by Pamela Ann
“I think five minutes is enough replaying it in your dirty heads, no? Those two will be joining us soon, once they’ve realized we have arrived. It would be awkward if Bass came out here and you girls looked all flushed.” Taylor tried to hide the smile. He was definitely making fun of us.
Lindsey grinned at him as she started to walk towards one of the chaise lounges then sat, facing him. “Come on, dude. I’m sure this thing always happens to you.”
He gave her a humorous laugh. “It does, and it never gets old.”
“So, did you guys ever like the same woman? I’m sure that’s happened before. I mean, you guys are both exceptionally good looking,” Lindsey said as she stared at Taylor, waiting for him to answer her direct question.
He looked thoughtful a moment, pondering Lindsey’s question with consideration. “Nah, Bass and my tastes are different. He has a thing for exotic beauties with accents. On the other hand, I prefer brunettes.”
Lindsey frowned at that. “That’s interesting to me. Emma’s not an exotic beauty with an accent. Why do you think Bass is with her then?”
Fucking good question there, Doll, and what’s with Taylor’s thing for brunettes? Was he trying to tell me something? Fucktard!
Taylor didn’t even look worried about Lindsey’s suspicions. “The only one that could answer your question would be the man himself. Anyone with eyes, though, could see how crazy he is about her. In the end, I guess a person can’t really control what they feel towards someone, even if that someone is not what one expected them to be. We don’t do the choosing, our souls do.”
The last few sentences made Lindsey frown. “Well, that’s a fucked up thing to say, Taylor. You totally just screwed with my head. I say we need some hefty margaritas in our systems.” She stood up and left the patio, heading straight to the bar inside. I knew Taylor’s words made her think of Brody.
That would definitely pissed her off. If Lindsey could ease up on her thoughts of Brody for a little bit, she could breathe easily. Then again, Lindsey was one stubborn-headed bitch. Not only that, but she has a notoriously vindictive personality to boot. Ever since our small weekend jaunt in Tahoe last year, Lindsey was bitchy when it comes to Cece. And that includes ALL the men Cece slept with, including the men who she was in love with since middle school.
Emma, Bass and Lindsey all came out at the same time, bringing drinks and snacks with them. Bass was only wearing his ripped, stained jeans. I blushed when he gave me a smile. Yeah, I was a little embarrassed because I was admiring his ass while he was having sex with my friend a little over half an hour ago. If he had known that, I wondered if he would still smile at me. Emma, on the other hand, gave me a happy kiss on the cheek. Her torso-hugging dress flared loosely from her hips to her ankles. It showed off her amazing body in an understated way. Yeah, Emma’s one of those girls that appears as if they popped into this world looking like a damn super model. I caught Bass cupping her ass before he moved past Emma; he was trying to be subtle, but had failed miserably. The gesture made it obvious that he couldn’t get enough of Emma. If he wasn’t in love with her already, he was on his way there. I was glad that she finally found a man who adored her like mad. It wasn’t hard to see the happiness that radiated off her.
We were discussing our trip in Ios when a slight knock on the glass made us look up. All five heads turned to watch a blue-eyed, dark haired, Greek piece of perfection walk towards our table. Holy shit, this island harbored all the hot males.
“Good evening. I let myself in after a few knocks. I hope you guys don’t mind.” The Greek man spoke with a husky, accented voice.
“Girls, this is Dimitris. We’ll be staying at his place in Athens tonight.” Bass introduced him to Lindsey and me. It was obvious that Taylor already knew him since they greeted each other like long, lost buddies.
“You’re an actor as well?” Lindsey asked him as Dimitris settled himself across her. To other observers, she might look nonchalant and blasé, but I knew better. Lindsey’s eyes sharpened, her “come get me boys” look was in place. Sultry Doll was definitely ready to play.
The Greek actor looked like a devil-may-care kind of guy, but something about him told me that Lindsey might find her usual strategic games challenged by him. “I am. I play Emma’s husband in the movie,” Dimitris murmured before he helped himself to a glass of red wine.
