Chapter 25

 

“WE’RE here because of that call, right?”

Mirabell glanced at Buddy and smiled, preferring the look of him to anxiously watching the lift numbers blink as they climbed through Alec’s building. She closed the tiny distance between them and held her arms out to be picked up, which Buddy did, allowing her to kiss him. He was delicious, and not for the first time did she feel that nervous twinge in her gut warning her.

She pulled back and looked through his glasses to the warm brown eyes beyond. “I expected a call from Alec. Not this soon, but definitely a call.” Buddy put her back on her feet. “I was ready for rave reviews about his date, but—”

“That’s not what you got.”

It wasn’t. On their way to the club, she’d answered an aborted call from Alec. Something along the lines of “I give up” was all she could make out before being disconnected. She definitely hadn’t liked the sound of that. The lift stopped on Alec’s floor. “Ding,” Mirabell mimicked as she stepped off, Buddy following with a smile. His legs were even longer than Alec’s, so he had no trouble keeping up with her rapid gait.

They reached Alec’s door and she knocked. There was no answer, so she knocked again.

“Come in!” a voice shouted from within.

She glanced at Buddy, and he stepped forward, gently pushing the door open.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Alec shouted from the sofa.

Mirabell quickly stepped around her protector and glared at Alec. “He’s Buddy. He’s with me. Who the fuck are you?!”

Alec’s eyes widened. “Oh, Mira,” he said, reaching out to her, “Mira, I’m sorry.”

Both Buddy and Mirabell took a quick scan of the immediate vicinity, then he looked down at her just as she looked up at him. “Pissed!” they declared in unison. Buddy closed the door, and Mira strolled to Alec’s side, standing just out of his reach.

“How much have you had to drink?”

“Not a lot.”

She looked around and noted two wine bottles on the coffee table. One had a tiny bit left in it, and the other had a broken, but still secure cork.

She swung Alec’s legs off the sofa and took a seat. “But, love, this is a lot when you’re not a tosspot like me.” Buddy stepped forward and collected both bottles, carrying them into the kitchen. “Are we going to keep drinking?” she asked Alec.

Alec shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’m not feeling so good.”

“Tell Mirabell what happened,” she said as she helped him sit up.

With a fond smile of remembrance, he told her all about the evening he’d had with Eli, and then with a frown he told her about Dray and about Eli’s confession. Mirabell nodded slowly.

“I see.” They stared at each other for a few moments. “Do you love him?”

“Of course I do!”

“So what was this ‘I give up’ bollocks on the phone?”

She could see Alec trying to remember, trying to understand what she was talking about.

“I… I remember thinking that….”

“But you don’t remember dialing my number and saying it into the phone.”

He shook his head, then his eyes rolled back in it. “I’m dizzy.”

Mirabell could smell coffee brewing from the kitchen. She smiled, realizing, not for the last time, that Buddy was a dream. “Alec, why were you thinking of giving up on Eli?”

“I suck!”

“I’ve heard that about you.”

He sat forward on the sofa so quickly that she almost lost him to the floor, but she steadied him. “No, no. You don’t understand. I’m a lousy psychologist.”

“Since when?”

He looked into her eyes, and she could see the tears in his. “I didn’t see it. I didn’t see the guilt… or, or how deep it went. Don’t you understand? I thought he was lingering at the house, clinging to Bennett because he didn’t love me as much.”

“But… you were wrong?”

Alec nodded rapidly, then swooned. “Oh… uh, I’m not feel—” He leaped to his unsteady feet and rushed past Mirabell to the guest bathroom. She watched him go, then Buddy entered the living room, his arms full.

“What’s all that?”

He looked innocently down at the tray he was carrying. “Just coffee and croissant for us and bottled water for—” Buddy looked around. “Is he—?”

She nodded as they both waited until the retching paused.

“So no club tonight?” she asked.

Buddy set the tray on the coffee table. “I thought we might have this and watch a movie or something. I didn’t think you’d want to leave your friend unattended.”

Mirabell smiled, kicked off her shoes, and stood on Alec’s sofa. “Come here, love.” Buddy walked over to her, and she kissed him long and deep, stroking his hair. His long arms went around her tiny frame, and she felt him shiver. When they parted, and before she could stop herself, she said, “I love y—” Buddy grinned, but she looked horrified, hopping quickly down from the sofa. “Uh, can you come help me get him into bed?”

Buddy grabbed the bottled water and followed her obediently to the guest bathroom. They found Alec on his knees in front of the toilet, his face resting on the cool porcelain seat.

“Alec, hon?” she said, sweeping a lock of his hair off his face. “Buddy’s going to put you to bed.” Buddy stepped around Mira and grabbed Alec under the arms, lifting him effortlessly. Mirabell flushed the toilet and left the room, turning left. Buddy, with Alec, followed. They got him in bed, Mira stripping off his pants and shoes and rolling him under the comforter.

Alec came around a bit. “This is Eli’s side of the bed,” he said. “I can smell him.”

“I know, love.”

Alec looked Mirabell up and down. “You don’t look like a kaleidoscope today.”

Buddy chuckled behind her, and she grinned at him against her will. Turning back to Alec, she said, “Don’t I?”

“No, you look like a—where’s James?” Alec asked, chuckling quietly to himself.

Buddy bent over to her ear. “James?” he asked softly. Mirabell smiled and glanced down at her outfit.

He was right. She was apparently going through a monochromatic phase: shoes, stockings, dress, sweater, handbag, and hair clip—all peachy. One would be surprised to reach out and stroke her and not find her fuzzy.

“I’ll explain later, dear.”

“I should call him,” Alec said suddenly, his face growing terribly serious.

Mirabell removed the phone from its cradle before Alec could, passing it deftly to Buddy. “Not yet, Alec. Sleep for a bit first. You don’t want to make a call you can’t take back.” She watched him relent and relax against the pillow once again. “Remember: drunk dialing can be fatal.” She pulled the comforter up to his neck, tucking him in properly. “Alec, you said you were wrong about Eli not loving you as much as Bennett. What did you mean?”

“He’s hanging on to the past because he doesn’t think he deserves a future.” Alec fought to keep his eyes open. “He cheated on Bennett, then he lost him.” Alec yawned, and Mirabell and Buddy smiled warmly at him, much like parents would smile at their child as they put him to bed. “I think Bennett forgave him, but… Eli… he….” Alec fell asleep.

“Can’t forgive himself,” Buddy whispered, and Mirabell nodded. They left the room, leaving a lamp on in the corner and the water on the nightstand.