CHAPTER 11 Drink
October 8, 2010
“Liam, these are stunning!” I held one of the purple blooms between my fingers as I waited for Liam to come closer. It was a lovely arrangement made of various flowers in vibrant shades of purple, lilac, soft pink, and magenta. They smelled delicious, too. Fresh, crisp, and sweet. “You said she loves purple, right?”
“Yeah, she does. I think this is the one.” Liam smiled brightly and directed his attention to one of the employees, who couldn’t stop staring at him with evident starstruck admiration. “I’ll take this one, please.”
Liam had officially been dating Belén for a while now. She was three years younger than him and was usually very busy with her grueling high-performance training schedule, but they were making it work so far. He liked her a lot. And for what it seemed, she did too. I was happy for him.
“Of course.” The florist grabbed the vase. “Right this way, please. I’ll ring you up over here.” She walked toward the register, and we followed her. I was getting goosebumps with how chilly this place was. The air conditioning was set at a low temperature, probably to better preserve the plants and flowers in the shop, but I was ready to step out into the sun. It was warmer outside.
Liam gave the employee Belen’s address and paid for the flowers. “I’ll send these as soon as our delivery guy returns from lunch, okay?” she assured him, her cheeks somewhat pink. “I’m a big fan of Belén. She’s going to love them.”
“Sure hope so.” Liam mentioned earlier that he was worried. Belén hadn’t performed well at the China Open. She got eliminated early in the tournament and had to come back home, so he wanted to cheer her up with flowers. But he’d told me the day I met him how she tended to be mercurial, so I guess that’s why he was worried. Who knew in what mood she would arrive in from her trip?
We thanked the florist and stepped out of the shop.
“You want to grab some coffee for the ride back to New York?” I asked. Since Belén was staying at her parents’ house for a while, Liam had dragged my ass to Montclair to help him select a flower arrangement instead of placing an order over the phone. Plus, I hadn’t seen him since I came back from South Africa, and he wanted all the juicy details straight from the source. So this was the perfect excuse to hang out and catch up.
“Coffee sounds lovely.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and guided me toward the crosswalk. Aaron followed us on foot. He was always alone now, and I felt terrible. It was his job, but he was probably bored all the time.
“Belén’s flight arrives in a few hours, and I’m hoping to catch her later tonight. But I’m knackered from that live interview we did early this morning at that talk show to promote the series. So I need all the caffeine I can get.” The walk sign lit up, and we crossed the street. “Being a celebrity isn’t as glamorous as it seems. I’ve got dark circles under my eyes.” He lifted his sunglasses to show me. He looked perfectly fine. “I can’t live like this.” He laughed.
Liam had landed a lead role in a big TV show, and it had recently premiered. I was thrilled for him.
“Calm down, hotshot.” I laughed too. He was clearly joking around with his last statement, but he had a knack for being dramatic. It was no surprise that he had chosen to pursue a career in acting. “Order the biggest coffee on the menu. My treat.”
We stepped inside the coffee shop, and the smell of roasted beans, vanilla, and sugar swirled in the air. A fresh batch of cinnamon rolls was being pulled out of the oven, and I knew I needed to get one.
“Welcome to Deja Brew,” the young barista said to us. “What can I get for you?”
“I’ll have a small latte and a cinnamon roll, please.”
“Of course! And—for you?” The barista smiled shyly at Liam when she recognized him.
“I’ll have a large Americano and—” He turned to look at me. “Are you willing to share that cinnamon roll, or should I get my own?”
“Definitely not sharing.”
The barista laughed.
“In that case, toss in one of those as well since she’s paying.” Liam lifted his eyebrows playfully at me.
“That’ll be $19.50, please.”
I pulled out my credit card and handed it to the girl.
“Thanks, Red,” Liam said, giving me a quick side hug.
“My pleasure.”
“I’m—sorry, miss,” the barista said, holding my card. “Your credit card was declined. Would you like me to try again?”
“Uh-oh!” Liam chuckled.
“Shut up!” I whispered back, unable to withhold a laugh. “Uh, yeah, sure, go ahead.” That AMEX card always went through. I wondered …
The barista tried the card again, but a ticket was quickly printed out stating the transaction had been declined again. “I’m sorry, miss. Do you want to try another card?”
Shit. There were a couple of people behind us in line, and I was growing flustered as I rummaged through my wallet for money. But I rarely carried cash with me. I used my credit cards for everything. And I’d never had an issue with them before.
“Red.” Liam pulled his wallet out of his pocket. “I’ve got it.”
