by Stella Rhys
I had no chance. Of course I fell in love with him.
I was a seventeen and I’d lost my relationship with my only parent – the woman I’d spent my entire life looking to in times of need. Riley wasn’t quite there anymore either. She was resentful of becoming our translator and avoided me to enjoy her last few years of high school. I couldn’t blame her. But it left me with nothing and no one for so long.
Until Liam walked into my life and refused to leave.
“You were such a miracle for me,” I whispered to him through tears. “You were the only person I could rely on, and I don’t think you know how much that means to someone who has no one to rely on. You grew up with A.J, with Max – all these surrogate brothers who would do anything for you, who you’d do anything for. You don’t think anything of what you did for me because it’s in your nature to be good. You are a good and incredible and beautiful person. So you don’t realize how much it meant. You made me feel like I deserved to be loved, and it sounds stupid but I didn’t remember what that felt like.”
“Sasha.” Liam pulled me onto him on the floor so that I straddled his lap. His voice was soft but firm as he spoke to me with my face in his hands. “Baby. You’re the single most important person in my life. There’s nothing I wouldn’t give to make sure you felt happy and safe every minute of the day because you deserve a good life more than anyone I know.” He pressed his smooth lips to mine. “I’m here to make you happy. Remember that, Sasha. That’s the reason I’m here.”
“Okay,” I breathed against his lips. “I’ll remember.”
“Please don’t cry anymore, baby.”
“They’re not sad tears.”
“I know. But when I see tears in your eyes, I lose my mind, Sash, you know that,” Liam laughed, pulling away to wipe my cheeks with his thumbs. I breathed in and out slowly and steadily as I gazed at him, silently counting all my blessings. Those lips of his that kissed away the pain. Those green eyes that read me like his favorite book. The strong hands that held me up no matter how weak I felt. Liam was my everything. He was the only reason I was still standing. I loved my sister. I’d always love my mom. They were my blood. But unexpectedly, I’d found my soul mate and true family in Liam.
“I love you,” I said softly, my fingers curling around his neck as he held me tight against him. “I don’t think I could live without you.”
He kissed the top of my head like he always did, filling me with that familiar warmth as he whispered, “You’re never going to have to.”
Chapter Seventeen
Aria groaned as she dragged her feet through the emptied Halloween aisles of yet another Ricky’s. She made a face as she flicked all the plastic bags of costumes that remained. “Sexy Bee. Sexy Nun. Sexy Cavewoman – this is bleak. Why did we decide to wait till the last minute?”
“‘Cause…” I thrust my hand in my hair. “God. I don’t know. So many things.” I had to laugh. I could barely keep track of all my little dramas anymore. Once upon a time – also known as a few weeks ago – Jenna Pettit was my big problem. But then came Ethan. Mom and Thanksgiving. Riley and Travis. Two unexpected conversations and suddenly, every demon I’d shut out for years was viciously fighting its ways back to the front of my head. The last thing I’d had time to think about was looking cute for Halloween. But now that it was three days away, the issue was becoming a little more pressing.
“I honestly wouldn’t mind taking a year off from being sexy and dressing up like a fucking pumpkin, but Liam had to make this a manwhore party,” Aria huffed. “Why does he have to make this thing so sexy, Sasha? Why?”
“You know the answer to that.”
Aria sighed. “Yeah, yeah.”
Liam’s famous Halloween party wasn’t just a party. It was a fundraiser for the most promising trainees at the gym. Admission went towards covering the costs of everything from their gear to transportation to cross-training – sometimes bringing specialists from other gyms, even countries, to prepare them for a specific opponent. It had been years since Liam himself competed, but he hadn’t lost his sense of competition. He wanted homegrown winners. True city talent. Opening his gym in Manhattan instead of the West Coast was a risk, but every year since its founding, Cage Kings was proving the MMA world wrong.
And the money raised through holiday parties was definitely a key factor. While the gym’s New Year’s Eve bash was popular, it was Halloween that drew the true crowd of girls willing to spend absurd amounts of money – and all because of the guys’ costumes.
Or lack thereof.
