Ms. Austin patted the neat bun on the top of her head and coquettishly cut her eyes at Damian. “Who me?”
Joy wanted to crawl under the SUV and retch.
Cameron giggled and continued the introductions. “This is Ms. Austin their chaperone and Joy’s mother.”
The guys all nodded their hellos to Ms. Austin and Damian took her hand and gently kissed it, staring into her eyes. “Her mother? I thought she was your older sister.”
Now Joy really wanted to vomit. Especially with the silly way her mother kept giggling and batting her fake eyelashes at him.
“Fresh,” she said to Damian as she playfully shooed him away. “Stop.”
Damian winked at her and turned back to Joy and Kristen. “Which one of you won the contest with me?”
Joy tossed her hair over her shoulder and gave him a delicious smile. “I did.”
Damian fixed her with his signature “Foster stare”, sending waves of tingles through every crevice of Joy’s body. Beau stifled a sigh and turned his eyes skyward. Beau was superstar on the rise in his own right, having recently been discovered by Hollywood and featured in a few action movies. Like his brother, he had disarming hazel eyes and sandy-brown hair but the similarities ended there. He was equally as charming and handsome as Damian but he tired easily at his brother’s over the top antics with females.
“Well, well,” Damian teased.
Joy’s giggle became as obnoxious as her mother’s. Kristen wanted to punch her in the arm for that fake shit.
“Sooo,” Diego began, his eyes locking on Kristen’s. The two of them had been sharing eye contact since he and the guys had driven up. “You won the contest with Roman.”
Diego’s eyes were so intense. So probing. It shook her to her core. He looked at her like he’d known her for ages. Like he could see inside her. She was almost afraid to answer him. It should’ve been easy. I won the contest with Roman. It was as simple as that. Why couldn’t she form the words to admit it was her?
Kristen rubbed the back of her neck and pulled at her dress with her free hand. The combination was a nervous tic she’d had since she was a small child. She’d better hurry up and answer him or she was sure Joy or her mother would beat her to it.
“Yes,” she murmured in a small voice.
Kristen thought she saw Diego’s eye twitch slightly at her admission then figured she was probably imagining it.
“Good luck with that,” was Damian’s response. He didn’t say it in a mean way but Kristen wondered what he meant and why he’d said it.
She looked at Joy with raised eyebrows and Joy shrugged, her eyes also curious.
“That bastard has always been lucky,” Alex dead-panned with a twinkle in his blue eyes.
“Lucky isn’t what I’d call it,” Diego threw in.
“So are you excited about your date Kristen?” Cameron asked, desperately trying to change the subject.
“Of course,” Kristen said with a sweet smile.
Nick thought her smile was fuckin’ intoxicating.
“Why? Is he your favorite group member?” Diego bluntly asked.
“Huh?”
“I said is he your favorite?’
“Um… Uh…”
“I’d say he is,” Beau said, fixing her with a teasing smile. “Look at the way she’s smiling. She can’t even stand still.”
“Maybe she’s got to pee,” Alex joked.
“You guys stop,” Cameron replied, shooing at them. “You’re making her nervous.”
“No need to be nervous,” Nick said, giving her a beautiful, toothy smile. “We’re all friends here.”
“For now,” was Diego’s sullen reply.
Nick looked him square in the eye, reading his challenge and deciding to take him on with everything he had. May the best man win.
“What about you Joy?” Damian slickly asked her, with a sinister glint in his eye. “Who’s your favorite Level?”
“Maybe she’s not a Next Level fan at all,” Beau snidely remarked.
“Why else would she enter the contest?”
“Maybe because she thought I would be here.”
Damian squared his jaw and glared at his younger brother, his right hand forming a tightly clenched fist. “Right now is not the right time bro. I suggest whatever problem you have with me, you wait until we’re alone to discuss it. Otherwise, you might get embarrassed.”
“Is that a threat?”
Ms. Austin stood back with her hands on her wide hips and wisely smiled, enjoying the show. Her daughter never ceased to get herself involved in the most complicated of situations. Especially when it came to handsome men.
