Bliss (10 page)

Donna stomped her combat boots singing to some old rock song on the stage of the bar while Ana hung from the stripper pole in the center of the room trashed out of her mind.

And there I was nursing a whiskey. Thinking about what I did in a past life to deserve this form of torture.

And then the gods tossed the answer in the form of Carter fucking Sterling in my path and sent him through the door of the dive bar we were in. Along with his entourage of Ana approved groomsman.

One of the middle aged barmaids approached them as they entered the place, doing her best to flirt and maybe gain a good tip at the end of the night.

Carter kept his cool watching Ana tease the entire bar of greasy truckers and married men with her strip tease routine.

I dropped my head back finishing off my drink as he
approached.

“You look like
you’re happy to be here,” Carter said, looking dapper yet casual in his one size to small black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. That perfectly styled hair and perfect scruff staring me down, reminding me that I once had my hands all over him.

“I am so thrilled,” I rolled my eyes, settling on the equally charming guy next to him. “Who is this? Don’t tell me Mr. Cosgrove hired another actor to fill in at the wedding because you lack the ability to make friends.”

And I smiled on the inside at my insult.

“This is Dallin, my brother.” Carter pulled up a chair with ease, not letting me get to him.

“Nice to meet you.” I said, accepting Dallin’s handshake.

“I’m going to say hello to the not so blushing bride,” Carter said standing. “If you two would excuse me.”

Dallin took his spot. “He’s a mess.”

I looked him over, shoulders back, chest out, chin high.
Like his brother he was a man of confidence and slight arrogance.

“I think it’s a normal part of getting married,” I said, with a shrug. “He’ll survive.”

Dallin gave a half shrug in return. “He always does.”

I hated to ask, but something
pushed me. “What is it with him?”

Dallin raised an eyebrow. “You mean the shitty outlook on life and the stubborn as shit personality?”

I smirked. “It’s like you don’t know him at all.”

He cocked his head to the side, studying Carter as he danced with Ana to Donna’s bad singing. “Our parent’s fucked with his head, his entire life fucked with his head. It’s hard to be an upstanding guy when you have been shit on your whole life I suppose.”

“You don’t seem anything like him at all,” I said.

Dallin agreed. “That’s because my grandmother took me in. Carter was a handful and she refused to keep him, she gave up on him just like everyone else did. And for that, he bounced around his entire life from one family to another.”

I stared at my hands. It was hard to resent him when someone who knew him made him human and not the arrogant son of a bitch I thought he was.

Donna waved us
over; I dropped my chair leaving my empty glass behind and joined everyone in the wedding party on the dance floor.

“It’s time for a speech,” Donna said, handing over the microphone to me. “You’re the maid of honor get up there and sing something.”

My jaw dropped, I was not a singer. “I thought this happened at the wedding.”

Ana held onto Carter. “Come on, Ana. Give us a speech
at least.”

I bit my lip clutching the microphone to my chest.

Before I could make up another excuse, Carter took the microphone from me, brushing past me to the stage.

Everyone’s attention went to Carter.

I looked at Carter then away, biting at my nails. I wanted the night to be over with so I could go home and go to bed.

“I have something I would like to say,” he started.

I frowned. He was going to declare his undying love for Ana in front of the entire world. No wonder he landed such a great role so fast.

“Ana,” he started.

I crossed my arms, and then uncrossed them.

“I made a mistake.”

I did a double take and then hid behind my bangs, afraid what was about to come next. What was he doing? I moved backward, disappearing behind a big burly trucker to disappear from view.

“I can’t do this,” he said. “I’ve been trying to pretend this
is what I want. And what I need but it’s not. And I know what I want.”

I stopped, listening intently. What did he want?

The microphone buzzed and Carter left the stage, leaving the entire bar and wedding party shocked.

I hurried for the door. Ana grabbed me by the arm before I could get away.

“What is going on?” She said. “I thought you said everything was fine.”

What was going on, I had the same question that she
did.

I was pretty sure Carter just threw away his dreams and cut out on his wedding.
And he had left me to pick up the pieces.

“He said everything was fine,” I said, fiddling with my necklace.

“He left, he said this was a mistake, how is any of this fine?” She snapped.

“I don’t know why don’t you call him and ask him. Why are you asking me?”

“Because you’re my maid of honor, you’re supposed to fix everything.” She whined. “I should have listened to my dad when he said Carter was in it for the wrong reasons.”

I swallowed. “Before you jump to conclusions maybe you should talk to him.”

I didn’t want to be in the middle of the mess. I wanted to get out of there before things got ugly.

“Just wait until my dad hears about this,” she
said, her eyes cold, her face red. “He created this mess, but I’ll finish it.”

“
You’re going to ruin his life?” I asked, my heart racing. “Just like you did mine.”

“Just like I did yours?” she asked, her hand going to her mouth.

Before I spilt the beans we needed to get out of the bar. “Can we go outside?”

