Page 23 of The Fool
Lily merely grins with a drunken look all over her face.
“Oh, Cameron is absolutely lovely to me, and all the staff. To be fair, I think Nathaniel is exactly as you described to everyone else. It’s just me he hates.”
I shrug my shoulders and give her a smile that doesn’t reach my eyes. In fact, I can feel them beginning to well up over the realization that there’s yet somebody else hating me. I don’t know what I did to deserve this, or what I am doing to warrant such intense feelings of dislike toward me, but I wish it would just stop. I just want it all to stop, to be who I once was, and not have some mean asshole making my life hell.
“I’m really sorry, Bea, you seem like such a lovely person. Do you want me to have a word?” Helena offers, obviously sensing my pain, even though I’m trying really hard not to show it. “Nate and I are sort of close, not like we once were, but…” She looks sadly at the floor before shaking it off.
“Yeah, I’ll talk to the idiot too,” Callie pipes up, sounding as though she’s ready to go to war if she has to.
“Oh, God, no, no, no,” I rush out in a panic. “Please don’t, it’s fine, honestly. It’s a working relationship and I can manage it. Please just ignore me; pretend I didn’t say anything.”
“Ok, fine,” Callie huffs, “but you need to start standing up for yourself. I saw the way he was with you; he was bang out of order!”
The table falls silent, and I inwardly curse myself for ruining the atmosphere.
“Never have I used sex toys during sex,” I push out, trying to get the mood back. Thankfully, it works because our bride-to-be knocks back a shot, to which the whole table gasps.
“It was Cam who brought them in,” she cries out, “along with a few other things.”
“You little dark horse,” Callie teases, “I knew I’d rubbed off on you somewhere. Here’s to sex!”
“To sex!” We all cheer, including the people all around us.
_____
Bea
With sex having been officially toasted and Lily having completed no less than ten ridiculous dares, we are all now officially drunk. Lily and Callie perhaps more so, and Helena less so. I am not so sure where I am on the drunk scale, but I am still managing to remain upright on my stilettos. I am certain I have fresh blisters on the backs of my ankles, but with the alcohol currently floating around my system, I am virtually numb to the pain, for now at least. Tomorrow, I’ll be cursing myself.
“Let’s go and dance!” I suggest, which is totally out of character for me. I even jump out of the booth and begin wiggling my hips in the direction of the dance floor.
“Oh, yeah,” James replies enthusiastically, “now you’re talking. Did you know I teach a little dance?”
“No!” I gasp, immediately latching on to his strong arm. “Oh, please, teach me. I’m a totally shit dancer.”
“Lead the way,” he says, so we turn to go and make fools of ourselves on the dance floor.
“What the fuck is she doing here?!”
No sooner have we turned to march ourselves away, do we run into the tall and broad frame of Nathaniel Carter. He looks me up and down with an expression that appears to be beyond pissed. I’m taken right back to the office, feeling as I do every Monday to Friday when I have to work under his stern glare.
“Nate!” Lily exclaims, looking completely drunk, but excited to see him. “What are you doing here? Is my baby here?”
“Oh, no, no, no, you’re not supposed to be seeing him tonight; this is girls’ night only!” Callie snaps, wagging her finger from side to side.
“Yeah, he’s over on the other side of the bar,” Nate replies sulkily, completely ignoring Callie’s warning.
“Sorry, ladies, but I’m going to go and dirty dance with my fiancé,” Lily announces, then begins wobbling over to the bar.
“Go get her, Ellie,” Callie orders, “she’s totally breaking the rules!”
“On it,” Ellie salutes before running after Lily who has already spotted Cameron. She’s crooking her finger toward him while wiggling her hips. From the look on his face, there’s no way either of them is going to let Ellie tear them apart; it’s a lost cause.
“So, what the fuck is she doing here?” Nathaniel snaps my attention away from the saucy couple with his angry eyes solely on me.
“Fuck, Nate, what blew up your ass and died?” Callie scowls.
“Nate,” Helena suddenly speaks up, “why are you being so rude?”