After a few more minutes of us sitting in silence, Mac excused herself and said she had to get back to the office.
Trista looked between Keely and me. I wondered if she knew.
"I think I'm going to head back to the office. I have a lot of work to do." Trista said getting up. She knew. Once Trista left, I moved closer to Keely. We both smiled.
"Last night was amazing." I said and she blushed and nodded.
"I'd like to do it again sometime." I said and her eyes widened.
"I'm not busy tonight." She replied. I grinned and kissed her softly.
"Your place or my hotel?" I asked.
"My place." She said kissing me again.
"I have to get back to work." She stood up and I nodded.
As she walked across the street, I wondered if having a repeat performance of last night would lead Keely on in some way. This was just sex to me. I'm sure Keely's a great girl if I took the time to actually talk to her long enough without making out with her, but the less I knew her, the easier it made it to just sleep with her.
I walked into Trista's office with my sandwich as she sat down with hers.
"Ooh, I have messages." Trista said pressing play. I took a bite out of my sandwich as Erica's voice filled the room.
"Trista, hey it's Erica. You will not believe what happened last night! Nick and I had..." I quickly jumped up, going to erase it, but Trista held my hand back as she listened to the rest of the message.
"Nick and I had sex...I know, I'm a bad girl, but it was so worth it. I can't believe it. Well, give me a call when you get this." Erica finished with a giggle. I looked at Trista's face trying to place her expression.
"Nick and Erica?" She managed to get out. I nodded.
"They slept together? But all they ever did was fight."
"Well...put that hostility with alcohol and you got a potion for a one-night stand that both of them will regret." I said with a sigh.
"Erica doesn't sound like she regrets it." Trista said crossing her arms over her chest.
"That's because Erica is wrapped up in the fact that she actually got to sleep with her crush."
"And Nick?" Trista asked and just by the way she said his name, I could tell this really hurt her. She was excited to go on a date with Nick and now, who knew if there'd even be a date still.
"I haven't talked to Nick yet."
"I'm not going out with him." She said sure of herself.
"Tris, why?" I asked and she just glared at me.
"That's like you going out with Aaron after he slept with Keely last night!" Trista said and she obviously said it by mistake as she closed her eyes and opened them back up.
"I knew it." I sighed.
"Knew what?" She asked.
"Aaron and Keely. I could tell at the deli."
"I was just being hypothetical." Trista lied. I rolled my eyes at her.
"Sure you were."
"I'm sorry Mac."
"I'm fine with it. I just don't want either of them to get hurt." I said. Trista nodded.
"Look about Nick, he was so wasted...I'm sure he hadn't planned on sleeping with Erica." I said.
"Mackenzie, he may not have planned it, but it still happened. Does he think he's going to get booty from me too? Or why doesn't he just sleep with you and Keely while he's at it as well?" She asked frustrated.
"I'll talk to him okay?" She shook her head and sat back in her seat.
"Don't bother." I sighed and walked over to her. I hugged her tightly.
"You going to tell Erica about you and Nick?" I asked.
"Nick and me? Mackenzie, there is no me and Nick."
"Listen, I have to go make some calls. You okay?"
"I'm fine." She said sorting through papers on her desk and throwing her sandwich in the garbage. Right, I thought as I left her office.
I passed Keely's desk on the way back to my office and I just went to walk by.
"Mac..." She said softly. I turned toward her.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"I don't like not talking to you." I smiled and sighed.
"Me either."
"If you don't want me to see Aaron anymore I--" She began and I put my hand up.
"Keely, it's none of my business what you and Aaron do. I guess I just see him as too young to be this sexual desire of one of my best friends." I laughed.
"Come on, you found him sexy when he was even younger." She said and I blushed.
"Yeah, but he was a fantasy then. The feelings kind of ended once I met the real thing. He's an important friend to me." I admitted. Keely smiled.
"He's lucky to have you."
"You're an important friend to me too and I'd be damned if I let a Carter come between us. They already have too much power in this world." Keely laughed and stood up. We hugged and I felt relieved.
"I'm sorry I said all those things to you. I guess in a way I'm just jealous that you and Aaron are so close."
"From what I hear, you and Aaron were pretty close last night." Again, Keely blushed.
"Yeah, but honestly, we have nothing to say to each other. I mean seriously. We said maybe like three sentences all night." Keely laughed. Well, it was nice to know they weren't just sleeping together, I thought as I just laughed along.
"So that's it?"
"What do you mean?" Keely asked.
"You guys aren't like together?"
"No, I mean we're going to see each other again, but I don't want anything serious." Keely said and I had trouble understanding how she could be so carefree about sex. I had major issues about casual sex. I just didn't do it. Call me old fashioned, a prude, but I had high moral standards. My friends knew that, so I wondered how Erica and Keely can come right out and tell me they had meaningless sex and expect me to have the same respect for them?
"Keely, I'm not going to lecture you on this..."
"Mac, I know. You don't approve, but you don't really understand either." Keely said. Here we go. Now my inexperience is going to be used against me. Like I don't have sexual needs? I could have turned into a slut very easily if I wanted to.
"You're right Keely, but I wasn't talking about you. I meant Aaron." I said and she narrowed her eyes.
"What about Aaron?"
"Keely, he's seventeen. He may come off as some little player, but did you ever think he actually likes you?" I asked and I was actually wondering if he did have more than just lust for Keely.
"Mac, I think the feeling between us is mutual." Keely said rolling her eyes.
"You think, but you don't know. I'd make sure if I were you before this goes any further." I warned. Keely nodded.
"Well, I have to get back to work." I said walking away.
I made my way to Nick's hotel, signing autographs all the way until I got to the elevator. I banged on Nick's door and I heard him groan, "I don't need any towels!"
"Get up jackass, it's your one and only brother." Nick groaned again and the door finally opened.
"How are you feeling?" I asked and he just looked at me. He looked like shit.
"Is Erica still here?" I said stepping inside.
"No, she left before I woke up." Nick said closing the door behind me.
"Dude, what were you thinking?" I shot at him and Nick seemed surprised.
"I wasn't thinking. I like to do that once in a while." Ha, tell me about it, I thought as I shook my head at him.
"What do you care anyway? You didn't seem to care when your lips were attached to Keely."
"I care because you're fucking around with Erica, which just two days ago, you couldn't stand to be in the same room together and you're supposed to go on a date with Trista tomorrow night!" I yelled smacking his head. Nick held his fist up at me and I backed away.
"Well, I had a talk with Mackenzie the other night." He said and I just waited for him to finish. What the hell does he talking to Mac have to do with why he's trying to be scum and screw around with best friends?
"And?"
"And I asked her to set me up."
"Dude, Mac wouldn't set you up with Erica and Trista, so don't pull that shit."
"I didn't finish. She wouldn't set me up with any of them. When I asked why, she said because they all were hot for me." He said grinning like he was the man. I rolled my eyes. Wait, does "all" include Keely?
"You're lying." I said pushing him.
"You want to ask Mac yourself?" He asked. I shrugged.
"Just go on."
"So I like Trista and I felt the most comfortable around her. She's hot, she can cook, she--"
"Man, I know Trista, you don't have to tell me." I said annoyed how it takes forever to get anything out of Nick.
"So I was set on her and I'm still set on her. Last night with Erica was a mistake. There was an attraction there. We were drunk and I wasn't thinking about my date with Trista." Nick said. Just as I assumed.
"Yeah, well if she finds out, you can forget about anything happening between you and Trista. She's not one to share. She's not the normal skanks you take home where they take turns."
"Aaron, I don't date girls like that anymore and you better not either." Nick lectured. Me?
"Whatever, dude." I said blowing him off.
"I'm serious. You messing around with Keely last night could cause a lot of problems. She's three years older than you man."
"Must everyone remind me of how young I am? Jesus." I said annoyed.
"I'm just telling you to watch your back." I rolled my eyes and sighed.
"Let's go find a park and play some ball." I said. Nick nodded.
After I finished setting up some interviews, I picked up the phone and dialed Nick's cell. It rang forever, before an out of breath Carter answered. Not the one I expected though.
"Aaron?" I asked.
"Mac?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Playing basketball. Were you trying to get me?" Aaron wondered.
"Actually is Nick there?"
"Yeah, hold on." He said kind of strangely. If he still thinks I like Nick, I'm going to smack him.
"Hello?" Nick asked.
"Hello Nickolas. How are you doing man whore?" I asked sarcastically.
"Did you tell her?" I heard Nick whisper to Aaron. I laughed.
"Guess again."
"Mike told you?" Nick asked. I sighed.
"No, darling Erica did. She's quite proud of your little sexual escapades last night and decided to spread the cheer around my office this morning." Nick groaned.
"Wait, around your office? Does that include Trista?" I sensed the worry in his voice.
"Yes, it does. Real smooth there Carter." I said and Nick sighed.
"She hates me, doesn't she?"
"Well, she doesn't like you."
"Now, I'm calling to try and see if there's anything left to salvage. So explain to me what was going through your head and I'm not trying to be perverted." I said. Nick snickered slightly before turning serious.
"I don't know Mac. Erica was giving me the eye, we got drunk...next thing I knew we were at my hotel. I wasn't thinking about Trista at all, I'm sorry to say. All I knew was that I was single and Erica and I needed a release of this built up tension." Nick explained.
"That's really all you have to say for yourself?" I asked.
"Sadly, yes. But I really do like Trista."
"I don't know if I believe you. She's my best friend Nick. I don't want her going out with someone like you."
"Someone like me? Screw you, Mac! Who asked you to get involved anyway?"
"You did!" I yelled back.
"Oww..." Nick said and I heard Aaron in the background.
"Don't talk to her like that." I smiled to myself.
