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I nodded and turned around on my barstool. “Right,” I said, staring into my glass.
“Hey, Kyle! Need another round of beers and a glass of water for the lady!” Carter’s nasally voice made my skin crawl as he appeared in my peripheral, slapping the bar top. He looked over at us and leaned against the bar with a bright smile. “How’s it going, ladies?”
Alex scoffed. “Well, if it isn’t the Three Stooges of the Valley and the whore of Babylon,” she drawled, appearing bored with their presence. Clarissa scowled at her.
“You’re one to talk, Alex. Pretty sure you’ve slept with every single guy in town,” she retorted. Alex wagged her finger at Clarissa.
“But unlike you, whore, they were all single. How desperate were you to have to steal your own best friend’s boyfriend? At least I have some kind of dignity.”
I fought the urge to snicker, instead keeping my eyes focused on my glass. Alex wasn’t wrong.
“Don’t be like that, baby,” Todd said, moving in closer to Alex, trying to diffuse the growing tension. She recoiled back from him, her face twisting in displeasure.
“I’m not your baby. Where’s your wife anyway, Todd?” she asked, sipping her drink. He frowned and retrieved his new beer mug from the counter.
“She’s visiting her parents if you must know,” he clipped before focusing on me. “Ashton! Haven’t seen you in awhile. How’ve you been?”
I clenched my teeth together as I forced a small smile. Don’t cause any drama. Don’t cause any drama. “I’m fine,” I replied, taking a large gulp of my drink. Carter nudged Steve in the ribs.
“Aren’t you going to at least speak to her? No need to be rude,” he joked. Ava nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, Steve, don’t be a bigger dick than you already are,” she said with a smirk. Steve grabbed his mug from the counter and gave me a passing glance.
“We spoke enough in court this morning. Unless we’re going to talk about the $10,000 she owes me, I don’t think I owe her anything,” he answered nonchalantly, refusing to make eye contact with me. I rolled my eyes and clenched my teeth together. Just a few more moments, Ashton. If you don’t say anything, they’ll leave sooner.
Alex cocked her head to the side as Clarissa retrieve a glass of water from Kyle. “Not having your usual whore juice, whore?” she mentioned.
“Alex!” Ava hissed under her breath. Clarissa gave her a tight smile as Steve gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“How sad your single life must be to try to tear another woman down, Alexandria,” she started. “But for your information, I’m not drinking tonight because it isn’t healthy for our baby.”
Had I been standing, the news would’ve knocked me off my feet. Tears burned my eyes as I focused on my drink, sucking on the straw until nothing remained in my cup.
Todd playfully punched Steve in the shoulder. “You didn’t even tell us, you dickhead! Congrats, man! I guess that shot gun wedding you guys are having in a couple of weeks makes a lot more sense now.”
I coughed as the last of my drink went down the wrong way, causing everyone to look at me. A baby on the way and getting married soon? I guess he wasted no time moving on with his life after we broke up.
“You okay?” Ava asked, looking at me with concerned eyes.
“Never better,” I replied, my voice higher than I intended. Clarissa looked at me with a smirk as she took a sip of her water and turned to Steve.
“How about we go get a table, honey? It’s getting a bit…awkward over here,” she said. Steve nodded and steered her away and back through the crowd, Carter and Todd in tow.
“What a cunt,” Alex muttered before downing another shot and turning to me. “Don’t worry about them. They’re perfect for each other. He’s a dick and she’s an asshole. One is going to eventually fuck the other.”
I turned back to the bar and flagged down Kyle. He strolled over and stopped in front me.
“What can I get you, doll face?” he asked.
“A shot of whiskey, please!” I exclaimed breathlessly.
He chuckled. “Wanting the hard stuff tonight, huh?” he asked as he poured the drink and slid it over to me. I gulped it down without a word and slammed the glass on the counter.
“Hit me again,” I panted, wincing as the amber liquid burned my throat and chest. I needed to feel any kind of pain other than the emotional pain that threatened to break through. As hard as I tried to push the thoughts out of my mind, my subconscious screamed, That should have been me!
In my entire relationship with Steve, he made it crystal clear that he didn’t want kids and he wasn’t 100% sure that he even wanted to be married, at least not any time soon. He’d said that there were so many other things to factor in. He’d wanted to be more stable and further along in his career, he’d wanted us to be financially ready to handle a baby. Being the charismatic bastard he was, he kept me content by convincing me that “maybe I was the one to change his mind,” and that he could see a future with me. Now I realize that he was nothing but a walking sack of lies with a handsome face and persuasive words.
Kyle passed me another shot, watching as I downed it and slammed the glass on the counter. Steve and his group sat within eyesight, laughing and having a good time. If I were being honest, I’d fully admit that I was jealous. Jealous that my cunt of an ex best friend had something that I didn’t that made her more worthy of marriage and creating a family with. The moment I saw Steve passionately kiss her, whatever pieces I had left of my heart shattered completely.
