by Shaw, Robin
“You got a minute?” he asked me.
“Yeah, let’s talk down the block so the girls don’t see us.”
Jake walked in time with me and we stopped when we reached the middle of the block.
I shot him an expectant look.
Arms crossed, he peered at me. All of that pretty-boy demeanor was gone, and in its place was his hardened gaze. “Beth’s one of my sisters,” he started. “Are you with her to hit it and bounce, or are you serious about her?”
“What do you think?”
Jake’s nostrils flared, but I really didn’t care. He’d been grilling me all fucking night. “I think you better answer…my question.”
“I’d better?” I huffed and let out a bitter laugh.
***
Bethany
Once guys started to get in between us, we left the dance floor and went to the bar to get some drinks. Joel had told me Chase was talking to Pierce outside after I’d asked him. And I didn’t think much of it until Pierce had called him. I glanced around and Jake was gone. I strolled out of La Floridita. Chase and Jake were talking in the middle of the sidewalk. I knew that I was the topic at hand.
“Guys,” I said when I was in front of them and I linked my arms with theirs, “let’s go inside. Pierce will be here any minute.”
Even though they displayed some reluctance, they complied and I blew out a sigh of relief. Jake understood that I didn’t want him to give Chase a hard time. As my gaze shifted between both of them, I couldn’t tell if they had been on the verge of arguing of if they’d sorted out any possible differences.
Gavin raised a thick brow in question and I let him know that everything was okay. This was his job. I’d be furious with Chase and Jake if they got into an altercation here. It would reflect badly on Gavin, so I understood that he was concerned as our friend and, most importantly, as an employee.
Mariska scowled at Jake when we were back at the bar. Jake, however, gave her a quick half-hug and drank some of the beer he’d ordered, while Brianna and Millie talked.
I tightened Chase’s arms around my midriff and swung my gaze to him. “What happened?” I asked him in a barely audible voice.
He skimmed the pad of his finger at the nape of my neck. “He’s looking out for his sister,” he replied, and it made my heart swell for Jake. I knew he didn’t want me to be like Cindy. He’d said that Cindy may have been an innocent, love-struck dummy in the past.
“Hey,” Pierce said to all of us.
We all said hello to him when Jake and he stared at each other.
Pierce brought his hand to his chin and then snapped his fingers. “Did you come for the campus tour I did with Nathalie, one of our admissions counselor?”
“Yup, last fall,” Jake said. “I knew you looked familiar.”
“Are you coming to UM?”
“We both are.” Jake made a gesture between he and Mariska.
Pierce stood next to them and they started asking him the same questions they’d asked me about my first year of college.
An hour later, the big booth had finally been vacated and all of us sat down. Gavin had stopped by during his bathroom break. I’d had half of my second wine cooler.
Brianna stopped laughing with Mariska when Derek and that girl he’d brought here and to the Paloma bar gave her a fake wave as if they were her friends. And since there was only one stool left, Derek sat on it and the girl parked herself on his lap with her legs wound around him. They kissed for minutes. Even if Brianna directed her gaze somewhere else, it was impossible not to notice them. Derek had his shirt unbuttoned lower this time, revealing abnormal-looking muscles saturated in baby oil.
“Is that your ex…Derek?” Joel asked Brianna.
Brianna swigged her piña colada and nodded. I think she was too choked up to say anything.
“He bulked up and now he thinks he’s Rocky,” Pierce said. “You wanna leave, say the word. We can go to my penthouse.”
“It’s fine,” Brianna said. “I am not leaving because of him. We were here first.” Her tone was strong, but the hurt was written all over her face.
Jake braced his arm about her. “Okay, but you can change your mind anytime. It’s understandable that you don’t wanna be subjected to that.”