"I'm sorry Mac. You're right, I did ask you to get involved and I know you're looking out for Trista. I really like her and what happened last night was a mistake."
"Nick, what is it that you want from Trista?"
"I don't know. I want to take her out and see where it goes from there."
"You mean, how far you can get with her."
"No, Mac. Come on, I mean I want to take her out on a few dates. Get to know her better. Please help me, Mac." Nick said.
"Let me talk to her before you do, okay?" I asked.
"Okay. I'm sorry I'm putting you in the middle here." I sighed. I was always in the middle somehow.
"It's okay Nick. I'll talk to you later."
"Wait, Aaron wants to talk to you."
I finished taking a swig of my water when Nick handed me the phone. I put it to my ear.
"Hey, have dinner with me tonight?" I asked. I wanted to make sure Mackenzie was okay after her crying earlier. Plus, it seemed we haven't done anything just her and me. I wouldn't be going to Keely's until later anyway.
"Okay, are Nick and Mike going?" She asked. I groaned.
"Am I not good enough by myself?" I asked. Sometimes I felt that way.
"Aaron, stop being like that. If you want it just you and me, I'm fine with it." She said aggravated. Lately, all she's been is frustrated. Every night except for my first night in town. Was it me? Maybe it was Erica. Who knew, maybe it was that time of the month.
"I'd like it to just be you and me. I think we need to talk about some things, don't you?" I asked.
"Yeah, we should." Mackenzie sighed. Damn, why'd I say that? I want to have fun tonight, like we usually did.
"But you know, we'll go some place fun."
"Good, we need to lighten up a bit with all this drama around lately." She said.
"Okay, so how about I pick you up at your place around seven?" I asked.
"Sounds good to me." She said. We said goodbye and Nick was staring at me.
"What?" I asked. He grinned.
"Taking Mac out now?" He asked. I shrugged.
"We're having dinner."
"Mmm-hmm..." He said walking back onto the court.
"Practice what you preach little brother." Nick said throwing the ball, it hit me in the chest.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked passing the ball back.
"Just be careful." I rolled my eyes.
"Mac and I are just friends Nick. We've been alone before. It's no big deal."
"Yeah, and you were never almost legal before." Nick laughed before taking a shot. He missed. Good for him. I grabbed the ball and looked at him.
"It doesn't make a difference if I'm legal or not, we're friends."
"With benefits, huh?" Nick asked as I took a shot. Mine went in and I turned toward Nick.
"No, maybe you can't be friends with a girl, but I can."
"I can be friends with a girl. I'm friends with Mac too aren't I?" He asked.
"Yeah, and you better not turn it into more." I said glaring at him. He just laughed.
"Aaron, you are in so deep." Nick said. He was pissing me off now.
"What are you talking about?" I said throwing the ball against the fence. Nick looked at me startled and he smirked.
"Dude, you want each other."
"Whatever, Nick. You don't know what you're talking about." I said brushing him off.
"Oh, I don't?"
"No, you don't."
"You spend every minute you can with her when you're in New York. She always makes herself available for you. Why do you think that is?" Nick asked. I shrugged.
"She doesn't have a boyfriend to get jealous of our friendship or anything."
"Doesn't that tell you something?"
"What? That Mac's picky?" I asked. He's such a dumbass.
"No, that Mac wants you." I groaned.
"You're wrong." I said turning away from.
"Whatever Aaron. You know I'm right. I'm just warning you, don't fuck around. You're playing with real emotions here." I just kept walking and gave him the finger. What did he know about real emotions that I didn't? I know what I feel. Maybe I've never been in a serious commitment, but I knew that my feelings for Mackenzie Wiley were strictly platonic.
At the end of the day, I walked into Trista's office.
"You ready to go?" I asked. Trista nodded. I walked by Keely's desk and turned off her computer screen.
"Hey!" She protested.
"It's already after five. Works over. Finish tomorrow." I said and she smiled.
"If you insist." Keely saved whatever she was working on and continued to walk out with us. Keely parted ways with us once we made it to the subway station.
"Have you talked to Erica?" I asked once Trista and I managed to find a seat on the train. An older man was dozing off next to me and I was inching away from him as his head came closer to my shoulder. Trista laughed lightly before replying.
"No, I can't listen to her talk about it just yet." I nodded.
"Understandable. I talked to Nick." I said just as the man's head hit my shoulder. Trista snickered as I tried to squirm away.
"What did that jackass have to say?" She asked with a roll of her eyes.
"Well, it didn't mean anything to him of course."
"So he's just going to break Erica's heart?" Trista asked.
"Tris, who knows what Erica wants from him exactly?"
"Mackenzie, she's in love." Trista said sighing.
"Well, she was stupid for sleeping with him. And besides, he wants you." I said, happily, but obviously Trista didn't share my sentiment.
"Well, I don't care what he wants. I don't want him. If he thinks tomorrow night, I'm going to go back to his hotel with him--"
"No, he says it's not like that." I defended Nick.
"Whatever. Don't be so gullible Mac." I sighed.
"I'm not. Tris, give him a chance. Go on the date, you don't even have to hold his hand if you don't want to." I shrugged.
"You're insane. There's no way I'm going on that date with him." Trista said.
"Look, you like him--"
"Liked." She corrected.
"He likes you back." She groaned.
"Yeah, and he liked Erica back and he'd like you and Keely back too. He is the epitome of man." Trista said and I nodded.
"You're right, but maybe you should give him a chance."
"You really need to listen to yourself once in a while." Trista said and I laughed.
"Why?"
"You always have to make peace for everyone else. Sometimes you just have to leave it alone and let people not get along." She said and I just laughed.
"I love you too much to let you miss out on something that could be so right." Trista rolled her eyes.
"Don't roll your eyes. I have a good feeling about you and Nick."
"Oh no! Don't start with the good feelings Mac!" She laughed. I did too. I always had "good feelings" and that was the way I determined if something was meant to be. My feeling usually came in the form of a daydream or just circumstances that seem to be working out.
"I did. The other night when I watched you and Nick talk, it just seemed so perfect." I said.
"Is perfection going on a date with a guy two days after he slept with one of your best friends?" Trista asked.
"Maybe." I said with a cheesy grin and she shoved me, which of course bumped me into the sleeping old man, who let out a loud snore. Trista and I cracked up laughing and finally we made it to our stop.
"Look, how about this?" I said turning toward Trista once we got out of the subway station.
"What?"
"You go out with Nick tomorrow..." I began and Trista was about to say no, but I interjected.
"It won't be a date. Aaron and I will go with you." I finished and her mouth closed and she thought for a moment.
"I'll think about it." She said. That was a step in the right direction.
Once we got inside, I decided to take a shower to loosen up my muscles. After about twenty minutes, I finally got out and wrapped a towel around myself. I looked through my closet for something to wear. Something fun I thought. I found some tight sparkly purple jeans and I smiled before finding a low-cut light purple top. I think everything I owned was low-cut. If you have it, flaunt it, right? Whatever. I looked at myself in the mirror. My chest is the one thing that got me attention. It sounds cheap I know, but I just felt that my looks were nothing special compared to all the celebrities I met throughout the years. I sighed and began getting ready.
I looked myself over in the mirror. I grabbed my wallet and the keys to the rental car before saying goodbye to Mike. What was his problem? He was like PMSing or something. I got down to the lobby and ran into Nick.
"Dude, you know I'm having dinner with Mac tonight. What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I'm here to see Mike." He said and I nodded.
"See you later." I said starting to walk away.
"Give Mac a kiss for me." He said with a laugh. I didn't bother to look at him and just gave him the finger for the second time today. I waved to the girls outside quickly. I guess they all found out where I was staying. Oh well. I gave the keys to the doorman and as I waited I signed a few autographs. The car pulled up and I got in before making my way to Mac's apartment. I decided against getting out of the car and beeped. A few moments later, Mackenzie came out of the house. I watched as her boobs bounced as she made her way down the stairs and smiled to myself. Even though she's my friend, I'm still a guy and notice things like that.
"Hey." She said softly.
"Did you do something different to your hair?" I asked. She nodded.
"I crimped it." She said.
"I like it."
"Thanks." She smiled and I pulled away from the curb. I kept looking over at Mac though.
"Aaron, what?" She asked.
"You look my age tonight." I said and she just laughed.
"Are you saying I normally look old?" I asked. Now I laughed.
"No, you just normally dress more trendy, conservative giving off an older impression."
"And tonight I don't look conservative?" She asked.
"No, you look...cute." I finished with a smirk, hoping I didn't somehow offend her. Girls are touchy even when you are trying to give them a compliment.
"Thank you Aaron." She grinned. Phew, good.
We got to the restaurant and I had to laugh at the fact that I was going to have dinner here.
"Aaron, what are we doing here?" Mackenzie asked.
"I wanted to have two of my favorite things tonight. Mac..." I said pointing to her.
"And Cheese!" I said pointing at the restaurant. I was clever, but Mac just rolled her eyes.
"You're the cheesy one!" She said laughing.
"Well, I want to have fun and what's more fun than Chuckie Cheese?" I grinned.
"You're crazy." She said getting out of the car. I turned the engine off and followed her into the restaurant. We sat down and ordered a pizza. I looked over at the plastic ball pit and remembered how I used to love those things when I was little. I didn't want to be totally immature, so I denied the urge to go in. I looked back at Mac and she was taking off her shoes.
"Come on. Take your shoes off." She said standing. I laughed and pulled my sneakers off.
"I get to dive in first!" She shouted running toward the ball pit. I followed along and she jumped in, sinking underneath the rainbow plastic balls. I cannonballed in and landed right next to her. She sat up and started biffing me in the head with the balls and I tried blocking them, but it was no use. I pounced on top of her and held her down as I repeatedly hit her in the head with one ball.
