It All Started With A Payback

Thirteen: The Bestfriend He Wished She Never Had

"Mark!" Tori threw her arms around her friend, whom Louie never in his life, thought he would be jealous of.

Last night, he had to go home feeling like a starved man who hadn't eaten in days and was only given three slices of succulent New York strip steak.

The man Tori was hugging longer than necessary (and much longer than the time she spent hugging him) interrupted the most fulfilling make out session he ever had, to tell her that he made some changes on his backpacking trip around Southeast Asia.

He apparently had to cut his trip short because he got another commission in California and he opted to fly into Manila instead of Bangkok so he could see Tori before he headed back to the US.

He remembered him as Tori's bestfriend even beforeTori refreshed his memory. What he didn't remember is the guy looking this hot.

Yes....he was describing him as a woman or any gay would, because he wasn't that articulate....and in as much as he he hated to admit it, the man fitted the label.

He remembered him as the quiet guy who was always beside Tori and who always gave him a curt nod before leaving whenever he arrived.

He had olive skin, which he still had today; dark unruly shoulder length hair, which was now cut neatly and showed off the features of his face; he had lanky frame, which was eclipsed now by well defined arms,flat abs and muscular calves.

Who the hell wouldn't be jealous of that? The man reeked of sex appeal. He was a freaking dude and he saw Mark that way, for fuck's sake. Get your hands off my girl! He was really itching to pull the duo apart.

Did the guy actually look like he had offended him by offering to help him with his travel backpack? What the hell is this guy's problem? What was his arm doing around Tori's shoulders? He felt like a friggin third wheel.

Louie clenched and unclenched his left fist, to prevent it from having a rendezvous with Mark's jaw. The car key was almost embedded in his right palm.

The prick eyed Ashley's car with unhidden amusement before his eyes strayed and met his. At least he had the sense to keep his mouth shut for friend of Tori's or not, he would not tolerate any wisecrack coming from him. Not when Mark now had his hand at the small of Tori's back. He really needed to make time to go to a car dealer and get himself a new car that wouldn't make him look like Ken in Barbie's car.

After everybody had settled in the car, he cleared his throat. "Which hotel are you booked at, Mark?" He asked in the friendliest tone he could muster. No matter how jealous he was, he had to be levelheaded enough not to give Tori any indication how much Mark's presence was irritating him.

"He's not staying in a hotel," Tori answered from the backseat. She insisted that Mark needed the leg room so Louie was stuck beside the man. How he wished he borrowed Jon's Hummer so there wouldn't be a reason to sit beside this guy.

His eyes flew to the rearview mirror and caught Tori's. He was grinding his teeth so hard he may have to go to his dentist to check if there were still any left. He knew without a doubt he wasn't going to like the rest of what
Tori had to say.

"I don't see why he has to stay in a hotel when he could stay at my place." Then you must be blind, he bit back the retort that was struggling to get out of his mouth. He gripped the steering wheel so hard he could have broken it in two if he moved his hands in opposing directions.

"Right." He said in a clipped tone.

"I bet you're hungry, want to get something to eat first?" The object of his affection asked the man beside him while wrapping her arms around the guy's neck from behind the passenger seat.