When Derek and his date weren’t sucking each other’s faces anymore, Millie served them their drinks. In a matter of minutes, Derek stared at our table, and his date didn’t seem to like it one bit. When I looked back at Brianna, she was kissing Jake. Giggling, Mariska shielded the side of her face with her hand and Joel’s eyes danced with rapture as he took in this make-out session. Were Chase and I that bad around our friends? My brother was kissing my friend. Jake had kissed and slept with many girls because he could. Brianna was more than just another girl. And as much as I loved Jake, he didn’t deserve her. Although I was worried about Brianna possibly being clingy with Jake, I couldn’t prevent this from playing out however it was going to.
***
Chase
Me: Come inside. Bri’s ex looks like he’s about to start something.
Gavin: On it.
“At least this phone isn’t giving me problems with sending texts. I couldn’t hear you when you called,” I told Pierce.
“I didn’t call you.” He furrowed his brow. “I called Joel.”
I lifted my eyes from my phone and saw Bri’s ex on his way to our table. We shot up and blocked him from moving past us, but he was still running his mouth. Jake and Joel were standing by the table. The girls looked very annoyed with this guy, but they didn’t look scared at all.
“After all I’ve done for you?” Derek shouted “Waited for you to—”
“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you,” Pierce said.
Wayne, the other full-time bodyguard, restrained the girl this guy was with after she attempted to throw an empty bottle at him. Gavin placed his hands on the dude’s shoulders. Pierce and I followed as Gavin escorted him out of La Floridita. The patrons continued to drink, dance, and watch the TV mounted on the corner of the wall across from the bar.
“Get your fucking hands off me,” the guy shouted. Gavin pinned him with a steely stare that made him bite back whatever else he was going to say. Wayne held the door open from a Miami cab company they utilized when their customers needed it. Giving the guy the finger, the girl got inside and slammed the door shut.
“Listen carefully, Derek,” Gavin said. “You’ve been coming to Bri’s job, where she hangs out, and asking around about her.” He pressed his palms deeper into Derek’s shoulder, so that his upper body was immobile. “Now, I am starting to think that I need to call Detective Abrams. See what he thinks about his son creeping on his ex.”
“I am no damn stalker,” Derek bristled.
“Could’ve fooled me,” Pierce said. “You sure been acting like one.”
After a beat, Derek said, “Please don’t tell my dad that—”
“Then don’t come to Paloma’s Edge anymore,” Gavin interrupted. “Don’t bother my sister or ask about her, either. Understand?” Derek’s Adam’s apple bobbled and his eyes drifted to his boots as he shook his head yes. “Because if there’s a next time you try to make my sister miserable, I don’t give a fuck. You won’t see it comin’; I’ll fuck with your life from every angle, you’d wish you’d gone after some other girl from the get-go.”
“His cab’s here,” Wayne shouted out to us.
Gavin shot Derek a look. “Perfect timing. Derek was just telling me that he’s gonna call it a night.”
Pierce and I stood at the front of La Florida with Wayne. Gavin said something else to Derek that made him look like he was about to vomit.
***
Beth was at the back of my car with Bri. After the cab had driven Derek away from us, we assured everyone that Derek wouldn’t be here again. Jake and Mariska had offered to drive Bri back home, but she’d declined. Pierce stayed at La Floridita.
“Did Jake ask to sleep with you?” Bet
h asked Bri.
“No,” she replied.
That was a point in Jake’s favor, because Joel had likely told Gavin about their kissing. Despite Gavin knowing that Bri was her own woman and could do as she pleased, he saw her as his kid sister. It was like he took her happiness and sadness as his own so much that it concerned Pierce and I. Tonight, Pierce had watched if Beth was having a good time and how I’d treated her, but not to the degree that Gavin would have had he been with us. Gavin had had fun with a girl at one of Pierce’s parties in his penthouse on his night off months ago, but other than that, it was like his life came second to Bri’s. And there was no sign that he had an issue with that. I know that she wanted him to do whatever he wanted and not feel compelled to put her first, but he appeared I don’t know how she’d do without his constant presence in her life.
