Peyton's Path: Fighting Fate Book 2

by SM Olivier

  “Let’s go, sister, I’m hungry,” Madison whined taking my coffee cup from me and taking a sip of it. “Mmm,” she moaned appreciatively.

  I pulled down my t-shirt to the best of my ability and swung my legs over the side, careful not to flash anyone and very conscious of everyone’s eyes on me. I immediately tried to hide the wince when the pull of pain between my legs reminded me of how roughly Kyler took me. Damn, it hurt, but I couldn’t even act like I regretted it.

  I looked up and noticed some of them watching me closely. I ducked my head.

  “Why are you walk−” Madison began to ask smugly.

  “Shut it! Or I’m putting you in time out,” I growled at her.

  She began to giggle wickedly. I couldn’t help but notice how Lucas and Paxton seemed unhappy when they connected the dots. I was sympathetic about Lucas’ feelings, but I could never reciprocate them. As for Paxton, well, I knew he was my…diffident guy. I’d have to figure out a way to give him more attention sometime soon.

  Kyler smirked at me as he handed me a pair of his boxers. I felt my cheeks redden but slipped into his bathroom. I quickly relieved myself before pulling on his boxers. They were way too big, so I had to roll them several times before they stayed put, and by then, my shirt was covering it. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and ran a toothbrush over my teeth—yes, I had toothbrushes in both bathrooms.

  I hadn’t expected everyone to be still waiting for me.

  “Are we having pancakes?” Maisie asked, hopefully.

  “Grandpa brought over french toast, bacon, and sausage, so close enough,” Kyler swooped down and threw her over his shoulder.

  Maisie squealed. “Uncle Ky, it’s not the same.”

  “It’s covered in syrup,” Golden teased her.

  “And it tastes better,” Paxton added. “Especially if Grandpa’s cook made it.”

  “Eww, no,” Maisie said disgruntledly. “I want Peyton’s strawberry pancakes.”

  “I agree.” Lucas laughed. “I don’t think anyone can top Peyton’s bananas foster with walnuts.”

  “Hey, I didn’t get walnuts with my bananas foster,” Golden teasingly grumbled. Lucas almost seemed smug.

  “Next time,” I promised Golden, taking my coffee back from Madison. Lucas frowned. I really hoped he would get over this… thing he had over me.

  Madison growled at me and reached for my cup. “Where’s my coffee, mountain man?”

  I laughed, shaking my head. I mentally told myself that I needed to talk to her about the Bud Riley thing.

  “Since you’re my guest, I guess I can get you a cup.” Kyler smirked.

  “I’m not a guest,” Madison protested. “I’m Peyton’s ‘sister by extension.’ I’m family.”

  “In that case, you can help me clean up after breakfast.” Zane grinned mischievously as we all began to laugh.

  “Hey,” Madison pouted. “We’re not that close.”

  “Too late.” I laughed. “You’re helping with cleanup after breakfast.”

  Madison groaned and scowled. “Not fair,” she muttered.

  We all laughed once more.

  I took Clay from Crew and followed the guys out to the living room. I paused in surprise, noticing the room had been cleaned up of all bedding and snacks from the night before. There were also decorations, complete with banners, balloons, and pom poms of pink and silver hanging up from the ceiling and tied to the dining room chairs.

  “Happy Birthday, Peyton,” Grandpa said with a wide smile as he came around the island with his arms extended.

  I stepped into his embrace and hugged him close for a few moments. He looked so emotionally drained, and I was thankful he had been there for me yesterday and was here early to celebrate my day with me.

  “Thanks, Grandpa,” I murmured before looking at the spread on the kitchen island. “And thanks for bringing breakfast. This is such a pleasant surprise. Let’s eat!”

  “Anytime,” Grandpa smiled. “Thanks for asking me to be part of today’s festivities.”

  “Finally,” Paxton cried happily as if we had been starving him.

  “Let Peyton get her plate first,” Golden growled, playfully hooking an arm around Paxton’s neck.

  They proceeded to wrestle with each other in the middle of the floor like two overgrown puppies.

  I laughed as I plated up some food and headed back to the dining room table. “Is anyone going to tell me what we’re doing today?” I inquired.