"Ouch...it's starting to hurt." Mac whined. I stopped hitting her and noticed her eyes were teary from laughing. They were glowing at that moment. It was then I realized how beautiful Mac really was. I always thought she was cute, but it seemed she got prettier with each time I came back to New York. This brought me back to the question that's been going through my mind...why didn't Mac have a boyfriend?
I looked up at Aaron as he still held me down. His eyes were looking down on me, wide-eyed, his face so serious. For the first time, I think I actually saw the man he's come to be inside his eyes. He hasn't been a little boy in a long time, but I didn't think he'd grow up this fast either. I brought my free hand to his thigh, trying to pull myself up, but Aaron didn't move.
"Aaron..." I said softly and he smiled before apologizing and getting off of me. He laid back in the balls and I glanced over at him before poking his side. He squirmed away and I laughed.
"Are you feeling better?" He asked looking over at me.
"Was I sick?" I wondered. He rolled his eyes and sat up.
"I meant about Erica. I know how much you let things get to you." He said and I sighed.
"It wasn't my fight to fight. I just think she made a mistake with Nick and I have high moral standards when it comes to...sex." I said slightly uncomfortable. Aaron nodded.
"High moral standards?" He asked.
"I'm not one who practices one-night stands." I said looking down.
"Well, you shouldn't. You're better than that." Aaron said and I looked up and smiled.
"Keely is too you know." I said surprising Aaron and myself. Aaron nodded.
"I know." He said looking down. I wanted to go further into where Aaron stands where it concerns Keely, but the waitress came over to us.
"Uh, your pizza is waiting at your table." She said before laughing lightly and walking away. Aaron and I struggled to stand up. Aaron pushed me and I fell back, so I grabbed onto his leg and he fell too.
"I just want to get away from these balls already!" I yelled as we both fell out of the pit laughing. An old woman with her grandchildren were walking by and scoffed at us.
"This is a place for children." She said and Aaron quickly stood up before helping me up. We sat down at the table and both grabbed a piece of pizza.
"See I told you I'd get my mac and cheese." He said pulling a piece of cheese off his slice and I shook my head.
"You are such a dork." I bit into my pizza and all conversation stopped until Aaron had hoovered down his first slice and worked on his second.
"So what exactly are your high moral standards?" Aaron asked. Why did he care? I didn't want to talk about this.
"Aar, please..." I said and he sighed.
"Mac, you can tell me. I won't laugh." He said like I was offending him because I didn't want to discuss sex.
"I just think you should be in love with the person you're giving yourself too." I sighed before returning to my pizza. Aaron snickered. He won't laugh my ass, I thought as I tried to just let the topic die.
"You sound like a virgin giving advice on finding that right person to give it to." Aaron said jokingly. I just dropped my slice and glared at him uncomfortably before looking down again.
"You're putting me on right?" Aaron asked as my knees shook nervously. I looked up at him and threw my napkin down.
"I don't need to be made fun of by a seventeen year old punk." I said standing up about to walk away.
I couldn't believe this. Was Mackenzie a virgin? She looked so upset. I pulled her arm before she could walk away. I didn't know what to say, how to react. I was speechless.
"Mac...I'm sorry, it's just hard for me to believe." I said pulling her back by her seat. She sat back down and sighed.
"So you're a..." I began.
"A virgin. Yes, Aaron. I said it, are you happy now?" Mac asked.
"I'm sorry." I said, noticing her hostility about it.
"I'm not dying. I've just never..." She sighed.
"Why not?" I asked, being forward about it. Her eyes searched for anywhere, but mine. I wanted to drop the whole thing, seeing how uncomfortable it made her, but my curiosity was getting the best of me.
"I don't know. Lack of guys to fall in love with." She replied. Fall in love? She used that term more loosely than sex.
"Love isn't all it's cracked up to be." I shrugged.
"Have you ever been in love?" She asked. I shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to answer that. I just decided a shrug would get me out, but it didn't work.
"This works both ways. If you want to ask me personal questions, then be prepared to answer some yourself." Mac said. Damn.
"No. I've never been in love. Have you?" I asked turning this back on her.
"Not technically."
"And what does that mean?"
"It means I thought I was falling, but it turned out to be that I was the only one in the relationship."
"So you've never been in love. Never had sex. What was the longest relationship you had?" I asked.
"Aaron, you're making me feel really pathetic." Mac snapped.
"I'm not trying to." I said softly.
"I've had two boyfriends, all of which lasted less than two months. Happy?" She asked.
"No."
"What more do you want to know?" She asked, her aggravation rising.
"I want to know why the guys in New York City weren't smart enough to find you." I said and Mackenzie's face softened and soon she was smiling.
"Thanks, but I'm prepared to be alone forever. It's okay. I'll manage."
"You will not be alone. Even if I have to hand pick someone myself, I will." I said and Mac laughed.
"What about you? Don't you want to find true love?" She asked. I laughed.
"No. I don't want to fall in love for a long time."
"Why not?"
"Love is so...I mean how do you really know when you're in love? You love them; you're attracted to them. You're happy, but the next day, you could find someone new and you could start all over and say you're in love with that person and you really wouldn't know the difference."
"Aaron, that's not true." She said.
"How do you know? You've never been in love."
"Neither have you." She reminded me.
"True." I smirked.
"Someday Aaron Carter, some girl is going to make you fall so hard and you won't even know what hit you." Mackenzie warned and I laughed.
"You think so, huh?" I asked and she nodded.
"You're meaningless flings will be over." She grinned.
"You'd like that Miss High Morals, huh?" I asked and she nodded.
"So I guess you think low of me." Aaron said in all seriousness.
"Why?" I asked confused.
"I know you don't know my track record, but I haven't exactly fit your moral standards." He said. Tell me about it.
"You're a guy. I expect it."
"Hey..." Aaron laughed.
"I used to like to think everyone was like me. Everyone made love, not screwed. No one did any kind of drugs, except drink of course." I smiled, knowing I could get drunk with the best of them.
"Of course." Aaron grinned back.
"I'm not expecting anyone to be perfect or to think the way I do." I said.
"And no, I don't think low of you. You're a good guy." I said placing my hand on top of his.
"If you don't expect everyone else to be perfect, why do you expect yourself to be?" Aaron asked. The words sunk in deep. I hated that someone younger than me and who wasn't exactly thought of as intellectual could at times say something so wise, making me feel he knew something I didn't. I of course knew how intellectual Aaron was. It was a competition between us...who had the quickest comebacks for each other, who thought up the best song lyrics, who could make the most out of the worst thing. Sometimes I won and sometimes he did. It really didn't matter, either way we kept each other entertained.
"I don't expect myself to be perfect." I answered.
"Then why do you refuse your needs?" He asked. What was he asking me now? This conversation was taking a turn for the worst.
"I don't refuse my needs. You don't think I want to?" I asked frustrated.
Want to what? I wondered. Wow...was she talking about sex? I wasn't even referring to that, but if she wanted to breathe life back into the topic, my curiosities were still peaked.
"So then why don't you?" I asked.
"With who?" She began and I acted like I was thinking and she laughed.
"Don't answer that."
"I won't. I'm not picking some dude for you to give your flower to." I said and she just laughed harder.
"Don't sound gay about it." I threw my napkin at her as she laughed. She seemed to be becoming more comfortable with me about the topic and I was happy about that. I didn't want our relationship to have any restraints or touchy subjects. I wanted the perks of being one of the boys to combine with the perks of hanging out with a girl.
"I'm just saying I am tired of being a virgin." She sighed and my eyes widened. Here Mackenzie was telling me she wanted to lose her virginity and God help me, I wondered if it was an invitation. I shrugged it off and decided to make a joke about it to test the waters.
"I could help you out in that area." I grinned. She picked up a knife.
"Whip it out and I chop it off!" She warned and I laughed, knowing the invitation was closed.
"Ouch." I said and she grinned before putting the knife down.
"Try me again when you're eighteen." My eyes bulged and a smile played at my lips.
"So in about eight months, it's a date then?" I asked.
"I'll give you a great birthday present." Mac said. Okay, this was too weird. What were we doing? I knew what I was doing. I was trying to seal the deal, but did I want to? This was Mac. My only female friend that I didn't want to screw up with. That I didn't want Nick to date so he could screw it up for me. As much as I loved sex, I knew that it was not something to take lightly with Mac and this was nothing, but us being stupid. We may have taken the joking too far this time. I just smiled, not knowing what else to say. She wasn't serious.
What was I saying? Aaron and I just made a date to have sex. I was feeling extremely weird. I knew we weren't serious, but we definitely took this flirty joking thing too far. I tried to clear my mind and think of something else to talk about. Trista and Nick entered my mind and I smiled in relief.
"Oh, hey I think I found a way for Trista to go out with Nick tomorrow." I said and Aaron's attention came back to me.
"How?"
"Well, I kind of told her me and you would tag along. Is that okay with you?" I asked.
"Shit. You should have asked me first." Aaron sighed.
"You have plans?" I asked.
"My mom comes back tomorrow and she wants me to go to dinner with her. I promised her I would." Aaron groaned.
"It's okay, no big deal. I'll just be the third wheel." I laughed.
"Can't you find someone?" He asked making me feel like a loser.
"No one I'd want to go with." I sighed.
"And you're my only guy friend remotely close to my age." I said and he thought for a moment.
"I'll find someone for you." Aaron concluded.
"No, it's okay. I don't want to be set up." I argued.
"Mackenzie, it won't be a set-up. Besides, you kind of know this person already."
"Who?" I asked.
"Blake." Aaron said. I thought for a moment.
"Your back-up dancer?"
"Yeah, you think he's cool right?" I shrugged.
"I never really thought about him. He is cute." I said smiling and Aaron rolled his eyes.
