Taking What's Theirs (Siren Publishing LoveEdge)

by Kalissa Alexander

  Chapter Seven

  Abby used her room key and opened the door quietly. She wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake and hoped the girls were sleeping soundly. To her relief, they were. She didn’t see Jessica. She checked the adjoining room, but Jessica wasn’t in there either. She did a headcount. Someone else was missing, too.

  She grabbed her bathing suit and jeans along with a blouse from her suitcase and went into the bathroom to change. She put her hair back in a ponytail and applied some makeup. Rod had seen her without any and he still wanted to see her again. She had that going for her, she thought with a smile. Could she really not see him again? Just thinking about him had her wanting him again like crazy. He had released years of pent-up sexual frustration. Would having sex with him and his brothers be the equivalent of him times three? She had a feeling it would be and that made her breath catch and her whole body tingle. One night with him and she was actually considering his proposition.

  However, the reality of being with three men went beyond her normal fantasies into something she knew was taboo, and that in itself should be enough to make her run for the hills. She felt herself blush thinking about how Rod had spanked her and made her enjoy it. Even sore, she had come over and over again. He made her to want to throw caution to the wind.

  He had given her a deadline of midnight to decide if she would be willing to submit to him and his brothers. Splashing some cold water on her face, she took a deep breath. When she ventured back into the room, Jessica was walking through the hotel door looking worn out and exhausted.

  Jessica saw her and smiled. “I hope your night was as good as mine,” she whispered before she pulled her vest apart to reveal her braless breasts. Next went the shorts and her red thong. She didn’t appear to care that she was naked. She walked past Abby into the bathroom, not even bothering to close the door. Abby closed it for her.

  When she came out, she said without even looking at her, “I have to sleep. Don’t wake me. I’ll get up later.” She proceeded to crawl into an empty bed and curled up. Abby knew her friend was really out of it. She went over to the bed and pulled up the sheet to cover her. She was already asleep.

  Chrissie was starting to move around and mumbled something before the hotel door opened again and this time it was Joanne who slipped in looking guilty. She closed the door quietly behind her. She looked worse for wear than Jessica. She obviously hadn’t gotten much sleep either.

  “Where the fuck were the two of you?” Chrissie asked, sitting upright in the bed, looking first at Joanne and then Abby.

  “I was with a hunky guy,” Joanne said and then giggled. “You want the details?”

  “Hell yes,” Chrissie said. “But first I have to pee.”

  They watched Chrissie run to the bathroom and slam the door.

  “Were you out all night, too?” Joanne asked Abby.

  “Yup.”

  “I’m sore,” Joanne said. “The guy I was with was really hung.”

  “Are you going to see him again?”

  “I doubt it. He’s leaving today. I’m kinda glad. I can’t get serious with a guy when I already have a boyfriend. How about you? You going to see that gorgeous man I saw you with again?”

  “I might see him again tonight. I haven’t decided.”

  “You don’t have a boyfriend to worry about. You should.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “This is my third bachelorette party. The first one was a dud. But the last one and this one…ummm…it’s like being outside of yourself. Michael would fucking kill me if he ever found out.”

  “Michael’s your boyfriend?”

  “I plan on marrying him. But for now, I’m still free. When we get married, I’ll be a good wife. But until then…” she said, letting her sentence drop.

  “I’m sure you will,” Abby said, wondering if that were really true. She couldn’t imagine having a boyfriend and sleeping around. But she wasn’t here to judge. She had her own secrets. Maybe a really big secret if she did what Rod wanted.

  Chrissie came waltzing out of the bathroom. “Okay, so he was really hung. How many times did he fuck you?”

  “Three times in the pussy and then I blew him while he did the same for me. He was pretty good at it.”

  “Better than Michael?” Chrissie asked with interest.

  “Different. Not all orgasms are created equal.” She laughed.

  “That’s cool. I keep thinking I want to do it with someone else before I get married, too.”

  “You did at Pam’s bachelorette party.”

