Breaking Elle (11 page)

“Morning Reed,” the receptionist chirps. She shoots me a mischievous smile as I stroll into the center. I am in a much better mood after seeing Elle.

“Hey there, Evelyn,” I wink, reading the name off her nametag pinned over her ample chest. I’m just not good with names this morning; could be the alcohol that’s still sloshing around in my bloodstream. She giggles, pushing her chest out a little bit more for my viewing pleasure as I head towards the locker room.

“Did you have a good time last night?” Her knowing voice rises two octaves.

I freeze and nonchalantly turn my head back in her direction.
How did she know anything about my night?
I feel my hangover coming back like a stampede of horses. This one has been trying to hook up with me since I started working here. She was pissed when I didn’t reciprocate. Nothing’s wrong with her. She is a tanned, leggy brunette who doesn’t like to hear no. I just started working here and don’t want to move too fast with anyone at my job. I know I could have her, any time, any place. She knows Elle, and suddenly, I actually care what a girl thinks about me. So how much did her friend see?

“Gypsy Bar, right?” She shoots me a discerning look. She leans over the desk, anxious to hear what I have to say. Even if I did remember anything, it is none of her business.

“I didn’t see you,” I reply, clearing my throat. Shit, she probably saw more than I can remember.

“I knew that was you. You’re a really good dancer.” She smiles seductively as her eyes shamelessly travel over me. I feel like I’ve just been eye-fucked. Most times, I would enjoy it, but right now, this girl is rubbing me the wrong way.

“Oh, thanks,” I reply, scrubbing the back of my neck. I’m not in the mood to entertain her advances right now. If all she remembers is the dancing, then I’m good. I start to turn away. Her next words stop me cold.

“So, you liked my blonde friend?” She continues to pry, forcing me to play along. I turn back to see her resting her chin in her hands. She smiles, leaning in a little closer, as if I’m gonna share something juicy with her. Hell, she seems to know more about than I do.

“Friend?”
Fuck.

“Yes. The one you were dancing with?” She stands up to adjust her healthy cleavage.

“I didn’t realize you know her,” I answer, trying to pretend like I had a clue what I did last night. I scan the lounge looking for some kind of escape from her interrogation.

“Sure, Mindy. She loves to go out. You guys seemed to be a little chummy last night. She didn’t leave with us.” She arches her eyebrows and grins. “Do you know how she got home? She didn’t answer any of her texts.” Her winded response makes my head spin.

Mindy, so that’s her name.

“Hmmm... not sure. Maybe her phone died.” I reply. Shit, I don’t need people all in my business asking questions about who I hook up with. I’m single and don’t answer to anyone.

“That’s what they all say,” she laughs.

“Who knows?” I reply, glancing up at the clock. “Listen, I’m running late.” I say stepping towards the locker room hoping she gets the hint that I’m not in the mood to chat anymore. Fuck, I hope she didn’t tell anyone else about it.

When I enter the locker room, I text my roommate and ask him to get the girl out of the house. When he doesn’t reply to my text after a minute, I try to call, but it goes straight to voicemail. I can’t think straight and manage to walk right into Tyler who’s coming out of the locker room shower. Damn, I can’t catch a break today!

“Sorry, man,” he replies, taking a step back to let me pass.

“My bad. I was waiting for a call, and wasn’t paying attention.” I scratch my temple, thinking I should say I’m sick and go back home, but then, my problem is still there. Yeah, I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“Was it the girl from last night?” He grins, crooking his brow.

I inwardly cringe. This story is going to spread like wildfire. I don’t need this kind of shit right now. I went a little overboard with the drinking and the partying, typical Reed style, but last night I was especially reckless. A couple of things are weighing on my mind, but that’s no excuse. Definitely, throwing this thing with Elle in the mix is one of the reasons why I got shitfaced. My every thought comes back to her. She’s a good girl; I can see that. And, from the looks of it, her relationship with Cane is strong, but I can’t shake the feeling that she’s conflicted somehow. I got that vibe from her last night at the park.

If she needs a shoulder to cry on, I’m always available. There it is again; that feeling that involves more than my dick. This shit I’m feeling is truly scaring me. I know I should leave Elle alone; I don’t need complications like this in my life. No matter how damn attracted to her I am, she has a man, Cane, whom I’m friends with. Not to mention we all work together. Can’t get any more complicated than that. I usually can get what I need anytime I want without having to worry about some kind of love triangle.

“Come on man, I saw you. She was hot.” He nods his head in his approval, pulling his backpack on his shoulder.

“Oh, you were out last night?” I laugh, shifting my backpack to my other shoulder. It’s cool if I was bragging outside of work, but having it relayed at work is not good. I don’t need this kind of attention here.

“Sure, hot summer nights, girls in miniskirts. You bet I’m gonna be out there.”

“No doubt.” I fake enthusiasm. “We just danced, had some drinks,” I reply, trying to brush the whole thing off as I anxiously glance at my phone.

“Dude, she was all over you, and you weren’t fighting her off.” He laughs. “I tried to come over to say what’s up, but you guys didn’t come up for air.” He smiles, leaning up against the concrete wall.

“Oh.” I laugh, checking my phone a second time for a text or reply from my roommate. Finally, it comes through –
she’s gone.
I breathe a sigh of relief and shove it in my pocket. I feel a little better now that part of my problem has vanished, and I take a step towards the locker room.

