by Laura Riley
I lift Ellie’s little case on the conveyor belt. The woman nods, and it’s taken away to join the rest of the luggage. Smiling smugly at Lizzie, I toss my case up to be weighed. The woman rolls her eyes and proceeds to label my case as ‘heavy’.
“No way, I weighed it last night.”
The woman’s face hardens. The last thing I want to do is cause a scene. My smile dissolves, and I also pay the fine. I can feel Lizzie’s smugness before I look at her. She doesn’t say a word, she doesn’t have to.
“Touché,” I spit out.
Biting her lower lip, she looks up at me. Goddamn it, she has no idea how my body is reacting to her. My heart wants to open up and pull her inside, but my head won’t allow it.
We make our way to airport security. None of us have hand luggage, so it’s just a case of putting anything metal and our phones into a plastic box to be scanned and walking through a metal detector. I don’t attempt to push in front. I stand back and let Lizzie go first. The alarm goes off the second she walks under the metal detector.
I flip her the finger when she’s stopped. I take Ellie’s hand and we walk straight through. I’m tempted to rush ahead and lose Lizzie in the crowd, though part of me thinks it’s funny she needs to be frisked. Another part of me wants to see exactly where the security guard is putting his hands.
I stand with my arms folded across my chest and watch as Lizzie is taken to the other side of the metal detector. Once there she removes her belt. The moment her belt comes off, her jeans slide down and I get a glimpse of her black lacy underwear. Damn. I adjust the waistband of my shorts.
The guard points at her shoes, which she takes off and puts in a plastic box along with her belt. The guard glides the metal detector over her one final time. It buzzes when he holds it over her breasts. I step forward, about to rip the man’s damn head off if he so much as suggests she removes her bra. She’s wearing a white t-shirt, which will be completely see-through if she de-bras.
I take Ellie’s hand, storm through the walk-through metal detector and stand at Lizzie’s side. I eye up the security guard, placing a possessive arm around Lizzie’s shoulders. “What seems to be the problem?”
The guard’s dark eyes meet mine and he hits his hand-held metal detector a few times, indicating that it isn’t working properly. “Nothing, sir. Would you mind stepping aside?”
Doing as he asks, I clench my teeth as he runs his hands over Lizzie’s body. It makes me uncomfortable seeing another man with his hands on her, but at least standing this close I can see exactly where he is touching.
He nods, clearly satisfied. “You can go.”
One at a time, we pass under the walk-through metal detector without a problem. Lizzie grabs her belt, shoes and mobile phone from a plastic box, and we head into the departures lounge.
I follow Lizzie into a duty-free shop and she picks up a bottle of perfume, which I pay for. When she reaches for my hand I take her hand in mine and hold it so tightly that I never want to let go of her.
And just like that we melt back into our old way of normal. I’m holding Lizzie’s hand, and she’s holding Ellie’s. The illusion of the perfect family to the outside world, but it’s a lie. A war is raging in my mind, and part of me wants to tear our hands apart, grab Ellie, and run. The other part of me wants to stay and disappear into the illusion.
Having four hours to kill, we head to a small café. We sit on a ranch-style table and chairs and order breakfast. There’s a small amusement area next to the café, and Ellie rushes over to play on a virtual driving game. I turn my chair so that I can see my daughter, thus offering Lizzie my profile.
When the silence between us is too much to bear, I finally speak. “Why?”
The word I’ve been dying to ask her. One small word, so many questions. Why did you go? Why did you break my heart? Why didn’t you come back? Why—
She takes a deep breath, reaches for my hand across the table, and I pull away. Before we get too comfortable with one another, I have to know why she did what she did. I need to know.
She moves seats so she’s sitting at my side. I guess the closeness helps her somehow, but it’s destroying me. To be so close to the person you want more than anything, but know they’re poison.
“I did it for you.” Her voice cracks. She grabs my t-shirt, buries her head into my chest and starts sobbing. She tells me how Darcy went round to see her and told her I was being blackmailed. She tells me she didn’t want me to lose Ellie and that she’s never stopped loving me.
