A Is for Abstinence (4 page)

“We haven’t met
properly
.” Aphrodite giggled. “Would you guys mind holding off on the cake and bouquet and all that for a while? Promise we won’t be gone long.”

I waited for Cara to explode into a rage, but she didn’t seem surprised by her friend’s request. She rolled her eyes and said, “Thirty minutes or I’ll throw it without you.”

Aphrodite beamed and made air kisses at Cara. “Love you, babe. You’re the best!”

She grabbed my hand but I pulled back before she could drag me out of the room. When she questioned me, I wasn’t sure what to say to her. I wasn’t sure what my problem was. But then I found myself saying, “Actually, I think I’ll stay here.”

I shocked Shane, Cara, and especially Aphrodite speechless. Aphrodite gaped up at me with those big blue eyes as if she couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening. “Sorry,” I told her. “You’re a beautiful woman and all, but it’s not going to happen. At least not with me.” I pointed to my lonely bandmate and added, “Dustin would probably give you a go, though.”

Aphrodite’s eyes bugged and I knew what was coming. I didn’t even try to avoid the slap when she raised her hand. I deserved it. She called me a very impressive string of curses and then stomped off to the ladies’ room.

I turned to my two bewildered friends and gave them my most sheepish smile. “At least she didn’t have a glass of champagne in her hand. I hear that stuff stings when it gets in your eyes.”

They both continued to stare at me slack-jawed, waiting for an explanation I didn’t have.

“What the hell was
that
?” Cara asked.

I cringed, realizing I might have really upset the bride on her big day. “Sorry if I just ruined your wedding or something. I didn’t mean to insult your friend. I just wasn’t feeling it.”

I waited for the kind of emotional outburst that Adrianna would have definitely had if she were in Cara’s position, but Cara burst into laughter. “I never, ever thought I’d see the day!” she cried, gasping through her giggle fit. “Kyle Hamilton getting slapped for refusing an offer instead of making one.”

“Quick, call Guinness!” Shane chimed in. He was laughing so hard he had to grab onto my shoulder to keep from falling over. “This has to be some sort of record.”

They didn’t mean any harm, but I still got irritated. I knew it was ironic as hell, but I just couldn’t share their humor. This wasn’t funny to me. It was disturbing. What the hell was wrong with me?

I sighed and forced a smile on my face that I knew wouldn’t fool anyone. “Congratulations, you guys. If you need me, I’ll be in the hotel bar.”

. . . . .

I was busy nursing a glass of scotch when Cara sat down on the stool beside mine. “Skipping out on your own wedding reception?” I asked.

“Just taking a quick breather.” She slapped her hand down on the counter. “Can someone get me a drink? Something strong.”

“Mother-in-law?” the bartender guessed, chuckling as he slid a shot glass in front of her and filled it with vodka.

Cara pounded the shot back like a pro. She winced from the burn of the alcohol and groaned. “That woman drives me crazy.”

This time I laughed, too.

Cara slung her arm over my shoulder. “Thanks for coming today. I know it couldn’t have been easy so soon after…”

I was glad when her voice trailed off. “It’s okay. I’m over it.”

Cara raised an eyebrow at me, calling me out on the lie.

“No, I am,” I insisted.

“Then what was all that back there?”

I shrugged, downed the rest of my drink, and then gestured for the bartender to refill my glass. “Hell if I know.”

“Have you been with anyone since Adrianna?” she asked.

My shirt collar suddenly felt too tight. When tugging at it didn’t help, I took my tie off and unbuttoned the top button of my shirt. “More than you want to know about in that first week,” I said once I could breathe again. “But when it didn’t make me feel any better I just…lost interest.”

“You
lost interest
?”

I shrugged again. “I had something—
thought
I had something special with Adrianna. I guess the casual thing just seems…pointless now. Not worth the trouble.”

“Wow.” Cara blinked at me in surprise, but her reaction was still sincere.

I cursed when I realized what I’d just said. “She’s ruined me, hasn’t she? I’m broken now.”

Cara stole a sip of my drink and then laughed a little. “Maybe,” she agreed. “I guess it depends on how you look at it. I bet if you asked Val she’d say Adrianna fixed you.”

Val. As in Cara’s old best friend Valerie Jensen. As in the one and only Virgin Val. The girl my fiancée accused me of being in love with and cheated on me because of. What was it with everyone bringing up the past lately?

“Good old Virgin Val.” I drew the name out in a long sigh. After a pause, I shook my head and took another drink. “How is she?” I asked slowly. Carefully. Grudgingly. My thoughts had turned to her more than once since my breakup with Adrianna. “Is she still a virgin, or did she actually find her perfect saint of a man?”

Cara swallowed hard. It took her a minute to respond. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

And then it hit me. “She’s not here today.” I knew Cara and Val had drifted apart after high school, but I couldn’t believe Val would blow off Cara’s wedding. “I’m sorry.”

Cara shrugged. “I didn’t invite her.”

At my surprised look, she stole my drink again. “I wanted to, but in the end I couldn’t do it. We haven’t spoken since that night at the Tralse concert. I couldn’t send her an invite because I was afraid she wouldn’t come. I’m sad she’s not here, but I’ll get over it this way. Her blowing me off would have broken my heart.”

In a blink, the hotel bar was gone and I was back on that stage from over three years ago. That moment at the concert with Val had been one of the best of my life. It had been Tralse’s first-ever sold-out stadium show and we’d put on the greatest performance of our lives. The crowd had gone insane when I demanded Val join me onstage. She’d played along with me for once and had genuinely enjoyed herself.

