Chapter Four - I Will Toss Them Both Out

Peyton

Kaitlyn and I are enjoying our first cocktail. I will need a couple of these to calm my nerves. I can’t get wasted because everyone is meeting in a few hours. Surely, I get used to Gabe being here, too. I need to. I don’t want to ruin my best friend’s wedding. 

“Max is coming over. He doesn’t look happy.” Kaitlyn says. 

I glance up and notice that Max seems tense and angry. I swear, if something has gone wrong at work, he can leave right now because I am not putting up with his shitty mood. I have enough to deal with without that. 

He appears at the table. “Your ex-boyfriend is a douche and so rude. The boy needs to learn some manners.” He hisses. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“I ran into Gabe on the way down here. What did you ever see in him? I can’t believe you dated someone like him. I thought you had more respect for yourself.” His face is full of disappointment. 

Kaitlyn tenses next to me. She is going to lose her shit on him for talking to me in such a way. 

“Don’t talk to me like that, Max.” I snap. 

He sighs, running his fingers through his hair. “I am sorry. He just pissed me off.”

“What happened?” 

“Can we go back to the room? I don’t want to be down here because if I see him again, I may end up punching him.” 

Really? He wants to punch him. He is supposed to be more mature than that. He is like fifteen years older than us. He shouldn’t want to be punching anyone. 

“No, I am having some time with my best friend.” 

“Whatever. If you see your ex, tell him to stay the hell out of my way.” He snarls before storming off like a child. 

If he even tries to ruin this weekend for my best friends, I will send his ass packing home. He didn't want to come in the first place. Sighing, I down the rest of my drink in one go. 

I can feel Kaitlyn’s eyes on me, knowing exactly what she is thinking. I turn to her. “Please don’t go there. This weekend is about you and Anthony. It isn’t about me and Max or Gabe.” 

I know the exact words she would say to me. She would ask me why I am still with Max because I can do so much better. I understand why she says that he can be a bit of an ass, but he really isn’t a bad man. He takes care of me. We have our moments like every other couple. By the time I return to the room, he will have calmed down and will apologise. 

Kaitlyn holds her hands up. “I won’t say another word.” 

“Thank you. Now, should we order one more drink before we go get ready to meet everyone?”

She nods, and I order us two more drinks from the bar. I wonder what Gabe said to Max. Whatever it was clearly got under his skin. I planned to keep them away from one another whenever I could. It would have been better if I were there when they first met. Gabe better not act like a jackass towards Max, especially if he can get under his skin. They better not cause any drama, or I swear I will tell them both to leave, not just Max.

We finish our drinks and head back to our rooms to get ready to meet up with everyone in a couple of hours. I stroll towards my room, but stop in my tracks and turn, knocking on Gabe’s room door. He’d better be in. I need to talk with him. I tap my foot on the ground, impatiently waiting for him to answer. He does. 

“Peyton, what are you doing here?” he asks, surprised. 

“We need to talk,” I reply and barge by him into his room. I don’t want to do it in the corridor. 

Sighing, he closes the door and turns to face me. “Has that got something to do with your douche of a boyfriend?” 

“Yes, and he isn’t a douche. What did you say to him? He was so pissed when he came down?” I snap, crossing my arms over my chest. 

“What do you even see in him? He is a jackass and is controlling by what he said.” 

“You don’t even know him. He is not controlling. He is protective; there is a difference.”

Gabe scoffs. “No, he is controlling. He was upset when I told him you were having a drink in the afternoon. He was disappointed and rude. You deserve so much better than that. He is an arrogant asshole. Why are you even with him?” 

“Again, you don’t know him. I am happy with him, not like it is any of your business. Stay out of his way, Gabe, don’t provoke him.” I warn. 

Shaking his head, he runs his fingers through his hair. “I met him for two minutes, and it was enough for me to work it out. He is an asshole who doesn’t deserve you. Peyton, why would you choose someone like him? He seems like he would take all the fun and excitement out of everything.” 

I can hear the genuine concern for me in his voice, but he has nothing to worry about. 

“Max and I are fine, Gabe. Stay the hell away from him, away from me. If I see the two of you arguing with one another, I swear, I will toss you both out because none of you is ruining this weekend for them.” 

I exit his room before he has a chance to say anything else. I couldn’t be around him any longer because, as much as I don’t want to admit it, every nerve and emotion in my body goes into overdrive when I am around him. Yes, I moved on a long time ago, but I truly believe that a part of me will always want and love Gabe. We were together a long time, and even to this day, I have never had a relationship like ours. One full of so much love and passion. He was my safe place for so long. Our bond was special until everything ended, but no matter what, he will always be the first person I loved with my heart, body, and soul. I won’t ever have such strong feelings for anyone else again. What Gabe and I had was special, the kind of love that doesn’t come around often. 

If he hadn’t ended things, we would have been married with children by now, continuing to make our life together. I sigh, pulling myself together and trying to push all the thoughts to the back of my mind before I return to my room. Max had better be in a better mood, or I will walk right back out.