Seducing My Best Friend (Fated #3) (8 page)

She opened her mouth to say something, but I
pushed her out the door.

“Goodbye, Chelsea,” I said. “For good this time.”

I knew time was of the essence. Chuck was getting
bolder which meant every woman in the salon was becoming increasingly
vulnerable.

And now that Fiona had lost her job, I felt like
all the pressure was on me to do something. For Fiona, for me, for the other
girls, for my Mom.

Chuck was a bully and he had to be stopped.

But I was out of my depth.

I’d never dealt with this kind of bullying.
Standing up for myself was one thing. I could knee someone in the crotch and
cuss them out as well as anyone, but this was different. He needed to be
punished. As far as I was concerned, he needed to be permanently kept away from
working with women, and I couldn’t stop him on my own.

I did enough research online to know I needed a
strategic plan. A few complaints wouldn’t cut it so Fiona and I couldn’t do it alone.
Many of the sites I read said to go to the manager or cite the employee
handbook. Neither of these things was an option for me.

And I didn’t want to run to the police and tattle
with my fingers crossed. I was a grown woman and when it was time to get the
police involved, I wanted to make sure I had the information I needed to be
taken seriously the first time around.

After all, even though I knew I should’ve done
something about it a long time ago, that was no reason to be reactionary now,
when it counted most.

Plus, I didn’t have the money to experiment with a
bunch of dead ends, and I didn’t want to run to my Dad or Aiden and get them
all freaked out and make this their problem. They had their own shit going on,
and I didn’t need rescued.

I needed to educate myself.

Fiona was still a mess. She’d managed to pull
herself together a little bit after the shock of the whole thing wore off, but
I could tell she was still shaken up.

And on top of Chuck’s assault, she was freaked out
about our financial situation. But I wasn’t. Sure, I’d saved hard for a salon
of my own, but if I’d done it once, I was confident that I could do it again.

In the meantime, I had enough money to keep us
afloat for a while until she could find a new job. Of course, depending on what
happened with the Chuck disaster, I might be looking for one sooner than I
thought, too.

And while I promised myself the next time I
changed jobs it would be to work for myself, I knew better than to think life
could always go to plan. And sometimes, as Aiden’s recent interest in me
proved, that wasn’t the worst thing that could happen.

But it was going to break my heart to throw my
salon money away on rent and bills. As a result, I was determined to cut
corners any way I could. So when I found a directory for volunteers offering
legal services, I was thrilled.

After I posted my concern in one of the forums, a
man named Nathan agreed to meet me after work at a nearby coffee shop.

I was only a few blocks away, power walking my ass
off, when my phone rang.

“Hey you,” I said, slowing down so I wouldn’t
breathe too hard into the phone.

“Hey yourself,” Aiden said.

I felt a smile stretch across my face. “What’s
up?”

“I have good news.”

“Oh?” I almost wished I’d let him leave a message
so I could hear him give me good news over and over.

“I told Claire that after some sufficient begging,
you agreed to be my date for the wedding.”

I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t exactly make you beg.”

“Oh right. My bad. Begging is what I’m going to
have you doing tonight.”

I was so glad he couldn’t see how flushed my
cheeks were. If they were as pink as they felt, he would’ve laughed at me for
sure. “What makes you think I want to see you tonight?”

“I asked my crystal ball.”

“Oh really?”

“Yep.”

“And it told you I would go out with you tonight?”

“It told me you’d do a lot more than go out with
me.”

Now I was breathing hard for entirely different
reasons. “What exactly did it tell you I was up for?”

“Ask again later.”

“Ha ha.”

“You really want to know?”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” he said. “First I asked if you were
thinking about me.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And it said most likely.”

“Okay.”

“And then I asked if you were free tonight.”

“Yeah.”

“And it said, it is decidedly so.”

“So far so good.”

“Then I asked if you were up for dinner,” he said.
“And it said outlook good.”

“Well, no surprise there. I could have told you
that.”

He laughed. “Then I asked if you wanted to have me
for dessert.”

I swallowed.

“And it said signs point to yes.”

“What signs?”

“Does it matter?”

“I suppose not, but you know those things aren’t
always accurate.”

“This one is. It’s the others that are faulty.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Cause I asked whether it was telling the truth,
and it said you can count on it.”

“Oh jeez.”

“So, seeing as how it would be foolish to mess
with fate, how soon can I pick you up?”

“Well, I’m not even home yet, and I have to run an
errand first.”

“Like a stopping for gas errand or a swinging by
Target errand?”

“You mean how long will it take?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe like stopping by Target with a list.”

“Oh god, forget it then. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Wait!” I said. “I swear it won’t take too long.”

“Can you give me a time?”

“Can I just call you when I’m done?”

“No. Not because I care how long I have to wait,
but because that doesn’t answer the question of whether or not I should have a
snack now.”

