by JA Low
“It was a fucking accident, D. I’m sorry, Liv, but you shouldn’t put yourself into the middle of a scuffle.”
“Get the fuck away from us,” Derrick screams at me. I flip him off and walk outside again, I am not in the mood to see anyone. Moments later Christian and Evan are outside and have me pushed up against the stone wall.
“Tell me you didn’t fucking touch her,” my brother screams in my face.
“Fuck no, bro. Come on, I would never hit a woman.”
“Then why the fuck does she have a bleeding nose?” Evan questions.
“Because Derrick and I got into a scuffle and she tried to break us up, I elbowed her in her nose while she was in-between us. I said I was sorry.” I explain, trying my best to give them a smile.
“You’re a fucking cocksucker sometimes,” Christian yells at me.
“She has a fucking fiancé.” The boys stop dead in their movements.
“Excuse me, what did you say?” Evan asks me to repeat myself and so I do.
“She is engaged to someone else, and apparently Derrick has known since Monaco.” The boys look at me in shock.
“Man, didn’t see that coming,” Evan adds.
“Me neither. Fucking happy New Year to me. I get to start the new year being totally fucked over.”
Christian frowns at me. “Why she do it? I don’t understand.”
“Because she has no choice, she has to marry him. Her father is dying and this is like his last wish to see the two of them married,” Vanessa adds, joining us outside with Sienna.
“You too? You knew?” I ask.
“Yes, and we are the ones that encouraged her to explore herself in Monaco. None of us realized you would fall for her.” She gives me a weak smile.
“I didn’t fall for her.” My argument doesn’t even sound convincing to my own ears.
“She never wanted to hurt you, I know it sounds bad, but Ax, we thought you would be up for a little holiday fun and then move on. We never expected this,” Sienna adds.
“You must think this is all funny, don’t you? Look at Axel, finally getting a taste of his own medicine after all these years. So thank you all. I never thought that the people I was the closest too would keep secrets from me.”
“She has no choice, Axel,” Vanessa implores.
“She had a choice to stop what was happening between us and she chose not to.”
“She should have told you, yes, but honestly she didn’t think she would see you again.” Vanessa is still advocating for her friend. “That’s why she gave you a fake number.”
“So this is my fault, is it?”
“No, of course not. But everything isn’t black and white either,” Vanessa argues back.
“I don’t date liars, Ness, and she is the biggest fucking liar I have ever met.” And with that I walk away, I can’t be here anymore.
143
Olivia
“Sucks to be you,” Penny laughs, walking into my cottage. “Guess your rock star isn’t that interested after all.” She gives me a sneer. “He’s probably ripe for the picking. Little innocent Olivia has been hiding a dirty secret from him. I bet he needs a shoulder to cry on, no actually he probably needs someone to make him feel better and forget all about you.”
I pick up my tumbler of whiskey and throw it at her; she ducks at the last moment and the crystal goblet shatters into bits against the stone wall.
“You fucking bitch,” Penny screams at me, her minions holding her back.
“You’re the fucking bitch, Penny. You have been your whole entire life,” Ivy screams at my sister from the door. She pushes past Penny and stands by my side. “I just heard, I am so sorry.”
I give her a weak smile. “I hurt him, Ive.”
“I know, I know.”
“You two are so pathetic, I’m going back to the party.” Penny and her minions storm out of my home.
“God, I hate your sister,” Ivy sighs.
“Welcome to my world.”
“What are you going to do?” I grab another glass and pour myself a whiskey.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing.”
Ivy looks at me.
“Ivy, I fucked up majorly, he wants nothing to do with me. I hurt him and now he hates me. Plus, I am still marrying Eddie. I can’t change that, so what does it matter?”
Ivy frowns at me. “But you love him.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s a little too soon for love…”
“Really?” she questions me.
“I have feelings for him of course. Could those feelings turn into love? Yes, so very easily.”
