The Plus One (Starting From Zero Book 3) Read online

  Awww, that’s too bad.

  Snarky internal voices aside, Olivia picked up on what Camille had left unspoken. They’d come to talk to Drew.

  About her? Paranoia had her clutching her stomach. When Drew cast her a questioning look, she tried to make it look like she was straightening her ugly ass green work shirt. There was every possibility their sudden appearance had nothing to do with her. Though it was hard to believe that it was a coincidence. Their little visit had something to do with their belief that he was going to be her plus one to the wedding. Maybe Camille wanted the boys to make nice before the big day.

  One look at Jessie’s expression confirmed it. He looked like someone had shoved a dagger up his bum. He had that tight-lipped, judgy expression going on. She knew that look. He was here against his will. She’d bet money he’d been dragged here to make nice for the sake of their wedding.

  Crap. At times like this knowing all the players in their little drama was more of a burden than anything. She knew exactly what was going on here, and exactly how it would end.

  In her public humiliation. In Jessie and Camille laughing at her. Or worse, pitying her.

  She couldn’t let that happen. She had to salvage this. She had to tell Drew before he heard it from them. Better yet… A plan started to take hold. Albeit not a great plan, but it was better than letting Camille take the lead.

  “If you’re here because of what I told you earlier,” she said, casting a quick look in Drew’s direction before focusing on Camille. “There’s no need. Our situation has, er…it’s changed.”

  Camille stared at her blankly. “So he’s not coming to our wedding as your plus one?”

  Subtlety, thy name is Camille.

  The silence following that high-pitched announcement left Olivia clenching her fists. God, what she wouldn’t give to smack Camille upside the head, just once. She couldn’t bring herself to look in Drew’s direction, though she could feel the weight of his gaze on her and could imagine his response.

  Initially he’d be confused. But even drunk, he’d figure out what had happened. And then how would he react? Laughter, most likely, and at her expense. Mockery, definitely. She closed her eyes briefly and said a little prayer that there was no pity.

  Pity from Drew she couldn’t handle. And there was nothing to pity, anyway. It had been a stupid lie, not some desperate attempt to see him again. And if she’d wanted a date she could have found one…probably.

  Maybe.

  Whatever. The point was, there was no reason she should feel so embarrassed. It had been a little white lie, that was all. A stupid, ill-conceived, little white lie, obviously, but that was all. It didn’t mean anything.

  And Drew was tipsy. The thought brought a wave of relief. He probably wasn’t even aware of what was happening. He’d be slow, incoherent even. She had a chance to put an end to it right now before she could get into even more trouble. Before Drew’s drunk brain caught up to speed and managed to come up with a way to torture her with this bit of news.

  “Exactly,” she said just a tad too loudly. She saw Jessie and Camille looking toward Drew, who was probably not even trying to hide his amusement at her predicament. Stepping in front of him, she tried to regain their attention. “You see, I got my dates mixed up.” She slapped a hand to her forehead. “I’m so bad with dates.”

  Okay, she was overselling it now. She wasn’t bad at dates and everyone around her knew it. She hurried on anyway. “I realized my mistake and told him the right dates tonight and it turns out that he can’t go to your wedding after all.”

  She’d said it in a rush and now Camille blinked at her. She glanced back at Jessie but his expression was inscrutable. Was that relief she saw in his eyes? A hint of something she didn’t want to name had her heart racing at the thought. Had he been that upset at the idea of her bringing Drew as her date? There’d always been a rivalry between them, maybe he was jealous or—

  “Change of plans.” Drew’s voice behind her made her jump. When had he moved so close? His voice was right in her ear. She turned her head slightly. Oh hell, his mouth was right there. Her eyes seemed to fixate on his lips, which were cocked up in a lopsided smile that made her breath catch in her throat.

  She remembered that smile.

