by Cara E Holt
I smile against his lips and kiss him back one last time, before I pull back and unwrap my legs from around him. He releases me and lies back into the water, floating and looking up at the ceiling.
“Where do you suppose those two are?” I ask him as I tread water and look around the vast space.
Tyler grins. “If Jake has any guts, I hope he’s finally giving Court what she wants, and he’s balls-deep in her.”
I splash water at him. “You’re disgusting.”
“Just keeping it real, Taylor.”
We splash about in the pool for another twenty minutes or so, play fighting in the water until Courtney and Jake appear.
“Well, well,” Tyler says grinning, “Where did you two disappear to?”
Jake simply gives him the finger, making Tyler chuckle even more, and he glances at me with a look that says ‘I told you so.’
We mess about in the pool for a while longer and we all have another go on the water slides before we climb out and dress. Putting clothes over wet underwear is not fun, so Courtney and I wander off and find the changing rooms and I take my wet underwear off and stuff it in my pocket once I’m dressed back in my jeans and top.
Tyler drops us off at Courtney’s house at just before midnight. Jake and Courtney climb out and I hang back, wanting to give them some space.
“Hey, thanks, for tonight. It was just what I needed.”
Tyler nods, turning those blue eyes on me. “Anytime Everly, anytime.” He leans his head back against the headrest. “Are you going back down south tomorrow?”
I nod. “Yeah. As much as I want to hideaway up here, I have college.”
He nods, looking out at the dark and quiet street before us. “You and me, Taylor, we’d be good together. I know you’re not ready, but one day, when you are, I want to be the one you call.”
I nod, toying with the sleeve of my jacket. “Who’d have thought it hey, me turning down Tyler Kingston. Fifteen-year-old me would scream at me right now and ask me if I am ill.”
Tyler chuckles and I join him. “I’d better go. I’ll message you.”
He nods, giving me a sexy half-smile. “I’ll be seeing you, Taylor.”
When I climb out of the car, Jake and Courtney reluctantly pull apart and I give them an apologetic look for interrupting. Jake drops a kiss on Courtney’s forehead before pulling away from her. “Goodnight ladies.”
When their car pulls away, we both stand there for a second watching them drive away. Courtney releases a dreamy sigh and I turn to her, grinning. “Awe, Courtney’s in love,” I tease.
She pushes me, making me wobble on my feet. “Fuck off, E,” she says with a shit-eating grin on her face.
“Someone has that just had sex look all over her face,” I sing and she pushes me again before pulling out her key and placing it in the lock of the door.
“Quit teasing me,” she chastises.
I follow her inside, and we head straight upstairs. The house is in darkness; everyone must be in bed already. I shut her bedroom door and then rugby tackle her onto the bed, making her yelp in surprise.
‘Ow, get your elbow out of my tit,” she groans as she rolls over so we are lying next to each other on her bed.
“So.., Jake.” I grin.
She shakes her head at me, trying to fight the grin on her face. “Ah, Everly, he is just gorgeous and boy does he know what to do with his tongue.”
I laugh. “That good, huh?”
She nods. “That good. Pinch me so I know I’m not dreaming.”
I nip the skin on her upper arm and she yelps.
“Ouch, bitch.”
I feign looking offended. “You were the one who asked me to pinch you.”
“I didn’t mean, really.” She groans, rubbing her arm. “How are you doing?”
The smile disappears from my face as fast as it came. “I’m dealing. I kissed Tyler,” I confess to her, “I mean like I kissed him, tongue’s and all, and I liked it,” I admit to her.
“There’s nothing wrong with liking it E.”
I nod, knowing she is right. “Urgh, I still love Grayson. Even though he’s broke my heart, I love him Court”
She rolls over and pulls me into a side hug. “I know you do, E. You need to talk to him. Listen to what he has to say and then you do what you need to do.”
She is right. I can’t hide from this forever. The thought of seeing him cuts me deep. I have to be strong and face this.
