“Morning,” I sing as I walk into the shop and get a massive smile from Joey. I quickly rush upstairs and change into more appropriate work attire, smiling as I fold up Reese’s clothes and stick them into my dresser. I will definitely be wearing these again, and often. I slip on jeans and a blue blouse and pair them with my favorite pair of strappy black sandals. After throwing my still damp hair up into a messy bun and applying some makeup, I reemerge into the bakery and see Joey tapping a familiar white box on the counter.
“You have so much to tell me about after you open this,” he says with a grin. I think he looks forward to my deliveries from Reese as much as I do.
“Did that just get here?” My eyes rake over the box as I pull it close to me. How in the hell did he have time to send this to me already? He’s probably just now settling in at his office.
“Actually, it was waiting out front this morning. I guess he wanted you to have it as soon as you got here.” He sighs. “So fucking romantic. God damn it, Billy.”
“Oh leave poor Billy alone, not all men can be as perfect as Reese Carroll.” Jesus, did I just say that out loud? Was Reese perfect? I think silently for a moment as I stare off into space and decide that yes, he is perfect. Catching Joey’s hurry the fuck up stare, I excitedly pull the white ribbon and open the box, my eyes widening as I hover over it and glance at the contents. “Holy fuck.” I pull out several pictures of an orgasmic Reese. Literally, I know this face, the face he makes when he climaxes. “Oh my God.” I rifle through the box and see pictures of him from the waist up, someone obviously having taken them as they were riding him until he came, waiting for that exact moment to capture it.
“Jesus Christ. Is he, is that, he sent you these?” Joey squeals and grabs a few of the pictures. I allow it only because there’s none containing anything from the waist down. I can’t believe this. There’s at least a dozen in here. He sent me pictures of him fucking someone else? Or to be more specific, someone else fucking him? My heart drops as I stare at his face. He’s looking at the camera, looking into the eyes of the person taking the picture as she brings him to orgasm. His jaw is clenched, crease in his brow, piercing green eyes. I’m going to be sick. “FUCK.” I snatch the pictures out of Joey’s hand and shove them all back into the box. “I can’t believe him. Why the fuck would he send me these? WHAT THE FUCK, JOEY?” My scream causes him to stumble back and he holds up his hands.
“Christ, I don’t know. I mean, these are pictures of him having sex with someone right?”
“Yes. Did you not see his face?” My eyes fill with tears and his face softens. “Why would he send me these?” I drop to the floor. “OhGod.” My hands cover my face and I sob as Joey moves around me. I’m expecting him to drop to the floor with me but he doesn’t. And his voice tells me why.
“Yeah, Reese Carroll please,” he says and I glance up to see him holding the shop phone to his ear. Oh fuck. “I don’t give a flying fuck if he’s in a fucking meeting. Put his ass on the phone now.”
“Joey.” I stand and try to grab the phone out of his hand which I realize is useless. We’ve been down this road. His eyes widen and I see his jaw twitch.
“You stupid fucking prick. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I can’t move and my tears are still falling down my face. I should stop Joey. I can handle my own battles. But right now, I can’t form a single thought in my head.
“Don’t play dumb, Reese. Dylan got your fucking delivery, you fucking asshole.” I stare at the box that’s practically screaming at me on my counter and grab it, dropping it into the trashcan. I feel dirty all of a sudden and have a strong urge to go jump in a bath of hand sanitizer. “What delivery? You fucking know what. Why the fuck would she want to see something like that? Fuck you. Don’t fucking come near her again.” He slams the phone down, his breathing erratic as he turns to me and pulls me into his arms. I cry against him into his chest, letting go and convulsing in violent shakes. My phone begins to ring in my pocket but I ignore it. I know exactly who it is. “Jesus, I’m so sorry.” The shop door swings open and we both turn to see Mrs. Frey walk in. I quickly push away from Joey and wipe away my tears.
“Mrs. Frey. Hi, how are you?” I ask as her eyes search my face.
“Dylan? Oh sweetie are you all right? Is this a bad time?” She moves towards the counter and I frantically shake my head.
“No, no not all. Umm, boy drama.” She nods in appreciation and smiles at me as I force a friendly expression. “Let me grab your cake.” I walk in the back and pull her cake out of the fridge, placing it on the worktop to give it a final once over. My phone rings again in my pocket and I once again ignore it. Fuck him. I open the cake top and glance at my creation. The chocolate peppermint frosting messes with me and the tears come again. “Pull your shit together. You’re at work.” I say to myself quietly. I can’t let this affect my job. I was warned about Reese, multiple times actually. I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s my own fucking fault for reacting this way. I quickly close the cake box, plastering on a smile as I walk back up front.