  Too late she remembered what that smile meant. He was up to something. She dragged her gaze up to meet his and…oh shit. The amusement she saw there was undeniable. He might have been drunk but she saw the wheels turning. He understood clearly what was happening here.

  All eyes were on Drew. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped. What could she do? Beg for mercy in front of Camille and Jessie? No, there was nothing she could do to stop him and he knew it. The mischievous glint in his eyes made that clear.

  She found herself begging mentally anyway. Please don’t do this to me. Please, please, please don’t out me as the lying idiot I am.

  Drew’s grin grew as he threw an arm around her shoulders. For one fleeting instant, it felt like old times. This was something he would have done back then. Before the karaoke incident, which had become something of a turning point in her life, she realized. Life had turned into before karaoke night and after. An arm around her shoulders all casual-like? This was pre-karaoke for sure.

  “Change of plans,” he said again. He turned his gaze to Jessie and Camille. “I was just about to tell Livvy here that I can change my other plans. There’s no way I’d miss this wedding.”

  Olivia stared up at him, unable to tear her eyes away from his profile. What new hell was this? Her heart picked up its pace as she tried to figure out what his game plan was. To ditch her at the last minute so she’d be dateless?

  She was blinking in incomprehension. Why hadn’t he told them that her claim had been a lie? That they’d never even spoken until tonight.

  He turned his head down to face her and any dim hope that he’d acted out of a sense of chivalry, or maybe even out of some lingering sense of camaraderie, vanished at the sight. His eyes held a wicked gleam. He wasn’t doing this to be nice.

  He was going to torture her. Make her life hell.

  Her stomach plummeted. Why did he hate her so much? At what point had he decided that their three and a half years of friendship were so meaningless that he could cast them aside just because of one embarrassing night?

  Yes, she’d run out of there. And yeah, maybe she should have talked to him when he’d chased her down. She’d been drinking too, though, and she’d lashed out in anger. They’d both acted stupid, they’d both said things they didn’t mean. Or sang things they didn’t mean. Whatever. It was college, they’d been drinking, it happened.

  True friends were supposed to get over that sort of thing. Hell, she’d forgiven Jessie for cheating on her and Camille for stealing her boyfriend. Sorta. Well, she was working on it, anyway. Couldn’t he forgive her for rejecting him that night?

  Her eyes pleaded with him now as she gave him a shameless look of entreaty. Whatever evil agenda you have, please let it go.

  His smile grew and she knew she’d lost. She was vaguely aware of Camille speaking next to them.

  “So you’ll both be at the wedding?” she asked. Her voice sounded slightly strained. “Together?”

  Drew glanced over at her. “Yup. Wouldn’t miss it.” He turned those smirking lips back to Olivia and she resisted the urge to slap them.

  Or kiss them.

  What? No. Kissing was off limits. That would only make everything worse. That’s what had gotten them into this trouble in the first place, wasn’t it? Sexual attraction. That magical, mystical force that had been largely invisible between them right up until Drew shined a spotlight on it.

  “Great,” Camille said. “That’s great. The whole gang will be back together again. Isn’t it great, Jessie?”

  Olivia couldn’t bring herself to look away from Drew but she didn’t have to look at Jessie to know that this wasn’t great. Not for him. He had just as much baggage with Drew as she did, t
hough neither of them had ever told her what went down between them after she’d run away that night.

  Drew had stopped talking to her, then Jessie had broken up with her. There’d never been a chance to talk things through. To figure out what the hell had happened to their perfect little threesome.

  “Yeah, great,” she heard Jessie mutter with an utter lack of enthusiasm.

  Even though she heard their voices, her ex and her ex-friend were on the periphery of her awareness. She was too absorbed in this silent communication going on between her and Drew. It largely consisted of him smirking at her and her pleading with her eyes, but still. It was engrossing.

  Then Camille shoved herself between them, coming to stand too close as she grabbed Olivia by the wrist…hard. For a tiny stick of a thing, Camille had a surprisingly tough grip.