GRAYSON
I groan as I roll over and slowly come to. The light glares through the hotel window, blinding me. Jesus, what fucking time was it? I roll onto my front and bury my head in the pillow. My head hammers loudly. How much did I drink last night? I try to recall the evening before. I sit up in bed and rub my eyes and look around the room. This wasn’t my room! My hotel suite was bigger than this one, so whose fucking room was this? I climb out of bed and look down to see I’m naked. What the actual fuck? Why am I in someone else’s hotel room with nothing on? A door opens and I swing my attention towards the person who leaves the bathroom.
“Morning handsome,” Imogen says with a wink as she walks towards me in nothing but a towel. Once she is standing in front of me, she drops the towel to the floor, she’s as naked as the day she was born. For a second, I just stare at her. What is she doing here? I hiss and step back when she wraps a possessive hand around my cock.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
She rolls her eyes and steps forward, placing her hands on my chest. “Oh, come on Grayson. You and me, It’s going to happen. Our parents want it, damn I want it.” She licks up my chest with her tongue. “I’ll make it good for you, I promise.”
I take her wrists in my hands and step back from her. “Stop,” I command, glaring at her. “Me and you are not going to happen, Imogen, despite what everyone wants. I’m my own man and I do what I want and you are not what I want.”
Imogen snarls at me. “Let me guess, the little slut is what you want. She doesn’t belong in your world, Grayson. Paige has told me all about her. The poor northern girl. Is she good in bed, is that it? Because I assure you, I’m better.”
This girl is unreal! Who the fuck does she think she is?
I lean my face into hers. “Let me make this real fucking clear, okay? That girl is ten times the fucking woman you could ever be. She has more class in her little finger than you could ever have. I love the fucking bones of her, and if, I ever get engaged, it will be her that wears my ring on her finger.”
Imogen glares at me, placing her hands on her hips. “Our fathers — “
“I don’t give a fuck what our fathers want. I’m not a fucking business deal,” I growl.
Imogen smirks at me. “What if your little northern slut doesn’t want you anymore?”
I grin. “My girl and I are solid.”
She smiles a cunning and evil smile, and my blood chills.
“What have you done?”
She shrugs her shoulders and reaches for her phone. “You think she’ll want you now?”
My stomach drops when I see the Instagram post.
“You scheming bitch!”
Imogen laughs. “I took care of the minor problem. You and I Grayson we’re happening. If you want your dad to get this deal, then you’ll be the good little son and make me yours.” She lies back on the bed and spreads her legs wide open. “Now do what you’re supposed to and fuck me.”
I shake my head in disgust. Does she honestly think I’ll just shrug my shoulders and climb on top of her and sink inside her? It will be a cold day in hell before my dick goes anywhere near her. I reach for her towel off the floor and throw it over her.
“Cover yourself up. You’re embarrassing yourself. Have you no fucking class?” I look around the room. “Where the fuck are my clothes and how the shit did I end up naked in your bed?”
She laughs as she reluctantly wraps the towel around her body. “You just couldn’t get drunk and let loose, could you? So I h
ad to slip a little something in your drink to help you along. Your dad helped me get you in here and then I did the rest.”
An icy chill runs down my back. “Did you fuck me whilst I was out of it?”
She scoffs at me. “You think I need a man unconscious to fuck me? They’re queuing up to have me, you dick. I just needed you naked so that I could take that lovely photo and post it for the world to see. I wonder what you’re little slut thought when she saw it, huh?”
“You are unbelievable!” I snarl. I storm into the bathroom to grab a towel and I wrap it around my waist. “I want my hotel key and my clothes now!”
Imogen rolls her eyes. “I don’t have them. Your dad took them for me.”
Swearing under my breath, I storm out of her room and down the corridor to my Dad’s room. I pound my fist on the door and turn the handle, finding it open.
“For fuck’s sake,” I exclaim when I walk in and find my dad with his face in Paige’s pussy.
