The Billionaire & The Barfly (Coming Home) (11 page)

But if that were true
, why did it still feel like it was falling apart inside of her with every step she took away from Henry Maximus?

She opened the front door slowly and was glad to see the house was still dark. She crept up the stairs, hoping that Ben was in his room. Her purse and phone
hadn’t made it to the hospital, so she had no way of knowing if he tried to call.

She slowly opened his bedroom door and saw him asleep in bed. Thankful that he came home, she closed it behind her and went up the second flight of stairs to her room. Her bed was a welcome site
. She knew she wouldn’t get much time in it before the fireworks between her family started when they all woke, so she dove right in, intending to make the most of the few precious hours she had.

Too bad someone was already in
it. Aubrey managed to suppress her scream when Mackenna woke suddenly and jumped back. Aubrey put a hand to her chest and waited for her heartbeat to slow before speaking.

“
What are you doing here?”

“
I’m sorry! Ben was supposed to wait up and tell you I was here! I’m so, so sorry!” Tears sprang to the young girls eyes, and before Aubrey knew it, Mackenna was sobbing. Something went horribly wrong, and she couldn’t be the person to make her night even worse.

“
Its okay, it’s okay. Just scoot over. I need some sleep.”

Mackenna just nodded and moved over. If the girl
were surprised by Aubrey wanting to share a bed, she made no mention of it. Aubrey didn’t want to have another heart to heart. She wanted sleep. There would be plenty of time for heart to hearts in the morning.

~*~

Daylight spilled into Aubrey’s room, pulling her from her deep sleep. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head before looking at the clock. Ten in the morning. How the hell had she slept until ten? Surely, she would have been woken before then?

Sitting up
, she looked around the room and found Mackenna sitting in her chair by the bookshelf reading. Why was she still in her room? Where was Ben?

“
Morning. Where’s Ben?” she asked.

“
Still downstairs. Your parents haven’t left yet.”

Suddenly, it all made sense. Mackenna was hiding out in her room. Aubrey sighed loudly and closed her eyes for a moment. She needed a minute to think. She was all for letting them handle it on their own if that
’s what they chose, but they had to handle it.

“
I’ll be right back.” Aubrey got up and grabbed a set of clothes from her drawer. She changed in the bathroom quickly (she didn’t want her parents to see her in the same clothing as the night before) and went to find her brother.

He was sitting in the living room playing a video game. Their parents were in the house somewhere, but Aubrey didn
’t see them. She plopped on the couch next to him, making him jump. She could see the worry in his eyes, and he had every right to be worried.

“
I tried to call and ask if she could crash in there, but you never answered. You said you were a call away.”

“
Oh, no, don’t turn this around on me. I’m sorry I didn’t answer, but that’s a whole other conversation that we don’t need to get into.” She wasn’t quite sure she wanted to tell her little brother the situation she had almost found herself in the night before. “You can not hide your girlfriend in my room! What happened?”

Aubrey was whispering just in case her parents were wandering about. She still didn
’t want to be the one to tell them even though it was becoming apparent she would have to be the one to convince her brother to do so sooner than later.

“
They kicked her out. Told her to get rid of it and stop seeing me, or to leave. I thought her dad was going to shoot me.”

“
I was afraid of that. You have to talk to mom and dad. You can’t ignore this. What? Is she going to live up there forever? You never know, Mom and Dad might surprise you. They might be able to help.”

“
Mom and Dad just think I’m a screw up, and they blame her. You get me. You know I can’t turn my back on Mackenna now. Aubrey, I love her but I’m fucking terrified.” She could hear the sincerity in his voice and see it in his moist eyes. She knew that look. He was just a step away from shedding a tear, even though he would never admit it.

“
I know you do, but that doesn’t change anything. She is still pregnant, you still have to tell Mom and Dad, and you still are going to have to grow up. First things first, go upstairs, get your girl, and talk to Mom and Dad.”

The doorbell rang as Ben stood up.

“You get that, I’m going upstairs. Come get me when whoever it is, is gone.”

“
I will. And then you will talk to them. I can’t keep this a secret much longer.”

“
Yeah, I know.”

The bell rang again
, and Aubrey called out that she would be right there. As she walked through the house to the front door, she saw a familiar bright green sports car in their driveway. A smile spread across her face, and Aubrey went running, flinging the door open, and launching herself into the arms of the very tall, very handsome, and very gay man who stood on the other side.

“
Whoa, there hot stuff. I hope you knew it was me before you mauled me,” Greg’s deep voice chided in her ear. He was the one friend from college she really missed. He wasn’t from her small little town, and while he was only a few years older than she was, it was as if he had lived a lifetime before going to college. She loved hearing his stories about traveling the world and sampling life from different areas.

“
Of course, I did. Who else would drive that thing?” Aubrey pulled back from her hug and pointed at the car. It was very unique, that was for sure. The bright green color was only the tip of the iceberg. It had black flame decals, tires that were about two sizes too big for the car (or at least she thought they looked that way), and the entire back window was replaced with plastic slats that could open and close. Aubrey wasn’t sure it was legal, but it sure was awesome to look at. “What are you doing here?”

“
Just passing through, so I thought I would stop. I hadn’t heard anything from you in a while.”

Aubrey took Greg inside and told him everything that had been going on in the last week or so. Greg listened and made the appropriate comments when she left an opening for him to do so. It felt good to talk to someone about everything that was going on. By the time she was done
, it felt like a fifty ton weight had been lifted from her chest, one stressful worry at a time.