“Why are you going through with this wedding? Eddie is a bloody pig; he is going to cheat on you for the rest of your life. Why, why do you think you don’t deserve better?”
“Of course I deserve better, Ivy. But my father…if I cancel the wedding it will kill him. I can’t kill my father.” Tears run down my cheeks.
“Livy…” Ivy pulls me into a hug as I sob my heart out.
“He’s sick, really sick. I can’t risk it. I can’t risk decreasing what time he has left.”
“You’re leaving?” Derrick questions me. Everyone has come over to check on me as soon as they all woke up.
“I think it’s for the best. This is your holiday, me being here is only going to cause strain.”
“But you’re my friend as well,” Vanessa adds.
“And he’s your family, family comes first. That’s why I am in this mess.” I smile sadly.
“But can’t you two work it out?” Stacey asks.
“There’s nothing to work out, I have to marry Eddie, there is no future between Axel and I.”
“Eddie is a douche,” Camryn adds. “He tried to pick me up even when I told him I was your best friend. He said that hasn’t stopped your friends in the past.”
A lead weight drops into my stomach. He’s been screwing around with my friends as well. What the hell am I doing? I collapse onto my bed and start sobbing. My friends all gather around me.
“I’m sorry, Liv, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Camryn adds.
“No, no, I don’t care, really I don’t. I hate that this is what I am going to have to put up with for the rest of my life. My soon-to-be husband will be screwing around with my friends behind my back.”
“Why the hell are you putting up with this,” Derrick demands.
“My father is dying, D. This is his last wish. How can I deny him that?”
Everyone is quiet.
“But your dad wants you to be happy, doesn’t he?” Sienna asks.
“Yes, of course, but only with the right person and he deems Eddie to be the right person.”
“God, I wanted to punch his smug-ass face last night, he thought he was king of the castle,” Derrick explains. “I was this close to punching him.”
“Axel did, in the stomach.” Everyone bursts out laughing.
“Even though Axel was mad, when Eddie started insulting me, he hit him.” Everyone nods their head in agreement.
“Axel has feelings for you, strong feelings,” Vanessa tells me.
I can’t look at anyone. “I know. And I know you all don’t understand my decision when it comes to Eddie, but I love my father more.” They all nod quietly, understanding my meaning.
“Well it sucks that you are leaving,” Isla pipes up.
“Yeah, we have so much more stuff to do together,” Vanessa adds.
“I know, but it’s your special time and me being here is going to make Axel uncomfortable. He doesn’t deserve that.”
“See you care for him,” Sienna smiles.
“Of course I do, I will never ever forget Axel. He has my heart, but that is all I can give him, the rest of me will belong to another.”
I say my goodbyes to everyone and promise to stay in touch.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
My phone wakes me up from my deep sleep. I’ve been holed up in London at Ivy’s place for the past couple of days licking my wounds. The
glowing screen hurts my sleep deprived eyes, it’s a message from Penny. I open it up and my whole world shifts. There is her smiling face taking up the screen, a sheet wrapped around her naked body and just to her left the tattooed arm catches my attention. That’s when I notice the art work. The all blue, Japanese origami style ink, Axel’s. She is in Axel’s bed. He fucking lied when he said he would never touch my sister. Bloody fucking, fuck face, douchebag!
My heart is racing as I zoom into the picture, yep that’s him. My heart breaks all over again. I hate him. I hate him so fucking much. He told me he never lets girls sleep over. He’s never had them in his bed until me, but there’s Penny staring smugly back at me.
Her text reads: So exhausted, oh what a night!
Her bloody emoji’s are making my eye twitch. I have never wanted to murder someone so much as I do my sister right now. I hate her just as much as I hate Axel right at this moment. I have to get out of London, I don’t want to be anywhere near her ever again. She’s gone too far now in her quest to hurt me. We can never come back from this. I start packing my bags again, stomping around angrily.