“Here you go. One double chocolate peppermint cake. Happy Anniversary.”
Mrs. Frey beams at me. “Oh, Dylan, it looks lovely. You even scrolled our names on it. Bless you, dear.” She leans in and gives me a quick hug before she waves at Joey and turns to leave.
As soon as the shop door closes, my fake expression drops and I crumble. “Joey, I need a minute.” I quickly run into the back, up the stairs, and hurl myself into my bed.
I’m immediately reminded of waking up with Reese as I wrap myself around my comforter that doesn’t smell like him. However, I do. I fucking smell like him. I used to love this comforter but right now, I hate it. I used to love everything about this bed but not anymore. Not after last night. Last night was obviously some sort of a fucking joke to him since he decided to remind me ever so sweetly this morning of all his other hookups. What were his words? Close to twenty probably? What a whore. My phone beeps a text message alert in my pocket and I pull it out and chuck it across the room, sending it crashing against my wall. I close my eyes and think back to last night when I hear commotion coming from below me. Familiar commotion. Shit.
“Reese! Do not fucking go up there!” Joey’s voice screeches and I panic, flinging myself out of my bed and running towards my bathroom as I see his head quickly emerging up my stairs.
“Dylan!” he yells panicky but I make it to the bathroom and slam the door, locking it quickly. The door shakes as he pounds on it. “Dylan, what the fuck is going on?”
I back away from the door and sit on the edge of the tub. “Go away, Reese.” The tears sting my cheeks as they stream down at a faster pace. My eyes are locked on the door as it shakes furiously. “Go the fuck away!” I hunch over and cover my ears the best I can. Where the fuck is Joey?
“Dylan, what happened?” The banging stops. “Please talk to me. I don’t know what delivery you got but I didn’t send you anything today. I fucking swear to God I didn’t.” He didn’t send me anything? But it was in the same box. The white box.
I stand. “You didn’t send me anything?” My broken voice stings my throat.
“No, love, please open the door. I need to see you.” I hear the sound of a light thud and picture Reese dropping his head against the door. My mind scrambles. If he didn’t send me anything, then who did? “Dylan?” I quickly wipe under my eyes and turn the lock, opening the door and looking up at him. He immediately grabs me and pulls me into him and I don’t protest. I let him hold me until I remember the pictures which only take me a few seconds.
“Let go of me!” I yell and push past him, feeling his hands on my waist and spinning me around.
“Love.”
“No. You may not have sent me those pictures but someone sure as hell did. I can’t fucking believe this.” The images are burned into my mind and I’m fuming.
“What pictures? What are you talking about?” I go to walk downstairs, hearing Joey’s voice and someone else’s but Reese holds on to me.
“Let go of me and I’ll fucking show you.”
He does but not before I hear him mutter something under his breath that sounds an awful lot like drives me crazy.
I march into the bakery and see Ian pinning a very red-faced Joey against the wall. “Jesus Christ. Let him go, Ian.” He does and Joey shoves him hard before turning towards me.
“Are you all right?” He asks, flicking a glare towards Reese who has followed close behind me.
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” I reach into the trash and pull out the box, thrusting it into Reese’s chest. “So glad I got to see these. Really made my fucking day.” I walk over to Joey and make sure he’s okay.
Ian walks up to us both. “Sorry, man. I just needed to give my boy a chance to talk to his girl and knew you wouldn’t let him.”
Joey smooths out his shirt. “You’re lucky you’re marrying one of my best friends, otherwise I would have hurled you through that window. Asshole.”
“Fuck,” Reese says and we all turn to him and see him fishing through the box. “That fucking bitch. Dylan, I’m so sorry you saw these.” He moves closer to me and I step back, putting my hand up to stop him.
“Who sent them?” I ask sternly. His eyes flick to Ian and I move in closer. “Reese, who the fuck sent these to me?”
He swallows loudly. “The girl I was last…”
“Fucking?” Joey fills in.
Reese nods.
“Classy,” Joey adds.
Ian’s eyes widen. “Shit, man. I knew she was pissed that you fired her but I guess she was way past pissed. And clearly unstable. Fuck.” Fired her? Oh please don’t tell me.
I shake my head and feel all three pairs of eyes on me. I rub my temples. “Let me guess, bitchy redheaded receptionist?” Reese and Ian’s eyes both react the same way. I run my hands down my face. “Wow, nice, Reese. Have you fucked every girl in your office or do you just have a thing for the ones that give your current hookup access to you?” He doesn’t answer that and it’s probably for the best. I can feel my blood pressure boiling and I want to hit something. I need to hit something. “One of you better fucking volunteer or I’m slapping all three of you.”