Her tears wet my t-shirt, the material cooling my chest. I wrap my arms around her head and pull her into me. Sometimes the most painful words are delivered with love. Everything she did was for me, for Ellie, she sacrificed her own happiness for me.
She pulls away, but I don’t let her go. I don’t think I’ll let her go ever again.
“Cole bought me the plane tickets; Cole wants us to be happy.” Her words are muffled as her face is still pressed against my chest, but I heard every word.
I don’t know whether to believe that or not. If it’s true, I feel the need to punch him in the face, and then bro-hug it out after.
“You gave him the keys back to your house. Where are you going to live?” She pulls away, and this time I release her.
I rub my hand over the back of my neck. “I’m going to move in with Darcy for a little bit, get some money behind me. I used all of my savings to pay Anna off. It wasn’t enough, so I had to get a loan to cover the rest. After Cole’s threats to take the house off me, I decided it was time to get on my feet.”
“You can still live there.”
I can, but don’t want to. “No, Cole was right, I’m paying peanuts for rent, and it’s not right. He helped me out a lot when Anna and I split up, but I can’t use him as a crutch.”
A waitress brings our drinks over and informs us our breakfasts will be with us shortly.
Lizzie reaches for my hand, which this time I allow. “So, where does this leave us?”
I pull her fingers up to my mouth, placing a kiss on them. “I don’t know, honestly, I don’t.”
She breathes out, as do I. I take my attention off Ellie for a split second to look at Lizzie.
“I meant it when I said I love you, Lizzie, but you should have spoken to me instead of ending things over the phone. I know why you did it, but it doesn’t make it right.”
“I know.” She sniffs. Her gaze leaves mine and she watches Ellie. I know it’s too painful for her to look at me, it’s killing me to look at her, but I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s so damn perfect. Losing her made me realise how shitty my life was without her in it.
“I would like to give things another go, give us another go, but Ellie can’t know we’re more than just friends. She has to be my number one priority, and if you get cold feet or decide this isn’t for you, walking out of her life isn’t an option.”
“I would never.”
I release her hand, and her arm falls onto the table. “But you did, Lizzie, you walked out of our lives without so much as a backward glance. You can’t do that again, and we have to build some trust between us before we take our relationship to the next level.”
After breakfast we make our way to the viewing area and watch planes board and take off. Ellie’s back is toward us, her little nose pressed against the glass window. Lizzie sits back in her seat, and apart from smiling when Ellie looks her way, her face is straight and she rubs her palms up and down on her jeans. Switching chairs, I sit at Lizzie’s side and take her hand in mine. She’s shaking.
I raise a brow. “Nervous?”
She shakes her head, then nods when she sees my ‘don’t bullshit me’ face. “A little,” she croaks.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s beyond nervous. She’s as white as a ghost.
I glance up at the screen that displays flight times.
Amazing.
I scuff my shoe on the floor. “You can relax, our flight has been delayed.�
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“You’re joking.” Lizzie’s gaze leaves her lap and she turns to look at the display screen. She exhales, rubbing her hand over her jeans, and sits taller. “Okay, I can do this.”
I laugh. I don’t know who she’s trying to convince, because she isn’t convincing me and I doubt she’s convincing herself. My heart swells in my chest knowing how much of a big deal this is to her, she’s clearly petrified.
In the seven hours we spend in departures we end up looking around every duty-free shop, twice, and we buy a shitload of things we don’t need. We return to the ranch-style café for lunch. Lizzie joins Ellie on the virtual cars. Lizzie is so much more relaxed—she’s laughing and joking, that is until it’s time to board. I’ve never seen a human impersonate a robot so well as when Lizzie gets her ass on the plane.
Lucky for Lizzie, our seats are all next to each other, which is coincidental considering Ellie and I were upgraded last minute. Then it hits me. Cole upgraded our seats.