“Hey, what are you doing up so early?” Ivy walks into my room half asleep.
“Axel slept with Penny.”
“What? No way. I wouldn’t believe anything your sister says, she is a pathological liar.”
I hand my phone over to Ivy, she looks at the screen and her face drops. “Oh, Liv. I am so sorry. Your sister is a class A bitch. I’ve seen her do some low things but this takes the cake. And him, how fucking dare he! I was team Axel all the way until this.” She shakes the cell phone in her hand. “Screw him, screw her, you deserve so much better than all these fuck heads, Liv.”
“I know, that’s why I am getting out of London. I’m heading to Mustique where my parents are. Want to come for a girl’s trip? We can sit on the beach sipping cocktails. I need to get out of here, I can’t see Penny, not after this.”
“Okay, why not. Screw London, let’s get out of here. A change of scenery will be good.”
“Hey, ladies. Having fun in the Caribbean?” Camryn asks during our FaceTime call. We’ve been away from London for a week now. The Dirty Texas gang have left and gone back to their lives on the other side of the world.
“Yes, it is exactly what the doctor ordered.” I love the way the Caribbean sun is kissing my skin; it is exactly what my soul needed. Thankfully Mother and Father didn’t ask questions why Ivy and I had decided to join them for their annual holiday. Ivy said she was complaining about the weather and that prompted us to have a holiday.
“You both look relaxed. I am freezing my butt off here in New York,” she moans.
“We’ll have a cocktail for you,” Ivy teases.
“You’re such a giver, sis. Actually, I was thinking we could have a cocktail together in a couple of days.”
“You want to come and stay with us?” I ask, taking a sip of my cocktail.
“Um, that’s sweet, but actually no. I was thinking that you ladies could come and stay with me.” Ivy and I both looked at each other. What on earth is Camryn going on about? “I am organizing the soft launch of The Paradise Club Resorts with Nate…and well I thought maybe you two lovely ladies would like to test out the facilities. When I say facilities, I mean have hot, wild sex.” Ivy and I are stunned into silence. “Hello, guys, I can’t hear anything? Did we lose connection.”
“Um, no we are here, Cam. We are just a little stunned by your request,” Ivy responds.
“What, you don’t want to come to a sex resort?” she questions her sister.
“Of course we do, we just weren’t expecting that,” Ivy answers.
“Um, so who’s going?” I know exactly who likes The Paradise Club.
“Don’t worry, he declined the invite. He won’t be there, neither will the rest of the crew. Something about expanding into New York, so they are here looking at office spaces.”
That was good to hear. I definitely did not want to run into him, especially alone at a sex resort.
“Come on, it will be fun and wicked. The resort looks amazing. We are talking about a seven-star luxury resort on an island. What Nate has built is spectacular. Plus, you both need some hot, wild sex as well.”
“Cammie,” Ivy squeals at her sister.
“Ivy, please. I know for a fact that it has been too bloody long since you got your cage rattled.” Ivy groans at her sister’s words. “Come on, Liv, I know you had fun at the club. I know things are shit right now, you don’t have to do anything you don't want to do, but I would really appreciate two of my best friends helping me on this big project.”
Ivy and I look at each other.
“Fine, we’ll come,” I answer and Camryn squeals on the other end of the line.
“Thank you both so much, I promise you won’t regret it at all.”
Famous last words.
144
Axel
“You made it,” Nate greets me at the private heliport on his island, the warm tropical breeze hitting my skin. This is exactly what I need, a week of nonstop sex on a tropical island to forget about Olivia.
“You are a persuasive man.”
He chuckles, “Hey, you're doing me a favor, man. I trust your thoughts on the resort.” He’s probably helping me out way more than I will be helping him. It’s been over a week since leaving England, my brother is sunning himself in Tahiti and Isla is training Stacey up on her new role at the record label before she flies out to Europe to start working with Sebastien. Oscar and Finn are in New York looking at offices and Evan is helping Sienna and Derrick with the renovations of their new office. So that leaves me sitting in my office all alone trying to not think about Olivia. And when I’m not thinking about Olivia, my dick is remembering how it used to be wrapped in her sweetness and then that leads me to thinking about her again and the vicious cycle continues.