It was the one time of year that they all agreed to play up to their lusting fangirls, getting as close to naked as possible. With hordes of gorgeous women in attendance, barely dressed in hopes of catching the eye of a Cage King, the men of New York couldn’t argue the price of admission, which was a whopping hundred dollars a ticket – even more if they paid for VIP access. Every year, the gym made a killing off of Halloween. It was the only reason Liam agreed to keep wearing next to nothing on the night of.
“Do you know what they’re dressing up as this year? I tried to get it out of A.J but you know how they are with this stuff,” Aria said, winding a feather boa around her neck. “I don’t get why they keep their costumes such a secret. Girls are going to come regardless.”
“It’s probably just for hype purposes. It’s the same every year, anyway. They basically wear boxer briefs and some prop to indicate what the hell they’re supposed to be,” I laughed. Last year, it was a cowboy hat to go with leather boxers. Liam managed to get away with blue jeans, claiming that they’d met their skin quota thanks to A.J, who voluntarily went in a Speedo thong. “Hey, at least you know you can count on seeing A.J’s ass.”
“True. But that means more girls will be throwing themselves at him and that’s all the more pressure on me to look sexier than I’m even frickin’ capable of looking.”
“By the way, what happened Tuesday night? Did you guys finally…?” I trailed off, realizing I hadn’t spoken to Aria since her first official date with A.J. I’d been waiting for them to hook up for almost as long as she’d been waiting for me and Liam to, so under normal circumstances, I’d be hounding her for every detail of their night the second she got home. Maybe even during the date. The fact that I hadn’t spoke to how much of a clusterfuck my life had been in recent days. “Hello?” I tried to get Aria’s attention as she walked ahead to avoid me. “Aria, talk to me. What happened Tuesday night?”
“You know,” she stalled, high-pitched. “We… did things.”
I laughed as I trailed her. “That won’t do, woman. Details.”
“No.”
“Now.”
“Fine.” She turned dramatically in a full Mardi Gras mask. “We almost had sex.”
“Aria!” I couldn’t help my weird little squeal. “But?”
“Ugh, Sash… do we really have to talk about this?”
“Yes, we do. There have only been zero other times in our lives when we’ve been crazy and head over heels for an awesome guy at the same time – guys who are best friends, by the way – so you better fucking spill.”
She exhaled. “Fine. Basically my laundry didn’t dry in time for the date so I wore my ugly panties with the hole in them and I told myself it was a sign that I should wait to sleep with him but then things got kinda hot and heavy and I went back to his house and got him as hard as possible before running the fuck away like the weakest little psychopath, oh my God, hand me that toy pistol so I can shoot myself in the face.”
I covered my mouth with my hand.
“That’s right. Suppress that giggle, you whore. Not everyone can have a perfect love story like you,” Aria sassed, feigning anger with me. “You’re the steamy hot romance and I’m the rom-com starring the super quirky actress everyone hates. Except it’s not going to be a comedy when I find out that A.J speed-dialed his favorite groupie after I left and subsequently emptied his balls.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That… di
dn’t necessarily happen.”
“Yes, it did,” Aria insisted with a groan as she wandered into the next aisle. “Think about it, Sash. He and I are nowhere near exclusive, he had a boner to tend to and every girl on the East Coast is thirsting for his dick. Those boys at Liam’s gym – they don’t have to wait to feel good. If they want to go for drinks, they know every GM in town. If they want in at a club, they get Max to call the guy at the door. And if they want to empty their balls, they go to their contacts and order a hot chick like a frickin’ pizza. Boom.”
“Why do you keep saying ‘empty their balls’ like that’s how you talk?”
“Sorry. It’s how A.J talks,” Aria grumbled, “and clearly, I am fucking obsessed with him and sabotaging myself by acting like a complete freakshow. But maybe I’m not acting. Maybe this is just my life now. I got a taste of the man of my dreams and now I can’t handle the pressure that comes with being the hot chick that he’ll clearly need to stay interested. So I’m crazy now.” She plucked a costume strait jacket off the shelves. “I’m going to wear this to the party and every day after. Congratulations. You are now the girl with the nut job best friend.”
