Chapter One Tricked
"Where's the fucking salsa at? This bowl is done," Luke's eyes scanned the patio for our waiter.
"I believe that's him over there, risn't it?" I pointed towards the back of a tall ginger haired man.
"Nah, ass too flat."
Kol, my fiancé, and I were celebrating my promotion to Principal Dancer at the American Ballet Theater with drinks at an Irish Pub in the East Village of NYC when Luke happened to stroll past our table out on the patio and pulled up a chair [uninvited].
"Ah, I spot him pooching around inside. Want anything?" Luke stood.
"Another cranberry vodka, please," I smiled at my friend as he made his way inside the bar. Just as I picked up my glass to take a sip, I felt a nudge underneath the table. "Careful. These legs are my moneymakers," I smirked.
"I'm sick of his rude ass," Kol hissed from across the table, ignoring my joke. "He didn't even ask if I wanted anything. Prick."
Taking a deep breath, I reached across the table and laid a comforting hand on his arm. "He asked us, honey. He didn't say 'Bonnie, would you like anything?' Cut him some slack," I said for the millionth time, although I couldn't blame him for being uncomfortable. Luke is, after all, my ex-boyfriend's brother. Considering how we ended our relationship, how complicated things are between us now… it's a wonder I'm friends with anyone associated with Kai, let alone his younger brother, of all people. But to be fair, I was friends with Luke and his twin sister, Liv, before I even knew Kai existed.
Following our break up, I was initially a bitch to Luke and Liv, thinking they were just spying on me for Kai, but after awhile I began to let my guard down. We still had our standoffs, but it was always about him looking out for me and being my "protector" here in the Big Apple. I moved here right after my break up with his brother a year ago and outside of Luke, Kol, and my fellow dancers at the company, I didn't know anyone. Luke declared himself my official "protector" and was 100% positive that he knew what was best for me—not my fiancé.
He rarely voiced it, but I knew Luke still clung to the idea of Kai and I reconciling. He knew better then to push his hopes off on me, but every once in awhile, he would "casually" bring Kai up and tell me how I misinterpreted things. How there was more to the story. Child, please.
I interpreted everything just fine. Kai lied to me about the nature of his relationship with his "client", Sybil, and everyone knew about it. Nuff said.
It's been over one year since I've last laid eyes on Malachai Parker in person, and I haven't looked back.
Sort of…
The Parkers are a very prominent, extremely wealthy family here in America (aka "old money") and Kai, the oldest, was one of the most powerful agents in Hollywood, therefore I couldn't help but see him (or one of his siblings, which triggered thoughts of him) in the society pages or in the news.
Besides keeping my friendship with Luke&Liv and seeing him in the media, I'd moved on from Kai Parker in every possible way. Of course, I was devastated and spent time moping, but I didn't allow myself to stay that way. Instead, I auditioned for and joined the American Ballet Theater, prompting my abrupt move to NYC. As fate would have it, Kol lived here, having gone to NYU after graduating high school, and now plays for the New York Yankees. A couple of months after moving here, I let Kol take me out.
Contrary to what Luke, Liv, Caroline, and Elena (my other two best friends) thought, this wasn't a rebound relationship! Kol was my high school sweetheart. We dated for a year and a half, but broke up when I left for college with Care and Elena thousands of miles away in Los Angeles and he here to NYC; we both decided that not only was a long-distance relationship too much of a strain, but that we were young and owed it to ourselves to date around and gain new experiences. Well, now we're older, wiser, and in love with each other. Sure, he was a tad possessive, but I found it cute sometimes. We had the same ambitions and values, and he was there for me. Kol represented stability and security and for a girl who lost both her parents at a young age, those two things were everything for me, which is why I said YES when he proposed two months ago.
Kol and I were excited about getting married… and we were the only ones. No one else is. Elena being Elena tries to pretend she is, but I see through it. No matter, I recently decided it doesn't matter what they think. I'm happy and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. Before I started dating Kol again, Caroline and Elena, loved him. We'd all gone to high school together and he was best friends with Elena's younger brother, Jeremy. Now, although they still love him, they don't think we're right for each other and that I'm still hung up on Kai, even though that couldn't be further from the truth. He didn't seem to be miserable, either, the ass.
Kol slammed his glass down on the table. "I shouldn't have to cut him slack, Bonnie! You're my future wife, and I don't like him. You put all that shit you had with that man behind you, so why is Luke still here?"
I was beyond sick and tired of having this same argument. "He's my friend, Kol. I've known him since my freshman year of college, before I even met Kai, so quit bringing him up all the time!" He was worried about me having unresolved feelings for Kai, but the reason I couldn't stop thinking about him was because Kol always managed to bring him up. We always had the same argument every time Luke or Liv came around and I was tired of it. I just made one of the biggest accomplishments in my dance career and didn't feel like tending to his fragile ego.