Lizzie cries or sleeps for the duration of the flight. Ellie and I take it in turns to comfort her, and it works until we hit turbulence. I’ve never heard a twenty-five-year-old yell “fudge,” “fiddlesticks” and “love a duck” so many times. She’s so damn cute. She divides first class—the miserable fuckers cluck their tongues, and the ones who don’t have a stick up their asses laugh.
It’s eleven pm our time when we land, five pm local time. With Ellie asleep in my arms, we collect our luggage and make our way through the relevant checks before leaving the airport.
The heat hits us immediately when we step outside. Even late evening it’s a scorcher. We’re walking along the pavement, but to where, I don’t know. I still have no idea where Lizzie is staying. Neither does she. We’ve both attempted to contact Cole, though our calls have been diverted to voicemail, and his social media account is inactive.
We stop at a taxi bay. Lizzie looks lost. Her brother flew her all the way out here, alone, with nowhere to stay.
Nice move, dipshit.
I booked the cheapest hotel I could get last-minute. It’s open-plan and only accommodates two people. “Well, shit, looks like you’ll be topping and tailing with us after all.”
She pulls the wad of notes out of her pocket and begins waving them in the air. “It’s okay, I’m sure I can get a room with this.”
My hotel is fully booked. I managed to scoop a last-minute booking. I’m about to insist she stays with us when someone clears their throat. We turn. A man is standing feet away. He’s holding a sign with the names ‘Lizzy’, ‘Beth’, and ‘Ellie’ handwritten on it.
“You?” he asks, pointing to the names.
Lizzie and I glance at one another and she snickers. “If ‘Beth’ is meant to say ‘Seth’, then it’s us.”
The man turns the sign around and shakes his head. “Not Beth?”
I can’t miss the man’s accent. Eastern European, at a guess. By the look of confusion on his face I’d guess his English isn’t the best. He opens his jacket, retrieves his phone, scrolls down and stops. Turning the phone around, he shows us a picture of Lizzie.
“Lizzie?” he questions.
I don’t know how I feel about some random guy having her photo on his phone.
“This you, no?”
“Yes, that’s her,” I say, taking the phone out of his hand and deleting the image. Another image appears in its place. It’s a picture of me wearing a mankini.
Motherfucker.
Cole took this picture at Patrick’s stag weekend. There were twelve of us in total. We each had to choose our outfits for the evening out of a hat. Cole was an adult baby, Rick was a giant penis, and I had to wear a fluorescent green mankini. It left very little to the imagination and was wedged in my ass all night.
The man takes his phone from my hands and turns it around so we can see. “This Beth, no?”
I attempt to grab the phone for a second time when Lizzie captures his hand. I swear her pupils dilate at the same time as she bursts into laughter.
Note to self: dig up all of Cole’s old photos to show his next bird.
“Beth, Lizzie, Ellie. I drive you to hotel.”
Still laughing, Lizzie follows behind the man. “Come on, Beth,” she teases.
The man shows us to a limousine. I glance at Lizzie. “Did you know about this?”
She shakes her head. “No, I had no idea.”
Far too tired to argue, I let the man take our luggage and we slide into the back seat.
Ellie wakes up just in time for me to strap her into the seat nearest the window. I sit next to Ellie, and Lizzie next to me. The aircon is lush, and the drive is so smooth. Ellie slouches, her little head in my lap as she sleeps, and it isn’t long before Lizzie’s leaning against me. Feeling my eyes grow heavy, I lean my head back and rest my eyes.
“Beth, we here.”
A hand shakes me and I wake up to see the driver bent down, his face inches away from my face.
I attempt to sit further back in the seat. “Yeah, thanks.”
The driver nods, getting closer still. He’s all up in my face. The guy’s a damn space invader. I can feel his hands moving around next to my ass. Ellie and Lizzie aren’t anywhere to be seen. I’m starting to worry, that is until Lizzie pokes her head through the open door.
“Have you found it?” she asks.
I glance down. The guy’s head is nearly in my lap. “Dude, do you mind?”
“Got it.” He moves away from me, an earring in his hand. Of course, Lizzie lost an earring. I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out of the limo.
