by Tabatha Kiss
“And you didn’t think to mention this to me?” he asks.
I scoff. “It never would have stopped you and we all know it, Kai,” I say. “Especially not with your little wager in play.”
He exhales a quick, angry breath through his nose. “Well, never have I ever let someone strangle me so hard it left a giant bruise on my neck,” he spits with a quick hand gesture towards my throat.
“Sure…” I lean forward and I don’t fucking blink. “I’ve been strangled to the point of unconsciousness by men whose names I didn’t even ask for. I’ve been blindfolded, spanked, finger-cuffed, tied down to hotel room beds, and fucked in the ass so hard, I cried. And I enjoyed every fucking second of it and that’s what really bothers you, isn’t it, stepbrother?” I pause and empty the remains of my bottle down my throat while he stares back at me with shaking eyes. “Or is it because they achieved what you never could? They knew the right words to say, the right places to touch me, all the right ways to get me into bed — and after all this time… you still can’t figure me out.” I let the empty bottle slip from my fingers and it clatters intact against the floor of the silent compartment.
Kai looks away from me, his eyes completely downturn. I can’t tell if it’s from disgust or embarrassment. Probably both. Anger flutters softly in my chest. My fingers and toes buzz with adrenaline as I slowly come to terms with what I just said.
“So…” Shawn breaks the silence, “were all those things you listed… at the same time? Or…?”
“Jesus, Shawn…” Kai whispers. He awkwardly rubs his forehead with one hand before sending his fingers back through his thick brown hair.
Mandy cracks first, her laughter splitting the air quietly around her before her voice crashes through it. I stare at her and my anger spikes before she looks at me with tears in her eyes. I dart my gaze forward as Shawn starts chuckling, too. I bite my inner cheek to try and keep my lips from curling up, but I can’t stop it. I cover my mouth and look up to see Kai doing the same.
We both begin to laugh until the entire room echoes with all our voices.
Shawn slides a fresh beer out of the box and holds it out for me. I take it with a shaking hand. “Damn, Piper,” he breathes. “My respect for you just like… tripled.”
I pop the cap off the bottle and choke out a laugh. “I can’t imagine why…” I take a slow drink and stare at my hands. What I really want to do is look up at Kai again, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I feel a soreness in my chest, a deep regret for what I said to him. I’ve thought about telling Kai off a thousand times, and each time I thought it’d bring me great pleasure to finally do so.
I was wrong.
Suddenly, I’m reminded again why I don’t like to drink.
Fuck it. I take another sip and finish the bottle just before we arrive at the station in Munich.
Chapter 8
Kai
“The bet’s off.”
Shawn stares at me with a wrinkled nose. “What?” he asks.
I plop down onto the twin-sized hotel bed and the old mattress creaks beneath my weight. “I said, the bet’s off.”
He tosses his duffel onto the other bed and stares down at me in disbelief. “What the hell are you talking about?” he asks.
I sigh and prop myself up on my elbows. “You heard her, man…” I scratch an itch on top of my head and another one traveling down my arm. This whole situation is giving me stress tickles. “There’s no way she’s ever going to sleep with me now.”
Shawn blinks at me multiple times. “Dude…” he says. “I don’t know what train car you were in, but all I heard coming out of Piper’s mouth was, ‘I want you, Kai. I need you, Kai. Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me—’”
“Are you kidding me right now?” I interrupt. “She fucking hates me.”
He sits down on his bed across from me and leans forward. “She may have been saying that shit, but she was speaking a very different language with her eyes.”
I think back, but all I can remember is the bright blue oceans in her pupils boiling from the volcanic eruption threatening to singe my eyebrows off. I shake my head. “No, Shawn. The bet’s off.”
“Mandy saw it, too.”
“What did she say?” I ask a little too quickly.
“Nothing,” he answers, “but the two of us did exchange a few glances.”
“Glances aren’t exactly evidence, Shawn.”
“They’re better than nothing. I wouldn’t count yourself out just yet. You still have some time.”
“No,” I say. “I’m taking a flight back home in the morning—”
“Oh, come on, Kai—”
“I just want to put all this shit behind me and forget about Piper fucking Lynch.”
He stares me down. “You owe me this.”
“Owe you what?”
“I think things might finally be happening between me and Mandy,” he says.
I collapse onto the bed and shove the heels of my palms against my eyeballs. “Ah, jeez, Shawn—”
“There were some moments on the train,” he says slowly.
“Don’t do this to me, man…”
“Mandy’s my dream girl, Kai. This is my last chance before college and I don’t want to fuck this up.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and exhale a very large breath. “Not cool…”
“I haven’t been laid since New Year’s,” he admits. “That’s not cool.”
I chuckle and begrudgingly drop my arms. “Fine. I’ll stay.”
“Thank you, Kai.” He brings his hands together in prayer for me. “Thank you. And don’t worry about Piper, all right? Just keep it to small talk or something. You’ve known her since you were kids, you can last four more days, right?”
Her boiling eyes fill my mind again. “How does she know about the bet?” I ask him.
Shawn shakes his head. “No idea.”
“You didn’t tell her?”
“Of course not.”
