“Oh, so you’ve known one another for quite a long time. What was he like in school?”
I chuckled to myself. “He used to be quite the player in school," I bit out, glancing to Derrick, who sat there looking at me with shock on his face.
"Oh, is that so." Lucy smiled, looking over to Derrick like he was everything, thinking I was joking. However, Derrick just sat there and glared at me, his eyes turning dark.
"Yep, always had a woman on the go. Sometimes two or three at a time," I answered. “I could never keep up with who he was dating one week to the next.”
"He’s kidding, babe. He’s quite the joker. Which reminds me, Maddox, could I see you for a moment? I wanted to run something by you," Derrick interjected, his jaw square and tight.
I grinned at him. "Is there a problem?" I asked, knowing very well he was pissed off and was using that as an excuse to pull me away from telling Lucy anything more.
"Now, Maddox," he spit, getting up from the table.
I downed my scotch, ice jingling against the glass as I set it down on the table with force. I stood up. "Lucy, please excuse us for a moment."
"Yes, please excuse us, darling." Derrick leaned down to kiss her. "Why don’t you order us all another drink, would you, darling? I just need to run something business related by Maddox here."
"Sure thing, babe," she said, looking up at him as he placed his hand under her chin, tilting her head back as he met her lips for a quick kiss.
I followed Derrick down the hall to the men's room and stopped just outside the door, turning to face him.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Derrick gritted.
"You seriously have to ask that? What the hell are you even doing? Jesus, you are supposed to be getting married in three weeks and heading to Paris, but instead you’re planning some trip to some island with this piece."
"Look, I broke it off with Tess just like you wanted me to. Lucy is something special, but how would you ever understand?"
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that since you are still single, you have no clue how it feels to be in love."
"Fuck you!" I said through clenched teeth, pushing my hands against his chest. Derrick knew what I had been through. How dare he even suggest something like that to me. "I don't think you know what it means to be in love. You had the perfect girl—the perfect fucking girl. Tess adored you, she would do anything for you, and stood by you during some of your worst fucking times, and you broke her heart like it meant nothing because you let your dick do the talking, just like you’ve always done. How long have you been doing this one?"
"Don't you dare talk to me like that!"
"Why the hell not? Because the truth hurts? Honestly, I do not know what the hell you are even doing with this chick or even where you found her. She doesn't even begin to hold a candle to Tess. She is just another fucking bimbo, just like all the rest of them."
"Well, you better get used to the fucking bimbo, because I'm asking her to marry me tonight."
"You're what?" I blurted, my eyes almost falling out of my head. The bed he and Tess slept in hadn't even grown cold, and here he was talking about marrying some other chick.
"You heard me. I have the ring in my pocket. I wanted you to be here for it."
I scratched my head, barely believing what I was hearing. "Well, Derrick, I hate to break it to you, but I don't want to be here for it. I won't stand beside you either at this wedding or any other for that fact, so don't even fucking ask me. The best thing I could do for that girl right now is walk out there and warn her about you."
We stood there staring at one another for what felt like an eternity, then without another word, Derrick turned and made his way back to the table. I took a minute to cool off before making my way back to the table to find Derrick holding Lucy's hand and speaking in a low voice to her, as both of them smiled at one another. I pulled my phone from my pocket and placed it on the table, staring down at the screen to avoid being sick at the disgusting display in front of me. I was just about to tell them I was going to head out when my phone vibrated against the table, Tess's name flashing on the screen.
"Would you two please excuse me for a moment? I have to take this call." I grabbed my phone before Derrick could see who it was and made my way to the front door of the restaurant. I pushed the door open and walked out into the frosty night air.
"Hey, Tess. What’s up."
"Hey, Maddox. I'm not bothering you, am I? I mean, I know you had dinner plans, so if it's a bad time, I can always call back later."
"Not at all. What's up?" I inquired, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Derrick hadn't followed me outside.
"Well, I know you just left, but I was wondering if you could pop by tonight after you finish your dinner? I have something I wanted to run by you."
I pinched the bridge of my nose and turned to glance back into the window of the restaurant at where Derrick and Lucy sat. I blinked hard as I watched Derrick pull a small black box from his jacket pocket, while Lucy brought her hands up to cover her mouth. I rolled my eyes; that poor girl had no idea that he broke off his last engagement only a few weeks before. I felt bad for her, but I felt really bad for Tess. She’d be crushed knowing he had already moved on without any regard. I knew I should have called her the night I found him the first time, but she was such a beautiful woman. I didn't want to be the one to break her heart. Instead, I had hoped that my friend had been telling me the truth and would have come clean himself.
"Maddox, are you there? I didn't lose you, did I? Are you in a bad cell area?"
"Sorry, no, I'm here. I have zero plans after dinner tonight, and I can't think of a better way to spend an evening," I said as I watched Lucy wrap her arms around Derrick's neck and then look at the ring that she had slipped onto her finger. "Give me an hour. I'll be on my way."
Tess
It was almost eight and my nerves filled my stomach as I looked at the clock. I was sure Maddox would be here any minute, so I shoved the last of my dinner in my mouth and cleared my plate from the table. I put the dishes in the dishwasher, then quickly washed the pot in the sink before leaving it to dry. I grabbed my sweater from the back of my chair, shut the kitchen light off, and made my way into the living room where I lit a candle and turned on the TV.
I sat down on the couch and rung my hands together. I didn’t know why I was even bothering to give in to Laura's crazy idea of asking Maddox to go with me. I knew it was more to keep Laura and my mom off my back. Neither of them thought I should travel to Paris alone, even though I insisted I would be fine.
Maddox had become more of a friend to me than I had originally thought. Since Derrick and I had separated, he had spent nights with me when the girls weren’t able to. When I asked him why, he said he was doing what he could to make sure I wasn't spending a lot of time alone. He had been the only one of Derrick's friends who had been coming around regularly to help me and spend time with me, and for that, I was grateful. Some of the others had only come around to take advantage of my broken heart.