Page 32 of Love Me, I Dare You

Monroe and I can’t help but laugh at our friend's reasoning. Billie’s always been that breath of fresh air we’ve both needed, and I don’t know how either of us would have gotten along without her. Though I worry about her. She seems to always be in control, but I know that’s all just an act she puts on in front of us who love her most. Something pains her. She longs for something. I just don’t know what it is.

“Cheers,” Monroe says, holding up her freshly refilled diet coke. “To making Nash Bishop wish he never came back to Crossroads.” Billie and I both look at each other in surprise before turning back to Monroe with our drinks raised.

I choke out a laugh at my bestie’s brazenness regarding her own brother. “And I thought I was petty to think I’d fuck around with the guy because he referred to me as a mistake.”

“What?” Billie and Monroe shout in unison, nearly spitting out their drinks.

I curse myself for even bringing it up, but no point in lying. “Last night, when I approached him and Jase to tell them I agreed to let Nash stay with me, as I walked away…” I swallowthe lump forming in my throat as I recall what I heard Nash tell my brother and how it felt to verbally hear what I already knew he felt. “I guess Jase told Nash to stay away from me. You know, since we’re going to be living together…” I pause, the hurt I felt rushing back to me, forcing me to fist my hands to hold it together. “Nash told Jase what happened between us ten years ago was a mistake he’s not planning on ever making again.”

“He called you a mistake?” Monroe asks in a hushed whisper, her eyes immediately welling up with tears. Man, how quickly do pregnancy hormones work? One second she toasts revenge and her brother’s misfortune, the next she’s ready to cry for my sorrows.

“Wait, so Jase does know?” It’s Billie’s response that warrants more investigation.

I shake off the feelings his words incite within me and focus on the one fact I also spent all night thinking about. This whole time, Jase knew about what happened between Nash and me. “Yeah, only I don't know how much.”

Monroe continues, realization hitting her. “Or if it really has anything to do with why Nash left so suddenly?”

Billie nods, the little wheels in her head turning as she contemplates what this all means. “It’s all making sense now.”

If only things were simple. If only I could continue hating Nash the way I have for so many years, without the thought of him leaving only because he was forced to. Because there's no way Jase would have easily moved on if Nash had stayed. Not if he saw it as some betrayal against him instead of something both Nash and I wanted.

I push my food to the side, no longer having any sort of appetite. “So much for letting bygones be bygones.”

Monroe reaches out for my hand, holding it tightly in hers. “We will, for now. But not before we make him pay for disrespecting you and calling you a mistake.”

This isn’t initially what I would have thought to do, instead cowering away at the thought of him not wanting anything to with‌ me even now that he’s back, but if Nash and Jase felt like they could easily talk and make decisions about me without considering my feelings, then why not fuck with them.

Billie claps her hands in excitement. “Ooo, I smell a scheme brewing.”

Nash is going to regret the day he came back to Crossroads, and Jase is going to rue the day he made him leave.

Chapter Thirteen

Bailey

Aday of mundane errands and chores is not enough to get my mind off of the man whose presence is so ridiculously overwhelming, just one night of having him in my apartment and everything around me smells like him. After lunch with the girls, I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few necessities and some extra toiletries to stock up the guest bathroom.

That Nash and I have to share a shower while he’s here is not something I think I’ll ever get used to having to deal with. Running into him this morning was terrible enough, but what happens the next time he’s waltzing around naked in nothing but a towel? Do I have that much self-control? I’ve always turned completely useless when I’m around him.

Not twenty minutes later, as I finish putting away the groceries I bought, my phone rings, the specific ringtone set for my mother, chiming in my pocket.

Dread fills me, but I have no choice but to answer her. She will continue calling until I do, so might as well be done with it.

“Hey mama,” I answer, ready to hear all about how my father ran into me this morning. I’d been expecting her call and am actually surprised it took her this long, but I know it’s why she’s suddenly calling.

“Hello, sweetheart. I heard your daddy ran into you and the girls eating at Dolly’s this afternoon. He said you looked like you hadn’t eaten or slept in days. Is everything alright, honey?” she asks, her sweet southern drawl fooling me into believing she cares and isn’t just prying for information.

“Yes, mama. I’ve just been working a lot. Things at the bar have been nonstop.”

My mother releases a long and hard breath, and I brace myself for the incoming lecture. It’s my fault for bringing up the bar to begin with. To say my mama was angry when I told her and my dad I’d invested money to reopen the old honky-tonk in town, was an understatement. You can just imagine how my faithful Christian mother felt at the idea her daughter was going to own a bar.

“Don’t mention that sin trap to me. I told your father I don’t know what in heaven got into you, making you want to open a bar. It’s those two girls you keep around you. They already made you tarnish your God given body and turn it into an awful coloring book.” There it is, the consistent conversation about my tattoos and her strong opinions about my life choices. Particularly, my best friends. “I tell ya, if you’d have kept away from them like I’d asked you to, you’d be married and happy and I’d have grandbabies.”

I tune out the last part, not wanting to delve into the same old conversation we always have. “Mom, please. I’m not in the mood to remind you Billie and Monroe are my best friends, and they mean a lot to me. You have two sons and another daughter to hound about giving you grandbabies.”

She huffs, “Fine.” Magnolia King is not one to ever drop a subject so easily, but this means she has an alternate motive for this phone call. “I was just calling you up to make sure you took your dress to the dry cleaners? We need it to be ready for the anniversary party next Saturday.”

“I did, Mama, and you’ll never guess what happened. The lady said something awful spilled on it and it’s completely ruined. I don’t think it’s possible for me to get another one by Saturday. I’ll just have to wear something I already own.”

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