"Does it matter? I thought you were just going as friends anyway?" Aaron said.
"We will be."
"Okay, well, I'll talk to Blake and give him your number." I nodded.
"What time is it?" Aaron asked. I looked at my cell phone.
"Ten." I said realizing we've been here for a while.
"We should be going." He said standing up. We paid and headed to the car.
"Wanna watch a movie or something?" I asked when we pulled outside my apartment.
"I can't. I told Keely I'd stop by tonight." Aaron said uncomfortably.
"Aaron, just make sure you know where you stand with her." I said. He narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean don't play with her head. She likes you." I said and Aaron nodded. What was I doing? I didn't want to get in the middle and here I am warning them to be careful. I didn't understand myself half the time anymore.
"Good night Mac." Aaron said leaning in and kissing my cheek. I held onto him in a hug.
"Thanks for listening." I said.
"Same to you. And just for the record, you're not pathetic at all." Aaron said pulling away. I smiled at him.
"You're a great girl Mac."
"Thanks. You're not such a bad guy yourself." Aaron flashed me that famous grin. I got out of the car and walked up to the door. Aaron waited until I was inside before he drove away.
Later that night, I laid next to Keely, but all I could think about was Mackenzie. It was pretty hard sleeping with someone, when you heard someone else's voice in your head and thought about someone else's body. I hated myself for putting Keely in this position. She was just a lay to me. Just like Mac would be. That's why, I'm not going to act on the thoughts that I had about her tonight. Keely was better than that too and I owed it to her to at least try to give her more. She slept so peacefully in my arms. I carefully pulled away from her and sat up.
My cell phone rang and I looked at the time. Who the hell is calling me at 2am?
"Hello?" I whispered.
"Aaron, where are you?" My mom asked and I groaned.
"At a friend's house."
"Aaron?" I heard from behind me and Keely sat up sleepily. I looked at her naked body and smiled.
"Hey." I said and turned back to the phone.
"Are you with a girl?" Mom yelled.
"No." I lied flat out.
"Aaron Charles Carter! I distinctly heard a girl's voice. Now, where are you?" She asked. Shit. I just woke up, I couldn't think of any lies.
"I'm on a date." I said simply.
"Really? And you're still with her?" Mom asked.
"Yeah, Mac and I went to dinner and it ran late, so our date didn't start until later." I explained.
"Don't let Mac hold you back from seeing other girls. She doesn't own you, Aaron." Mom said. I groaned.
"Mom, Mac doesn't hold me back from anything. In fact, it was her idea." I lied. I guess it's easy to start spouting out lies when you're half asleep.
"It was? Who is she? How old is she?" Mom questioned. Great, now what do I say?
"Keely. She's...eighteen." I lied again. Keely looked at me confused and I just put my finger to my lip.
"Am I going to see her at dinner tomorrow?" She asked. What? Shit. Shit. Shit.
"Mom, I don't think that's--" I began.
"Aaron, if you like this girl, I want to meet her." Mom said.
"It's too soon for you to meet her."
"Nonsense. I'll see you both tomorrow at seven. Good night Aaron." She said hanging up before I could protest.
"Dammit." I said aloud.
"What was that all about?" Keely asked wrapping her arms around my waist.
"My mom wants me and you to come to dinner tomorrow."
"What?" Keely asked shocked.
"She wouldn't take no for an answer."
"Okay. What should I wear?" She asked. Why the hell was she asking me?
"What you normally wear." I replied.
"Aaron, I want to make a good impression." Keely said. Fuck, she's okay with meeting my mom already? This can't be good. I've gotten myself in too deep this time. I'm royally screwed. If I break it off with Keely, she'll hate me and so will Mac. If I don't, I'm stuck in something I'm not ready for.
"Hello?" I answered the phone the next morning.
"I love you!" I laughed.
"Nick?"
"Yeah."
"Love you too. Have you called Erica?" I asked.
"No, Trista. She told me you convinced her, that's why I love you. Why would I call Erica?" He asked. What a bonehead.
"You just slept with the girl and haven't called her since, that's just a little doggish of you, don't you think?" I asked.
"I don't even have her number, so how would I call her?"
"Mike has it."
"Mike?" Nick asked.
"I heard him ask for it the other night at my apartment."
"Okay, I'll get it from him."
"Or you can get it from me now." I said with a laugh.
"I don't have anything to write with right now." Nick sighed.
"Fine, but you better call her soon." I warned.
"Okay, okay." He agreed. I heard my phone beep.
"Nick, I gotta go. I have another call. I'll see you tonight." I said before clicking over.
"Hello?"
"Hi Mackenzie." Erica's voice said coldly.
"Hi." I said and we were both silent. I got annoyed.
"Did you call just to not talk to me?" I asked.
"No. Look, I'm sorry for saying that crap about Aaron, but I'm not sorry for what happened between Nick and I." She said and I rolled my eyes.
"Fine. Is that all you wanted to say?" I asked. I wasn't in the mood for her crap today.
"Mac, don't you even care? I was happy about Nick and you just want to make me feel horrible." Erica said beginning to cry. Oh God.
"Erica, I'm sorry if I'm not happy for your one-night stand--"
"It's not a one-night stand!"
"Then what would you call it? Has he even called Erica?" I asked knowing damn well he hasn't.
"I didn't give him my number. Look Mac, I'm sorry if you're jealous I'm falling in love and you're not--"
"Hold it. You're...falling in love?"
"My crush turned into a reality. I care about Nick and there's obviously something there between us." She reasoned.
"Erica, grow up and listen to yourself."
"Stop being a bitch Mac! What is your problem?"
"My problem is the fact that Nick is going on a date with Trista tonight and you're over here thinking you're in love with him." I blurted out and Erica was silent.
"You're such a bad liar." Erica stated.
"Yeah, I am, but I'm not lying."
"Trista wouldn't go out with Nick after she knew..." Erica said trailing off.
"Is that why she hasn't called me?"
"Erica, Nick asked her out before you two slept together. Let him go, babe. It was just one night to him." I said softly.
"Fuck you." Erica said hanging up. How do I take the flack from everyone? What the hell did I do in any of these situations? Whatever. Maybe Carters and my friends just don't mix.
"You know, you don't have to come tonight if you don't want to." I said to Keely as I was leaving her apartment.
"I want to. I'm looking forward to meeting your Mom." Keely grinned. Oh God, no. Mac was fucking right. Keely wanted more than what I did. I'm an ass. Keely kissed me softly and I left. Once I got back to my hotel and made it up to my room, I heard yelling. Mike's voice at that. That was something I wasn't used to. I opened the door to see Nick and Mike in a heated argument.
"Whoa, what the hell are you two fighting about?" I asked stepping between them.
"Stay out of this Aaron." Mike said.
"Then get out of my room." I said pissed.
"Mike, I didn't know." Nick said.
"Fuck you, Carter." Mike yelled at him. Whoa.
"All right, if you're not going to leave, could you at least explain what the hell your problem is?" I asked.
"Your ass of a brother is what my problem is!" Mike said pointing at Nick, who just groaned and sat down on the bed.
"What did Nick do now?" I asked.
"Aaron!" Nick yelled. I just gave him an amused look and turned back to Mike.
"He screwed Erica!"
"I know, so what's it to you?" I asked and Mike's anger rose again.
"Just because he is who he is, he thinks he can take advantage of young girls!"
"That's not why you care! You couldn't give a damn if I slept with an Olsen twin..." Nick said and I gave him a look. He better back up off my Olsens.
"How was I supposed to know you had a thing for Erica? You didn't say anything to me." Nick said.
"Dude, I was talking to her all night at Mac and Trista's!" Mike explained, still in an angered tone.
"Oh well excuse me, I didn't know talking to someone for a whole night made them your property!" Nick shot back at him.
"Forget it, it was a mistake." I said.
"Butt out." Mike said. Why do I get shit? I didn't sleep with Erica.
"You can have her now anyway. I like Trista." Nick said carelessly. Mike charged at him and my eyes widened as he tackled Nick. Mike went to punch him, and I grabbed his arm back, straining myself in the process. Something's wrong with this picture. I'm not supposed to be protecting my brother from my bodyguard.
"Dude!" Nick yelled shocked that one of his best friends was so mad at him. Mike backed away and Nick and I both sighed. We just all glanced at each other.
"You're going to let a girl that neither of you hardly know, come between you?" I asked.
"Erica called here looking for Nick. She was so upset." Mike said calmly. Nick rubbed his forehead.
"I didn't mean to hurt her. I thought she was just messing around, like I was."
"Well, she's really torn up. She was supposed to do a show today and she canceled." Mike sighed. He knew more about Erica than all of us.
"A show?" Nick asked.
"She's an unsigned singer, remember?" I reminded him. Nick nodded.
"I'll apologize to her, Mike." Nick said looking up at him. Mike nodded and walked out of the room.
"Aaron, remind me to learn my lesson." Nick said and I laughed.
"And what lesson is that?"
"Take a relationship resume before I sleep with anyone ever again." He said and I laughed.
"What the hell is a relationship resume?" I asked.
"You know, do they want this to be a one-night stand, a long term commitment...I'm sick of thinking I figured a girl's type out and then she ends up crying saying I broke her heart." He explained and I sighed.
"Maybe I should learn that lesson too." I said and Nick looked up at me.
"Keely and me are going to dinner." I began and Nick just waited for me to finish. "With Mom." Nick started to laugh and I just pushed him off the bed.
"Get ready for your date." I sighed walking into the bathroom.
I walked into the living room and sat down. Trista came home with a bag in her hand and I looked at her curiously.
"You went shopping?" I asked.
"I stopped by a few stores on the way back from my Mom's." She grinned.
