A/N: Remember to vote, comment, and follow for updates!
———
XIV. My Bestie With Her Little Black Dresses And Blunt Remarks
HEATHER
"How about this one? Bex asks as she holds up a little black dress of hers for me to wear tonight.
"Uhh I don't know," I groan and lay back on their bed.
I don't really want to go out tonight. A bottle of Jack is calling my name. But then again, was today really a bad day like the other ones?
No, no it wasn't. I had a great time with Carter.
Not once while I was with him did I think about drinking or Bryan. Well I did think about Bryan, but only when comparing mine and Carter's kiss at the horse stables.
I couldn't stop thinking about how I'd never been kissed like that, and I've kissed a lot of guys before, but none of them made me catch my breath and feel sparks ignite like a forest fire.
It was passionate and I didn't even know there was such a thing before Carter. Every little thing he did, made me feel like I was on fire. I find myself wondering where it would've went had Mr. Robert's not shown up when he did. Would we have had sex right then and there? Hot and bothered Hev is about to make her appearance yet again y'all!
I'd also compared Carter to Bryan once again as I think about how Bryan himself had never kissed me like that or how he would've never picked me up like that and shoved me against the wall in the heat of passion. He definitely wouldn't have been down to get intimate in a public place like that either. Our sex life, for a better word, was very vanilla but I loved him enough to deal with it.
But when Carter handled me like that, I couldn't help missing my own fantasies, prior to Bryan, about having passionate and wild sex. The kind that leaves you both sweating and out of breath, however, you want more once it's over.
Bex frowns at me and grabs another dress that would barely cover me up. I begin to wonder how the hell it even covers her. She's much curvier and fuller around the bust and hips than I am. I envy the beautiful hourglass figure God blessed her with. I shake my head and she groans in annoyance as she throws it on the bed.
"What the hell is wrong Hev? Why are you being so difficult?" she lays down on the bed next to me, pouting as she looks up at the ceiling. She turns her head towards me and gives me an exasperated look.
"Nothing is wrong. I just am not in the mood to go out," I shrug, quickly turning my face to avoid her piercing blue eyes. I'm not about to let her pull the mom look on me so I'll verbally vomit what's really going on.
"Okay! Enough of the bullshit. We are each other's best friend and we both know when the other is full of shit or when something is going on. So talk already, because this," she sits up and waves her hand back and forth between us. I look over at her with wide eyes, praying she doesn't give me a classic Bex Miller smack to bring me back to reality.
"This is ridiculous. I understand he broke your heart but you've got to move on sweetie. You need to get back out there and find your happily ever after or give it a chance once it finds you," she warmly smiles down at me and I mentally sigh in relief.
"Like Carter?" I look at her annoyed. She is right but I'll never admit it.
"Maybe? You'll never know unless you give him a chance. He's a great guy Hev and God knows he's crazy about you. I can tell," she winks down at me and gently squeezes my hand.
"Okay but what if you're wrong and I go through another heartbreak again? Is it really worth it?" I pout and sit up to face her, tucking my legs under me.
"There will always be heartbreak Hev and it comes in all different forms, but if it's real love, the kind that takes your breath away and makes you feeling empty when it's not around, than it's worth it," she smiles encouragingly at me.
"But not everyone has a love like you and my brother. Not everyone is as lucky as you two," I smirk at her. I really envy the two of them. They've got something special. Something that not even the best romance novelist could write.
"Maybe so, but everyone has their own love story. No two stories are the same sweetie and if I had not given Nate a chance almost three years ago, I wouldn't be having my happily ever after right now. Neither will you if you don't learn to open your heart again and let that happiness in," she gives me a warm hug and I nearly start crying. She's absolutely right, as usual.
Carter has tried so hard all day to prove himself to me and I just kept putting him off. The hurt in his eyes earlier at the diner is still affecting me. How could he want to be with someone like me? Especially when I basically friend zoned him after what happened at the stables. However, he still kissed my temple when Sarah was sleeping on my lap. I smile to myself as I ponder over his sweet gestures all day.
Nate walks in to the room as he begins to pull off his sheriff uniform. He chuckles to himself as he takes in the sight of us hugging each other. Bex instantly jumps off the bed and wraps her arms around his waist as she kisses him, welcoming him home from work. They do a couple quick kisses and I nearly gag at their mushiness.