  “I know, but that was over a year ago and I’ve just been with Joe since then. I’m just thinking about it.”

  “Well, now’s your time,” Joanne said. “I mean after this, you’re going to be married.”

  “I know and I want that. I love Joe. But I’ll never get a chance like this again.”

  “I know you do,” Joanne said. “It’s all just for fun. He will never know.”

  “We’ll see about tonight and then tomorrow night. If it feels right, I will.”

  Abby sat down on the bed, careful not to wake Jessica. Although by the sounds of her snores it would take a bomb to go off to do that. She was a bit shocked by Joanne’s and Chrissie’s attitude about being committed to one man and then having casual sex with another man. However, she reminded herself, it wasn’t her place to judge.

  Chrissie looked over at Abby. “Okay, it’s your turn. Now tell us about your night. I saw the guy you were with leading you up the staircase to the second floor of the club. He was so fucking hot. If he had come onto me, I would have fucked him. I know I would have.”

  “He’s hot,” Abby conceded. “Very hot.”

  “Did he take your ass?”

  “What?”

  “Come on. Did he take your ass? Joe loves fucking me up the ass.”

  “Just the regular way,” she lied. She didn’t want to tell them about her night with Rod. It was special. She didn’t want to make a joke out of it. She wanted to keep it close to her heart. And she knew for sure that if she did go back to his room tonight, she wasn’t going to tell anyone about that either.

  “How many times?” Jessica asked.

  “Three.” They would believe that.

  “Cool. You must be sore too.” Joanne laughed. “I have to get out of these clothes. I need to sleep. Do you mind doing breakfast without me?”

  “No problem,” Chrissie said. She looked over at Jessica. “What about her?”

  “She was out all night, too,” Abby said. “She asked to be left alone. She’s not going to wake up for a while.”

  “You seem pretty awake,” Chrissie said.

  “I slept. I’m fine.”

  Chrissie stretched. “I’m not so sure I would have slept with that stud next to me.”

  Abby just smiled but didn’t respond.

  Chrissie looked toward the other room through the connecting door. “I can hear the other girls. They must be waking up. I’ll tell them to meet us at the buffet on the first floor. I need coffee. It will only take me a minute to throw on some clothes.

  * * * *

  Chrissie asked for a large booth. When they were seated, they ordered coffees. Within a half hour Katie, Melissa, Tish, and Sarah joined them. Abby didn’t know them very well since they were Chrissie’s friends and therefore older, like Joanne. Jessica had met Chrissie through her and Chrissie had liked her immediately. Everyone liked Jessica.

  Chrissie’s friends all seemed nice enough, but she felt slightly excluded since they talked mostly about themselves and things that she couldn’t discuss since she never hung out with them. After breakfast Chrissie decided they would spend the day on the beach. It was sunny and warm. Abby was in favor of that idea. The ocean had a calming effect on her and she hoped it would give her the time she needed to come to a decision, although in her heart she knew what she wanted to do.

  They went back up to the room to find both Jessica and Joanne still comatose. They le
ft them and went down to the beach where they rented a cabana along with some chairs. Abby liked the cabana since she had a tendency to burn. Chrissie wanted to be in the sun even though she was every bit as pale as Abby. Abby warned her, but Chrissie, as usual, didn’t listen and did what she wanted.

  “I just need a little color,” Chrissie said, untying the straps of her bikini top. “I hate being so pale.”

  The other girls hovered around Chrissie and continued talking about things that excluded Abby from the conversation. She didn’t think they were being deliberately rude, but all the same, she felt left out.

  Retreating to the cabana, she laid down in a lounge chair and pulled out her iPod from her bag and stuck the earbuds in her ears. She closed her eyes and drifted off into semi-consciousness listening to the rich voice of Adele.

  Rod’s face swam before her. He was so handsome. He reminded her of Jamie. Both were tall, dark, devastatingly good looking, and knew exactly what to do to turn her on. The other guys she had dated had been good looking and dark, but they had never given her butterflies in her stomach. She had wanted to feel more, but it just hadn’t happened. She sighed. If one of them had been able to make her feel the way Jamie and then Rod had, she might already be married, or at least engaged.