“Shawn…” I raise my eyebrows. “There’s only two people in the world that know about it and I definitely didn’t tell her.”
He holds up his hands in surrender. “I swear, Kai. I never said a word to her.”
“No one else?” I push further. “You didn’t accidentally let it slip out to your brother or somebody?”
“Kai—” He keeps a firm voice. “I’ve never told anyone.”
I bite my bottom lip hard. “Then how does she know…?”
“Witchcraft, man.” He shakes his head as he pulls his phone from his pocket. “Bitches like her love that voodoo shit.”
I laugh and a flash of memory crosses my mind. Piper laughing with us on the train. I’ve seen her smirk with amusement, but I’ve never seen her really laugh like that before. It’s the first bit of genuine human emotion I’ve seen from her outside of those moments when she thinks no one’s watching.
No, Piper’s no bitch. She’s a thick-skinned motherfucker, but she’s no bitch.
Shawn hops up off his bed and makes his way for the mirror near the door. “Where you going?” I ask him.
He swishes his fingers back through his hair. “Mandy knows a good place nearby to get some food. You in?” he asks.
“No, thanks. I’m not hungry,” I lie. I could definitely use some food, but I’m not ready to face Piper again just yet.
He smirks at me. “Good answer. The last thing I need is your pretty face distracting Mandy.”
I nod as he pulls the door open. “See you later.” I listen closely as he steps down the hall and knocks on the girls’ room next door. This hotel is old, with thin walls, and it’s easy to hear Mandy’s token giggle over everything else.
I reach for the television remote and scan through the local channels provided. Of course there’s nothing in English, so I’m left to my wits alone to figure out the German television programs.
Mandy’s voice seeps through the open window next to my bed and I hop out to look down at the street. Shawn and Mandy cross the str
eet below, while Piper lingers slowly behind them with her itinerary in her hands. I shake my head. She’d see more of the world if she actually glanced up every once in awhile.
“I’ll see you guys later,” I hear her say.
I furrow my brow and watch as she breaks away from the two of them.
“Okay, have fun!” Mandy waves back at her as Piper takes off in the other direction.
I watch her closely, my heart racing. Where the hell is she going?
She disappears into the darkness of the dimly lit street and I immediately regret not taking off and following her when I still had the chance. It’s not safe for her to be wandering around a foreign city at night by herself. I remember the bruise on her neck and cringe.
Dammit, Piper…
I sit back on the bed and try to focus on the boring television in front of me, but I can’t stop myself from peaking out the window. A little while later, I eventually see Mandy and Shawn heading back from the restaurant, looking awfully cozy with each other. I nod at my old friend, with his arm around her shoulder and his voice down low at a volume meant only for her. I wait for him to return to the room so I can chew his ear off about the whole thing, but I hear two pairs of feet pass by in the hall and enter the girls’ room next door.
Good for you, Shawn.
Once again, my eyes fall back to the window. The minutes pass by slowly, stretching the hours out ahead of me. Still no sign of Piper. Where did she go? Who is she with? What is she doing? It’s killing me from the inside out — and it’s certainly not helping to hear the constant creaking of an old hotel bed against the wall in the next room. I’m happy for you, buddy, but take a break before you tear a muscle or something…
I glance at the clock and sigh when I see it’s almost three in the morning. I should be tired, but I can’t even think about sleeping right now. Not when I have no idea where my damn stepsister is. I fight the urge to stare out the window again, but it’s a losing battle. I stand up and glance down at the street below just in time to see a black-haired woman drift inside the hotel entrance doors.
I stick my head out to try and catch another glimpse, nearly toppling out the window in the process. My heart lurches in my chest as vertigo shakes me. I grab the window sill and pull myself back inside.
Was that Piper? I’m honestly not sure. It could have been anyone. I move to the door and listen closely until I hear the light tapping of boots on the floor outside my room. They stall out a few feet away and settle against the wall across from the girls’ door.
It’s her. It has to be. Obviously, she hears the ruckus going on behind the door and is wisely choosing not to interrupt it.
I reach for the doorknob and pull the door open to find her leaning against the wall. She flinches at my sudden appearance and nods silently at me before reopening her itinerary. I look at the door to her room and see the bright pink scrunchy hanging around the doorknob, an obvious do not disturb signal from Mandy. I breathe a laugh.
“They’ve been at it for hours,” I tell her. She nods and her eyebrows bounce once before her gaze returns to her maps. I look her up and down. She’s wearing a short, black skirt and knee-high boots to match. Once again, her face is masked with unusual make-up for her comfort zone, but I’m definitely not complaining. Her eyes are tired and worn, like she hasn’t slept in days. I don’t see any fresh bruises on her exposed skin, thankfully. At least she came back from wherever the hell she was in one piece. “Come on.”
She glances up at me. “What?” she asks.
“You going to stay out in the hall all night?” I ask. I gesture into my room. “Come on.” I step back inside and leave the door open for her, should she choose to come in. For a moment, I think she won’t, but then I hear the shuffle of her boots across the floor.
She closes the door behind her and steps slowly into the room. “Thanks,” she mutters.
I point to Shawn’s bed as I sit down on mine. “It’s all yours.”
