Hi babe! Sorry I missed your call, everything okay?
I just picked up Mandy, text me when you’re done with work. Don’t stress, you’re gonna do great!
It’s been awhile and I figured you’d be done by now…hope you’re alright. Call me ASAP okay?
My stomach is churning again as I read, and I force myself to dial.
I’m eyeing the bottle of scotch and considering pouring myself another glass when Riley answers. “Babe!” he exclaims by way of greeting. “Where have you been? I was starting to worry.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” I lean onto the counter for support and drop my head in my hands, ashamed. “Fucking Cooper was lateand fucked up my whole day. I was thinking of bailing when I called you before.” The half-truth tastes bitter on my tongue.
“Ugh, that sucks,” Riley sympathizes. “Well, we’re at the Mexican restaurant on the beach, the one Jess says you guys like. Dos Hombres? Tres Leches? I don’t remember what it’s called, but you know. Come meet us!”
“Yeah, Luke, get down here!” I hear Amanda shout in the background.
Part of me wants to decline. Feign illness and crawl into bed to beat myself up over what I’ve done. The other part of me—the selfish part—wants to see Riley as soon as possible because something about being able to touch him and smell him and see him always makes everything better.
I have to tell him what I did. But I won’t ruin his visit with his sister. He’s been looking forward to it for so long, and bringing all this up now will only hurt him. My heart twists in my chest as the reality of the situation sinks in once again.I’m going to hurt him.
Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and try to push Cooper out of my mind. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I say instead.
Hanging up, I eye the bottle of scotch again. I know better than to drink and drive. But if I already drank a couple of hours ago, maybe I shouldn’t drive anyway. It’s perfectly reasonable to order an Uber to the restaurant since I know that Riley already has his car there. I can just ride home with him. And the scotch helped settle my nerves earlier. I just need a little bit to help me relax.
Pulling up the app and scheduling a ride, I take a couple more long pulls straight from the bottle before heading for the shower. Maybe I can wash this nightmare off, too.
28
RILEY
Ican tell something is off with Luke the moment he arrives. His eyes look kind of vacant, and while he greets Mandy with an enthusiastic hug, his body language is stiff as he leans over to give me a quick kiss on the lips. For a moment, I think maybe I smell alcohol on him, but I must be imagining it because there’s no way he would drive after drinking, and I’ve only ever seen Luke drink socially.
Though there was that time after my first collab where I came home and he seemed a little out of it…but lots of people have a drink or two with dinner, and it’s no big deal. “Is everything okay?” I ask tentatively, placing my hand on his knee.
“Oh yeah, everything’s fine.” Luke waves dismissively as he gets comfortable in the booth next to me, swinging his arm around me over the back of the seat. “Just an annoying day at work, that’s all.”
“Ooo, do tell,” Amanda prods from the seat across from us, raising her eyebrows and taking a sip of her margarita.
Luke rolls his eyes playfully, but I can feel his quad tense beneath my palm, just barely. “Just a scene partner acting like a total dick. He seemed cool when we were organizing, but thenhe was late showing up and just kind of a pain in the ass to deal with.” His knee is bouncing now as he looks around the room. “Where’s our waiter? I want whatever Mandy is having.”
“Good choice,” she says, raising her glass in a ‘cheers’ motion. “I’m almost ready for my second.”
I frown at Luke, ignoring my sister. “Didn’t you drive here, though? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Nah, I ordered a ride,” he answers, still craning his neck to see about flagging down a waiter. The hair on the back of my neck prickles a little, but I don’t know why. His behavior seems…off. But maybe he’s just stressed. He didn’t want to do this collab anyway, and if the guy turned out to be difficult to work with, he probably just wants to forget about it and wind down with a margarita. He and Jess share them here all the time.
Luke manages to place his drink order along with a round of chips and guac, and settles back beside me, the length of his body pressed against me, his fingers stroking along my bicep. I relax into his touch, leaning to let my head rest on his shoulder. I’m just being paranoid because he didn’t answer my call earlier. I’m sure he’ll tell me about the collab later.
“So, what did you guys do today?” Luke asks. “Ry said you were maybe going to go to Griffith?”
“We did!” my sister enthuses, setting her drink down and reaching for the chips. “It was so cool! There’s such a great view of the Hollywood Sign from up there. Actually, all the views were awesome. It would be cool to go at night. Riley didn’t warn me we’d have to walk like five miles uphill, though. I wasnotwearing the right shoes.” She kicks one foot out from underneath the table, wiggling her toes in her flip-flops and giving me a pointed look.
“How was I supposed to know!” I protest, lifting my head to glare at my sister. “It was my first time visiting, too! And it was not five miles,andI didn’t know what shoes you’d be wearing!”
She laughs at me and reaches across the table to ruffle my hair. “I kid, I kid. I had a great time. And probably needed the exercise, let’s be honest. I don’t live in the gym the way the two of you do.”
“Gotta maintain the merch.” Luke grins, leaning back and casually sliding his hand under his shirt, letting it ride up to reveal a sliver of his taut abs.
“Hey now, stop showing off the goods!” I playfully protest, slapping his hand away. “People pay good money to see that!”
