick had gone and why I was sitting in a corner drinking alone. I could practically hear the rumors swirling in the air.

   At least
a half-dozen songs played while I waited for Nick and when he finally approached my table he looked defeated. I stood up before he could speak and asked. “Do you want to go?”

   “Yes, but not yet. If we leave now it might seem odd.” Nick held out his hand. “Dance with me?”

   “Yeah, okay.”

  
We found a relatively clear spot on the floor and Nick took the lead. He was a surprisingly smooth dancer.

   “So how did it go?” I kept my voice as low as I could while still being heard over the music.

   “Pretty much exactly how you would expect. He admitted the whole thing. It’s not like he could’ve denied it.”

    “So what’s the whole story? How long has it been going on?”

    “Ten years. Can you believe it?” Nick scoffed. “He’s been lying to me and everyone else for ten years.”

   “Why lie? Was he just afraid to come out?”

   “Craig wasn’t, but Brad was. He thought it would ruin his chances of a political career. So Craig agreed to keep it on the down low. He thought that Brad would eventually come around, but once he was elected mayor and then married his wife, it was pretty clear Brad expected him to keep up the ruse.”

   “But why
did Craig get married? What is the point of this whole charade?”

   “Apparently there were rumors. Nothing that was substantiated, but enough that Brad was starting get nervous. Even marrying his wife didn’t seem to help so he ended the relationship. Craig was in a downward spiral when he met Carrie. She helped him put his life back together. He said that he loves her. Not romantically, but he still loves her.”