Joey immediately backs up. “Fuck that. What the fuck did I do?”
Ian looks at Reese who quickly steps forward, holding his hands out to me. I step in and slap him hard, harder than I’ve slapped him before and yelp as my hand begins to sting. “Shit.” I shake my hand and feel Reese grab it, looking at it as his reddened cheek glares at me. That looks like it hurts. Good.
“Jesus,” Ian says and Joey muffles a laugh. The redhead pops into my mind and so does the image of her sitting on the park bench last weekend. “Oh my God. I knew that bitch was psychotic.” I yank my hand out of Reese’s as he begins to rub it.
“What are you talking about?” he asks.
“Juls and I saw that whore staring at you guys while you played basketball on Sunday. It was really fucking weird.” My eyes flick from Ian to Reese and I see a small smile pull at Reese’s lips. “What the hell are you smiling at? You do realize that I have another hand to slap the shit out of you with right?”
“You were watching our game?”
Oh damn it. “No.” I snarl and his smile widens. I hear a muffled laugh from Ian. “Maybe. That’s not the point. She was staring at you guys and it was really fucking creepy.” I grit my teeth. “That stupid bitch. She better pray that I never see her face again otherwise I’m going to break it.” I know my face is blood red and see all three men smiling at me in amusement. “Shut up,” I spat and turn at the sound of the shop door opening. I freeze as Justin steps into the bakery and possibly also into the room he will die in.
“Fuck,” Joey and I say in unison as Reese moves quickly, grabbing me with one arm and pulling me behind him.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he blasts as my eyes stay glued on Justin. He looks fucked up, seriously fucked up. Eyes are swollen, his nose is jacked up, and he has a massive cut in the corner of his mouth. I briefly feel sorry for him until I remember his hands on me last week. His mouth is hanging open and his eyes widen at the sight of Reese. Clearly, he wasn’t expecting him to be here.
“I told you to stay the fuck away from her,” Reese shouts, loud enough that I think the glass window rattles.
Ian moves to stand between the two men. “Justin, this isn’t the best time, man,” he says as he keeps his hand on Reese’s heaving chest.
This is not what I need right now and I’m angry enough to deal with this asshole myself. I move quickly out from behind Reese and step in front of Justin, feeling Ian’s body tense. “I suggest you leave now before I cut your dick off and feed it to you.” His eyes widen as he backs up slightly. I step closer and close the gap. “I’d say I’d make you choke on it but let’s be serious, that thing never once satisfied me.” My eyes flick quickly to his crotch before I smirk back in his face.
“HA!” Joey laughs behind me and I want to turn around and high-five him but I don’t. I just watch my ex shrink a few inches in front of me.
“Jesus Christ. I just wanted to apologize for what I did, Dylan. I’m sorry, okay?” His eyes flick to Reese. “Really fucking sorry.”
My body relaxes a bit and I nod once before flicking my eyes to the door. “Good, now get the fuck out.”
“Whatever.” He turns sharply and leaves the shop and I force all the air out of my lungs. Fuck, I feel like I need a drink.
“Shit, Dylan. Remind me never to cross you. You’re a bit terrifying.” Ian laughs behind me as I spin to see two very amused expressions and one that isn’t so amused.
Reese looks a right mix of angry and apprehensive. “I need to get back to work but we need to talk about this.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Talk about what? That one of your twenty hookups sent me pictures of her making you come? Nah, I’m good.” I push past him and feel his hand on my arm, spinning me back around.
“We will fucking talk about this,” he growls and puts the box under his arm before he pulls me in and kisses me forcefully on the lips. I hear a soft moan in my throat and try to swallow it down. Damn it stupid body. Stay angry with me. He pulls away and turns towards the door. “Let’s go, Ian.”
Joey and I stand in the middle of the shop and watch as the two hot CPAs walk out the door and pile into the white Range Rover parked out front.
**
The rest of the day goes by without a hitch. No more obscene deliveries and no more mangled ex-boyfriends coming in with overdue apologies. This day started out so great and turned awful within a matter of minutes. I’m miserable and bitchy and Joey is paying for it because he’s the only person I can yell at right now. I’d never call Reese at work and cuss him out, no matter how pissed off I was at him. I’m much more of a show up and barge into his office type of girl. But I won’t do that today either because I really don’t want to see him. The man is hard to stay mad at in person and right now, I need to stay mad. Juls is wrapping up with a bride all day, dealing with last minute wedding preparations so she’s off limits too. So my poor assistant has been dealing with my mood swings, and they have been a doozy.