Damn. Emma’s job was to make out with and be in the arms of two very fine, exceptionally good-looking men? Talk about super unfair!
Emma reach out and touched my arm. “Tris, do you mind helping me make some more drinks?” she asked on the side, getting my sole attention, while Taylor and Bass, Lindsey and Dimitris were all engaged in their own conversations.
Grinning, I reminded her of my bomb skills. “Sure, but you know how deadly I make mine.” I knew Emma couldn’t handle hardcore concoctions, but that didn’t stop me from trying to get her to drink them anyway.
We both stood up at the same time. She laughed, shaking her head, remembering fun memories of us plastered. “Yeah, don’t remind me. Your drinks gave me the worst hangovers.” Emma slightly ruffled my hair, before slinging her arm loosely around my shoulder as we walked back inside the cottage. When her arm kept pushing us past the bar, I knew then that she was up to something.
“He sent an email heading ‘ Did Trista give you something from me ’ ? Did he really send something?” Emma whispered, worried.
Of course, unanswered emails wouldn’t faze tough-as-nails-sexiness-was-named-after-me Carter Mason. What Carter wants, Carter gets. If it gets tough, Carter aims harder. He wasn’t the kind of man who would give up. Back in middle school, when our school banned those old school Nokia phones from being used at breaks and lunches, Carter made a damn petition and nearly got the entire school to sign it. He then took it to the local radio stations and made sure that the entire city was made aware of the school ban. The school principal, of course, lifted the “no cellphones allowed” policy the following day. The principal even gave Carter an apology. Yeah, Carter was a lot of things, but giving up wasn’t part of his DNA.
“My room, let’s go.” I ordered her to follow behind me. I hastily opened the door to the room and waited for her to get inside. Once she did, I gently closed the door behind her. “I’ll go grab it. It’s hidden in the closet.” It didn’t take long for me to locate the item. I handed it to her.
We were both sitting on the bed, anxious. Our eyes dauntingly stared at the white package. “Did he say what was in it?” Emma asked, obviously apprehensive.
Like Carter would tell me.
I shook my head. “No, he didn’t.” I should excuse myself and leave her to open the present from Carter, but I was way too curious to have the decency to do that. I wanted to see what Carter Mason had up his sleeve to try and win her back. The man was bound to do something monumental.
“Phew, okay. This is stupid. I don’t know why I’m even nervous. Let’s just get this out of the way, shall we?” Emma sounded like she was trying to ease her mind, but it was obvious that she was a little shaken.
Her fine, dainty fingers swiftly opened the bag and poured all the contents on the bed. My eyes took in the four by four picture frame of them kissing during Halloween last year (they looked utterly crazy about each other in this one), his current jersey, a DVD of The Pirates of the Caribbean and a card. What really caught my attention was the final item, a black velvet ring box.
I nervously glanced at Emma. Her blue eyes stared at it like it was dangerous. It was her Pandora’s Box. When her hand reached out to get the small square item, they were trembling. My heart was in my throat when I saw what that ring box contained. “OH MY GOD,” I whispered in awe and shock.
Holy fucking COW, it was epic. Epically crazy, epically ludicrous, epically original—but most of all, it was Carterepic.
“His great-great-grandmother’s engagement ring!” Emma screeched with shock and bewilderment. The antique, oval-cut ring was truly magnificent, with a h
uge sapphire surrounded by flawless diamonds. What made this ring significant was that Carter’s great-great grandfather bought this for his new betrothed from a European royal who needed more money to continue supplementing his expensive lifestyle. The ring was a medieval piece of art that carried centuries of history. It was Emma’s birthstone to boot. For Carter to offer his grandmother’s ring to Emma, proved his intentions were beyond boyfriend/girlfriend. The ring had been passed down through the family to his grandmother who died when he was about eight, I think, and had been set aside for him, intended for the woman he would someday marry. The fact that he sent it to Emma was a statement that he had just made LOUD and CLEAR.
