Black & White (Picture Perfect #1) (14 page)

"I have a feeling it'll take me a long time to figure you out," William replied, with a shake of his head.

~~~~~~~~~~

We made it to downtown Portland in record time. Traffic was light for a Tuesday evening and William found a place to park which was only a few blocks away from the museum.

"So, Anne has Angel tonight?" I asked, trying to find something to keep our conversation going as we moved through the unusually quiet streets. Something that had been hard to do up to this point for some reason.

"Nope, she's grounded from spending time with my daughter till Sunday," William replied. His voice seemed to harden at the mention of Anne's name.

"Grounded? Do I even want to know?" I asked curiously.

"Her stunt at the park." His answer was short and to the point.

"Jude got a tongue lashing from me, too," I replied, silently hoping he wouldn't take my comment the wrong way.

William stopped short and leaned against one of the buildings lining the street. "Beth, can I ask you an honest question?"

I didn't even think twice before answering, "Sure, ask away."

"Are you here with me out of pity, or are you okay being with a fucked-up guy like me?" he asked quietly.

To say I was stunned would've been an understatement. I moved towards him and laid my hands against his folded arms. The current which seemed to connect us sizzled in the cool air. He needed the truth. "I'm not here out of pity, nor are you a fucked-up anything. You’re hurting, lost and in need of a friend. Despite how angry I was at Jude and Anne’s interference, I think they might have been right about one thing. It seems I'm the perfect person."

He closed his eyes and laid his head back against the wall. "I am fucked-up, Beth. I can't seem to stay on a straight path anymore. One day I can see some daylight at the end of the tunnel, and then the next day, the world seems so dark and gray again."

"William, it's completely understandable. When my parents divorced, I was all over the place for months, hell, years actually. For a child, being unable to understand what was happening or why everything had to change, God, I thought I was going crazy. I wish I’d had someone to help me through those times. Maybe I wouldn't be the fucked-up woman I am now." Honesty in this case, seemed as though it would be the best policy.

"But I'm not a child, Beth. I'm a grown man who should be able to handle this better," William said, looking down at me and I could see the torment in his eyes. "I'm so screwed up."

"You're not screwed up. You're suffering through one of the most terrible things which could happen to anyone. You lost your wife so suddenly, and you were left with a tiny baby who needs you to be strong all time for her. My God, I’m sure if I was in a similar situation, I would be a blubbering mess of goo. I'm so impressed by your strength," I argued. "You’re a strong man, you have a lot going on, but you're working through it, you work hard every day to provide for your baby girl."

"I don't know how to do this. How do I make sure Angel doesn't turn into me?" William asked, tears falling freely down his face.

I reached up, laying a hand on his cheek and wiped the tears away with my thumb. "Let me help, I'll try to help you figure out what I wish someone had taught me."

William covered my hand with his. "Why, Beth? Why would you commit yourself to doing this for a complete stranger?"

I thought about the answer for a moment. Why was I doing this? Was I truly interested in William, the idea of saving him, or was I doing this out of a need to help someone I saw as a friend? I decided again to be honest.

"I don't know, William. I've seen you light up when you look at that beautiful little girl of yours, and I know you deserve to be happy. I want the sparkle in your eyes to shine for the whole world. I want to see it sparkle every single day."

William let his arms drop to his sides. "I don't know if it's possible. It won't be fair to you, not if I can't be helped."

"Let me decide what I consider
fair
. For now, let's just take it one day at a time. Let me be a friend and help bring you back to life," I suggested.

Before I even had time to consider what I was doing, I pressed my body against his, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist. It felt so right, as if I molded against him perfectly. Once more I berated myself as a fraud. I wanted to help a friend, but my physical attraction for William was hoping for more. The question of whether this was a good idea spun around inside my head once again.

William wrapped his arms around me, holding on as if I was a beacon of light in a storm. "Maybe I can bring you back to life in return," he whispered against the top of my head.

I wasn't certain why he thought I needed help. I was fine. I was happy the way I was, as long as I could stop my own hurricane of emotions where he was involved. I guess I’d missed something during this conversation, but if it was something he felt he wanted to do, I wasn't going to stop him from trying. Maybe it would help him with his own healing.

Chapter Ten

Wyatt

"Wyatt!" Beth's voice was loud and over the top.
Damn, the girl had a huge set of lungs.

"I'll let you have the bathroom in a minute. Damn, Jude is right, we need a second bathroom." I hung my head, hating the idea I was agreeing with Jude over something as trivial as a bathroom.

"Fuck the bathroom thing, Wyatt," I heard Beth's body thudding against the door, followed by the sound of Beth slumping down to the floor.
