"Well color me fucking confused."
I scoffed and leaned against the counter in my kitchen. "Nice, Marcus. Real nice."
"I'm just saying. I knew she was back, but I guess I didn't know she was back."
Stella smiled at my best friend and extended her hand out to him. "It's nice to meet you. Elliot's told me a lot about you."
"I'll bet." Marcus shook her hand before casting me a suspicious look. "Don't believe everything he tells you, Stella. He tends to over exaggerates a lot."
"So you didn't steal your brother's car to go hook up with Suzie Collins at four in the morning?"
"Elliot! I can't believe you told her that!"
"So it is true," Stella teased. "Seems like someone was a bad boy when they were younger."
Marcus' wife Abby entered the kitchen. "Who was a bad boy in their youth?"
She walked up to Marcus, her hand on her extended belly. She was due to have the baby soon.
"I know you can't be talking about my Marcus," she heckled.
Marcus laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I—you know...I didn't. Come on, babe. You know me," he sputtered.
Abby shook her head before placing her hand on his cheek. "I do know you, Marcus. And I know how you were back then. And I know how you are now."
He still had that fear in his eyes—like he was going to be forced to crash on the couch. Stella and I watched with amusement. After all the times he's played pranks on me, he was due for some payback.
Abby looked over her shoulder at Stella and I. "It's so easy to mess with him, isn't it?"
It was like a weight had been lifted off Marcus' shoulders. Color returned to his face, with a little extra in his cheeks. He was embarassed.
"Ha ha, Elliot. Very funny. Just remember: paybacks a bitch."
"Enough, children," Abby said firmly. "Why don't the boys get dinner ready while Stella and I set the table."
Marcus joined me by the counter as I started organizing the pasta an spaghetti sauce.
"Thanks a lot for that," he hissed. "Some best friend you are."
"Oh come on, Marcus. I was just poking fun."
"Poking fun my ass. You've seen how pregnant my wife is, right? Her hormones have been extra crazy lately. When we get home, I'm going to hear about it. Then I'll either end up on the couch or back here at your place." He pointed his finger at my face. "And it will be YOUR fault."
I shook my head. Boy has Marcus changed. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He's grown over the years. Going from chasing any girl he could to being a happily committed husband. I honestly never would have imagined it.
If anyone asked me back then what I thought his life would be like in twenty years, I would have imagined him as that creepy older guy you saw at the bar, hitting on girls that were too young and very out of his league.
But that wasn't the case.
"I'm proud of you man," I said softly.
"Huh? About what?"
I glanced at Abby and Stella. They were standing in the dining room. Abby was showing Stella her latest sonogram picture. Stella's smile was so incredibly genuine and bright.
YOU ARE READING
The Stella I Remember
RomanceBook 1 | Completed | When 17-year-old Elliot Watts arrived at the biggest music festival in New Orleans, he didn't expect to meet the snarky Stella Amherst. There was only one problem: Stella lived in Florida. Unable to resist the connection between...