Wren

I ponder Russ' words for the rest of the day. Maybe he's right. Maybe I should hear Huxley out. Just listening to him doesn't mean I need to forgive him, but it might help fill in some of the holes Hux left when he vanished. Part of me wonders if I haven't been able to move on because I needed that closure.

I'm still considering the option when Huxley comes to the diner the next day for lunch. Then the next day, then the next. All week he stops by for lunch and whatever the desert of the day is and each day before he leaves he asks me if I'm ready to talk. The last day I decide to give him a little surprise.

"What's for lunch today, Hux?" I ask exasperated. He looks at me over his paper and smiles.

"Salad with grilled chicken, fruit cup and water. And whatever the desert is today." He says and I give him my best smile.

"Sure thing." I say, faking enthusiasm as I put in his order. I wait for him to eat most of his meal before putting the desert on a plate and sliding them to him across the table.

"Thanks, baby." He says with a smile. He grabs a cookie and takes a bite while reading his paper before making a sound of disgust and spitting it out.

I stand next to the kitchen door with Jim trying to hold back my tears of laughter.

"Wren!" Huxley calls and I float across the room to him.

"Something wrong, Huxley?" I ask with fake concern and he narrows his eyes at me.

"You tricked me." He accuses and I gasp in indiganation.

"I did not!" I say and he holds up a cookie.

"These have raisins in them." He says.

"Yes... They are oatmeal raisin cookies." I say.

"I thought they were chocolate chip." He says and I shrug.

"It's not my fault that you don't look at what you're eating before you put it in your mouth." I say and he growls a little.

"You know I hate raisins." He says and I shrug again.

"People change over time. I'm not going to pretend I know you anymore." I say and he sighs heavily, running his hand over his face in exasperation.

"You know me better than anyone, Wren." He says, a tint of sadness to his tone as he stands and puts on his jacket. He throws some money on the table and starts to walk away, but stops next to me.

"If you didn't want me here, you could have just said so. I'll be around. If you need anything." He says, leaning in to kiss my cheek. I feel like he's saying goodbye again and I fight the urge to reach out to him, to cling to him and beg him to stay. But I don't because as much as I want him, I don't think I could ever trust him again. I watch him walk away until he's out of eyesight, sighing heavily and cleaning up his table. I take the plates back to the kitchen where Jim is watching me.

"You wanna go after him?" Jim asks and I shake my head.

"I'm not ready." I say and Jim nods.

The next night Liv comes over so we can get ready for Russ' party together. We spent the day baking and have six cheesecakes to go to the bar with us. I put on a red number this time with a little more coverage than the black dress I wore the night I stayed with Huxley.

"Can I wear that black one?" She asks and I shake my head.

"I haven't had it cleaned yet." I say and she looks at me curiously.

"You barely spent any time at the bar on my birthday how gross could it have gotten?" She asks and I feel my face flame in a blush. She gasps, pointing at me accusingly.

"You did go upstairs with Huxley? Didn't you? I didn't believe it when I first heard it but that look on your face is all kinds of guilty." She says and I let out a chuckle.

"So what if I did?" I ask and she squeals, sitting cross legged on my bed and wrapping herself in my blanket.

"Tell me everything. Every single detail!" She says and I shake my head.

"You don't need to know those things." I say and she grunts.

"Please? The last guy I was with went at my clit for twenty minutes like it was a scratch off ticket and then smacked my pussy with his ham candle before sticking it in. Like what the fuck is that? A mic check?" She says annoyed and I let out a roarous laugh, shaking my head at her.

"Did it get better after that?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"Of course not. He started pounding me so fast I thought he was trying to win the Daytona 500. Then he had the nerve, no the AUDACITY to ask if I came. Yeah, I came to the conclusion that I am clearly better off alone." She says and I wipe tears from my eyes as I laugh at her.

"That's all men have anymore, Wren. The fucking audacity." She says wistfully as she throws another dress over her head and slips on her heels.

"Well, Huxley has plenty more to offer." I say with a coy smile and she grunts in response.

"Some girls have all the luck. I bet he's hot in bed. All demanding. But he can deliver so it's worth it." She says and I smile while nodding.

"Pretty much. But that's all you're getting." I say and she groans, throwing herself back on my bed.

"I need something for my spank bank! Bob is getting boring." She says and I look at her confused.

"Who is Bob?" I ask and she looks at me incredulously.

"More like what is Bob. Battery operated boyfriend..." She says

"Oh my God. Can we just go please?" I implore and she groans.

"Fine. I'll just get you drunk. Then you'll talk." She says with a wicked smile.

We load up the cakes in the car and drive to the bar. Huxley comes out from the back and sees me, I wave him down and he walks over to me.

"Can you help us carry in the cheesecakes?" I ask and he nods, walking out the door. He holds it open for me and I hand him two, but he's oddly quiet and I don't particularly like it. He walks back inside without so much as a glance and Liv comes up next to me.

"What's up his ass?" She asks and I shrug.

"I won't do what he wants. He's being petty." I say and she sighs.

"He looks sad."

"Yeah, well I was sad for four years." I nearly spit and her eyebrows raise.

"Damn, girl. Simmer. I'm not disagreeing with you. Just observing." She says and I sigh.

"Sorry." I mutter and she laughs a little.

"Let's go in." She says and I nod, carrying the cheesecakes in and setting them on the bar where Huxley left the others. I look around, but don't see him.

"Hey, doll! You're my favorite person you know that?" Russ says, giving me a warm hug. I chuckle and hug him back.

"Happy Birthday, Russ." I say and he kisses my cheek.

"Six! You made six!" He says excitedly and I nod.

"Hey, I helped." Liv says and Russ snatches her and twirls her around before kissing her cheek.

"You two are the best." He says warmly. I catch Huxley in my peripheral vision, a woman I'm not familiar with is chatting him up at the bar. A spark of jealousy floats through me but I bat it away.

I have no right to feel that way.

I walk up to the bar and sit to wait my turn, scrolling through my phone.

"What'll it be, Wren?" Hux asks and my eyes shoot up to him. He has a bored expression on his face and I hate, for a moment, that he didn't call me 'baby'.

"Just a beer please. Whatever's on tap." I say and he nods, handing me my drink then moving along. I stand from the bar and head over to Liv, not liking his cold demeanor. He doesn't need to act like a child just because he didn't get his way. I sit down next to Liv and she smiles at me.

"He seems sassy." She says, motioning towards Huxley. I shrug and take a sip of my beer.

"He can act whatever way he wants. Not my problem." I say firmly and she chuckles. We sit and chat for awhile, Liv incessently grilling me for details on my night with Huxley.

"Hey, gorgeous. You wanna dance?" A man I'm not familiar with asks. I appraise him and he's handsome enough, but he gives off a strange vibe that makes me uncomfortable.

"No thank you. I just sat down." I say with a smile and he huffs, lowering himself next to me.

"Awe come on? Just one dance?" He asks and I shake my head.

"I just got my beer. I don't want it to get warm." I say, my heart rate kicking up. I'm not used to guys not taking no the first time. All of the guys where we grew up know how to treat a woman, to respect her. I've never felt this unsafe in a situation like this before.

"I'll buy you another one." He says and I narrow my eyes at him.

"I said no. I'm not interested." I say sharply and his face contorts in anger.

"You don't have to be such a bitch about it. I said one dance." He says, reaching out to grab my wrist so hard that it hurts.

I cry out in pain, and the next moment I see the guy on the ground, a furious Huxley standing over him.