Page 5 of Fighting for the Forbidden
Chapter Two
Lauren
“See,I told you this was a good idea,” Joe says as we walk toward the entrance of Sixty4, our go-to bar a couple of streets away.
Once my tears started to dry up, Joe announced that we were going out for cocktails. To say I wasn’t really in the mood was an understatement, but he was insistent that I would feel better for it.
I hate to admit it, but with a ton of concealer around my eyes, my favourite dress and my cute peep-toe heels, I do feel just a little bit better.
Someone waving from just inside the door catches my eye, and my face splits into a wide smile when I find Danni, my best friend, waiting for me.
“I thought you had loads of uni work to do?” I say, throwing my arms around her shoulders.
“I do, but Joe said you needed to get out of the house. Is everything okay?”
Joe pipes up before I get a chance. I’m grateful because I don’t really want to think about what happened tonight, let alone talk about it. “Ben’s just being a little overbearing.”
The image of him standing at our front door earlier has my eyes stinging, but thankfully no tears come. I think I’ve probably run out.
“What are we waiting for then? Let’s get a drink down us.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, terrified of breaking down while surrounded by strangers.
“It’s two-for-one night.” With my arms linked with my friends, they drag me towards the bar and order our first drinks.
The alcohol and the sweetness of the fruit juice definitely does help to cheer me up a little, but at no point does the image of his devastated face leave me. I swear it’s going to be there forever, always making me wonder if I made the worst decision of my life by sending him away.
“Earth to Lauren,” Joe sings, waving a fresh vodka martini in front of me.
“Sorry,” I mutter. I hate the sympathetic eyes I get from both of them, but I’ve no idea how to attempt to convince them that I’m fine.
“So, any guys taking your fancy?” I ask Danni, trying to take the heat off me and my disastrous love life.
She glances around briefly before turning back and shaking her head. “Is your dry spell that bad?” Joe asks before Danni launches into explaining the handful of disastrous dates she’s been on recently. I totally zone out, and it’s not until my phone starts vibrating in my bag that I come back to myself.
“If that’s him, don’t answer,” Joe warns when he sees me pull my phone out.
“It’s not. I’m sorry,” I say, excusing myself when I see Jenny’s name on the screen. I know I should probably ignore her for the night as well, but I can’t. She seems to be coping with everything better now that Ben’s here, but I still worry about her.
“Hello.”
“Hello. Lauren? Are you there? Hello?” I walk to the bar entrance as fast as I can so she can hear me over the commotion behind me.
“Yeah, I’m here. Sorry, I’m out with friends.”
“Oh…uh…sorry, I’ll leave you, then.”
The sadness in her tone has me encouraging her to talk. “No, it’s fine. What’s up?”
“It’s…Ben.”
All the air rushes from my lungs. Of course it bloody is.
“What about him?”
“I told him that I’d warned you he was coming. He was furious.”
“Right?”