"You bought a new dress for tonight, didn't you?" I asked with a knowing smile.
"Oh yeah." She said pulling out a small piece of material.
"Tris, you seem to have lost most of the dress." I said as she held it up to her. She sucked her teeth and laughed.
"No, it's supposed to be like that."
"What do you plan on doing in a dress like that?" I asked.
"Drive Nick crazy." She beamed.
"Trista, you wouldn't be having bad thoughts would you?" I asked following her to her bedroom.
"I'm just going to make Nick pay for what he did to Erica. By the way, I talked to her today." Trista said.
"Really? What did she have to say?"
"She cried. She cursed. She admitted she was stupid and then she complained about how you're a bitch." Trista finished with a smile. I laughed lightly.
"Right, I'm the bitch. She's telling me to get a real man, but I'm the bitch." I sighed.
"But you don't have any man, how can you get a real one?" Trista asked. I took the pillow off her bed and threw it at her. She laughed.
"Aaron's a real man." Trista grinned. Sometimes he was, but other times he was just a boy. I sighed.
"Don't start with me." I warned just as the phone rang.
"Hello?" I answered as Trista began putting the things she just bought away.
"Mackenzie, you were right." Keely sighed. I laughed.
"Aren't I always? What was I right about this time, Keel?" I asked.
"Aaron." She said simply.
"What did I say about Aaron?"
"That he may not be on the same level as me." Keely explained.
"What happened?" I wondered. What did Aaron tell her they couldn't see each other anymore? I wondered with a smile.
"He invited me to dinner with him and his Mom tonight!" Keely said whining. He what?
"What? That's a little fast!" I exclaimed.
"Tell me about it! All we have is sex. What am I supposed to tell his Mom if she asks what we did on our date last night and the night before and this morning?" Keely went on. Oh God, I think I'm going to throw up.
"Well, you can't tell her that. Make something up!"
"We played Monopoly and Candy Land?" She joked. More like pornopoly and freaky land, I thought.
"She'll believe that." I laughed. There was another call.
"Oh Keel, there's another call. Good luck tonight!" I said before saying goodbye and clicking over. What was Aaron doing? I wondered as I answered the line.
"Hi, is Mackenzie there?" A sexy, young male voice asked.
"This is Mackenzie."
"Hi, this is Blake."
"Oh hi. How are you?" I asked.
"I'm good and you?"
"I'm okay." I replied.
"Aaron told me about tonight. I'm game. What time you want me to pick you up?" Blake asked.
"Actually, Nick is driving so you can just come to my apartment at around eight?"
"Sounds great. I'm looking forward to it." Blake said. I smiled.
"Me too. I'll see you then."
After I got off the phone, Trista looked over at me.
"Blake?" She asked. I nodded.
"What do you think of him?" Trista asked and I laughed.
"He has a very nice speaking voice." I said rolling my eyes at her.
"I have met him before. It's not like this is even a date." I shrugged. Later that night, I had just finished putting my dress on when there was a knock at the door.
"Mac, can you get that?" Trista yelled from the bathroom. I glanced at the time. It was only a little past 7:30. I sighed and went to the door, still with no shoes on. I opened the door and Nick grinned at me. He looked incredible. I couldn't help but to gawk.
"You look very pretty." He said kissing my cheek.
"Thanks...you look...amazing." I said still looking him over. Nick blushed before smiling.
"Thank you, but careful. I'm not sleeping with you or any of your other friends ever again." Nick said and I laughed hysterically.
"Does that include Trista?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
"I'll make one exception." He grinned. I shook my head at him.
"If she'll ever let you." I sighed walking into the living room.
"Make yourself at home. I'm going to check on Trista and make sure she didn't go down the fire escape." I laughed and Nick just groaned, not so amused by my teasing. I walked to the bathroom and knocked softly. Trista opened the door, just a crack and poked her head out.
"Nick is here."
"I can't come out." She whispered. I laughed.
"There's nothing to be scared about. He's just Nick." I said.
"No, I mean I'm rethinking the dress." Trista said. I rolled my eyes.
"Let me see." She slowly opened the door and my eyes widened.
"What do you think?" Trista asked.
"Well, you know how my boobs are always out to dinner with me?" I asked. She nodded with a laugh.
"Your legs joined them and if you bend over, so will your ass." I snickered. Trista shook her head with a smile.
"I'm changing." She stated before trying to walk past me.
"No." I said stopping her.
"You look incredible. Now go out there and torture Nick like you planned." I laughed pushing her along. We walked into the living room and Nick quickly stood up. His eyes made their way down Trista's body and a silly grin played at his lips. Trista seemed to be smiling herself, as she looked Nick over. The doorbell rang.
"I'll get that." I said and neither one of them moved anyway. I just laughed as I walked to the door and opened it. Blake was standing there with his model-like good looks and a stylish ensemble. I smiled at him and he glanced down at my chest before meeting my eyes. Typical. Always the boobs first.
"Hi Blake." I said and he kissed my cheek.
"Hi Mac, it's nice to see you again." He said and I moved out of the way so he could come in.
"You look great." He said as I turned around and I felt his eyes on my ass and sighed. I always thought he was gay, honestly.
"Thanks." I said rolling my eyes as we made our way into the living room.
"Are we ready?" I asked looking at Nick and Trista. I had to hold back my laughter as Trista sat with her legs crossed as Nick just stared. Blake's eyes found Trista's legs as well.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Trista asked as Nick got up to shake Blake's hand. I looked at Trista strangely.
"Your shoes, Mac." She laughed. I looked down at my bare feet and nodded. I quickly made my way inside and brought my shoes out to the living room. I sat down on the couch and bent over to put my shoes on. I felt eyes on me and I looked up seeing Nick and Blake both staring at me. Okay, I didn't think me putting shoes on was that interesting...
"What?" I asked.
"They're enjoying the view, Mac." Trista sighed pulling the top of my dress up delicately. I blushed and laughed uncomfortably. Nick and Blake just smiled and turned away. I shook my head.
"Thanks Tris." I said standing up. The ride to the restaurant was unbearably silent. This was the whole reason I wanted Aaron here. At least then, he and Nick could banter back and forth and Aaron and I could lighten the mood. Now I was with a mere stranger, who just looked at me like I was a piece of meat. Trista was playing the role of the sexy bitch quite well tonight. She just glanced at Nick once in a while as she re-crossed her legs. If we swerved one more time, I was going to throw a blanket around her. My thoughts drifted to how Aaron and Keely's date with Jane was going.
We walked down the street to the fancy restaurant on the corner. Mom's choice of course. She even wanted to take a car to the freaking place. She likes to play up that upper class, high society crap sometimes and I could care less.
Mom gave the hostess our name and they escorted us to our table. I decided it would be best for Keely to meet us at the restaurant. The less time Mom spends with her, the better. I glanced through the menu and then glanced at the door every few minutes. I wanted to get this over with already.
"So your father says you haven't called him and I knew you wouldn't call me while I was gone. This girl's really got you occupied, huh?" Mom asked with a smile. I sighed.
"Mom, I've been busy. You know I like being in New York and yes, Keely and I have been...spending time together." I replied. Yeah, that was a good way to put it.
"Where's Nick tonight? He's still in town, right?" Mom asked. I nodded and looked back toward my menu.
"He's on a date." I said.
"With?" She asked. Man, she asks a lot of questions.
"With Trista and Mac." I sighed and I felt her eyes on me.
"What?" She asked.
"It's a double date." I sighed, not knowing what else to call it.
"Good, it's about time Mackenzie found someone her own age to flirt with." I just kept looking through my menu.
"She doesn't flirt with me, Mom."
"Aaron, do you not want to be here?" She asked suddenly, pulling the menu down. I just looked up at her and smiled. If she only knew.
"Of course, Mom. I'm just tired. I'm sorry." I said kissing her cheek. She smiled.
"You're nervous. That's so cute." She said pinching my cheek. Oh God. Just then, as if on cue, Keely walked over. I stood up and glanced quickly at what she was wearing. She was all covered up. Turtleneck and everything. Great, now Mom's going to think I marked up her neck or something. I kissed Keely's cheek and held her hand out to my Mom.
"Keely, this is my Mom. Mom, this is Keely." I said placing Keely's hand in Mom's. Keely smiled shyly.
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Carter."
"You too Keely." My Mom said and I could tell she was inspecting her; just to see if she liked her by looks alone. Mom was always quick to judge someone just by the way they wore their hair. We sat back down and I returned to my menu. Keely began looking through hers and my Mom seemed to want to play twenty questions instead of looking at what she wanted to order.
"So you're a friend of Mackenzie's?" She asked placing her chin on top of her balled up fist.
"Yeah." Keely said softly.
"What made her decide to set you and Aaron up?" Mom asked. I looked over at Keely and hoped she just went with it.
"What? Oh, um...she thought we had a lot in common." Keely said before looking at her menu again.
"Really? Like what?" Mom asked. Kill me now. I knew nothing about Keely and all she knew about me was most likely what she read in magazines or what Mac had told her.
"Um, singing." Keely said and just then I decided to answer with, "Acting."
"You sing?" Mom and I both asked Keely. I'm such a dumbass.
"I mean yeah, I almost forgot." I covered. Keely giggled slightly.
"I sing a little, but I'm looking into a career in acting." Keely smiled. Mom nodded. I hope she was buying this.
"What are you doing in the meantime?" Now this question I knew the answer to.
"She works for Mac's magazine." I said confidently.
"Oh, great." Mom said.
"Let's order." She said and I blew out a sigh of relief. Keely placed her hand on my knee and I jumped slightly and she snickered. Dinner went on and questions kept coming up. With each one, it became harder to make our lies convincing.
"So what have you and Aaron done in the past few days?" My mom asked taking a sip of her water. I was afraid she'd ask this.
