Friday Pt II

The afternoon went as planned. I mean it was great, sporty and everything. Even though I wasn't a sports person and I didn't know what the heck I was doing almost all the time, I must say I did a pretty good job today, and now I could proudly write out golf as one of the sports I'm terribly awful at.

I kept missing the holes, my recorded number of strokes being the higher than the rest of the group but at least stuck around until the 6th hole though, Jess gave up at the 2nd, ultimately making me the second last loser, and it wasn't so bad

Bottom line is we all had fun, that was the whole point of this whole thing, so I can't complain about anything even though the guys made fun of me almost all the time

Things between Nathan and I after what happened in his room weren't actually great to say the least because after the whole encounter, things got even more awkward between us, and now I was very confused on where I actually stand with him; whether I should be pissed that he actually pulled that stunt back there or should I continue feeling bad about what I did to him that other day by running after he told me how he felt about me

.......... but I guess that's a bridge we'll cross once we get to it

Any who, fast-forward to the night in question, where we planned on hitting the strip club. We arrived at the club and beyond the dark red lights setting interior, it was really packed. A lot of men, half naked women dancing on the poles, money being thrown at each turn, alcohol, you name it.

Now, the real party was about to begin as I had requested a private booth for the five of us because well it was a special occasion and all of that. When the dancers started doing their thaang, dancing on the poles and everything I was just sitting there, thinking how can a human being be so flexible? They were moving like they didn't have any joints at all connected in their bodies and all that in high heels?

Damn, I wouldn't be able to pull this at all. Jess and I were actually amazed at how the dancers had clear, radiant skin. I reached out to put a few notes on the waistline of the girl that was dancing for me and Jess while she was clapping her gifted behind as part of the performance and my fingertips simultaneously grazed her smooth skin. Jess and I were just dying to question her about her skin care routine.

It was weird, I know, but we couldn't help it. They were so beautiful, I would kill to have clear skin like they did.

Kevin and Tristan were having plenty of fun, not caring about no skin care routines with all that ass in their faces. Kevin was throwing money everywhere, suddenly turning into a little boy that just got locked inside a candy store or something. He was a happy man, like I'm sure that this moment right here ever since I've known him was genuinely the happiest moment of his life.

Tristan on the other hand was acting like he didn't want this and that he didn't want to be here, but you can see that he was definitely enjoying the performance because he was caught up, acting like he didn't like it but then deep down he knew this is the moment he's been waiting for his whole life

Nathan was just sitting there with one of his hands on his chin while given a lap dance, not that I was staring or anything. I just noticed because you know, he was sitting just two seats away from me. He looked like he was appreciating the performance he was getting but then at the same time he wasn't into it like the other guys were, he didn't look like he was enjoying himself.

Not that I'm the greatest judge of character anything, so I wouldn't really know

There came a time when Jess and I both ran out of drinks and there was no waiter nearby to take our order. I wasn't too tipsy or drunk either to stand up and walk, so I volunteered to go to the bar to get them myself.

After placing an order, I felt a presence from behind before I noticed a guy sit right next to me. Then we started talking, and he introduced himself as Jeremy and things were going well until,

“How about you and I get together sometime, and you know, hang out?”, he wiggled his eyebrows at his last words and my eyebrow quirked up for a second, pausing to think

“I have a boyfriend”, I lied smiling politely at him because I simply wasn't interested and that was one lie I could use to my advantage. I had to make him back off without seeming rude.

“What's that have to do with me?”, he leaned while tilting his head to the side and I blinked, stunned at his reaction

“I mean even if you have a man, you can still have guy friends though right?”, his hand started traveling up my thigh and I quickly stopped him by brushing his hand off

“I'll pass thanks”

“Surely you're allowed to have a bit of fun some time, don't you?”, he smirked, and I opened my mouth to decline his offer again but a voice interrupted

“Is this guy bothering you?”, Nathan was standing behind me, and he had his eyes glued on Jeremy the whole time

“No, we're just talking”, Jeremy answered and Nathan's eyes dropped to my lap where I noticed Jeremy's hand was rested on my upper thigh again, and I quickly dropped his hand by his side

“I don't believe I was talking to you”, Nathan retorted sharply at him before his eyes caught mine again, his pupils darkening each second

“Nathan, it's okay really”, I said in attempts to make him realize that this wasn't that much of a bigger deal

“You heard the lady; it's okay, really”, Jeremy mimicked me with a smirk on his face and I could tell by Nathan's face expression changing that he was getting pissed by the second

“Olivia, go back to the booth. I'll get your drinks for you”, he demanded, and I blinked in surprise before opening my mouth to protest.

