Pushing the Limits(32)
"Hi, stranger." She flashes a small smile and my jaw ticks at the sweetness of her voice.
"What are you doing here, Jen?" I hiss, keeping my voice low.
"I had a ticket. Small world."
I clench my teeth together. "Not that small."
"Your mother told me you'd be here. Aunt Mel put my name on the list."
I swallow back the rest of the champagne before setting it down. "Well, have a good time." I take a step to walk around her, but she grabs me by the arm and pushes me back. "What are you doing?"
"I just want to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about."
"After being gone for five years, there's plenty to talk about."
I sigh, irritated she's cornered me, but I don't want to make a scene so I agree. "You have five minutes."
She flashes a victorious smile, but I ignore it. She follows me out into a quiet hall in the back of the gallery.
"Okay, so what is it?" I shove my hands in my front pockets and lean away from her.
"You look really good, Morgan."
"Cut the shit, Jen."
"Wow … " She shakes her head. "Even after five years, you still hate me."
"What were you expecting?"
"Maybe some understanding?"
My brows arch. "Understanding? You want me to understand why you decided to fuck around on me?"
"You were gone, Morgan! All the time! All you did was work and when you weren't working, you were painting. For hours!"
"That's your excuse? Hard work and dedication are your reasoning for cheating?" I choke a pathetic laugh.
"You never made time for me. You never made time for us! I tried to tell you. I tried talking to you, but you never wanted to leave the house."
"That's not true. Plus, if I wasn't working, who'd you expect to pay off your student loans?"
"You still could've made time for us. It was as if you just gave up." Her features soften, and I know she's about to release the waterworks any minute.
"No," I say sternly. "You're the one who gave up. You're the one who went behind my back and screwed Ryan. You're the one who broke us, not me." I don't even know why I'm entertaining this conversation. It's one I'd been trying to avoid this whole time.
I start to walk away, but she pleads for me to stay. "Don't go! I'm sorry, okay?"
"Yeah, sorry. A lot of good that does me now."
"Your mother's been able to forgive me. Why can't you?"
I spin around and face her. "Because I'm not that dense," I say harshly, my eyes cold and empty as I hear her pathetic pleas.
"I'm not here for me, I swear." I look down and notice the impressive diamond on her left hand. I imagined for years what it'd feel like to run into her again after all this time, but one thing I wasn't counting on was having an audience nearby. But now it didn't matter. I can look at her and not feel a single thing for her. Those feelings I once had for her are long gone, which have been replaced with resentment and anger.
"Then why are you here?" My eyes narrow.
"I'm here for you. For Ryan."
"That's bullshit."
"Morgan, we were together for six years. And just because I haven't seen you for five, doesn't mean I still don't know you. I know you better than you think."
I choke out a mock laugh. "Is that so?" I challenge, rubbing the stubble along my jaw.
"You're beating yourself up over his death. You're living with the guilt and it's eating you."
My eyes burn at the way she reads me. "I don't need your psycho-babble shit. I'm handling it as well as I can. Don't think you can just come back in my life and fix me. It doesn't work that way."
"I'm not trying to fix anything, you stubborn ass. I'm trying to give you closure."
Just being near her is making my blood boil. I can't have this conversation with her-especially here. She's the very reason I left, abandoned my family, and stopped believing in love.
"I need to go," I say harshly, turning and walking away.
"Morgan, please!" I hear her pathetic pleas.
She's completely ruined everything. I'm seething and the only thing I can think of is getting the hell out of here.
I find Aunt Mel and quickly whisper in her ear that I have to get going. I make up an excuse that Natalia needs me and kiss her goodbye on the cheek. I don't see Aspen on my way out, and I don't look for her either.
ASPEN
Everything about tonight is going perfect, and I never want this euphoric feeling to end. Well, minus the part where Shane and his pride showed up. But not even he can ruin my good mood.
