You gulped down a shot of green jello as you saw him from across the room, his smile beaming like a light you no longer had permission to see. Rick was much too nice not to invite all of his friends to his annual Christmas party, but the reality of seeing Abraham again hadn't crossed your mind until just now. He had his typical beer in his hand as he waved it around cracking jokes, making Eugene and Glenn throw their heads back in laughter.
You smiled as memories of your time together flooded in, Eugene and Glenn often laughing at your jokes, too. But wait, who was that fourth person joining the group? You winced as a woman with dark hair put her arms around his waist.
A woman? Already?! It had only been four weeks since you split up and he's already… ugh. You felt your heart sink down into your stomach. You were with him for over a year, and he hadn't taken any time to recover from your relationship?! He wasn't even…?! You shook your head at the thought. Maybe he didn't even think of it like that, maybe he was just having fun. Maybe he… oh no! He saw you.
He made eye contact, nodding upwards quickly as if you were nothing more than a casual friend, some unimportant acquaintance. You looked away, unable to take the prolonged stare that would no doubt send you into a mixture of feelings you'd been avoiding for the past month.
"Hey honey." He walked up to the table and grabbed a cookie. "You here all by yer lonesome?" He took a bite of the treat as he faced you, his muscles threatening to rip his t-shirt in half.
"I see you're not." You didn't want to seem too hurt, too vulnerable.
"Oh Rosita? She's just a friend." He smiled and tossed the rest of the cookie into his mouth.
"I bet." You squinted, curving your lips into what would technically count as a smile.
"This guy bothering you?" Negan's voice crept up on you faster than his hand had slipped around your waist. He smiled cooly as he handed you a beer, sizing up your ex.
"Nah," you sipped the beer and kept your eyes on Abraham, watching his face fall in disbelief as Negan's fingers danced over your hips.
"Who is this guy?" Abraham pointed his beer at your coworker.
"Just a friend." You tried to fight fire with fire, knowing full well it would set him off.
"Just a friend? Shit, are we still playing that game?" Negan smirked at you and reached his hand out to Abraham as he watched his eyes twitch with rage. "We're a special kind of friend, if you know what I mean." He winked at him before dropping his hand back to his side. "Not big on handshakes, I see."
"No." He puffed up his chest. "No, I'm not." He kept his eyes on Negan and grabbed another cookie without looking at what kind it was.
"Shit, darlin', I would have worn my kilt if I'dda known Sheamus the WWE wrestler was in town, goddamn!" He leaned into Abraham with a soft whisper. "Is Roman Reins around here too, because…." he made a show of looking around the room. "I'd love to get some wrestling tips from him. You know, for later." He pointed at you as he grabbed your ass.
Abraham growled under his breath, his bright orange mustache disappearing into the redness of his skin as he did his best not to punch Negan in the face. What was he so mad about? Why did he even care? He was the one who broke up with you!
You didn't reveal that Negan was just a coworker, a team player who agreed to act as your boyfriend if you ran into Abraham tonight. You didn't think he would actually hold up his end of the bargain, but you couldn't deny how nice his hands felt on your body. You'd be lying to yourself if you said you hadn't thought about it once or twice… or thirty times.
"You dating this joker?" He finally took a breath and looked at you.
How typical, the double standard: he could be with someone else but you couldn't? You knew the easiest way to piss Abraham off was not to give him an answer. Making him wait and speculate set his temper off quicker than anything, and you were riding high on this display of power in Rick and Michonne's living room. He always had the upper hand in the relationship, acting like he didn't care or that he didn't need you. Well not anymore; not today.
You crossed your arms and kept your mouth shut, raising your eyebrows in a taunting manner.
Abraham took a step toward you, forcing Negan to place a hand on his chest. "Why don't you go get another drink, huh?"
"Is there a problem here?" Rick appeared out of nowhere, looking at both men as they towered over him.
"No," Abraham whispered, keeping his eyes on Negan.
"Not at all," Negan smiled, tilting his head playfully before winking at him.
Abraham dropped his beer and flexed before Rick pushed him away, Glenn and Aaron stepping in to hold back his arms. "Enough!" Rick yelled, pushing on Abraham's shoulders. "Enough," he whispered to his friend.
You smiled as Negan's grip got tighter on your waist, Abraham's jealousy making up for all of the fights he would win just because he was older and knew how to make you feel like you didn't know what you were talking about. You sipped on your beer as Rick turned him around, walking him into the kitchen.
"Holy shit, you sure know how to pick 'em." Negan turned to face you, his hand staying put as it sent shivers up your spine. "You like 'em big, huh?"
"Yeah," you sighed, embracing his new and open arms. "Yeah, I do." You palmed his chest with a smirk, watching his lips taunt you as they curled into a devilish grin.
"You really want to piss him off?" He licked those lips of his and nodded toward the bedroom. "I can show you big."