Authors: Christa Simpson
Unable to see the humour in it, Edwin's face soured, his eyes
narrowed. He meant business. "Seriously Abigail, this isn't funny."
"Relax. You're overreacting. It's fine, really,"
I reassured him, knowing he was a sucker for reason. "Why don’t you just
hang low for the next half hour or so? I'm sure it'll dry a bit. Then you can
go home on your lunch hour to change."
"Yeah, I can do that."
"You better make a beeline straight for your office
though, before anyone notices. I could just imagine all the nicknames and
rumours, if anyone gets a hold of this one," I teased.
"No one will though, will they Abigail?" he
threatened, his eyes darkening.
I shrugged my shoulders to tease. "You might be safe
for now, but you owe me big if you don't want this to come out later."
"Thanks, I think." Scowling, he bolted for his
office covering the wet zone.
I giggled a little more before I started thinking about the
two of us. It was no surprise to me that seeing Edwin at work would be more
than a little distracting. Staring off into space, I smiled, and I was gone.
Edwin and I had lived in the same neighbourhood as children.
We went to different schools, his parents being very particular about raising him
in a good catholic household, while my parents were a little more liberal when
it came to religion. Regardless of his mother's intentions, Edwin and I became
good friends at a young age, and it was never a secret that he had always hoped
for something more.
Persistent, he was, and by the time we hit high school, I
finally gave in to him. After I let my guard down, it wasn't long before I
fell madly in love with him. I can still remember those days like it was yesterday.
We were inseparable. Edwin was infatuated with me and I was no less smitten
with him. People called us high school sweethearts, but my sister always said
it was more like an addiction.
All that changed when Edwin decided to go away to an
elaborate university in the big city and I stayed behind, content with the
local community college. Our lives were leading in different directions and we
were both young and stubborn. After being apart for two long years, our only
connection being through random emails and the occasional messenger chat, I
decided to tell him that he had grown too distant, and maybe I should stop
contacting him.
Though he had a lot going on, less than a month after my last
message to him, he called to tell me he was coming back home and transferring
to a local university.
Not long after he returned to Rose Arbour, we decided to buy
a house together, as a business arrangement.
Strictly business.
We
were spending every free minute together anyway and it seemed like a smart
financial decision. Going ahead with the plan, we purchased a fixer-upper in
no time at all and spent the entire summer renovating, pouring our heart and
souls into the promising Victorian, making it our own.
We fell back in love, our flame reignited, but while I was
working a full-time job, he was out partying with friends. When I would go
out, he'd be at home studying for exams. It just wasn't working for us then
and that brings us to now.
Though our on again off again relationship as a couple has
been difficult to keep up with, now that Edwin has graduated from law school
with honours, our close friendship is back in business.
Having successfully articled with a notable law firm, Edwin could
pretty much work wherever he wanted. And yet of all the lawyers’ offices,
government buildings and corporate headquarters in the City of Rose Arbour,
Edwin decided to accept a job at my small firm.
AFTER MY
MORNING FILLED with dreams and smiles, the rest of the day was surprisingly
zooming by. It was nearly over when I finally ran into Edwin again, this time
at the photocopy machine.
"Look at you. Bone dry," I teased.
"I'll bone you one," Edwin said smirking.
Distressed, my eyes darted toward each of the exits to check
for nosy neighbours. "You better watch your mouth. There are ears
everywhere in here you know. I'd bet you've already been had."
He chuckled unconcerned. "It's all in good fun. No one
heard me. You worry too much."
After our brief, unprofessional chat, he hurried back to
whatever it was that he was so diligently working at. I was a little
disappointed that I only crossed his path for all of two minutes all day and it
played out like that, but what was I expecting? I took a deep breath, stacked my
papers on the copier and pressed start.
"Abby," a voice called to me from the reception
desk, ringing in my ears.
I glanced through the doorway to find Maddison Walker standing
there next to Taylor, the office receptionist. Maddie's long silky black hair
shimmered in the neon light as she scowled at me with her large brown eyes.
Such a pretty girl, with a long narrow face, and dark olive skin, and yet it
always amazed me that she was even related to Edwin's friend TJ. He's such a
nice guy. I'm sorry I can't say the same for her.
She stalked me like a demon, approaching with an evil look in
her chocolate brown eyes. “What about Kerry? I thought you and Edwin weren't
an item anymore," she hissed.
I wasn’t about to bring up that horrid date now. Backing up
a step, "We're not," I replied, forcefully genuine.
She reached her hand to the counter, leaning against it, and
blocked my path to the copier. "Oh so you're just doing him on the side
then?"
"Maddie, mind your own business." I pushed her
gently aside and picked up my papers from the tray.
An evil laugh shimmered through the long cavernous room. "I'll
take that as a yes then," she sneered.
I peeked up at the front desk again, where Taylor was
listening intently. Her dark brown hair, pulled up in the front, left her no
protection to hide from my annoyed gaze. Her plump, pale skin, and friendly
smile made you think you could trust her but Taylor was not the lovely older
lady from next door, as she appeared to be. In fact, she was the office gossip
queen, and she tended to feed off of Maddie's craziness. To make a point I twisted
my smile and narrowed my emerald eyes at her.
Hers turned wide with understanding, as she scurried to her
seat.
"It's not like that, but if it was you'd be the last to
find out," I said.
"Not with his big mouth. You'd think he'd be a little
more careful on his first day. But don't worry, your secrets are safe with
me," she said, wicked and blunt.
I rolled my eyes and reluctantly played her depraved game.
"And what secret is that?"