I haven't stopped smiling since Morgan kissed me. My body shivers every time I think about him, which has basically been all night long.
The evening comes to an end, and I scan around the exhibits looking for him, but I can't find him anywhere. My stomach somersaults at the thought of not seeing him again tonight.
"Hey, Ms. Jones!" I smile as I find her drinking in the corner with Christine. "This was fantastic!" I give her a hug and she enthusiastically returns the gesture. I can tell she's had a bit too much champagne.
Not that I blame her. She ordered the high priced stuff so she should enjoy it too.
"It really was! I can't thank you enough for being here. Oh, Aspen, you're my favorite." She leans her head on my shoulder and sighs.
"With that, I'm going to head out," Christine says, offering me a friendly smile and quick hug as she walks by.
I burst out in laughter, amused at Ms. Jones theatrics. I call Kendall over and tell her to help me get her to a chair. "Where's Morgan? I'll tell him to take you home."
"He left awhile ago."
Wait, what? Why would he leave without saying something to me?
"Oh, he did? Why?" I ask, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.
"Natalia called and said she needed him home. Or something." Her eyes close, and I begin to panic. My heart speeds up at the mention of him having someone at home waiting for him.
Who the hell is Natalia?
Ms. Jones is out before I get the chance to holler at Kendall for help. I've never seen her like this before, but I'm pretty sure she had taken anxiety meds before the event started, and I know you shouldn't mix those with alcohol.
Kendall helps me get her into the back of the car. She drives as I search for Ms. Jones' phone. "I'll call Morgan. Someone will need to check up on you," I say to her although I'm not sure she can really understand me.
"I'll be fine," she slurs. "He's with Natalia."
She says her name again and it's like nails on a chalkboard. "And who's Natalia?" She passes out again before I even finish my question.
"Shit." I look through her phone for his number, but when I call, he doesn't answer. I decide to leave a voicemail, so when he's done entertaining, he'll know what's going on.
"Well, that was interesting." Kendall sighs after we get Ms. Jones inside her house and in bed.
"I doubt she'll remember any of that." We both get back in the car and buckle up.
"God, I hope not. However, it could finally get me on her favorites list." She smiles as she turns the car on.
I snort. "Don't count on it."
"So I hardly saw you tonight. Everything okay?"
"Me?" I quickly glance over at her. "Yeah, fine. Just tired," I lie.
"Yeah, me too. Ooh … let's stay up, eat junk food and watch movies until we pass out."
Her serious tone has me cracking up laughing. "I didn't realize we were fourteen again."
"Hey, don't be a Debbie Downer."
I reach for her hand and hold it in mine. "You're a really good friend, Kendall."
"I think maybe you misunderstood when I suggested we stay up and watch movies together … " she quips. She flashes a witty smile at me, and I lean my head on her shoulder, laughing and squeezing her hand.
"I can be a much better friend if I had some booze."
"Well, you're in luck. I just happen to know a place."
Kendall and I stop at the bar Zoe works at, and since we didn't change clothes, people stare at us like we have the plague. But we don't let that stop us. I don't tell them why I'm angry-drinking, but they don't seem to notice anyway.
"All right, ladies. Blowjobs on me!" Zoe yells over the noise.
"Now we're talking!"
She hands us each a shot with whip cream on top. "No using your hands!"
We both smile and accept the challenge, taking the shot glass in our mouths and swallowing it down. "Oh my God!" I laugh, wiping the cream off my face. I look at Kendall and laugh at how much cream is on her nose. "I think you missed your entire mouth."
"Trust me … that's the whole point." She winks, licking the cream off her lips.
"I'd rather have it on my face than in my mouth," Zoe blurts out with, making us all burst into a fit of giggles. Clearly, the alcohol has taken over.
I'm not a clingy girl by any means, but when a guy kisses me, gets me all hot and bothered, and then leaves with no explanation, I'm allowed to get pissed. So therefore, I drink.