…which was why I didn't mind when he stood up, slapped a few bills down on the table, and told me he was leaving. "I'll call you later. Pick up your phone," he warned before stalking out of the bar and into the Manhattan traffic of pedestrians.
Unbothered, I picked up my glass and drew another sip.
"He gone for good?" Luke resumed his seat next to me. If I didn't know any better, it seemed like Luke lived for pissing Kol off. Ignoring him, I stuffed a tortilla chip in my mouth.
"Where's the salsa and my drink?"
"The waiter's bringing it. He gave me his number," Luke winked, taking my drink from my hand and downing the rest of it.
Right on que, the waiter placed a bowl of salsa next to the tortilla chips and a cranberry vodka in front of me.
"Look, I'm happy Kol left because… I've got something to tell you."
I lifted an eyebrow, "What?"
"I have news, Bonnie B," he faced me, his ice blue eyes practically dancing with excitement.
I scoffed. "No. Don't even go there," Using a tortilla chip, I scooped up a glob of salsa and stuffed it in my mouth. "Not today. Idon'twannatalkabouthim."
"Bon, you're gross. Don't talk with your mouth full," he made a disgusted look.
My petty side was tempted to open my mouth and show the chewed up contents in my mouth. But I refrained.
"Bonnie, for real, you wanna hear this," he placed a hand on my arm.
My petty side did not refrain from throwing a chip at him, however. He swerved, but you can't blame a girl for trying. Luke gloated. "Just hear me out. It's up to you to do what you want with the deets."
I sighed and leaned back in my seat. "What?"
"Kai dumped Sybil," he leaned forward, eagerly awaiting my reaction.
In the weeks following my break up with Kai, I was hounded with questions not only by friends, but reporters too. Perhaps it was a defense mechanism, but I conditioned myself to not feel anything or at least appear that way when it came to my ex and his new girlfriend. Being nonchalant about all things Kai kept me from flying to California and snatching that bitch's edges out, because then that would mean that I still cared and I don't. At all. No, instead I absorbed the information Luke laid at my lap. I'd be lying if I said my lip didn't itch to curve into a smirk, but for the most part I felt nothing ._..
"And?" I lifted a brow. "What am I supposed to do with that?"
Luke's shoulders slumped at my lack of enthusiasm. If it were any other topic, I might've felt bad for his deflated mood. Shaking his head, he chugged his drink. "Not a damn thing," he muttered. "You two are stupid. I give up."
I snorted. "Luke, honey, I appreciate you trying to give me what you consider to be good news. I do. Really. But Kai is my past. Kol's my future. See this ring," I proudly held my hand up. "I'm getting married! Kai and I are over whether he's with Slutbil or not." He didn't like or agree with what I said, but he didn't contradict it and instead mumbled something shady about my ring looking like tacky, costume jewelry and turned his attention to the rugby match on one of the huge flat screen televisions posted outside. After pinching his thigh, I didn't give Kai or his other ex a second thought…
…until the next day when Caroline and Elena decided to fly in from California to my humble abode.
"Congratufuckinglations!" the blonde's excitement was deafening.
It took a moment, in my half-sleep haze to realize that my two best friends from birth, the ones that lived on the other side of the country, were standing outside my West Village apartment.
"Caro? Elena?" I croaked rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "What're you…?" My vision was abruptly clouded by a mass mixture of blonde and brunette hair while two pairs of long slender arms entangled themselves around my body. "Oh my gah, you're here!" I squealed wrapping an arm around each of them. "What're you doing here?"
"It's not everyday our best friend is promoted to Principal Dancer of one of the top ballet companies in the country!" Elena squealed.
"I can't believe you guys flew all the way out here for that," I grew a little misty as we stood there in the doorway of my studio apartment. This was our first time seeing each other in months. What with Caroline working to establish her self as the go to event planner in Southern California and Elena working on her medical residency at UCLA, the bulk of our friendship over the past year had been spent over the phone and/or face time.
It wasn't long before we were sitting around my tiny table munching on brunch and mimosas that I'd quickly whipped up in the kitchen like old times.
"Where's your fiancé?" Caroline asked with a wrinkle of her nose on the last word. She made no secret of her dislike of Kol.
Caroline didn't care much for Kai either, but she now liked Kol much less, so she was all for us getting back together. She even made herself team captain of what she refers to as Team Kai. In her eyes, Kol had changed from the witty, fun guy he had been in high school to "a pompous arrogant douchebag" who's let his celebrity status as a Yankee go to his head, was overly possessive and wanted to isolate me from my friends. To be fair, he was concerned about how Caroline and Elena still kept in touch with many of Kai's friends, Elena being engaged to one of his business partners, and he didn't want me to have any reminders of my past relationship. He's being sweet really, because he knew how hurt I was upon my arrival in New York. However, Care, Luke, and Liv called "bullshit" and said I was settling.
