two: meet nadia
After Mila left Justin to stew in his own misery, he ordered two more margaritas, just to make sure he didn’t feel anything else but a buzz. He’d found himself drinking more often as of late, which was to be expected, considering the circumstances, but that didn’t make it all right with those who loved him most.
The other guest of honor, Grant, had been friends with Justin for over a decade, and he liked to think he knew him pretty well. In that time, Justin had always been available, even when it was inconvenient, and that was one of the things they loved about him. He was there. But when he and Mila fell apart, it seemed that he stopped caring. He’d made himself so scarce over the past year, and when they did see him, he was never particularly chatty or jovial. He was obviously in pain. And Grant hated seeing this pitiful party at the bar take place, so he joined his friend for a drink.
“So we see you maybe twice a year, and you choose to spend your time here ignoring us.” The ever-so-dashing Grant Vener took the seat next to his buddy. “What gives?”
Justin offered a weak grin in Grant’s direction and immediately took another gulp of his drink. “I’m sorry, man. I’m just… not here tonight.”
“No shit.” He quickly ordered a beer before looking back to his friend. “What did she say?”
He glanced at his ringless left hand for a long moment before answering. He’d taken off his wedding band more than five months ago, but it still ached to look at the empty spot. “She’s engaged to Franco,” he revealed quietly.
“Seriously?” he frowned in disbelief. “Mila?”
“Unbelievable, right?”
“I mean, I knew they were dating, but that’s fast as shit.”
“Right. Like how the fuck do you spend ten years with me and then find yourself engaged to that motherfucker all of a sudden?”
Grant took a swig of his beer, staring at the contents of the bottle as he searched for an explanation. He hated to put this thought on the table, but he couldn’t have been the only one thinking it. “You think maybe she was with him before the divorce?”
“I dunno, dude. I hope not, but…”
“I guess you couldn’t exactly blame her if she did, though…” Grant received a look from Justin that said he had overstepped his boundaries, so he rephrased his words. “I-I mean things got complicated towards the end.”
“Did they?” he returned sarcastically.
“I’m sorry,” Grant relented. “This is obviously none of my business.”
“Everyone’s made it their business,” Justin shrugged. “Whatever.”
“You know it’s only because we care.”
Suddenly annoyed, Justin resorted to eating the ice that remained in his glass. “Enough about me, how are you feeling, man? This is a big shindig just to announce something we all already know.”
“Tell me about it,” he grinned, resembling a Disney prince in the process. “But you know, Kristin’s parents wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Levitt.”
“The Levitts,” Grant chuckled. “By the way, I hope you’re prepared to spend your summer at Kristin’s beck and call. She already has everyone planned to be back out here for the Fourth of July.”
“Of course she does.”
“That’s your friend.”
“And she’s gonna be your wife,” Justin reminded him jokingly. “When is the wedding anyway?”
“Labor Day weekend. She felt that was the last opportunity she would have to appropriately wear white in 2011.”
“She is a piece of work.” The two of them shook their heads, amused by her antics. But that was what made her so lovable, and they knew it. “Hey, at least you guys won’t be able to say you never see me.”
“Pretty sure we’ll be sick of you by the time the wedding gets here.”
“Are all these people in the wedding,” Justin gestured to the rest of the private room. It wasn’t a large space, but it was fairly full, and he wondered what made this particular group so special.
“Yep, pretty much,” Grant confirmed. “Aside from a significant other or two, everyone in here is in the wedding party.”
Justin nodded, glancing to his left just in time to catch the eye of what he assumed to be one of the bridesmaids. But she easily could have been a model for all he knew. They’d never been introduced, but he felt that he’d seen her face before “ it wasn’t one he’d easily forget. He discreetly leaned in to his friend to ask, “Grant, how do I know her?”
Ignoring Justin’s inconspicuousness, Grant immediately called her over. “Nadia, come here a sec.”
She turned to the two gentlemen with a seductive stare that automatically caused Justin to lick his lips. She was stunning “ brown skin so rich, it was like a plate of caramel or the perfect cup of coffee; her legs went on for days, and she wore just the right white shift dress to accentuate them and her slim fifure; and her big black curly ‘fro framed a slender face with an immaculate smile. She moved towards them, staring Justin down with her cat-like eyes. “Hi,” she greeted them.
“Hello.” Maybe it was the alcohol catching up to him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her fast enough.
Grant interrupted their little moment so that he could introduce them. “Nadia, I want you to meet Justin. He’s a good friend of me and Kristin’s,” he explained as if she hadn’t heard that several times in the four years she’d known the couple. “Justin, this is Nadia Maraj. She works on the show with Kris.”
“The radio show?” he wondered stupidly.
“That would be the one,” she smirked coolly.
“Kristin decided that you guys should walk down the aisle together,” Grant proclaimed proudly. “She wouldn’t even entertain any other option for you two.”
Justin coughed, baffled by the notion. The last thing he wanted to do was think about walking down the aisle with anyone. “I’m sorry, what?”
“For our wedding?” he appended. “I mean, you’re the tallest ones in the group, and obviously, unbelievably attractive, so it only made sense to her.”
Nadia smiled in Justin’s direction, amused that he would think anything otherwise. “I guess we’ll be spending some time together then.”
“Looks like it.”
In hopes that Justin would soon put Mila out of his mind, Grant decided to leave his buddy with the sultry stranger. If Nadia took his mind off of his ex for even a few minutes, it would be a step in the right direction, at least. “I’ll let you two get to know each other.”
Nadia took Grant’s seat and watched him leave before turning back to Justin. “So. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Me?” Justin wondered if he’d heard right. “I’ve been discussed?”