“
Seems to me like you have your hands full. Your boss is being an ass, and your boss’s boss will give you another chance, Henry... hmm, not really sure what to say there, because I know how you get with men, and your brother, wow, he will figure it out. All you can do is to be there for him. Help him when he needs it, but never give him anything without him having to work for it. He needs to learn some responsibility, and if you fix everything for him, he never will. I hate to leave now, but if I plan on making it to my meeting on time, I need to head out.”

“
Thanks, Greg. Let me walk you out.” Aubrey wasn’t sure what he meant about the Henry thing. What did he mean how she gets with men? She is protective of her heart and her time. There was nothing wrong with that. But she also knew he was trying to help, and who knows when she would get to see him again. An argument was the last thing their little goodbye needed.

Aubrey linked her arm through his
as they strolled out the front door. Walking him down the steps to his car, Aubrey clung on. Greg was a good friend, and she didn’t have many of those around her at the time. It was nice to be able to talk to someone about it.

“
Now, when I’m done, I’m going to drive back through here. I want a full report on how you handle Henry. A full report. Got it?”

Aubrey couldn
’t help but laugh and agree. The two embraced and a soft kiss was exchanged. It wasn’t sexual, but simply a show of affection. She had never once thought how it would look to someone else until the moment she pulled away and saw Henry in his car across the street watching—with a jealous gleam in his eye.

~*~

Aubrey said goodbye to Greg and watched him pull away before she returned her attention to the man in the car across the street. When she did lock eyes with him, he opened his door and stalked over to her, irritation clearly evident on his face. When he reached her, he handed over her purse. He must have gone back to get it for her.

“
Who was that?”

“
A friend. And it’s your business because?” He had no right to be irritated with her. She did nothing wrong, they weren’t a couple, and damn it, she thought her lack of interest was evident (even if it was a big fat fucking lie) with the way she left him that morning. Apparently not.

“
Maybe because I fucking care. Apparently, I shouldn’t. It seems like you just wanted to get rid of me this morning so damn fast so you could get with that asshole. What was with that fucking car? Does he have money, too? Is that your end game?”

Henry began pacing b
ack and forth. He kept attempting to speak, but stopped himself. The longer she stood there, the more pissed off she was getting. He wasn’t helping his case any.

“
I have no end game. If you remember, I didn’t know who the fuck you were. I didn’t ever ask you for money or drinks or to pay my damn hospital bill.”

“
That’s right, Aubrey. You didn’t remember me. You were too good for me in high school, and now that you know who I am, you’re pushing me away because you’re afraid that doesn’t work anymore. Heaven forbid your friends find out you hooked up with the biggest geek from high school, right? Well, guess what? I’ve grown up a bit and I go after what I want. I want you. I wanted you in grade school, I wanted you in middle school, and I wanted you in high school. I was too shy, too quiet, and too afraid to actually say anything. Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment because you sure as hell don’t make wanting you easy.”

“
I never asked you to want me.” Aubrey wasn’t sure what to say, but getting pissed at her for his feelings wasn’t her fault. She could care less about who he was in high school, and she sure as hell didn’t like being reminded of who she was at that time, either. She wasn’t the one who lied!

“
Right, because flaunting yourself in high school wasn’t a desperate attempt to make every guy want you? And now? At that bar? The way you move and dance is purely for you, not at all to make guys want you. I think that you need to be wanted, so you can walk away knowing how badly they want you and how much you don’t care. You need to still feel in control and popular. You might think you have changed because you have a job that you love, but as a person? It’s the same shit wrapped in a different package.”

“
Fuck you.” Aubrey could feel the tears as they formed in her eyes, but she refused to look away from him. If he cared so much, he should see what his words did to her. She may have been distant with him, but she was never hurtful.

“
Already did that, remember? So what is this? You know what? Forget that. I have a better idea.” Henry started pacing again and mumbling to himself. When he finally turned to her, he had this gleam in his eye as if he had figured out the secret key to a puzzle that had been unsolved for far too long. “I will pay you to not sleep with anyone for the next three months. I think a million dollars is a good price for that. What do you say, you stay celibate for three months, and actually take the time to make real connections with people and you get a million bucks. You give in and fuck someone, you get nothing.”

“
I’m not a fucking whore, Henry!”

“
Whore’s get paid to have sex, Aubrey, not abstain from sex. I’m paying you to let go of your old high school bullshit and to grow up, make some real connections with people. When was the last time you can think of that you spent real time with anyone without the end game being sex? And family doesn’t count.”

Aubrey couldn
’t answer him. Even when she went out with Bridgette from work, they always ended up splitting ways to hook up with whatever random man for the night. Henry was the only one she could think of, and she wanted to sleep with him, so she went along with the stupid coffee date.

“
Exactly. One million dollars for three months. You don’t even have to spend them with me if you don’t want. But I want you to see how amazing it can be if you let yourself connect. I think you will realize how lonely your life really is right now.”

“
I’m not lonely. But I’ll take your bet anyway. It will be the easiest money I ever make.”

Henry smiled at her and shook his head
as if he knew something she didn’t. Then, he leaned in and kissed her cheek, promptly returning to his car. Aubrey watched as he drove away in his beat up Mustang wondering exactly what she had gotten herself into.