Underground Secrets (The Underground #1) (14 page)

Around eleven, my brother took my dad home. Gem and I stayed to close the bar down, talking with everyone I hadn’t seen in a year. It was nice because not once did I think about what I had to do next month or even Wes, who has been on my mind none stop. Well… that is until I drunk dialed him or more like
Gemma
drunk dialed him and put the phone to my ear when he answered.

“Hello? Marlie?” He asks, sounding like he’s sleeping. I don’t know what to do so I hang up. As soon as I put my phone down and shoot the most evil glare I can muster up at Gemma, who is laughing her ass off like a mad woman, my phone starts to ring again. I already know who it is, so I get up and quickly walk out of the noisy bar and answer the phone.

“Hellooo,” I sing drunkenly trying to play it cool, as if I hadn’t just hung up on him.

“Marlie? Is that you?” he asks confused, but now sounding more alert.

“Yep, the one and only,” I say playfully.

“Are you okay?”

“Yepperz, I am…”
Hiccup

“Perfectly fine… buddy.”
Hiccup.

“Are drunk? Where are you?” The concern is evident in his tone.

“Relax, tough guy. I am…”
hiccup
. “Having fun.”

“Why did you call?” he asks, definitely sounding fully alert and a lot less tired.

“Ahh, I believe it twas you that called me, fri-end. And speaking of friend…
friend
. I have figured out that we can no longer be fr-iends. You are too good looking to be my friend, with your green eyes and tats!” Shit. I know I am going to regret this in the morning, but right now, I don’t give a damn.

Not one bit.

“Oh really? So what are you saying then?” he asks, joining in on my playfulness.

“I am saying goodbye, Mr. Green eyes and Tats.” I hang up the phone and shut it off as soon as I hear it begin to ring again and throw it into my purse. Fuck, am I definitely going to regret this tomorrow but right now I need to pee and go get Gem so we can head back to dad’s; tomorrow we’ll be spending the day fishing with my dad and brother. I don’t want to be nursing a hangover while doing so.

I
WAKE UP WITH
a small headache lingering from the drinking the night before but nothing a little Advil won’t cure. I get up, take a quick shower, brush my teeth, get dressed and head downstairs to the kitchen to get some orange juice and an Advil. My dad is already up and sitting at the breakfast nook reading the paper.

“Morning dad,” I tell him as I reach into the cupboard to get what I need.

“Mornin’ sweetie. Did you girls have fun last night after I left? I didn’t hear you come home.”

Oh, if he only knew! “We did.”

I sit down across from him and turn my phone on to check my work email. Alex and Henry are doing the work for us part while Gemma and I are gone, though I told them to only work Monday and Tuesday and to take the rest of the week off. They deserve a break too. I try to make the workplace as equal as possible. Just because I am the boss doesn’t mean I treat them any differently; if Gem and I get to take a little vacation for a week, so do they.

My phone starts vibrating like crazy with incoming texts and voicemails. I know its Wes. I don’t need to look to know that. I quickly turn the ringer to silent. I remember getting drunk and telling him we can no longer be friends. I also remember calling him Green eyes and Tats last night. Why did I say that? I told him he was too good looking also. Fuck, I need to stop drinking and talking to him. But what’s done is done. Of course I didn’t mean it when I said we could no longer be friends, but I am too embarrassed from calling him Green eyes and Tats to answer his text and calls.

Yes, I am a coward.

“So...” my dad starts off casually from behind his paper, “any new men if your life?”

Wonderful. Why I do I feel like this has been a never ending topic in my life lately? My dad knew my ex, Carter, and I never really got the vibe that he liked him much. My mom liked him, though. When I broke up with him my dad didn’t say anything much about it. Just something along the lines of
“Well… it wasn’t meant to be, and now you have time to find what is meant to be.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that and still don’t.

My mom wasn’t around anymore, but I am sure if she had been, she would’ve tried to get me to talk about it. Whenever Carter and I would have it out, she would talk about past break-ups before she had met my father. There were only two since my mom and dad were high school sweethearts since their junior year. But those weren’t the same compared to what I went through, I’m sure. Not even in the same realm of first breakups or any breakup.

I refused to talk about it with anyone. No one knows about it or what happened. Well, except Gemma, but she was with me through it all. She… she saved me. Literally.

I take a deep breath, “No, I am not really looking for someone right now dad. I am just too busy with work and all.” I sip on my drink and wait for his reply.

He puts his paper down and looks at me. “Marlie, I am so proud of you and what you have accomplished so far in life, but truth be told, I am a little worried. Love is an amazing thing to have. To feel. I want that for you. I understand you are trying to create a name for yourself with your business, but sometimes I feel like that’s all you are doing. You need to take the time to breathe sweetheart; dating is a part of that. I am not getting any younger, you know.”

This is
not
the kind of talk I want to have my dad.

“I know dad, I get what you are saying, but really, I am fine with where I am at in my life. Honestly.” Gah! I feel like everyone has been down my throat lately about me being single. If they only knew how deep the cut goes with my past relationship, then they would understand, but I can’t tell them. I can’t. I don’t want to be pitied. I don’t want lectures. I just don’t want them to know.

Even though Gemma knows, she has started to push me into venturing out of my safe zone. So this whole talk with my dad is making me panic, but what’s nice about me, is that I have mastered the art of being un-readable; not showing my true emotions. Except with Wes. He makes all of my emotions run out of control and I don’t like it. I have worked so hard to keep the wall I have built around me rock solid, but walls crack and he has chipped mine.

“Okay Marlie. This old man won’t mention it again. I just wanted to let you know what I have observed. If your mom was around…” he starts, then trails off. Talking about my mom is really difficult for him. It is for me as well, but my dad lost everything when he lost my mom. She took a huge chunk of his heart with her.