“Heh, heh, heh,” Joy interjected, feeling nervous. “No need to fight fellas. There’s enough of me to go around.”
Everyone stopped and looked over at Joy with strange expressions, taken aback by her blunt willingness to share herself with two brothers- two famous ones at that.
“That’s my Joy,” her mother snipped with an unpleasant frown. “Always spreading herself good and wide for whatever’s available.”
“Holy shit,” Alex said. “Did she really just say that out loud?”
Joy raised chin to her mother and poked out her chest, ready to battle. “Mother, was that really necessary? What’s the matter? You jealous no one here is interested in you?”
Kristen quickly jumped between mother and daughter, rubbing their shoulders and soothing them as she tried to smooth the situation over. “Okay, that’s enough of the joking you two.” She looked over at the bewildered strangers around them and jokingly shook her head. “They’re just playing. They’re not serious. Weren’t you ladies?”
Joy rolled her eyes at her mother and went to stand between the two Foster brothers, while her mother twisted her neck at her and gave her the finger. Cameron looked on in horror at the crazy scene playing out before her, while the guys just uncomfortably laughed and looked everywhere but at Ms. Austin. What kind of shit…?
“Where is Roman anyway?” Beau inquired, deciding for now to drop his macho rumble with his brother. “Wasn’t he supposed to be here to greet the winners of the contest?”
Cameron nervously wet her lips and glanced at the women, silently hoping and praying they wouldn’t say anything. “Uh… He uh…”
“Is he coming back anytime soon?” Nick asked with feigned concern. “I’d hate for him to miss the opportunity to spend as much time as he can with this beautiful, sexy young lady.”
“Sure you would,” Diego smirked. Kristen blushed and tried to avoid looking into Diego’s penetrating brown eyes.
“I think he had to run to the store or something,” Cameron said. “He should be back soon.”
“Has he been gone long?” Damian asked. “Maybe you should call him.”
“Maybe she should give him time to come back on his own,” Nick told him, trying to throw a hint that went unnoticed.
“You know,” Cameron began, taking her phone out of her bra, “I was just getting ready to call him to make sure he didn’t forget they were coming.”
“Why would he forget?” Alex inquired. “You guys have been planning activities with Idol all week.”
“Maybe he wanted to forget,” Damian reasoned. “You know, with everything going on-“
“Damian,” Cameron protested, shaking her head.
“Man, some people are just stuck on stupid,” he continued, ignoring Cameron and digging dirt out of his nails. “Stuck on stupid and drama. Lucky for me, I’ve gotten past that point.”
“Accept when it comes to pursuing women who obviously don’t want you,” Beau nitpicked.
Damian stepped to him and Joy moved forward to block him while at the same time Ms. Austin said, “He probably still would be here but him and his sister got into it and he left.”
Everyone ceased moving and talking and looked at her.
Ms. Austin blanched and covered her mouth, closing her eyes. “Oh shit. I’m so sorry. Subtlety has never been my str
ong point.”
“I think they’ve picked up on that by now Ma,” Joy dryly replied.
“I’m so sorry Cameron,” Ms. Austin said with as much sincerity as she could muster.
“Don’t worry about it,” Cameron said, cutting her eyes at her. She turned her back and shook her head, walking towards the house as she dialed Roman’s number.
“Yo Cameron, I told you to let that go,” Damian called after her. “Just leave him be. He doesn’t need all that shit in his head right now. He’s got enough to deal with.”
Cameron stopped suddenly and turned to Damian. She walked towards him with her finger pointed. “You worry about your family Damian, and I’ll worry about mine.”
“He is my family,” Damian softly replied, taking her hand. “And I’m just as worried about him as you are. I didn’t mean any harm or fowl. I just hate to see what this is doing to you guys. To us. To everyone. But especially to him.”
Her face softened and she silently looked at him for a few seconds. “I know. Me too. I’m sorry.”
“Everyone just needs to calm down,” Alex soothingly replied with his hands up. “We’re not making ourselves look very sane in front of these beautiful ladies.”
