Chapter 2

It'd been a long day at the office, especially after that entire ordeal with Matt in front of her apartment building yesterday, which she couldn’t stop thinking about. All Lena wanted as she stepped into her apartment was a hot bath and maybe twenty hours of sleep.

But no, because her two idiot best friends were breathing down her neck in a futile attempt at getting some info about her meeting with Matt the previous day.

“So, what did you do?” Caroline questioned. “Come on! Say something—”

“I'm giving up on you,” Gabe finished with a smirk. To be honest, he wasn't really that interested in the conversation. Everyone knew he never liked Matt from the start, and he couldn't be happier that they'd split up.

“Asshole. I wasn't going to say that.” Care rolled her eyes.

Caroline Robyn and Gabriel Cage, Lena’s two best friends in the world.

The three of them couldn’t have been more different yet they all managed to make it work. They'd all met in freshman year at college, the best and worst years of Lena's life, and they'd all just instantly clicked. It was like a 'where have you been all my life' kind of moment.

Care was a baker. She owned a bakery shop at the other side of town, a good twenty minute drive from Lena's crib while she and Gabriel worked in an advertising firm. Worst part? He was her freaking boss.

The irony.

“Lee, spit it out, for fuck’s sake. I don't have all night. I got like two different cakes to bake and people to fire. I want the whole gist, everything. From the top,” Care whined as she leaned in for the juicy story.

“Honestly, guys, it's a long story,” she sighed.

“You know an even way to make a long story short?” Gabe didn't wait for an answer and continued. “By not telling it to me at all.”

Care shot him a look. “Speak for yourself.”

He rolled his eyes in response.

“Same old thing. He just wanted to get back together—”

“Over my dead body,” Gabe caught her off. “I'd sooner have a vasectomy without anesthetic.”

Care chuckled. “He's right.”

“You don't think I know that?” Lena asked no one in particular. Getting up from the couch, she strolled to the kitchen for a glass of wine, needing something strong. “And I've told you this thousands of times, I'm over the dude. I don't care about him anymore. Nothing he says or does will change my mind.”

“Good.” Gabe nodded emphatically.

If Care had something to say, she swallowed it. The conversation was done and over with. At least for that day.

Lena passed the wine around, letting everyone help themselves to it. Alcohol was something they only took at night. Never in the daytime. Scary experience. She had a huge scar on her left butt cheek to prove it.

“So, Gabe, what's been up with you?” Care asked with a raised brow. He'd found someone. And they knew this because he always was a secretive bitch when he was hiding something and Gabriel Cage was a terrible liar.

“Uhhhh... What?” he asked with a not-so-innocent smile plastered all over his face.

Gabe was hot. Not just hot. But smoking, panty-dropping hot. He was well built, lean with muscles. Brown hair that looked like a dozen hands had run through it. Rough but sexy. He had green eyes, those kinds that screamed look-at-me-I’m-sexy, chiseled face with razor sharp jaws. He was the exact kind of man that Lena took interest in.

Only difference was, he was her best friend. The brotherly kind.

So yeah, she could totally see why he had women flocking round him like he was the cure to freaking cancer.

“I know you're hiding something and don't give me that look, you know it's true. I just want to know who she is,” she demanded.

“Who 'who' is?” he asked with a blank stare.

“Lover girl. Your new bish,” Care snorted before gulping down her glass.

“For God's sake woman, watch your tongue,” Gabe scolded with a frown. “And for your information, she's not a bish.” He got up and walked down the hallway to the bathroom, waves of anger practically pouring out of him.

Lena raised a brow. “I think you hit a nerve,” she whispered, holding her glass to her lips.

Care shrugged in confusion.

****

Gabriel was the kind of person you went to for 'fun'. Yeah, he knew how to party. There was never a dull moment with him. Always cheerful with a smile plastered on his face. Except at work where she'd rarely seen him smile.

Lena could honestly count on one hand how many times she'd seen him angry. And few of them was with Matt.

College changed them. Gabe had been a shy introverted geek when they first met. Always had his head lost in one book or the other. She and Care practically had to drag him to parties, bonfires, birthdays. Anything that involved alcohol, tight spaces and sweaty bodies. Then June came along and everything changed. Even now, it was still a mystery how she'd managed to pull him out from under his shell. But she did.

A month with her and he became distant. Different. Strange. June was the kind of girl every mother warned their sons about. Bad news. She wandered down the wrong path, drugs, alcohol, sex... and pulled Gabe along with her. And like the gullible moron that he was, he followed.

Fast forward to six months, she dumped him for someone more fun, she'd said, leaving him to reflect on his life and the mistakes he'd made. She’s had her fun, had preyed on his innocence and when she was filled, she moved on.

Lena had never seen Gabe look more miserable than he did back then. She and Care did everything they could think of to keep him from sinking into depression but it was a futile attempt.