“Well I don’t know why that would be surprising. I’m sure you are often a subject of conversation.”
He shrugged. “Most of my friends hate to bring me up. It’s hard enough to weed out the bad ones as it is.”
“I guess that makes sense.” She received a Heineken from the bartender and took a sip, hoping to wash down some of her awkwardness. “So you and Kristin grew up together, I hear...”
“Yep,” he nodded. “Or we met in middle school. I was gone a lot by the time we were in high school, but we stayed in touch, obviously.”
She nodded. “That’s sweet.”
“And… what do you do at the show with Kristin? Are you a producer, too?”
“No, no, I’m one of the hosts, actually,” she grinned. She pointed to a brunette sitting a few seats away and added, “Me and Rachel right there, we’re the estrogen on the show.”
He chuckled lightly, not really having any response to that. “Well that’s cool. You’ve got your own morning show.”
“Well, me and three other people,” she laughed awkwardly.
“Right. Of course.” He choked down a couple of pretzels while she stared off into the rest of the party. “Do you like it?”
“My job? I love it,” she answered earnestly. “I work four hours a day, and I get to sit and talk to three people I truly adore.”
He realized as she spoke that he liked her voice. She had a crisp but soothing tone, and a Brooklyn accent that probably made most New Yorkers feel close to her. “Don’t you guys talk to listeners too?” He thought he’d heard Kristin say that more than once.
“Yeah, of course people call and weigh in on whatever. But even then, it’s the four of us, plus the caller.”
“Cool,” he returned evenly.
“So I guess you don’t listen to the show often,” she noted with a nervous laugh.
“I sound like a shitty friend, I guess.”
“No, I get it. Morning shows are not everyone’s cup of tea.”
“It’s not that at all, I just rarely wake up before ten,” he chuckled. “And if I am up, I’m usually not doing something that would allow me to listen to the radio.”
“That’s fair,” she nodded again. “That’s legit.”
“I’m an asshole,” he declared, wincing. “That’s awful, I know.”
“It’s fine.” She actually felt like the asshole, sitting there with nothing to say to him. She made a living talking to people all the time, and now she couldn’t even carry a conversation with a guy that basically did the same. “I have a confession,” she finally revealed when the silence was just about palpable.
“Okay…”
“I umm… I overheard your conversation with your… umm, your ex-wife? And I feel really bad, but it’s making me really self-conscious about talking to you.”
“Oh.” Justin was so embarrassed that he couldn’t do anything but smile. “Wow. I umm… Okay then.”
“I mean, I was hoping since you were talking to Grant, I could grab myself a drink without being noticed, but that clearly didn’t work, so now I’m just like… awkward as fuck right now, and I’m really sorry.”
“Oookay then.” He exhaled loudly and turned from Nadia back to his empty glass. He needed something stronger than a margarita, so he ordered a Captain & Coke and tried to figure out how to save what dignity he might have had left. “You know, you don’t have to sit here. I’m not on suicide watch or anything.”
“No, I know. And I’m not sitting here because I think you need babysitting…”
“Oh, then why are you sitting here?”
Her already narrow eyes turned almost to slits when she noted his tone. “Seriously?” She removed herself from the bar stool, prepared to storm off dramatically. She’d met her fair share of assholes in the New York dating scene, so she had no intentions of wasting minutes on another one just because he was famous.
But Justin knew he’d handled that the wrong way, so he called after her. “Wait.” When she continued walking, he said her name a little louder. “Nadia…”
She turned in response, already bored by whatever he was going to say. “What?”
“I’m sorry,” he surrendered his bad attitude. “As you know, I just got some bad news, and I wasn’t prepared to be my usual charming self in light of it.”
She almost laughed. Almost. “We don’t have to be friends to walk down the aisle together.”
“I know,” he nodded sadly. “But I would rather be.”
Nadia eyed him for a moment, attempting to gauge his sincerity. Instead, she just got lost in his gorgeous blue eyes, and eventually, the rest of his face. He was cute as hell, she thought, and much cuter in person than in pictures. She figured he probably was in a precarious state, and if she was being honest with herself, she didn’t much feel like spending the evening alone either. “Fine.”
“Come sit back down. I’ll buy you a drink.”
“It’s an open bar…”
“Obviously why it’s my treat,” he smiled.
This time she did laugh. A little, at least. "I have a better idea..."
"I'm listening." He was enchanted, in fact.
"Let's get outta here?"
He inwardly smiled at the idea until he glanced over to Mila, where she was literally and figuratively engaged with someone else, and it made his heart hurt.
"Tick tock, playboy," Nadia snapped hm out of his trance. "The boat will be leaving the dock soon."
The truth was, he wanted to get as far away from that room as possible. Away from all the significants and their others, with their engagements, and their rings, and their Hamptons, and their happily ever afters. He hated it all.
He wanted nothing more than to get back to the dirty, sexy city of New York, where he hopefully wouldn't have to do anything but Nadia that night. Forget everyone else. He held out his hand, signifying that she should lead the way. "After you."
Author's Chapter Notes:
So I just want to thank you all so very much for reading. I never know what to expect when starting a story, so I'm glad to know that you guys are still around!
And just so y'all know, my chapters are going to be a bit shorter than they typically are. I'm finding it's easier for me to write the shorter chapters, which should hopefully preempt those ridiculous hiatuses I am often guilty of lol. Anywho, let's keep it moving, yes?
And just so y'all know, my chapters are going to be a bit shorter than they typically are. I'm finding it's easier for me to write the shorter chapters, which should hopefully preempt those ridiculous hiatuses I am often guilty of lol. Anywho, let's keep it moving, yes?
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