Everyone lightly laughed at Alex’s attempt at a joke, Damian and Cameron hugged, and all was momentarily fine again.
“I am going to try to call him though,” Cameron said. “I’ll be back. Will you ladies be okay? Do you need anything?”
“No, we’re fine,” Joy and Kristen unanimously replied.
“Oh, you ladies are more than fine,” Damian said, joking again.
Cameron laughed and waved her hand at him as she turned to walk away again. “I swear, you never stop.”
“You wouldn’t love me if I did baby.”
“Can I use your bathroom?” Ms. Austin asked her. “I need to pee really bad.”
Joy and Kristen frowned and cringed at Ms. Austin’s bad use of words. The woman could be as classy as she wanted to be and five minutes later be as hood as Lil Wayne.
Cameron looked at her strangely then turned to walk towards the house again. “Sure. Follow me.”
“Hold up,” Ms. Austin said, putting up her finger. She turned back to Joy and Kristen. “You girls going to be okay while I go inside for a minute?”
“Of course,” Kristen assured her.
“More than alright with you out of my face,” Joy said.
Ms. Austin squared her shoulders as if she was going to respond; then, having figured she’d embarrassed herself and her daughter enough, waved her hand at Joy dismissively and followed Cameron up the long pathway to the house.
Joy sighed with relief and turned her attention back to the Foster boys. “Now, where were we?” They grinned and leaned in to her like wolves closing in on their prey.
“Are things always like that between you and your mom?” Alex uneasily asked.
“Of course not,” Joy playfully said, tossing her hair. “We love each-other dearly. Don’t we Kristen?”
“Uh-huh. Yeah. Sure.”
“Tell you what,” Nick began as he walked over to Kristen. “Why don’t you guys hang out with us for a while until we see what’s going on with Roman. I mean, Joy, you go with the bros, and Kristen can come with me.”
“What about us?” Diego asked, going and standing on the other side of Kristen.
“Yeah, what about us?” Alex stood in front of Kristen.
She felt trapped but in a good way. At least, she thought it was good. She was probably walking eyes wide open into the pits of hell and didn’t even know it. Where the hell was Roman?
“Personally I’m not thinking about neither one of you guys,” was Nick’s snide response. He looked over at Kristen and smiled, blushing slightly.
Kristen tried not to be swept away by his magnetic blue eyes but it was hard. She nearly jumped out of her skin as Diego took her hand and held it tight. Tingles shot through her from all angles at the alluring but innocent touch. She looked up at him with heavy eyes and was shell-shocked by the expression in his. Hunger. Pure hunger. But not in a way that was dangerous or threatening. She felt herself being pulled in spite of herself. Their eyes held one another for longer than was polite.
Tearing her eyes away from his, she looked over at Joy for help and reassurance but Joy was caught in a silent tug of war between the two Foster brothers. She noted the lust in their hazel eyes as they eyed her pretty, shapely friend. Her view was soon blocked by Alex walking forward and standing almost nose to nose with her.
“Mind if Diego and I tag along with you and Nick Kristen?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact we do mind,” Nick cut in.
“I wasn’t asking you.”
“Um…” Kristen shakily began, pulling her hand away from Diego’s and scurrying away from Nick. “Will you guys excuse me for a moment?”
She fast-walked over to Joy, grabbed her hand, and tugged her towards the SUV.
“What are you doing?” Joy irritably asked her. “Can’t you see I was enjoying myself?” Joy stopped, her face mired with concern as she eyed Kristen. “What’s wrong? You okay?”
Kristen was practically trembling. “No. No I’m not. I’m not comfortable with all this.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Where the fuck is Roman?”
“I don’t know. You heard the conversation like I did and you heard what Damian said. The man is obviously having a bad day and going through some issues. I’m sure he’ll be back later.”
“I need him to come back now. I’m not in a good head space.”
“What do you mean girl? You have three hot to death men over there foaming at the mouth over you. Why don’t you go back over there and enjoy yourself?”