Mainly because the memory of the amazing night and morning I had with Reese keeps filtering into the memory of the photos I received. And I get it; it’s not his fault that the photos were sent to me. He obviously didn’t send them. But he allowed them to be taken and had to have known that they could possibly be leaked or shown to somebody. I’ve never let anyone take pictures of me like that or taken ones of myself and sent them to anybody. So why did he let her do it? Did she mean something to him? Was she special in some way or did he allow all of his hookups to take pictures of him like that? That thought makes me want to drink myself into tomorrow. And then there’s the quantity that I received. There had to be at least twelve different shots of him having an orgasm. Twelve separate times that they fucked and she made him come. Was there more than that? Did she only send me the best images? His words from our shower together run through me. I don’t usually fuck my flings repeatedly. So she obviously wasn’t a fling. She was more than that to him. Just like me. Maybe she got too clingy and that’s why he ended things with her. She was the girl he wasn’t really serious with before the wedding. And he’s not really serious with me. How am I any different than her?
“Cupcake, you all right?” Joey asks as I put the finishing touches on the cake for the Brown/Tucker wedding. Even though my mind has been elsewhere, I’m still able to put together a beautiful four-tiered white chocolate creation with sugared Gerber daisies cascading down the side. “Dylan?”
I step back and admire my work. “I’m fine. Come look at this will you?” Joey shuffles back into the kitchen and I hear his reaction, causing me to smile. I turn and see his adoring expression. “Looks pretty good right?”
He moves next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder, pulling me against him. “Gorgeous. You never cease to amaze me, cupcake.” He plants a quick kiss into my hair as my phone beeps. Somehow, even though I had hurled it with all my strength against my wall earlier, it managed to survive the assault. I reach quickly into my pocket after wiping my hands off on my apron.
Reese: I need to see you tonight.
I show it to Joey. “Well you knew that was coming, the boy is persistent.” He leans in and checks out the flowers. “What are you going to do?”
I stare at his message before I answer. “I don’t know, I think I need a night with my two best friends and no boys. Can that happen?” He smiles and pulls his phone out, quickly messing with it. I’ll deal with Reese tomorrow when we both attend Billy and Joey’s party.
His phone beeps and he turns towards me. “Juls is in, cupcake. No boys.” I nod and smile weakly as I reply to Reese.
Me: I can’t tonight. I need some time to think.
Joey walks back up front while I await his response. It doesn’t take long.
Reese: Don’t pull away from me.
He guts me with his words, the same words from last night. Is he that worried that I’ll end this? Or he is just worried that I won’t give him the opportunity to explain the situation. I type quickly.
Me: I’m not. I just think I need some space. You have no idea what this feels like for me.
I go to press send but don’t, my thumb hovering over the button. Shit. Do I really want space from him? Hitting the back button, I shorten the message before I send it.
Me: I’m not.
**
Joey drove us to Juls’ house that night after we closed up shop and made a quick liquor store run. There was no way in hell I wasn’t drinking tonight. I was actually surprised I didn’t dive into the vodka bottle that’s been in my freezer for months at some point today. But I’d never drink at work, no matter how hurt or pissed off I was. Reese hadn’t sent me any more messages or tried to call, which I was grateful for. But it also surprised me. He was so damned persistent about everything that I half expected him to barge into the shop before closing, throw me over his shoulder, and take me home with him so that we could fuck, talk, and fuck some more. And I hated that a chunk of me wished he would have. But tonight wasn’t about boys. It was about spending time with my two best friends, laughing and hanging out like we did before the three of us fell fast and hard for members of the Chicago man candy club.
Joey parked outside Juls’ building and we walked inside together. She lived in Hyde Park, which was about fifteen minutes from the bakery in a two bedroom apartment. She’s lived here since graduation and it occurred to me as we walked up the flight of stairs to the second floor that she would only be living here for a few more months. She would surely move in with Ian after the wedding and the thought of her not living in this place that held so many of our memories saddened me. I sigh and catch Joey’s attention as we step out onto the floor.
“Come on, cupcake, we’re here to have fun, not sulk.” I follow him to Juls’ door and he opens it without knocking in true Joey form. Once he’s been to your house, he feels like he lives there along with you.
“I’m not sulking. I’ll just miss this place once Juls moves in with Ian.” We spot her in the kitchen opening a bottle of wine and she beams at us. “Do you remember that time we threw that eighties party here and you dressed up like Vanilla Ice?” He blushes at my memory as we plop down in front of the television on the floor.