“Have a snack.”

“So more than an hour?”

“You must be really excited to see me.”

“So much for playing it cool.”

“No, I’m flattered,” I said, pulling my phone away
to check the time. “How about I meet you at my place in an hour-ish, and if you
beat me, Fiona can let you in?”

“Sounds good.”

“Cool. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Not as much as I am,” he said.

“Hey, why don’t you surprise me by wearing my
panties?”

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I am.”

“Thank god.”

“You could return them to me though.”

“Not a chance.”

I sighed. “Okay.”

“Why don’t you just not wear any tonight?”

“Why would I-”

“Then you can wear them home tomorrow.”

“Yeah right.”

“It was just an idea,” he said.

“A terrible one.”

“If you think that was terrible, just wait until I
tell you the one I had last night in bed when I was-”

“I have to go now, Aiden. See you in an hour.” I
hung up the phone and took a deep breath.

I needed to shake the happy off before I went
inside. It seemed horribly inappropriate to be blushing and aroused at a
meeting concerning how to charge my boss with sexual harassment. I pushed the
door open and looked around. A middle aged man with designer stubble in a white
button up and jeans was sitting in the corner. He gave me a little wave when he
saw me.

I walked over to him. “Nathan?”

He stood up and extended his hand. “You must be
Lucy.”

I nodded.

“I didn’t know what you wanted or I would’ve
gotten you something,” he said.

“That’s okay,” I said, deciding I could trust him
based on his kind eyes and his clean fingernails.

“Back in the day people were happy with regular or
decaf, but now it’s impossible to guess.”

“I’m good actually, and I really appreciate you
meeting with me so I won’t waste your time.”

He held his palm out towards my chair and sat back
down across from me.

I placed my purse in my lap so it would be easy to
dig out a pen and paper. “I’d first like to thank you for answering my post.”

“Thank you for seeking justice.”

“Did you seriously just say that?”

He shrugged. “I know it sounds cheesy, but you
wouldn’t believe how many people don’t speak up about this kind of thing.”

“Well, I should’ve sooner.”

“The important thing is that you did, and I’m
going to do everything I can to help you get this guy.”

“Thanks.”

“I have sisters and daughters and if any guy,
especially their boss, made them uncomfortable at work the way you described in
your note-” He shook his head. “Let’s put it this way, there’s nothing I
wouldn’t do to put a stop to it.”

“So where do we start?” I asked, pulling out my
pen and paper.

Nathan pulled a thin pair of glasses out of his
pocket and slipped them on. “How about at the beginning?”

I was surprised how exciting it was to pursue Lucy.

I figured it wouldn’t be as thrilling as seducing a new woman
because she was so familiar to me, but it wasn’t like that at all. On the
contrary, it was arguably more nerve wracking.

Maybe because there was more to lose if it didn’t work out. But
how could it not? I mean, we were so compatible, so comfortable with each
other.

But the whole thing still felt a bit naughty, seeing her in this
new light. She was always so off limits before so even flirting with her felt
scandalous.

Frankly, she was kind of like a red onion. Not cause she was
stinky and made me cry, of course, but because there were so many layers to
her. And I was eager to discover them all, to memorize the different shades of
pink her cheeks turned when I complimented her, to hear how her laugh changed
depending on her level of nakedness.

Naturally, I never thought the guys she went for were good
enough for her. She was too gorgeous and intelligent for any of them, at least
the ones I’d met. Heck, she was probably too clever for me, too, but I was
hoping my inherent charm and genuine affection for her would make up for that.

Cause ever since I realized there was a sexy woman hiding inside
my best friend, I’d been desperate to coax her out and make her blush all over.

And she was so easy to be with. Plus, having her on my arm made
me feel smarter, and I didn’t have to ask around to know if it made me more
interesting. I guess the best way to describe it is that I stood taller when
she was around.

Not that how tall I was mattered when we were horizontal, which
is how I intended to spend more and more of our time together now that I’d seen
how responsive she was to my touch. I mean, some women just laid there and let
sex happen, but her noises filled the room. Even thinking about the sound of her
hips swishing against my sheets was enough to fill me with fire.

And she didn’t make any stupid, sexy O faces. In fact, nothing
about her was contrived. She was so natural, even the way she relaxed into me
when I slid inside her.

I don’t know why she went to so much trouble to hide behind her
thick eyeliner and her black clothes and her newly purple streaks. She didn’t
have to do all those things to seem more complicated or interesting. She was
perfect the way she was, and I was a perfect idiot for taking so long to
realize it.

I smoothed my hand over my hair and rang the buzzer.

“Who is it?” Fiona asked.

“Aiden.”

I waited through the next buzzer and when I heard the latch
click, I shoved the main door open. By the time I’d climbed the stairs, Fiona
had already opened their door a crack.