"We hung out at Mac's. Went to a club." I replied and thought of other things we actually did besides...the fun stuff.
"We went to lunch." Keely said and I nodded. I didn't know if Mom bought any of it. Somewhere in the middle of dinner, Keely's nervousness eased and her shyness faded. My Mom's questions were coming out more frequently, but they didn't involve me much anymore. I found out a lot about Keely I never knew. She's originally from Ohio and her favorite movie was The Lion King. It made me feel horrible that it took a conversation with my mother for me to actually find out anything about her other than the different places where she could kiss me.
Finally, I dropped out of the conversation all together, losing total interest and just feeling trapped. I should have went with Mac, Trista and Nick tonight, instead of sending gay, Blake. I wonder how things were going. I would have loved to see the hard time I bet Trista was giving Nick.
We arrived at the restaurant and as we walked in Nick casually tried to slide his arm around Trista's waist, but she just walked away as soon as he lifted his arm. She would be one step ahead of him at all times tonight. I on the other hand didn't see Blake's arm coming as it tightly wrapped around my waist and he rested his hand firmly on my hip. It kind of took me by surprise, but before I could decide whether I wanted his hand there or not, we were already at the table.
Nick pulled out the a chair for me and Trista and I smiled and thanked him before sitting down. Trista just smiled at him before sitting and doing her leg crossing routine. Nick looked as if he shivered before sitting down. I just laughed and glanced over at Blake who already started picking at the bread.
"Have you ever been here?" I asked him.
"No, I don't think so." He shrugged and took another bite of his bread. Okay, then. I turned my attention toward Nick and Trista, who were looking at their menus. I picked mine up and decided on my meal.
The waiter came over and asked if we were ready. I looked over at everyone and they nodded. I ordered the chicken Alfredo. Aaron would be proud. Unfortunately for me, Blake ordered something smothered in garlic sauce. Great. Everyone was so quiet and the silence annoyed me. It obviously annoyed Nick as well because he spoke up before I could.
"So how's work going?" Nick asked looking between Trista and I. Trista shrugged.
"My boss is kind of a freak, but other than that, it's good." I threw a piece of bread at her and Nick laughed.
"Hey, that was my last piece!" Blake whined.
"Oops, sorry. We'll get some more." I said as Trista tried to wipe breadcrumbs off her dress. Nick tried to help, but got a slap instead.
"You're violent." He whined rubbing his hand. I just laughed softly.
Not long after, our food arrived and the overwhelming smell of garlic was making its way around the table.
"Dude, that's strong. How could you eat that?" Nick asked scrunching his nose as Blake just slurped his garlic sauce and loudly cut his chicken.
"It's good. You want some?" He asked holding his fork near me.
"No thanks. I'll pass." I refused. Luckily, Blake ate fast and our noses regained composure for the rest of our meal. Silence once again came over us.
"You know, I think this is the first double date I've ever been on." Blake said.
"Me too." I said. Trista and Nick both shrugged.
"Not me." They both said and Nick laughed softly.
"Uh, I can't finish this." Trista said rubbing her stomach and pushing her dish aside. She picked up the pickle on Nick's plate and he whined.
"Hey!" Trista just grinned at him and slowly took a bite out of the pickle, obviously making this disgustingly sexual.
"You want your pickle back?" She asked waving it in her hand. Nick grinned and leaned over to her.
"Uh huh..." He said and just then Trista shoved the pickle in Nick's mouth and I cracked up and gave her a high five.
"You're a tease." Nick huffed throwing the pickle down.
"You'll know the true meaning of that word by the end of tonight." Trista said leaning in and whispering, but she didn't do too good of a job because I still heard her. I just shook my head.
After everyone digested, we decided to order dessert.
"Let's share desserts." Trista suggested and I nodded since we were all pretty full.
"Okay." Nick smiled.
"Mac, what do you want to share with me?" Trista asked and I laughed.
"Sorry Nick, I'm not sharing a sundae with you." Blake protested.
"Good." Nick said and Trista and I laughed.
"Fine, Trista just share with Nick and I'll share with Blake." I said leaning back in my chair. Blake rested his arm across the back of it and rubbed my shoulder lightly.
Pretty soon, I was in heaven with my ice cream and Blake kept clanking spoons with mine.
"You want the cherry?" I asked. Blake grinned.
"Is that an invitation?" He asked and I pulled back from him. Nick and Trista just looked at him.
"I was joking." Blake said and we all just went back to eating.
"What Nick can do it, but I can't?" Blake asked. I put my hand on his and smiled.
"I'm not mad." I said and he smiled.
"So Trista..." Nick said and she turned to him.
"What was your worst dating experience?" He asked and Trista thought for a moment before answering.
"Well, this one time...this guy I liked slept with my best friend and then asked me out the next day!" Trista said. Nick groaned.
"Uh, no?" I said in a fake shocked tone.
"Yes, can you believe that?" Trista asked.
"What slime!" I said and Nick stuck his tongue out at me and I laughed.
"So what did you do?" Blake asked.
"I went out with him anyway." Trista shrugged.
"Why? The guy's obviously an ass." Nick shot him a look and I laughed.
"Well, my best friend convinced me to go on the date. So I thought I'd give it a try." Trista grinned and I think Blake finally caught on and he began laughing.
"Well, you're not trying very hard." Nick said.
"Are you sure about that?" Trista asked, her hand doing something to his leg or another part, I didn't want to know. I hope it was his leg. I was actually surprised at her actions. I figured it was all part of her game though.
"Tris..." I said blushing. Trista turned toward me and laughed before winking at me.
"Let's get out of here." Nick said. Blake and I nodded. Nick was nice enough to pay the entire bill; I was surprised Blake actually let him. We made our way back to the apartment and I was scared to think what was to happen next between Trista and Nick.
Finally, we paid the bill and my Mom and Keely were yakking away like there was no tomorrow. This was not how I expected it to go. It seemed to me that Keely was as good as in the family. I can see the wedding plans forming in my mother's eyes already.
"You should be in Aaron's video next week!" Mom said out of nowhere. That snapped me back into the conversation as we walked outside of the restaurant. I turned around so say something, but I heard the distinct sound of squealing and knew what was to follow.
"Aaron, oh my God, can we have your autograph?" A few girls said. I managed to smile at them, but I was trying to get in on the plans Keely and my Mom were making that didn't seem to involve me at all. After the fans left, the three of us began walking down the street.
"So isn't that great Aaron?" Mom asked.
"What?" I said still unsure of what the fuck was going on.
"Your Mom is going to talk to the director of your video and see if I can play the lead!" Keely squealed grabbing onto my shoulders and hugging me. I wrapped one arm around her. Cool, if I can help Keely's acting out, but everything was happening so fast. I'm only seventeen. I don't want that type of girlfriend where my Mom makes a big fuss over her and they go shopping together and plan my birthday gifts together and then Keely will be over the house when I'm not even there...I think I'm going to hyperventilate.
"Aaron, are you okay?" Keely asked. My Mom felt my head and I pushed her hand away.
"I'm fine. I just need some air." I said.
"Aaron, we're outside." Mom said. Okay, I'm a jackass.
"You know what? I completely forgot. I had promised Nick I'd meet him after his date and we'd do something." I said looking at my watch.
"And I'm already late. Keely, do you have a way to get home?" I asked.
"Yeah." She said, but I think she knew the truth behind my eyes. She kissed my cheek and whispered, "We need to talk later." in my ear. I pulled away and nodded. I hugged my Mom and ran down the street to the hotel to get the rental car.
We were all sitting in the living room watching TV, but I really just wanted to call it a night. Blake was a little too strange for me. I looked up at him and smiled. He was cute though. He placed his arm around me and out of a natural reaction; I put my head on his chest.
I glanced over at Nick, whose hand was rubbing Trista's thigh at a steady pace. Her eyes remained on the TV and Nick bit his lower lip in complete need. She seemed to be enjoying the feeling a little too much. I wondered if this was part of her plan.
Suddenly, I felt Blake's hand run down my arm and he lifted my chin up, so I was looking into his eyes. He pressed his lips against mine and all I could think about was...garlic! Oh God, I'm going to gag. I pulled away and grabbed my purse, taking a piece of gum out. I offered it to him and he refused. I sighed and popped the gum into my mouth, figuring if Blake tried to kiss me again, I could just swap the gum into his.
A few moments passed and I glanced over at Nick and Trista once again. She was lost in his kiss and I sighed. Blake's hand found my side and he ran it up and down, before resting it on the side of my boob. I moved away a little. Why did I feel like I was thirteen and in the basement of my parents' house when they weren't home? Blake began kissing behind my ear and he worked his way down my neck, before kissing me fully. I casually slid the gum in his mouth, hoping to relieve the taste of garlic from my mouth. Now if only I could do something about his sloppy kissing.
Out of nowhere, Blake started choking right in the middle of our kiss. Eww.
"Are you okay?" I asked. He shook his head and pointed to his mouth. He spit the gum out half way across the room. Could this get anymore sickening? I wondered as I patted his back.
"Blake?" I asked and looked over at Nick and Trista, who had broken their make-out session and were now staring at Blake as well.
"I'm allergic to gum." Blake said coughing once more. His face was beet red. Who the hell's allergic to gum?
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know." I said and I looked at Trista. We shared an amused look.
"I'll get you a glass of water. Tris, come with me." I said and she rolled her eyes and laughed before following me into the kitchen.
"Interesting date you have there." Trista laughed as I got out a glass. I rolled my eyes.
"Is he at least a good kisser?" She asked. I just looked at her before shaking my head no slowly. She snickered and I got the Brita out.
"And what's the deal with you and Nick?" I asked. Trista tried hard to hide her grin.