“Whose idea was it to kiss?” Beth queried.
“Jake’s.”
Grinning, Beth made a sound that showed she wasn’t surprised.
“Mariska handed me a napkin because I was crying a little,” Bri explained, ducking her head from my view and dropping her voice. “I didn’t noticed until small tears trickled down my neck. Jake said that he’d show that asshole how it’s done, and I knew he was asking me if I wanted him to kiss me. I am not stupid.” She laughed a little. “And I don’t remember if I turned my face to kiss him first or if he did, but he can kiss. And it was uncomplicated.”
After we arrived at the house, Bri, Beth, and Mariska were in Bri’s house. I showered and got into my t-shirt and shorts. When I reached the kitchen, Jake was at the kitchen table with a can of ice-cold beer in his hand. He hadn’t had any alcohol when we were at La Floridita.
“What’s up?” I asked him as I opened the fridge and took out the pitcher of ice tea.
“I bought a six-pack. Have one if you want.”
I put the pitcher back in the refrigerator and took a can of beer.
I took the seat across from him, flipped the top up of the can open, and took a long pull. We’d looked at each other once when I’d been ready to stare him down if I had to.
“Thanks for the beer.”
Jake raised his head to me. Beth, Bri, and Mariska came down the stairs in brightly colored pajamas. I sometimes forgot that Beth liked to do girly things like paint her nails bright colors, even though I’d always noticed when she’d changed colors like she had tonight. Concern flitted across Beth and Mariska’s faces. Bri diverted her gaze as she slipped in between them and entered the living room.
The corners of Jake’s mouth twitched. “We were just having a beer,” Jake said.
Beth didn’t look at me for confirmation. She walked down the remaining steps and Jake stood up. By the time I pivoted around to throw away my empty can of beer in the recycling bin, Mariska was behind me.
She hugged me as if she’d done it before and I patted her on the back. “Night, Chase,” she said, and headed to Jake.
“Have a good sleep, Mariska.”
Beth tugged my t-shirt, pulling me down to her. “Bri and I are gonna spend the night. I mean, the morning with Jake and Mariska. You can sleep down here with us.”
I cupped her neck. “Have your sleepover with your friends,” I told her, because I intended to sleep with her for most of her nights.
***
Bethany
“You did get their autographs!” Mariska swayed me back and forth in her embrace. “Love you,” she whispered.
“Love you more.” I’d told Jake and Mariska that Brianna and I had been unable to get their autographs.
Jake came up to me and I gave him his bookmarks from the band and one with only Sage’s signature on it. With the bookmark in his hand, he wrapped his arms around me. “We’ll try to come by again if we can,” he said. I gave him a light kiss on his jaw and he turned to pick up his duffel bag.
“You’re welcome back anytime,” Gavin said, and bumped fists with Jake.
As Jake got into his car, he and Chase acknowledged each other with brisk nods. Jake winked at Brianna. They’d had said their “see you laters” enough times after we’d all fallen asleep late in the morning while we’d talked for hours on end.
***
Toward the end of work on Wednesday, I glanced at my phone and had received a new message from Chase. He’d sent me a good morning text. We’d had days when we texted nonstop, and others when we’d been too busy to text.
Chase: I am minutes away from seeing your beautiful face.
Feeling the same excitement as the first moment I’d laid eyes on Chase, I locked my phone and put it in my satchel. I’d told Brianna that I’d be leaving with Chase today. Brianna had picked me up the past three days and had driven me home also, except for this evening. Derek hadn’t come back to the Paloma bar or to La Floridita. Whatever the guys had told Derek must’ve really gotten to him.
I logged off my profile on the HR database and Mrs. Clark was at my cubicle when I pushed my chair underneath my desk.
“Your uncle would like to see you before you leave for the day,” she said.
***
The hallway wasn’t bustling with energy like it’d been when I had my first day here. Nervous, my stomach quivered and my hands dampened.