“Wait.” I wanted to try a credit card from another bank because I needed to verify if my dad had something to do with this or if it was an issue specific to the AMEX card. “Could you try this one?” I handed it over and waited in awkward silence while she tried processing the payment for a third time.
“It’s not going through.” The barista offered me a sympathetic look. And I wanted to explain it wasn’t possible, that this had never happened to me before, that it must’ve been a mistake. It’s funny how a declined card makes you feel like you owe an explanation about why it’s not going through to the person charging you or to everyone around you, for that matter.
“I’ll get this one,” Liam whispered when he noticed my genuine concern. “Don’t worry about it.” He gave her his credit card, and the charge went through with ease. For a second, I hoped there could be an issue with the reader, but no. My credit cards were the problem.
“Fuck,” I muttered, returning my useless pieces of plastic to my wallet. “Thank you.” I was a second away from breaking into a cold sweat.
We stepped aside to wait for our order.
“Of course, no worries.”
Our order was called, so we grabbed our coffee and cinnamon rolls and left the shop. Aaron had brought the car around and was waiting out on the curbside.
“Liam?” I said the moment Aaron shut the door behind us.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think my father just cut me off.”
Tobias texted us on our way back to New York to tell us he was free all afternoon and wanted to hang out, so when we arrived, he came over to my apartment. Earlier, I had agreed to meet up with Nina, so she was on her way to my place as well. William said he would be busy all day and would probably arrive later in the evening. I decided to wait to tell him about my declined credit cards until later.
We were hanging out in the living room when the doorbell rang.
“Who’s that?” Liam asked.
“It’s Nina. I’ll be right back.”
“You didn’t mention she was coming,” he said, his eyes widening as he tossed a piece of cinnamon roll into his mouth.
I stopped to reply. “Did I have to run it by you?” I chuckled. “You know this is my apartment, right?”
“Not appreciating the feisty attitude, dear,” Liam said playfully.
“He thinks Nina’s hot and thinks it’s wise not to interact with her,” Tobias tossed in, his gaze locked at the TV screen and grabbing a handful of popcorn. “You know, for technical reasons.”
“I don’t …!” Liam stopped and lowered his voice. “Tobias is a child. Forget I said anything.”
“Right.” I walked away to get the door. “And please turn down the volume, Tob! That commentator is giving me a headache!”
“Hey!” Nina walked in and hugged me. “You have company?” She squinted at the living room while she shrugged off her light jacket.
“Yeah, Liam and Tobias.” I shut the door. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“A beer?” Nina dropped her bag and jacket on one of the foyer chairs and followed me to the living room. “Hey, guys!”
“Hey, Nina.” Liam jumped to his feet, running a hand through his hair, and Tobias chuckled. “Shut up.” He pointed his finger at Tobias in a threatening way.
Nina frowned with confusion.
“O—kay. I’ll be right back with your beer, Nina.” When I walked away, Liam had already approached Nina to greet her.
“Billie!” Tobias shouted from the living room. “Can you bring me another beer too?”
“This was the last one!” I shouted back, closing the fridge and grabbing a few napkins.
My phone vibrated in my jeans pocket when I walked back to the living room, so I pulled it out to see who it was.
Dad:I just closed the deal for the apartment. Contract
has been signed. You need to move out by November 1st. The apartment was sold as is, so all you need to pack
is your personal belongings. You are still welcome to
move in with me. Your credit and debit cards will remain
blocked until you give me a definitive answer. Mimi will
continue to buy groceries and cook for you for the rest
of the month. Your tuition is covered regardless of
what you decide because despite what you think,
I am a reasonable man.
What in the actual hell? I scoffed at the screen in disbelief and slid the phone back into my pocket. Replying would have to wait. I needed to have a clear head and avoid doing so in a reactive way.
“Here you go.” I smiled, pretending as best as I could that I hadn’t just read that message, and gave Nina her beer then sat on the couch next to her.
“Can’t we get more beer from William’s apartment through the special door?” Tobias asked. “I’m sure Billy won’t mind.”
“That’s for conjugal visits,” Liam said, high-fiving Tobias. They laughed.
“You guys are disgusting.” They weren’t entirely wrong, though. It’d been fun and convenient for us to walk into each other’s bedrooms whenever we pleased. William had been sleeping in my bed almost every night. He liked to sneak in even when I was asleep, and I would wake up the following day to see him lying next to me. It was so sweet. The best part of all is we could get away with it undetected. I didn’t want to give my father more reasons to be upset if he asked for the surveillance camera footage. Not that it’d helped in changing his mind about selling the apartment.