Ana clomped off without a second thought.

This was it, the moment, the one that I had been fighting for all along. And now that it was right in front of me I didn’t know how to go about it.

Ana
waited to hear it. She stood in front of the parking lot, arms crossed.

“I ruined your life?” she asked.

“I don’t want to do this back and forth thing. So I’ll just say it.” I raked a hand through my hair. “You slept with my husband.”

Ana scrubbed a hand over her face. “This is ridiculous.”

She was trying to deny it; her denial wasn’t far from what I predicted.

“I found all the pictures,” I said. “
And the hotel receipt.”

Ana crossed her arms. “
You’re delusional.”

I gritted my teeth. “No, I was, but not anymore.”

“We didn’t plan for it to happen,” she said, looking away. The wind blew, sending her hair off her shoulders.

I was ready to hear the reason. “Why did it?”

Ana scratched the back of her neck. I hoped she would be honest with me. She knew what I had been through losing Eric. “Ever since the day I met you guys, I couldn’t get over how infatuated Eric was with you.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I wanted someone to care about me the way that Eric cared about you. So one night I invited him out, claiming to need a man’s advice on a breakup and he bought it. We had a few drinks and I don’t know what happened but Eric gave in.” She sat down on the sidewalk. “And I loved it; he treated me like a queen, even if it was only for the night.”

I jumped as a couple of drunk men came stumbling from the bar. “It happened more than once.” I saw the letters, and the pictures.

“Because I told him if he stopped I would tell you and he didn’t want to hurt you. Eric was always thinking about you,” Ana said.

I balled my hands into fist, unable to stand still. “
You’re disgusting.”

Ana wouldn’t look at me. “You don’t think I didn’t feel bad about it?”

“You sure didn’t act like it,” I scoffed, shaking my head. “You were one of the few people I confided in, and not once did you tell me.”

Ana jumped up. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

I looked around trying to figure out what she meant.

“You fucked Carter,” she said. “What makes you any better?”

I opened my mouth, at a loss for words.

“Maybe next time you should remember to take home the panties you bought with your friend the next time
you’re in his apartment. I’m not an idiot.” She raised an eyebrow. “But I told myself I would let it be because I screwed your husband. What goes around comes around right?”

We lived and we learned, so they said. I was pretty sure Eric would have wanted me to forgive Ana for all the wrong that she did. He wouldn’t want me to hold onto hate for my so called friend, even if she did something god awful.

And I knew that life wasn’t a fairy tale. I knew that my husband was just as responsible as she was. He didn’t have to keep it a secret and keep it going. I wasn’t stupid. Maybe a little part of Eric got some kind of thrill living a double life, having secret getaways in hotel rooms with another girl.

Nobody was perfect, and I sure wasn’t. I hadn’t acted any better jumping into bed with Carter. We all made mistakes.

I felt I had closure. And in the mistake I felt that I got a small piece of me back. Ana and Eric’s mistake in a weird way helped me move on.

“This damn fax machine,” Lilith said, slamming her fist down on it.

I stood up. “I’ll take care of it.”

She smiled, brushing a curl behind her ear. “You’re a lifesaver.”

I grinned. “I know.”

Walking down the hall I opened the file. “Carter fucking Sterling.”

I hit the button on the elevator and headed to the agents. The doors opened, I shut the file as I entered, moving through the mob of aspiring actors to make it to the front desk.

“Fax machine is down,” I said to Pam, handing over the file.

Pam narrowed her eyes on the file and frowned. “I wasn’t expecting anything.”

I touched my lips. “That’s weird.”

I spun around hands on my hips a little surprised to see him.

He smiled, bringing his hands to his hips mocking me. “The job fell through so I decided to try out for porn.”

I lifted my chin, a slow smile building.
“Is that right?”

He nodded, moving closer. “That’s right.”

I moved closer. “How’s that working out for you?”

“Shitty,”
he said, giving me a pathetic attempt at a frown, pouty lip and all.

I wrapped my arms around him. “I thought I was going to be mad at you.”

“But you’re not because for once I did the right thing,” he said, touching my face.

I nodded. “Sure.”

“You remember when I said that there was only one thing that made me nervous?” he asked.

I shook my head, hitting the button on the elevator. Carter gave Pam a smile for helping lure me away from my job.

“The one thing that makes me nervous is meeting a beautiful girl and falling head over heels for her.”

I grabbed a hold of him, my lips searing into his.

Carter fucking Sterling, he was sweet bliss.

The author of over 10 books, Maven West writes Romance, often with a paranormal twist, in two different worlds: Young Adult (as Holly Hood), Adult Romance(as Maven West).
Maven West was born in 1983 and grew up in Toledo, Ohio, USA. She lives with her husband and four children in Sylvania, Ohio, where she writes, swims, hangs with her super cool kids and amazing husband and has two dogs Calvin and Measha.

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