"At practice, I guess. I'm not sure," I shrugged carelessly as I took a bite of my scrambled eggs. Truth was, I hadn't spoken to Kol since yesterday after he stormed off. Despite telling me he was going to call, he didn't, and I made no effort to call him. Luke&Liv, nor any of my other friends, were going anywhere and he needed to get over it, even if it was coming from a sweet place.
Elena narrowed her eyes at me for a moment before a dreamy smile covered her face. "You know… when Damon and I first got engaged, we couldn't keep apart from each other. He made sure he always knew where I was and vice versa. It's still that way actually…"
Although Elena never came outright and said she didn't want me to marry Kol, she had her passive [and sometimes shady] moments where it was clear which team she played for. And that was team Kai.
"That's because you two have an unhealthy obsession with each other," I clappedback.
She grinned and stuck out her tongue at me in response as Caroline laughed.
"He's just in one of his moods right now," I shook my head. "Kol and I were out celebrating yesterday when Luke popped up and joined us and… you know how Kol feels about that so he left pretty angry."
I waited for Caroline's "fuck him and his bitch fits" rant and Elena's tsk and shake of the head, but neither came. Instead, when I looked up, I saw both of them exchanging knowing looks.
My eyes narrowed. "What?"
The blonde slowly turned her head in my direction, a smirk on her face. "Speaking of Luke… he told me yo man dumped that bitch."
Elena sipped her tea.
I closed my eyes and prayed for patience. "Kai… is not… my man," I slowly drawled through gritted teeth. "He hasn't been for almost a year. Change subject."
"Don't play that act with me," Caroline waved her hand as if shooing away a fly. "Luke said you didn't care, but I know you better and can see right through your nonchalant act, Bonnie Sheila Bennett."
Again, I narrowed my eyes at my two best friends. "What's the real reason you two flew here?"
Caroline sucked in her lips and turned her head.
Elena sat her cup of tea down on the table and sent a sweet smile my way. "We told you. We're proud of you, Bon. You got promoted to Principal Dancer at the American Ballet Theatre! That's amazing! We've watched you work towards this your whole life, we couldn't just say congratulations over the phone. This is cause to celebrate," the excitement genuinely reached her eyes, making my heart melt and the tension ease away from my shoulders. "And… once we heard the news about Kai and that woman, we just had to get on the first thing smoking and check on you," she added so quickly, I almost didn't catch it.
"Would all of you stop it?!" I banged my hand so hard, the table shook. I didn't need this on top of everything else. It was one thing to work my way up to Principal Dancer at the best dance company in the country, but to stay there was another, Kol was in his feelings over friendships that weren't going anywhere, and now this. "I am not thinking about Kai! I am not in love with him anymore and quite frankly, I could give a rat's ass over what he does with his womanizing penis. When will you all accept that and leave me alone?"
I'd walked right into their trap and didn't even realize it. Caroline pounced.
"Well, since you 'don't give a fuck', as you so eloquently put it, why don't you fly into L.A. a few days before Damon&Elena's wedding in a few weeks, come to all the festivities, and spend the entire weekend with us? All of us?" She asked smoothly.
"Festivities?" I was simply going to fly into L.A. the night before and pop out as soon as the reception was over.
"I hired Caroline as my wedding planner and you know she likes to do everything over the top so," Elena giggled with a shrug. "We're having a cocktail party that Friday night, a rehearsal dinner followed by a bachelor/bachelorette party on Saturday, then wedding on Sunday."
Damon, Elena's fiancé, was business partners [and best friends] with Kai and would no doubt be in attendance at each and every one of these events, hence my original plan to stay in L.A. less than 24 hours.
"It'll be like old times, all three of us together again, and since you're not in love with Kai, staying the entire weekend and attending each event like a good of Maid of Honor, shouldn't be a problem. Right?" Caroline and Elena raised expectant eyebrows at me.
I'd been tricked. I wouldn't be surprised if those bitches (Luke included) planned everything, down to getting me riled up over declaring my non-love for Kai, and Caroline exploiting and challenging me.
Nonetheless, I held my head high and stood my ground. "Correct." I wasn't really falling into their trap. As Maid of Honor, I was going to have to attend all of these events anyways—plus they would never let me hear the end of it.
Caroline and Elena jumped and squealed in their seats excited.
"Ohh wait till I tell everyone! They're all going to be so excited."
"Ohh it really is going to be just like old times!"
I looked out the window at the concrete jungle of skyscrapers and gulped. I was going back to L.A.