“But-”

“I'm not going to ask you again or repeat myself Olivia”, he said sternly and my head jerked backwards from the tone he just used with me. I mean yeah, I was turned on a bit by his aggressiveness, but he could be a little nice to me and call me Liv or Bella. I get really intimidated when someone calls me by my first name using a certain tone.

“No”, I folded my arms, and he did that intimidating head tilt with his eyes threatening against mine

“What did you say?”, he leaned his face closer to mine, daring me to say something near his ear

“I'm not your girlfriend Nathan, you can't boss me around like you own me”

“I'm not trying to argue with you here, but it would be great if you moved along and walked back to the booth on your own, before I make you”, he said sternly, and I just stared blankly at him. Jeremy rolled his eyes before talking.

“Dude, you're kinda getting in the way of something here-”,

“Listen here buddy, the only thing that'll be getting in the way of anything here will be my foot that will be right up your ass if you don't stop talking”, Nathan hissed at him, his voice raising a little and as if I wasn't surprised at all at his behavior today, now this?

“Excuse me?”, Jeremy stood to his feet in his defense, and they stood right against each other, staring intimidately as they were almost the same height. I tried separating them but failing because they both were very strong.

“Guys, please you're making a scene here”, I was literally sandwiched between them, begging them to stop. They both took a step away from each other, still in a staring contest.

“Let's go”, Nathan grabbed me by the hand, pulling me with him from the scene and Jeremy knocked his drink off the counter and the glass scattered on the floor before he turned to walk away in the opposite direction

I can't believe that just happened

“What the fuck was that?”, I stopped walking, yanking him by the hand so that he turned around and faced me

“A lot of guys are going to try and take advantage of you if you're going to openly flirt with them like that”, he said, and I grasped shockingly at his words

“What are you talking about?”, I was really offended and I'm sure he could tell by me placing my hand on my chest, backing away a little. “We were just talking”

“It didn't look like you were just talking to me”, the air quouted, and I folded my arms, giving him the what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you look, and he sighed while running his hand through his hair

“Look, I'm just trying to protect you”

“Well I didn't ask you to, I'm more than capable of taking care of myself because I can handle guys like him when given the chance”, I retorted, raising my voice a little to show him that what he did made me mad only to watch the look of being genuinely surprised spread on his face

“I'm sorry that wanting to look out for you is such an inconvenience on your end”, he backtalked, and I drew a breath, staring directly at the space between his eyes to make my following statement clear

“I'd really appreciate it if you didn't baby me right now because there's nothing tying me and you together anymore. Let's just keep things civil and stay out of each other's businesses”

His face went blank in confusion blending with shock quickly registering on his face as he started backing away from me

“If that's what you want then, I guess it's cool”, he gave a thumbs up before he turned to walk back to the booth and I watched until he finally disappeared from sight

.....and I honestly just felt like crying

I felt so hurt and empty right now, no words can actually describe the pain I was feeling inside. Hearing her say all those things to messed me up a little but I have to do what I always do, take it like a man and just accept things the way they are because at this point, I'm not even sure what would happen between Liv and I prior to the wedding. Tonight I had all the reasons to drink myself drunk to the verge of not remembering my name, but I couldn't because despite everything that's been happening, Olivia was on my mind constantly. I couldn't just block her out even if I wanted to, she was a living image even when my eyes were closed.

This whole thing had me thinking that, maybe I should have just kept my feelings to myself, then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. After our altercation at the club she was the first to leave, claiming she had a headache, and it's better that she slept it off.

When the rest off us decided it was time to head back to the resort, I took a detour to the bar for a quick whiskey on the rocks hoping it would fade the pain a little, only to find Olivia sitting at the counter, gulping shot after shot. She was obviously getting drunk and the more I got closer to her, I realized she was crying.

It was the first time I've seen her in this state, and it just didn't sit well with me. This was the other side of her she refused to show out to the world.

“Liv?”, I tapped her on her shoulder and she turned to look at me, make-up running down her face and her cheeks glowing in her tears

“Nathan, what are you doing here?”, she hicupped before wiping her face with the back of her hand

“To get a drink, obviously”

“Oh yeah”, she said quietly as she gulped down another shot. “That was a really dumb question”

“How long have you been here?”, I noticed all the empty glasses near her, she was obviously drinking up a storm

“Quite a while actually”, she was about to take another shot, but I stopped her, placing the glass down

“I think you've had enough”, I said and surprisingly, she didn't fight me or protest. She just slowly nodded her head while reaching for her purse to settle her bill.

“No, I'll take care of it”, I paid the bill on her behalf and she sat there, staring at me

“Thank you”, she sobbed, and I honestly wondered why she was triggered by all this. It was just a polite gesture.

“Let's get you to your room, okay?”, I asked, wrapping my arms around her legs with one hand to support her back to carry her to her room because I could see she wouldn't be able to make it on her own. She nodded her head while wrapping her arm around my neck and I picked her up, only for her to bury her face on the side of my neck, breathing softly for a second I was convinced she passed out.