  I placed Clay in his booster seat and promptly shredded up pieces of french toast and sausage for him. He greedily shoved pieces into his mouth, and I smiled at him. My mouth watered as I slathered my own french toast with butter and maple syrup.

  “She’s back to eating real food!” Paxton grinned as he watched me shove a large bite into my mouth. He was out of breath as he went to the island to get his own plate of food.

  “Hey,” I grumbled good-naturedly. “I’ve been eating all week.”

  “Was she on that ‘I don’t want to bloat and not fit my costume’ diet again?” Madison snorted, sitting down across from me with a plate piled up with enough food for two or three full-grown adults.

  Madison’s appetite nearly rivaled Paxton’s and Crew’s. She had a crazy high metabolism that caused jealous scorn from some of her inner circle of cheer friends. Her mother had told her she was going to regret it one day, but that didn’t stop her from eating like a teenage boy.

  “Did she still work out like crazy?” Lucas quipped. “So much that you had to remind her to eat?”

  “She did.” Crew frowned at me.

  Paxton seemed more enthralled with the way Madison was putting down our food than with our conversation. I wanted to laugh, but I knew they weren’t done comparing notes on me. Lucas was such a traitor!

  “You’re going to have to watch her,” Lucas almost said reluctantly. “She’s landed herself in the hospital for dehydration a few times.”

  Ugh.

  Suddenly I had all eyes on me. I groaned.

  “That only happened twice,” I protested. “I forget to eat sometimes, and my stomach is connected to my emotions, always has been,” I explained carefully. “And not all of that was my fault. Sometimes Mom forgot to go shopping, and I didn’t have time to go.”

  “What do you mean ‘she forgot to go shopping’? Why didn’t Sean go?” Grandpa asked.

  Lucas and Madison snorted simultaneously.

  “Enough,” I said hastily. I didn’t want to stress Grandpa out any more than he was already. His youngest son was a low life. He didn’t need to hear any more proof. “It’s my birthday! I’m eating now. Can someone please tell me what we’re doing today?”

  I had six men looking at me with matching frowns.

  “Please,” I begged with a mock pout. I hated pouting, but I was embracing my inner Madison right now.

  “Well…” Golden sighed deeply before the doorbell resonated through the house. “I’ll get it.”

  I wondered who it could be, but from the looks of it, it wasn’t a surprise to everyone else.

  Clay yelled at me, and I looked over to see that he had already finished his first batch of french toast.

  “Do you want more?” I asked him, signing more to him.

  He squealed and started signing it back to me.

  “Good boy,” I praised him, kissing his cheek. I stood up to get myself a glass of milk and some more french toast for him. Every time I ate french toast or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I had a craving for milk. Otherwise, I rarely drank it.

  “Stay. I’ll grab him some more food,” Lochlann insisted before sitting down beside me. “Did you want anything else?”

  “I have his milk right here.” Golden shook a sippy cup as he came into the room.

  “Thanks.” I smiled up at him, taking a seat. “May I have a glass of milk, too?”

  “Sure thing.” Lochlann winked. I watched as he reached for me, then quickly pulled his hand back, his eyes shuttering closed.r />
  I frowned, wondering why his mood had dropped.

  “Mmm, french toast?” Freddy asked excitedly.

  I looked up and was surprised to see Renee, Freddy, Heather, and her friend Marie coming in through the front door. “Hey, guys!” I smiled. “What’cha doing here?”

  “Help yourself to some food, there’s plenty,” Grandpa insisted with a smile.

  “Happy birthday, girl!” Heather squealed. “Did you really think we were going to miss out on all the fun?” She hugged me and handed me a small gift bag.

  “What fun?” I asked once again.

  “Well,” Golden said dramatically. “We heard you like scavenger hunts, and we know you love Impractical Jokers, so we are combining the two activities today.”

  “What?” I asked in surprise as Zane took the bag from Heather.

  “Presents after cake, tonight.” Zane smirked.

  I took hugs from Marie, Renee, and Freddy next. Each one of them came bearing gifts, and I couldn’t help but smile. Other than Lucas and Madison and their families, I’d never been surrounded by this many friends on my birthday.

