The One Left Behind (The One Series) (16 page)

“Well I’ll have to report back to her that you did a fine job.” I am instantly excited at the prospect of her wanting to meet my mother. That has to be a sign that she was falling in as deep as I am.

“Maybe I’ll set up a meeting for the two of you so you can inform her properly. She probably won’t believe you unless she is told to her face.” I hold my breath hoping I’m not pushing too fast, too hard with her. Instead of the freak out I am waiting for I am rewarded with a shy smile and a nod. “I’d like that, Colin.”

I seal my lips over hers to keep myself from saying the three words that keep running through my head.

I love you.

I finish singing our song and open my eyes. When I do, they immediately collide with Addison. And I wish I hadn’t looked at her. There is not one ounce of recognition from that song at all. I look around at our table and everyone else knows the significance but her—and that douche bag, Pierce. And that hurts. A lot.

People start politely clapping which makes me realize I’m just sitting on the stage staring at everyone. I get up from the stool and walk back over to our table. It’s instantly quiet, and I know Addison is picking up on the weird vibe. I down the rest of my beer in one long gulp. I’m going to need it to numb my heart a little.

“Hey, you guys want anything? I’m going to go get some more beer,” I ask the group. Jeremy and Damon both want another round. Pierce declines—pussy—and the girls are still nursing their fruity drinks. I’m mentally counting the number of beers I’ve already had. I think I’ve had four, maybe five. I’m good to go for another round or two.

I place my order with the bartender and turn around to lean back on the bar. I’m watching Addison when her back straightens and her eyes are narrowing as she’s talking to Colby. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but I just see Colby shaking her head. I wonder what that’s all about and if they’re talking about me. I wonder if Colby is telling her about our dance and our song. The bartender slides me my drinks and I head back to the table. When I get there, I walk up on a conversation I hadn’t expected them to be having. I instantly freeze at the accusations.

“…I mean, does he always drink this much? When we went to the bar for cocktails that one night, I noticed he was able to throw a few back and be completely unaffected. Has this always been the norm for him? I can’t imagine I’d tolerate something like that,” she rambles on to Colby. It’s then that Colby looks up and notices I’m standing there hearing every word. My body becomes rigid as I clench my hands tightly around my beer.

She clears her throat and gestures to Addison to look behind her. When she sees me she knows I overheard her conversation and her face reddens as she looks down at the ground avoiding eye contact like she’s ashamed of what she said.

I don’t say a word to them about it. I clench my jaw because what I really want to say is, ‘Nope, I wasn’t much of a drinker until you broke my fucking heart! Over and over again!’ She’s dealing with her confusion by spending copious amounts of time with money bags Pierce and I’m dealing with it by drinking a few beers here and there. At least my method isn’t going to destroy her. I wish I could say the same in return, but I can’t. It’s obvious they are familiar with each other which means they hang out a lot. And that thought is enough to make me sick right here in the middle of this bar.

It’s awkward again as the whole table knows I overheard Addison ask if I was always an alcoholic. To break the tension, everyone urges Addison to get up there and sing. I seriously doubt she’ll go up there. This really isn’t her thing. She’s too reserved to go up there and risk making a fool of herself in front of all these people.

As I thought, she keeps saying no, but then Pierce leans in and says in her ear, “Remember what we talked about on the beach? Just go out there and have fun.” My violent thoughts are returning. I’m clenching my beer bottle so tightly I’m afraid it’ll shatter. What. The. Fuck?

Pierce continues, “I’ll pick the song and you just go up there and enjoy your birthday. You only live once, remember?” I’m seriously about to lose it. Who does he think he is? I must have steam coming out of my ears because Jeremy puts a hand on my shoulder. It’s a gesture that tells me he knows I’m getting riled up and I need to calm down. I take a few deep breaths through my nose and out my mouth to help ease the rage pumping through my body.

To my surprise, and everyone else’s delight, Addison gets up from her seat and heads toward the stage. She’s fidgeting nervously with the microphone looking unsure of herself. The song starts and Addison sings
You Get What You Give
by New Radicals. I didn’t even know she knew this song. The other girls go up on stage and all help her sing it out. I glance at Pierce and he has the biggest smile on his face. Smug bastard. I desperately want to punch him so he can never smile like that again. I look back up at the stage and the girls are clearly having a blast. I’m happy Addison is having fun on her birthday. I just wish I was the reason for it.

A while later everyone is ready to head out. I’ve had too much to drink and am unable to drive. One drunk driver ruined my life, I refuse to do it to someone else. Jeremy offers to give me a ride and I accept. Right before I stand up, I hear Pierce ask Addison if he can drive her home. I’m clenching my teeth as Addison takes a quick glance at me. I hear her politely decline his offer and I release the breath I had been holding. I get up and give Addison a wobbly hug and say, “I hope you had a wonderful birthday. You look gorgeous by the way.” Okay, I’m pretty sure I slurred it, but I think she got the gist of what I was saying.

“I did. Thank you so much for coming. I’ll call you later. Be safe.”

I’m sitting in the passenger seat of Jeremy’s car when I start to bitch about tonight.

“…and she thinks I have a fucking drinking problem? What the hell? She’d drink too if she was in the hell I’m in. And did you hear how she said she couldn’t see herself being with someone who had a drinking problem?” I snort at that. She wouldn’t be with me right now if I didn’t drink a single drop. The booze I consume wasn’t making her decisions, she was.

Morgan decides to chime in, “It’s not that she’s automatically accusing you of being an alcoholic. She just doesn’t remember how much you used to drink because she doesn’t really remember you.”

I bite back sharply, “Yes, I know she doesn’t remember me. I, however, don’t need the reminder, so save it for someone else.” I turn to look out the window to block her out. Jeremy cuts her a look from the corner of his eye and she immediately shrinks back into her seat. I shouldn’t have lashed out at her like that, but I’m too drunk and pissed to apologize or feel remorseful for it.

