"I thought you could use some coffee and a waffle from Sweet Escape." Chloe walked over to my desk, setting the drink carrier down. "You doing okay?" She peeked over at me with concern in her eyes.
"What time is it?" I yawned, propping my pillows against my headboard.
"It's ten-thirty." She handed me an iced latte. "I got you something different. It's an iced Toffee Nut latte. I got the same thing. It's so good." She smiled, reaching for hers.
"Thanks. Why does this keep happening to me?" I looked down at the smashed whipped cream under the to-go lid. "Is there something wrong with me?" I wiped the corner of my eye.
"Oh...Gemma." Chloe crawled up in bed. "There's nothing wrong with you. Those guys were asshats. They didn't deserve you." She opened the bag and set my to-go box in front of me.
"Ashton had sex with Hannah last night." I lifted my drink, holding the straw in place. I could see Chloe sitting there with her mouth hanging open out the corner of my eye. I took another sip, waiting for her to get past the shock and say something. She turned, propped the pillows against the headboard, and scooted back. I set my drink on my nightstand, then turned around to open my waffle.
"Hannah, as in the same girl Jude ditched you for?" Her lips disappeared into a thin line as she angrily cut her waffle. "What a dick move." She lifted her fork, her eyes fixed on something across the room from us.
I took a deep breath and then told her that he had come over after he had taken her home. Chloe dropped her fork down in her box; her narrowed eyes met my gaze. She stared at me for a few seconds with a disgusted look. She leaned forward, staring at my comforter, then turned toward me. "He came over here?" She tucked her hair behind her ears and took another bite of her waffle. "He's such a dickhead."
I sat there, picking at my waffle, listening to Chloe go on and on about how Ashton was an asshole for coming over here after he fucked Hannah. I shook my head from time to time so she wouldn't accuse me of not listening. I wasn't going to disagree with her, but I didn't feel like adding to the conversation either. Or so I thought. She set her fork down in her box and set it to the side before turning to face me. "What did you say to him?" And there it was...
"Not much. I was busy getting ice for my hand." I shoved another bite of waffle in my mouth.
"Ice?" Her brows furrowed. "Ohh...You hit Ashton!" Her eyes widened, and an evil grin appeared. "I wish I could've been here to witness it." Her evil grin got bigger. "What happened after you hit him?" She grabbed her box, taking another bite of waffle.
"Nothing. I told him to leave."
She gave me a side-eye. "No, you didn't."
My eyes shot open. "The fuck I didn't. You can go ask man-whore." I motioned my hand in the direction of his house. I dropped my fork in the box and closed the lid. How could she not believe me? My eyes flashed over to her, then down at the black box beside my leg. I asked if she had time to wait for me while I went to get a shower. She nodded, picking at her waffle. I slid out of bed, making sure not to send my box flying across the room. I grabbed my clothes and then headed to the bathroom.
"Gemma, someone's here to see you," Mom said through my closed door. I rolled my eyes, wondering what the hell Ashton could want after last night. Chloe must have been reading my mind because she didn't hesitate to go downstairs with me. She slid her feet off the bed and straightened her clothes and hair. She opened the door, and Mom was nowhere in sight. I took one last look in the mirror and followed Chloe downstairs.
"Ashton, what do you want?" I asked, walking into the living room and looking toward the far window across from the doorway.
"Ashton?" A familiar low voice asked.
My eyes flashed over to the couch. "Rhys? What are you doing here?" My eyes narrowed, wondering why he was here. I took a couple of steps away from the doorway but kept my distance from him.
"I wanted to come by to make sure you were okay. I know it looked bad last night with Claudia sitting next to me. But it wasn't like that. I was in the process of telling her I wasn't interested and to go away. I know you don't have any reason to believe me, but I'm telling you the truth." He ran a hand through the top of his hair, looking toward the window. I looked at him, then over to Chloe, searching her eyes for some kind of reassurance. If she wasn't buying what he was saying, then he was lying. I trusted Chloe more than anyone. She didn't sugarcoat things; she told me the harsh truth. She twisted her mouth, her eyes studied his actions, then drifted to me and motioned her head toward him. That little nod in his direction was enough for me. I just prayed we weren't wrong. Unlike Jude and Noah, he came here and apologized, which meant a lot to me. Jude and Noah avoided me like the plague once they hooked up with other girls.
"Would you like to get coffee?" Rhys asked, stepping out from in front of the couch.
