APPETIZER

Passive aggressive. That’s what he was at his core. Passive aggressive.

Slamming things. Shaming people for liking things. Huffing and puffing and muttering to himself as a way to make the victims of his aggression feel bad. Telling himself that he was a good guy while he went out of his way to make others feel like they were the bad ones.

"He’s the worst," Napier said, low-voiced.

"Yeah he is. The absolute worst of the worst," Clare said. She was avoiding looking at where Adam pranced at the front of the room, arms waving as he proclaimed this and that and gloried at once again being the center of attention. His pompous voice rose and fell as he verbally patted himself on the back. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Yeah I do. I’m pretty sure I saw a bar on the way here. We could get a couple of drinks. Maybe some chicken wings. The food here is terrible."

They slunk to the back of the room, and once they were sure they’d avoided attention they slipped out the double doors, leaving the party behind. With the number of people, there was a good chance that Adam wouldn’t even realize they’d left early.

"Whew. We made it," Clare laughed gaily. She threw her arms out and spun in a circle, the skirt of her dress swirling around her knees. "Next time he invites me to one of his events, I’m going to pretend I’ve already got plans. I just can’t do this bullshit anymore."

Napier followed her out to the parking lot and offered her a ride in his car once she said she’d used a taxi to get to Adam’s party. In the closeness of the car, he breathed in the scent of her pheromone-perfume and remembered the long-time crush he’d had on her. Remembered, and realized that it was just as strong as when they’d been teenagers and he’d spent hours writing her name over and over again in his notebooks. Before Adam had seen and teased him. Before Adam had decided that he liked her and had asked her out. Before he’d forced himself to set aside his feelings for her, as it would have been a "betrayal" to date his friend’s ex-girlfriend.

He hadn’t let himself think much on the betrayal he’d felt when Adam had barely waited two months before moving in on his ex-wife. Adam’s new bride today.

Napier had liked Clare for years but had swallowed down his feelings in some misguided loyalty to Adam, and why? The two had dated for less time than he’d been married to Erika, and Adam hadn’t hesitated, likely hadn’t felt even second thoughts before asking her out.

He parked in front of the bar and they went inside. There were only a few other customers so they mostly had the place to themselves. Which meant a two-person table and free access to the jukebox. They shared a plate of appetizers and each got a burger and potato fries.

They talked and laughed and by the time late evening fell he more than remembered why he’d liked her so much.

And when the evening was done, she asked him to drive her back to her hotel. "I don’t want to bother with a taxi," she said, but there was a quirk to her lips and a light in her eyes that had his heart skipping a beat.

When she asked him if he wanted to come up to her room, he immediately agreed. Because he did want to. He wanted to do so much with her, from tonight on to tomorrow and all the weeks, months, and years to follow.

He’d liked her for so long while pretending that there couldn’t be anything between them because Adam was his friend and they were loyal to each other. But where had the loyalty been on Adam’s part? Who had known that Napier liked Clare but had dated her anyway? Where was the loyalty on Adam’s part when he’d gone after Napier’s ex-wife–and had maybe started while they were still married?

Adam always made himself out to be the victim in every situation. Always spoke about his hurts and the way he’d been betrayed, but never once indulged in self-reflection or other "weaker impulses."

He demanded loyalty without ever being loyal himself.

And Napier regretted all the years he had wasted and opportunities he had lost. But not this time.

He breathed in the heady scent of Clare’s perfume and let himself fall into love. They were both single and free, and passive aggression only worked if the victims let it. And he wasn’t a victim anymore.

=END=

~Harper Kingsley
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