When we got to her room, I gently laid her on the bed, and she pulled me by the hand, stopping me from leaving. I could see her lips moving, but no sound was coming out of her mouth.

“What?”, I leaned closer to her when I couldn't hear what she was saying

“I said I need to change, I can't sleep in this dress”, she slured while hiccuping a little,

“So you want me to help you change?”

“Yeah”, she hiccuped again, while looking up at me with a pouty face. That look was surely my weakness because I couldn't resist it.

“Fine”, I sighed while opening her closet to find her something to sleep in. She found oversized T-shirts and boxers more comfortable than pajamas or night clothes. There was a T-shirt set aside from the other pile of her clothes and I pulled it out, realizing it looked familiar.

“Is this my mine?”, I unfolded it holding it against her face and she frowned a little when she realized she didn't actually get away with stealing it

“Oh you noticed?”, she took it from me to put it on. “I didn't think you would”

“How could I not? It's one of my favorite shirts”

“You have other favorites too, so I guess you're safe”, she pulled her dress down her legs, dropping it to the floor and adjusted the shirt on her body. I have to admit though, it really looked good on her.

“You should have at least told me you had it, rather than to take it without my knowledge”, I pointed out, only to see her lips starting quiver, and she broke into tears shortly after, making me feel awful

“I'm such a horrible person”, she sobbed while covering her face with her hands. I didn't want her to cry or feel bad about taking the shirt because I didn't take it too personal.

“Why are you crying?”, I sat beside her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder to comfort her. “I'm not going to hold the shirt thing against you if that's what you're worried about”

“This is not because of the shirt, it's because you're always so good to me and I always treat you like shit. I hate myself for what I'm doing to you”

“I think you should get some sleep”, I suggested, holding the covers so that she could get in

“No”, she sniffed. “It's better to let it out there and it has been known that I'm truly, unmistakably a shitty person”

“Liv-”, I didn't want her to do this to herself, the self blame game was not going to help anyone at this point

“You've been nothing but good to me but what do I do?”

You push me away...

“Exactly, I push you away each time I get”, she finished, and I paused for a second

Can she read minds or did I just say that aloud?

“I realised that, I don't deserve you, Nathan”, her voice started breaking as she talked, and I rubbed her back to calm her down. She took a few steady breaths before kneeling on the bed to face me and cupped my face in her hands, her eyes glowing with tears.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you're too good for me”

My eyebrows knitted in confusion. “Is that even a reason to curve someone?”

“You make me feel things I've never felt before because you honestly bring out the worst and best with me”, she half-chuckled, half-sobbed while saying the last part, and I was honestly fluttered

“Sometimes it's better to learn how to love things that are good for you”

“I know”, she heaved a sigh. “The thing is, I love the person that I am when I'm with you because, it's always the little things that matters when it comes to you. You make it so hard not to like you”

“Why is that a bad thing?”, I questioned, and she sighed while standing on her feet, nearly losing her balance, but I quickly grabbed hold of her, bringing her close and locked her in between my legs. She looked down on me, running her hands up my arms to caressing the sides of my face.

“You don't know what it's like to be able to see you, touch you and smell you; it really means a lot to me and I just don't know what to do with myself because I think I'm getting addicted to you”

“Is that why you stole my T-shirt? To be covered with my scent when I'm not around?”, I said jokingly and she laughed.

“Yeah that's kinda the reason”, she shrugged. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all. It actually looks really good on you”

“I thought so too”, she smiled a little before it faded away slowly on her face, and we locked eyes for the longest time, and she laughed a little, breaking our contact to wipe her tears off

“Is it weird that I feel like nothing else in the world that can hurt me when I'm with you?”

“Why do you say that?”, I was intrigued to know as much as I could find out about how she really felt about me

“I just feel like I'm in one of the safest places ever, and I can't fear anything, all that is because of I'm with you”

She had no idea how happy that made me feel, for once she was actually open about her emotions and I felt appreciated

“That's a good thing, right?”

Her lips turned up in a smile. “Yeah, it is a good thing”

“Can I tell you something?”, I asked, pulling her down to sit on my lap, and she nodded her head

“I'm getting addicted to you too”, I trailed my finger on her jawline and she smiled, resting her forehead against mine before wrapping her arms around me and hugged me

“I'm really sorry about how I reacted when you told me how you felt about me and about what I said at the club earlier, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings”, she said quietly during our hug

“It's okay”, I ran my hands up and down her body, massaging her back gently, and she soon fell asleep. After tugging her under the covers, I placed a kiss on her forehead and she stirred a little in her sleep before breathing softly again.

“Sweet dreams, Bella”