Damn, this wasn't good.

I purposely opened the door, watching Beth's body fly backwards onto the bathroom tile. The expression on her face was one of sheer desperation.

I sighed heavily. "What's wrong?"

Beth looked up at me. "
Your
girlfriend."

"You mean,
your
best friend
." I grinned. Jude was being a pain in Beth's ass since this group outing  between William's family and our had been arranged.

"Tell her to leave me alone." Beth covered her face with her hands.

I knew Judith's plan was to transform Beth into her own personal Barbie doll. Unfortunately, it was even worse than that, because Jude wanted Beth to look good specifically for William. This wasn't going to be an easy situation for any of us, if I didn't put a stop to it now.

"Beth? Where did you go?" Jude's voice echoed from down the hall.

Beth's hands ran down her face, exposing the annoyance. She went into a full temper tantrum as she pounding her feet and hands against the floor.

"Jude, what have you done now?"

"My god, Beth, get off the floor or you'll ruin your hair," Jude appeared and presented her Peter Pan stance.

"Fuck off, Peter, I'm not going!" Beth's voice had gone up an octave.

"Jude?" I questioned. I tried to get the message across to my girlfriend with my eyes. ‘
Back off, you just got back on good terms with her.’

"But she needs to widen her palate. Doing the tomboy thing really doesn't work anymore," Jude whined, lowering her hands from her hips. "A dress and heels wouldn't hurt."

I looked from Beth to Jude and back again. Jude was pushing and interfering as she always did, but she needed to back off under the current circumstances.

"That's it, Jude!" Beth was angry and it was obvious in her voice. She pushed herself up off the floor and began twisting her good luck cuff steadily around her wrist. "I'm not going!"

Jude stared in shock as Beth stood toe to toe and face to breast with the overbearing beauty. "But, Beth, we all need a night out. I already have the booth booked, Jerry is expecting all of us." Jude just didn't get it, and she was going to fracture their fragile treaty if she didn't back off.

"Stop. It. Now." I raised my voice, causing both of them to tense. "Beth, go put on whatever you want to wear. Jude, bedroom, now." I strode past them, heading towards the bedroom. When I didn't hear any movement, I turned to find them still squaring off against one another. "NOW!" I commanded.

Still nothing. It was time to resort to desperate measures. I moved back towards them snatching them both by the ears, warranting squealed obscenities from two very indignant women. Dragging them down the hallway, both pulled and scratched at my wrists and hands. I shoved Beth towards her room, releasing her ear.

"You get in there. Get ready, and yes, you are going," I growled. Turning towards Jude, I gave her the ‘don't fuck with me' look. "You. In there and just leave Beth alone."

They were both staring at me with daggers in their eyes. I could see the mental cogs working and knew how stubborn they could both be. Normally, this scared the shit out of me, but every once in a while they would just push my buttons one too many times.

"NOW!" I yelled. I swear the walls vibrated with the decibel level of my voice. They both flinched and quickly head into their respective rooms.

I waited for a minute after Beth closed her door, thinking she might try to make a run for it. After confirming she was staying put, I released the breath I’d been holding and continued down the hallway towards our room. Closing the door quietly, I turned and faced Jude. "Didn't we already go over this? You and Beth are hardly talking, because of your previous interference, and now you want to push her again." I put a finger under her chin, forcing her teary eyes to meet mine.

"I'm sorry, Wyatt. I just wanted Beth to look good tonight."

"Why, Jude? For William?" I asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"Well... yes." Jude answered quietly.

"Do you want to lose her friendship completely?"

Her eyes widened with fear. "No, never."

"Then, back off," I said firmly. "She will walk, Jude. She's angry at you already, so leave it alone and stop pushing. William's in a bad place and you're gonna get someone hurt by getting involved."

Jude fell against my chest, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist. "I just want her to be happy..." She paused. "...like me."

"She's not you. You push her and she will walk away without a word to anyone," I warned.

Jude stiffened. She couldn't live with herself, if that happened. "Okay."

"If it's meant to be then it will happen without everyone getting involved, but this needs lots of time. William has a process to go through and you're not making the right choices. You shouldn't be making
any
choices." I said, pushing her back so I could see her.

After she nodded in agreement, I headed to the dresser to finish getting dressed. I was being selfish about this. We didn't need our world to come crashing down around us, but if Jude continued to make William and Beth a personal project and they got hurt, I would be caught in the middle as the fall guy thanks to my relationship with Micheal, Jude and Beth.

This was going to be a stressful night.
Fuck, I need a drink or two.

