Dirty Deal (Perfectly Matched 2)

The perfect plan to show Bryan how she felt. The only problem was that she wouldn’t be able to do it on her own. If she was going to do this thing, she was going to need fate, and Q, on her side.

She picked up her phone and dialed the number at the bottom of Q’s email. Her heart thundered in her chest, but she’d never been surer of anything in her life. This was going to work. This was definitely going to work.

After what felt like an eternity, the phone clicked and Q’s voice sounded through the speaker. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Serena. I need your help.”

…

The wedding was great. Despite three meltdowns from Marcia beforehand, the whole ceremony had gone off without a hitch.

If only he could say the same thing for his date with Serena.

He’d thought that the biggest issue would be seeing Piper again. To his surprise, though, she was sitting on the far end of the reception area and had barely cast a glance his way all night. Her attention had been totally focused on her date.

Good for her.

Piper caught his eye and smiled brightly, not with the usual maniacal gleam but with a casual notice. Like he was on the periphery rather than the front lines.

“Did you see Piper over there?” He nudged Serena, but she didn’t look up. Instead, her gaze remained fixed on the salt and pepper shakers, and he sighed. Yeah, tonight was definitely off to a rough start with them.

Ever since Serena had come home from work the day before, she’d been…off. Not cranky or tired. He knew how to deal with both of those issues. It was more like she’d been absentminded. Starting the coffee without putting the pot on the burner. Trying to leave for the wedding without shoes on her feet.

She was somewhere else.

He’d hoped it would be different once they were in the full swing of the weekend. Like maybe it was just stress from work that had bubbled over into everyday life.

Or maybe she was thinking the same way he was. That his time was growing short and it wasn’t long before he’d be gone. Maybe it was time to talk about his future plans and whether or not she wanted them to include her. It was a lot to ask of someone, and it was something he swore he’d never do, but he only had four months left for sure. Beyond that, it was up to him.

But until they were alone, he had to bite his tongue and, as the night wore on, it only seemed to be getting worse. By the time dinner was served, she was nearly comatose, and he had to wave his hand in front of her face to get her attention.

“Earth to Serena,” he said.

“Sorry. What?” She started in her seat and stared around.

“I said, did you see Piper? She has a date.”

“Oh, yeah. Awesome.” She speared her dinner salad and chewed, her gaze still glassy and unfocused.

“Are you listening to a single word I’m saying?” he asked.

“Yeah. Uh, the pipes…are dated. Gotcha.” She nodded and took an overlarge gulp of her wine.

“What’s wrong?” He hoped like hell she’d tell him, because this zombie act was beginning to seriously freak him out.

“Lots on my mind,” she said.

“Yeah, I can tell.”

Q smiled at him from across the table and made a motion as if to say “let it go.” And he did, but not without more than a little reluctance. One way or another, he was going to figure out what was going on eventually.

“I think the karaoke is going to start soon,” Q said.

The crowd clapped as the newlyweds exited the dance floor and a DJ bumped the party to life.

“Oh good.” Q threw her hands in the air and swayed, totally against the beat of the music. “I signed up for a song. I hope I get to go first.”

She did. After a short introduction, Q was called to the front of the room and the tunes of ABBA, along with his sister’s own off-key interpretation, began pouring from the speakers.

“Nothing like karaoke to make your ears bleed.” He smiled at Serena, but she didn’t seem to hear him.

Gently, he nudged her with his shoulder and she gave another start. “Sorry?”

“Are you okay? I’m worried about you.”

She shook her head, gaze still focused on Q as she moved around the crowd. “I’m totally fine.”

“Right.” He nodded, willing himself to let the subject drop again.

They passed the rest of his sister’s performance in silence. When it ended, they joined the crowd in applauding and he was about to lean in and try again when the announcer geared up for another performer.

“Next on the list is a sweet little thing with an even sweeter song. Let’s give our warmest welcome to…Serena Elliott!”

Without a word, Serena kissed him on the cheek and made her way toward the plaza, her red dress billowing behind her as she moved. Q was grinning ear to ear as the two ladies passed, and he could have sworn that they gave each other a low high five as they went.

When she returned, Q dropped into Serena’s vacant seat.

“You did great,” he offered, but his sister waved him off and held a single finger to her lips.

“This one’s for you, Bryan,” Serena called, and shaky grin on her face. The strains of the song were beginning, and while they were vaguely familiar, he couldn’t seem to place them.

Until he did.

His stomach sank as she started in a sweet soprano he didn’t know she possessed. It would have been a nice moment, a cute and touching tribute, but he couldn’t work past the icy chill that coated his every vein as the song went on.

The whole time she sang, her eyes were locked on him and although he was desperate to tear his gaze away, she speared him there with every sincere note.

“I only wanna be with you…”

Even while he was looking at Serena, he wasn’t really seeing her. Instead, he saw all the other women who’d pulled stunts like this one, standing there singing to him like he moved the heavens and earth for them. He saw Piper. He saw his mother screaming like banshee at his father one second and begging him to come home the next.

All the desperate shows of affection that made his gut clench.

The song refused to end. It stretched on and on, and he remained frozen in his seat. He couldn’t leave. Couldn’t make an excuse to collect himself because her gaze never left his.

Maybe this was one just one of her weird jokes. She’d come back to the table and say something like “Gotcha sucker,” and it would all be a fever dream. In the past. Behind them.

And if it wasn’t?

What would he say? He tried desperately to come up with something. Would he let it go and pretend that it hadn’t affected him? He’d done that with Piper during her first few rounds of crazy, and look how that turned out.

Couples filled the dance floor, swaying rhythmically to every note she sang. Like nobody at the party could sense the war raging inside him.

No one except his sister,

who was gripping his forearm, trying to get his attention.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered.

“Nothing,” he said. And maybe that was true. It was entirely possible that this was all one massive overreaction. The result of one drink too many.

“You don’t look like nothing’s wrong,” Q pressed. When he didn’t answer, she went on. “You look like you’re trying to decide whether to throw yourself off a cliff.”

“More like a bridge,” he sighed.

“Are all your friends doing it or something?” She nudged him, but he couldn’t find the energy to return her smile. Right now, nothing was funny.

“I don’t know what to do about this,” he said. It couldn’t hurt to get some perspective, and if anyone could help weigh in, it would be Q.

They just had to be careful about it. The big notes were getting bigger, and while Serena wrangled them like a prizefighter, he knew that it also meant things were getting down to the wire.

“About karaoke? I’ve always said you sang a mean ‘Eye of the Tiger.’” Q’s giggle was cut short and she added, “Come on, it’s cute. She’s got a nice set of pipes.”

“Yeah.” He paused, debating what to say next. And since there was a good chance that the world around him was already imploding, he might as well stick with the truth. “It’s more than this, though.”

“What do you mean?” Q’s brows furrowed.

“I don’t know how I feel, but I know this scares the shit out of me,” he admitted. “It’s too much, too fast. I’m still not sure what I’m doing in the fall and it wouldn’t be fair of me to—”

“Oh, fuck you, Bryan. If you’re dead set on screwing this up and losing a great girl in the process, then get it over with, but you need to stop blaming our father for it. If you’re too stupid to see what’s right in front of you, then you don’t deserve her anyway.” She motioned to the stage where Serena was playing to the crowd now, sharing the microphone with an older couple who looked more confused than elated by the inclusion.

“She knew I was leaving from the start. She knew the deal.” She didn’t have to know that he’d been just about to try and renegotiate said deal before her musical declaration of devotion.