#Chapter 14 - Confusion
#Chapter 14 - Confusion
Abby
The bar is packed when I walk in. It takes me a moment to find Leah in the crowd, but I finally see her
standing at the end of the bar with one of the waiters. I make my way over, and she doesn’t notice me
until I’m standing right in front of them.
She squeezes his butt. “See you later,” she says with a wink.
He smirks and slips past us, looking over his shoulder at Leah. I watch him go with my eyebrows
raised.
“I’m going to have fun with him later,” Leah says, wrapping her fingers around my arm. I can’t help but
laugh a little. Leah’s definitely a character, always has been.
She leads me to a nearby table with a reserved sign on it. We climb into the booth, and the minute
we’re seated, she pulls me into an exaggerated hug.
“So,” she says, leaning away from. “What’s going on? You sounded pretty urgent on the phone.”
It takes me a minute to find the words. In the meantime, she flags down a different waiter and orders us
a couple of drinks. I didn’t really plan on drinking tonight, but it would be a lie to say I couldn’t use one.
Things have been crazy recently.
“I think mine and Adam’s wedding is going to be postponed.”
“Postponed?”
“I just don’t think I’m ready to set a date. There’s too much going on right now. I’m thinking maybe we
could have a long engagement.”
“Does he think so too?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t actually talked about it in a lot of detail.”
Leah’s eyebrows go up. “Are you really going to get married? It’s not like you’ve been seeing Adam
that long.”
I nod. The waiter appears with my glass of wine, and I take it gratefully. Leah watches me sip from the
glass with an expectant look on her face. Around us, people dance and jostle to the beat. Up on the
stage, the DJ controls the music with an intent look on his face. It’s possible we should have gone
somewhere quieter. Usually, we come here to chat a little, then dance, but I’m too tired to do that
tonight.
“I said yes,” I say, as if that explains everything.
Leah does her shot and grimaces. “Abby, why do I get the feeling that the sex isn’t all that interesting?”
“Hey!” I elbow her in the side. “I didn’t say that.”
I can’t help but think about Karl, and the last time we were together. The memory of writhing under him
surfaces. The feel of him everywhere. His smooth muscles, and his tongue in my mouth, and the
sparks flying up my spine as I came apart beneath him.
I distantly register that Leah is still talking, and I force myself to shove the memory away. “Adam’s too
focused on his own world if you ask me. You went out to a restaurant with him, but when does he ever
attend parties with you? When has he ever really spent time with your friends?”
“You’ve met him.” I knock back the rest of my wine, and Leah gestures for them to bring us another
round.
“Yeah, once.”
“I thought you liked him.”
Leah shrugs. “He’s nice. Handsome. That’s about all I picked up from him.” Material © NôvelDrama.Org.
She eyes me for a moment, and I squirm under her gaze. I already regret confiding in her about our
sex life. I tell Leah everything, but sometimes she can be a little judgemental. Like now, for instance.
“Sex is important,” she says. “You’ve got to have an exciting sex life if it’s ever going to last. I know a
good sex counselor if you’re interested?”
“Leah, I don’t need a sex counselor.”
She gives me a skeptical look. “Whatever you say. Just think about it.”
I promise her I’ll think about it, even though I really have no intention of doing so. How would I even
bring that up to Adam? As far as he’s concerned, our sex life is great. And honestly, just because it’s
not as exciting as it was with Karl, doesn’t mean it’s bad. It doesn’t need to be fireworks all the time.
“So, I saw Karl today,” I start, a little hesitant. Leah isn’t Karl’s biggest friend. In fact, she uses the word
‘asshole’ with his name almost every time she says it.
She frowns as the next set of drinks are put down in front of her. I reach for one of her shot glasses and
knock it back. The liquor burns in my throat, but I welcome the feeling. Maybe it’ll help this conversation
go down better.
Leah eyes me and does the second shot. “What did that asshole want?”
I tell her what he said, and her frown deepens the longer I talk. By the end, I can tell she’s angry. Her
brows are pulled together, and her face is a little red.
“Wow, he really thinks he can just waltz into your life whenever he feels like it and you’ll just take him
back. What an arrogant prick.”
“Leah–” I start.
“I can’t believe he had the nerve to say that to you?”
I feel the sudden urge to defend Karl, which just makes me more confused. Just a few weeks ago, I
would have said the exact same thing, but I can’t get him out of my mind. I’ve decided that he definitely
seemed sad. Behind all that anger, he’s hurting. And as much as he hurt me too, I don’t want to sit here
and badmouth him.
“He’s not all bad.”
Leah gives me an incredulous look. “Abby, no. I’m not going to let him interfere with your life, and you
shouldn’t either.”
She’s right, I know she’s right.
“I know. I won’t.”
Then why doesn’t it feel right? Why is he the one person I want to talk to about all this, even now? Why
do I miss the feeling of his weight on me so much?
But Leah’s right, I can’t let my resolve crumble. I have to remember everything he put me through, the
depression I fell into after the divorce. And my poor wolf. She’s still not awake, even if I do feel her a bit
whenever I’m in Karl’s presence.
I start to change the subject when my phone rings. Adam’s name appears on the screen, and I answer,
putting my hand over my other ear to block out the noise.
“Adam?” I shout, trying to hear him over the music. “Sorry, it’s loud in here.”
“Your ex is here.” “Karl?”
“Yeah, and he’s not happy.”
“I’ll be right there.” I hang up the phone and meet Leah’s questioning gaze. “I’ve got to go,” I tell her as I
slide out of the booth.
She follows me. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, there’s just something I need to take care of.” I can tell by the look on her face that she won’t let
me leave until she knows exactly what’s happening.
What does he think he’s doing, talking to Adam? Of course, he couldn’t leave it alone, and this horrible
day just goes on and on. Just what I need, I think bitterly. More Karl related drama. It’s not like I don’t
already have enough of that in my life.