Tell Me Something (The Something Series Book 1)

by Bondurant, Aubrey

  My phone buzzed, and I smiled at the text from Josh.

  “I’m here early. A car is outside on the curb, gray sedan, license plate YY7 8954, driver is Henry. He will take you back to my hotel and give you a keycard. I’m on floor 52 penthouse, see you when you’re ready to leave.”

  I mingled for the last hour ensuring Cassius Rum had a lot of photographs and that I was visible for my obligation to them. They had paid for my trip, the least I could do was ensure I fulfilled my end of the bargain. When the two hours were up, I said goodbye to Lisa and walked back to my room where I grabbed my laptop bag, filling it with my toothbrush and some things to wear back in the morning.

  I found Henry curbside. As we started down the Strip, I got a fantastic gridlock view of the Bellagio water show. I sat a little in awe, taking in all of the people out late amid the lights and sounds of Vegas.

  By the time I made it up to Josh’s room, it had been almost two hours since his text. Opening the door to his suite, I smiled at him sitting on his couch looking like he was waiting on me.

  “Hi,” he whispered softly.

  “Hi, yourself.” I sighed in contentment as he pulled me closer. “It took longer than I thought to get out of there, and then traffic was bad.”

  “I didn’t mean for you to leave the party early,” he murmured, taking my hand and leading me to the bed.

  I quickly slipped off my shoes and stripped down to my undergarments.

  He cuddled me close with my back to his chest and inhaled the scent of my hair.

  “Do you want me to let you sleep?” I asked.

  “Mm, no, I want to keep doing this.” He peeled down my panties, and I felt his erection nudging up against my sex while his fingers found me wet and ready. “And this,” he said, sliding into me to the hilt.

  “Oh, yeah?” I managed.

  “I had to come here early. You’d think it has been weeks, and it’s only been since last night.” His hips moved against me in measured rhythm while his hands reached around and kneaded my breasts. His fingers teased my nipples and then reached down, caressing my stomach.

  “I was happy to get your text message, Josh. God, you feel good.”

  “So do you. Come for me,” he groaned, rubbing my clit and increasing the tempo as I shattered all around him. He moaned, following me over the edge. Then he lay there inside of me, cocooning me fully while we both came back down off of our high.

  “My Haylee,” he murmured, kissing the back of my neck.

  I turned over and caressed his face. “Hmm, I like that,” I whispered.

  “Tell me something. Something you’ve wanted to tell me but haven’t. A secret.”

  Did I dare? Maybe it was the alcohol or the amazing sex, but suddenly I had no filter. “Do you promise not to freak out?”

  He smiled and looked a little wary, but nodded. “I won’t freak out.”

  “I don’t know if you’re ready.”

  “Well, now you have me intrigued, you have to tell me.”

  I felt the doubt creep up. “Maybe when I’m more sober so that I can decide if it’s a good idea.” I yawned and then found myself pinned down with him looming above me.

  “Haylee, tell me,” he demanded.

  “Or what?” I challenged, and then I was being tickled.

  “Oh, oh, no, no. Okay, okay. Please stop.”

  He relented and quirked a brow. “Tell me.”

  “Okay, but lie back down and hold me first. No more tickling.”

  He cuddled me close and nuzzled my neck. “Haylee, tell me,” he tormented, running a finger along my rib cage which caused me to giggle.

  “I love you.” And there it was. I watched the words register and the surprise and intake of breath. “And before you do freak out or say something lame like ‘gosh, Haylee, I didn’t mean for this to happen,’ just know that I feel it, I said it, and that’s it. I don’t expect anything in return. Our time is still up when I leave for school this summer, and I won’t say the words again unless you ask me to.”

  He expelled a breath. “I’m not freaking out,” he murmured.

  I could almost hear his brain working.

  “And what do you mean you’re leaving this summer? School doesn’t start until fall.”

  I was grateful he’d changed the subject, but even more pleased that he didn’t seem anxious for me to move away. “School starts the middle or end of August for most and I want to take some time to move there. Plus, I’ll take a couple of weeks for Australia, so I will probably leave New York in July.”