“I don’t understand what’s happening. You know how I feel about Roman.”
“Right as does the entire city of Charlotte.”
“Well why did I feel like every nerve ending in my body stood on end just now when Diego took my hand?”
Joy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Seriously?”
“Yeah!”
“You don’t even like Diego like that. Matter of fact, you don’t even like him at all.”
“I know right? I don’t get it.”
Joy thought for a moment. “Well, maybe your body knows something your mind doesn’t. Look, I need to go back over there. I’ll see you later.”
Kristen grabbed Joy’s arm, practically digging her nails through her skin. “See me later? Where are you going?”
“I’m going back over there with my F boys.”
“F boys?”
“Girl, I was having such a good time. I can only imagine how much funner the evening is going to get from here on out.”
“First of all, funner is not a word and second, aren’t you supposed to be going on a date with Damian?”
“Yeah? So?”
“So how are you going to hook up with both of them? You saw how they were acting. They were ready to kill one another over you.”
“I know. Isn’t that hot?”
“Hot? Only you would think starting a feud between two brothers is worth your panties dropping.”
“Girl, I thought Damian was fine but after meeting Beau today and looking into his eyes, I don’t know. Damian might have a fight for my affection on his hands.”
“You are so twisted.”
“Girl the way Beau’s voice sounds when he talks to me. He talks in this magnetic whisper…” Joy shivered. “Mmmph. I’m starting to believe I was born to lay on my back for this man.”
“Good luck explaining that to Damian.”
“Something tells me I won’t have to. Who knows? If the universe is on my side, I might end up seeing what both of them have to offer in the romance department. See you later.”
Joy hugged her, kissed her cheek, and walked back over to the Foster boys, her best friend forgotten. Kristen looked on in a daze as both guys fell in step with Joy and walked alongside her towards the bac
k of the house. Kristen could only wonder what kind of trouble her wild friend was in for this weekend.
She shuffled back and forth on her feet for a few moments, then turned to look back at the Foster boys and Mr. Braxton. They were all looking at her expectantly, their smiles ranging from platonically friendly to unrestrained excitement.
“You coming Kristen?” Nick hopefully asked.
Kristen forced a smile on her face, her insides stirring with all kinds of wild, conflicted emotions. Where the fuck was Roman?
“We promise you we won’t bite,” Diego said with a warm, teasing smile that dripped with molten heat.
Kristen feared her knees would give way. When the hell had Diego gotten so sexy? And why was she noticing? “I’m coming,” she said, biting her lip.
She walked towards them with trepidation; then steeled herself as Diego took one hand and Nick took the other. Alex followed in behind them like a lost puppy and she couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. For some strange reason, she felt even sorrier for herself. She’d barely known them an hour and she was already embroiled in some kind of strange ménage a trois.
Forget Joy and her As the World Turns problems. The bigger question of the day for Kristen was, what kind of trouble was she in for?
Chapter 4
An hour later, Kristen was having the time of her life. Compared to how she felt when she’d first arrived, her emotions were on a totally different plane now. She was having such a fantastic time with Nick, Alex, and Diego. They gave her a tour of the Deans’ ridiculously large backyard and Kristen had to admit the residence was quite impressive. The backyard was beyond huge and at least ten acres. There was an endless array of trees and shade, a tree house, a gazebo with a koi pond, and a barn with a stable full of horses. There were even a few chickens scattered about. The only thing this place was missing was a mall. Kristen wondered if there was a movie theater or bowling alley inside. She couldn’t help but feel a little envious. If she lived there, she would never leave the place.
Diego had told her there were a lot of people in the main house so she’d probably have to see the inside of it later. They ended the tour by taking Kristen to see the manmade lake at the back of the property. There were a few ducks in there and fish as well. Kristen was on Cloud 9. She was having such a good time with her three suitors. She almost felt bad for not missing Carlos anymore. He was a sweet guy. But she looked forward to moving on and having new adventures. Especially with these guys.
Eternal Flame (Eternal Flame #1) Page 3