I remembered Lindsey mentioning seeing her grandmother’s ring before, but I hadn’t expected Carter to send it through me. I hid a ring that cost millions in a fucking closet! It was in my luggage and went through international customs! What the hell. That was messed up. What if someone had stolen it? Thinking about those possibilities almost gave me a panic attack. So not cool.
When my eyes returned back to my friend, I started to worry. “Emma?” she looked pale, ghostly.
Emma bit her bottom lip before she took hold of the letter and opened it, without parting with the ring.
My Emma,
The past two months without seeing your beautiful face have been the greatest challenge of my life. Your mind must be going nuts about my grandmother’s’s ring. Do you remember when I was telling you about it this past Christmas? I hope you do. It was the first time in years that I didn’t dread the occasion.
There’s no better way to tell you how serious I am than with this ring. You know what this ring signifies, to me most of all. This is my way of telling you that I want my future with you in it.
I don’t want anyone else but you, Emma.
You can keep ignoring me if it makes you feel safe, but that doesn’t mean I will ignore you when you do. Our relationship was rocky, but we had a lot of good memories, too. I don’t know how to fully explain myself. You know more than anyone that I’m not good with expressing my feelings.
ALL I SEE IS YOU. There is no one else except you.
Forgive me, Emma. I will prove that I will be worthy of you again.
Forgive me for betraying your love and trust.
Forgive me for fighting for you.
Forgive me for loving you so much that I can’t let you go.
Ours was the kind of love that stays with you. You know more than I do, that it’s never going to be over, my Emma.
I love you.
Carter
This was like D-Day, the rounds just kept on coming. Carter blew my mind with this screwed-up-fucking-ingenious gesture of his.
“Emma…” I trailed off. I wanted to say, “be strong and don’t let him change your mind”, but a quick glance at her made me stop. She was about to cry, but was trying to control it.
“What do I do, Trista? This is too much.” Emma’s small voice shook, troubled and confused.
Oh, no. She’s reacting to him. Not a very good sign. “Do you still have feelings for him, Em?”
“It’s going away. There are days that I don’t even remember him and his betrayal. I’m unprepared for this. I wasn’t expecting this.” Emma gently wiped her tears away.
Even if Carter was persistent, it still didn’t change the fact that he had hurt her badly. Even though I grew up with Carter, and have a soft spot for him, Emma needed a guy that was loyal and who was crazy about her. I believed Bass was that man, and then some. “Bass is crazy about you. If he knows you still have feelings for Carter, it could definitely complicate things.” Bass was the true gentleman, but he too has limits. I knew this from Emma’s stories.
Emma tried to smile. “I’m crazy about him, too. Bass has been this terrific, perfect guy. I’m scared how our relationship is going so fast, but it feels like it was meant to be that way… like being with him is never going to be simple or ordinary. I only have one heart, though. Sadly, it holds two men in it. One I want to keep, the other, I want to set free. How do I let the other free when he securely locked himself in, throwing away the key?”
“Shit, Em.” Yeah, I sucked at this. There was nothing I could say to make it better. She was going to be in a crazy battlefield of love, with two determined, Alpha demigods. Wishing her luck wouldn’t do shit.
After another five minutes, Emma gathered herself up and decided to stash her Pandora’s Box back in my closet. This time, I wouldn’t be caught dead with that medieval historic piece of art.
“You can stash the rest in there, but I won’t let you do that to the ring. You need to find a place to keep that safe.” The problem was where. The only thing that I could think of was for her to wear it, but it was impossible with Lindsey with us.
“Fuck, fuck! I don’t need this problem, Tris. Fuck,” she cursed again.
In the end, she was reluctant, but knew it was the best if she held on to it. We were staying in Athens tonight and we’d be spending the whole weekend on a yacht. Leaving that ring in the closet, unguarded, was out of the question. It would be disrespectful to the ghost of Carter’s grandmother, but it was also an absolute disrespect to the ring itself. It was way too beautiful to be treated that way.
Yeah, I have a partial love affair for flawlessly beautiful masterpieces.
Chapter 12
Trista
We traveled to Athens by a helicopter with Dimitris as the pilot and Taylor next to him. Pretty boy looked like a kid in a candy store, ecstatic and giddy with joy.
