“What about Jade?” I add in, leaning on the table.
“She doesn’t count.”
“Why not?” I ask, my brows furrowing in confusion.
“‘Cos I’m stuck with her. I didn’t choose her,” she says, making a face.
“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like that,” I say slowly, leaning over and tugging on her ponytail.
She shrugs, pulling her hair out of my reach. “I’m surrounded by you guys twenty-four-seven. It would be nice to have some female company.” I grin. I imagine we would get overbearing at times.
“Who are you going out with?” Xander asks, rubbing his fingers over his sun tattoo.
“Taiya and her roommate.”
“Is she hot?” Xander asks.
“Who? Taiya?” Summer asks, frowning. She darts her eyes to me as if seeing if I’m gonna jump over the bar and beat the shit out of Xander just for asking.
“No, I’ve met Taiya. The roomie.”
“Isis? Yeah she is beautiful. But she’s off limits. Stay away from my friends, Xander, please!”
“Why? I’m a decent guy,” he says, looking put out. I eye his long hair and tattoos and grin. He will probably scare poor Isis away.
“Yeah, you are. But I’m trying to make friends, and if they hook up with you, it’s going to end in disaster.”
“What are you trying to say?” Xander asks, narrowing his hazel eyes. These two. It’s so amusing to watch them interact.
“I’m saying that you can’t have a one-night stand with any of my friends!” Summer says, throwing her hands in the air.
“You hooked up with mine,” Xander points out.
Summer purses her lips. “I didn’t have a one-night stand with Reid. I’m going to marry the man. It’s not the same.”
“You just made Isis forbidden fruit,” I mutter, shaking my head. Rookie mistake. Does she not know men at all?
Her eyes widen. “I did not,” she quickly backtracks, frowning at her brother. “Isis is looking to settle down,” she adds quickly, knowing that would probably scare Xander off. Okay, maybe she does know. “Shit, I better go help Tag,” she mutters, and I turn to see a group of customers walking up to the bar. As soon as she’s gone, Xander raises an eyebrow at me.
“She’s pretty,” I tell him. And she is. She has nothing on Taiya though, hell, no one does.
“Of course she is,” he mutters, but I see him hiding a grin. I refill his glass and then serve a few customers, before heading into the back to try to get some paperwork done. I cringe at the large pile of receipts, turning the laptop on and taking a seat at the desk. Reid walks in an hour later, unable to mask the look on his face. I slowly stand up.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, instantly on alert.
Reid sighs heavily, rubbing the back of his head. “Got a letter from Dad.”
I clench my jaw, lowering my eyes. “We told him not to contact us anymore.”
“He wants us to visit,” Reid says, clenching and unclenching his hands.
“Yeah, not going to happen.”
“I know. I just thought I’d tell you. You’d get pissed at me if I didn’t,” he says, watching me closely. I roll my eyes. I’m not going to have a breakdown at any moment, if that’s what he’s waiting for.
“Heard you’re going to the club with my girl?” I say, changing what is a very touchy subject for the both of us.
“Your girl?” he repeats, grinning. The tension in the room evaporates just like that.
“I believe in positive thinking,” I tell him, sitting back down in the chair. It creaks as it accepts my weight. Reid looks at me, as if seeing the truth under my cockiness.
“Taiya’s a good girl.”
“I know she is.”
“You need to talk to her about what happened that night,” he says, walking over to me and affectionately squeezing my shoulder. A lot happened that night. If I could have a do-over, it would make my life much easier. So many misconceptions and some seriously wrong timing. In the end, I did screw up, especially by not going after her and explaining. Just not as bad as Taiya thinks. She and I were high school sweethearts. We were each other’s firsts, and I was hoping lasts. When I proposed at twenty-one, and she accepted, it was the best day of my life. We had a small wedding, with just our close family and friends. Taiya’s sister, Claire, was her maid of honour, and Reid was my best man. Everyone said we shouldn’t get married, tried to advise us against it, but we didn’t listen. We were in love. More than in love. We were head over f**king heels, obsessed, couldn’t keep our hands off each other in love. I still feel the same way about her. If anything, absence has made the heart fonder and I crave her more than ever. Back then, we spent as much time as we could together, and we just got each other. I let her in—more than any other person—other than Reid. It’s true I kept her protected from a few things in my life, a few things from my past, but that was because I didn’t want to taint her with my shit. She was too good for that.
Everything was perfect.
Until I messed up.
After having an argument, I gave Taiya time to calm down, while I gathered my thoughts. I went back the next day, hoping that I could explain everything to her. Except when I went to her mum’s house, she informed me that Taiya had left. Left as in, left the country. She had packed a bag, and run to South Africa, where I knew she had family. She did leave me a note. I still have that note, even though I can remember it word for word.