Unspoken Memories (Unspoken Series) (23 page)

I’M SITTING AT our new table
finishing a salad when Trey comes into the room. He keeps looking deviously in
the direction of the hallway, where Matt’s currently in the shower.

They had both came home really stinky after practice. After
the usual game of rock, paper, scissors, Matt won the shower leaving me stuck
with a stinky Trey. We couldn’t use both showers at the same time, unless you
wanted to take a really, really fast one. Having seen what guys do to each
other, I was getting a bit worried about why Trey kept looking behind his back.

“Care to tell me what exactly you’re trying to hide from
Matt,” I ask amusedly.

He checks behind him one more time. “I’ve arranged for us to
go out for Matt’s birthday and I want it to be a surprise,” he says. “He
insists on not wanting to celebrate this year, being that Emily is gone and
everything, but I thought it might be better if we celebrate anyways. You know,
maybe cheer him up.”

It makes me sad to think that this would be the first year
he’d have to celebrate without his sister. I don’t know what’s it’s like to
have siblings, but I’ve become really close to my new set of friends and I
would be sad if I didn’t have them around during my birthday.

Trey walks over and leans his hands on the chair across from
me, the one facing the hallway, before continuing. “I booked us a VIP section
at one of the new clubs that just opened. It’s really hard to even get in so it
should be awesome,” he says, dragging out the last word.

Okay, now I know why he’s being sneaky other than wanting it
to be a surprise. “Trey Johnson, how is it exactly you got us into this club?”
I narrow my eyes at him not wanting to hear the answer I already know he’s
going to tell me.

His face immediately becomes worried. “Come on supermodel,
it’s for Matt.” He pleads, “You know I had to drop your name in order to get us
in. It’s really no big deal, I told them you’ve really been wanting to go, but
couldn’t get in. The manager practically groveled at my feet with apologies, so
I took advantage.”

I angrily groan out loud. Being that it’s Trey this doesn’t
surprise me. But he knows damn well that I wouldn’t use my name to get us in
anywhere. I’m pretty sure that if Matt got wind of it, he would be just as
pissed. No wonder he’s being so sneaky when he’s telling me, it has nothing to
do with it wanting to be a surprise for Matt.

Rolling my eyes, I brace myself and ask, “When is Matt’s
birthday anyway?” I wonder how much time we have to soften him up to the idea.

Trey drops the bomb on me by saying, “The end of this week.”

If I was currently eating something I swear you’d need to do
the Heimlich on me to prevent choking. “Trey Johnson, why are only telling me
this now?” I practically shout at him, but keep my voice down since I heard the
water turn off a minute ago.

“It took a couple of phone calls to get to the right person
who would definitely get us into the club. I finally got through just a couple
of minutes ago. Like I said, Matt doesn’t want to celebrate his birthday, so
that’s where you come in,” he placates me, smiling.

My temper is starting to flare and I’m about ready to walk
around the table and smack that smile off his face. “Besides using my name
against my will, what is it I’m going to have to do?” I seethe to him.

He desperately tries to plead his case. “I need you to
somehow convince Matt that you really want to go to the club this weekend.
We’ll act like it has nothing to do with it being his birthday, even though
he’ll probably know it is.”

I finally find an excuse to avoid the club, shaking my head
at Trey in disagreement. “We can’t go out this weekend, we leave for San Fran
on Friday for my race,” I say. “Or did you forget?”

“We can leave really early on Saturday. I checked your
schedule and you were technically going to sightsee anyways.” He’s still
supplicating. “Come on Abigail, don’t be a meanie. That boy has done a lot for
you lately, the least you can do is make him happy on his birthday.” He throws
that last piece in, while pointing in the direction of the bathroom.

Oh great, he’s going to play that card on me. Does he really
think I don’t know how much Matt has done for me?

“That’s low, Trey, even for you,” I snarl at him. I hate the
fact that I’m taking a chance at upsetting Matt. “Fine. We’ll leave on
Saturday, but don’t expect me to be happy about it.”

“Be happy about what?” Matt says from the hallway, and I
instantly go rigid. I look at Trey pleading for help, because God knows I can’t
lie to Matt. Well, maybe I would be able to, but I don’t want to.

Trey looks up in Matt’s direction with a smile. “Abigail got
a phone call from that new club downtown, you know, Ardent, so she agreed for
us to go this Friday. Isn’t that cool?” he eagerly tells Matt. “She’s not going
to be happy about the lack of sleep, but oh well.” He shrugs his shoulders.

My eyes are now shooting daggers at Trey for putting me into
this situation.

Matt walks over to us dressed in his usual boxer briefs with
a towel around his neck, holding an end in each one of his hands. I have to
bite my lip to keep myself from drooling at him. When he’s half-naked like this
you can see every ripple of muscle lining his body and I just want to run my
tongue over every… single… one.

Matt’s stern voice snaps me out of my imaginary lick
session. “No. This race is very important to you Abigail. The club thing can
wait for another weekend.”