  “Liv, why don’t you and I grab a drink at the bar while these boys talk.” Camille gave her arm a wrench and she was forced to follow.

  She threw one last look over her shoulder and saw both “boys” watching them walk away. Jessie’s mouth was set in a grim line like he was about to undertake an odious task, which she supposed he was, if her guess was right.

  And Drew…well, his expression was harder to read. He didn’t seem to be aware of Jessie at all as his eyes met hers. She was the first to look away. She had to turn back around lest she run into someone in the crowded bar area.

  But she didn’t want to walk away. Not again. She didn’t want to leave things unresolved.

  Who the hell knew what Drew would say if she wasn’t there?

  Chapter Three

  Drew watched her walk away, his head pounding with unspoken words. Or maybe that was his heart hammering away.

  Or maybe it was just the drum and bass from the terrible band on stage.

  The only thing he knew for certain was that he was vibrating, humming with energy. It had always been this way when Livvy was around. Today just felt more intense because it had been so long since he’d seen her.

  So long he’d started to convince himself that he was over it. Over her. That her ridiculous effect on him was all in his mind.

  Clearly he’d been fooling himself.

  For a second there, he’d thought he was seeing things. She’d looked like a vision. An apparition in garish green. But even in that ugly uniform that he’d always teased her about, she still looked good.

  Who was he kidding? She looked amazing. Not in a traditional way, maybe. She’d never been a knockout beauty, at least not by popular standards. After nearly a year away from her, he’d gotten good at taking a step back in his mind’s eye and looking at her objectively. On nights when he couldn’t sleep for missing her, he’d mentally tear her down and tell himself she wasn’t all that. He could do better.

  But then she’d walked into his club and it was stupidly obvious that all that self-talk was bullshit. Utterly meaningless nonsense that he’d tried to sell himself to appease his ego.

  While it was true that from an outsider’s perspective she might not have been deemed the hottest girl in NYC, or even their group of friends, that didn’t matter. Because he wasn’t an outsider and she wasn’t some girl who could be compared.

  She had no equal.

  He’d known that since day one of freshman year when she’d turned around in her chair to face him and his new roommate, Jessie. Her smile had been brilliant, her eyes filled with warmth. They’d made small talk until the professor arrived and then, after class, she’d turned around once more. She’d made him laugh—over what, he couldn’t remember—and then looked him straight in the eyes and asked him out for coffee. Sure, she’d asked Jessie for coffee too but he’d been struck senseless then and there.

  The more he’d gotten to know her the worse his affliction became. She was perfect…for him, at least. Kind and thoughtful, funny and smart. But more than that, she’d always gotten him and he’d understood her. There was a connection between them that he’d never been able to explain, only experience. She’d listened to him and talked to him as if there were no barriers between them. As if they spoke a language of their own. When Livvy was around they existed in a bubble—a warm, sweet, sexually charged bubble.

  For a little while their first semester, he’d thought maybe she’d felt the same way. But then she and Jessie started dating, and right around that same time she’d declared him her best friend.

  Awesome.

  He’d been relegated to the friend zone. Maybe he could have fought it, maybe he should have fought it. But he hadn’t. Because she’d been so happy when Jessie asked her out and Jessie…well, that fucker had sworn he’d do right by her.

  The asshole in question cut into his reverie and forced him to look away from Livvy, who looked anxious and distracted as she cast glances his way while Camille talked at her.

  “So…” Jessie said, his tone dark and ominous. “You and Liv.”

  It was a statement, not a question, but his meaning was clear. There was so much baggage loaded into that phrase, it needed its own compartment. You and Liv… What he meant was—So, you finally got what you wanted. What he meant was—You’ll always be her second choice. What he meant was—Thanks to me, you got your shot.