  All she could think about was Rod and his brothers. Would she ever find anyone who could make her feel the way he had? She knew it wasn’t something she could just will to happen. The feelings were there or they weren’t. Another song came on, and this time it was Adam Lambert’s version of “Mad World.” She couldn’t help but smile. Very appropriate.

  At some point, she fell asleep. She woke up when she heard the girls coming into the cabana.

  “Holy shit, Chrissie,” Tish said, her voice high pitched. “You’re burned. I mean really burned. Didn’t you feel it happening?”

  “I fell asleep,” Chrissie murmured, looking down at her chest and her arms.

  “Your face is beet red,” Katie said, her voice full of concern.

  “Fuck. Just what I need. I should have stayed inside with Abby.”

  Abby sat up. Chrissie’s pale skin glowed it was so red. “We need to get something for that. If you want, I’ll go to the store and get some cream.”

  “Could you, Abby? Thanks.” Chrissie carefully pulled her lightweight cover up gently down over her head. “I’m going back to the room. Bring it there.”

  “Of course.”

  She and the other girls started gathering up their things.

  Abby found a drug store on the boardwalk and asked the pharmacist on duty what would be the best thing to use for sunburn. He suggested a couple over-the-counter remedies. She bought them both and went up to the room.

  Chrissie was sitting on the bed. “Thank God you’re here.”

  “You should take off your top,” Katie suggested.

  Chrissie did, letting it drop on the bed. Abby saw the burn line and almost blanched. It was worse than she had thought. She handed the cream to Katie and Sarah who began to gently rub the cream onto Chrissie’s red skin.

  Chrissie shivered. “It’s so cold, but it feels good.”

  “Just relax,” Sarah said. “We may have to do this a few times.”

  Chrissie nodded.

  Abby could see the tears in Chrissie’s eyes that she was fighting. She went over and pulled a chair toward the bed. “It will be okay, Chrissie. I’m so sorry this happened.”

  “It’s my own damn fault,” she said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I knew better. I just thought a little color would make me look healthier. I’m not like you. Your pale skin really becomes you.”

  That might be the first compliment she had ever received from her cousin. She felt bad for Chrissie. This could ruin her weekend.

  “Look, I’m going to go back downstairs and get some sandwiches and drinks. I think everyone must be hungry. Maybe you’ll feel better if you eat.”

  Sarah smiled. “That’s nice of you, Abby. I know I’m hungry.”

  Chrissie agreed. “That is nice of you. Thanks a lot.” She then began to cry in earnest. “It really hurts and I’ve ruined everything.”

  “You haven’t ruined anything,” Katie said, squirting some more lotion into the palms of her hands that she began rubbing on Chrissie’s legs.

  Abby left them and went down to the casino floor where there were a few takeout places. She ordered a variety of sandwiches and Diet Cokes. She put them on her credit card, glad to be able to do something to help.

  The restaurant manager had a young girl with a cart help her to the room. She was grateful, since she didn’t want to make more than one trip. She tipped the girl who smiled broadly when she saw the size of the bill in her hand.

  Chrissie was hungry and she did at least eat, even though it was clear that she was in pain. She sat up in the bed, propped up by a couple pillows. She had taken one of the beds in the room next door so not to disturb Jessica and Joanne, who had hardly moved since they came into the room.

  After they ate, they all took a nap. The sea air and lack of sleep made it easy for Abby to close her eyes. When she woke up the room was getting dark and she was alone. How long had she slept? She could hear a TV in the other room.

  Still realized she was still wearing her bathing suit under her cover-up. It wasn’t that comfortable. The bottoms had ridden up into her pussy and made her even more sore and, she had to admit, horny.

  She walked into the connecting room, trying not to think about Rod. Jessica and Joanne were now awake and sitting up in the bed. Thankfully Jessica was wearing clothes. The other girls were surrounding Chrissie, who was sitting tentatively in a chair looking miserable.

