No Saints Here | 18+

CH 27 Probably Just Friends

"Yes." He breathed out. Looking at the ground. "I... I have questions." 

Just then Nikki in all her glory rounded the corner with two glasses of champagne in her hand.

"Figured you'd both need a drink." She smiled, handing us both our glasses. When Father Jepson looked at his glass and then swallowed it's contents, whole. Not wincing once as the alcohol went down. Nikki's eyes widened, as she watched his actions. Only to then hand her drink to him. "Never broke the high school habit, huh Ricky?"

"Oh be quiet Nikki, I needed this more than you know." He said, side eyeing me, as he grabbed the drink out of her hand.

"Glad to see the two of you finally met." She said, smiling to the both of us. "Now, if you excuse me one of the ladies needed me." She then, placed her hand on Father Jepson's shoulder and smiled at him. Sending him a knowing look, before she turned and walked away.

"Ricky?" I asked, stifling a laugh as I took a sip of the champagne.

"Don't blame me, blame my mother." He shot out, taking all the champagne back in one large swig. "Ya— you know I need to tell her right?" He said, finally turning to me, with the confidence he was missing from before.

I looked down at him, feeling one of my brows raise, as he continued.

"I— I was going to tell her that day that there was some teacher in there. But she's been busy, and I haven't had the chance to catch up. And now..." he laughed, tilting his empty glass back as a drop of champagne rolled down into his mouth. "What are the chances that you." He said, taking a step back to motion to my whole body. "Are her neighbor." He laughed.

I felt my brows furrow, "Tell her if you must, but that would only make the situation worse. Ever hear the term ignorance is bliss, Father?" I asked, watching him look at the wrinkle of fabric near my elbow. When he then laughed.

"She is going to destroy you." He hummed, turning to look onto the living room. 

"Destroy me?" I asked shocked. "How can Alex Abernathy destroy me?" I asked, handing him my full glass of champagne.

He took it swiftly. "God... it's just... the guilt is eating away at me. You heard the whole conversation about the neighbor and how she—" he then turned and looked up at me. His eyes wider than before. "You know that I'm—"

"Yes father. I know." I said, patting him on the back to comfort him, as he took a sip of the drink. "I'm not going to tell anyone... As long as you don't let our little secret, about me and Alex being neighbors out to the faculty." I said, with a innocent smile.

He quickly spit back into the glass, as he turned and looked up at me. Finally lowering his brows, as he glanced and me up and down one more time. 

"Only one person has ever blackmailed me..." He said, standing up straight. "And it appears that she has met their match..."

"Alex?" I asked, watching him take in another sip.

"It seems you both have each other beat." He said, looking back onto the people in the room. "And here I was thinking I should wish you good luck, when in all reality... neither of you need luck... only wit, to get out of the checkmate you put yourselves into." He said, finally turning away from me, to walk away.

Only to then be huddled back into a corner by Stacy Lockwood herself. The newly divorced housewife of the neighborhood. With the money she just came into, she really should have eased off the plastic surgery...

I chuckled as I watched the poor man cower back into the shell of a man he is. As I walked into the kitchen looking for Emma or Dan.

"I lost your girlfriend." I heard Dan say from the corner of the kitchen.