Abel (5th Street 4)

“I can’t tell her,” Abel said, stalking back toward the garage now. “It’s not what she wants. Hell, I don’t even know what I want. I just . . .” He glanced back, grinding his teeth as he felt the image of Nellie kissing someone else literally slapping him.

“You just don’t wanna hear about or see her with anyone else?” Noah shook his head. “Well, too f**king bad! You knew what you were getting yourself into when you started this. I warned you that this would happen. And how do you know it’s not what she wants?”

“Because she’s told me she’s great with this arrangement more than once,” Abel said, still trying to calm his breathing, his twisting insides, but the more he thought about it, the more incensed it made him. “And now this,” he said, pointing down the driveway. “This is exactly how she said she wanted things to be. Said it was for the best. How much clearer does she need to be? This is the second guy she’s been out with this weekend alone.”

Third if he was counting himself. Fuck! Running his fingers through his hair roughly, he struggled to remain calm. Had she been with this guy all day? And why the hell was she dressed so damn provocatively? The shoes alone screamed f**k me.

Hearing the girls giggle in the kitchen only ignited him further. Was she filling Roni in on her fabulous date?

Gnashing his teeth, he reminded himself he had to think rationally before he blew in that back door and told her off. Noah would never forgive him, and there was no faster way of killing this thing than doing just that. He thought back to what had been bothering him before he found out she’d been on a date today. If it really didn’t matter and she was really great with this arrangement, then why the hell would she feel the need to lie to him this morning about her plans for the day? Why wouldn’t she have at least mentioned she was meeting a friend or something? She specifically said she had no plans. She was working on the mixer and doing laundry. Period. So either she didn’t want him to know about her date because she already sensed something like this would upset him, or she didn’t have plans until she saw the photos of him and Rachel, which meant that she’d been pissed too because she was feeling the same thing he was.

This rationale should calm him, but it didn’t, not at all. And there was still a whole lot of giggling coming from the kitchen window. There was no way he was staying at her place now tonight, not the way he was feeling. He needed time to calm down, or he might snap and spill his guts. As angry as this made him, he still couldn’t bring himself to say he was through with her for good, and if she found out how he felt, this could be over. He turned to Noah. “Don’t tell Roni about this.”

“Are you kidding me?” Noah said, lowering his voice. “I don’t want her to know. She’ll be a mess, waiting for things to blow up. And don’t tell me they won’t, because they almost did today.”

“It was just a surprise,” Abel insisted, trying to sound convincing. “It caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting that, but now I know.”

Noah rolled his eyes, looking completely unimpressed as the back door opened. Roni stuck her head out. “Babe, Jack’s napping. Can you keep an eye on him? I have to give Nellie a ride home.”

Noah looked confused for a moment. “Didn’t she leave her car here this morning?”

This morning? She’d been with this guy all day?

“Yes, but she’s had a little too much to drink. So I don’t think she should drive.”

“I’m fine!” Nellie said from inside.

“I’ll take her,” Abel said as his mother’s words instantly came to him. Only three types of people tell the truth: Kids, the drunk, and the angry. She might say more than he wanted to hear, and as pissed as he was, he might spit out a few truths himself, but at least it’d be out there. They could move ahead or end this because obviously this wasn’t going to work anymore. Immediately, he saw the look of resistance on Roni’s face. “I was spending the night at her place anyway. We have some business in the morning.”

Roni lifted a brow then turned back and said something in a voice too low for him to make out what she was telling or asking Nellie. Then there was an awkward silence and finally Roni asked. “Honey, what’s wrong?” Abel and Noah exchanged glances as Roni closed the door, rushing back in.”

“God damn it!” Noah muttered, rushing toward the back door.

Abel followed with his heart completely twisted. Was she crying? Upset? About him and Rachel maybe? He followed Noah through the kitchen and up the hallway where Roni stood outside the bathroom door, talking in a hushed voice. She motioned for Noah and Abel to go away when she saw them coming.

They walked back into the front room, Abel’s insides tightening at the sight of Nellie’s extra-high-heeled shoes on the floor. Both he and Noah turned when they heard Roni’s voice just behind them. “She says she thinks it’s mixture a few too many mimosas that she had with brunch and car sickness from the long drive back.”

“Long drive?” Abel asked, immediately getting a warning stare down from Noah.

“Yeah,” Roni said, rushing to the purse next to Nellie’s shoes on the floor and dug through in until she pulled out an inhaler. “They went to a restaurant down in the San Diego area. La Jolla, I think.”

La Jolla?

Roni headed back toward the bathroom, turning to Abel. “But she will need that ride home, so if you don’t mind giving her a few minutes, she’ll be out in a little bit.”