  “Grandpa, Henry, and Mr. Jenkins will be the judges. We’ll be breaking up into teams of six or seven but going to the same locations,” Golden explained with dramatic flair. “The Judges will be waiting on us outside the locations. We’re to complete the challenge, prove it, then we’ll receive a list of the items we need to get. Once we get all those items, we get our next challenge.”

  “What challenges and what items?” I asked excitedly. “And who are the teams?”

  Golden grinned. “Grandpa, Mr. Jenkins, and Henry binge-watched the show, so we don’t know yet. When we’re done eating, we’ll draw sticks to figure out what teams we are on.”

  “What do the winners get?” Freddy asked eagerly as he sat down with a plate full of food.

  “Bragging rights.” Paxton smirked.

  “Boring,” Madison groaned playfully.

  “How about fifty dollars per person on the winning team?” Grandpa asked as he rifled through his wallet.

  “Grandpa,” I protested. “Bragging rights is enough.”

  “Peyton.” Grandpa gave me an indulgent smile. “Just say, thank you.”

  I looked around and noticed no one was going to help me fight this argument.

  I sighed and knew it was a useless battle. “Fine. Thank you, Grandpa.”

  “You’re welcome, Peyton.” He gave me a Cheshire cat grin.

  “Yes,” Madison crowed. “That’s more like it.” She danced happily in her chair.

  “And you are?” Freddy asked with a flirtatious smile.

  Madison was dressed in oversized pajama bottoms, a spaghetti strapped tank top, her glasses—she wore contacts during the day—and had her long, blonde hair up in a ponytail, with zero makeup on, and she still drew attention to herself. She really was a natural beauty.

  “Madison.” She gave him an answering coquettish smile. “And you are?”

  I looked up in time to see Heather frowning.

  Today. Today I was going to ask Freddy what was going on between the two of them.

  “Freddy.” He held out a meaty palm. “Nice to meet ya. Are you a friend of Peyton's?”

  Madison snorted with a smile. “Her best friend. This is her other best friend, Lucas.” She pointed at Lucas.

  “Hey.” Freddy did the manly chin-lift-greeting towards Lucas. Since when did he do the bro nod?

  “Hey.” Lucas nodded back.

  “How rude am I!” I laughed. “Let me introduce everybody.” I proceeded to do so while we finished our breakfast.

  ●

  I looked down at our first challenge and couldn’t help but smile once more. I’d always secretly wished I could be an Impractical Joker. Most of their shenanigans made me laugh, and who didn’t love laughing?

  Each team was given a backpack that we were told not to open until we hit our first stop. The first challenge was already in our bag, along with the props we would need for the day.

  Paxton, Lochlann, Renee, Lucas, Marie, and I were on one team, while Kyler, Heather, Freddy, Crew, Golden, Zane, and Madison were on the other. It was uneven, so some of the challenges would require someone from my team to go twice.

  “Open it,” Lucas said somewhat impatiently as we entered the grocery store vestibule.

  I opened the backpack and found the envelope enclosed within. “‘Stick-it,’” I read aloud. “‘You have been provided seven different colored Post-it notes. Without being caught, each team member must place ten Post-its on someone. Members of your own team do not count. If you are caught, you must go again. If you are the team that has fewer players, someone must go again.’”

  I giggled and handed out the packs of Post-its.

  “On a stranger?” Renee inquired with a frown.

  “Yes.” I smiled encouragingly at her. “If you want, you can watch me first.”

  “Do we have to take turns?” Lochlann asked.

  I looked down at the rules and shook my head with a smile. “No, but picture evidence is required.”

  “Sweet, let’s go,” Lucas urged as we watched the other team run into the store yelling and laughing.

  “Let’s grab a cart,” Lochlann suggested. “They’re being too loud and drawing too much attention to themselves.”

  I smiled. “Good idea.”

  We walked towards the entrance, and Paxton grabbed a cart. “We can always distract the person we want to put the notes on,” Paxton recommended. “We can work in teams.”

  “Yay, let’s do that!” I smiled.