The “special door” had been fun while it lasted.
“What special door?” Nina asked with a confused smile, looking between us for an answer.
“Can I show her?” Tobias asked. Nina hadn’t come to my place since I got back from South Africa. I’d been so busy getting up to speed with all the schoolwork I missed that we hadn’t had much time to hang out here.
“Sure, go ahead.” I pulled out my phone again while Nina followed Tobias to my room. “But I’m telling William you’re raiding his fridge!”
“Snitch!” he shouted back.
“You’re one to talk!” The audacity. I was surrounded by busybodies, and he was by far the worst. Right up there with Liam.
Me:Tobias is raiding your fridge. He’s going through the wall door. We need locks, lol. What if I get mad at you one day and want to keep you away?
Getting locks was irrelevant now. I needed to stop pretending like I was going to keep living here.
W.S.: Tell him I’ll cut out his tongue if he eats the strawberries. I’m making strawberry shortcake tomorrow morning for my mom’s birthday. It’s her favorite. She arrives tonight.
W.S.:And we’ll talk about the locks when I get home. Might be
a good idea for when I’m out of town. And if you ever get mad, don’t lock me out. Let me crawl in and beg for forgiveness.
Guess I wasn’t the only one in denial of the inevitable fact that I’d be moving out. But I loved how he said home as if we were living together though. It certainly felt that way. And with the door in place, our apartments had, in a way, become a huge single apartment.
Me: He’s just getting beer. And I hope I never have
to get mad at you.
W.S.:Never.
Me:Also, my credit cards bounced earlier. It’s happening.
W.S.:Don’t worry. I’ll see you in a bit and we’ll figure
everything out.
Tobias and Nina returned with a six-pack and a plastic container filled with strawberries.
Damn it.
“William said he would cut out your tongue if you ate the strawberries,” I warned.
“That would be convenient,” Liam said. “Let him eat them.”
Nina laughed, and Liam stuffed his face with a huge chunk of cinnamon roll.
“It’s not a big deal.” Tobias rolled his eyes, placed the container on the coffee table, and sat on the floor. “I’ll replace them tomorrow.”
“You’ve been warned.” I shrugged and lifted my hands in front of me.
William was going to be pissed and then some. Knowing him, he probably ordered those from a special place and had them meticulously selected. But Tobias wasn’t a child. If he wanted to eat them, there was nothing I could do to stop him.
“Indulge!” Liam shouted with a wicked laugh and snapped a photo of him with his phone. “Sending this to William.”
“Can’t be bothered.” Tobias sipped on his beer and passed the container to Liam, who grabbed a couple of strawberries for himself. They were a lost cause.
Nina laughed and sipped on her beer. She kept staring at Liam but looked away when she caught me looking at her. “Did you hear back from the magazine?” she asked.
“I did!” I said, grinning excitedly. “Yesterday morning. I was meaning to tell you.” Not everything was bad news for me. Haute Magazine offered me a part-time job in the afternoons, five days a week, so I could still go to Parsons in the morning. I immediately called them the next day after I arrived from South Africa because even if I didn’t know my father was planning to cut me off at the time, I wanted to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Earning my own money was a priority. The pay was shit. It was an entry-level job, but I had to start somewhere. “I start on the 18th.”
“Oh, my God!” Nina hugged me. “Congratulations, Billie! This is huge!”
“Oh, fuck you!” Tobias shouted at the screen. One of the soccer players was lying on the ground, massaging his shin. “Sorry,” he said, chewing on a fat strawberry. “Mmm, I knew you would get the job.” He leaned in and high-fived me. “Grattis!” Congratulations. I knew that one.
“Congrats, Red!” Liam said. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You owe me a large coffee and a cinnamon roll once you get your first paycheck.” Liam chuckled and turned to Nina. “You know her credit cards bounced earlier? Papa Murphy—” He clicked his tongue twice and scissored his fingers as if cutting something. My credit cards.
“Are you serious?” Nina looked genuinely worried. “What are you going to do?”
“I have some cash saved,” I told her. “I’ve been taking a bit of money out of the ATM here and there just in case. I’ll be fine until my first paycheck comes. And he’s still paying for school, so it’s not that bad.” I think.
“Any news on the apartment?” she asked. “Is he selling it?”