I place my hand over my dad’s, letting him know that I get what he is trying to say and that I understand he can’t finish.

“I miss her,” he says after a moment.

“I know you do. We all do. I get what you are saying and I’ll take it easy. Make more time for myself, okay?”

He sits back and looks at me. “That’s all I ask for,” he smiles and brings the paper back up to read.

Gemma chooses this time to walk out and greet my dad with a peck on the cheek. “Morning, Ed.”

“Mornin’,” he replies.

Gemma grabs a mug and pours some coffee. She leans on the counter, sipping her coffee that is cupped between both hands and gives me a look that says she was eaves dropping. I want to roll my eyes because I know how she works. I know what she is thinking. She sees this as a sign, where I see it as annoyance.

My dad interrupts the silent conversation Gem and I have going on, “You ladies ready to do some riding and fishing?”

“Of course we are! I can’t wait to catch big fish!” Gemma replies with more excitement then I can understand. She loves coming down here and fishing. For a girl who was raised wanting for nothing and has parents who are so prim and proper, she is so down to earth and doesn’t mind getting dirty one bit. Just like me, except for not having super rich parents of course. We never lived poor, but we never took trips all over the world just because we were bored on a Tuesday either.

“Great! You girls go get ready. I’ll call Michael to come and join us and meet you girls down there in ten minutes?”

“Sounds good.”

The family cabin is nestled right on Tippecanoe, so all we have to do is walk out the back and down a few feet and sit on the chairs and fish.

In my room, I stand at the edge of the bed looking at my phone. I had tossed it on the bed as soon as I walked in. Do I look and see what he said? Do I ignore it? This debate I am having with myself is hard because either I answer it and then have to spend the day going over his text and voicemails, or I ignore them and spend the rest of the day wondering what the hell he said in the texts and voicemail. Neither option seems good.

I choose to get it out of the way and read them.

You can’t just leave me hanging like that Marlie

Call me back

REALLY?

You are the most frustrating woman I have ever met

Fine, call me in the morning

Last thing. Green eyes and Tats, huh? You will have to tell me about that as soon as you pick up your phone, MARLIE EDWARDS! Good night

The last text was sent around 4 a.m., surely he wasn’t waiting for me to reply? Right? No, he wouldn’t have. He would be crazy to have done that. Particularly since I was in bed and passed the hell out by two-thirty. His texts do make me smile and also make me nervous at the same time. I have no idea what I am going to say to him when I decide to not be a chicken shit and finally talk to him. Ha! Maybe in my next life I will, But for now… nope. That shit isn’t going to happen.

NINE

I
SPEND THE REST OF THE
week with my dad, brother, and Gemma; boating, fishing and riding four-wheelers on the trails Michael has made at his place in the woods. I also have spent the rest of the week ignoring Wes’ calls and texts that have been blowing up my phone. I ended up shutting off my phone by Tuesday because I haven’t known what to say to him. Note to self, don’t talk to Wes after I have consumed large amounts of alcohol; or any at all.

It’s now Saturday and we’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon, after one last lunch with dad and Michael. Gem and I are taking my dad’s canoe out and are going to enjoy the river off land today. Dad didn’t want to come and said that Gem and I should just enjoy the day to ourselves and I am sure there is really another reason for him not wanting to come and all sums to two words: Cubs baseball. My brother works Saturdays, so he isn’t going to come either.

We are going to put the canoe in downriver because we want to check out the spot where most of the people our age hang and drink beer. We run to the gas station first before we head out on the water. We get beer, water, ice, more beer, and munchies to put in the cooler; we plan on spending the entire day on the water before we have to return to reality back in Denver.

Walking out of the gas station I notice a tall, lean, sexy figure, leaning against my vehicle. I know who it is in an instant. Wes. But my question is… what the hell is he doing here? I stop dead in my tracks and look over at Gemma. I know it had to have been her.

“What the fuck?” I steam.

“Sorry girl, when you didn’t answer him all week, he started blowing my shit up. Besides, he was in Chicago and he’s my friend too. Unless friends isn’t what you guys are?”

I don’t say anything because she’s right. But what the fuck is he doing here?

“Thought so and so when I talked to him, I invited him down to enjoy the day on the river. Figured you wouldn’t mind,” Gemma says to me sweetly.

Oh, I am mad, but I am not really sure at who. Gemma? Me? Or Wes?

“Whatever. You did this on purpose you sneaky little bitch.” I can’t help but laugh at her crazy antics to get me to be with Wes. I know that is what she is aiming for. But man, I feel like I only just cracked the door open and here she is, knocking the door down and shoving me right through it. I know she means well, and her intentions are to help me get over my issues, but damn, this is a lot to handle. I can’t stay mad her, though. At least not today. I am supposed to be happy-go-lucky this week. I am just going to blow it off for now. Besides, even if I don’t want to admit it out loud, I am happy to see him.

Taking a deep breath, I walk over to Wes with a smile on my face. “Hey you.”

He lifts his shades from his face and smiles back. “I hear someone is taking a canoe out today and I’d like to join. I mean, if you’ll accept having Green eyes and Tats aboard that is.”

Oh, good god. He just had to bring that up didn’t he?

“Oh shut up, okay? I was drunk-”

“Adorably drunk,” he interrupts.

“Well, of course, that’s a given smart ass.” I quip back. “Come on then, I need some river, sun, and beer in my life today.”

Gemma and I get in as Wes takes our stuff and puts it in the back. She nudges me in my side as we wait.

“What?” I ask rubbing my side. She may have nudged a little too hard.

“Um… have you looked in the mirror? Girl, you’ve got a smile brighter than the sun on your face right now.”