Trap

   

  Gia

     

I had sex with my best friend last night after fourteen years of waiting for him to look at me the same way I’d always looked at him. 

 

He was drunk. I was half tipsy. When he crushed his lips on mine and stuffed his cock inside of me in the backseat of the taxi, a tear slid down my cheeks.

I had won.

     

That was what I thought it was. That was what it was supposed to be until he spilled every last drop of his cum inside of me, and groaned a name that wasn’t mine.

     

Vivienne.

     

His toxic ex.

I was mortified. I should have gathered the last bit of self respect, ditch his birthday party and take the next flight home. But that sick part of me clung to the fact that I had misheard him. That he’d said Gia. Not Vivienne. 

So, I came anyway and right now as I watched him drop on one knee, holding out a diamond ring, I had never felt even more stupid. 

“Will you marry me?” He asked. Not to me. But her.

Each word was like a dagger buried in my chest, twisting my heart as Vivienne squealed. “Yes. Yes. I will,”

     

Applause erupted through the restaurant as he slid the ring down her finger—much to my own mortification. The moment he straightened, she launched herself right into his arms. His hand rested on her waist and with a tender smile he whispered for her not to ruin her makeup.

    

I stood there frozen and broken. 

    

Then out of nowhere, our eyes clashed and I smiled, like I was not dying inside. Like I was not crumbling. As if tears didn’t press at the back of my eyelids, threatening to fall. 

 

“Congratulations…Mitch,” the words were like granite in my mouth. 

    

Mitch smiled, acknowledging me with a nod.

I sat alone at the bar, numb, nursing a glass of bourbon, completely detached from the laughter and noise spilling out around our table as one question kept circling in my mind.

    

Why the fuck did I agree to come for Mitch’s birthday dinner?

A year ago Mitch had cut me out of his life and stopped coming to the apartment we shared. Special thanks to Vivienne, who’d called me a jealous freak after walking in on me telling him to leave her. She hadn’t been entirely wrong. I’d wanted them apart for years. But that night, the advice had come from genuine concern. Their fight had gotten so bad that they ended up crashing the car and landing in the hospital—him with a broken arm, her with a broken leg.

Then, a few months ago, he showed up at my office, apologizing for choosing her over me. He told me he was done with her and that, even if she came crawling back, he would never take her back. And like the fool I was, I let myself believe him. 

My eyes shifted to Vivienne and Mitch making out in the corner, jealousy rising in me. She sat on his lap as he took her by the throat and captured her lips in a hot kiss, her hands roaming over his body. 

Her fingers slid over the bulge in his pants. The same cock that had been inside me last night.

    

My chest tightened.

    

She whispered something in his ear, his eyes brightening as laughter spilled out of his mouth. That should be me in his arms.

    

I drained the glass with sharp irritation, slamming the glass on the bar. An action I wished I hadn’t done because this time, his eyes cut to mine and I tensed.

    

Vivienne followed his gaze and rolled her eyes. 

“Hey,” Mitch said alresdy standing up, swinging a hand over my shoulder despite the emotions tumbling inside of me.

    

One part of me wanted to ask him about last night. Another part wanted to talk about Vivienne. Why was he acting this calm? As if last night had not happened. 

    

“Hi,” I drew in a heavy breath. “This is surprising. I thought we were best friends,”

    

He looked at me with those puppy eyes that always shot straight into my heart. “You will be disappointed—”

    

Of course, I was.

    

“—and talk me out of it. I was scared of how you would react, how you would see me if you knew we got back together…” His head dipped lower, eyes flicking up to mine before dropping again. “I was worried you would never talk to me again, Gia.”

    

  I had a lot to say. Words that didn’t sound good. But I swallowed them down.

    

  “There’s nothing much I can do. You’ve both been inseparable since high school… Congratulations. I wish you both a happy married life together,” Sourness accompanied each word.

    

 Mitch’s smile was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. The same smile that drew me to him in the first place.

    

  “Thank you, Gia,” he drew me closer, pressed a kiss to my cheeks. “I knew I could always count on you”

    

    How was he not talking about last night? Not even an explanation.

    

    For a beat, silence stretched between us and before Vivienne could come pull him away, I decided to ask.

    

    “In the backseat of the taxi—”

    

    Mitch paused with the glass of whiskey halfway to his mouth, his shoulders tensing as he cut me a look. A cold one. Emotions drained out of them. “What happened in the backseat of the taxi, Gia?” My heart skipped a beat as he stared straight into my soul.

    

    The air thickened between us, unease swirling in my stomach as his jaw tightened.

    

    He didn’t remember?

    

    I squirmed, forcing a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. If he didn’t remember, there was no need to bring it up. After all, he was drunk and had mentioned Vivienne’s name instead of mine.

    

    “Nothing…you were really heavy last night. I mean getting you in the car,”

    

    His shoulders slowly relaxed and he did nothing but smile.

    

    The whole restaurant exploded in cheers as Mitch cut his birthday cake, while feeding some to Vivienne, her arms linked with his as she showed off the stone sitting on her finger until her eyes landed on me, and the light in them slowly fizzled.

    

    A smile curved the corner of her mouth and that look—

    

    I knew it all too well. The look of someone who wanted to start trouble and right now, she had picked me as a victim.

    

    Oh God…please no.

    

    “So do you have a boyfriend now,” The noise slowly faded, the nerves in my stomach tightening as all eyes turned to me. “I was thinking of setting you up with someone. For being a good best-friend to my fiancé all these while,” I didn't miss the sarcasm in her tone.

    

    She didn’t mean well for me.

    

    “You don’t have to ask that,” Mitch said.

    

    Vivienne grinned. “Of course, I have to. You’re not the only person allowed to care about her,”

    

    No.

    

    Why the hell was he even nodding to the nonsense she just spilled?

    

    I swallowed the softball in my throat. “I—”

    

    Faye, Vivienne’s friend chimed in and it clicked. This was a planned gang-up to humiliate me. “That would be great because she has been single for years. No man on her socials. Or do you still have a crush on Mitch?”

    

    My blood ran cold.

    

    “What!” I blurted, blinking rapidly.

    

    No one knew about my crush on Mitch. Not even him. So how did she know?

    

    “What are you talking about, Faye?”

    

    “Oh, stop acting like you don’t know, Gia. You used to look at him dreamily in high school, follow him around like a puppy and—”

    

    “That is not true,” I almost snapped, glancing at Mitch for help.

    

    “Yes, it is not true. Faye.”

    

    Faye waved her hand at him dismissively. “How would you know? I am a good judge of character and definitely know when someone is eye-fucking their best-friend and thinking of how to get in their pants,”

    

    White hot-rage boiled inside of me. Not because it was a lie. But because of how well she could see through me. How something I thought was secret was so visible to her. And worse, how she was using it against me right now.

    

    “I don’t have a crush on him. Never did. Never will. Mitch isn’t my type and I have a boyfriend who is waiting at the hotel for me…” The words left my mouth before I could stop them, my chest heaving.

    

    “You have a boyfriend?” Mitch’s face fell.

    

    What boyfriend?

    

    Except for random hookups. I had never been in a relationship with anyone.

    

    Vivienne clapped her hands. “Perfect. Then bring him to Adeline’s retirement dinner tomorrow.”