"It's all part of the game plan."
"Tris, explain to me how letting him grope you and tongue you down is part of Nick's torture?" I asked and she sighed.
"Mackenzie, I never said I wanted to torture him." Trista sighed.
"Good, because he didn't look too tortured." I said finally pouring the water.
"Mac, I'll admit I'm letting Nick get away with a lot more than I had planned on." Trista said biting her lip.
"Trista, look I'm going to say this straight out...I'm only saying this because you�re my best friend and I love you, but if you're going to just give into Nick's and your desires, be sure you're prepared to handle the repercussions to follow that." Trista nodded and I went to walk past her.
"Mac, I do like Nick a lot." Trista said. I smiled.
"So be fair to yourself. You don't want to end up like Erica." I said softly. Trista nodded.
"You're right. Back to the game plan." She grinned and went to walk away, but I stopped her.
"If we didn't have this talk, would you have..." I wondered.
"Well, maybe, but I was pretty set on teasing him. It's more fun this way. At least for now." Trista giggled. I laughed. Trista wasn't a virgin, but she wasn't exactly someone who slept with a lot of guys either. We walked back into the living room and I handed Blake his water. Trista sat in Nick's lap and he grinned at her. He should know what he's in for, but he's a guy and his mind is on the prize. Blake's hand rested on my lower back and he pulled me closer.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Trista got up to answer it and Blake moved his lips closer to mine, as his fingers played with the chain around my neck.
"Why don't you show me your room?" He asked. Nick got up and made his way toward the bathroom. Almost immediately, Blake's hand made its way to my boob and he squeezed hard as he pressed his mouth against mine. I was taken by surprise and I heard the door slam and voices coming down the hall as I tried to pull away. His hand was really starting to hurt my breast. I cried out as a few tears squeezed out.
I decided to go to Mac and Trista's place, hoping maybe Nick would even still be there. I knocked on the door and it took a couple of minutes before Trista opened the door. Wow...that's a dress? I grinned at her as I took a complete look at her. She was hot; no one could deny her that.
"What are you doing here?" Trista asked. I groaned and went to walk away, but she pulled me by the shirt.
"I was just wondering. Dang." She said in her southern accent. I forgot what part of the south she was originally from. She told me all the places she lived in, but damned if I remember.
"You look hot." I said and she smiled.
"Thank you."
"My brother's one lucky guy." I said and she giggled.
"Yeah and he thinks he's getting lucky tonight too." I laughed. Trista rocked. The best part was, Nick fucked up and now she'll make him pay. I love it.
"So what brings you here Carter?" She asked.
"I had a weird night, so I thought I'd finish it off by hanging out with some weird people." I grinned. Trista laughed.
"Well, your friend Blake is definitely weird." Trista laughed.
"I know." I agreed.
"You knew and you set Mac up with him?" She asked.
"Yeah." I shrugged.
"It's not like it was a date or anything. Plus, I think he's gay." I laughed and Trista raised an eyebrow.
"Don't be so sure." She said and I stopped laughing.
"What do you mean?"
"He's been all over Mac for the past hour." Trista said and I walked inside the apartment, just now realizing I was still in the doorway. I had a bad feeling about this.
I walked into the living room and I couldn't believe what I saw. Blake was lying on top of Mackenzie; hand on her tit and mouth sucking away on hers. The sight sickened me. I had to look away for a minute. Was that high moral standards bullshit Mac fed to me last night all just an act?
I heard Mackenzie let out a shrill scream and I quickly looked back and noticed she was fighting against him. That was all I needed to see before storming over to the couch and grabbing Blake as hard as I could before punching him. Trista screamed and Nick came running down the hall. He pulled me back.
"You fucking punk! Don't you ever touch her again!" I yelled as Blake just sat on the floor holding his nose. I pulled myself out of Nick's grasp and went over to Mac who was holding her chest as she cried a little. She was breathing heavily. I pulled her close to me and kissed the top of her head.
"Are you okay?" I asked. She nodded, but still held her left boob. I stood up and Trista walked over to her. Nick had pulled Blake up.
"What's your problem, man?" I yelled getting into his face.
"Dude, I'm sorry. We were just kissing!" Blake defended.
"She's crying, does that normally happen when you make-out?" Nick asked. I wanted to punch the asshole again, but I fought the urge.
"Tell her you're sorry right now!" I yelled. He just looked at me.
"Tell her!" I yelled again.
"I'm sorry." He said. Mac just looked down.
"We'll talk about this later. Right now, just get out of my face." I said and he got his ass out of there fast.
"Mackenzie, are you sure you're okay?" Trista asked. Mac laid back a little. She hadn't moved her hand from her boob.
"It still hurts. He squeezed so hard." She cried. My eyes widened and Trista rubbed her arm softly.
"You want some ice?" Nick asked like a dumbass. Mac stopped crying for a second as we all just looked at him. She laughed and that was one thing I really loved about Mackenzie. No matter what was going on, she never passed up an opportunity to laugh.
"I was serious." Nick said, laughing a little himself.
"It might help." Trista agreed. Mac nodded and Trista got up and went into the kitchen. Nick followed her like a little puppy.
I sat down next to Mac and she looked over at me. I wiped her tears with my fingers.
"What happened?" I asked.
"He watched me like a piece of meat all night. Didn't offer much conversation. Then we came back here and he kissed me, so despite his garlic breath I figured I'd give it a shot. It was just kissing you know? That's all I wanted it to be." Mackenzie explained and I nodded.
"So when the doorbell rang, Trista and Nick both left the room and he started kissing me again, but more rough this time and he started squeezing away on my boob and then you came to my rescue." She smiled.
"He really squeezed that hard?" I asked and I noticed her skin right about the top of her dress was red. Fucking bastard. Mac nodded in pain. Trista came back with the ice and handed it to Mac.
"Thanks." Mac said and Trista smiled.
"We're going to watch TV in my room. You sure you're okay?" Trista asked. Mac nodded. I looked back at Nick.
"Watching TV? Is that what they call it these days?" I said with a laugh.
"Dildo." Nick said.
"Just ice up Mac's boob and shut up." He laughed before walking out. I looked over at Mac and she just rolled her eyes at Nick's comment before going down the back of her dress.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Taking my bra off. I don't need anymore discomfort." She said and somehow maneuvered the bra off without exposing anything to me. Damn. I just watched her place the bra down and I smiled. I guess she caught my smile because she laughed at me.
"God Aaron, it's just a bra." She said leaning back against the couch. She took the ice pack and placed it down her dress, wincing from the cold.
"He better not have bruised my goods." Mac said and I laughed.
"Want me to check?" I asked.
"Thanks, but I'll just look later." She said. I nodded and leaned back on the couch as well.
"I'm sorry." I said.
"Don't be. It wasn't your fault."
"I shouldn't have set you up with him."
"Aaron, did you know he was going to manhandle my boob?" She asked with a smile. I shook my head.
"Then don't worry about it. You saved me anyway."
"Nick would have saved you." I pointed out.
"But it might have been too late then...my boob could have been broken." She said and I laughed.
"Do boobs have bones to break?" I asked confused. She rolled her eyes at me and pushed my head away.
"Have you felt any lately?" She asked and before I could open my mouth, she put her hand up.
"That was a rhetorical question." I smiled and nodded.
I sat up a little and from that angle I could see a little further down her dress. The ice pack was blocking the important part. Damn.
"So how did your night go?" Mac asked.
"I'm into something out of my league." I sighed.
My boob never hurt so bad and now I was freezing from the ice on it. I noticed Aaron trying to maneuver himself to get a better view. Guys. Their fascination with fatty flesh amused me.
"So how did your night go?" I asked, remembering his dinner with Keely and Jane, the mega-beast. I was proud of that name. I think I started a trend in the music industry with it.
"I'm into something out of my league." Aaron sighed. I looked at him wondering what he meant as I shivered slightly.
"Your nipples must be rock hard." He said looking at my chest. I huffed.
"Aaron, is your mind ever on something else?" I asked. It was starting to make me feel uncomfortable. With age, he grew more forward around me and it disturbed me occasionally.
"I'm sorry." He said and he got up and grabbed a blanket from the chair and draped it around me.
"Thanks." I said still shivering. I was amazed Aaron gave up his bird's eye view down my dress.
"Now, explain what happened that you think you're out of your league."
"Well, you know about me and Keely..." He began. How could I not know? That's pretty much all I heard about from either of them. Or maybe all I thought about.
"You know how you said she might have wanted more?" He asked. I nodded.
"I think you were right." Aaron finished. Why do I feel like I had this conversation before?
"Right about what?" I asked, but I think I knew where this was going.
"Keely taking us more seriously. Mac, I swear I didn't want it to be a one-night stand at all, but I didn't really expect it to be more than us just having fun." He said in more of a tasteful way, which I was thankful for.
"So Keely wants more?" I asked, knowing damn well that Keely was freaking out about this earlier.
"She was nervous about meeting my Mom." Aaron said and I laughed.
"Everyone's scared of your Mom, so that's understandable." Aaron just looked at me.
"Well, she wanted to meet her though."
"So?"
"So? Mac, it was crazy. My Mom liked Keely! And Keely liked my Mom!" Aaron exclaimed like he was outraged. I was surprised too.
"Your Mom likes Keely?" I asked.
"Yeah, we acted like we were actually dating...or least I did. I think Keely considers us...a couple." Aaron finished like it was a crime. I just laughed.
"It's not funny. They were talking about trips and making plans. I wasn't even in the conversation." Aaron exclaimed. He was cute when he was all worked up.
"Did you talk to Keely about how you feel?" I asked.
"Not yet." I sighed. I guess they got sidetracked last night. I rolled my eyes.
"We're going to talk later." He said.