  We entered the store and went down the center aisle. I immediately spotted a younger man loading up a cart with beer. I smiled. He looked like a young college guy still hung over from the night before.

  I left the cart and approached him with a coy smile.

  I was purposefully dressed “cute” today. I wore a white, knit halter top that didn’t have a back, and the bottom was nothing but fringes. Every time I walked, the material swayed, revealing my smooth, flat stomach. I paired it with a pair of skinny jeans and heeled, dark-brown knee-high boots.

  Just in case I was recognized from the news, the guys had gotten me things to hide my identity. Golden had found me a long blonde wig that actually looked like my own hair, and Paxton had located a pair of colored, cosmetic contacts that turned my green eyes to more of an aquamarine color. I was embracing my disguise, and just like when I danced, I had adopted a new persona.

  I had been around Madison enough to know she always embraced the concept that blondes have more fun. Today, I was a blonde. I was going to channel Madison in both actions and words.

  “Looks like someone’s having a party today,” I flirted.

  The words sounded forced to my ear, and I felt a brief moment of guilt for flirting with another man. But then my guilt was replaced by the knowledge that this was all fun and games, and I had zero interest in the man in front of me.

  “Tonight.” The somewhat cute college boy grinned. “You looking to party?”

  I noticed Renee, of all people, walk by. Madison had somehow convinced my wallflower friend into wearing a seafoam-green romper with pink flowers on it. She’d also styled Renee’s hair, braiding two sections at the crown and leaving the rest loose. Marie had joined in on the makeover party, adding some subtle makeup to the younger girl’s face. Renee looked cute, and I hadn’t failed to notice how Lucas had appreciated her beauty as well.

  “That depends,” I said, leaning towards him and caressing the handle of his cart with just one finger. “Is this, like, a big party? Or just a group of bros sitting around drinking and playing video games?”

  I watched as Renee sidled up behind him and began to place the blank Post-it note on his back. I tried not to draw attention to her as I looked up at him through my darkened eyelashes.

  “Give me your number. I’ll text you the address.” The boy stepped in closer, his eyes filled with lust. I resisted the urge to
step backward. “Come find out for yourself.”

  I looked over at Renee and saw that she was still placing her Post-it notes on the guy, and right beside her, at the same time, so was Lucas. Huh. The rules never said anything about not doubling down.

  College Boy seemed to notice my distraction and began to turn his head. I hastily grabbed his wrist and stepped closer, so that only a few inches separated us. “Here’s my number.” I pulled out my phone, and with a wicked smile, I rattled off Golden’s number.

  Lucas gave me a big thumbs up behind College Boy’s back, and I grinned. I watched as they both exited the aisle into the opposite direction, leaving me with the guy.

  “Can you take a selfie with me and just send it to my number with your name?” I asked him.

  The guy leered and eyed my legs. “Of course.”

  I used all my acting skills within as I leaned my body towards him and had him take a picture with me.

  “Got it,” College Boy said. “Do I get a name to go with the beautiful face?”

  “All my friends call me Goldie.” I smiled and batted my eyes once more, embracing my inner-Madison.

  College Boy smirked before he looked down at his phone, rapidly writing out a message and sending it. I pretended to receive it and smiled.

  “Fitting.” He took a lock on my hair and began to run it through his fingers. I took a quick step back, but he followed.

  “Hey, Firecracker,” Paxton called down the aisle. “Did you get our beer?”

  I saw College Boy frown beside me, but I grinned with relief as Paxton slid up next to me. Unexpectedly, he cradled my face before his mouth descended on mine. He gently nipped at my bottom lip, and I forgot everything as he pulled me in closer. One of his hands remained on my face, I could feel the cold metal of his rings as his thumb caressed my cheekbone. His other hand traced a long, lingering stroke over the side of my breast, my ribs, and finally, my hips.

  I gasped as his fingers grazed my lower stomach. The gentle touch combined with the silkiness of my shirt against my skin felt oddly…erotic. Paxton took that as an invitation to slip his tongue into my mouth. He gently rubbed the ball of his piercing against the roof of my mouth, and the sensation was sensual, stimulating. A low moan emerged from my throat.