by Anna Edwards
“I’ll play, but any of you fuckers kiss Zoey, you’re dead.” Tate slides down onto the floor, and Zoey sits next to him.
“Same goes for the Tate. My lips are the only ones to touch him. You get him, you do a dare.”
I turn to look at Yivi. She seems nervous again.
“What is it?”
“I-I…I don’t know this game,” she stutters. “Maybe I should sit out?”
“It’s okay. All you have to do is spin the bottle when it’s your turn and kiss whoever it lands on. It can be a small peck on the cheek, or if Zoey and Tate get each other, it can be a full blown make out session. If you don’t agree to the kiss, you have to do a dare. It’s a bit of harmless fun.”
“Okay.” Yivi nibbles on her lip. “Will you play?”
“For a bit, but only because I’ve got the best dare to give Cameron when he spins and lands on Tate and can’t kiss him.”
“Boys can kiss each other?” Yivi peers around me, her eyes darting between Tate and Cameron.
“And girls,” Austin adds.
“The game isn’t wrong?”
I shake my head. “I promise you. It’s just fun, something to do after a couple of drinks.”
“A bit like getting married?” The words leave her lips before she realizes what she’s said. She puts her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she mumbles from behind them.
“It’s okay. No serious harm was done there either, I don’t think.”
I lead Yivi over to sit on the floor next to me. I’m nervous about her playing this game. I don’t know if it’s too much for her, but she’s taken everything else in her stride and hasn’t run away yet. I’m not stupid. I can tell she’s naïve and spending time with four virile men is going to be a massive learning curve for her, but I feel I want to prepare her for the outside world. The one she’ll face when we sign the annulment papers tomorrow and go our separate ways.
A lump settles in my throat…probably just the burger I devoured on my return to the room in a fit of hunger after performing.
“I’ll go first.” Cameron spins the bottle, and it lands on the girl who was sucking him off earlier. He leans forward and shoves his tongue down her throat. When he pulls back, he licks his lips and says, “Tastes of me.”
“Gross.” Zoey pretends to gag.
“All man, Zoey. I’ve offered to show you when you get bored of Tate.”
Zoey puts her arm around our lead singer. “I’m afraid it’s only the singers who do it for me.”
“Tease.” Cameron shakes his head and hands the bottle to the girl next to him. She spins it, and it lands on Tate. The girl instantly takes a dare after one look at Zoey.
Tate gets her to stand up and perform the lyrics from our first ever platinum hit. The poor girl is tone deaf, but she does indeed know our song. We all end up helping her out at the end.
“Liam.” Cameron passes me the bottle. “Your turn.”
I spin, and it lands on one of the girls Cameron and Austin brought back. I feel the tension suddenly ignite in the air. Yivi freezes next to me.
“I’ll take the dare,” I announce quickly, knowing I’m going to regret it.
“Okay.” Cameron laughs. “What shall we get him to do?”
One of the girls leans over to Cameron and whispers something into his ear.
“I love it!” My soon-to-be-dead lead guitarist smirks. I growl at him knowing this isn’t going to be fun. “We need a pair of your panties, Zoey Boey.”
“Fuck you,” Tate answers for his fiancée.
“Come on, man, it’s going to make Liam look silly.”
“Are his balls going anywhere near my woman’s underwear?”
Cameron shakes his head.
“Okay.” Tate nods. “ Get that pair you wear for special occasions. You know the ones I mean.”
“Tate?” Zoey giggles but disappears into her bedroom.
She comes back a few minutes later with the biggest pair of panties I’ve ever seen.
“What the fuck are they?” Austin, Cameron, and I all exclaim at the same time.
These panties are something like a granny would wear, complete with little flowers all over them.
“Period underwear.” Tate laughs.
The joke’s now on Cameron who was probably hoping to get me into a sexy thong. Still, I’m not entirely sure where I’ll be wearing the panties being displayed in front of me. Zoey hands them to me, and I stand up.
“Where are these going?”
Cameron’s lips curl up into a twisted smile. He can really be a sick fucker sometimes, but I love him to bits.
“You have to put them on over your jeans, and we’ll add a picture of you in them to the Instagram page. Is that good promotion for us, showing us having wholesome fun after a concert, Zoey?”
“That’s actually a great idea, Cameron. I’ll give you that.”
I’m going to look a complete dick on social media.
“Thank you for the support,” I huff at Zoey.
She holds her hands up.
“Babysitter here, making sure you all behave.”
“Fine.” I get to my feet and pull the granny panties over my jeans. They’re tight, and I instantly feel the loss of blood flowing to my manly parts. “Hurry up and take the picture before these things castrate me. I think a thong would have been better.”
Tate takes his phone from his pocket and snaps a few shots of me as I strike some sexy poses. I turn to give him a few of my ass in the tight panties. Yivi has the biggest smile on her face. It reaches her eyes, and I can tell she’s finding this hilarious. I join her in smiling.
When my torture is over, I remove the panties and fling them back to Zoey. “You might want to wash them before you put them away. I did a couple of really good farts while I was wearing them.”
“Yuck!” She drops them onto the floor.
“Who’s next?” Austin asks.