“Get out, Grayson!” Paige yells at me, trying to cover her naked chest.
My dad lifts his head and meets my eyes. “We’re fucking busy.”
“I want my clothes and my keys now!”
My dad grits his teeth and stands from the bed, his dick standing to attention. He walks to the bedside table, and he throws my keys across the room to me.
“It was for your own good, son. You know how much I need this deal. She has to go. You’ll put a ring on Imogen’s finger or I’ll disown you. I won’t pay your college fees and I’ll take away your allowance.”
I laugh. He is unbelievable. “Do what the fuck you want. I’m not putting no ring on that poisonous vipers finger. It will be a cold day in hell before I ever tie myself to a bitch like her.” I run a hand through my hair and grasp it tight. “What kind of father does this? She is the one fucking good thing in my life. The one bright star in a dark sky. She makes me believe in myself. I don’t deserve her, but for some fucked up reason she loves me.”
My father sniggers. “Love! You need to come into the real world, boy. Love has no place in our world. It’s all about mergers and connections. Love makes you weak.”
I shake my head in disgust. “No wonder my mother killed herself. You are despicable. You and me, we are done. This is the last you’ll see of me.”
He smirks and sits down on the bed. He roughly grabs a hold of Paige and hauls her naked body into his lap. “We’ll see my boy. When you’re on the streets with nothing, you’ll come crawling back and I’ll enjoy watching you grovel. Now leave, I’m busy.”
Clutching my keys in my hand, I stride out of the room and I shudder in disgust as I hear Paige moan my father’s name. She is fucking welcome to him.
I walk into my hotel room and find my clothes from the night before on my bed. I throw them back on and grab my car keys and overnight bag from the floor. I turn on my phone and there are five missed calls from Dom.
I dial his number as I storm into the lift and head down to the lobby.
“Gray. What the hell, man! Tell me that photo isn’t what it looks like?”
“I swear Dom, it was a setup. She spiked my drink and set the whole thing up.”
“She did what? Crazy bitch.”
“Tell me about it,” I pause, dreading asking this question. “Has she seen it, Dom? Tell me she hasn’t seen it before I can try to explain?”
The silence on the other end of the call tells me all I need to know. “Fuck!” I snarl, punching the wall of the lift. “I’m on my way to yours now. I’ll fix this. I’ll explain it all to her.”
“She’s not here, Gray. She packed a bag and left. She’s gone home.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. “Home. This is her home, Dom. I’ll drive up there then, right now. Do you know her old house address?”
“I don’t think you should race up after her, Gray. She was furious. Just come here okay and we’ll figure out what to do.”
I pass my key to the smiling receptionist, who recoils when she sees’s the fury on my face and I stride out into the car park. “I’m on my way now.”
I sit in my car and once the door closed; I roar in frustration and punch at the steering wheel. Will she believe me? I asked her to trust me, to trust in us, so why hasn’t she given me the opportunity to explain? Why has she run away?
I scroll through my phone numbers on the console in my car and dial her number. Fuck! It goes straight to voicemail. I refuse to let this destroy us. She is mine now and always, and no one will take her away from me.
I WALK IN DOM’S HOUSE with a light rap on the door and find Andy and Sophie sitting at the kitchen island.
“Andy,” I say with pleading eyes, “you have to give me her mum’s address? I need to sort this.”
Andy sighs, placing his cup down on the worktop. “Does she deserve your forgiveness?”
I nod firmly. “I swear. I haven’t betrayed her. I love the bones of your daughter, I would never cheat on her.”
Andy nods and offers me a sympathetic smile. “Just let her have the weekend, okay? If she doesn’t head back here tomorrow, then I’ll give you the address.”
“I’d rather drive up there now and talk to her,” I tell him hopefully.
Andy sighs, shaking his head. “Give her some time, Grayson. Trust me, you’re better talking to her when she’s had some time to calm down and think things through.”