Juls walks over with three wine glasses and hands them out. “That was fucking hilarious. You knew the entire rap from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” she says. I giggle into my glass and take a few large sips.
“Christ, I will never live that shit down. Thank God no one took any video of that mess.”
“That party was insane,” Juls says behind her glass. “Dyl, remember how pissed off you got at Justin because he was the only person here not dressed up?”
I nod and picture the memory, rolling my eyes at it and taking a sip. “What an asshole. He spent the entire party bitching about the music selections. It was a fucking eighties party. What did he expect?”
Joey laughs around his glass. “I think he expected you to just leave with him and not have an amazing time. But you have never been that girl, cupcake, and he should have known that. What a waste he was.” Juls and I mumble in agreement.
“A waste that ended up getting exactly what he deserved. Prick,” she adds, tossing us each a pillow so we can sprawl out on the floor. “Are we going to talk about the pictures, sweets?”
“No,” I quickly reply.
Joey rolls onto his side. “You can’t be mad about girls he’s fucked before you. That’s not fair. He didn’t even know you when those pictures were taken.”
“That’s not why I’m mad.” I sit up, glaring at both of them. “Well, okay, yes it bothers me that he’s been with other women. And I know it shouldn’t because I wasn’t a virgin when we started this thing between us, but I’ve only been with Justin.” I put my glass down. “Reese gave me a ballpark figure of close to twenty girls and that’s a fucking lot. Which is fine, whatever. I can deal with that as long as it’s not thrown in my face. But it was.” I close my eyes and picture one of the images from the box. Grabbing my glass off the small table, I down it quickly before I continue. “I’m not even mad at him about this. Not even in the slightest, which is what’s making this so fucking confusing. The only thing he did wrong was allow for the pictures to be taken of him and not confiscate them after he ended it with her. He didn’t send them to me. He doesn’t talk about other girls that he’s been with. He tells me that I’m amazing and that I’m all he thinks about.” I sigh heavily and throw myself back down onto my pillow. “But now I have to deal with psychotic ex-hookups and I’m not sure I’d do well in prison. I’m too hostile.” This is true. I’d probably end up permanently in solitary confinement after getting into too many fights or disobeying orders.
I glance over and see the bursting smiles on my two best friends’ faces, desperately trying to hold in their hysteria. I motion for them to let it out and the three of us fall into a fit of giggles.
“Alright, so I have a question,” Joey says and I shake my head, preparing for the worst here. “How the hell did you wind up spending the night with him last night? I thought you were against sex in beds and sleepovers and anything too intimate.”
“You slept over at his house?” Juls asks.
“It was an accident. He wanted to fuck me in his bed for his birthday so I let him and then we passed out together. I’m not letting it happen again.” I glance over and see Joey’s mischievous grin and Juls’ teary eyes. “What?”
“You were his birthday present? Oh my,” she says and blinks rapidly. Good Lord, she’s emotional lately.
I glare at Joey. “And what’s up with you?”
Crossing his hands behind his head, he continues after a dramatic pause. “I just think it’s cute that you think it was an accident. I mean, he could have woken you up and driven you home but he called me instead and told me that you would be late today. It was no accident, cupcake. He wanted you there.”
My eyes widen and I sit up. “He called you this morning, right?”
He shakes his head and grins wide at me. “Nope. He called me last night after you passed out.”
I shuffle over and sit on top of him, hearing him squeal underneath me. “What the hell do you mean he called you last night? Are you serious?” His grin answers for him and I glance over at Juls who is laughing hysterically. “I can’t believe this. He lied to me.”
“Oh relax, sweets. I think it’s romantic that he wanted you to spend the night with him. How was it anyway?”
The memory of last night runs through me quickly and I feel my lip curl up into a smile. I shrug my shoulders and play it off. “It was okay.” Wow. I don’t even sound convincing to myself. I roll off Joey and lay back down on my pillow. “I sure hope he enjoyed himself because that shit is never happening again.”
“Hmm mmm,” My two best friends say in unison. I bite my lip to contain my laugh but crack, letting it out as they fall apart next to me. This is how the rest of the evening plays out. Laughing and joking on the living floor in Juls’ apartment as we polish off two bottles of wine. There’s Juls and Ian’s wedding talk, Joey and Billy’s moving in together talk, and mine and Reese’s crazy fight, hard fuck, harder non relationship talk. It’s a much needed gab fest among three friends who used to only rely on each other. After several hours of gossiping and alcohol consumption, I pass out in the middle of her living room and slip into my Reese coma.