"Actually, I..." My body stumbled forward. I turned and glared at Chloe, who was looking everywhere but at me. I cleared my throat, trying to get her attention. Still no reaction, so I did it again.
"What?" Her eyes widened, trying to act innocent. She smiled, reached around, and grabbed her phone from her back pocket. "Don't mind me." She smiled wider, still glancing down at her phone. My stare stayed on her, hoping she'd look up.
"Gemma, would you like to get coffee with me?" Rhys asked. My eyes shifted in his direction, meeting his gaze. "We can go somewhere else if you want." He stepped closer to me, his eyes holding my gaze.
"Do you care if Chloe comes along with us?" I turned and smiled at Chloe, whose eyes were wide, and her lips parted like she wanted to say something. "Great. We'll go grab our stuff and be back down in a few minutes." I grabbed Chloe's arm, pulling her out of the living room. I walked up the stairs, not paying attention to Chloe's rambling.
"Why did you ask if I could go?" Chloe asked, grabbing her purse at the end of my bed.
"You're one of my best friends. I've been hurt too many times." I tied my canvas shoes. "Besides, you never turn down coffee, and we didn't get to finish ours anyway." I pointed to our cups, sitting there all watered down.
She twisted her mouth, staring at the watered-down coffee cups. "Fine." She sighed, dropping her shoulders. "He came to apologize. That's got to mean something." She tucked her lips in, raising her eyebrows as she turned to walk out my bedroom door. I hated it when she was right. I grabbed my purse and phone, closing my door partway behind me.
"Sorry it took us so long," I said, walking down the stairs, trying not to stare at Rhys in his tight, dark blue t-shirt and jeans. "Who's driving?" I glanced between Rhys and Chloe. Rhys said he could drive since he parked in front of the house. I hollered at Mom that we were leaving. She hollered bye from her office. I shook my head and opened the door.
Sweet Escape's parking lot wasn't that full, which meant we were lucky enough to have missed the rush. Rhys got a parking spot close to the entrance, another sign it wasn't busy. Getting a parking spot close to the door was almost impossible on weekends. I exited the car and browsed the vehicles scattered throughout the parking lot. My eyes landed on a familiar black car parked toward the back of the lot. I rolled my eyes at the car, then turned and walked around to the back of the car to join Rhys and Chloe.
"Are you going to leave your comfort zone and order something cold?" My lips curled into a devious grin.
"I'm trying." Rhys took my hand, interlocking our fingers.
Rhys let go of my hand and opened the door for Chloe and me. I let Chloe walk in first while I followed close behind her. I bumped into her because she had stopped dead in her tracks a few steps from the entrance. "Chloe, why'd you stop?" I asked, walking around to the side of her. Her eyes were fixated on something to the right of us. I followed her gaze and saw Ashton sitting at a booth by a window, talking to Hannah. She was sitting there, playing with her straw, twirling it around in her cup. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail, and a few strands of hair framed the sides of her face. "Let's go order our drinks." I turned toward Chloe, nudging her to walk to the counter.
"Why is he with her?" Chloe asked on our way up to the counter.
"Who knows? But he can be with whoever he wants. Maybe, one day, he'll learn girls like her are trouble." I shrugged, twisting my mouth. I let Chloe order her drink first while I tried to convince Rhys to branch out and order something cold.
"Are you doing anything later?" Rhys asked after he paid for our drinks.
"Probably homework while my mom goes out on a date or out with Ashton's mom. Why?" I grabbed the number for our table and walked over to where Chloe had found a seat away from Ashton and Hannah. I scooted across from Choe, watching Rhys scoot close to me.
"I was going to see if you wanted to watch a movie." He placed his hand on my leg, sliding it up my thigh. My eyes drifted to his hand right as he stopped midway, letting his fingers rest on the inside of my leg. "We can go to my house if you like?" He gave my leg a light squeeze. I had this gorgeous guy sitting next to me with his hand on my leg, asking if I wanted to do something later, and no wave of emotion swept over me like you see in the movies. I glanced down at his hand still on my leg, waiting for some kind of electric sensation that would make my skin tingle or my cheeks almost burst into flames from blushing. Nothing happened. I didn't know if it was because I was hurt or if there was no chemistry between us.
"I have lots of homework to catch up on." I sipped on my latte, trying not to look at the disappointment on his face. Chloe shook her head because she knew I didn't have that much homework.