“To our new CEO and shareholder! And to a long and fruitful friendship between our families. Cheers!”
“Tchin, tchin! (Pronounced ‘chin, chin’ is a common French toast, equivalent to our ‘cheers’)”.
I'm about to address the fact that Giselle is convinced that I’m her son’s girlfriend when Tyler shakes his head and mouths a ‘please’.
What the fuck is going on?
I step aside and grab Tyler's hand, dragging him away from our parents and towards the pool, out of earshot.
“Tyler, what the—”
He puts his hands forward, palms facing me in a defensive stance.
“I know, I know. I can explain. I'm sorry, Aubrey. I didn't say anything, I swear. My mom has been on my case since my ex-girlfriend dumped me. I took it pretty hard at first and she was worried. This is why she had the idea of making Dad ask your dad to hook us up. She thought that if I got someone here, I'd be ok to move and if we moved, I’d move on.”
I shake my head.
“Sure but from that to us ‘dating’, there's a long way.”
“I know. I don't know where she got the idea. I guess I was coming down every weekend to hang out with you and she thought ... sorry. I know I should've set her straight but she looked so happy about it. And so did Dad.”
He says it with a groan, and my fury fizzles out: I totally understand that kind of pressure, it's what made me move out of my parents house.
“Right. I won't say anything but once you guys are moved, could you please make us break up? If we don't set them straight, we’ll find us engaged to one another by graduation.”
I'll have to speak to my parents alone about this, before my daddy gets strange ideas in his head and decides that after all, his match making skills are on point.
I get that in his head Tyler and I are a perfect match but I’ll never let anyone dictate my love life.
And I have enough trouble as it is with choosing among my boys, without adding a fifth guy to the mix.
Dinner is served under a pergola in the still warm fall night and the conversation varies from the stock market, to corporate retreats, to charity events.
Until Giselle asks Tyler if he's already made plans for Prom.
Tyler mutters something about it being still months away but his mother doesn't seem to have any intention to take notice of it.
“It would be so awesome if you two were crowned King and Queen! In France we don't have Prom and I always dreamed of going when I watched American movies. So I have to live vicariously through you two. I'll have the place of honour on my mantle for a Prom photo of the two of you. Especially if you're crowned.”
I don't miss the chance of starting to chip at her marriage plans and observe that we can never be Prom King and Queen since we don’t go to the same school with Tyler being enrolled at Aylesbury Prep.
Tyler's mom has an ace up her sleeve though and her smile is triumphant when she announces that she's succeeded in securing a spot at BHPA for her son.
“It’ll cost us a large donation to the academy's sports program but you guys can go to school together. Tyler starts tomorrow.”
My eyes meet Tyler's and the lack of surprise in his gaze isn't lost on me.
“When did you think of telling me about this? Were you going to surprise me tomorrow morning?”
At least he has the decency to look embarrassed.
“I just heard about it yesterday myself. I —”
His parents are looking at my reaction with perplexed expressions and I decide not to carry on with my interrogation.
I know how much my parents hate being embarrassed in public, so I plan to make sure that Tyler understands that I'm not gonna go along with any arranged engagement plans no matter how much fucking pressure our families put on us.
I don't say much else during dinner and I make an excuse to leave as soon as we’re done with dessert.
Thankfully it's a school night, so no one can consider me rude for wanting an early night.
Tyler takes my hand in his after hugging both our mothers goodnight.
I plan to discuss a break-up with him, because being blindsided into a relationship, even if it's just for his parents’ benefit, left a bad taste in my mouth.
Especially since his mom seems way too excited about it all to leave us alone.
But as soon as I open my mouth, he turns the radio on quite high and I decide to wait until we're home to make it clear that I'm not pretending to be his girlfriend until Prom.
After all Margaux and half the cheer squad would be more than happy to be his date.
Tyler stops the car in Chaz’s driveway and kills the engine, so I look at him and I ask him what's up.
“Why didn't you text me or call me to tell me about you going to school with me and that we’re ‘dating’?”
He looks at me for a second and then he explains.
“At first I was trying to do some damage control and let my mom down gently, but she didn't wanna hear it. Then I thought: would it really be so bad if we were dating?”
“Seriously? Haven't you noticed that I’m taken?”
He shrugs.
“Oh, I’ve noticed all right. You're fucking most the offence team at school. Why not me too? Am I ugly? Or not rich enough?”
I scoff, annoyed by his attitude.
“No, you aren't ugly and I couldn't care less about money. I —”
His mouth comes crashing down on mine, his tongue trying to push its way into my mouth while one of his hands cups one of my boobs.
I instantly try to push him away and put some distance between us and he stops but looks at me with a surprised and wounded expression in his eyes.
We’re both panting hard, and in the confined space of his Porsche our breaths make all the windows fog up.
“What the fuck’s wrong with you, Tyler? I said, I have a boyfriend!”
He tries to take my hand but I jerk away from his touch.
