Perfect Regret (Bad Rep #2)(50)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

“I just hope you know what you’re doing. He’s hanging onto some serious hope that you two will work things out. You’ll just be leading him on,” Gracie warned, pulling her lip gloss out of her purse and smearing some on her mouth.

“Who says I’ll be leading him on?” I asked irritably.

What?

I didn’t mean that. Why did I say that?

Gracie’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” she asked in disbelief, no doubt remembering my state of utter despondency after our epic breakup and my subsequent vows to never breath in Damien Green’s direction again.

“I don’t know. Just come on. I need a drink,” I said, getting out of the car. Gracie’s phone chirped and she started furiously tapping away.

“Girl, put the phone away and let’s get inside,” I said, though I was trying to sneak a peek at the screen.

“Sorry,” Gracie mumbled, finishing up her text. I looked over her shoulder and saw Garrett’s name and then made myself look away. Something was definitely going on between those two.

“Garrett’s gonna be coming by in a bit after he gets off work,” Gracie informed me almost defensively. She drew herself upright as though waiting for an attack.

“You sure are spending a lot of time together,” I commented, refusing to take the bait that Gracie seemed to be putting out there.

Gracie shrugged. “We like being together. I hope that’s not a problem,” she said, blinking at me innocently. What in the hell was she playing at? All day I felt as though I were being tested and I didn’t appreciate it one bit.

“Why would that be a problem?” I asked defiantly. Gracie opened her mouth but was interrupted.

“What’s taking you guys so long?” Damien called out from the front door. Suddenly spending time with my ex seemed almost bearable. Anything to avoid whatever was brewing with Gracie.

“Sorry, apparently Garrett Bellows is going to be joining us,” I said dryly and watched as Damien’s face paled.

“Is it all right that I’m here?” Damien asked looking at me pointedly. I sighed wishing everyone could just forget about that stupid show of testosterone at Barton’s.

“This is most definitely not a problem,” I said firmly and then flashed Damien my brightest smile. He seemed to relax then and the three of us found a table near the back.

“G and T?” Damien asked, making it a point to show that he remembered my usual drink.

“Sure, why not,” I answered, reaching into my purse to dig out some cash.

Damien held up his hand. “I’ve got this one. You buy the next round,” he said and I felt better knowing he was treating this as a casual get together rather than something more significant. He turned to Gracie.

“What about you Gracie? What’s your poison?” he asked. Gracie gnawed on her bottom lip and seemed conflicted, which was strange for her. I watched her closely trying to get a read on her mood. She had been trying to be cool up until she revealed Garrett would be joining us. Something told me he was the source of her sudden tension. I just couldn’t figure out why, considering the way she had thrown the information in my face.

“Uh, a beer. Yeah, just a beer. Something light. Like a Miller,” she finally said after an exorbant amount of time dilerbating over it.

Damien clearly didn’t pick up on Gracie’s strange attitude. He gave her a quick nod and headed for the bar to put in our order. Once out of sight, Gracie pounced. “What is up, Ri? Why in the world are you hanging out with Damien? On purpose no less?” she asked, eyeing me questioningly.

I shrugged. “Don’t you ever get tired of being mad at someone? Holding a grudge is exhausting,” I explained, hoping she would take my double meaning.

I had grown tired of being angry with Damien, particularly after it became obvious I wasn’t really mad at Damien as much as I was mad at myself. Mad that I had been caught off guard and that something I had depended on had dissolved under my feet without my realizing it.

But I was also speaking to Gracie and her apparent grudge against me. Even if she wouldn’t admit it existed. I saw it. I knew it was there.

Gracie’s eyes narrowed, apparently not agreeing with my reasoning. “Uh, when Mila borrowed my green dress last year without asking and then spilled red wine all over the front, I did not ask the bitch to come out drinking the next night. No way! She had ruined something that was mine. She had violated my trust. And that was just over a dress, Riley. Damien violated your heart. That is way worse. I think you’re letting him off way too lightly,” she scolded, frowning at me as though I were disappointing her.

Yeah, the girl obviously missed my point completely.

“Well it’s a good thing Damien didn’t stain my dress then. Just drop it already,” I said, feeling tired.

“Here you go, girls,” Damien said, appearing with our drinks. I shot Gracie a pointed look before thanking him and taking my cocktail. Gracie took her beer from him with a forced smile.

We drank our respective beverages in relative silence. The bar was pretty busy with the after work crowd but even in our noisy surroundings, the lack of talking at our table was almost deafening.

Damien cleared his throat. “So, how was the flower show, Ri?” he asked.

“Probably not as cool as covering the interstate crash. Plus I had an allergic reaction to a huge display of hydrangeas and spent the last half hour sneezing my head off,” I complained. Gracie and Damien each laughed at my misfortune and I grinned, taking one for the team. Hey, if my snot filled afternoon alleviated the weirdness, then I would share away.

“Yeah, well Kim, who was I shadowing, was about to kick my ass. Personally I thought the mucus made that hideous arrangement look better,” I chuckled.

“It seems like you guys are having a good time,” a voice said from behind me. Gracie looked over my shoulder and waved, her face lighting up in a smile. Damien went a pale and gripped his beer tighter as though expecting to have it hurled in his face.

I, on the other hand, felt chills run down my spine at the sound of the voice I had heard not so long ago, as he begged me to watch him as he made me come. I definitely shivered that time. The memory was too much for my poor brain to handle.

But my desire was quickly replaced with irrational rejection as Garrett walked around me, his arm brushing against my back as he went to Gracie’s side. He pulled out a bar stool and sat down. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.