“Ugh.” I hurled the offending item back at him, but he dodged it easily. “Mariah need something?” I tried to say it without any sarcasm in my voice whatsoever, but it was pretty freaking hard. Mariah brought out the worst in me. I had a feeling she trapped Nash on purpose, but for now, I was keeping my mouth shut. I didn’t want to lose Nash’s friendship by pissing him off. So, lips zipped.
“Yeah.” He smirked as he pulled out his keys and twirled them on one finger. “Never thought I’d see the day, but she’s craving a burger. That girl hates anything greasy, but little junior is kinda demanding.”
I rolled my eyes at the nickname Nash had decided on for his unborn baby, even though I could totally picture a mini-Nash and he would be the cutest thing ever. Still didn’t mean I needed to like the egg donor. “Well, make sure to tell Mariah I said hi.” I gave him the sweetest smile I could muster so early in the morning, and collapsed back onto the throw pillow that I slept on last night. I heard him snort loudly, knowing that any sweetness on my part toward Mariah was total bullshit, before opening and closing the front door.
Nash knew Mariah and I weren’t exactly besties, even though he wanted us to get along. I think he glazed over any type of relationship we’d had, which was fine with me. I knew he wasn’t ashamed of me, or anything; it just made his life easier. Things had been a little tense between the two of them, but eventually, Mariah got over it…at least that’s what Nash said. He ended up dragging me to lunch with her one day, and she surprised me by acting friendly. Maybe pregnancy was a good thing for Mariah.
I heard the front door open up seconds later, and I popped my eyes open, expecting it to be Nash. Callie and Zoey had taken a road trip to Ohio for the weekend and of course invited me along, but I started back up at Shorty’s a little over a month ago. Brian was a relatively easygoing boss, but I really didn’t want to take advantage of him.
I groaned when Mia skipped in, slamming the door hard enough behind herself that it made the picture frames lining the top of the entertainment stand rattle. “Oops.” Mia giggled, placing a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. Late night with Nash again?” Her brows pushed into her forehead as she gave me a pointed look.
Mia didn’t get that Nash and I were just friends. I explained to her over and over again that yes, girls really could be just friends with guys, but clearly, she wasn’t convinced. I guess I didn’t help my own case much since Nash and I went from being friends, to being a couple for an insanely short amount of time, back to being just friends again.
Whatever.
I shrugged one shoulder, sitting up to tuck my legs underneath me. “And where were you all night?” I asked, twirling a piece of my hair between my fingers. I needed to try to concentrate on that so I didn’t go into full on bitch-mode with Mia.
“Oh, you know.” She grinned slyly as she kicked off the stripper shoes she seemed to wear everywhere and collapsed onto the other end of the couch. Luckily, she had enough common sense to pull down the hooker dress she was wearing, so I didn’t have the courtesy of seeing her hoo-ha. I’m sure it had been on full display enough recently anyway.
Ugh, quit being a hypocrite, Della.
I did my share of whoring around after that whole mess that went down when I had the abortion. I still hated even thinking about that word, much less saying it out loud, but every day seemed to heal me just a little bit more. It wasn’t something that would just go away over time; it would stay with me for the rest of my life.
Sex seemed like something to fill the void, however messed up that sounded, until—well, I guess it all started when my mom decided to ship me off to North Carolina. She couldn’t handle me any longer, which now that I think about it, I can see why. I could barely handle myself. In all reality, sending me away to be with my grandparents, to a fresh, new start, was the best thing for me. Meeting new friends, my roommates, Zoey and Callie, and even Justin, all changed me for the better.
Justin had been a huge factor, and I still think about him every day. About those smoky gray eyes that could say so much about his mood without him speaking a word, and his tight, fit body covered in tattoos that gave him that bad boy appearance, though he currently worked as a police officer. I think they call that a conundrum.
And that dark, messy hair of his. I could never decide if I loved it more when he pulled a beanie on down low, or had it uncovered so I could tug my fingers through it. How much I still thought about him was bordering on obsessive. Even the scent of a cigarette, which I hated at the time when we first started dating but he eventually quit, reminded me of him, and I had even snuck a few, just lighting them to get that first smell of the burn.