by JA Low
“You motherfucker!” I launch myself at my best friend. That fucker. How dare he? How could he? Someone is grabbing at me as my fists lay into Finn as he defends himself. Isla is screaming in the background but all I see is red. “I told you to leave her alone.” He promised me he wouldn’t touch her. He’s going to break her fucking heart like he has for years. He was supposed to stay away from her, and now, now he’s fucking knocked her up and abandoned her.
“Fuck off, man, I fucking love her.” This stops me in my tracks. Derrick pulls me off of him. I noticed Finn’s lip is bleeding.
“You are going to pay to fix this shit, you hear me, Eriksen.” Derrick glares at me. I look around the room where I have smashed a lamp and done some damage to his couch.
“I told you if you went near her I would tell your secret,” I threaten him. I don’t care that Finn likes dudes; I care that he will cheat on my sister with one and break her heart.
“She already knows,” Finn snaps at me.
“I don’t care. I’m honestly more upset that you have tried to keep us apart.” Isla points her finger at me. I’m confused. She doesn’t care? She already knows?
“I didn’t want him to break your heart.” Why can’t she see I was trying to protect her?
“So you broke it for him.” That hit like an arrow to the heart. “I’ve loved him all my life, Oscar. From the moment we saw each other as kids. There has been no other man in my life that I have loved more than him.”
“I thought...I thought I was trying to protect you.”
“You pushed us apart. You put so many barriers between us, Oscar. You gave us so much baggage that you destroyed our love.” Fuck. I rake my hands through my hair. I had no idea. I look over at Finn who looks devastated. Shit. What have I done? “Finn proposed to me when we were in England, but because I was so sick of being under your control I chose to run. I left him when my heart wanted to stay. I broke him that night and I don’t think I will ever be able to fix what I broke.” Derrick sniffles beside me. “I was so scared to tell you that he was the father that I kept it a secret. I denied him those months of being with his son.”
“Issy.” Her words rip my heart out.
“I can’t blame you for everything that has happened between Finn and I over the years, but you were to blame for a lot of my pain. Finn pushed me away out of loyalty to you. He was so scared that you would tell his secret to the world that no matter how much he loved me, it wasn’t enough. He was so scared to hurt his family if his secret came out.” Fuck, fuck, fuck. I start pacing around the room. I fucked up so badly. I had no idea they loved each other so much. I just thought it was just a phase.
“I did all this.” I thump my chest. “Fuck!” I’m almost pulling my hair out. “Fuck!” I roar through the room, tears falling down my cheeks. “I did it to protect you. I thought it was the right thing. I...” Issy runs into my arms and holds me tight, both of us crying over the mistakes we both have made with each other. “I’m sorry, Issy. I had no idea I was hurting you so much.” I look over to where Finn is; he looks so very lost. I let go of Issy and make my way over to my best friend, he flinches when I open my arms. “I’m sorry, man. I am so sorry.” I pull him into my arms, slapping him on the back. “I fucked up. I fucked up so much.” Finn’s grip tightens around me. “Do you still love my sister?”
“I do...but...” He looks over at Issy. “We have a lot to discuss.” All because of me.
“You both have my blessing. I should never have stood in the way. I could see it. I could see how much you both meant to each other. I just didn’t want anything to fuck it up, but instead I did. I messed it all up.” Derrick pulls me into his side, his tears drying up.
“I know how you can pay me for all this damage, Ragnar. But it requires you to get onto your knees.” This makes the room explode with laughter. Trust Derrick to break the tension.
259
Stacey
The last half of the year has flown by.
Finn and Isla got engaged, had a baby, the gorgeous little Easton, and threw a dart at the globe to choose their wedding destination. Thankfully, they hit Hawaii, because going to a wedding in Vladivostok wasn’t high on many of our calendars. They are getting married next Valentine’s Day, awfully romantic. It took Oscar a little while to get used to Isla and Finn being together, but seeing them together now and how happy they are soon turned him around. Especially when Easton arrived. Oscar is the best uncle, he loves that little dude.
