Clipped Wings (38 page)

Lisa was in the middle of explaining the difference between a vertical and horizontal hood piercing when I noticed a flash of red on her left ring finger.

“Is that new?”

She held it out to me. A single ruby sat cushioned amid a circle of tiny diamonds set in a platinum band. It was stunning.

“Jamie proposed last night.” Her smile was radiant.

“Oh, my God. Congratulations! That’s great news!”

A riot of conflicting emotions hit me as I hugged her. Connor had been over-the-top romantic with his proposal. It had been a complete surprise, particularly since it came on the heels of a two-month break. After weeks of limited communication, he showed up at my undergraduate commencement and took me away for a weekend in Minneapolis, intent on fixing things between us. We’d had a private dinner in an upscale restaurant on a rooftop patio. He’d asked to me marry him over dessert, while the sun had sunk below the horizon. I’d been months away from turning twenty, having fast-tracked through my undergraduate degree. I’d been naïve, blinded by the romance and the allure of a safe and comfortable future.

When Lisa released me I felt disembodied. I welcomed the numbness. Happy though I was for her, the news resurrected pieces of my past I didn’t have the energy to deal with.

My mouth was full of cotton, my brain just as fuzzy as she told the story, her excitement uncontained. Her unbridled joy was exactly how a person should feel after a proposal.

“We’re having a party this weekend to celebrate. I know it’s short notice, but I’ve already talked to Cassie. She’s going to close Serendipity early so she and Nate can come, at least for a little while.” Lisa’s exhilaration was infectious as she chattered away. “You don’t work tomorrow, do you? I’m taking the evening off to shop. I thought maybe you’d want to come?”

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been shopping with a girlfriend. My friends and I used to go to the city regularly for weekend expeditions. I wanted to replace the memories with new ones that didn’t hurt so much.

“I’d love that. And I could make cupcakes for the party,” I offered.

Hayden’s arm came around my waist, surprising me. “What’s this about cupcakes?”

“For the party this weekend.” Lisa flashed her ring in explanation.

“Right. Good plan. You’ll make extra?” Hayden burrowed his nose into my hair and whispered, “Maybe I can come over and help with the icing.”

* * *

Hayden didn’t get the opportunity to help me, because Lisa and I spent the next two days planning her party. He was miffed by my lack of availability, but in the wake of Lisa’s announcement, I welcomed the space. Almost. The nightmares returned without him, and his absence in my bed made me anxious. It reaffirmed how much I’d come to depend on him.

Sarah wasn’t working, so I invited her to join us with the party planning. She and Lisa hit it off right away.

The three of us congregated in the kitchen, the counter overflowing with baking supplies and cooling cupcakes. Sarah measured icing sugar and dumped it into the mixer. It puffed up in a sugary cloud and she shrieked, batting it away.

“It’s sugar, not poisonous gas,” I said sardonically.

“I don’t understand why the two of you like baking,” she grumbled as Lisa hip-checked her out of the way and took over.

“Why don’t you pour some wine?” Lisa suggested.

“Excellent plan. I’ll take care of drinks, and then I can be the delegator or something. I’m good at that,” she said with a cheeky grin.

“How’s your stalker situation as of late?” I asked.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Don’t get me started. He has to be the most persistent man I’ve ever met.”

“What’s this about?” Lisa asked.

“Oh, just this guy Chris who’s been at my work a lot lately. He won’t take a hint.”

“What she’s not telling you is that Chris happens to be covered in tattoos,” I prompted.

Lisa’s eyes went wide. “Not
our
Chris?”

“The one and only.” I grinned.

“Oh my God!” Lisa gave Sarah a speculative look. “Well, it all finally makes sense.”

Sarah’s hands went to her hips. “Does someone want to fill me in here? What exactly does ‘
our
Chris’ mean?”

Interesting. She sounded jealous. Maybe his persistence was paying off. “I meant to tell you a while ago, but it slipped my mind. Chris and Hayden work together at Inked Armor.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh! You didn’t know?” Lisa asked. “This just keeps getting better and better!”