Dimitris landed on a helipad atop his building. He was a great host and showed us to the seventh floor, where the guestrooms were located. Apparently, the other floors were for entertainment, dining and living room, with the gym and the penthouse being his quarters. His home was not decorated in an over the top fashion. Black and white with understated style left us all feeling comfortable.
Taylor and I didn’t speak to each other unless it was necessary, and I liked it that way. I hoped it would continue until the month was up.
After a nice rowdy dinner, Dimitris took us clubbing. I caught Lindsey a few times giving Dimitris a look. The Look. I planned to ask her about that once we were alone.
We had barely finished our first mojitos when Lindsey stood up and started to dance right in front of the guys. “Come on my pretty girlfriends, let’s get crackin’.” She took Emma’s hand on one side and mine on the other.
It was thrilling to be around my friends. Even though Amber wasn’t with us, the feeling of security I got from Emma and Lindsey was enough for me. Tonight, I had to try to forget about everything. After all, I had less than a month to enjoy my time of being alone here. Once I got back to the motherland, shit might hit the fan. Who really knew what the future held?
For a good hour, the three of us danced like old times. Emma and I were rather surprised—okay, we were definitely surprised—when Dimitris interrupted us and asked Lindsey to dance with him. “Um, maybe later? I’m still busy with my friends,” Lindsey said with hesitation.
Huh. Wasn’t she flirting with him earlier? What had happened in that short amount of time from Aspasia to Athens for her to act odd?
Dimitris turned his attention to us, Emma and I in particular. “Do you ladies mind if I borrow your friend for a while?”
“Go ahead. Take care of my boo, D.” Emma winked at Lindsey.
Lindsey blushed! Um, what the hell? It was rather odd to see her in such a shy, reddened condition. “I’m okay with it, Lindsey likes her McHotties.” I said McHotties in my best southern drawl to mask it from Dimitris, but Lindsey understood and she just gave me a murderous glare.
When I saw Emma gaze up to where our table was located, she was just staring with an enamored look in her eyes, at Bass, who was laughing with one of the guys who had just arrived to join him.
“Go be with him. You know you want to.” I urged her on.
She merely shook her head. “He’s great isn’t he?”
Du
h, Emma? “I think the whole world thinks he is. Look around, tell me, how many here think he’s great?” I pointed her chin to the gawking female fans vying to get a glimpse of the movie star. Suddenly, I realized how hard this must be for her. Someone always wanted a piece of Bass. How did she do it?
“You know, there were rumors that some of the extras made this bet as to who could get Bass in bed first? I know he won’t, but it doesn’t make me stop thinking about it.” She bit her lip and focused those cornflower blue eyes at me, questioning, worried. “When we go back to the real world, do you think we’ll survive LA?”
Dude, I sucked at giving advice. Have you seen my life? Of course, I shut my trap and tried to be a good friend, though. “I can’t speak for Bass, I don’t know him that well, but from what I have observed, he’s nuts about you, Doll. I can’t honestly tell you if you guys will be okay when you get back. You know more than anyone what kind of temptations are around tinsel town. You have yours, too, but no matter what you do, just try to stay real. I know it’s freaking ironic that I would give you advice after what I’ve done with my life, however you have a chance here at great happiness, Em. I want that for you.”
Emma’s stunning face suddenly contorted at my response. “You have to stop it with this shit about you messing up your life. You made a big mistake, but that doesn’t mean you can’t move on from it. That doesn’t define who you are, Trista. Please, I don’t want to hear anymore of you degrading yourself this way. We all make mistakes that we aren’t proud of. No more being sorry for yourself, okay?” Emma reached out and gave my hand a squeeze. Her kind eyes made me want to weep.
If you only knew the extent of what I had done, you might not think that. “I’ll try. That’s all I can do. Now, why don’t you go and keep your man company? I’m going to find one of my own for the night.” I shooed her away. After a minute of convincing her that I was okay, she left and strode towards where Bass was sitting with the other actors that were in the film with them.