I nod, realising he isn’t going to back down. When I don’t make a move to go down to the den, both Sophie and Andy look up at me expectantly. I run a nervous hand through my hair.
“I hate to ask, but could I stay here a while? My dad’s kicked me out. It’s a long story, but I’ve refused to get engaged to a girl whose father he wants to clinch a business deal with me, so he’s cutting me off.”
Sophie surprises me when she stands and pulls me into her warm embrace. “I’m so sorry he’s done this to you, Grayson. You know you are always welcome here. You can stay in Everly’s room whilst she’s away.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Thank you guys.”
Sophie smiles at me affectionately as she releases me and sits back down.
“Grayson, you know we love you like a son, but if my daughter comes home, and she doesn’t want you here, then we’ll have to come up with a Plan B for you.”
“I understand,” I nod. They are here for me, but Everly comes first.
I descend the stairs to the den and find Izzy and Dom curled up on the sofa watching television. I fling myself on the end of the sofa and rest my head against the back.
“That bad, huh?” Izzy says softly.
I laugh. “Dad’s thrown me out, he won’t be paying the rest of my college fees. I’m on my own from here on. My girlfriend thinks I cheated on her with that poisonous bitch and she has fled across the country to get away from me. Yeah, it’s that bad Izzy.”
Dom turns the television off and turns his full attention on me.
“How was she?” I ask them hesitantly, unsure if I really want to know.
Dom winces. “She wasn’t great. She couldn’t pack and get out of here fast enough.”
“She fell for it then? She honestly thinks I’ve cheated on her?”
Izzy frowns. “You can’t blame her, Grayson. It looked really bad and you can say what you like, but you’ve been away at these business functions more and more of late. You’ve been spending more time with that fake bitch than your own girlfriend. She might not have wanted to seem weak and say anything, but she was struggling with the whole situation.”
I clench my fist in frustration. “Fuck. What a mess.” I look down at my clasped hands. “I don’t know who I am without her. She makes me a better person.”
Izzy reaches out and pats my hand. “Don’t give up. No matter what she says or whatever she throws at you, don’t give up, okay?”
I nod firmly. “I won’t. I won’t let her go without a fight.”
DOM HELPS ME LOAD THE last of my things into the car. It’s hard to believ
e that all my worldly belongings are now inside this vehicle. I will have to ring Ems and explain. She will be heartbroken, but I can’t pretend anymore. I’ve always protected her and hid the truth of my relationship with our father, but no more.
“You okay?” Dom asks me as he slides into the passenger seat beside me.
I nod. In truth, it is a relief to finally be free of him. To be my own person and not have to bear his presence anymore.
I start the engine and pull away from the house, giving it one last look in the rear-view mirror, and then I don’t look back. I am only going forward now and I’ll be doing it with my girl at my side.
“Have you or Izzy heard from her?” I ask, my voice betraying my anxiety.
Dom swallows and nods. “She spoke to Izzy last night. She wouldn’t engage in any conversation that involved you.”
I nod. My girl is hurting, and it kills me inside that I’ve caused her this pain. She’s been through enough in this last twelve months. She doesn’t deserve this.
Chapter 8
EVERLY.
“Why are you here?” I ask Dom, frowning when he reaches for my bag and places it in the boot of the car.
“Nice to see you too, sis,” he says smiling.
“I thought dad was coming for me?”
“He was, but I asked if I could come get you.”
I slide into my seat and buckle my belt. “Why?” I glare at him with suspicion.
He holds up his hands in defence before starting the car. “I just wanted to talk with you before we arrived home, that’s all.” He pauses and I wait, not taking my eyes off him.
“Well, spit it out. You’re obviously here to try to butter me up and convince me that your shit of a best friend deserves a chance.”
“He does,” Dom replies with a resolute nod of his head.
“He cheated on me,” I snipe, folding my arms across my chest.
“Did he? Or was it made to look that way?” he replies. He takes his green eyes briefly off the road to look at me. “Look, I know it looked bad, but just give him a chance to explain.”