Playing with Power - Book 5: New Adult Office Romance (11 page)

“So now you’re just saying that to everyone, huh?” he joked, easing the tension.

She smiled at him and shook her head. “It was Rochelle. I wonder what that means...if anything.”

He pressed his lips together in thought. “Probably nothing. You said he was sleeping with her before. There’s no reason to think he stopped because he proposed to Faith.”

“But surely she told him about the attack. I put my shoe through her freaking foot and she must have bruises all over, not to mention at least a blister or two from the soup.”

“Who knows? You aren’t exactly his favorite person either. Maybe they’re bonding over it or something. Maybe he’s turned her into a double agent.”

“Oh, now there’s a pleasant thought. Ugh, there’s literally nothing I can do about it from here,” she said glancing at the clock. “We better get back if we’re gonna get any sleep before the wake up call.”

“Are we seriously picking apples all morning?” Landon asked.

Lauren laughed as she switched on the high beams and rolled toward the quarry exit. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

And when it comes to Parker, I’m beginning to feel the same way...

10.

The entire family spent the day thrusting every autumnal activity on Landon like he was visiting from a foreign country. After stuffing them full with pancakes and bacon, Lauren’s mother insisted they all go to the orchard. The Kemp family hadn’t been apple picking since long before Lauren was in high school, so the activity was novel for everyone. She couldn’t help noticing her father limping through the grove, doing his best to hide how much his knees were hurting him, but he seemed to be having fun regardless.

They picked out pumpkins, ate apple cider doughnuts, and took in all the fall colors. As Lauren watched the oranges and reds reflect on the lake water, she felt at peace. Autumn was her favorite time of year and even though their trip back home was one of saying goodbye, she felt like it also marked a new beginning.

While it was fun to spend so much time with the family, Lauren and Landon excused themselves after dinner so they could have a little time to themselves. After throwing on light jackets to shield from the cool autumn night, they headed out to the car.

“Back to the quarry then?” Landon said with a wink.

“I was thinking we could take in some of the local culture.” Lauren tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear as she spoke.

Landon arched an eyebrow and replied, “Culture, eh? I’m looking forward to it. No offense to your hometown, but culture isn’t really the first thing I think of.”

Lauren laughed as she put the car into gear. “With good reason.”

She did her best to dampen the flutter of nerves in her stomach. There were only a handful of places in the area to go for a drink and chances were good, if Nick was in town, they’d run into him.
I’m not about to let him ruin my trip home. If I want to go out, I’ll go out, and to hell with him or anyone else I run into
. As she pulled into the dirt lot of the County Seat, her resolve nearly crumbled. She circled the lot looking for Nick’s old truck before parking, a behavior Landon immediately to pick up on.

“You sure you want to park here? The ten other spots you passed clearly had something wrong with them.”

She smiled weakly. “Nope, this’ll do,” she replied yet her hand hesitated on the door handle.

“Are you sure you’re okay? We can just get a bottle of wine and go back to your parents house. It’s really not a big deal,” he gently placed his hand on her knee.

“No, it’s fine. I’m just being ridiculous.”

Landon held her hand tightly as they walked into the bar. The County Seat was exactly the same from the first time she’d set foot in it with a fake ID years before. A purely local haunt, the bar was tucked away on a road you had to know was there. In a town with thriving tourism, having a locals watering hole was a great escape. The long bar ran down the length of the building on the right side. On a busy night, Lauren had seen five or six bartenders at work behind it but only two were on that night.

Most of the tables were high tops with tall chairs and the majority of them were empty. A couple were playing darts but Lauren’s eyes fell on the center of the room. It looked like the bar was setting up for a beer pong tournament. They found an open spot at the bar and Lauren excitedly grabbed his arm.

“Do you play?”

“I mean, I
have
but I’m not claiming to be a rock star or anything.”

Lauren’s eyes twinkled in the dim light.
This is exactly what I need right now.
“It’s alright, I can carry you. Can we play?”

He threw his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his chest in a half hug. “As long as it’s with you and not against, I’m all for it. I don’t think I could handle the Kemp competitive streak right now.”

As she hugged him back, the bartender spoke behind them. “Hey guys, what can I get you?” Lauren’s stomach twisted when she saw who it was. Judging from her face, the girl seemed to have the same reaction. “Oh, Lauren...hi.”

“Trisha, hey! How are you?” Lauren cringed at how cheerful she sounded. A friend of Nick’s, Trisha graduated a few years after they had but never left the area. They were little more than acquaintances but given their connection was through Nick, it made the moment pretty awkward. Lauren had always thought she’d had a bit of a crush on him.

“Doing fine. How about you?” Trisha’s eyes darted to Landon and back. “Still in the city?”

“Oh yeah, love it there but I’m moving out to California in a little bit. Better weather but now I have to worry about earthquakes which is pretty scary. No big blizzards though, which is good—” Landon put a hand on her arm and she stopped babbling.

“How much is the beer pong tourney?” he asked with a broad smile.

“Ten bucks gets you a pitcher every round, play until you’re knocked out,” Trisha replied as she shamelessly looked him up and down.

“Awesome. We’ll do that and I’ll take two Molson, please.”

Trisha handed him a voucher for the game and set the two beers on the counter. “Good seeing you,” she nodded before walking away.

Landon waited until she was out of ear shot before saying, “You alright? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk so quickly in my life.”

“Ugh, she knows Nick but probably doesn’t know we split up. I felt like she was looking at me like she’d caught me cheating or something.” Lauren took a sip of the beer and shook her head. “I just talk a lot when I’m nervous. I can’t help it. I just feel like I have to fill the void with
something
, anything...I’m doing it again.”