She nods and sits down on it. I focus on the television, but I can’t keep from watching her out of the corner of my eye as she slips the tall boots off her feet before lying back. “Any idea what’s going on here?” she asks at the television, her voice just barely carrying over the quiet German dialogue.
I shake my head as I lean back against the pillows. “No idea,” I say. “I think he’s having an affair with the blonde woman, but…” I look over at her. She staring at the television with her back flat against the headboard. Her skin is more white than ever against the pale glow of the cheap motel bedside lamp. I can see a bit of that bruise protruding out against her collar bone. Anyone else would assume she’s vulnerable, but I know better. “Pipes, I’m sorry,” I say. She flicks her eyes away from the television to look at me. “It’s not fair for me — of all people — to judge you.”
She inhales slowly and I sense a bit of surprise on her face before she nods back. “Kai, I came on this trip to let loose and do things I couldn’t get away with back home,” she says. “I don’t want to keep looking over my shoulder for you.”
“You won’t.”
“And I would appreciate it if you kept your opinions on my activities to yourself from now on.”
“I will,” I say. “But Piper…” I lose my train of thought, unsure if I can find the words to express it.
“What?” she asks.
“I— I’ve known you since we were kids,” I whisper. “The last thing I want to think about is someone hurting you like that.”
She looks away for a second. “Then don’t think about it,” she suggests.
“It’s hard not to,” I say. “I’ve had this image in my head of you for years. I thought I knew you.”
“This doesn’t change anything about who I am, Kai,” she says.
“Yes, it does,” I laugh.
She shifts her body a little in my direction. “I’m pretty sure you’d still be a total douche if you didn’t get laid on a regular basis.”
“It’s different with you,” I argue. I’m losing ground very quickly and I know it, but I feel a surge of excitement as our usual banter takes hold of my tongue.
“It’s really not. This is just the usual thick-skulled sexist crap that tells women they’re not allowed to enjoy sex.”
I scoff. “I guess your daddy isn’t the only member of the family we can call headmaster.”
“Yeah—” Her lips curl. “Him and your mother.”
My jaw drops. “Dammit—” I laugh hard, frustrated with the perfection of her wit. “That’s just… dammit.” I shake my head and sit back. “You win this round.”
She chuckles softly to herself and I can’t help but stare at her.
We spend the next hour watching the television together, mostly in silence. One of us will crack a joke here and there as we try to decipher the dull foreign film playing out in front of us. After a long bout of silence, I glance over at her to see she’s fallen asleep on her side with a pillow clutched loosely against her chest. I feel a protective instinct to cover her up with a blanket or something, but she’d probably think that’s lame. Luckily, our friends seemed to have passed out as well, so there should be no other sudden grunting noises coming through the wall to wake her up.
I switch off the television and fall asleep shortly after.
Chapter 9
Piper
I wake up and it takes a moment for me to remember where I am. Kai lies sleeping in the next bed and a smile strikes my lips. After such a crazy day yesterday, I’m actually quite satisfied with how the night played out. I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, but what I did get wasn’t bad either.
I quietly grab my boots off the floor and slip out without waking him. He’s lying on his back with his arm draped over his eyes, so it’s hard to say if I succeeded or not. He could be faking, although I hope he isn’t.
I go to the next room and thrust my key into the lock. I immediately avert my eyes after I open the door, as Shawn’s naked rear sits on display in front of
me. He rustles about on the bed for something to cover up with as Mandy herself grabs a shirt off the floor to chuck over her head. “The train leaves in ninety minutes, guys,” I announce. “We’re bound for Italy.”
I make a quick beeline for the bathroom and let them get dressed while I freshen up. I listen closely and wait until I hear Shawn leave before coming out. “So…” I pull my toothbrush out of my mouth and crack a smile at her.
Mandy sits on her bed, fully dressed, and pushes a brush through her knotted brown hair. “He’s actually really growing on me,” she admits. She wrinkles her nose and tastes the words before continuing. “I think I kind of like him.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Whatever happened to he’s fun in small doses?”
“Well, turns out…” She stands up. “When those small doses come in big spurts of thrusting and moaning, he’s quite the catch.”
I shrug. “Well, you do you, lady,” I say as I swing back into the bathroom to rinse with water.
“As we always say…” She drifts in behind me. “I really need to shower.”
“Go ahead. You deserve one more than I do.”
“Disappointing night?” she asks.
“Haven’t decided yet.” I grab my make-up bag off the bathroom counter. “I’ll explain later.”
“Okay then.”
She closes the door behind her and I look about the empty room. My eyes drift to the shared wall between this room and theirs. I hear the gentle hum of their voices behind it, no doubt catching up with each other on last night’s events.
Disappointing night?
Not at all.
Confusing night?
Now we’re getting somewhere.
***
A new train speeds down the tracks with the four of us inside of it. Mandy and I sit in the corner of the diner car with warm drinks to help wake us up for the almost ten hour trip to Rome.
“So, tell me all about Mr. Munich,” she says as she brings the steaming coffee to her lips.
I think back on the night before, almost forgetting for a brief moment that I even went out in the first place. “Nonexistent,” I answer.