"So what trouble are you two thinking up in here?" he eyes both of us suspiciously as he sits on the edge of the bed and pulls his work boots off.
"Your wife is attempting to pimp me out tonight. I swear the dresses keep getting shorter," I laugh and Bex smiles at me innocently with a shrug.
"How else am I going to get my moneys worth out of you? And I wouldn't be a Pimp, I'd be a Madame," she smirks at me and throws another short black dress at me. Jesus how many of these does she need?
"Oh I like the sound of that. Madame Rebekah, I'll have to use that later," my brother flirts with her and I am literally about to puke up my lunch from earlier.
These two need to get a room. Well I mean they're in their room, so I guess it's to be expected but you'd think they'd have decency not to do this stuff in front of me.
Honestly, who am I kidding? They've always been like this. I'm just bitching now because I don't have what they do. Jealousy rearing her ugly head once more.
"Go get in the shower or I won't let you," Bex threatens him and throws him a clean set of clothes.
"Yes Madame," he flirts while smacking her ass playfully before walking into their master bathroom. When I hear the shower start up, I sigh and roll my eyes at her.
"You two are ridiculous sometimes. I don't know how you two still have it like that when you've been together for so long. Doesn't that kind of shit usually die after a while?" I ask her. I know it did with Bryan and me. Otherwise he wouldn't have left me like he did.
"When it's with the right person and it's real, it never dies Hev. One day you'll realize that," she smiles at me. She grabs a dress from her closet and begins getting changed.
I look at my options on the bed and decide on a simple but revealing black spaghetti strapped dress that stops at the middle of my thighs. It has laced mesh material across the midriff to show off my stomach. It's very similar to the one I wore when Bex and I went out a few years ago when she first moved back. I think back to that night and how much fun we had. I was a different woman then. I was more carefree and alive. I wonder if I'll ever get back to that?
By the time we finally show up to Miller's it's past 7 o'clock and Carter's car is already parked out in the lot. It stands out amongst everyone else's vehicle. I love the thing though, girls really do love men with classic muscle cars.
When we walk through the doors, I immediately spot Carter at the bar and he's talking with Joe Blackthorn and Elena. I watch him as he laughs and takes a drink from his bottle of Bud Light. He's dressed similar to my brother and I can't help but laugh. Wrangler and 3/4 sleeve shirt kind of boys. They are so much alike that it's funny.
Carter turns towards us and when he spots me, he freezes and his eyes begin to dilate. He likes what he sees and he's not about to shy away from that fact. I walk up to him with a big smile and bite my bottom lip. Reaching out, he puts his arm around my waist and pulls me in close to him.
"You look so fucking beautiful Hev," he tells me in my ear and places a soft kiss on my neck. It gives me the chills and my body tingles everywhere.
"You don't look too bad yourself," I flirt back and bite his ear lobe. I hear a low growl in the back of his throat and he lightly squeezes my waist with his hands. I slowly run my finger tips along his forearm and up the sleeve of his grey shirt, finally resting my hand on his shoulder.
I stand up straight and look at him, really look at him. He's looking deeply into my eyes, like he's trying to figure out an all one color jigsaw puzzle. It's confusing and intimidating at first but you keep going at it because you know the end result with give you great satisfaction. That it'll be worth it.
God I really hope he continues to feel that way by the end of this. I hope he doesn't get tired of trying and tosses my pieces back in the box, giving up. I truly hope he doesn't eventually give up, tossing me in the back of the closet to be completely forgotten about.
Joe and his band get back on stage and start their next song. I smile at Carter and am about to lean in to kiss him when Bex grabs my hand and pulls me away, giving him an apologetic look.
"You guys can make out later. I want to dance with my best dancing partner!" she yells at him over the music with a smile.
"I thought I was your best dancing partner?" Nate pouts and sits in the stool next to Carter.
The two of them laugh and turn towards each other and begin talking with one another. I can tell Nate really likes Carter. He never talked with Bryan like that, like he was his best friend. Maybe he is?
Maybe he's someone who not only helped Bex when she needed him, but also my brother? Maybe he can help heal Nate from losing his best friend Ford all those years ago when they were band of brothers in the army. Maybe, just maybe, he can be the one who helps heal my broken heart and puts all the pieces back together.