“Bethany,” Uncle Anton said as I entered his office. I closed the door behind me.
“Hi, Uncle Anton.” I pulled in a deep breath to steady my nerves. He didn’t appear happy to see me like he had when I’d been in this exact spot before.
“Debbie and I wished we’d all been able to get together more often.” He swallowed. “But we’re trying to help Cassidy with her pathological lying.” He settled his elbow on the table and pinched his forehead in frustration. “It’s difficult for me to believe that my little girl is a liar and hasn’t stopped lying since she was little.” He shrugged. “I just thought she’d grow out of it.” He was silent for a few minutes, but I maintained eye contact with him. “I know I’ve been preoccupied, but I don’t want you to feel like we’re not as happy to have you with us as we were when you’d accepted our invitation. Your”—he made a circular motion with his hands—“relationship with Chase worries me. I guess that scar he has gives him an edge, and he can be courteous—”
“Chase is courteous,” I interrupted in a level tone. He was my uncle, but I couldn’t allow him to make unflattering assumptions about Chase or his face. “And he respects me.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. But I don’t think he’s the guy for you. Cindy used to be with guys who looked like Chase—”
I folded my arms, shooting him a pointed look as I cut him off again. “I don’t think so.”
“They weren’t the spitting image of Chase, but they had the same MO: misunderstood, magnet for women, and very guarded. Any of that ring a bell?”
“If you think so highly of him, why’d you hire him? Have him in your house?”
“In fact, I do think highly of Chase. And he’s a suitable friend for Pierce. I wouldn’t have had him my house, much less employ the boy—”
“Then why haven’t you apologized to him yet? He won’t admit it, but he’s very hurt.”
He threw his hands up. “I have that on my agenda,” he answered dismissively. “Clearly, I’ve got my own messes to clean up, but there are some decisions that can’t be rectified. Chase may be one of those decisions.”
***
“Why’d you look like you were gonna snap someone’s neck?” Chased asked me after I’d finished an entire bottle of water.
“Uncle Anton doesn’t think that we should date.”
Chase chuckled. “Babe, does that really surprise you?”
His mood didn’t change at all. “After learning about Cassidy, it kinda does.”
“Your uncle’s impression of me is his issue. He won’t change overnight or even at all, and he isn’t a bad person because he doesn’t think I am the right guy for you.”
I drew my eyebrows together. “No, he’s not a bad person. ” Chase’s effort to be ob
jective made me feel something stronger for him than I already had. I eyed the sign and realized that we were exiting Paloma’s Edge.
“Where are we going?”
“We’ll be there soon.”
“I don’t like surprises.”
“Think of it as we’re having you-and-me time. Away from all the noise—good and bad.”
***
Chase
“Babe, do you like it?”
Beth pivoted and jumped on me. Her heels fell off as I carried her and walked around the suite.
“Chase,” she breathed. “How’d you book this suite? It’s like an all white and gold palace in here.” Her gaze bored into mine. The doors to the balcony were open and I gripped my hands on her ass as we neared the ledge. We looked at the buildings and lights of downtown Miami. The breeze wasn’t as cool as Paloma’s Edge, but it still felt nice.
“Joel hooked me up with a huge discount here. His uncle comes here often and gets discounts for friends and family. Joel said that he wastes all the discounts he gets ’cause he doesn’t come here. The Paloma is just as beautiful as it is here, but too many would see us check in.”
“Yes, they would. ” She sighed with a smile. “Joel can be a sweetheart when he wants to be, but he doesn’t want anyone to know.”
A corner of my mouth lifted up. “’Cause no guy wants to be called sweetheart.” I gave a small laugh. There was a knock on the door and I ran to get it.
“Room service,” the bellman announced, and I opened the door as he brought our dinner to the table on the opposite side of the room.
“May I further assist you?” he asked me.
“No, thank you.” I gave him his tip and he closed the door.
Beth peered at me suspiciously. “And when did you order dinner?”