  “You don’t even know where you’re going yet.” There was a hint of agitation in his voice. I guessed it was because, in his mind, he had thought September was the month, and I was speeding up the time table.

  “I’m waiting to hear where I’ve been accepted. I should get the letters any day now.”

  He absorbed this information. “Are you sure you want to go?” he questioned softly.

  I felt a pull and a desire that was tempting to explore. But I didn’t dare. In knowing that we had an expiration date, I had the control. I believed in short term happiness and valuing relationships in the here and now. I could say definitively after my parents’ death that there was no such thing as a truly happy ending. If I started to believe there could be, I wasn’t sure I’d survive the fall out when there wasn’t. “Yes, I’m sure about going to school. Now it’s your turn. Spill it, Singer. Tell me a secret that I don’t know.”

  “I think my secret would be lame.”

  “So you had one you were going to tell me, but now you aren’t sure?”

  He nodded and then relented when I gave him a pointed look. “All right, my secret is that I didn’t deal well with you traveling out here without me. It put me in a weird place, and I couldn’t get on the plane fast enough to join you again.”

  “Weird like how?” I questioned, wishing he would express some of his feelings.

  “Just like I was being left out. I was worried about you being here by yourself, and I didn’t like it.”

  I wanted to press him on that thought, but realized he was already half asleep. “I’m glad you came out here,” I whispered.

  ***

  I awoke to hear Josh’s voice in the other room talking to someone. Listening closer, I realized he was on the phone. I looked at the nightstand and saw a glass of water and Tylenol, which made me smile. He was so thoughtful sometimes.

  I quickly took the pills and slipped into the shower, happy that I had brought a change of clothes since it would make it easier to go back to my own hotel room this morning.

  “Good morning,” he greeted, kissing me as I came into the living room where he was working.

  “Good morning. Do you need any help?”

  “If you don’t mind. I know it’s Saturday morning.”

  “Of course I don’t mind. You’re in luck that I have my laptop as I used the bag to bring some things.” I took it out after putting away my dress and other things. “You know, I saw cinnamon rolls downstairs and Starbucks. I think I’m going to skip down first and get a chai tea and a cinnamon roll. Do you want one?”

  “Cinnamon roll yes, and make mine a large coffee, please.” He kissed me again.

  “I’ll be back.” I smiled all the way downstairs.

  There was quite a line at Starbucks, but I didn’t mind. I took myself upstairs, drinks and cinnamon rolls in hand, and knocked lightly since I had left my keycard and phone in the room. I was shocked to see a man other than Josh answer the door.

  “Um, hello.” I looked back at the room number to confirm I hadn’t made a mistake, but he ushered me in with a large smile which looked familiar. This had to be Josh’s younger brother, Colby.

  “Hello to you.” He took the tray of drinks and box of cinnamon rolls out of my hands setting them on the table.

  “Ah, Haylee, this is my brother, Colby. Colby, this is Haylee.”

  “Well, hello, Haylee.” Before I knew it, Colby was on me, his lips descending to k
iss me soundly while his hands gripped my ass.

  I was in such shock that it took a full second to register what he was doing. I tasted the alcohol on Colby’s breath. Meanwhile, I heard Josh curse and then felt him pull his brother off of me.

  “God dammit, Colby. Haylee is my assistant.”

  “Oh, shit. Wait. What?” Colby sputtered. He looked towards me as if he couldn’t believe it. “Sorry about that. I thought you were the stripper for the evening. My birthday present. I had a few on the plane and just wasn’t thinking.”

  I looked at Josh’s face, which was a mixture of angry and apologetic. Then I glanced toward Colby, who shrugged it off. Before I could control it, my hand flew. Right. Across. His. Face. I don’t know who was more stunned: Colby, Josh, or me.

  “What in the hell was that for?” Colby asked, holding his cheek.

  “For accosting me,” I defended.

  He looked contrite. “But I told you, I thought you were the stripper.”