I pushed it wider gently and looked around. “Hello?”

“Make yourself comfortable,” she yelled from down the hallway.
“I’ll be out in a second.”

I closed the door behind me and looked around, smiling when I
saw the flowers I got Lucy in a vase on the kitchen counter. Otherwise, their
apartment looked the same as it always had, except now it wasn’t just a
friend’s place, but the home of a woman I’d slept with and intended to sleep
with again.

In the past, I’d been known to let myself in and grab a beer,
but now that I was here with new intentions, I figured I would err on the side
of being polite. Plus, Fiona was a wild card so I didn’t want to get too
comfortable just yet. I’d always found her to be a bit manic for my tastes.
However, I gave her the benefit of the doubt since she and Lucy were close.

I walked over to a bookshelf by the TV and looked at some
pictures I’d never paid attention to before. There was one of Lucy and Fiona
from several years ago where they each looked gloriously shitfaced, laughing
with open mouths. There was one of Lucy’s brother holding her in a headlock not
long after he’d shot past her in height and weight.

I skimmed over the ones of Fiona and her family and my eye was
drawn to a small brass frame. I recognized Lucy’s Mother’s face instantly. Not
just because I’d seen the same picture in Lucy’s wallet a thousand times, but
because when we were kids, I thought her Mom was the coolest lady I’d ever met… 
Besides my second grade teacher, Miss Buckley, who was the first woman who made
me realize that women’s legs were far more interesting then men’s.

Anyway, Lucy’s Mom used to let us eat ice cream for dinner
sometimes. At my house, I could only have ice cream if I cleaned my plate of all
its unsightly vegetables first. But as everyone knows, when you’re hungry,
everything tastes way better.

As a result, ice cream always tasted better at Lucy’s house. And
with Lucy. And it still did to this day. I can remember being hesitant
sometimes when her Mom was getting a bowl out for me because I didn’t want to
get in trouble. But as she scooped the ice cream, Mrs. Ryan would say, “Don’t
be silly, Aiden. Life may be short, but it can still be sweet.”

I don’t know whether she knew she was sick then or not.

But she wasn’t sick in the picture because I know it was taken
before Lucy was born, probably in the seventies since her straight hair was parted
in the middle and too long to fit in the portrait.

“Can I get you a drink?” Fiona asked.

I jumped at the sound of her voice, not having realized she’d
entered the room. Then I jumped again when I turned around and saw her green
face.

She laughed. “Sorry. I hid as long as I could, but I need a top
up.”

I put my hand over my chest. “Jesus, Fiona, you could’ve warned
me you looked like the Hulk.”

“Oh relax. It’s not like I’m bleaching my mustache or
something.” She opened the fridge and stared into it. “Not that I do that.
Screwdriver?” she asked, pulling the orange juice and the vodka out of the
fridge.

“I’d take a beer if there’s one going.”

She looked back towards the glow. “Will a Bud Light do?”

I winced.

“Shandy?”

“Sure,” I said, thinking something sweet might help tie me over
until Lucy arrived.

She reached in the fridge and slipped out a brown and yellow bottle.

I made my way over to the counter. “How have you been?” I asked.
“I heard there’s a new man in your life.”

She popped the top of my beer open. “Do you want a glass or-”

“No, bottle’s fine.”

She leaned forward and set it on the counter in front of me.
“Yeah, I guess we’re all getting lucky on Tinder these days, huh?”

I smiled. “I guess so.”

She carried her glass to the freezer, opening it with one hand
and grabbing a handful of ice. “The only problem is that it makes people greedy.”

“Greedy?”

“Yeah,” she said, pouring two big glugs of vodka into her glass.
“Like fucking Chelsea. Not that I have to tell you that.”

I swallowed.

“No offense, but you must be so relieved she’s out of your
life.”

“I am.”

“I mean, if I found out Peter was doing that to me-”

“Doing what?”

She reached for the orange juice and filled her glass the rest
of the way up. “Using Tinder to hook up with guys while we were going out.”

“Right.” 

“I would fucking cut his dick off.”

I nodded. “I bet you would.”

“I mean, you must’ve been so pissed when you found out.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I was.”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” She leaned against the
counter and took a sip of her drink. “It’s just that I have to talk to Peter
about that soon so-”

“No, it’s cool,” I said. “Can I ask how you found out?”

“What?”

“How did you know she was on it?”

“I found out when Lucy did.”

“Oh, right.”

“I mean, we weren’t sure when we saw her out with that guy,” she
was waving her hands in the air like she was not on her second drink. “But when
she popped up on Alex’s phone, we knew she was up to no good.”

“How embarrassing for me, huh?” I asked, draining half the
shandy and wishing I’d gone with something stronger.

She shook her head. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.
You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“No,” I said. “I didn’t.”

But that didn’t change the fact that I felt like a fool.