“Shit,” I hiss. “I forgot Ashlea’s drink.”
“All good, I’ll go back and get it. It’ll be worth it to see if Tommy has shut his mouth.”
I look up at Todd. “How does he know?”
Todd shrugs. “Who knows? I don’t care. It’s not like it’s a secret. I just don’t announce it to everyone. To me, it’s a non-issue. I am who I am.”
I put my drink on the table and hug Todd. “And you are wonderful,” I whisper, then standing back I take in his outfit. “Your light purple shirt brings out your brown eyes perfectly.”
“Lavender. It’s lavender. Have I taught you nothing?”
I giggle and nod. “Right, deputy, lavender.”
Todd grins, kisses my cheek, and goes back to the bar.
***
The entire night I do my best to ignore Kris. I answer his questions when he directs them to me, but I’m actively trying not to engage him in any conversation. Todd has kept his arm around me, and from a distance, we look like a happy couple. It’s late, and Todd squeezes my knee under the table. Glancing at him, he tilts his head slightly, the universal code for it’s time to leave.
Standing, I hold up my glass and look at TB and Ashlea. “To the happy couple, may the sea be calm and still, may the fish be aplenty, and your home forever full of love, and lastly, may your troubles be nil.”
“Here, here!” Todd stands and also holds up his glass.
Walking around the table, I put an arm around TB and Ashlea. “Love you both, but it’s way past my bedtime. I kiss each of them on the cheek and look at the table, avoiding Kris’ eyes. “Night, everyone.”
Todd holds out a hand to me, and we walk out of the club.
“Thank the seven seas that is over.”
“Aww, come on, it wasn’t that bad,” replies Todd.
I stumble as we hit the parking lot. “Pfft! And did you have to park miles away from the front door?”
Todd laughs. “Not my fault you wanted to look all hot in your six-inch heels and figure-hugging dress.”
Grabbing onto his shoulder, I lean on him as I remove one shoe and then the other.
“Oh my God, this is heaven,” I breathe as I flex my toes onto the hard surface.
“Need me to carry you, princess?”
“Nope, I’m pretty sure I could race you there now.”
With a shoe in each hand, we walk back to the car.
“You okay?” asks Todd.
“It’s been a weird night. I just want to go home and sleep.” Holding up the shoes as we walk, I continue, “And burn these.”
Todd opens his car door, and I slide into the seat. The drive home doesn’t take long, and we sit together in comfortable silence. Todd pulls up and goes to turn the car off, and I place a hand on his shoulder.
“No, don’t. Go home, sleep, you’ve got work tomorrow. I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, Todd.” Leaning over, I kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you for tonight. And you looked very smart in your lavender shirt and gray pants.”
“Charcoal.”
I laugh and nod. “Right, charcoal.”
Chapter Thirteen
Kris
Athena didn’t so much as spare me a parting look on her way out of the yacht club. Next, to me, Sophia didn’t even bother with small talk spending most of the night either talking on her phone or messaging on it. To say Sophia has gone cold toward me is an understatement. She played the devoted girlfriend in front of the cameras, but as soon as there wasn’t one pointed at us, she didn’t even try to talk to me. Even when I drove us back to the motel, Sophia got out of the car and didn’t look back, her phone already attached to her ear.
A knock at the door surprises me. I crack it an inch and see Todd on the other side, so I open it fully and look at him. He has both hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels as though he’s nervous.
“What can I do for you, Todd?”
“I, ah, knocked on the room next door, and Sophia told me to try this room. I think I need to talk to you.”
Turning around, I sit on the end of the bed, and he sticks his head in, hands still in his pockets, looking a little lost.
“Come in, take a seat.”
Todd closes the door and sits on the only chair in the room while I lean forward, elbows on my knees, hands clasped, and wait for him to speak.
“Y-You’re not sharing a bed?”
“No.”
Todd looks around nodding, and finally his gaze comes back to me.
“What do you want, Todd?”
“Athena…” he pauses. “Do you care for her? Or is she just a plaything you want back?”
I unclasp my hands, look at the floor, and take a deep breath. The air here is so much cleaner, I can taste the salt, and I’d forgotten how good it is just to breathe.
“She still cares for you.”
My head snaps up, and I narrow my gaze on him. “I’m not so sure about that. You and she seemed mighty cozy tonight.”
Todd shakes his head slightly and smiles. “No. But that’s a story for another time. I noticed that you and Sophia weren’t exactly getting along.”
He lets the sentence hang there, waiting for me to respond. Drawing in another breath, I sit up straight and rub the back of my neck.
“We aren’t together. I mean, we were, but we’re not now. I’m letting her end it publicly, so she saves face.”
His eyebrows raise, and he makes a strange noise as he sucks in air. “Oh, right.” Todd nods. “Is that normal? I mean, is that how you do things in LA?”
I shake my head. “No, but Sophia is a carefully constructed animal, I mean actor. I’m letting her break it to the world.”
“But you were the one who broke things off?” I nod. Todd leans back, eyes fixed on me, purses his lips, and asks, “Do you still care for Athena?”
My lips turn down, and I shrug. “I never stopped caring, Todd. But I’ve fucked things up pretty badly.”
Todd nods, I guess he probably knows her better than me now.
“Do you know what happened to her?”
Slowly I shake my head. “I asked and—”
“She avoided the conversation.”
“More or less,” I admit.
Todd stands and begins to pace. “If I tell you, you have to keep it to yourself. Athena is a very private person. Are you friends with her on Facebook?” I shake my head. “It’s a completely different persona. From what I can gather from her Mom and Dad, it’s what Athena used to be like… fearless.”
I smile as I remember a different time. “She was. Hell, she’d do things on a dare that I wouldn’t even attempt. When we were younger, she got me into so much trouble. I was always covering for her.”
Todd laughs. “You know her parents knew that, right?”
I quirk an eyebrow. “Did they now?”
“Yeah, her dad talks about you three a lot. Told me that you and TB were always keeping her out of trouble.” Todd sits down. “I think it’s part of the reason she never got over you. I think Athena was always waiting for you to come back and make it better.”