“Aria.” I giggled as I hung the straitjacket costume back on the shelf and placed my hands on her narrow shoulders. “You’ve always been my life coach, but now it’s my turn to tell you to calm down. First off, I so understand how you feel. I would be lying if I said I was a hundred percent comfortable with dating Liam.”
“That’s different.”
“It’s not. Aside from the fact that he’s my stepbrother, I also have to worry about the daily fangirls. You know Liam has them the way A.J does.”
“Worse, actually,” Aria sighed. “Times a million.”
“Yes, thank you for pointing that out. And you know that half the girls who bought tickets to the party this weekend bought them so they could meet Liam.”
“More than half. And more than meet him. Those girls want to fuck his brains out.”
“Again, thank you for reminding me. Asshole. So you know I’m in the same boat as you, girl.”
“Except your man loves you. Like, would die for you kind of loves you,” Aria pointed out. I was quiet for a second, realizing I actually felt no need to argue that. “See? You’ve locked him down and you know it. But me? I haven’t locked down shit.”
“We’ll take it a step at a time, starting with these costumes.”
“Fine.” Aria snatched two off the rack in front of us. “Here. Fuzzy Bear and Old Man Flasher. We’ll wear these and take ourselves out of the sexy equation entirely. Let the fangirls know that we’re perfectly comfortable in our skin.”
“Are you really comfortable with that or are you just giving up?”
“I’m giving up.”
I snorted. Once again, I hung the costumes back up and ushered her out of the store. “Nuh-uh. I refuse to let you give up. Let me do a little digging and figure this out for the both of us.”
“I don’t trust you to care enough,” Aria said, crossing her arms as she dragged her feet on the sidewalk. “You always half-ass your costume and end up wimping out on these parties early.”
“Hey,” I argued, though it was true. I generally made my appearance, said “hi” to Liam and the guys and then left. I always used Ethan as my excuse but the truth was I hated the parties back then. Watching naked girls bribe their way into the VIP level to rub up on Liam all night was pure torture. And I was sure it would be torturous again this year but this time, Liam wouldn’t be single. He wouldn’t be taking any of those girls back to his apartment – he’d be going home with me. No one would know it though, and that made me a bit uneasy. Which was why, for the first time, I was intent on putting an actual effort into Halloween. I had Liam already but I wanted to keep his eyes on me all night.
Every second of it.
“I’m not leaving early this year, Aria. And I’m not wimping out on anything. We’re both going to have fun with Halloween this year,” I said firmly. “It’s gonna be one we’ll never forget.”
“Fine.” She huffed. “You promise?”
I hugged her to my side and planted a confident kiss on her cheek. “Yes, lady. I promise.”
Chapter Eighteen
There was a line wrapped around the block of Atrium, the East side party venue known to host all the most lavish socialite weddings and galas. Whenever I passed by the place, there was a white carpet rolled down the stone staircase, its entrance flanked by vintage candelabras and model-esque bridesmaids in Monique Lhuillier. But for Liam’s party tonight, the carpet was black and there were spotlights beaming purple and blue onto each looming limestone wall. Five men in black suits were planted at the door handling the monstrous line, which thankfully, Aria and I got to skip every year.
“What the shit? Why do they get to cut?”
We heard the usual high-pitched protests of half-naked girls waiting to get inside and escape the cold. Because of them, the door guys Liam hired each year were as silent and stoic as statues. But tonight, as they unclasped the rope for Aria and me, they actually had something to say.
“Goddamn, ladies,” one of them muttered, his lusting eyes following us all the way in. Another reached out flirtatiously, playing with the gold chain that hung from Aria’s neck. Once we were out of earshot, she squealed.
“Yes, girl. I’d say that’s a good sign,” she whispered giddily, squeezing my hand.