“Come on, Aubrey! Stop being a fucking prude! You're fucking four other guys, so don't act all innocent now! I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first time I saw you and I swear that I’m an excellent fuck, you can ask Margaux, Rachel, and Macy. I wanna see what has half of the football players at school so crazy about you.”
“Tyler, it's not how you think. I'm not hooking up with half the football team. I'm dating Knox, Devon, Teague, and Landon. I have feelings for each of them. I don't hook up and I honestly don't know how I’ll choose. So knock it off, because whatever you think is going on between me and you, you're fucking wrong.”
Tyler lowers his gaze.
“I’m sorry, Aubrey. I really like you though. I thought that you were just playing hard to get. Will you forgive me? I'll set my parents straight tomorrow. But please forgive me, I was an ass.”
I nod.
“Ok. But no more surprise kisses, ok?”
Tyler nods.
“Can I hug you goodnight? I promise I won't try anything weird.”
I sigh: he acted like a real idiot but he stopped immediately when I said no.
So I nod and let him hug me and kiss my cheek.
“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU think you're doing, motherfucker? I’m gonna kill you if you even look at her again, I swear!”
Devon pulls Tyler out of the car and throws him on the paved floor of my driveway.
When Tyler tries to react, drawing his fist against Devon, Knox punches him square in the jaw, sending him back down onto the floor.
“If you wanna walk out of here on your own two legs, I suggest you apologise to my girlfriend, asshole!”
Teague’s voice comes from behind Tyler's back.
The car door on my side opens and Landon offers me his hand to help me out of the Porsche, before wrapping a protective arm around my shoulders.
“Are you all right, sweetie? Did he hurt you?”
The situation keeps escalating among the others.
“Dude! You ruined my shirt! I’m fucking bleeding. Way
to punch a guy when he doesn't expect it! Come at me now and I’ll teach you—”
Devon’s voice sounds like a menacing growl.
“If your ass doesn't leave this driveway immediately and if we even see you look at our girlfriend, you're gonna wish you never came to LA, and that's a fucking promise!”
“Guys, enough! Can we not turn this into a huge fight?”
I roll my eyes.
I had the situation under control but obviously now Tyler wants to pick a fight with the guys.
Knox protests.
“He was groping you!”
“I just tried to kiss her but when she said no—”
“Ha! So you admit it!”
“Can you all shut up? Seriously!”
I raise my voice and they finally all look at me long enough for me to explain what happened.
THE GUYS FINALLY STOP fighting but their expressions relax only when Tyler drives off leaving the five of us standing in the middle of Chaz’s driveway.
When the adrenaline that had flooded my body when I was getting ready to have to break off the Beverly Hills edition of ‘Fight Club’ suddenly abandons my system, I collapse against Landon.
He guides me toward the house and once he has me on the couch, he sits next to me whispering comforting words in my ear.
But when the others enter the room one by one, I wonder if I need to prepare for another fight.
Each of the guys has a possessive look in his eyes and this can't possibly end well.
20.
Together
Aubrey
THE GUYS SURROUND ME all eager to check on me and after reassuring them that I’m fine, I explain what happened at dinner and that our families behaviour must've convinced Tyler that we could be more than friends.
Devon shakes his head.
“That motherfucker! I mean, I don't blame him for wanting you, baby, but that asshole needs to be careful from now on. One wrong look in your direction and—”
Knox agrees with Devon and his gaze is dark and still menacing.
“He tried to put his hands on you. I knew that you going to that dinner with him wasn't a good idea. I should've insisted on driving you. If he’d done something to you, I would've never forgiven myself.”
I shake my head.
“Maybe. Maybe I led him on, I don't know. You should have seen how thick our parents were laying it on us. I’ll speak to my daddy about it. I know it's crazy but I think that somehow, he was convinced that I wanted him and I was ok with our families stupid plan to have us date. His mom was riding him so hard about taking me to Prom. I don't know, the fact that earlier on I let my family believe that we were dating, might've given him the wrong idea.”
Devon gives me a long, troubled look.
“Baby I’m not mad at you, I promise. But if you like Tyler, this is when you need to tell us.”
“I really don’t. As I said it's just our families’ fault, as far as I’m concerned we’re just friends. Also, I think that despite him trying to look like he was up for a fight out there, you guys scared the shit out of him. And despite the fact that you all jumped the gun and the situation wasn't as serious as you thought, thank you for trying to protect me. That was ... sweet.”
The guys all look proud of themselves and the intensity of their gazes makes me squirm for a second.
“By the way, I came back home quite early. What were you all doing here?”
Knox is the first to talk.
“I wanted to talk to you, pretty girl. About the whole choosing thing.”
“Me too.”
Teague nods.
Devon and Landon say they're here for the same reason.
I swallow, trying to make the hard lump that just formed in my throat go down.
I feared that this would happen: they want me to choose.
For just a second, I wonder if I should listen to my fight or flight instinct but I can only imagine what would happen if I run out of the door right now.
The reality is that I’m in love with all of them and fuck if I know how I could let this happen.
It started innocently as getting to know each of them since they were all interested in me, aside from Devon.
