Chapter 97 Buddies
Verena
For a long minute, all I did was stare at my reflection in the mirror.
“Date men around your age,”
What the heck was that supposed to mean? And, who the fuck was she to even tell me what to do? I could feel the slow rise of anger inside my stomach as instant regret washed over me.
I should have spun, given her a piece of my mind. Honestly, I didn’t know what to think about her. She gave me mixed signals and left me conflicted.
That backhanded advice was her way of telling me to leave Daxton? After the reunion tonight, I would make Daxton spill whatever they both shared in the past because this was beyond being best friends who had a fallout.
Fresh anger swelled inside of me again when I recollected how she had looked at me, the micro-aggression. I didn’t even know what to term it. Rage or jealousy.
Both?
I shook my head, grabbed my purse, and returned to the hall. I had barely taken two steps inside when Daxton raised his head, the corner of his lips turning into a smile, his eyes piercing into mine until I took the seat beside him.
My eyes quickly swept over the surroundings. Daxton’s classmates were chatting and laughing. Ashley sat at the right end of the table, showing pictures of her daughter to those who cared to see.
I tore my gaze from her, Daxton’s hand resting on my stomach. “What took you so long?” His voice was close to my ear and I bit back my word, as his lips brushed down softly—his teeth moving to nip the neck below my ear.
I smothered in a gasp, warmth pooling at the hollow of my stomach and that was when I noticed that Ashley’s voice had ceased. My eyes found Ashley’s and my chest tightened.
She was glaring at us. The lines on her forehead deepened, her lips pressed tight as she looked at Daxton with fury blazing in her eyes before she blinked away.
Something in me was satisfied seeing her that riled up.
“You ruined my make-up, remember?” I shifted my eyes back to Daxton and my breath caught. He was staring at me with nothing but pure hunger and desire in his eyes.
“I want to ruin it again,” He whispered, hand closing around my waist as he pulled me closer to him.
I chuckled softly and I felt Ashley’s eyes returning to my face. What was her problem?
I didn’t look at her this time. She could stay mad for all I cared. I mean, I didn’t even do anything to her.
“No, don’t—” I pressed my finger to Daxton’s mouth and he took it into his mouth and bit hard.
“Owww, Daxton!” I withdrew my finger and cussed. “Fuck you,”
There was this mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Fuck me?”
The sound of glass shattering against the tiled floor swallowed his words. Ashley rushed to her feet, a quick flash of panic in her eyes. “Oh my God, the glass suddenly slipped,”
Daxton growled at the sound of her voice. Ashley forced out a smile. “I should pick the shards—”
The men moved to stop her from doing that. The women didn’t even bother lifting their fingers and acted like she didn’t exist. Actually, since they've been talking, the ladies would roll their eyes, some would yawn and some would just excuse themselves whenever she opened her mouth to speak.
Despite the men who surrounded her, I saw the look of disappointment on her face whenever she glanced at Daxton who didn’t even deign her a look.
Then tears shone in her eyes and irritation roiled in my stomach. Imagine pushing forty and behaving like this?
Daxton’s voice broke through my train of thought. “If you want to. We can leave now. I don’t see the essence of all this,”
I leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “When this is over,” I whispered against his mouth.
The reunion fully kicked start and everyone talked about their careers, marriages, and the country they lived in now. Daxton only talked when a question was directed to him, smiled when necessary but for the rest of the discussion, he seemed disconnected.
Some tried to get him to do them small favors—connections, investments, and worse, small loans. From the way he had dismissed them politely, it hit me that he was never close to most of his classmates.
The only ones he had actively conversed with were his teammates. One was a famous hockey player. Another famous football player who wouldn’t stop making jokes that made Daxton and me laugh.
“And to you Ashley, what do you do now? You stopped talking,”
Ashley’s eyes flickered, smile widening as she turned to everyone. “I own a big fashion store in Paris—” my eyes almost pinged wide from the lie.
Fashion store? Where? None of my business though.
“You live in Paris?”
She nodded. “Hmm. I flew in from Paris with my daughter and husband. You know he is quite rich,”
Daxton didn’t lift his gaze from his phone, his other hand clutching mine tightly.
“Mean girls usually don’t have bad endings—” someone said. I didn’t even get to look at who it was.
Ashley’s face darkened. “Sorry to disappoint you honey but life doesn’t work that way,”
One of the men stood up, cleared his throat. “Enough. It’s been how many years and look what we are doing?”
“I am just glad that at least nearly everyone is here. All the closest cliques from our class too. Angelo and Macy. The funky boys and the legendary duo of all, Daxton and Ashley,”
Daxton raised his head, smiled, nodded, and returned his gaze to his phone. “Can we leave now? We’ve work tomorrow morning,” he said under his breath.
“Sure,”
I was about to reach for my purse when my hand froze mid-air as Ashley spoke. “Good old days. Daxton and I used to be so close. Very close than you all can imagine,”
Daxton’s grip suddenly tightened around my wrist. He was holding me so hard that it hurt.
“We used to have sex a lot. Almost everywhere. His house. Principal’s office. Over the teacher’s desk. Locker rooms. In the showers after his long hours of rigorous training—” She leaned forward, jaw in her palm as she smirked.
My own heart had stopped beating.
“Remember that time we snuck back into school just to fuck? We almost got caught by the security too. Fun times indeed,”
A long silence swooped over the hall, a sudden weight crushing down my chest as I stared at Ashley who looked like she was enjoying this a little too much.
I tried to yank my hand free from Daxton’s crushing grip but his hold remained firm. He was seething in rage and I was.
Ashley suddenly slammed a hand over her mouth. “Did I say too much?”
Then she looked at me and her lips parted. “He didn't tell you?” She cast a swift look at Daxton. “So you only told her that we were once best friends and not the part of us also being fuck buddies?”