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“I’ll let you know,” she says. I can hear her smile through the phone.
“Who was that?” Chuck asks as I hang up the phone call. He walks into the living room with a bowl full of pretzels I didn’t even know I had. He’s holding three beers in his hand, and he tosses one to Charles before walking one over to me.
“Where did you get those?”
“I found them in your pantry. Why?”
“I would check the expiration date on those before you continue eating them.”
He shrugs and plops himself on the couch. Charles shakes his head when Chuck points the bowl toward him.
“He was talking to Bella,” Charles answers for me.
Chuck’s eyebrows shoot up. “Bella Raven?”
“Yeah. I asked her if she wanted to join us tonight.”
“Yeah?” he confirms excitedly. “You should ask her if she has a friend.” Chuck smiles, raising his brows at the possibility of his suggestion.
I shake my head. “I’m going to shower. Can we order some food? I’m starving.”
“Okay, ‘starving.’ I’ll take care of it,” Chuck answers, never short on the continuous supply of dad jokes.
The three of us spend the day watching TV and continuing our drinking until nighttime. Jackson joins us, bringing along a bottle of tequila, claiming it will pair perfectly with the greasy Mexican food delivered to my door as if he’s talking about pairing a glass of merlot with a filet mignon.
“You don’t have to get home to the kids?” Jackson asks Charles as the night settles outside.
“Amelia’s out with her friends, so we got the nanny for the night.”
“So you’re partying with us tonight?” Chuck asks in excitement. He pours another round of shots as he waits for Charles to answer.
“Sure, but I’m not doing any partying. Just hanging out,” he says with hesitation.
“What are you talking about? That’s what we do!”
“Come on. Just a couple of drinks,” I add. I feel relaxed, the beers and tequila loosening and fading all thoughts of Ellie. Only dimming to a distant memory though. She’s always there, ever so present in the hidden corners of my mind, reminding me of the ache in my heart.
“Yeah. And that couple of drinks turns into a week-long hangover.”
“Weak,” Chuck bellows in Charles’s direction.
As planned, late into the night, we pile into Jackson’s Range Rover and drive towards Hollywood.
“Are you okay to drive?” I whisper to Jackson.
“I just had a couple of beers. I’m fine,” he calls over his shoulder, reminding me of the tequila shots he repeatedly refused.
I nod, settling into the backseat behind him. Bella texts me in the car, saying she’s on her way, a group of her friends joining as well. I read through her text messages, the last one a snapshot of herself dressed in a short skirt in front of a floor-length mirror. Chuck looks over my shoulder in the seat next to me.
“Holy shit. Bella Raven is so hot. She could break my heart, and I would beg for her forgiveness.” He lets out a whistle through his teeth.
I quickly put my phone in my pocket. “Yeah. I’ll put in a good word in case she’s in the heartbreaking kind of mood.”
The car comes to a halt as we approach the entrance to the club. There’s already a long line formed outside. Jackson pulls right to where the line ends, and the doors open. The lights immediately start to flash, and paparazzi, screaming in every direction, call for Charles and me. Chuck, in the ever so present bantering mood he’s always in, smiles and poses as if he’s the star that everyone’s been waiting all night for. I wrap my arm around his neck, smiling against his cheek, and drag him inside. Just as the doors open for us, I’m stopped by someone reaching for my arm. I turn and see Bella standing in front of me.
“Bella! Hi,” I say, surprised even though I’m the one who invited her.
The flashing of lights becomes frenzied, the shouting growing even louder. I take the opportunity and bring Bella close to me so that the cameras can get the shot they didn’t know they were waiting for. Bella eats it up. She poses alongside me, whipping her hair over her shoulders and waving as if we were on the red carpet. I then do something so bold, I didn’t know I had it in me. I bring my fingers to her chin to turn her face towards me. And I kiss her.