“Maybe we can hang out sometime,” He says, stepping aside to let me go by.

“Yeah, that’d be cool.” I head into the locker room without saying another word. Shit’s gonna hit the fan today. I gotta find a way to get through this day somehow, and it has only just begun. I sigh, thinking I have nothing I need to forget, but a whole lot to regret.

The morning air makes me feel alive, despite my heavy thoughts. Even though it’s still early in the day, the temperature is already hitting eighty degrees. As I take the final turn of my fourth lap, I decide against running my usual eight. I’m frustrated and my stomach is in knots after seeing my mom in the kitchen. I start throwing punches in the air; some are for me, and some for my mom. It feels good imagining Corey as my target, the root of all the friction at my house right now. When I reach the bleachers, I walk in small circles to catch my breath, grab my water bottle to douse myself, and sit on the blanket of lush green grass.

I watch the petals from the magnolia trees cascade to the grass and feel the breeze cooling my hot skin. I’m rethinking my mom’s methodology about giving people second changes since clearly it hasn’t worked out for her. Maybe what Corey and Mom felt in the beginning of the relationship was an illusion, a dream that they wanted to become a reality but never did. Expectations were set too high or maybe they got together for the wrong reasons. I hate seeing this happen all over again. I wish for my mom what I have with Cane.

Baby steps. The ones I’ve taken have been much smaller than any twenty-two-year-old needs to take, but people experience and handle things in their own way. Cane is the relationship that I never thought I would find. He’s the missing part that my family and Tyler couldn’t provide. Ours is a different kind of love, one that he made easy for me by gently allowing the barricade I had built up over the years to come falling down. I don’t see anyone else but him in my future. Everything I could ever ask for is wrapped up in him.

I’m lucky to have found him. His patience and understanding comes from his close-knit family. His parents have been married for twenty-five years, and they were college sweethearts. He has an older sister Vienna, and a younger sister, Jocelyn. I love spending time with his family. They welcomed me with open arms. I feel at home with them; they’ve become a second family to me.

“Since when have you done this running thing of yours in the AM?” I gaze up into Jace’s eyes; his face glistens with sweat as he wipes his forehead and takes a long gulp of water.

“Since I felt like shit,” I reply, squinting into the sun. “What are you doing here? I thought you said you’re going to the gym.”

“Plans changed.” He smirks, taking another sip of water, and dropping his sunglasses over his eyes.

“A girl?” I ask, lifting my hand so he can help me off the grass.

“Maybe.” He laughs. “You gonna drink that?” He grins crookedly, pointing to the bottle of water in my other hand.

“Yeah, so back off.” I pipe, turning away as he attempts to snatch it from me.

“Damn, sis, you never liked to share.” He chuckles, throwing his hands up in defeat.

“If you ask nicely, I might.” I smirk, taking a long sip of water.

The quiet morning is interrupted by blaring music from an SUV coming around the corner a little too fast on the residential street. It pulls up right in front of where we’re standing.

“What the hell?” I murmur, folding my arms across my chest.
What lunatic would do this so early in the morning?

“Relax, sis.” Jace picks up his backpack and beach towel. “That’s my ride,” he says, stepping towards the curb.

“I’m not trying to be a bitch or anything, but can you tell your buddies to turn it down? It’s not even eight o’clock in the morning, and they’re pissing people off.” I say, shaking my head in disgust.

“All right, all right.” He laughs as he turns to his friend, motioning for him to turn down the music. He spins back to me. “Happy now?” He smirks, throwing his backpack in the trunk of the car.

“It’s not just me but everyone here.” I reply.

I glance at the testosterone-filled boys yelling sexual comments out the windows. Frowning, I turn away to block out their vulgar remarks, not in the mood for a verbal battle with Jace’s horny friends.

“Come hang out with us.” One of his friends yells from the truck.

“I’ll pass,” I answer. I look roll my eyes at Jace, silently questioning his choice of friends.

“Stop acting so uptight. Have a little fun.” Jace grins as he climbs into the SUV, punching the friend who obviously made a comment to me. “Tell Mom I’ll be home late, but I’ll be home.”

“Sure.” I watch them pull away and wish I were heading someplace
alone
with Cane, where there’s warm water, sand, and nothing else. However, I have too many responsibilities and plenty of bills to pay. Such a glorious summer morning and I have to go to work.

The crowd at the track has thinned out and street traffic has increased since I first got here, which signals the end of my peaceful morning. If I don’t pick up the pace, I’m going to be late for work. Putting my ear buds back in, I head home with a much better perspective on the today.

The first thing I hear about when I walk in the center is Reed’s one-night stand. My good mood goes out the window. Did it even last an hour? For the life of me, I don’t even know why it bothers me. Maybe this whole thing annoys me because I’ve always had a soft heart, and talking with Reed last night was one of those moments that felt special.

But not only that, last night at the park with Reed was special to me in other ways. What I was experiencing—the blushing, the butterflies, the schoolgirl crush–-were feelings that I haven’t felt since Cane and I got together.

Why would any of these emotions surface when I’m happy with Cane? I watch Evelyn’s sparkling silver earrings swing from side to side as she tells me the details. I guess my limited experience in relationships over my twenty-two years plays a large part in this. I’m sure it happens all of the time, but I have to say it repulses me.

Feeling overwhelmed, I stop listening when she says he was all over some girl named Mindy at the club last night. I would prefer that anyone involved in his extracurricular activities remain anonymous.