"Is that what they call it these days?" I mocked him from earlier. He laughed and pushed me. I took the ice pack off my chest and threw it in Aaron's lap. He kind of jumped at the coldness.
"You can keep it as a souvenir." I laughed.
"Thanks." Aaron said.
"Is it feeling better?" He asked. I nodded as my eyes felt heavy.
"Mac?" He asked.
"Yeah?"
"If you didn't like kissing Blake, why did you?" He asked. I shrugged.
"I hoped he'd get better?" I chuckled. "Besides, it was just kissing."
"You think kisses are that meaningless?" Aaron asked. I sat up a little.
"No, I just don't think they're as big a step as other things."
"So you can kiss a guy you hardly know, but anything else is sleazy?" Aaron asked. What exactly was he getting at? I was getting too tired for this conversation.
"Yeah. You don't think sex is a bigger step than a kiss?" I asked like he was crazy.
"Maybe, but not when there's feeling in the kiss." He explained. I just shrugged again.
"I wouldn't know about that." I closed my eyes.
"You never had a meaningful kiss?" He asked.
"I don't think I ever even had just a good kiss." I laughed.
"That's so sad." Aaron said. Gee, thanks Aaron.
"Yeah, it is." I agreed.
"One day, you'll feel the importance of a kiss. Honestly, I think it's the most erotic part about sex." Aaron said and I really didn't want to hear this.
"Aaron, please don't talk about this anymore." I said keeping my eyes closed.
"Mac, can I try?" Aaron asked.
"Try what?" I asked opening my eyes just to see Aaron leaning in. What was he doing? His lips met mine and I closed my eyes and let my lips relax against his. He tasted so good. His lips were a little chapped, but still soft. My body went numb, my boob didn't hurt. I forgot about everything. Time just stopped as Aaron took control and deepened the kiss.
As I talked to Mackenzie about kissing and how she never experienced one worthwhile, it drove me insane. She was older and wiser than me in so many ways and though I may never have felt true love, Mackenzie never experienced pleasure from someone else. She really is one of my best friends and I decided I wanted to share that with her. For the first time, I wasn't even thinking about sex...okay, I wasn't thinking about sex a whole lot.
Everything was blurred, but it felt so right as I placed my lips onto Mac's soft, tender lips. They were tense at first, but immediately relaxed and then I decided to deepen the kiss. I placed my hand behind Mac's neck and slowly parted her lips with my tongue. She met my tongue with hers and I didn't expect the kiss to go to this point. What started out as an innocent kiss of my friendship, turned into extreme spit swapping.
Mackenzie brought her hand to my head and inched her body closer. We parted for a brief second to catch our breath, but she pulled me back in surprising me. I was lost in her touch. I couldn't think about anything, but how amazing this felt and how it was so much more than a kiss. It was exactly what I was trying to explain to Mac about kissing, but it turned out to be more intense than I ever could imagine.
She continued to run her hand through my hair and I rubbed my hand up and down her neck slowly, before bringing my hand around to her face and lightly caressing her cheek. Why haven't I done this before? Will we ever do this again? I don't want it to end. Now, the thoughts were coming back into my head as we started to slow the kiss down and part.
Wow. Oh wow. Who ever said a kiss was just a kiss never kissed Aaron Carter. I never in my life felt anything that amazing. It was like tension, passion and just caring put into that one incredible kiss. The way his tongue rubbed against mine and his hand on my neck and...I wanted more. He was so delicate about every move. I never imagined him to be like that.
I wish this moment never had to stop, but I knew it did. Why didn't we try this sooner? I knew the answer to that. He's seventeen Mackenzie. Damn conscious, why couldn't it stay out of this? It felt too good. The kiss slowed down, but didn't lose one ounce of feeling.
We pulled away and I was almost afraid to open my eyes, but I did and was met with Aaron's big brown eyes. He smiled slightly and I smiled too, trying to hold back a grin.
"I'm sorry. I wanted you to feel a real kiss." Aaron said and I blushed. After I didn't say anything, I think he got worried.
"How did it feel?" He asked. I smiled again. I felt like a mute. He really left me speechless. I finally found my voice.
"It was the most amazing kiss I've ever had. Thank you." I said. Aaron grinned.
"Thank you for letting me share it with you. It was pretty amazing on my end too." He said and I blushed deeper. I was still breathing pretty hard and so was Aaron.
What now?
I was so happy I didn't get smacked. I really didn't have any ulterior motives, but to make Mac feel something special. I just wanted her to be happy and for the most part she was, but I knew she was missing something.
After the kiss, we both just laid there. We were both okay with it, but how do we react after something like that? I want to do it again and again because it felt so damn good, but I knew it couldn't work. Mac and I were friends and that's the way it had to stay. I wasn't going to screw this friendship up.
The next morning, I rubbed my eyes and I felt extremely cramped up. I opened my eyes and adjusted them. Well, no wonder why. I was sleeping on the couch in Mac and Trista's apartment and half my body was falling off. I looked over next to me and Mackenzie lay there curled up in a ball sleeping. I smiled remembering last night.
I sat up and looked at the time. Eleven. Damn. My Mom was going to kill me. I got up and stretched and Trista walked out in a sweater and pajama pants. She grinned. I wonder what went on in there last night. I bet Nick will brag later.
"You slept here?" She asked whispering. I nodded.
"We fell asleep."
"How's Mac's boob?" Trista asked.
"She stopped icing it, so I guess it's better."
"You want breakfast?" Trista asked. Mmm. I love Trista's cooking.
"Sure, I didn't make it back to the hotel this long. I might as well stay for breakfast." I laughed. Trista smiled as she took out a pan. I sat down at the table and a few minutes later, Mackenzie stumbled in. Her hair was a mess, she had a big wet spot on her dress where the ice pack was and one of her straps was falling down.
"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Trista laughed. Mac and I locked eyes briefly before she headed off to the bathroom. Don't screw this up, Carter. Talk to her before it's a problem.
"Hey, what are you so quiet about over there?" Trista asked. I shrugged.
"Nothing. Just tired." I replied.
"Where's Nick?" I asked.
"Sleeping." Trista said and I nodded.
After Trista finished cooking, she put a plate of pancakes out for me and three more plates out on the table.
"Thanks."
"Welcome. I'm going to wake up your lame-ass brother." She said heading inside. I took a bite into the pancakes...ah, heaven. Just then there was a knock at the door. I looked around to see if anyone was around.
"Should I get that?" I called out, but got no response in return. I guess that would be a yes.
I opened the door and Erica stood there. She looked surprised to see me, but smiled slightly.
"Hi."
"Hi. Is Trista here?" Erica asked. I nodded and closed the door behind her. We walked down the hall and Mac was walking toward us.
"She's in her room." I said to Erica before turning to Mac.
"Trista made us pancakes." I said and Mac nodded before sitting down. Erica just walked down the hall and I sat down across from Mac.
Our eyes finally met each other's gaze, but quickly broken when we heard commotion in the bedroom.
"Shit." I cursed and Mackenzie groaned.
"I forgot Nick was here." I said and Mac closed her eyes tightly before re-opening them and heading toward the bedroom.
I ran down the hall and into the doorway of Trista's bedroom. I gasped slightly at what I saw. Nick was laying in Trista's bed with no shirt on while Trista was climbing off of Nick. Erica stood next to me in absolute shock and I thought she was going to breakdown right there, but she just stood still.
"Erica, this is not--" Trista said standing up and walking closer to her. Erica backed away.
"Trista, don't come near me." Erica said. She looked over at Nick and he got up quickly, slipping his pants on.
"Erica, look I meant to call you..." Nick began and that was it, Erica freaked.
"Call me? You want to talk about calling me now when you're in bed with my best friend?" Erica screamed. I grabbed onto her shoulders to try and calm her down.
"It's okay. Why don't you just talk and let them explain." I said softly.
"It's not okay Mackenzie! And I don't want to talk to either of them. Some fucking best friend you are Trista!" Erica yelled. Trista looked down and I just couldn't help but to wonder how this mess started.
"And you..." Erica said turning toward Nick.
"You disgust me! I hope your dick shrivels up and falls off!" Erica yelled and Nick was just at a loss of what to do.
He hardly knew Erica. Just two nights of dealing with her attitude and one night of passion later, Nick found himself guilty of giving her a broken heart and he may suffer worse pains than knowing that, dealing with his own heartache. I know Trista and I know she stands by her friends through just about anything. Nick and her are over. I think the teasing will even come to an end. It was sad too; they could have really had something.
Erica let the tears fall as she stormed out of the room. I heard the door slam a minute later and we all just looked at each other.
"Shouldn't someone go after her?" Nick asked.
"No, she just needs to be alone." I said.
"Trista, I--" Nick began, but she turned toward him.
"Nick, last night was just a game for me." Trista admitted. He nodded.
"I know that." Nick gulped.
We were all quiet and I thought about leaving them alone, but I didn't want to face Aaron just yet.
"I was just hoping that we could build up to going on a real date eventually." Nick said softly.
"Nick, I'm sorry but I can't. As much as I was looking forward to dating you, I just can't. I promised a guy would never come between me and my friends."
Trista sighed. Nick nodded. I couldn't look at Nick's face or Trista's. Last night, their eyes looked so hopeful, now it was pure disappointment. Trista's plan backfired and drove a wedge between her and Erica. I walked out of the room and was surprised to see Keely sitting at the kitchen table with Aaron.
"Hey Keels!" I said happily, hugging her. She smiled back.
"Sit. Join us." Keely said and I sat next to Aaron since she was in my seat. I didn't even glance in his direction. Being near Keely made mine and Aaron's kiss last night feel more wrong. But it felt so right at the same time. I can't say I wish I could take it back either. It was too good to just call a mistake.