My Bad Boy Doctor

18

Lizzie glances back and forth between Blake and Audrey. With a small sigh, she says, "I'd already invited her before I realized you had a girlfriend. You know I planned this months ago."

I swear, if Blake's face turns any redder, lasers will start shooting from his eyes like Cyclops. His fists are shaking at his sides, and I take a step back, willing myself to become one with the background. "Then you should have known I want nothing to do with her," he growls.

"Dude!" Ajay looks offended, with his gaping mouth and wide eyes, and I can't say I blame him. Audrey is his sister, and if Blake didn't tell him what happened, he has no way to know how much hurt she caused.

Blake shakes his head. "Look, she's my ex for a reason. I'm not about to rehash it here, but I find it in very poor taste to have her here, especially when I made sure everyone knew I was bringing Kelly. Way to make my girlfriend feel welcome." Then, turning to Lizzie, he added, "Oh, and Kelly was there for me when I had Covid. The least you could have done was acknowledge it. Ignoring that and inviting Audrey here was completely inappropriate."

"Can we not do this here?" Lizzie asked, lifting her hands in a placating gesture. "It's done, and I don't want to spoil the day."

Eyes bulging and chest heaving, Blake appears as if he's ready to blow a fuse. "Are you freaking kidding me? SHE'S MY EX GIRLFRIEND. What were you thinking?"

Ajay unexpectedly takes my arm and loops it through his, leading me through the sliding glass door and into the backyard. As he pulls me away, he whispers, "It's better if you aren't around for this, trust me. Blake is going to explode in a minute, and he would feel bad if you witnessed it."

While I'm sure Ajay thinks he's doing me a favor, it doesn't sit well with me that he would try to hide this side of his best friend from me. Part of being with someone is knowing them at their best and worst. Not that o want to see it, but I'm going to find out sooner or later anyway.

I'm about to tell him as much when Audrey loudly interrupts. "Let her see for herself what he's like."

Why is she even here? If I was a confrontational person, I'd start pulling hair. But I'm not, even though I'm totally fantasizing what it would be like to slap that sneer from her face.

Again, someone verbally beats me to the punch. This time, it's Blake's cousin, and for the life of me, I can't remember her name as her face contorts into a snarl and her eyes shoot daggers at Audrey. "Oh, shut up. I don't know what you did, but Blake deserves better. He was upset for months after you two broke up. I told Aunt Lizzie not to invite you."

Yikes. It's nice to know someone in this family doesn't like her or fall for her antics. And Audrey seems to share an equal loathing as she plants her hands on her hips and glares at Blake's cousin. "No one asked you."

"Oh, my god, shut it!" Ajay shouts. "She's here because we all grew up together, regardless of what happened. Can we all try to be civil for Blake's sake? We're supposed to be celebrating his birthday, not throwing down in a cat fight. And in case anyone cares, this is Kelly."

I don't have words to express my gratitude for Ajay's words. I don't know him from Adam, and he's only met me the one time, yet already, I can tell he's a good friend to Blake.

Blake's cousin inhales a deep breath. Then she expels it and turns a kind, hazel gaze on me, wearing a genuine smile. She's even prettier in person, but unlike Audrey, her beauty isn't in my face or overstated. Her eyes almost sparkle like one of those girls in a cartoon, and she carries herself with a graceful elegance that says she's confident, but not full of herself. She extends her hand toward me as she introduces herself. "Hi, I'm Nikki. I've heard so much about you."