“How did it slip your mind? It didn’t strike you as vital information to pass on?” Sarah looked flustered. She rushed across the room and peered out the window at the backlit sign across the street. “He works right across from where I live? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me until now!”

“I’ve been preoccupied.” The morning I put things together, I’d been overwhelmed by more stressful revelations. Since then, Chris hadn’t come up in conversation, and I hadn’t thought to unveil that little tidbit.

“Right, of course.” She sashayed back to the counter and grabbed her wine, downing half the glass in one gulp. “Wait. So this party he invited me to—” She rooted around in her purse and pulled out the postcard-sized invitation. “This is for you? He invited me to an engagement party? What the hell?”

“You have to come. Please?” Lisa begged. “Chris will totally expect you to blow him off. I would pay to see his face when you show up. He’ll cream his pants.”

Sarah crinkled her nose. “Ew. I hope not. That wouldn’t say much about his stamina.”

“There’s nothing wrong with Chris’s stamina,” Lisa said dryly.

“How do you know?” Sarah asked.

“Word of mouth.”

“The rumors must be true then.” Sarah looked upset by the possibility.

The oven timer went off, so I checked on the cupcakes.

“So, where is it you work?” Lisa asked.

“The Dollhouse.”

There was a beat of heavy silence as I took the tray out of the oven.

“I worked there before it changed hands,” Lisa said. “From what I hear, it’s still a pretty loosely run establishment, and management isn’t any better now than it was then.”

“You used to bartend at the same nightclub Sarah works at?”

Sarah cough-choked on her wine. “The Dollhouse isn’t—”

“That was part of my job detail, but it was a long time ago.” Lisa switched off the mixer and turned to me. “Let’s check out your closet and plan your outfit for tomorrow.”

* * *

Lisa picked me up early Saturday afternoon. Together we loaded six dozen cupcakes into the trunk of her car. Before we headed to her place, I stopped at Inked Armor to let Hayden know he should meet me there. He hadn’t slept at my place since Wednesday. He was in a foul mood.

“I’m staying over tonight,” he said testily.

I was looking forward to a peaceful sleep. I stretched up on my tiptoes and kissed his chin. “That sounds good. I’ll see you in a few hours?”

“You’re really excited about this shit, aren’t you?”

“I guess. It’s nice to have girlfriends, to be involved in something normal.”

He leaned down and kissed me. “I love that Lisa fits into your idea of normal.”

“Everything is relative, isn’t it?”

Lisa poked her head in the door. “Hands off, Hayden, she’s mine today.”

“She’s been yours for the past two days. I want her back.”

“You can have her tonight. I’m double-parked, so we have to go.”

Lisa hauled me out of the shop before I could steal another kiss. Hayden watched me through the window as I got into her car and we pulled away.

Lisa’s house was magnificent. It was clear both she and Jamie were artists in the strictest sense of the word. Her 1950s-era décor blew me away. Everything appeared to be original and in pristine condition.

It was very different from my own jumble of mismatched furniture. It dawned on me that Hayden only ever came to my place, which I guess made sense because of TK. She was still just a tiny thing; as silly as it might be, I didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone overnight. He always stocked my fridge with various snacks and drinks, but the only personal item he left behind was a toothbrush and body wash so he didn’t end up smelling “girly” after a shower. I wondered what his place would look like. I imagined it would have a distinct absence of clutter; stark, neat, organized. It stung that in all the time we spent together, he never invited me to stay over. Not once.

Lisa and I spent the rest of the afternoon decorating her house and preparing appetizers. She knew how to throw a party. At six o’clock we went up to her bedroom and changed. The theme reflected her love for all things ’50s, and she poured me into a red-and-white dress with a flouncy skirt and a narrow bodice. The back came down low, showing off the outline of my tattoo. Lisa pulled my hair into a high ponytail, and the effect was complete.

