The Spare Girl [M/F/F]

Chapter 8

The drive back home felt like it was dragging on for hours. My eyes stared blankly at the road, unfocused, and unaware of my surroundings. I could maneuver the car on reflex alone, drifting forward because it was all I knew how to do right then. My thoughts were jumbled with questions and fleeting thoughts but I couldn't focus on any of them long enough to really understand what was happening. Blissfully unaware, I ignored the pain in my chest. I swallowed hard as I finally pulled into the parking lot of my apartment.

I don't know how long I sat in my car, but I knew it had to have been over ten minutes. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky. It couldn't have been earlier than six. I looked up from the steering wheel and gazed out into the almost full lot. The cars seemed too close to me. The buildings were warped. Hot tears ran down my cheeks. I wiped them with the back of my hand.

I slammed my fist into the steering wheel. The horn blared and someone yelled. I didn't care. I kept staring down at the wheel, trying to think where all of it had gone wrong. It was last night. Or maybe it was before then.

That was right. It had gone wrong the second I agreed to take Melanie to that damn club. If we hadn't gone, then this would never have happened.

His face flashed in my mind. There was heat and pleasure associated with that face, but it was interrupted by the sharp image of his ringed finger.

Amelia had been in his arms. They'd embraced and kissed.

He was f*****g married.

It still wasn't hitting me. Though I knew what I saw and couldn't deny it, my mind kept repeating the same excuse. I had to be wrong. That wasn't the same man. It had been dark last night. It would have been an honest mistake to mix them up.

But I knew the truth.

And it made me sick to my stomach.

I knew I couldn't sit in the car for any longer. I pulled myself from the front seat and into the apartment. The walk didn't feel real either. Just like the car ride here it was a mess of blurry images going in and out of my head. My body was on auto pilot, knowing where to go and what to do. I wish I could just turn this one any time I wanted to. It would have made life a lot easier.

I threw my bag on the floor and slammed the door. There was a voice telling me to lock it, but I was far too gone to reason with myself. I went straight for the fridge and began grabbing whatever I could find.

"Of f*****g course," I said as I surveyed our sorry for an excuse of a fridge.

It was bare. To the f*****g bone.

All there was an egg, some stale bread, and some leftover croissont that Melanie didn't eat.

I took all of it telling Melanie that she could go f**k herself in my head. I could already see her pissed off face when she saw she had nothing to eat.

It was her problem now.

Wordlessly, I pulled out a clean pan, placed it on the stove top, and turned the heat to medium. My hands cut the croissont in half lengthwise and pressed them face down onto the hot pan.

I stared down at the sizzling pan wondering if I should just forget about eating and sleep all the misery away. But I couldn’t turn away from the sad croissant I was trying to make more appetizing. I should have been over it by now. Though it was a real shock that I’d participated in a cheating man’s game, it wasn’t like I’d known it. There were no attachments. I doubt I would ever see him again.

My gut pulled as I took the croissont off the heat and onto a small plate. I slammed the spatula down onto the edge of the sink. I took a deep breath and took a bite from the buttery bread. The taste made my tastebuds tingle for a second before I frowned and put the rest down. It wasn’t right.

I looked around the small kitchen.

None of this felt right.

The more I thought about my situation the more the questions kept coming up. Melanie and him wrapped up in each other. They’d planned last night. Well, Mel had. She’d known that I would have come looking for her after she ran off. I don’t know what her other plan was, maybe to just seduce me. If she wasn’t my best friend, it might have worked, but…

I grabbed a plate for my food.

I wonder if she knew. Marriage was a big thing to hide from someone. My body sagged against the counter. I really hoped she didn’t. And what were the chances that she knew Nate from before? How would she had known he was married in the first place?

That’s the conclusion I came to. Happy with it, I grabbed the plate and went to the ouch to find a movie to take my mind off everything.

It didn’t take me long to finish the croissant. Finding a movie that didn’t involve love or s*x and was interesting, took longer than I would have expected.

Just as I thought I found something good, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

Incoming call…Mel

I hung up and tossed my phone onto the farthest cushion. The beginning credits of the movie started up. A minute didn’t even pass by before my phone buzzed again. No doubt it was from Mel. I grabbed it, muted my ringer, and tried once again to focus on the movie.