  “I don’t care who you thought I was, or if I was in fact the stripper. You don’t just go up to any woman and shove your tongue down her throat and grab her ass. You don’t know me, you’ve never met me, and my profession should have no bearing on how you treat me. Jesus.” I held my hand as it began to throb.

  “Holy shit, I think I’m in love,” Colby declared, looking at Josh, who was now shaking his head at his younger brother and eyeing me warily.

  “Your brother needs therapy,” I quipped.

  “Clearly he does,” Josh replied dryly.

  Rolling my eyes, I walked over to where my laptop was sitting, thankful I had put away my clothes and toiletries so he couldn’t see that I had spent the night.

  Colby crossed over to the ice bucket, and I felt a sliver of sympathy as he pulled out some cubes and put them into a wash cloth. His face sported a bright red spot.

  He walked towards me and handed over the washcloth. “Here, take this for your hand.”

  “I think you may need it for your face,” I remarked.

  He gave me a grin, showing off dimples that I’m sure had all of the girls clamoring. “Oh, it hurts, but I deserved it. Your hand did not.”

  I took the ice pack gratefully.

  “Well, aside from hitting horribly misbehaved younger brothers, what do you do for my older brother? I mean, he has Nigel.”

  I willed myself not to look at Josh and was glad when he didn’t intervene. “Nigel is going through some personal things and isn’t able to travel. I’m helping Mr. Singer in the short term.”

  He looked towards Josh and then back at me. “So seriously, this is professional?”

  Josh held up his hands, evidently exasperated with his younger sibling. “Colby, I’m about to kick you out. Could you please act like a grown, mature man? Haylee is my assistant. Coincidently she was in town for the Cassius Rum party last night and is staying at Caesars. I flew in this morning and she and I were attending to the Gibson acquisition before you accosted her.”

  “Wait a second. You’re the girl who did the modeling for Katrina Tross?”

  “I am.”

  “And the cover for Cosmo?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you’ll be in town tonight?”

  I nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

  “Fantastic. You can come to my birthday party.”

  Before I could object, Josh was doing it for me. “Colby, your party isn’t something Haylee would want to come to. She’s got other plans.”

  Colby focused his attention on me. “It’s my birthday today, and I really, truly want you to stop by. I mean, come on, you and I could have a connection, and someday it will all come back to how you slapped me when I mistook you for a hooker and then invited you to my thirtieth birthday party in Vegas.”

  I shook my head and laughed.

  “Come on, I like you, Haylee. Please come tonight, just for a short time. You don’t have to stay and I’m the one inviting you, not my brother.”

  That fact wasn’t lost on me and although I knew Josh might be irritated I agreed anyhow. “All right, I’ll stop by for a few minutes. And I’m sorry for slapping you on your birthday, but you did deserve it. I brought extra cinnamon rolls if you’d like one.”

  He smiled and opened the box.

  Josh gave me an annoyed look as I sat down to log into my laptop with my tea and breakfast on a side table nearby.

  Colby took a seat eating his cinnamon roll on a nearby chair. “So, Haylee, tell me about my brother. Is he still a stick in the mud?”

  I arched a brow. “Considering you thought he got you a hooker first thing on Saturday morning for your birthday, I’m hard pressed to believe you actually think that.”

  “Well, Vegas is a different story.” He winked. “But back in New York, what’s he like?”

  “Professional, hardworking.”

  “See? Boring,” he teased, looking bored himself.

  “Haylee, can you email me the Gibson spreadsheet?” Josh interjected.

  What the hell was that? Oh right, the Gibson acquisition. “Yes, of course.” I emailed a fake document.

  “Great, thanks. I think I’m going to make my notes and send them back to you if you don’t mind making the changes later today?”

  Was I being dismissed? “Uh, no, of course not.”

  “How long are you going to make her work on a Saturday in Vegas?” Colby inquired.

  Josh looked a little uncomfortable but glared at his brother. “It won’t take long.”

  “So, Haylee, what are you up to today after you finish your work? I could show you around Vegas.”

  “I appreciate it, Colby, but I already have some plans.”

