Breathe With Me (The Breathe Series Book 3) (43 page)

Judd snickers, unashamed of his affection and love for Alyssa.
What a sap!

“Sure.” He glances from me to her and back as if he’s unsure. “You mind heading home and I’ll meet you there?” He looks back to me. “Can you run me home?”

“Yeah, sure. I’m picking you up right?” I ask Piper. She nods as Abby waves her goodbyes, already on the phone.

After kissing Piper goodbye, I head off with Judd, expecting to receive a text as soon as she sees the surprise in her car.

“So group dinner, are you on board or are you just going along with it?”

I laugh at his question. “It doesn’t matter to me really. I mean, I was sort of wanting to enjoy the rare occasion of going out with her alone since I’m such a cheapskate and don’t take her out very often, but she’ll have fun either way and so will I.” Judd stares at the ground as we walk back to my truck, gently nodding his head in agreement. “And I know it doesn’t bother you or Alyssa…” I pause, waiting for a reaction from him, but he keeps nodding.
He’s already thinking about after dinner, I’m sure?
“…it’s all about what happens after dinner? Before dinner? Maybe in the bathroom during dinner? You guys have probably already snuck a couple of quickies in today, right?” I chuckle and he finally looks up, quirking his brows as if he’s joined our conversation for the first time.

Lowering his eyes into small slits as if he’s studying me, he keeps a straight face and for a minute I think he’s going to roll his eyes, brush me off or stress my name as a means to get me to shut up, but then he speaks up.

“Come on, let’s hurry.” He pulls the door to the truck open and hops in, slamming it quickly behind him; I follow along, then slipping the key into the ignition and cranking it up as he finishes his thought. “I need to get back to the house so I can get in one of those quickies.”

Snapping my head over, I crack up at his smooth wit on that one, pressing my lips together and try to add to the lovey-dovey Valentine’s day humor. “Oh yeah, no romance required…just bumping and grinding all night long.”

Judd throws his head forward on an exaggerated laugh. “Whatever, I saw the huge bouquet of flowers you left for Piper. I was there, man. ‘Do I get red ones or pink ones or should I get the ones that are multi colored since I have no clue what her favorite color is? I’m not getting chocolates; I don’t think she even likes…’
”

I cut him off right as my phone chimes. “Ok, ok, I get it…I was acting like a girl. Well that was definitely bound to happen you know, since I hang out with your sentimental, sappy, I-have-to-get-her-a-black-box-gift-for-every-holiday themed ass. Besides, so much for romance, we’re having a whole threesome party at the restaurant from what it sounds.”

Rolling up to a stop light, I push my foot down on the brake slowly and glance at my phone, swiping it to bring up my messages.

Piper: OMG! I love them! You really shouldn’t have, but I do love them. TY <3

With a wide grin on my face as if I just won a million dollars, I glance up to make sure the light is still red before typing out a quick response.

Me: All for the reward later, baby…all for the reward. Lol

I hit send, then quickly type out a secondary message, feeling my smile right down to my bones as if she was right here beside me.

Me: Jk

I’ll text you when I’m on my way.

Her message back is nearly immediate and does nothing to dull the smile on my face.

Piper: Ok…I can’t wait! ;)

Another spit of laugher comes from Judd and breaks up the happy coma I had dissolved into for a moment. “Oh sure, so much for romance, huh? First roses, now you are smiling at your phone like a thirteen-year-old girl getting a tweet that her fav band is on tour.”

I shake my head, looking to my right as I turn the wheel into the lot of the nearly finished mall.
He’s absolutely right
. I was smirking like a cheesy teeny-bopper trash talking in the locker room about their first feel-up; actually I doubt it was that manly, I probably resembled Judd when he’s looking at Alyssa.
Oh shit, it’s turned into that; I’m becoming a girl.
Even with that revelation, I give Judd a quick glance, then return to my phone, brimming with the same delight as I reread her message and answer both of them back.

“Prepare yourself. I may have just been struck by that little fairy’s arrow and shock you all tonight.”

Judd laughs, “Cupid?”

I crack up;
He would know the name.
“You’re such a girl,” I tease, “But I believe that would be the fellow.”

Getting back to my lame-ass smile as Judd snickers at me, I move my fingers to return her sentiments.

Me: I can’t wait either…

“
OK, I’M HERE,” ABBY ANNOUNCES
as she walks into the room as I’m brushing on one last stroke of mascara, a task which took much longer given the fact that I could not stop sneaking glances at the beautiful red roses which now occupy a vase in the center of my dresser.

“Hey,” turning, I see that she’s already dressed in a black dress, with her blonde hair tossed up into a messy, yet adorable updo and makeup applied to perfection. “I thought you were getting ready here?”

Abby holds her hands to the side and looks down as if she’s taking in her appearance for the first time. “Oh yeah, well I ran by the hospital to get my flowers and my supervisor wanted to speak with me about joining the staff full time. Soooo…I’ll be taking on my first patients this week.” She scrunches her shoulders up excitedly with a huge grin, showing a whole mouthful of teeth.

“That’s great.”

“Yep, no more giving tours and sitting in on therapy sessions. I’m so excited.” Glancing past me, her eyes light up. “Ooooo, I see I’m not the only one that got flowers. Your dad?”

“No,” I laugh. Evan doesn’t exactly fall into the usual sentimental-type that would give flowers, but then again I’ve always seen a side of him that others don’t. “Evan left them in my car today.”