Sienna and Evan are a family of four now with Ryder and Levi. We are all taking bets on when Sienna will be knocked up again. I mean Levi is six months old. Wyld Jones is going from strength to strength too, especially in the kids department of Wyld. When the girls take photos of their kids wearing the trendiest clothes they sell out and the waitlist is insanely long.
Derrick has also become hot property within the styling world, celebrities are flocking to him. He’s expanded his styling space and employed a heap of new staff and junior stylists to help him.
Vanessa and Christian disappeared for the first couple of months after their twins, Ruby and Sadie, were born. I don’t blame them, those two girls are such a handful, but they are ridiculously cute.
Olivia and Axel got married, in France, in one of her family’s castles. How crazy is that? Their relationship is still a juggling act crossing between LA and England. The boys have opened up Dirty Texas Records London which has taken off, so Axel spends a lot of time there, at least he is in the same country as his bride. Olivia made up with her sister, Penny, who was the biggest bitch on the planet. I mean she was having an affair with her sister’s fiancé for months then told her family that the baby was his, but in fact we found out that the baby daddy was the ex-president of France. These British girls are fancy as fuck. They have a gorgeous little girl called Genevie. Not long after the birth, Olivia’s father died suddenly from heart failure. It devastated her, especially as she is the heir to the family’s estates. Thankfully everything worked out in the end and Axel and Olivia are still together.
And Oscar and I? We are still going strong. Much stronger than I ever thought possible. We still have fun at The Paradise Club, but not very often, maybe once a month. Living together has been a breeze, working together was so much fun, but we probably distracted each other too much for it to be a long term solution. Now I’m back working with Sienna and Derrick.
We have decided to spend Christmas together this year with all the family and babies. I’m a little sad that I won’t be visiting my family this year, because I really wanted Oscar to meet my parents but they talk via Skype all the time. My family are happy for me, especially my nieces who can’t believe I am dating a famous rock star. I come from a tiny little country town in the middle of the outback. My family have a sheep farm and are simple people.
It’s Christmas Eve and we have all converged onto Christian and Vanessa’s Big Bear property. It’s mayhem. The feeling of chaos reminds me of home, so it’s nice, I don’t feel as homesick. A cold front came through earlier this evening dumping a big chunk of snow everywhere. It’s nice looking out of the cabin’s windows and seeing the snow falling, it’s bloody freezing but still beautiful. Maybe because I’m an Aussie and we don’t really get snow, especially at Christmas time I find it fascinating. We just finished a traditional Christmas Eve dinner, all of us stuffed to the gills thanks to all the mothers and their awesome cooking skills.
“Time to open one present under the Christmas tree,” Christian tells everyone. The Christmas tree is a monster and beautifully decorated too, but the piles and piles of presents under it, is just insanity. Boxes and boxes of gifts for kids that can’t even walk yet.
“Ryder will hand them out.” Ryder’s face lights up as he follows Christian over to the Christmas tree. He takes the presents and hands them out to everyone. One at a time we all open our gifts, the kids going crazy over their new toys. Especially Ryder with his new kid sized car. He jumps in, hits the horn a couple of time
s and starts zooming around the house. That car is fast; Evan had to sprint after him as he nearly took out the Christmas tree on a sharp turn.
“Stacey hasn’t opened her present yet.”
“Yes I have. You bought me this.” The light bounces off the diamonds showering the room with rainbow light. I had a heart attack when I opened the box to find an exquisite necklace. It was the most extravagant gift Oscar has given me. It’s beautiful but way too much. He knows he doesn’t need to spend money on me to make me happy, all I need is him.
“That was only part of it.” What is he up to? I know he is excited that this is our first Christmas together but I wasn’t expecting him to go crazy.
“Open it,” he urges me to open the present. I unwrap the box and pull out an iPad. “There’s a video.” Oscar is almost bouncing out of his seat with excitement. I press play on the video. Oh my God, it’s my family. They are all dressed up in Santa hats. They are sitting on an old cart and are singing Merry Christmas to me. Mum and Dad pop onto the screen first and tell me how much they miss me. How proud they are of me making a life for myself in LA. They send their love to Oscar too. Next, my sister and her kids, each one of them doing something silly for the camera. I can’t stop crying. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until seeing them. “I know you miss your family and wish they could be here.” God I love this man. I wrap my arms around him.