We were in the kitchen, testing Lisa’s spiked punch, when Jamie came home. She swatted him away from the food and sent him straight upstairs to get ready. When he came back down twenty minutes later he was wearing black pants, a matching vest, a white dress shirt, and a bowler hat. The vest he’d worn before, without a shirt under it. Leave it to Lisa to make a costume party out of her engagement celebration.

Chris showed up shortly after, decked out in a suit. When he saw me, he gave a long, low whistle. “Hayden’s going to flip his shit.”

“In a good way or a bad way?” I asked.

“That depends on who hits on you tonight.”

“Will he be here soon?”

“He’ll be a while yet. He ended up with a last-minute newbie.”

Cassie and Nate stopped by for a drink. There was talk about Thanksgiving dinner preparations. I’d tried not to think about the upcoming holiday. It was too close to the anniversary of the crash for comfort. Both Cassie and Lisa informed me I was to come for dinner, enlisting me to make cupcakes. Apparently it was quite the event, followed by Black Friday shopping.

Just after nine, the tone of the party changed. The house began to fill with Inked Armor clientele and acquaintances of Lisa’s and Jamie’s. I felt inadequate among the inked and the pierced, like an imposter surrounded by those who had embraced the lifestyle to an extent that I hadn’t. Hayden was such an extremist that it made me curious about the kind of women he’d been with prior to me. I didn’t have to wonder for long, though.

A tall blonde with death trap shoes came into the kitchen and shrieked when she saw Lisa. They hugged, obviously old friends. The blonde didn’t even acknowledge my existence as she looked around the adjoining rooms. “I don’t see Hayden. Is he busy already?”

“He’s not here yet,” Lisa replied, shooting me a quick glance.

“Well, when he gets here, tell him I’m looking forward to catching up.” She winked at Lisa and sauntered off.

“Who was that?” I asked, watching her long legs disappear around the corner.

“Just a friend.” Lisa poured more wine into my glass. “Hayden should be here soon.”

Several more women asked after him. While some of them wore designs that were clearly his, not all of them seemed to be clients. I shouldn’t have been surprised. He was gorgeous and talented and recalcitrant, a heady combination of masculine energy. They all preened as they surveyed the room and wore the same look of disappointment when Lisa informed them he had not yet arrived.

When he did, he was a sight to behold. Dressed in black pants and a white button-down, he obviously decided he’d tried hard enough. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms. The top two buttons of his shirt were open, revealing a white undershirt. His hair was out of control, as if he’d been in too much of a rush to bother with it. He didn’t look happy as he scanned the room, his frown deepening as he took in the crowd until he saw me standing alone in the kitchen. His eyes burned with a predatory gleam as he took a step toward me.

And then some she-banshee threw herself at him.

Son of a mother-fucking bitch.

Of the dozens of people packed into the living room, I could count four that I’d been with. And not as in dated. As in fucked once and never repeated the act again. Getting through the throng of bodies to Tenley would be like crossing a minefield. I’d be lucky if I didn’t come out with shrapnel in my ass.

Lisa had warned me, but I hadn’t factored how many of the girls Lisa and Jamie were friends with were also familiar with me. Not much had been off-limits back in the day. I probably should have prepared Tenley a little better for who or what she might encounter.

To make the situation worse, Tenley looked disconcertingly hot dressed up like a ’50s housewife, with her hair pulled back in a smooth ponytail. People were looking at her. She’d been here for hours without me, and any number of assholes could have hit on her. I wanted to flip her skirt up, wrap that ponytail around my hand, and bend her over the closest surface available, just to make a point. I didn’t even have a chance to close the door before Trina, a former fuck, came hurtling at me. I’d been with her once, three years ago. Sienna had participated, too. I flinched as she vise-gripped my neck in a hug. She blatantly rubbed her tits on me. I kept my hand up, refusing to return the molestation, and watched Tenley’s smile dissolve.