The car is parked in front of the Orlando Paradiso. The hotel is ginormous, a curved white building with at least twenty floors. If I remember correctly, this is one of the most expensive hotels in Florida. I shake my head. “This is the wrong hotel.”
He retrieves his phone and again starts scrolling. “No, Beth, this right.”
Fucking Beth.
I’m about to correct him when Lizzie tips the man and he returns to his limo and goes on his way.
I lift my hands up in the air. “What the fuck? We’re at the wrong hotel.”
Ellie tugs at my t-shirt. I look down. “Yes?”
“You said a naughty word.”
I rake my fingers though my hair. “You’re right, Daddy’s sorry.”
She yawns. “I’m tired.”
“If we were at the right hotel, you could go to bed.”
Lizzie clucks her tongue. “Cole messaged me in the car. We’re at the right hotel.”
This is the most expensive hotel in Florida. This has got to be a joke. “We’re wasting time here. The Mango Hotel I booked isn’t far away. Let’s get a taxi and go.”
Lizzie grabs the handle of her suitcase, the little wheel squeaking as she pulls it behind her. It’s obvious she isn’t going to listen, so I follow her in. We are met by porters who take our luggage from us, stacking them in silver trolleys.
I’m about to make Lizzie look very silly.
“Seth Stevens,” I say to the woman behind the desk. She presses a few buttons on her keypad, shaking her head. I told you is on the tip of my tongue when Lizzie steps beside me.
“Elizabeth Crowley.”
Again, the woman starts tapping away at the keypad. “Ah, I see you have booked a room for two adults and one child. Welcome to Orlando Paradiso.” She opens a drawer underneath her and retrieves a room card. “You’re in room seven hundred and nine, one of our penthouse suites.”
Penthouse suites? Is she kidding me?
“Please take full advantage of the minibar and room service.” She smiles a pearly white smile. “Enjoy your stay.”
Lizzie
The penthouse suite is breathtaking. It consists of a spacious sitting area, three large bedrooms, all with en suites, and a balcony with its own infinity pool.
I run from room to room, snapping pictures on my phone and uploading them on social media. In the master suite I find Seth lowering Ellie onto the super-king-sized
bed. He places his pointer finger over his lips and we tiptoe out of the room.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
I nod. “Room service?”
Seth wraps his arms around my waist. “I’m not hungry for food.”
Laughing, I twiddle the ends of my hair. “Tell me, Seth, what are you hungry for?”
My heartbeat quickens when he tugs at my t-shirt, pulling it up and over my head. “You,” he whispers.
Our lips lock and he walks forward, giving me no other choice but to walk back.
“I’ve missed this,” he says, unclasping my bra and tossing it to the floor. He sucks one of my nipples into his mouth, kisses his way across my chest and sucks my other nipple into his mouth. “I’ve also missed this.”
Squealing, I turn, and Seth slaps my ass.
“Bed. Now,” he commands.
I run into one of the bedrooms, Seth on my heels. I automatically flick the light switch off. He flicks it on.
“I want to see you, Lizzie, every inch.”
“Then it’s only fair that I see you, every inch.”
Seth doesn’t waste a second. He unbuckles his shorts, drops them and his boxers to the floor, and stands before me, fully erect.
Taking a deep breath, I unfasten my shorts and lower them along with my panties to the floor.
“Turn around, bend over, and spread your legs.”
Biting my lip, I do as he requests. He approaches.
“Wider.”
I hear him open the condom packet and sheath up. I can feel the head of his cock around my sex. He dips the head of his cock inside of me. I moan. It feels so good. Pushing into me, he cups my breasts in his hands. Long, slow, delicious thrusts, in and out. He pulls out and gives me a little nudge, guiding me onto the bed, where I get on all fours.
“God, I could eat your pussy right here and now.”
I turn to see him jerking himself off whilst admiring the sight of me bent over. Oh, my God, I’ve never felt so naked as I do in this moment. Embarrassed, I fall onto the bed. Seth grabs my shoulders and flips me over. He nods his head in the direction of the bed. “Get in.”