"Oh, you don’t know? It's so obvious. Edwin's still in
love with you. It's so cute how you two are playing the cat-and-mouse
game."
I rolled my eyes in disbelief. "Whatever Maddie." I
was unwillingly to listen to this insincere snob.
"Oh, you don't like that? Allow me to rephrase.
Hot
pursuit.
Need I say more?"
"No you've said enough," I insisted, though I had
already stopped listening two seconds ago.
"If you can't see it, then you're blind. Roll the
shades Abigail, you're either doing him or you need to cut the cord." She
paused momentarily, retrieved the dagger from my gut, then took another stab.
"I see your date with Kerry was obviously a bust."
"Right, thanks for that by the way," I moaned
sarcastically.
"Kerry's a nice guy. That was all you."
"Like I said before, mind your own." I was so angry
now I could have growled.
"If you say so. You and Edwin really need to work that
out. Just remember who told you first. Then we'll see who your real friends
are," she said, smooth and scandalous, before slinking back to Taylor's
desk.
I rolled my eyes at her again, when she wasn't watching, and
went back to my desk with my blood boiling. Why had I ever decided to befriend
Maddison Walker? Oh yes
. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
"GET
READY GIRL, OR we're gonna be late!" Aliah peeked into my desk area with
obvious urgency. I jumped a little and it took a second for my mind to snap back
into reality. Aliah was dressed in a cute yoga outfit and raring to go. Easily
excited, she was always a little high strung.
I looked at the clock to see what all the hype was about. "Oh
shit! I didn't realize what time it was."
"Then hurry up!"
I pulled my exercise getup from my bottom drawer and leapt
out of my cubicle at full speed. I wiggled into my spandex as fast as humanly
possible, and gracelessly scurried back toward my desk, bumping right into my
boss, Owen Wallace. Too late to stop the forward motion, I knocked every last
loose paper from his hands. Some slammed onto the floor in a pile and others
fluttered through the air, scattering in a disorganized mess. "Oh my
gosh! I'm so sorry Owen." I knelt to the floor and shuffled up the
scattered papers with him.
"No worries. It was my fault."
I smiled at him, knowing he was only being nice. Who was I
to argue with the most successful young litigator in the City? When I handed
Owen the remainder of his tousled papers he took them from me and smiled. My
mind had been running on autopilot for the better part of the day and it kind
of threw me for a loop, sending me into a blank stare.
Aliah was standing behind me now. "Hello? Earth to
Abigail. We're going to be late! What's with you today?" She was
clearly annoyed with me, but the feeling was mutual.
I looked back briefly to scowl at her, then flashed my award
winning smile at Owen.
"I don't mean to keep you," he said.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go," Aliah said, as she pulled
me away. She had all of our bags in her arms and still managed to yank me past
Owen.
He was still standing there, a little stunned, with his pile
of messed up papers. I knew the second we disappeared he would be feverishly
reorganizing them.
"I really am sorry," I insisted, with a backward
glance before disappearing around the corner.
"See you Owen," Aliah hollered, as we raced toward
the exit. "You're coming with me."
ALIAH
BROOKLIN ALWAYS GOT what she wanted, ever since she was a little girl. It may
have been related to the fact that her father was the head of the City fire
department or maybe it was that she was exceptionally good looking. Either way,
she did what she wanted, and everyone else had to deal with her wrath if they
got in the way of that.
I turned away from Aliah, who was driving like a madwoman to
get us to the Westmount Fit Club for our exercise class. I glanced out my
window as she pulled into the freshly paved parking lot, just minutes before
class was about to start.
Aliah clutched the steering wheel, feverishly driving through
the many rows of parked cars. The lot was packed and she was clearly not
satisfied with the spaces littered at the back of the lot. I watched her eyes
darting back and forth as her adrenaline pumped and her anger quickly mounted.
Quite frankly, it was amusing.
"Can I ask what you're doing?" I asked, teasing.
"What's it look like? I'm finding a good spot!"
"Well, I thought that maybe since we're going to the
gym, it wouldn't kill us to do a little walking."
"Good point," she admitted, to my surprise.
Without a second thought, Aliah swung her car around and sped
to the back of the lot. She pulled past a few of the open spots and rammed
right into the furthest space available. "How's that?" she asked
like a smart ass.
"I didn't say I wanted to walk a marathon."
"Make up your mind woman. You either want the exercise
or you don't." She threw the car into park and turned it off.
"Let's move or we're gonna be late!" she hollered like a drill
sergeant, as she barrelled for the doors.
I reached into the backseat for my yoga mat and hurried out
of the car after her. I jogged all the way into the Westmount, until Aliah
came to a screeching halt and nearly tripped me onto the hard, ceramic floor.
Gawking at a guy through the glass separating us from the
room of weights, she whispered to herself. “Whoa. When did that happen?"
Her voice was so soft that if I weren’t standing right next to her, I wouldn't
have heard it.
"What's up?" I asked confused, but she ignored me.
My eyes followed her longing gaze until it landed on the sweaty stud exiting the
weight room.
"Hunter Wight. How's it going?" she said. Aliah left
my side and walked right up to the attractive man, with dark hair and even
darker eyes. She jumped into his arms like they were long lost lovers and his bulging
biceps wrapped around her.
When Aliah finally released his hard, muscled body, and
lowered her legs to the floor, I checked her reaction unsure how to read this
unusual situation. They stared, dazed, into each other’s eyes, ridiculous
smiles on their faces. I came up blank. Aliah never talked about Hunter, so who
knows where this guy fit into her life.