We headed into the bar and I wasn't surprised to find it overcrowded. I wondered a few things about Jerry. One, how did he manage to fit everyone in here without breaking the max capacity laws? And two, why did everyone keep coming back to a bar which served watered-down drinks?

Jerry must've been watching out for us, as he appeared out of thin air. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Jerry. What the hell did you have to offer, to get this place so packed?" I asked, clasping his hand in greeting.

"I booked this group which is starting to make a name for themselves. I know the lead singer, so I asked him to play as a favor," Jerry answered.

I nodded. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey, helping people out of certain legal jams gives you perks in the end," Jerry replied smoothly, motioning us to a booth.

"So, Jerry, how about we get this party started?" I suggested.

"Already got the order in with the new guy, Peter."

Beth let out a very unladylike snort. I turned, wondering what was so funny and happy to see her smiling again after the ordeal at the house. "What?"

"Jerry, is his last name Pan, by chance?" Beth giggled. She was running hot and cold lately. It was really confusing.

"No, why?" Jerry was lost to the reference, but I could see Jude wasn't.

Her face was red as a ripe tomato. She knew her non-threatening stance had drawn the nickname Peter Pan on more than one occasion. "Not funny, Beth."

"Oh, yes it is
."
Beth retorted, with another round of snorts.

"Not very attractive, you know," a voice announced from behind me.

Beth turned and stuck her tongue out at whomever belonged to the voice. She slipped out of the booth and reached out to William. He looked down at her hand, before pulling her into his body. Beth hesitated for a split-second, before hugging him back.

I stood and shook Michael's hand, seeing the cautious eye he had on William and Beth. One of his eyebrows was raised when he looked over at me. Damn, Jude was going to cost me my job.

A beautiful brunette was clinging to Michael's arm, so I decided since I knew everyone else in our tiny group, I should be polite and introduce myself. I stuck my hand out in her direction, hoping to cause a distraction. "Hi, I'm Wyatt, and you must be Anne."

"Hi. Yes, I am," she answered, taking my hand.

Once in the booth in a boy-girl formation, an uncomfortable silence sank in. Beth and William sat beside each other, engrossed in their own private conversation. I watched them out of the corner of my eye taking in the ease of posture between them. Beth was definitely more comfortable than I’d ever seen her with any man who was considered family. I didn't like it.

Anne and Jude had settled into their own conversation, they seemed to get along really well. I was happy to see that Jude had another friend, even though I knew no one would ever replace Beth.

Which left Michael and me to amuse ourselves. During the time we had spent together at work, it was obvious we didn't have anything in common, so this was going to be a long night.

Sabrina set a tray of drinks on the table and Michael reached for his wallet, but I put up my hand.

"On tab, Sabrina," I said.

"Of course, Wyatt." She chuckled knowingly. "Let me know when you want another round."

I grabbed a JP and slammed it down as Sabrina walked away. Michael was looking at me, uncertain about what just happened. "Have a drink. Jerry is a personal friend and won't allow us to pay."

Michael's eyes popped wider with surprise and he grinned as he reached for one of the glasses, raising it towards the center of the table. "A toast. To friends, old and new. May our
friendship
last for many years to come," Michael announced, before downing his drink.

The tone in his voice when he said the word ‘friendship’ was laced with a number of hidden layers. He was as unconvinced as I was, that Beth and William could keep this thing between them simple.

The rest of the night was an easygoing affair with lots of talking and laughter. Between the drinks loosening up everyone's inhibitions and the band Jerry had organized being surprisingly good, the dancing caused a distinct temperature rise in the bar.

Michael and I discovered some mutual interests which helped us ease into the beginnings of a friendship. He was into history, which worked mutually well with my love of Taekwondo. We discussed the history behind the sport at great lengths and
I invited him to come along to the gym with me sometime.

I finished off the last drink on the tray and glanced around, searching for Sabrina to organize another round. William and Beth had taken off to the dance floor. To strangers they probably looked very relaxed, two people enjoying one another's company, but I knew Beth better. She looked happy and smiled a lot, but I was aware of the inner battle which was raging. It was evident in her body language. I was starting to wonder how simple this could remain and how long it could possibly last before trouble reared its head.

I was on constant guard over the situation. This wasn't a natural reaction on my behalf; I wasn't normally the type to over think stuff, but this was a situation which had the ability to blow up and injure a lot of people.

Something caught my eye, drawing me back from my worrying. I turned and my gut twisted uncomfortably as I caught sight of Mercedes. She was zoned in on William like a scud missile, and I instinctively knew the night was about to draw to an unhappy ending.