Val and I reached a truce that night. She’d surprised me more than anyone ever had as she stood in front of me in that maddeningly sexy skirt and made me beg on my knees for her forgiveness. I’ll never forget the look on her face as she struggled not to smile. That grin had been an unspoken acknowledgement of the friendship we’d developed that she’d never admitted existed.

“Kyle?”

“Huh?”

I shook myself from the memory and tried to focus on Cara. Her eyes had glossed over so I handed her a cocktail napkin. Guilt swelled up in me as she dabbed at her eyes. Cara and Val’s friendship had been ruined because of me. I was the one who had come between them. “I’m sorry, Cara.”

Cara squeezed my hand and shook her head. “It wasn’t your fault. We all made mistakes back then.”

“I made the most,” I muttered.

We fell into silence, both lost in thought, each probably remembering that whole crazy affair and wondering how we could have done things differently. I had the added pleasure of comparing the one that got away with the one I should have thrown back.

“Hey, Cara, what’s your biggest regret in life?”

Cara’s response was quick. “Losing Val.”

I smirked. Her and me both.

You would think my failed engagement was my biggest regret, but you’d be wrong. I’d spent the last two weeks looking back on my relationship with Adrianna and I realized now that I was better off without her. I’d hooked up with her to take my mind off of someone else and kept her around because it was easier.

I did grow to love Adrianna, but it had never been one of those life-altering, earth-shattering romances they make movies about. Three years from now there wouldn’t be a song I still couldn’t sing because I couldn’t stand to think of her. I never even wrote her a song. Val was different. Even though we’d never had a real relationship, the girl got under my skin and messed with my head the way no one else ever had.

I felt Cara look at me, but I kept my gaze trained on my glass.

I never talked about the last time I saw Val—the night we said good-bye. I never told anyone but Shane about the kiss we’d shared that night. Only Shane knew that she’d offered her whole heart to me with only one condition—and that I’d been too scared, stubborn, and prideful to accept it.

Not knowing what else to say, I kicked back the rest of my drink in one shot. “Congrats on the marriage, Cara. It was a hell of a wedding.”

Cara squeezed me in a tight hug. “Thanks for being here,” she said again. “I know it was hard for you to come.”

“Not at all,” I lied. “Besides, this is your day. It’s not about me.”

Cara nudged my side with her elbow. “For once,” she teased. “Come on, rock star. We’d better get back in there before Shane starts to think I finally fell for the great Cheerleader Seducer.”

I laughed and tried not to look too proud. “Shane told you about that, huh?”

Cara gave me the sigh that made her so famous on her soap opera as she dragged me back into the reception hall. “My dear, sweet Kyle. Shane tells me
everything
.”

Cara never ceases to amaze me
. She and Shane only closed on their new house two weeks ago, and somehow she’d thrown together a housewarming party as glamorous as her wedding. The 3.5 million dollar spread up Laurel Canyon was almost as sweet as my place in Malibu, and tonight it was decked out with so many fresh flowers and twinkling lights you could both see and smell it from miles away. The potted orchid in my hands seemed rather ridiculous now.

“Kyle!” I hadn’t been in the front door two seconds before Cara threw her arms around me and kissed my cheek. “You made it!”

“Congrats on the new house.” I handed over the flower. “The guy told me it’s supposed to be a symbol of wealth, beauty, love, and elegance.”

“My kind of flower.”

Cara grinned. Her happiness made her sparkle with radiance under the soft light. It could have been the glittery makeup causing her to sparkle, but the glow was definitely happiness.

“And for Shane…,” I said, holding up a six-pack of Corona.

Cara gave me a look. “Beer?”

“Hey, this is the good stuff,” I defended myself. “Plus, I thought you’d kill me if I showed up with the vintage pinball machine I wanted to get him.”

Cara laughed. “You’re right. Thank you. I think Shane’s out back.” She pointed to the beers in my hand. “Do
not
use those as an excuse for the two of you to sneak off and disappear all night. As I have warned him several times, he is a host this evening. He has to mingle. And as for
you
, I have someone I want you to meet.”

Was it too late to get my keys back from the valet? I turned around and tried to walk back out the door.

Cara grabbed me by the collar of my leather jacket. “Oh no, you don’t!” At my frown, she said, “Come on, Kyle. She’s gorgeous and really fun. You’ll like her. I promise.”

“Like the last one?”

Cara rolled her eyes at me. Last time she’d tried to set me up with some woman she met in her yoga studio. I’d had to get a restraining order.

“No, not like the last one. Candy is a friend of mine,” Cara insisted. “Prescreened and certified nonpsychotic.”

“Candy?”

Cara waved a dismissive hand. “This is L.A. You know how it is.”

Yes, I knew how it was all too well. “Maybe now would be a good time to tell you that I’ve had a change of heart. Jumped the fence. Swapped teams. Whatever you want to call it. Women no longer interest me, so there’s no point in trying to introduce me to every single woman on the planet anymore.”

Cara folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. “Gay? That’s your excuse this time?”

“Yup. I’ve rediscovered my sexuality.” I patted her shoulder. “I’m so sorry to disappoint you, Cara. Give my apologies to your friend.”

“No worries.” She flashed me a brilliant smile. “If it’s men you seek now, then I have
two
people I’d like you to meet tonight. Edwin will be thrilled. He’s a big fan of yours.”