“This was perfect, thank you.” I sniffle into his chest.
“I think I can do better,” he tells me. “Look over there.” He points to the large glass window behind us.” There are people standing in the snow.
“Oh my God,” I scream, realizing who is standing there. My family. My family are here in Big Bear. I can’t. I cannot believe this is happening right now. The door opens and a large gust of wintery air rushes in as my family rushes toward me. Everyone is crying, screaming, talking, yelling. So many arms hugging me. Mum, Dad. My sister Naomi and her husband Simon. My nephews, Hunter and Lockie, and my nieces, Amelia, Emma and Becca. They are all here. “How?” I stare at my windblown family.
“Oscar organized it.” Turning around I see Oscar standing there looking a little embarrassed by the attention. I rush into his arms and kiss him. I can hear my nieces and nephews making gagging sounds and the rest of them hollering as I kiss Oscar within an inch of his life. “I love you. I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
“I thought the diamonds were an extravagant gift but this. How can I ever repay you?”
“You don’t. Just you being in my life is all I need.” I just can’t. I kiss him again. Shit. I haven’t introduced my family to him yet.
“Oscar, come meet my family, officially.” I pull him over to them. Mum pulls him in for a big hug, thanking him over and over again for his generosity. My father does the same but shakes his hand instead. My sister practically tackles him.
“Wow, he’s strong.” She gives me a wink. Her husband shakes Oscar’s hand. They introduce him to all the kids, who are a little distracted by the snow falling outside. They have never seen it before or been overseas. Oscar’s family comes over and introduces themselves too, then the rest of our friends.
“I don’t deserve you, Oscar.” I take a moment away from the chaos.
“How can you say that?”
“This. You did this all for me.”
“I would do this and more for you, Stace.” He wraps his arms around me.
“But I have nothing to offer you. I can’t compete with all this.” I wave my arms around at the luxury of the life these Dirty Texas guys live.
“I never want you too. It’s my job to provide for us.” What the? I never expected him to have such a traditional point of view. “Stacey, I can see it on your face, that you’re pissed over that comment. I love you. There is no one else I want in this world other than you. You’re stuck with me. Forever.” I hate it when he’s being all squishy and romantic when I’m mad at him. “I’m a washed up rock star. I’ve peaked. This is it for me. I have made more money in one lifetime than people make in twenty. I can’t possibly spend it all, unless you want me to keep buying you shit.” I roll my eyes at him. “Exactly. I live to make you happy, Stace. And what makes you happy is your family. I know you aren’t a fan of LA, but everyone that you love is here, expect for them. So I just thought that they needed to come to you. I know it seems extravagant, but it isn’t. I mean I didn’t use the jet or anything.” This makes me laugh, him thinking not using his private jet isn’t an extravagance. “Look how happy your family is.” My family struggle being farmers so for them to ever be able to do this for themselves it would never happen. He’s right, they are happy.
“I’m sorry, I have a hang up over your money.” I snuggle into his strong arms.
“Well, at least I know you’re not a gold digger.” I slap him lightly. “The empty credit card I’ve given you is testament to that.” When I moved in, Oscar gave me a credit card that had access to one of his accounts. When I saw there was no credit limit it freaked me out. I may not earn millions like him, but I do well for myself. If I want anything I can buy it.
“This life takes a bit of getting used to. I forget sometimes who you are.”
“I can remind you more often if you like. I’m kind of a big deal.” I shake my head at him. “I know it might seem old fashioned to people like us who aren’t living a traditional relationship, but I want to provide for my woman.” It’s sexy when he gets all alpha. “Do you understand?” Not sure how I got this lucky to have him in my life, but I am so happy he is.
“I’m sorry for being weird about it all. I love what you have done for me. It’s the best.”
“Lifetime blow jobs best?”
