Page 29 of The Expiration Date

All I can muster up is, “Ha ha” and then I saunter over to the main house. For some reason, that casual cheek kiss seemed infinitely more intimate than the one I plastered on him at the premiere. We haven’t kissed since then, but this kiss. This kiss was different. How can such a burly man be so delicate at the same time?

When I walk back out on the back porch, my eyes search for Aidan. I spot him by the pop-up bar, surrounded by almost every woman in attendance. I shake my head but also smile, because– at least for this weekend– he’s mine.

Kind of.

“Hi, Haley.”

Goosebumps immediately cover my body, but not because of Aidan’s presence. This voice has a completely different effect than Aidan’s voice does. It is a voice I was hoping to never hear say my name again.

Robert inches closer to me, stopping when we’re standing a foot away from each other. Damn, he looks amazing. I was hoping that he inherited male pattern baldness and it would’ve manifested in the past three years. I was hoping that he stopped going to the gym and developed a beer belly. But alas, none of that happened, much to my dismay. He looks as handsome as ever. Damn him. His sandy blonde hair is pomaded into a perfect bouffant and his hazel eyes stare down intimately at me as if he didn’t completely shatter my entire being. He is a little taller than me; definitely not as tall as Aidan, whose stature I’m still getting used to. Robert now seems rather small, which is a new development because at one point he was my entire world. A man I stupidly put on a pedestal. A man I thought I was going to share my life with. A man who made me feel giddy and excited about life and about the future.

Why the hell did he say he loved me, and then completely rip the rug out from under me? After all, he was the one who proposed. Was that his master scheme–to get a girl to fall in love with him and then completely humiliate her to the point where she would move away from everything and everyone she knew just so she wouldn’t have to endure the whispers and the stares that are ironically ensuing at this very moment?

“Hi,” I barely croak out.

“Here,” Robert calls over a waiter balancing yet another full tray of champagne, and grabs two flutes. He hands one to me, which I secretly am grateful for. I definitely need alcohol to get through whatever conversation is about to occur.

“Thanks.”

“So, I haven’t seen you in a while. What has it been– two, three years?” He takes a swig of his champagne, slightly smirking in the process. This jerk. He knows exactly how long it has been. I could break it down to the exact day. Exact hour. Exact fricken minute.

“Yup.” I am starting to get hot on the inside. My ears are probably red right now and I am glad I wore my hair down to hide them. I want to cry but I can’t in front of all these people. This is exactly what I didn’t want. Becoming a damn spectacle when this event is about Anna. I hate being in the spotlight and being the center of attention, and I can feel the eyes of every person at this welcome dinner on Robert and me, waiting for a big fight. That’s the thing about growing up in a small town. Everyone knows everyone’s business and thinks it is their right to do so. I look back out to the crowd but can’t find Aidan anywhere. I’m starting to panic.

“You look good, Hales.”

“Don’t call me Hales.” Finally, the dam of one-word responses broke.

He looks confused. “Okay…but I’ve always called you Hales.”

“Well you revoked the right to call me Hales three years ago. That name is reserved for close friends and family. You don’t fit into those categories.” I drink more of my champagne, wishing I could teleport back upstairs and lock myself in the bathroom and just cry. I want to be anywhere but here.

Suddenly I feel large, muscular arms wrap around my torso and waist. I relax into the best nook I could imagine. There is a part of me that doesn’t want to ever leave this nook. I am safe and my panic immediately dissipates. I can breathe.

“There you are, Hales. Where did you run off to, babe?” Aidan’s voice is music to my ears. Then I feel a quick brush of his lips on my cheek. If I thought that wrapping his arms around me and calling me “babe” was marking his territory, giving me an almost habitual kiss on the cheek is a clear sign to any onlookers that I am his. I mean he just engulfed my entire being and I don’t mind one bit. Especially since Robert looks like steam is about to escape his ears like a character on the Looney Toons. He is trying to stand up straighter, almost going on his tiptoes to attempt to match Aidan’s stature.

He is intimidated. Big time.

That’s the thing about dating someone for a long period of time–you know what their body language is saying.

I expect Aidan to be staring down Robert, but when I look up at his face, he is just smiling down at me. His eyes search mine, trying to decipher if I am okay. A wave of shivers courses through my body for what seems like the millionth time since I started “dating” Aidan.

He is very good at creating chemistry. It’s starting to get harder and harder to tell that he is acting.

At this point, not only is Robert staring at the Greek God of a man standing behind me, holding onto me like I am his, but I quickly scan the rest of the guests in attendance and they are all staring at us to see what will happen next. Is Hollywood’s Golden Boy about to clobber his girlfriend’s ex? Was the ex going to cause a scene and attempt to fight someone who trained like a fricken Navy Seal every time he was preparing for a role? I am a spectator too, wondering what either man’s next move is going to be. Here I am–caught in the middle of the most bizarre situation I could have ever imagined.

Again, unexpectedly, Aidan is the first one to break the impasse and reach a hand out towards Robert. “You must be Robert. I’m Aidan. Haley’s boyfriend.”

Robert’s cold, shocked eyes shoot to mine and I can’t help but smirk a little. This is the moment those words matter the most. I need him to believe that I have moved on from him.

Robert finally stretches out his own hand and shakes Aidan’s hand. His face winces as Aidan maintains a firm grip during the handshake. Despite Aidan’s cool demeanor, I can sense his absolute disdain for the man standing across from us.

Robert manages to slip his hand away from the iron grip of Aidan. “Yeah. Robert Jameson the third.” I roll my eyes. Robert only says his full name when he is trying to impress someone who doesn’t know him, or maybe in court. He is starting a contest he is never going to win. Aidan already has him beat by a landslide in so many ways that I’ve lost track. “I’ve seen a lot of your movies, man. Not really my cup of tea.” Yeah right, he loves action and superhero movies. “I’ve always been more of a book type of person. Um, Haley and I used to…”

“Be engaged. Yeah.” Aidan shakes his head slightly. “I’ve heard a lot about you man.” Aidan’s tone is far from friendly and it almost seems like he wants to rip Robert’s throat out. Aidan’s hand makes its way back home to mine and he squeezes in such a caring, almost protective way, I want to melt on that porch right then and there. What is this hold he has on me now? It scares me that I want to see what more will come of it.

Just when I thought I made it out of this situation unscathed, I hear stiletto heels make their way onto the wooden porch. There she is. The other villain in my story. Julia Woods. The accomplice in my undoing.

“Hey honey. There you are! I was just chatting it up with the girls.” She leans in to kiss Robert. Actually, no. Not kiss. A full on make-out session with my ex-fiancé ensues in front of me and my boss. This could not be more awkward. Flashbacks haunt my brain and I wince at the sight that is tattooed forever in my memory of these two making out. Except the last time I witnessed this, we were in a very different setting and they were wearing much less clothing.

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