Trey is looking at me with desperation in his eyes, ready to
throw me under the bus. How in the hell did I get stuck with this task? I know
the only way I am going to convince Matt is to use the female power I had over
him. “Matt please, it sounds like it’d be really fun,” I beg him.

Deep down inside I feel like the biggest traitor in the
world right now as I stand up from the table. I walk over to Matt with my pouty
lips and think to myself, I’m going straight to hell for what I’m about to do. “Please
Matt, it would be really fun to be able to go out to a club. You haven’t taken
me to one, and I got really excited when they invited me. Come on Matt… for me?”
I say to him as I’m standing directly in front of him, tugging on the towel
ends he’s holding to pull him to my body.

His eyes go dark as he’s staring down into mine. I know
exactly what I’m doing to him right now, and I’m pretty sure he knows it.

“Fine, but don’t complain when you don’t make the 3:30 mark,”
he says out loud so Trey can hear. Then he lowers his lips next to my ear to
whisper, “Beautiful, I expect you to be the cake I’m eating that night.”

I take in his husky voice whispering in my ear, imagining
exactly what he means by that. He takes my hands, releasing them from the
towel. He turns around, leaving me swaying to catch myself as I watch his hard
ass walk away. Thinking about what he just said, combined with the sight of his
sexy body in front of me, I swear I feel like I am about to come at this very
moment.

I hear Trey’s shout of triumph behind me and pull myself
together. I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack from my rapid heart
rate. I turn around and give Trey the evil eye before stomping off to my room
to take the next shower.

There probably isn’t any warm water yet, which is fine with
me, ‘cause right now I need something just as cold as one of those damn ice
baths I dreadfully hate.

KELLY AND I decided to go shopping
the next day for Friday night. We were both really excited, but I don’t think
Julio enjoyed it as much as we did. We must have gone to more than ten stores
and I still hadn’t chosen anything. Kelly had found her dress at the second
store, but as she was claiming, I was being difficult.

The problem was that I wanted the dress to be perfect for
Matt’s birthday. Trust me, at that point I was frustrated too.

As we are in a small boutique, browsing around, frustrated
again, I hear Kelly say, “I bet your old closet is filled with all the right
dresses that you needed.”

Thinking back to the enormous closet that held a massive
amount of clothes, I nod my head before saying, “Yeah, it was huge, and it
probably did have a dress I would have been satisfied with. But the size of
that closet and the amount of clothing it had, it only proved one thing, how
shallow and unhappy I was. I don’t care what anybody says, money and clothes
won’t buy you happiness. Your friends and family give you that,” I say, smiling
over at her.

She smiles back, “Have you ever thought about going back for
your stuff?”

I take in her question, then say, “No. Especially since I
would risk coming across Bill again. I’d rather take the loss than run into
him.”

She nods, satisfied with my answer and we exit the boutique,
moving on with our shopping. I’m about ready to make Julio drive us to Seattle
if I don’t find the dress soon. I’m so frustrated by that point that I’d even
take the risk of being seen by Bill.

As I was about to give up we go into a shop claiming to hold
high end couture dresses and the moment I walked in I saw it at the back of the
store. It was on a mannequin, but I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Needing to
try it on, I quickly asked the store attendant to take it off the mannequin and
I headed straight to the dressing rooms. Five minutes later I had the dress on
and it fit perfectly. I was about ready to cry from happiness of finally
finding the dress.

It was white, with a v-neck front and back that fitted
tightly at my waist and flared out at the skirt. It had a bit of tulle under
the skirt giving it a puffy look. I was in love with it and I knew Matt would
love it as well.

“Damn girl, if that boy doesn’t declare his love for you
when he sees you in this dress, I’m going to have to hit him upside the head
with that football he throws around,” Kelly says behind me as she’s looking at
the mirror.

I turn around to look at her. “You think he’ll like it?” I
cautiously ask.

She snickers. “I should have known you were shopping for
him. I wish you had told me that five stores ago, I could have helped a little.
You sure this is the one?” she asks, tilting her head to really examine the
dress. “Of course it is. You look smoking hot.”

I nod my head in approval and begin taking the dress off so
I can pay for it. Finally satisfied, I leave the store, with dress in hand,
thinking that tomorrow night was going to be perfect. With Kelly’s help, I
quickly picked out some shoes to go with it and we were out the door.

THE DAY OF Matt’s birthday comes
sooner than I expected. After a quick lunch at the Brewhouse, we all head back
to the house to get ready for our night out on the town.

Since we were leaving early in the morning we had agreed it
would be a good idea for David and Kelly to stay over for the night. So they’re
here getting ready with us. Kelly helped me with my make-up, and also did my
hair, throwing it into a stylish ponytail.

I finally got my dress on and was about to dig into my
closet for my new heels when I hear a knock at my door. Since I’m on my hands
and knees I just yell, “Come in,” over my shoulder as I grab the box containing
the heels. I’m already standing up when I feel a hand reach for my arm to help
me up. I look up to see Matt smiling down at me with a thin jewelry box wrapped
in black with a big red bow tied around it.