“Yivi?” Zoey questions.
My wife takes the bottle and spins it. We all watch in anticipation as it goes around and around. Eventually it lands on me.
Is that a feeling of relief in my chest?
The others in the room all cheer.
“Kiss,” Austin claps his hands together.
“Is that okay?” Yivi asks me. “I’m not sure I fancy a dare.”
“Of course it is.”
Yivi gets to her knees and leans into me. I do the same, presenting her with my cheek. At the last second, though, one of the girls squeals, and I turn my head. Yivi’s lips press against mine, warm and welcoming while sweet and spicy at the same time. We linger together like this for a few seconds before she pulls back.
“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to,” she apologizes.
“It’s okay,” I tell her, but Yivi is on her feet and fleeing from the room before I have a chance to say anything to reassure her it was all right.
I put my fingers to my lips and turn to look at Zoey. I see the knowing look on her face, and I’m instantly terrified. I liked the kiss.
“You need to talk to her,” Zoey encourages. I know she’s right.
Maybe I should have kept Zoey’s big girl panties, then I could’ve pulled them up to give me the courage I need to face what’s happening. Right now I just want to get blind drunk again and discover it was all a dream.
Chapter 6
Yivi
#IsItReallyPossibleToEnjoyAKissSoMuch
I run straight into my room and pull back the sheets on the bed before climbing under them and hiding. One of my fingers is still pressed to my lips where they’d joined with Liam’s in an all too brief kiss. It’d sent a bolt of electricity through my body and a strange sensation straight between my thighs, making me wet there.
I really do need to get out of here. I’m learning far too much, and for someone who’s led a sheltered life, it’s overwhelming.
“Yivi.” A knock comes at the door. “Are you okay?” Liam questions.
I don’t move. I’m like a
little child hoping that the magical fort of sheets will protect me—not from a big bad ogre, though, but from myself.
“Yivi.” Liam tries again, and I hear the door being opened and his heavy footsteps on the carpeted floor. The bed dips as he sits down beside me. “I’m sorry.”
Silence.
“Sometimes we get a bit silly. The girl squealing made me turn my head. I didn’t mean for you to kiss me on the lips. It’s completely my fault. Will you be okay?” There’s an honesty in Liam’s voice, a desperate need to know he hasn’t upset me. I can’t hide any longer. I need to be brave.
I pull the sheets down so just my head is showing. Everything else is still buried deep within the comforting cotton bedclothes.
“It’s fine. I’m sorry as well. It was an accident. I’m being silly.”
“You’re not. I think we’ve both had a lot to take in today, and I think tiredness is probably taking over as well. We can talk again tomorrow and get everything sorted. I’m sorry I’m putting you through this. Thank you for accepting me and my friends and our world of crazy.” Liam gives me a woeful smile, and rising from the bed, he makes his way back to the door.
I don’t want him to go, though.
“Liam.” My voice is strange, like it isn’t really me speaking, but it is. I bite my lip and take a deep breath before speaking again. “None of this is your fault. I’m naïve. I don’t understand the world.” It’s a hard thing to admit. “I…I…” —the words are on my lips, but I find them hard to say— “I was raised in a cult, a family deeply devoted to chastity and the procreation of man.” I let out a laugh. It’s a mixture of nerves and the absurdity of the situation.
Liam raises an eyebrow at me.
“Sorry.” Procreation seems to be a word I keep having to repeat. “Yesterday, I ran away. I left with nothing but a linen white dress. I stole the clothes you found me in.”
Tears form in my eyes now as I remember what happened—the priest at the alter ready to marry me to a complete stranger, to bind me to a life devoted to the family I was brought up in and to breed children.
“Yivi.” Liam returns to me and sits back down on the bed, and I let the sheets fall from around my neck. He takes my hand and strokes it, offering comfort.
“There’s a lot of irony in the fact we got married,” I continue my story. “When I ran away, I was standing at an alter about to be married to a man who’s name I didn’t even know. He was to be my husband for life, and I would’ve given him children in payment. It’s what I was born to do.”
Liam swallows deeply. I can see his jaw ticking. He doesn’t say anything, and we fall quiet.
“I should leave. It would be the safest thing to do.” I finally break the silence.
“No.” Liam’s reply is blunt and domineering. Even if I tried to leave this room, I know he wouldn’t let me. “Did they hurt you?”
I shake my head. The girls of the cult are carefully protected until it’s time to marry. Well, at least, I was. There were some who misbehaved, and I’m sure bad things happened to them because I never saw them again after their sins had been discovered.
“That explains some of the things you’ve said and the things you don’t know or haven’t experienced before, like drinking alcohol.”
I nod this time. “Yes, my life has been very sheltered. Tonight, seeing Cameron with those women. It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like that. As for alcohol, I’ve never touched it before. It’s why I got so drunk. The helicopter, the limousine, the little boxes you call phones that you carry in your pockets and use to speak to people, even this hotel room with the comfortable bed and soft sheets—they’re all foreign to me. There are some things I don’t even know what they are.” I point to the black rectangle box stuck to the wall in the bedroom. “I know that shows you pictures. I saw you and Tate looking at them tonight, but I don’t know what it is or how it gives you them. It’s like a moving book. When I was younger, we had Bibles with pictures, but as we got older, there were only words. I liked the pictures. They stimulated my mind, even if you did appear to be killing people on the screen in Tate’s room.”
