Chapter 15

"Drink up, girl," Anna shouted over the music as Liam pulled her closer to him by snaking his arms around her waist in a possessive manner. I smiled at both of them and emptied my shot glass, closing my eyes at the burning sensation in my throat. Liam and I had finally cleared our bar exams and was offered a permanent position in the law firm. We decided to celebrate and here we were at 'Boats'. This place brought back a lot of unwanted memories and I didn't want to come but agreed for the sake of them.

"Come on let's dance," Anna tried to pull me but I shook my head as I was not in the mood for dancing.

"You guys go ahead, I'm just gonna stay here for a while." I gave them a small smile and Liam kissed the side of my head before making his way towards the dance floor with his girlfriend. They were so cute together and I ignored the pang of jealousy. I kind of felt like an awkward third wheel and kept drowning my sorrows in drinks. I heard my phone go off and picked it up from my bag. I quickly made my way through the crowd to to take the call outside as the sound was way too loud inside the club.

"Hey, Ash," I slurred as I picked up the call.

"Congratulations, Em. I'm so happy for you," she squealed in excitement as I leaned against the wall outside the club.

"Thanks, babe. I wish you were here though," I sighed and closed my eyes, feeling dizzy.

"Me too. Just a few more months, once the baby is out, I'm gonna drink myself to death," she joked, making me laugh and I realized how much I missed her.

"I miss you, Ash," I whispered through the phone, feeling a sudden wave of sadness.

"I miss you too, Em. More than you know...wait, are you crying?" she shrieked through the phone and I tried to control my sobs. I don't know what came over me. Maybe it was the alcohol, I burst out in tears.

"Oh my god, I'm coming right now. Which club are you at?" she started to freak out and I immediately wiped my eyes.

"God, no, Ash. I'm fine and you can't come at this time. You are pregnant for god sake." I spoke, quickly composing myself, and heard her sigh.

"Is it Austin?" she asked as if she read my mind and I remained silent, "You know you could tell me right?" she said in a quiet voice and more tears flowed down my cheek.

"It's just that...I want him so much but he is a jerk, Ash. Maybe I'm just feeling lonely seeing Liam and Anna being all happy." I hiccuped and felt horrible for the way I was feeling, "I'm such a horrible person."

"It's totally normal to feel this way, Em and it doesn't make you a horrible person," she paused and I bit my lip, trying to control my sobs, "I have no idea what is going on with you two, babe but I'm sure things will work out. You don't have to tell me anything until you are ready," she tried to convince me and I rubbed my nose with the back of my hand. I was glad that she was so understanding and didn't pressure me at all.

"Thank you," I let out a shaky breath and stood up straight.

"Anytime babe, why don't you come over tomorrow? I'm thinking about having our game nights again and it will be fun,"

"I don't know, Ash. He will be there," I said in a doubtful voice.

"I don't think he will be coming. At least think about it, please?" she whined.

"Alright I'll think about it," I let out a small chuckle and placed my phone on the other ear, tucking my hair behind my ears.

"Will you be okay? How are you going back home?" she asked with concern, lacing her voice.

"I'll get a ride with Liam and Anna," I assured her.

"Okay, be safe and call me if you want to talk. I'm always here for you,"

"Sure, love you, babe." I smiled a little and felt better after talking to her.

"Love you too, Em." I cut the call and took a few deep breaths, calming myself before going back inside.

The next day, I woke up around noon with a horrible hangover and didn't want to get out of my bed. Thankfully, it was a Saturday and I tried to sleep for some more time but my head was pounding. I got up, cursing myself for drinking too much last night, and made my way towards the kitchen to make some coffee. I was contemplating on whether I should go to Ashley's house or not. Even though she said that Austin wouldn't be coming, a small part of me hoped to see him. After that lawsuit, we never saw each other again. I hated to admit that I missed him terribly and didn't care how messed up that sounded. He fucked me up real good. I kept sipping on my coffee when I heard my phone ringing, already knowing who it was.

"Did you think about it?" she asked as soon as I picked up her call.

"I'm having a horrible hangover with all the drinking last night, Ash. I have been vomiting all morning," I faked a sick voice, hoping it would work.

"You better get your ass in here by 6 pm or I'll come and drag you, Em. You don't want to make a pregnant lady angry." She threatened me, pulling the pregnancy card. She must have figured out my stupid excuse.

Dammit,

"Jeez! Someone has got their panties in a twist. I'll come, relax woman." I laughed through the phone.

"That's more like it. See you soon," I could imagine her grinning evilly and cut the call. I finished my coffee and decided to take a shower to feel better. After an hour of enjoying a nice bubble bath, I came outside wearing a robe and went through my dresses.