He hands me the box. “I saw this online and knew you had to
have it.”

“Matt, it’s your birthday, I should be buying you something,”
I say to him, grabbing for the box. I hesitate about opening it, but Matt has a
very anxious look on his face, so I start unwrapping the bow and paper.

What I see inside takes my breath away.

It’s a charm bracelet, but it’s breathtaking. Its links are
made of beautiful sliver links, similar to a Tiffany’s bracelet. Throughout the
links are several tiny rounded charms, and when I lift the bracelet to take a
closer look, I can see numbers engraved into them.

“It’s the distances of the races we’ve run together. I
wanted to get you something that would always remind you of those races. Of us,”
he says, as he looks down at the bracelet with me.

As I start to run my fingers over the charms, I noticed that
he’s also included the most recent race. It’s of the Portland Marathon. They
had included a small charm in their finishers’ swag packet. At the time I had
thought to myself,
what am I supposed to do with this?
Now that I was
looking at it, I’m so glad that they had included it.

Matt also runs his thumb over the same charm as he says, “This
one is the most important to me. Deep down inside, I believe it’s the one that
brought you to me.”

My eyes start to tear up as I look up to Matt. “Thank you, I’ll
cherish it forever,” I say, clutching the bracelet in my hand.

Matt reaches down and opens my hand. He takes the bracelet,
opens the clasp and wraps it around my right hand.

I lift my head and look at Matt with tears in my eyes.

He takes my head, engulfing it with his hands, and tilts it
up to meet his lips. I feel the electricity that courses in between our lips
burning deep down to my toes. At first his kiss is soft and sweet, but I want
more. I drop the box I was still holding and grab for his hips pulling him
flush against my body, forcing my tongue into his mouth. Our tongues dance
together, as our breathing becomes intense. I want him so badly right now. I
can’t control the need any longer.

Matt apparently has a different idea when he pulls us apart
for air, pushing me away from his body. He reaches down and gives me another
peck on the lips, clearly implying that we’re not going to continue.

Why is he stopping? I let out a small whine and try to pull
him back to me. “Not tonight beautiful, we have to go.”

“Why not Matt?” My question makes me sound desperate, but I
am.

“Abigail, it’s not what you think. I want you, I do, but I’m
not willing to risk messing up what we have. It’s not worth it for a quick
fuck.”

A quick fuck? That’s the way he sees it?

“That’s all I am to you, aren’t I Matt? Just another pawn in
the game you’re used to playing, one where you’re used to making the rules?
Nothing is ever going to happen between us because you’ll always use that as an
excuse. You’ve already made the decision for both or us.”

He stays quiet, refusing to answer, but his eyes are
conveying the message that I’m correct.

He probably sees me as one of the girls he’s used to tossing
aside since I’m always the one throwing myself at him. He’s never tried to push
for more when it came to me, which only proves that I’m right. If he had any
intention of something happening he would have pushed for it a long time ago.
He’s always had the opportunity since we live together.

His continued silence hurts and I push him away, reaching
down for the shoes. I walk barefoot out into the living room, not wanting to
spend another minute alone with Matt. I want to cry so badly, but I bite the
inside of my cheek and face the crowd, needing the distraction right now.

“Damn supermodel, Julio is going to be earning his paycheck
tonight. You’re going to have men all over you,” Trey says as I walk over to
him. When I reach him he grabs for my hand to twirl me around.

Matt’s arms can always make me feel better, but Trey’s words
can always make me smile. I had to love him for that. Knowing that Matt is
probably watching, I purposely avoid looking in his direction and start putting
my shoes on, holding on to Trey’s shoulder for support.

Kelly must have noticed my expression when I walked out because
she gets up. “I think we all need a drink before we leave,” she yells, walking
over to the island containing all the alcohol.

I purposely go stand next to Kelly, dragging Trey up next to
me, not allowing Matt a chance to come near me. He’s studying me with piercing
eyes from across the island, and it’s driving me crazy. Those damn eyes have a
way of reaching down into my soul, even when I’m mad at him. He knows I’m
pissed right now and it’s showing as he’s glaring at me with his eyes at a
slit.

I quickly tell Kelly that I’m refusing to drink tonight
because I don’t want to get dehydrated before my race and she just rolls her
eyes at me and hands me a shot. I automatically shove it back at her and throw
my hands up while I back away from the counter.

She looks irritated that I’m refusing to drink, but I inform
her that I’m standing my ground. The reason I’m really refusing to drink is
because I know the minute the alcohol hits my system, all bets are off, and I
won’t have any control over what happens with Matt.

Everyone takes his or her shot, then another for the road as
Julio comes into the house stating that the party bus has arrived. I had
instructed Trey to hire the vehicle because I was
refusing
to allow
anyone to drive and I thought it would be easier than waiting around for a taxi
as we left the club. It was paid for the whole night, so it would wait for us.
But I think what sold everyone was that they could keep drinking on the way.

I already knew from the cheering on the way to the bus, that
this was going to feel like a very long night.