  “Abby, you’re awake. You must have been more tired than you thought,” Sarah said with a smile.

  Abby nodded. It was amazing how buying the sun cream and sandwiches had made Sarah a lot friendlier towards her. The other girls smiled too.

  Jessica just gave her a smirk. “About time you woke up.”

  “I guess I was more tired than I thought,” she conceded.

  “I’m going home,” Chrissie told her, her eyes still red rimmed.

  “That’s exactly what you should do.” Abby felt sorry for her.

  “I can’t stay here. I need go. I’m in too much pain. I might have to see my doctor. I’m starting to bubble,” she said, showing Abby her shoulders.”

  It suddenly occurred to Abby that this meant she would have to leave too. The decision to see Rod and his brothers had been taken away from her. She first felt panic, then a wave of sadness before it was replaced by anger at her cousin for being so stupid. Now that she had been forced to acknowledge what she had known all along would be her decision, she couldn’t do it. Rod would think she hadn’t wanted to be with him and his brothers. She would never see him again. Her whole body suddenly ached.

  Jessica turned toward Abby with a look of complete defiance on her face. She had seen that look before. Jessica had no intention of allowing Chrissie to ruin her weekend. Yes, her cousin had been stupid, but she hadn’t done it on purpose, and it was her weekend after all. Abby shook her head slightly, with a frown that warned Jessica to rethink her position before she said something she would regret.

  Chapter Eight

  “We’re going to start packing up,” Sarah said. “It’s for the best.”

  “I agree,” said Tish. “She might really need medical attention. Maybe we should go to the emergency room at the hospital up the street.”

  “I think we should wait until we’re closer to home,” Katie said. “If she has to stay overnight, it would be best to be close to home. What about the rest of you?”

  Jessica sat on the bed silent not looking at anyone. Joanne looked at Abby.

  “We’re leaving too,” Abby said, daring Jessica to disagree. To say anything else would appear selfish and uncaring.

  “You don’t have to leave,” Chrissie said. “I don’t want to spoil your fun just because I did something stupid. I just need someo
ne to drive me home. And an emergency room is out of the question. I’m going to be fine.”

  “You don’t look fine, and don’t be silly,” Katie said. “We’re all going. This is your party and without you, what’s the fun of being here?”

  “She’s right,” Sarah said. “I’m going home with you. And that’s that.”

  “But the room is paid for through tomorrow night and I guess we could try and get a refund, but we’re past the cancellation. I think some of you should stay. Once I’m home there’s nothing you can do for me. And honestly, it would make me feel better if I thought I didn’t ruin everyone’s good time.”

  Joanne sighed. “I had my fun last night. Michael will be happy to have me back. I’m going to pack.”

  Jessica remained silent. She looked over at Abby, her expression unchanged.

  “Jessica. What about you?” Katie asked, not too pleasantly.

  “I did drive,” Jessica began. “I mean, if Abby would stay with me, I wouldn’t mind staying for at least tonight. But I don’t want you guys to think I’m a bitch for doing it. I know this weekend was for Chrissie. It’s just a shame to waste a perfectly good hotel room.”

  “Good,” Chrissie said with a sigh. “Someone who sees things clearly. I want you to stay, Jessica, and you too, Abby, and anyone else who wants to. Like you said, you drove, so getting home’s not a problem. You’re staying and that’s that.”

  Abby knew Chrissie was sincere, but it didn’t feel right as much as she wanted to stay. Sometimes doing the right thing wasn’t easy. “Staying when you’re going isn’t right.”

  “That’s just great. Put it all on me.” Jessica rolled her eyes. “Make me the bad guy.”

  “I’m not doing that,” Abby said quickly. “You know I’m right.”

  “The right thing is to stay. I don’t want your pity,” Chrissy said, with a look that reminded her of how domineering her cousin could be when she had her back up. “If you don’t stay, I’m going to be really angry. And I’m not going to mention any of this to your mother, so don’t worry about that.”