I’m sick or crazy, probably more crazy, because when you are trying to get over someone the best way is to probably forget about them, not stalk their social media pages. There was nothing on any of her pages, which was kind of good. But to add to my stalkerish ways I might have looked up her douchebag fiancé’s pages too. Photo after photo of him with random women; pictures of him in exotic places, of him cruising in luxury cars, it all screamed, douche, douche, douche. What I didn’t like were the pictures of him and Penny together. They seemed awfully close. I’m sure they have already slept together behind Olivia’s back. I wouldn’t put it past them. I mean Penny tried to put the moves on me after Olivia left. Every corner I turned she was there trying to seduce me. There was no way in hell I would ever sleep with her, even if I didn’t know she was Olivia’s sister. I know women like her, gold diggers. You can smell the desperation a mile away and I am not interested in that. Plus, she has nothing on Olivia’s natural beauty with her silicon enhanced breasts, Botox face and over plumped lips.
“So, how are you holding up?” Nate questions me. “I heard what happened.”
“That’s why I’ve come here, to forget all my troubles.”
“Well, this is paradise. Everything you have ever desired can be fulfilled,” he states as he hops into a golf buggy.
“How’s Camryn working out?” I ask, making conversation as we pass the millionth palm tree.
“Yeah, she’s a pretty cool chick. She is also kind of scary,” he chuckles.
“You should have seen her organizing the wedding, she treated it like a military operation.”
“It’s kind of hot,” he smirks.
“Really?”
“I’m her client, nothing can happen, I don’t mix business and pleasure.”
I cough at his statement.
“Ha, ha. You know what I mean. She’s a beautiful woman, super smart, driven, a workaholic. All the things that I find sexy.”
“But you don’t mix business and pleasure,” I tease him.
“Screw you, man, I can turn this buggy around and you can hop on the next helicopter off the is
land.”
“Hey, don’t be a dick. I need to get laid, that’s why I’m here.”
“Fine, only because you're a friend. Now, here is your humble abode.” He stops outside of a grand two story villa. Nate jumps out of the buggy and opens the door for me, I step into the villa and all I see before me is pure white sand and the azure waters of the Caribbean.
“Man, this really is paradise.”
Nate chuckles, “Glad you approve. I have so much more to show you, but that can wait if you want to hang out here for a while to chill. I can come and get you for dinner in a couple of hours.” I can’t take my eyes off the large pool that is pressed up against the back deck of my villa.
“Yeah that should be fine, just text when you're ready.” Then he is gone. I take a couple of steps through the living room and straight out onto my back deck. I kick off my shoes, toe off my jeans and take off my T-shirt then jump into the pool. I do a couple of breast strokes as it’s not that large for me to do laps in, but enough to wake me up from my long journey. I sit back and look out over the empty beach out to the beautiful ocean, this is certainly paradise.
There is a button beside the pool that says Butler, so I press it. I could definitely use something to eat and drink. Moments later a beautiful woman is walking through my villa.
“Yes, Mr. Taylor. How may I help you?” The woman smiles at me. She is wearing tight fitted navy shorts that cup her pert ass, a white polo that is cut very low against her large breasts giving me an eyeful of her impressive cleavage and her blonde hair is pulled up in a high ponytail; perfect to be wrapped around my fist as she sucks my dick. My stare falls to her wrist where multicolored bracelets adorn it just like they do at The Paradise Club letting me know what she is up for and it looks like everything except intercourse.
“What is your name?” I ask.
“I’m Layla and I will be your personal butler for your stay. I am here to serve you.” She licks her red ruby lips.