“I still don’t know.” I didn’t want to talk about it until I broke the news to William. I was still very much in denial, and I didn’t want my friends to worry or feel obligated to offer me a place to stay while I figured things out. The situation was embarrassing. And a small part of me still hoped this was another of my father’s tactics to get me to do his bidding. But this time, I knew he’d actually gone through with the sale.
A few hours later of us sitting in the living room and doing nothing but snacking, talking, and laughing, there was a knock on my door, so I got up and rushed to get it because I already knew it was William. He’d texted me earlier to say he was on his way.
“Hey, baby.” He tossed his keys on the foyer table and leaned in for a kiss, pulling me closer to him. His tongue parted my lips, and a soft moan vibrated in my throat. “I missed you.” He grabbed my ass and squeezed it. “Are they leaving soon?” He jerked his head toward the living room, taking a few steps toward my room with his hands still attached to my body.
“I think Tobias just ordered Chinese for everyone,” I said with a laugh, but it came out sad. Suddenly, I remembered my father’s text and how technically, this apartment was no longer mine.
“I’ll ask them to leave,” he said, pressing a soft kiss on my neck. “They can eat upstairs at his apartment.”
“Nina is with them, too,” I whispered. He had me pinned against my bedroom door, his thumbs caressing my cheeks. “I can’t ask her to leave. I’m sure they’ll leave after they eat.”
“But I need you.” He rubbed his erection against my stomach, and I could feel the warmth spreading between my legs. William and I were very much still in the honeymoon phase, and even if I was tired, worried, sad, or anything else, he could get me in the mood in two seconds. I hoped that feeling would last forever. “And I still need to convince you to put my photo up on that wall.”
My hands wandered inside his thin sweater and caressed his abs. “If it were just Liam and Tobias in there, I wouldn’t hesitate, but I can’t ask Nina to leave.”
William grabbed my face and kissed me like he was about to leave me for an entire year as he continued to press the hard line of his body against mine. His fingers brushed through my hair and then broke off the kiss. He groaned with evident frustration but smiled regardless and grabbed my hand to walk me back to the living room.
“To be continued.” He smacked my behind softly before saying hi to everyone.
“What. The. Fuck?” William picked up the container that had only a few strawberries left and slapped the back of Tobias’s head. He said something to him in Swedish, and they started arguing.
“Billie did warn him not to eat them,” Liam said, only fueling the fire. “Didn’t you get my text with the incriminating photo?”
“Haven’t checked.” William was fuming.
“Liam ate a few strawberries, too,” Nina added with a grin, biting her lower lip afterward.
Liam gaped at her. “You cheeky little—”
“Enough,” William said, his tone dark and annoyed. “I want these replaced tomorrow by eight in the morning.” He placed the container back on the coffee table. “You might as well finish those since I assume they’ve been out here for a while and getting ruined.”
The doorbell rang, and I was about to go insane any second now. I was ready for my guests to leave. My apartment was never as noisy and crowded, and I was craving some alone time with William. I wanted to tell him about my dad selling the apartment so we could figure out my next move.
Aaron was standing next to the delivery guy when I opened the door. He pressed his lips together, his preferred method of smiling.
“Good evening. It’ll be $72.50, please.”
Jesus. They ordered the entire menu.
“Ah, give me a second.” I walked back to the living room. “Food arrived. Could you guys get the check while I grab some cash from the safe? I’ll pay you back in a second.”
Liam and Tobias stood up at the same time and pulled out their wallets. “Our treat, ladies.” Liam tapped Nina’s shoulder as he walked past her toward the foyer. She stared at her shoulder where he’d touched her for a few seconds before getting up to complain about the check and how she didn’t mind paying her part. Tobias and Liam shooed her away.
“Let them pay for the food,” William said. “It’s the least they can do after they devoured my strawberries.”
“You’re so cute when you’re mad.” I laughed and sat next to William, squeezing his face between my hands and dropping a kiss on his cheek. “I’m sure Tobias will replace them tomorrow.”
“He better.”
“I’ll be right back.” Nina, Tobias, and Liam were setting the table when I rushed to the kitchen to grab a beer for William. I twisted the cap open with a kitchen rag and poured myself a glass of wine.
“You seem like you needed one,” I said with a smile, offering him the beer.
He widened his eyes and nodded. “A toast.” He cleared his throat and lifted his beer in front of him. “To … 9A, my new apartment.”
“Excuse me?” He clinked his drink with mine, and I looked away, my jaw dropping to the floor.
“Guille, look at me,” he said with a soft chuckle. “Sk?l.” I met his pale blue eyes with mine and repeated after him, still processing what he’d just said. “Drink.”