After five minutes passed, I slunk low on the couch, ready to put the whole day behind me.

My phone lit up. Message after message came through one after another. I rolled my eyes. Fed up with it all, I shoved my phone down into the cushions of the couch.

I felt much better after that.

***

I woke up by the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut. My mouth was bone dry, like there was cotton stuffed into the back of my throat, and there was a kink in my neck that hurt as I tried to sit up. The back of the couch crushed the back of my neck and I didn’t have enough room to stretch my arms. I was curled up on the couch, my back facing the cushions, and my plate of sad food on the floor. Before I had time to rub my eyes and the rest of the sleepiness away, I was pushed back. I let out a small ‘oof’ sound as I hit the cushions. Thankfully I had enough energy and thought to angle my head away from the arm of the couch. Otherwise, I would have been knocked out again.

Glaring up at Melanie, I stay where I was. She returned the look.

“Why are you ignoring me?”

She stood over me, glaring with her hands on her hips. I opened my mouth, not sure what I was going to try to say, but it didn't matter. I couldn't get the words out. It was as if the look she was sending me was enough for it to stop the words right in my throat. After a few seconds of floundering for me to say something, I closed my mouth and just simply stared at her. She leaned down, the cut of her shirt showing off the slope of her breaths.

I hated that my eyes fell to the curves. She had to know what she was doing though I really couldn't tell since her anger was hiding any other emotion she was having. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. I licked my lips, my cheeks burning as I fought with myself. She was saying something. The mumbles of her words hit my ears, but I couldn't make out anything else.

Girls had never been my thing. At least, that was what I thought until last night. But in my mind, I don't think I actually counted Melanie into my sexuality. Last night had been a fluke of the alcohol in my veins. And it had also included a more than fuckable man. Though I shouldn't be thinking about him either since he was also married.

But looking at the exposed flesh right in front of me, I was starting to think I wasn't as straight as I always thought.

She snapped her fingers in front of my face.

"Are you listening to me?"

I looked up from her breasts. "Huh?"

There was a look that flashed over her face. It was gone before I could place it.

She lowered down until our faces were just an inch apart. The curve of her upper lip swooped down. Her pink lips were wet with lip gloss. I wanted to swipe my tongue over them to just know what it would feel like. What it would taste like. The sudden urge to press against her boggled my mind. I snapped back to reality. My hands shook while I tried to get my head out of the gutter. Instead, I ended up focusing on her blazing eyes that told me what either wanted to tear me to pieces or she wanted to f**k me until I cried.

I wasn’t entirely sure which one was better.

“Jules, why haven’t you been answering me?”

I picked at the corner of the cushion. “I’ve been busy.”

“Bullshit.” She crouched down beside me. I tried to pull away from her, but she grabbed my arm.

“It’s not bullshit if it’s true.” Her grip tightened the more I tried to pull away.

She was wearing perfume. It was stinging my nose. The sickening sweet smell was just like her.

“Did you not think about sending me a text or something? I was worried.”

I snorted. “This is ridiculous. Let go of me.”

She took me by the shoulders and pushed me back. My heart jumped as she loomed over me, her face even closer. If I tilted my head up just a bit I might even be able to kiss her. The heat between us sent shocks through my body, but I resisted the urge to thrust my hips up.

I had to gain control. Having her over me was just asking for a disaster to happen.

Before I could do anything, Mel slid her hand around my neck and pulled me in. Her lips pressed again my mine. I was taken back to last night, but this time I was sober.

With shaking hands, I pushed her off me. She fell back on her heels. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

I didn’t know how much one kiss would affect me. It felt like my body was connected to an electric current.

Mel tried to reach for me. “Jules—”

“Stop.” I shook my head. “Last night is never going to happen again.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You wanted it.”

I sucked in a breath. The look on her face was one I’d never seen on her. The furry in her eyes reminded of a wild animal chasing after its prey. When that gaze was directed towards me I felt like I was going to be eaten alive.

I stood up from the couch. As I moved to the side, her wild eyes followed me.

“Just—” I hated that I was going to say it. “—just stay away from me.”

Even still, she kept that furious look on her face. She was unwavering and it frightened me more than anything else. Even the desire for her that I couldn’t fight.

I backed up, my hand outstretched. When she didn’t follow me, I turned and ran to my room.