Long story short, he picked himself up, and made the typical vow to never let any woman make fun of him or his feelings again. The years that followed, he went through women as frequently as he changed underwear.

So, sue her if she was surprised to see him getting worked up over one of his bishes, as Care so blatantly put it.

“I think I need a drink,” Gabe said as he turned to the bartender. “Something strong, please.”

They were at a downtown bar—mostly frequented by rich people ranging from athletes to celebrities to business moguls—because Gabe said he needed to cool off, and being the good friends that they were, they followed suit because Gabe should, under no circumstances, be left alone to 'cool off.'

Seriously.

Music blared from the speakers, pounding her ears. She couldn't hear herself think, it was that loud. Neon lights danced around the room, creating a kaleidoscope of colors. The floor was packed with people dancing, shaking like earthworms mostly, making out, drinking. Weird. One would think people would stay in their homes on weeknights.

“I need to get laid,” Care whined from behind Lena. “I've been suffering from vaginal emptiness.”

Between the three of them, Lena thought only she had come to find the right penis for her vagina.

“When was the last time you had sex?” Gabe asked her, holding a bottle of beer in his hands. He took a long gulp, swiping his mouth with the back of his palm.

“Three days ago.”

Lena's eyes widened. Three days ago? And she said she's suffering? She hadn't had sex in two months and she was doing just fine.

Lena turned to her. “You're insane.”

“Well, get in line. I haven't had sex in almost seventy-two hours and I feel like I'm dying,” Gabe said as his eyes scouted the club, no doubt searching for his newest addition to '1000 notch in my bedpost.’

“Perv,” Lena muttered under her breath, taking a sip from her bottle. She'd taken two bottles already and she was seriously feeling the effects of the goddamned liquor. Her eyes were spinning and the room was upside down. She blinked a couple of times, trying to clear her sight.

“Prude,” he muttered back, rolling his eyes.

“I am not!” she shot at him.

“You so are.” He raised one of those perfectly shaped brows of his.

“Are not!”

“Are too!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“Ugh, God, shut the fuck up, both of you. You're gonna give me a fucking migraine from all these fucking yelling. Add that to the loud speakers and I'm deaf forever.” Care scrunched her face up in annoyance. “I want to dance. I'll be over there.”

She pointed to an empty space at the far end of the club, getting up from the seat next to Lena.

Lena blinked again as she watched her walk away.

Why the hell was she seeing two Carolines?

“Drink responsibly. It's on the label,” Gabe deadpanned.

“To me ‘drink responsibly’ means don't spill it,” she shot back.

Lena left him at the bar, not wanting to hear any more lecturers on drinking. She could see Care dancing alone with a bottle of beer in one hand. Her body swayed to the rhythm of the song blaring from the speakers. She instantly recognized the song as Chainsmokers ‘Closer.’

Lena had never been a fan of dancing. Mainly because she didn't know how to and she never cared to learn. But that didn't mean she couldn't move her body.

She wouldn't call herself Nicki Minaj, but she had an impressive backside, with surprise surprise, relatively small boobs. What could she say? One couldn’t have everything.

She let the beat of the music fill her ears, empty her mind. She let the feeling of being free—something she hadn't felt in two years—consume her. With everything she'd been through, from her parents’ deaths to her breakup with Matt, everything, she at least deserved to be completely free. Maybe not happy, she wasn't sure she'd find that in the near future, but free.

To be completely honest, Lena felt like crying. Trying to come to terms with the fact that she was an orphan hadn't been easy. One minute they were there, and then the next they weren't. She felt pity for herself. Growing up, she never had anything easy. She'd had to work and fight for everything she got, not because she couldn’t get it another way, but because her parent’s had never let her forget that life was a blessing and tomorrow was a gift. But she never knew the value of having one's parents by their side until she lost hers.

It was funny how a few moments could change an entire life. If her parents hadn't died, she wouldn't be alone. Sure, she had her best friends, but nothing compares to the love of a parent. If her parents were still alive, she would never have dated Matt.

Matt, who made her question her worth. Matt, who made her bend her morals every single time he fucked up. Matt, who sucked everything good from her life and left her a sizzling, hot mess. Matt, who brought down her self-worth, self-esteem to a big zero. It was a miracle she managed to free herself from him.

He was bad for her health.

The song changed and another came on. This time it was a slow song, a breakup song. Adele's ‘Love in The Dark’ filled the club and she felt her body move to the rhythm.

She listened to the lyrics, because you have to admit, Adele would always make you stop and listen. It seemed like she was talking directly to Lena and a stray tear ran down her face. It hurt. It freaking sucked to have friends and still felt like it was her against the world.

A sad smile formed on her lips and she lifted her hand to flick at the tear.

Fuck this shit.

She turned to leave the club when something, or rather someone, crashed against her.

She smelled it before she felt it.

MacDowell’s. Fucking MacDowell’s.

Some idiot had just spilled his fucking drink on her.

What the actual fuck?