  Sure, none of that was said, but it was there. An undercurrent of anger and resentment that went both ways. Jessie had his reasons for hating him, not that Drew cared. He’d never forgiven Jessie for the way he’d treated Liv. The cheating, obviously, but also before that. The way he’d made her doubt herself. The way he’d wrapped her around his little finger just to know that he could. The way he failed to love her the way he should. The way he hadn’t made her happy like he’d promised.

  He wondered if Jessie even remembered making that promise. Olivia might have been clueless as to Drew’s feelings, but his roommate had been well aware. They’d both known from the start that they liked the same girl—the cute, outgoing goofball from psych class.

  Drew had stepped to the side once he realized that Olivia had made her choice. And Jessie had been grateful for his gracious defeat, promising loudly and boldly that he’d made the right move. That he would make her happy, no matter what it took.

  He looked over at Livvy again, her smile strained as she apparently made small talk with Camille. Camille, of all people. The supposed friend who Jessie had chosen over Livvy. His brain still reeled over that one.

  That old anger that he’d thought he’d buried reared up. For a moment it was like no time had passed and he was facing off with Jessie back in their dorm room all over again.

  “Yup,” he said, flashing his former friend a grin he knew would piss Jessie off. “Me and Livvy.”

  He took a swig of his drink, wishing he was drunker than he was. He was just tipsy enough that Olivia’s sudden appearance had shattered his defenses but not nearly drunk enough to block out the onslaught of emotions that came with her.

  He felt Jessie’s stare and something in his gut hardened into a sickening knot. Fuck. He was lying about being with Livvy. What the hell was he doing? He’d come so far this year, moving on from his best friend and the woman he’d thought was the love of his life. And now, in one night, it had all come rushing back. He was once again in the middle of whatever drama was going on between them.

  He watched Livvy with Camille and shoved aside the inkling of pity that threatened to make him weak. She was using him, plain and simple. He didn’t know what had transpired to make her lie and say she’d invited him as her date to their wedding, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out her motive. She’d been trying to make Jessie jealous. Piss him off. Get a response.

  The hard knot in his gut twisted, making him want to keel over and be sick. She was hoping to get Jessie back.

  It was all so clear. He turned away from Livvy and took in his former friend. Jessie hadn’t changed, not at all. Still just as sure of himself as ever. He’d heard he’d gotten into the med school of his choice. Of course. He’d gotten Camille, the fiancée he’d wanted and the woman h
e deserved. He didn’t envy him his success or his relationship. He had no desire to be a doctor and he’d rather be stabbed in the eye than have Camille for a girlfriend. The woman was as fake as they came. Maybe that was why she was so perfect for Jessie. If he couldn’t see the continent-sized difference in their worth than he deserved Camille for a wife.

  No, he wasn’t jealous of any of that. But he was jealous. He was too damned self-aware to deny it, even to himself and even in this tipsy state. He was fucking jealous as hell. Because despite the fact that Jessie didn’t recognize her value, despite the fact that he’d cheated on her and treated her like dirt—Livvy clearly still wanted him.

  Jessie’s gaze was fixed on Livvy and Camille, though which one he was focused on wasn’t clear. “When did that happen? Last I heard you two weren’t talking.”

  Drew didn’t try to hide his grin. Well, shit. It looked like he wasn’t the only one with jealousy issues. He recognized that tone. He should, he’d heard it enough in his own voice.

  The knot eased up a bit. He still had a bitter taste in his mouth but the new realization made it easier to breathe. So, the great Jessie Wagner was jealous of him for once. That was too good to resist. So good, he had to push the button a little more. He gave a careless shrug that Jessie missed because he was still watching the women at the bar. “Oh, you know how these things go. We had some issues to work out but we couldn’t stay away from each other for long. And once we were alone in a room together…” He let his words trail off, letting Jessie fill in the rest with his own imagination.

  Drew knew better than anyone that the cruelest torture was the sort of images the mind dreamed up. He couldn’t count how many nights he lay awake in bed torturing himself with images of Livvy and Jessie alone together.