Page 8 of The Arrangement
Most of the time, I thought he enjoyed being a lawyer, but it had a tendency to make him a very grumpy ass.
“Did you ever figure out what you were going to do about that date of yours?” Pierce asked.
I’d just closed my eyes and rested my head on the wall. “You’re gonna need to be more specific than that. I date a lot of people.”
“No shit, playboy. I’m talking about that woman you took to the concert at Union Terminal last week. I don’t remember her name. Annie? Alice?”
In a flash, all the tension I’d shed came flooding back. Because talking aboutAlliemeant bringing up memories of running into Liam.
“Allie,” I corrected. “She seemed okay. I cut the night short and tried to ask her out a second time, but she ghosted me. Either she’s found someone more interesting, or she’s not interested in dating someone who’s pansexual.”
“You advertisedthaton the first date?” I could hear the shock lifting his voice almost an entire octave.
“It wasn’t my intention, but she was there when I lost my temper with an asshole.”
“Okay. Wait. I’m completely lost. When the hell did you lose your temper at the concert? And why?”
“See. This is what happens. You can’t leave early,” I chastised, but it lacked any of my usual playfulness. I sat up and twisted on the bench to face him, adjusting the thin white towel around my waist.
Pierce had left work early today and invited me over for some racquetball and a steam. It had been hard to turn him down since my place didn’t have the greatest extra amenities, and I wasn’t in the mood to use my gym membership, where I’d have to deal with a bunch of strangers. Usually that didn’t bother me, but after running into Liam, I’d found myself more wary of being in public. I didn’t want another surprise like that.
Maybe it was time to give up the penthouse and build a home so I could have an indoor swimming pool and sauna I didn’t have to share.
Of course, I might have agreed to meet with Pierce because I also wanted to dig into why the man had such obvious problems with Simon. But we’d get to that later.
“Cut your bullshit. What happened after I left the concert? You’ve been quiet recently. Scary quiet. I thought you were pissed about that Allie woman.”
This was why Pierce and I had always gotten along. The man didn’t beat around the bush, and he didn’t coddle anyone’s feelings. He got right to it and figured out a solution. But it meant that if I was looking for someone to lie to me and tell me it was all going to be all right, Pierce was not the person I went to. Sebastian was the upbeat, shooting-sunshine-from-his-asshole type. He always had something positive to say. If I needed cheering up, I went to Sebastian.
And if I was in the mood to be an annoying little shit, I ran off to pester Declan. It was how our group worked.
“I don’t remember if I ever told you, but I had this friend growing up. Liam.” My stomach knotted up saying his name. I hadn’t thought I’d ever have a reason to talk about him. Especially after all this time. But saying his name, talking about all these old memories, stirred up the same rage I’d felt as a teenager. “We went to the same elementary and middle school. He was my best friend.”
Pierce grunted. “I don’t think you mentioned him.”
I paused and licked my lips. My eyes remained locked on my hands balled into fists in front of me. “When I was about thirteen, fourteen, I made a mistake and kissed him. I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking. Just stupid, I guess.”
“Sounds like you.”
A scoff made my body jump. “It gets worse.”
“Naturally.”
“His mom caught us.”
“Fuck.”
“Pretty much,” I muttered. “She totally freaked out, and then Liam shoved me to the ground, blaming everything on me. Until that moment, he was my best friend. He always had my back.Even against our parents. But with his mom losing her shit, he couldn’t throw me under the bus fast enough.”
“Douche.”
I nodded. My throat grew tight and dry. After clearing it, I continued. “His mother threw a major hissy fit. Didn’t even try to get to the bottom of things. Ripped Liam out of the school we both attended and called my mom. Threatened to have me arrested for sexual harassment and a bunch of other shit.”
“How did your parents take the news?”
With a roll of my eyes, I finally looked up at my companion. “Because my parents have half a brain, they sat me down and asked what happened. When they understood I was only a little curious, they reminded me I needed to ask before kissing, but they didn’t care who I was kissing.I was a teenager!As long as I wasn’t sticking my unprotected dick into people, catching diseases, and getting girls pregnant, they didn’t care. But from that day on, I was banned from having any contact with Liam. They didn’t trust his parents to be rational.”
“That makes sense. Even if your parents could have crushed them in a lawsuit, it would have still dragged both you and the other boy through hell. Neither of you needed that kind of trauma.”