I wore a pastel pink off shoulder dress, pairing it up with a brown leather jacket and boots. I ran a brush through my hair, tying it up in a ponytail and applied some mascara and lipgloss. I looked down at my phone, it was already 5.45 pm. I rushed out of my door, grabbing my keys, and drove in the direction of their house. I reached their building at around 6.30 pm because of all the traffic.

Ugh, I hated being late.

I took the elevator and felt my palms getting sweaty. What if he was there already or what if he shows up? I could feel my heart racing with every passing second.

Oh, god, I can do this. I can't avoid him forever.

I rubbed my palms on my dress and let out a huge breath before, knocking on their door. They had changed their locks as someone tried to break into their house a few months ago. After what felt like forever, Ashley opened the door and I instantly had a huge smile on my face at the sight of her and her huge belly.

"Awwww, look at you. You have that pregnancy glow, girl." I smiled as I entered and bent down to her stomach.

"How is my godchild doing?" I spoke, rubbing her belly. I still didn't take a look around to see if he was there as I was too invested in her baby bump.

"Who gets to be the Godfather?" I heard a familiar deep voice and froze.

Fuck, he was here already.

I swallowed hard and looked in the direction of that voice. He was sitting on the couch, with his back towards me. I could see his side profile as he punched Jake on his shoulders.

"FOCUS ON THE GAME, ASSHOLE," Jake shouted not peeling his eyes off the screen. We both laughed at his reaction and I made my way towards the couch. I sat opposite to Ashley and tried to keep my focus on her but my entire body was burning as I could feel Austin's intense gaze on me. We were catching up and spoke about random stuff. I wanted to look at him but forced myself to keep my eyes on Ashley. It was like we were back to square one where it all started.

"Fuck, Austin. We lost because of you." We both jerked our heads at Dan's outburst.

"Fuck off, Dan. This guy is not online for another game," Austin spoke in a defeated tone. That's when I took a full look at him. He was wearing a navy blue button-down shirt with sleeves rolled up till his elbows and blue jeans. His hair was grown out and it curved at the nape of his neck, making him look even more sexier and I could see the veins on his arms visible as he held the game controllers tightly. I wanted to trace my fingers all over his muscular arms and run my hands through his sexy hair.

Fuck, Is it possible to get sexier with every passing day?

"Let's be honest, that guy was super good. We were a team of three and still couldn't defeat him." Jake sighed and got up to stretch his legs.

"He is probably doing some hack dude. Even I have won single-handed by hacking." Dan replied casually, reaching out for a chip from the bowl. I realized that I was hungry myself and reached for the chips. I turned to look at Ash and she looked like she saw a ghost and kept staring at Jake who had an angry look on his face and ran his hands through his hair.

"What's going on?" I broke the silence, looking back and forth between them. Nobody replied and I looked at Dan who was busy on his phone. Austin was still fidgeting with his game controllers and stole a quick glance at me.

"I'm starving. I'm gonna order food," I announced and took out my phone to order.

"I want Chinese," Austin blurted out, speaking to me the first time since that day. I ignored the way my heart flipped at the sound of his deep sexy voice.

He and his love for Chinese food.

"I'm gonna order pizza," I smirked at him in a challenging manner.

"I don't want that," he glared at me, his nose flaring up.

"You can't always have what you want," I spat at him angrily.

"Oh try me, sweetheart. I can and I will," he replied cockily, making me want to slap that stupid smirk off his gorgeous face. I caught his inner meaning and it was like we were going around in circles. I felt that familiar clenching feeling in my heart and decided to leave before I could do something stupid.

"I'm out of here. I'm sorry, Ash. We can catch up later." I went over to give her a hug and she hugged me back but her mind seemed to elsewhere. I mentally made a note to call her later and said my goodbyes to Jake and Dan, giving Austin a death glare before, making my way towards the door.

I was halfway towards the elevator when I felt a strong arm, pulling me behind and I turned around, coming face to face with an angry-looking Austin.

"What the hell is your problem, Emma? Why are you always angry with me?" he asked with confusion, written all over his face and I jerked away from his grip.

"What else do you fucking expect, Austin? I have every reason to be mad at you." I could feel my voice breaking and pushed him away. I decided to take the stairs, instead of the elevator as I knew he would pull some stunt and I would obviously lose control.

"Look, the reason I ended things was because I--I was scared of how much I was feeling for you. This isn't something I'm used to, Emma. Like you said, I am confusing and complicated. I fucked up big time." He kept following me.

"Yes, you fucked up and the least you could have done is ended things before sleeping around like a man whore that you are," I replied, choking back a sob. I bit my lips and controlled so hard not to cry in front of him, again. I kept walking down the stairs as fast as I could.

"I haven't slept with any other woman since I met you, Emma." He stated, making me stop dead in my tracks.