  “Great. Maybe I could tag along. What are you doing?”

  “Well, I’m doing M&M World and then Coke World. Then I want to see the inside of the Paris and ride the gondola at the Venetian. After that maybe I’ll go up in the Stratosphere.” I purposefully chose the touristiest things available, but he was obviously onto me.

  “I feel like you may be trying to dissuade me from coming,” he chuckled.

  “Actually, those are the types of cheesy things I’d like to do. We’ll see if I have time or not for all of it.” I finished up the rest of my breakfast and looked towards Josh. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” he offered as I grabbed my computer bag.

  We walked to the front door. “Sorry. He came in much earlier than expected. I tried texting you,” Josh whispered.

  I smiled tightly. “My phone was in my bag. It’s all right. I’ll see you tonight I guess. Although I don’t know where I’m going.”

  “I’ll make sure you get an invitation.”

  “Is it going to make you uncomfortable if I go tonight?” I already knew the honest answer to that question. After Josh hadn’t invited me home for Christmas I’d convinced myself it was for the best. The thought of being accepted into a family and being part of their lives only to have it torn away in a few months was worth avoiding.

  “No, it’s fine.” His voice was unconvincing at best.

  “It’s all right. I won’t stay long. See ya later.”

  ***

  I spent the day exploring the Strip and did end up in M&M World. There I requested Josh to send me an embarrassing photo of Colby and a short time later left with my birthday gift in hand. Silly, but appropriate. I was about to go back to my room when I got a text from Josh.

  “Moved you to a room in my hotel. See the front desk and they will give you your key. Henry is waiting outside your hotel when you’re ready.”

  After gathering up my stuff, I checked out and then found Henry curbside. Once I arrived at Josh’s hotel, I was treated like a VIP and given a lovely junior suite.

  When I entered my room, I immediately noticed the large box on the bed with a bow. My interest piqued, I opened the gift and smiled at the glitzy silver, shimmery dress. Wow, Josh had gone all out, I thought, when I noticed that underneath there
were Jimmy Choo strappy shoes to match. At the bottom was an invitation to the party. The dress was hot, and I couldn’t wait for his reaction. Maybe he was looking forward to seeing me at the party after all.

  ***

  I purposefully went late to the party as my intention was to drop in and then leave. Josh didn’t need me honing in on his plans, and I didn’t need Colby observing me with his brother, either. I took a deep breath and gave my invite to the large man at the door. The dress fit me beautifully, and with my outrageously overpriced, gorgeous shoes, I felt sexy.

  When I entered I was immediately offered a glass of champagne and noticed the club was already filled with beautiful people. It was a good thing I had the dress as it was all glitz and glamour. My eyes scanned the crowd while I sipped. I smiled when Brian came up to me.

  “Haylee, I didn’t know you’d be here.” He kissed both cheeks as I smiled awkwardly.

  “I was here last night for the Cassius Rum event and then met Colby this morning. He pretty much insisted I stop by.”

  “Ha, so you met the little brother. What did you think?”

  “I think he makes you look like a wallflower. He is a lot to take in.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “That is a very fair assessment, but I will tell you he’s a pretty decent guy down deep.”

  As if on cue, Colby found us. “Haylee, God damn girl, you look hot.”

  “Way down deep,” Brian quipped, completely amused.

  I saw Josh approaching, his expression carefully masked.

  “So, Haylee, how was your touring of Vegas and the kitschy places?” Colby inquired as Josh came up to hear the conversation.

  “Good. Here, this is for you. Happy Birthday.” I handed him the small gift bag, and he looked intrigued.

  “Hi, Haylee,” Josh said, taking in my dress as I gave my best you’re only my boss smile.

  “Hi, Josh.”

  We all three watched as Colby opened the box.

  “M&Ms?” he asked as I hid a smile.

  “Open them and take a look. I can’t take all the credit, your brother helped.”

  He did so and then howled with laughter. “Holy shit, personalized embarrassing childhood photo M&Ms. These are classic. You really went to M&M World?” he questioned, eating a few and grinning like a teenager.