The rest of the ride is made in silence, and I’m grateful for that. When I get home, I don’t even bother taking off my clothes or pulling down the covers on the bed. I crash onto it face first and pass out.

A COUPLE WEEKS have passed since we all went out for my birthday. I’ve noticed since that night Colin has been a little distant. I know he heard me ask Colby about his drinking. I felt bad that he overheard me, but he was drinking an awful lot.

Pierce, on the other hand, has been a lot easier to keep in touch with. If I wasn’t texting him, he was texting me. I have to admit, there comes a point in my day where I’m wondering when Pierce is going to text me. He is so charming and funny, and makes me genuinely happy.

I’ve also been hanging out a lot with Morgan, Colby, and Lexi. We’ve had several girls’ nights at my place and Lexi fits in just fine. Mrs. Whitmore caught wind of all the time Pierce was spending with me, no doubt from Lexi, and insisted I come over for dinner. I could sense Pierce was nervous about asking me, and seeing that was kind of adorable. I didn’t want to say no, but even if I did I couldn’t. So here I am getting ready for dinner with the Whitmores.

I am so nervous I end up changing my outfit three times. I settle on a cream colored lace dress. The dress is like a long, form fitting camisole with a lace overlay. It hangs off one shoulder and has a belt that ties around my waist. I throw on a pair of wedges and before I can give myself a final look over, the doorbell rings. As I walk over to my front door, I feel a little nervous. I wipe my palms on my skirt before opening the door. I’ve been getting so nervous around Pierce lately knowing that the lines of friendship are beginning to get blurred on my end. I know he looks at me as just a friend and I have to be careful not to do anything that messes up our friendship.

I open the door and am greeted with Pierce who’s holding a bouquet of burgundy calla lilies. He’s turned sideways waiting for me to answer. When he looks at me, his body goes stiff as the flowers slip out of his hands. He’s still staring at me like he doesn’t realize he dropped the flowers. I glance up into his eyes and momentarily lose myself in them. The intensity in them is burning straight through to my soul. I’ve never had someone look at me that way and it makes me a little uneasy. At least, at first. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and glance down at the floor where the flowers lay. We both bend down to pick them up and bump heads. We both laugh as I rub my head and Pierce picks up the flowers.

He hands them to me and says, “My mother always said you should never pick up a woman without bringing her flowers.”

My eyes slowly travel up and down his body and take in every sexy inch of him. He is wearing dark jeans, a navy blue shirt, and a brown leather fitted jacket. The jacket shows off his broad shoulders while the snug shirt emphasizes his incredible physique. I clear my throat, grab the flowers from Pierce, and head toward the kitchen.

“Thank you, Pierce, they’re beautiful.” I smell the flowers and move away from the door to allow him in. “Let me just put these in water and then we can go.”

Waiting for the vase to fill up, I look back over at Pierce who is standing in my living room looking around. He turns around affording me the opportunity to check out his backside. The way his jeans mold nicely around his tight ass sends heat through my veins. Suddenly, I feel cold water running down my hand and it breaks me from my stare. I jump back a little and realize the vase is over flowing with water. I turn off the faucet, slightly embarrassed, hoping Pierce doesn’t notice. I look up at his face and yup, he caught me staring at him. The knowing grin says it all.

“You look stunning tonight,” he says as he gives me an appreciative once over.

“Thanks, so do you,” I say with a bashful smile. “Ready to go?”

Pierce looks like he’s about to say something when he simply shakes his head and smiles. “After you,” he replies as he moves to the side to let me pass. I study him for a moment trying to figure out what he was going to say before walking out the door.

He opens the car door for me and I slide in. I watch Pierce walk around the car and notice that even the way he walks is sexy. He has great posture and walks as if he’s gliding with confidence, and there is nothing sexier than a man with confidence. The car ride to his mom’s house is not far at all and soon we are pulling up to the drive way. The house is large but still manages to look inviting. Pierce parks the car and makes his way around to open my door. He holds out his hand to help me out and I take it. When I’m out, he wraps my arm around the crook of his elbow and escorts me to the front door.

“Now, I, uh—I just want to apologize ahead of time,” he stammers, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Okay?” I say hesitantly. What is he apologizing for?

“You see, like Lexi, my mom is a hopeless romantic. I keep trying to tell her we’re just friends, but Lexi and her seem to think it’s more. She tends to run off with the ideas that Lexi puts in her head. She’s been so lonely since my dad died she tries to make up for it by making sure we are happy.”

I swallow hard and frown in disappointment. If I had any doubts that Pierce and I were strictly friends, he just confirmed them. This is clearly a one-sided attraction. I need to tone down my feelings before I ruin our friendship.

“It’s fine. It’s kind of sweet, actually.” I give Pierce my best reassuring smile I can manage and hope it hides the heaviness I feel in my body from his words before we walk through the door. When we walk in, my senses are immediately assaulted with the most amazing smells. I don’t know what Mrs. Whitmore is cooking, but it makes my mouth water. We make our way through the house and head toward the kitchen. I spot Lexi cutting up strawberries to put on the shortcake sitting on the counter and his mom has her back to me checking something in the oven.

“Hey, Addison!” Lexi puts the knife down and comes over and hugs me. Pierce’s mom stands up and faces me. Pierce grabs my hand leading me to his mom. She is a petite woman with Pierce’s dark hair. Unlike Pierce though, she has hazel eyes. She gives me a welcoming smile as I extend my hand. She brushes off my extended hand and wraps me in a tight embrace. This small act makes my nerves fly out the window.

“Addison, it’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you from Pierce and Lexi I feel like I know you already.”