“Of course.” He fist pumps the air.
“Does that mean you will start using your credit card or am I pushing it?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“What happens if I told you, just thinking about you using it, gets me hard.” Oscar’s voice drops low as he nuzzles my ear.
“Maybe I might have to visit some special shops that could help with this problem.”
“Yes, please do.” Oscar kisses me.
“Eww. That’s gross.” Little Lockie interrupts our kiss.
“You won’t be saying that in fifteen years, little buddy.” Oscar jumps up and tickles my nephew until he is crying from laughter.
260
Oscar
“Merry Christmas.” I roll over and pull an exhausted Stacey against me. She mumbles something utterly incoherent about being sore and then falls back to sleep again. Not going to lie, it’s kind of hot knowing that my dick did that to her. Once we were alone, we were ripping each other’s clothes off. We tested pretty much every bit of furniture in the room. Sorry, Christian. Stacey thanked me over and over again for bringing her parents here. She thanked me on her knees. She thanked me on my face. She thanked me via her back door. I’m hoping she will have some more energy tonight because the surprises aren’t over for her. Nerves begin to kick in as I think about what I have planned later. Rolling over, I kiss her on the back of her neck and go back to sleep.
It’s been pandemonium this morning opening the presents. There is paper and ribbon strewed all over the place. Toys scattered over the floor with all the dads trying to locate batteries for the gifts, or scissors to get into the packaging. The most delicious smells are coming from the kitchen as the mothers prepare their family’s favorite meals. My palms are beginning to sweat; I rub them on my dress pants. I wasn’t expecting to be this nervous, but as I look around the room, which is filled with our nearest and dearest, it hits me. What happens if Stacey’s says no? Maybe I’ve read the signs wrong. I know we both agreed that we weren’t interested in getting married or having kids but the more I hang around with this group of pussy whipped fools, the more I want in on their club. Maybe not having kids, because Easton puked up a mouth full of milk all over me this morning. I thought I was on the set of The Exorcist. He’s
lucky I didn’t join him in his barf-fest because that shit was gross. He’s still cute though. Stacey is having an animated discussion with Isla and her sister, Naomi. I’m curious as to what it is about so I move closer.
“Don’t put too much pressure on Oscar.” I hear Stacey say my name. What is she talking about putting pressure on me?
“What? No!” Isla raises her voice.
“No what?” I ask the group as Finn joins me.
“Nothing.” Stacey shakes her head with a worried look on her face.
“Would you mind terribly if Hunter stayed with you for a year, on a gap year?” Isla asks me. That is not at all what I thought they were talking about.
“Please, you don’t have to answer that,” Stacey tells me, looking slightly panicked.
“I told Naomi that he could intern for us all.” Stacey is shaking her head and shooting daggers at my sister.
“I can rent somewhere with him. You don’t have to house him,” Stacey adds quickly. What in the ever loving fuck? Is she being serious?
“Excuse me?” I raise my voice. “Are you telling me you’re moving out?”
“I...just...he’s my nephew and I’m responsible for him. You shouldn’t be.” After everything we spoke about last night and after everything I have done, she still doesn’t seem secure in us.
“Are you telling me that you’re not my responsibility?” I ask Stacey. “I love you, Stacey Ferguson. If that means I have to look after a teenager for a year, then that’s what I am going to do.” Stacey is slightly speechless. Did she seriously think that I didn’t mean what I said last night? “I told you when you moved in. This was it, Stace. It’s you and me together no matter what.” Stacey’s eyes glisten. I need to fix this. I need her to realize that when I said together forever no matter what, I meant it. I stand up and clear my throat. “Can I get everyone into the lounge room please?” I startle them all with my tone. Stacey is looking at me concerned. No one is sure what is going on. I stand by the fire place. “I have an announcement,” I tell the room. “Hunter, it’s been brought to my attention that you don’t know what you want to do now that you’ve finished school.” Hunter stares at me, looking a little scared. “Well then, would you like to have a gap year with myself and your aunt?” Hunter’s bright green eyes widen in surprise.