“Wine used to make you more agreeable. Now it just makes you cranky.”
“Maybe it’s not the wine,” I threw back pointedly and stood from the couch to address the room. “Ladies, it’s been lovely, but I have to get going. Same time next month, yeah?”
I didn’t wait for an answer and instead grabbed my things and fled the room. I was already out the door when someone caught my arm. I turned and Trev looked at me in concern.
“Did I say something wrong?” he asked, his hand firm at my elbow.
I blew out a breath and shook my head. “No, I just . . . I can’t be around you, Trev. I’m sorry.”
“Why not?”
“You know why.”
His eyes moved back and forth between mine. He didn’t let go of me for a long moment then blurted, “I want another chance.” What?
I sputtered a laugh. “Are you high?”
He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed at his temples. “Shit, that came out wrong. I don’t mean romantically. I want another chance at being your friend.”
I yanked my arm away and started walking again. “I’m too drunk right now for this conversation.”
He caught up to me easily. “If you’re too drunk for this conversation then you’re too drunk to make your own way home. Let me drive you.”
“I’ll get a taxi.”
“Reya.”
The tone of his voice had me turning around. “What?”
He gave me a no-nonsense look. “Quit being a bitch.”
I couldn’t help it. Maybe it was the alcohol, but I burst out laughing. This whole situation was ridiculous. He was Trev. I knew him better than I knew anyone, and here we were, arguing like a pair of bratty children. Actually no, I was arguing like a bratty child. He was being surprisingly mature.
“Fine. You can drive me home,” I said and started walking toward the only car on the street expensive enough to be his, a black 4X4, because you know, London had so many unwieldy terrains to contend with.
I opened the door and slid into the passenger seat before he could say anything. He was chuckling low at my presumption when he got in the driver’s side and started the engine.
I let out a sigh as he started to drive in the direction of my flat. “I’m sorry for being curt with you. It’s just weird having you around after all this time, especially given how successful you’ve become. It makes me feel like a failure.”
Crap! Why did I say that? I’d obviously had too much wine tonight. I mentally facepalmed and wished for magical tape to seal my mouth shut.
Trev frowned at me then back at the road. “What makes you think you’re a failure? More importantly, what makes you think I’m a success?”
I snorted and made a very eloquent hand gesture around the fancy-as-fuck car we were in. Nobody was giving me a Classy Lady of the Year award any time soon.
Trev’s lips twitched in a smile. “Nice stuff doesn’t equate to success. Not in my book. If you knew half the bullshit I’ve been through in the last year you wouldn’t want to swap with me for a second.”
I studied him closely. “What happened in the last year?”
Trev’s hand tightened reflexively on the steering wheel. “You really want to know?”
“I really do.”
He exhaled and took his time responding. “So, do you remember me mentioning my ex yesterday, Nicole?”
I nodded.
“I met her about ten months ago. Worst thing to ever happen to me. I didn’t know it at the time, of course.”
“Of course.”
His lips twitched again and he continued talking. “She was a big fan of the show.”
I brought my hands to my face and winced. “You got involved with a fan? Oh, Trevor.”
His jaw tensed. “Not my finest hour, I’ll admit. But Nicole was beautiful. She was a model, but she was clever, too. She had a wicked sense of humour, which was one of the first things that attracted me to her.”
Against my better judgement, I stewed in a morsel of jealousy. Okay, more than a morsel. Shut up. “Sounds like she was the whole package.”
He emitted a joyless laugh. “Yeah, the whole package with a side of nut job. Callum still calls her Yoko.”
I chuckled.
“I didn’t see the signs at first, but she started doing little things that waved warning signals. She’d check the messages on my phone, tell me to delete social media statuses she didn’t agree with, ask me why I accepted friend requests from girls even if they were real-life mates of mine.”
I braced myself, because I could see where this was heading. I actually felt sorry for him, which was new because for the last two years, Trev had been someone I resented in my head. Someone I felt envious of and hated for leaving me behind so he could live his dream life.
“There was more, but I won’t go into every single incident, otherwise we’d be here all night. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when she accused me of cheating on her and thrashed my flat. I hadn’t cheated, just so you know, but someone had given my phone number to a girl who wanted to get with me. Nicole found a suggestive message and lost the plot. Two days later, my manager called me in for a meeting. Nicole claimed to have a sex tape of us and had threatened to put it online. It’s not like it would’ve ruined my career if she did. In fact, it probably would’ve heightened my profile, but I just felt sick at the idea of her doing something like that, you know?”
“God, Trev, I had no idea . . .” I breathed.
He shook his head. “Anyway, I paid her off and the whole thing went away. It turned out she didn’t even have a video. She was just doing it to get back at me, even though I never bloody cheated to begin with.”
It sounded like he was better off without her if I was being honest. On instinct, I reached out and placed my hand on his. He let out a sharp breath and our eyes connected. Heat spread through me and I quickly pulled away. Touching him was definitely not a good idea.
“After that whole shitstorm I knew I had to make a change. I had to be more selective about who I let into my life. Nicole was the final catalyst, but there’d been a whole string of crazies, all out for what I could give them. I was just so . . . tired of it all. You know how they say be careful what you wish for?”
I nodded but didn’t speak.
“Well, I got exactly what I wanted and realised it was a million miles away from what I needed. I feel so much better now. So much more grounded,” he said, after a moment of silence. We’d just pulled up outside my flat. I wanted to leave but I also wanted to stay. I wanted to talk to him, because although the story of Nicole was awful, it had been nice to have a conversation with him. When we talked it almost felt like no time had passed and we were back to being friends.
Trev climbed out of the car and came around to open my door for me. When I emerged he walked me to my door, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Have you found a new club to play at yet?” he asked, and there was a hesitance to his voice I found curious.
I shook my head. “Not yet. I have a few meetings tomorrow though, so fingers crossed.”