“So, you’re getting married? James is an unlucky guy.”
“Go to hell, Austin.”
“That’s not very nice to say to the first love of your life. I’m sure you dreamed of marrying me once.”
“I never loved you.”
He shrugged. “I guess we remember that differently.”
“Great. Let’s agree to disagree. Have a good night, Austin.” I turned around but he grabbed my wrist.
“You know, you’re the only girl that ever dumped me.”
I pulled my arm away from him. “I didn’t dump you. We never even dated.”
“Well, you were a constant booty call then. You were so easy. Always ready to please me. Fuck, college was fun, huh?”
I shook my head. What a dick.
“Aren’t you curious about why I know that you’re marrying your professor?”
“You can read tabloids? Congratulations. I didn’t know you were literate.”
“You’re feistier than I remember. I like it. But no, I didn’t read about it. Isabella told me.”
Despite the alcohol and the anger I felt toward him, my body suddenly felt cold. “What?”
“I ran into her the other day. She’s smokin’ hot by the way. James made a mistake letting her go.”
I noticed the manila envelope in his hand for the first time. Oh God. Isabella really was a lunatic. She must have known about my history with Austin. And now she had him wrapped around her finger. How the hell did she even know I was here? I looked back up at Austin’s face. He was wearing a smug smile. Like the thought of him sleeping with her would upset me. It didn’t. They belonged together.
“And she’s amazing in bed. Fucking fantastic actually. So much better than you. She’s very talented with…”
“Stop. Please stop talking.” I didn’t care if Austin was fucking Isabella. But I didn’t want to hear about how great she was. I didn’t want to have to think about James and her together. About how much James had loved her. Or how he might still love her.
Austin smiled. “Touchy subject? Does James compare you to her often? It’s really not much of a comparison.” He looked so happy with himself.
“James loves me.” My words didn’t even convince myself.
“Really?” Austin tossed the envelope at me. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“You know nothing about him. And you know nothing about me.”
“Baby, I know you.”
“You don’t, Austin. You never did.”
“Well, I know you’re going to be upset about what’s in that envelope.”
I looked down at the envelope in my hands.
“I guess I’ll read about you calling off the wedding in the tabloids.” I felt his hand slap my ass.
I shoved his chest hard, but he didn’t even take a step back. Instead, he grabbed the back of my head hard and pressed his lips against mine.
I hit his chest with my fist, but his hand just gripped my hair tighter. His tongue slid against my closed lips. I hit his chest with my fist again and then shoved him as hard as I could. “Get the fuck off me!” I wiped my lips with the back of my hand. “What is wrong with you?”
He smiled. “Call me, Penny. I think your self confidence is just about where I need it to be to pick up right where we left off in college. You know, with you wishing I loved you, and me banging every girl I meet. It’ll be like old times. Enjoy the pictures.” He winked at me and walked away.
As soon as he disappeared, I let my tears start to fall. I ran to the bathroom and into a stall, locking the door behind me. My heart was beating fast as I opened up the envelope. I pulled out a small stack of photos. There was a post-it note covering the first photo:
A picture speaks a thousand words isn’t exactly true for this. All of these pictures really only mean one thing.
I lifted off the note and stared down at an image of James kissing another woman. This time, it was one I didn’t recognize. He was wearing a baseball cap and it looked like he hadn’t shaved since he left New York, but it was definitely him. I felt even colder than I had when I was talking to Austin. This isn’t real. This can’t be real.
In the next photo, her legs were wrapped around his waist and her back was pressed against a wall. My chest hurt as I stared at the image. There was no explanation for this. It wasn’t Isabella attacking him, or him getting closure from his ex. This was passion. This was real. It wasn’t photoshopped or fake. James was at his bachelor party hooking up with another woman. But that’s what guys did during their bachelor parties. Wasn’t it?
In the next photo, his hand was up her shirt. He was clearly grabbing her breasts.
My back slid down the bathroom stall door.
In the next photo, his hand had moved. It was lost under her skirt. Her face had tilted away from his. Pure bliss was written all over it. I knew that feeling. I knew exactly the way he could make me feel. How he could make anyone feel apparently.
I put my face on my knees and let myself cry even harder.
“Penny?”
I tried to stop crying when I heard Melissa’s voice.
“Penny? I’m so sorry. I’m sorry about everything. I don’t want you to not be friends with Tyler. And I definitely don’t want you to not be friends with me over this whole stupid thing. I’ll get over it. I will. I’m so sorry. I don’t want to fight about this anymore.”
Her words just made me cry even more.
“Penny?”
I sniffed from inside the stall.
“Are you okay?”
“No.” I knew how my voice sounded. It was desperate. I felt so lost. “I’m sorry too. I’m so sorry.” My voice cracked.
“Penny.” Melissa knocked on the door. “Penny, let me in.” Her voice was a little more demanding the second time.
I reached up and unlocked the stall door.
When she looked down at me, the only thing on her face was concern. She knelt down on the gross bathroom floor and threw her arms around me. “What’s wrong?”
Instead of saying anything, I sobbed into her shoulder.
She rubbed my back and kept her arms around me. “It’s okay,” she said in a soothing voice. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
I had my best friend back. But I had lost the love of my life. Nothing was ever going to be okay again.