“Mmmhmm.” He looked amused, as if happy to be seeing this side of her.

“Maybe this was a mistake. We should go,” Lauren said turning to the door. Landon caught her elbow.

“Wait. You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. He should be the one afraid to show his face around here, not the other way around. Let’s just have some fun. I don’t see many more opportunities where you can demonstrate your beer pong prowess.”

Two hours later, Lauren couldn’t remember why she’d been nervous in the first place. The bar quickly filled just before the beer pong tournament began and it was shaping up to be a good night. The bar had four different tables going at once, each with a large crowd cheering and hollering during each round. Landon was much better than he’d claimed he’d be. They’d easily won their first three games and had to wait for the other brackets to catch up.

“I’m surprisingly sober,” Lauren said. She had to lean close to be heard over the music.

“I’m just glad your back doesn’t hurt from having to carry me,” he replied. His lips gently grazed her ear, sending a shiver down her back.
How did I get so lucky?
She closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of his cologne and sweat, head swimming with the desire to feel his skin against hers. As if having the same thought, he pulled her face towards him and kissed deeply. They were both breathless by the time they pulled apart, staring into each other’s eyes. Just as she was about to suggest they leave for a little more alone time in the car, their team was called to Table 3.

“If we win this one, why don’t we go for a little celebration afterward?” he said with a wink.

“We’ll see,” Lauren replied coolly, thankful her arousal wasn’t as obvious as his.

They weaved their way through the crowd to the table and began setting up. As Lauren was pouring the pitcher of beer evenly into each of the cups, she noticed only one member of their opposition had arrived. He looked like a stereotypical frat guy; crooked hat, graphic shirt, shorts, inflated ego.

“Hey! Your partner too scared to show up, eh?” she yelled across the table with a grin.

“Of you two? Yeah, alright. Keep dreaming.”

Lauren turned back to Landon who’d finished organizing the cups. “I want to beat these guys into the ground, you hear me DeWitt?”

The corner of his mouth curled in a sly smile. “You know, you’re pretty sexy when you get this competitive. We might have to start hosting these tournaments at our house,” he said pulling her close. Lauren sighed at those words.
Our house...

“Hey, you wanna play or finish fucking?” the frat guy yelled out.

It was like someone had hit the slow motion button. Lauren pulled her eyes away from Landon and was about to continue the shit-talking when she noticed the partner had arrived. As he was slowly filling up the cups with one hand, his other hand was groping at a young girl with dark hair. Lauren was aware of a strange sound that escaped her throat, somewhere between a groan and a shout. The partner looked up and they locked eyes. At first, he looked just as shocked as she but a moment later, an expression of almost evil glee spread across his face.

“What’s the matter?” Landon asked, tugging at her elbow.

Lauren ran her tongue across the edge of her teeth before she spoke, her eyes still on the guy standing across from them. “That’s Nick.”

And just like that, slow motion became fast forward. Without a word, Landon flew down the side of the table and grabbed Nick by the collar. Even though he was an inch shorter, his anger towered over him.

“I was hoping I’d get to meet you, you fucker,” Lauren heard Landon hiss as she drew near. Before she could reach them, the bouncer materialized out of the crowd and grabbed each guy by the shoulder, shoving them to the front door.

“Yeah Nick! Let’s fuck this guy up,” the frat guy shouted as he followed. She grabbed his arm and violently tugged him back, pinning him against the door frame.

“You’re not gonna fucking touch him. This is between me and Nick, got it?” Lauren nearly smiled at the guy’s shock. He took one look at her bruised and battered face and decided it wasn’t worth it. He threw his hands up defensively and let her walk past.
Yeah, tough guy.

By the time she got out to the dirt lot, a small crowd had already formed. Nick and Landon hadn’t started throwing any punches, thankfully, but the tension between them was palpable.

“So you’re the prick she left me for, eh? I gotta say Wren, I don’t see it,” he said turning towards her as she approached. She noticed Landon tense when he’d used her nickname. Throwing a glare over her shoulder, she stepped between them and put her hands on Landon’s chest. At first he refused to look at her, his heated gaze locked on Nick.

“This is my fight,” she said calmly. “Let me talk to him. He’s not going to hurt me.”

Landon scoffed. “Are you serious? Wren, after everything he’s done—”

“I can take care of myself,” she replied firmly, turning her back on him.

Although the light was terrible, she caught her first real glimpse of the state her ex was in. He looked like he’d put on weight, his favorite shirt stretched tight around the midsection. He wobbled slightly on his feet as he looked down at her. It was like looking at a pod-person; someone who looks, smells, and moves like the person you used to love but is nothing like them. His expression quickly morphed between sadness, anger, and an irritating amusement.

“How did you know we’d be here? Did you follow us?”

“Follow? Jesus, listen to yourself. Like I give enough of a shit to follow you anywhere.” He spat into the dirt.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” She ignored Landon’s shout.

“Just tell me one thing. What were you hoping to accomplish? Did you want to scare me or were you just fucking with me?” Her voice was cold steel.

Nick shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Wren. I think you’re starting to lose it a little. Probably working too hard.”

“
She’s
losing it?
She
wasn’t the one who sent a fucking pig heart with a steak knife driven through it, you fucking psycho!”

“Enough!” she shouted at Landon. He set his jaw and took a step back, folding his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, down boy,” Nick laughed. “What the fuck are you talking about, anyway?”

“The pig’s heart,” she rounded on him. “You left a note in it for me.”

“Sorry babe, not me, although I wish it had been. Sounds pretty sick.”