“Wow,” Abby widens her eyes and lifts her mouth into a surprisingly pleased smile. “Go, Evan.” Raising her arms, she pumps them in the air, cheering him on.

“What? He can be sweet.” I sneak a look over at Abby as she rolls her eyes. “He can.”

Abby laughs, plopping down on my bed and placing her arms to her sides to lean back. “Yeah, when he’s not being a smartass.”

“Oh yeah, he can definitely be that; you never know what’s going to come out of his mouth.…”

“That reminds me. I have been meaning to ask you…” Abby starts as I finish my original sentence, mumbling the last part.

“… That’s what I love about him…” I trail off.

Abby jumps in quickly, “Love?!”

Her eyes go wide as she exclaims the word that I didn’t even mean to say out loud, let alone in that context. I do feel that way; I know I love Evan. I always have. It’s just something I tuck down deep inside for a long time; denying it and afraid to let anyone in.

She goes on, nearly the same as Evan would do, pestering and hell-bent on teasing me. “Love?” she emphasizes the word again, in an ooey-gooey sort of tone that makes the corners of my lips curl uncontrollably, and laughter to bubble in the back of my throat and spew out of my mouth. “See you two are at that ‘I love you’ phase?” She tilts her head side-to-side, rolling her eyes and batting her eyelashes dramatically as she says the words
I love you
.

Giggling with a huge I-sure-am smile, I swiftly redirect the conversation to shine the spotlight on her, “Speaking of love…so Hayden sent you flowers, huh?” I do my best to wiggle my neck and be as dramatic in my actions and tone as she was, but as soon as the words are out of my mouth, Abby’s face falls into a gloomy expression and quite the opposite of the giddy girl she was when I brought up the roses earlier. “Uh oh, what happened?”

Folding her arms across her chest, she sits up straight, quirking her lips to the side and dipping her brows on a deep frown. I wait for her to answer as she stares down at the floor, but I don’t say a word; I just wait silently.

After a delayed pause in our conversation, Abby looks up with a startled look in her eyes as if she had no clue that we had stopped talking.

“Oh,” she says in a baffled tone. “Nothing is wrong really.…not with me and Hayden, I guess.” Her nose crinkles up on the words and gives way that there’s a deeper meaning behind what she’s saying.

This is when I cross my arms over my chest, making her aware that I don’t believe a word she’s saying. I’ve known Abby long enough to know when she’s holding back. I’m the one that’s mastered the art of not saying things; bottling everything up, but Abby, she says everything that’s on her mind. It’s very obvious when there’s something on the tip of her tongue that she’s dying to let out.

“Okay spill. What’s going on with you and Hayden?”

Abby’s face softens with a smile as she bounces out of her deep thoughts and looks back at me. “Nothing really. We are fine. I mean, we’re not in that I love you part of the relationship, but then again, I don’t know if we ever will be.” This surprises me, and it must be written on my face as she goes on, quickly explaining, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m crazy about Hayden, but I just don’t feel
that thing
, you know.”

“Okay, yeah I get what you’re saying.” And I totally do. “
That thing
…is pretty vital to a relationship, if I’m hearing you right.” Abby nods her head quickly, in complete agreement of what I’m saying, but there was more to her expression earlier; like she’s worried. “So that’s that? You looked worried earlier…when I brought up I love you…”

She snapped her head up to look at me, lowering her eyes again with way more thought behind them than I’ve ever seen. Abby’s always been a fly by the seat of your pants type of girl. She’s never been one to sit and analyze or overthink any situation, rather she is blunt and lays it all out on the table.

“Abby?”

“Yeah,” she finally joins in. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking.”

I laugh, a whole lot of smartass comments entering my mind.
Great, I’m turning into Evan.
“That sounds dangerous.”

“Shut up,” she jokes, “No, it’s just…” she pauses, bringing her hands together nervously flicking the tips of her thumbs back and forth across one another. “Well it’s no big deal, but you know how I told you that I’ve been sitting in on a lot of the physical therapy patients?” I nod, genuinely intrigued as she continues, “Okay so, imagine my surprise in January when I am walking up to watch one of the first sessions and Tristan ends up being the patient.”

This surprises me. Not many of us have heard much from him or seen him since the wreck last summer. We all figured out gradually that he was just fine, but I think all of us have been curious one time or another to know what happened to him; what made him drop off the face of the earth? I nod my head frantically, urging her on with her story.

Abby makes a funny face, crinkling her forehead for only a second before returning back to her story, “Anyways, so today…well, for the first time since I’ve seen him in the wing on his appointments, I actually ran into him,” she stops, looking at me, hesitant in her words which is not a normal thing for her. “I don’t know…it was just really strange and kind of…” Abby closes her eyes for a second before reopening them to go on, “…it’s just, he used to be so playful and like to screw with me. You know, like at Christmas. But today, he rounds the corner…” she pauses again, biting the inside of her lip and thinking before moving on, “…he was just really bitter and angry and acted like he hated my guts. I didn’t do anything, even say anything. I had my roses in hand and he lets out this loud sigh and becomes this huge asshole. I mean, more than he ever was.”

I’m all sorts of confused. “And that bothered you?” She hasn’t really told me anything; I have no clue where this conversation is going. “More importantly, what happened to him?”

My door creaks, drawing our attention instantly in that direction. Evan’s face appears in the doorway, and I can’t help the girly grin that comes over me.

“Hi,” I draw out in an over-the-top adoringly happy tone with a huge smile.