But when getting to know them should've told me who was the one I liked, I ended up developing strong feelings for all of them.
And the more I told myself that I needed more time to make a decision, to get to know them better, the deeper those feelings started to run.
So now I have to fess up to the reality that I can't choose and let them all walk away from me, because this is the only way it can end.
I try to keep from crying but I know it's a failed endeavour by the way my throat burns and stings painfully when I force myself to speak.
“I can't choose. I'm sorry. I fucked up. I’ve fallen for each of you—”
That's all I can manage to croak out before a stream of tears start burning hot tracks down my cheeks and it physically hurts so damn much.
I close my eyes, telling myself that it's best if I don't see their reactions, if I don't see them walking away from me, one by one.
But the boys have different reactions to my tears: Landon and Teague are instantly by my side, trying to soothe me, while Devon and Knox are frozen in place like deer in front of headlights.
When I open my eyes to the feeling of Landon’s and Teague's hands caressing my face and drying my tears, I see the terror in Devon’s and Knox's gazes.
Devon is the first one to talk.
“Baby, please stop crying. I ... we—”
Knox comes to his rescue and takes a step towards me, crouching in front of me and taking one of my hands in his.
“Aubrey, it's ok. This is what we came here to tell you. That you don't have to choose unless you really want to. And that if you don't want to choose, then we’re fine the way things are.”
I open my eyes and his gaze is the softest I've ever seen: his grey eyes sparkle silver, with a warmth that he normally keeps hidden from the rest of the world.
I’ve only ever seen Knox look this way at me and his sister.
“What—”
Devon clarifies things for me.
“Aubrey, we all realised that none of us was gonna back down because we’re all in love with you. And we almost got into a fight about it, thinking that we couldn't keep this up. I mean, we couldn't all be with you.”
“I know.”
I sob but Knox shakes his head, his smile giving me hope that somewhere in this huge mess of feelings there's a plan.
“I won't lie to you, Aubrey, at first we fought. And we concluded that we couldn't pull it off, that we’d end up hurting you because the only way for all of us to date you, would be to be friends. More than friends, brothers, even. So last night, when we left football practice, we were at a loss of how to get what we all wanted: you.”
Teague agrees with him.
“Yeah. That was the only thing we were all positive about: that we all love you and that we’d do anything to be with you, princess. And then Knox said that if we could learn to get along in real life like we do on the field, when we play ball—”
Landon chimes in.
“Last night’s conversation gave us a lot to think about. And then this evening, we were all worried about you riding with Tyler to that stupid family dinner and somehow, we all showed up here. We talked while we were waiting for you and we came to the conclusion that despite our differences, our feelings for you are beginning to cement a bond that goes beyond being teammates or even friends. That if we could all think as one by showing up here to check on you, maybe this relationship could work out.”
Devon takes one last step towards me and Knox moves to the side on the floor at my feet, giving Devon space to crouch at my feet by his side.
“We aren't saying that it’ll be perfect and that there won't ever be jealousy or fights. We're saying that for you, we wanna work on it. That like we're getting close to you, we’ll work on getting close to on
e another.”
Landon kisses one of my temples.
“We decided that when you're on a date with one of us, the others will start to hang out more. But we also want some time when we can all be with you together. Like now.”
My eyes fill with tears again but it's an entirely different kind of tears this time: my heart is so full of hope, happiness, and love, that it can't be contained and it all overflows in warm tears of joy.
Teague kisses me softly, his lips start by drying out the tears on my face and make their way to my own lips, brushing against them gently and then parting them with his tongue for a kiss that is as deep as it is brief.
Landon turns my face towards him by putting a hand on my jaw and his lips take over what Teague's were doing, kissing me thoroughly and sweetly.
But again, it's not a long kiss because Knox takes his turn, making me shiver when he slants his mouth on mine, his kiss equally skilled and passionate.
And finally Devon takes my mouth, kissing me without holding back: there's no more lies, no more anger or distrust.
Landon
LIFE'S FUCKING AWESOME right now.
There's no other way to put it: since we decided to stop competing to win Aubrey's love and to embrace the fact that she loved us all back, we’ve grown closer and closer.
Not only with our girl but also among us.
I’m starting to appreciate the others and to trust them and I have to admit that I really enjoy their company.
I'm an only child and lately it's like having three brothers: we're really busy with football but by hanging out a lot more after school, I discovered that Devon loves old cowboy movies like me, Knox surfs too and we’ve gone together a few times.
Teague loves scuba-diving and we decided to get PADI certified together and it's awesome because I’ve always wanted to do it but my dad never had the time to join me and I didn't wanna do it alone.
And things don't only work seamlessly off of the field: our team qualifies for the State Championship final and we’ve had no more trouble with our drug tests, despite constant monitoring.
So I’m happy and ‘life couldn't be any better’, I think as I ring the doorbell to pick Aubrey up for a date on the Saturday before the State Championship final.
Beverly Hills Prep Academy The Complete Boxset : A Light Bully Romance Page 87