“I’d agree,” I smirked since she hadn’t quite trusted me on the costumes at first. I didn’t blame her. It had to be weird to watch me come home, dump a sheet of jersey onto the floor and proceed to cut it up into thick, ragged strips. But she slowly climbed on board when I undressed and started wrapping the off-white strips over my naked chest like a bandeau, then wrapping a couple strips over my hips like an ultra-mini skirt, barely covering my white boy shorts. She was confused again when I rubbed bronzer like dirt onto my arms and legs, but was back on board when I brought out the yards of gold chain I’d gotten from the trim store. I wrapped some around my wrists and arms before winding it around my neck like a choker and letting the long, loose ends hang down between my breasts.
“Girl. I still have no idea what we’re supposed to be but I feel objectified and like it,” Aria declared as we made our way through the crowd, her petite body similarly wrapped and adorned. “Honestly though – what are we supposed to be? We look super hot but I also feel like we also look like medieval sex slaves.”
I laughed. “I guess that’s… kind of the vibe I was going for? But I was thinking less sex slave and more…” I trailed off, trying to figure out what I wanted to say. Right in time, A.J’s voice came behind us, supplying my answer.
“Holy fuck. What are you – my prize?”
We spun around and I burst out laughing when I saw A.J in the costume I knew he’d be wearing thanks to Liam’s intel. They were gladiators this year, and as usual, A.J was by far the most naked one in his gold helmet, gold Speedo thong and gold-plated belt. He also had a gold and red blood-spattered shield, but he dropped it on the floor in favor of using his hands to hook into the waist of Aria’s transparent skirt, pulling her close and trailing his eyes across her oiled up, dirt-flecked skin. We weren’t as close to naked as most of the other girls around us, but somehow, we gave off a far more scandalous vibe. Everyone else was primped and polished. I’d decided that we’d be a little dirty.
“I… goddamn. You look…” A.J searched for his words, looking almost as confused as he did aroused.
“What do I look like, A.J?” Aria teased. He swept a hand over his brow.
“Like fuckin’… sex on legs, Aria. Christ. What are you trying to do to me?” A.J muttered, leaning over to give me the obligatory kiss on the cheek. His hands gravitated toward the chain around her neck. He gritted his teeth. “Christ. I don’t even know what you two are supposed to be but it’s making me want to maim a fuckin’ lion in your honor or some gladiator shit.”
I burst out laughing. “Per
fect, that was what I was going for. Speaking of gladiators though, where’s mine?”
“Well...” A.J scanned the crowd, wordlessly pulling Aria back to him when some drunk guy tried to get her to dance. “I stuck him and Max with VIP duty so I could come here. I’m guessing he’s still trapped up there with the crazies.” A.J nodded up toward the mezzanine, a roped off area that the hardcore fangirls paid another hundred to access. They were generally real fans that had actually watched the guys’ fights before and even tracked their careers. For the extra price of their admission, they were granted open bar access but more importantly, closer proximity to Liam and the guys, who in turn flirted it up and did body shots off them just to get those VIP tickets selling again the next year.
“Ah, shit,” Aria said when she read the look on my face. “Do you not want to go up there, Sash? Or me and A.J will go with you if you need.”
I considered it. She knew how much I hated the VIP area. I’d ventured up only once before – at the party two years ago – and it was so packed I’d had to climb onto the back of a couch to even spot Liam in the crowd. And when I did, I was granted the sight of him receiving a topless lap dance from a busty sorority girl, while her equally topless friend rubbed his cock under his loincloth. That scene resulted in Riley’s last ever appearance at one of Liam’s Halloween parties. When asked about it, she cited “an overwhelming abundance of shameless hos” as her reason.
I pursed my lips. “How is it up there, A.J? Will I be able to find Liam?”
“Yeah. It’s tame. No orgies yet.”
I snorted. “Great. Then I guess we’re good, Aria,” I said, knowing well that she hated the VIP area too. “You guys go have fun.”
“You don’t need to tell me twice,” A.J said and just like that, he whisked my best friend off and left me alone in the sea of girls wearing lingerie and bunny ears. Dodging the guys with their holiday edition pickup lines – “Can I take a picture of you to prove that angels do exist?” – I squeezed my way upstairs, flashing my wristband to get into the mezzanine. When I got up there, to my relief, A.J was right. It wasn’t that crazy or crowded, and I spotted Liam right away. But there was a girl standing next to him.