Liam’s eyes go wide. “You don’t know what a television is?”
“No, is that what it’s called?”
He nods.
“Television.” I test out the word on my lips. “I’ve been going along with things for most of the day not wanting to show my ignorance, but I think I’m very different to you and the rest of the band. There’s so much I don’t know or understand.”
“You should have told me when we spoke this morning,” Liam responds.
I can’t tell if he’s angry at me or upset. His breaths are quick, and when he stands up from the bed and starts to pace the room, I feel a little scared. I reach for the sheets and pull them back over me.
He stops and stares at me.
“I have to ask this.” Liam’s voice is hesitant.
I’m nervous about what he wants to know but nod my head.
“Last night…the blood on the sheets this morning. Do you even know what we did?”
“We procreated, and I could be carrying your child in my belly. It’s what I should do as your wife.”
Liam leans back against the wall behind him.
“Yes, and no. It doesn’t work that way here. We had sex, consummated our marriage as the others have already said, but you don’t have to get pregnant. I think that would be the last thing we need right now. Shit, I didn’t even check if I used a condom. We need to get you a morning after pill.”
“Condom? Pill?” I’m confused as to what he’s talking about.
“Fuck.” Liam slams his fists against the wall behind him.
“I’m sorry for making you so angry,” I instantly blurt out. I’ve seen what can happen to women who make their husbands angry. They’re beaten, and I don’t want that. But something within me tells me Liam won’t hurt me.
He’s not angry at me. He’s angry at himself.
He’s cursing, muttering words I don’t fully understand.
“Liam.” I slide from the bed and pad gently across the floor toward him. I reach out and take his hand, and he stops. He stares at me with a look of sorrow in his eyes.
“I took you to a rock concert, and you witnessed what was, in many ways, an orgy with Austin and Cameron. I knew you were innocent, but I didn’t realize just how much. I’m sorry. You’ve every right to be angry and upset with me.”
I shake my head frantically.
“No, not at all. You’ve shown me so much in twenty-four hours. You’ve shown me the real world. Not the one I’ve been forced to live in.”
“I’m not sure the life of a rock star is a normal one, but I get what you mean.”
“Let me learn some more. Let me discover the life I can have away from everything I knew previously. Give me a chance in this new world,” I plead, a completely crazy and wacky idea hitting me.
“What do you mean?” Liam searches my face for answers.
“I know you have to be careful and protect your bandmates and friends, but what if we didn’t get an annulment?”
“Yivi, you escaped one unwanted marriage and instantly ended up in another. Surely you would be better off learning to live on your own.”
“I’m not making myself clear. Sorry.” I take a deep breath to compose myself and get the chaotic thoughts in my head centered. “If the cult finds me, I’ll be taken back there and married to the man they chose for me. While I’m still married to you, they can’t do that. If you give me a year, I could learn about this world, understand it all, and find a way to look after myself. If I can stay hidden from them, I can become the person I want to be. I heard Zoey saying money was the main worry about us being married. I’m not entirely sure how money works, but I can sign a piece of paper saying I won’t take any of yours if that helps. I’m assuming because you had contracts drawn up for the annulment, things work the same way here as they do in my family. Everything’s agreed on paper.”
Liam runs his hand over his head.
“I don’t know. Yes, legalities and contracts are done with paper.” He stumbles on his words. “You don’t even understand money?”
I shake my head. As a woman in the cult, I wasn’t expected to understand that sort of thing. That was my husband’s responsibility. I was raised to solely look after the house and children. I haven’t told Liam yet, but I can barely read unless it’s from the Bible. Lots of the words I’ve seen on signs today, I don’t understand. I think it’s best to save that for a different time, though. I can tell he’s freaked out enough. I only understand what an annulment is from listening to conversations between Liam and the band. I’m not as intelligent as these people. No, that’s not strictly true—I’m just very sheltered.
“I have to think about this. Will you give me until morning?” Liam requests.
“Of course.” I try not to let the fact I’m going to worry all night about my future cloud my answer.
“Okay.” Liam nods toward the bed. “You get some sleep, and I’ll come and get you for breakfast. We can discuss it, then.”
“All right.” I make my way back to the bed. I’ll undress when Liam leaves.
“Yivi, what is the name of the place where you grew up?” Liam questions, his hand on the bedroom door.
“Serendipity Falls,” I reply honestly.
“Thank you.”
Liam leaves, closing the door behind him.
I undress and climb into bed. My body is exhausted and needs sleep, but as I drift off into the realms of unconsciousness, the chilling thought hits me that Liam probably asked where I came from so he could return me there.
Chapter 7
Liam
#IDontThinkThereIsEnoughBrandyInThe
WorldForThis
The half-finished glass of strong brandy sits in front of me. I thought the stinging amber nectar would soothe the pain in my chest by ripping apart my throat, but it hasn’t. I’ve just got a burning feeling there now as well as the ache in my chest.