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In Love With My Lover, Book 2
by Bryn Alexander & Salli Coker
Inside Book 2
Chapter 1
. . . Liam sat up, glaring at Grace, who was lying in an abandoned pose on Hailey’s bed.
Chapter 2
“Hailey, that girl has a major sense of entitlement. Has anyone ever suggested therapy for her?” asked Liam.
Chapter 3
“Hailey, I don’t know what’s happening, but, baby . . . I can’t get enough of you.”
Chapter 4
Hailey drove to her sister’s small apartment, located near the UNM campus. Sitting in her car, she exhaled nervously, then gathered her resolve.
Chapter 1
. . . Liam sat up, glaring at Grace, who was lying in an abandoned pose on Hailey’s bed.
His eyes narrowed as they raked over Grace’s plump figure, resting on an unmistakable “love handle” at the side of her waist. Then he looked at Hailey’s rounded figure. Frowning, Liam threw the covers back stepping out of the bed. As he did so, he gave Grace a contemptuous glare, grabbed his boxers and pants and got partially dressed.
Hailey decided she would deal with Liam in a minute. First, however . . .
“Grace, I want you to get the hell out of my bed and out of my house! This is the last time you do this to me! You did it to Bobby and me, and now, you’ve tried to come between Liam and me . . . get out of here! The only communication we have any more is what I dictate we have . . . and if you try to come back here and worm back into my life, I . . . will . . . tell . . . mom . . . and . . . dad. You ruined Bobby’s life because of your greed. Get out! Get the hell out now!”
The smirk Grace had been wearing slowly slipped from her face as she realized Hailey was serious about telling their parents about her actions. Looking at the tall, half-dressed Liam and seeing the contempt on his face, her face transformed into a deep frown. Stalking to the bathroom, she grabbed her clothes, got dressed and, as she was about to leave, Hailey stepped in her path with her hand out.
“Give me my house key. Now. You are no longer welcome here at all. Any more.”
Grace grabbed her purse and fished her key ring out. Pulling the house key off, she slapped it onto the palm of Hailey’s hand and stomped out.
Hailey turned and looked at her boyfriend, who was still shirtless.
“I want you out of here, too, Liam. I want to be alone right now,” Hailey said, struggling to keep the tears from falling.
“Hailey! Sweetheart, I thought that . . . thing was you! I was confused when I didn’t see you in the . . . “ Liam tried to say.
“Out! Now!” Hailey said, clenching her teeth against the sobs. She pointed toward the front of the condo.
Liam looked at his girlfriend and saw a young woman whose trust had been shattered. She was trembling, struggling to hold herself together and he longed to take her in his arms, reassure and comfort her. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to get through to her, he put his sweater, socks and shoes on. Picking up his back pack, he walked, head down, out of the house.
As soon as the lock shut, Hailey collapsed on the love seat and she allowed the storm of tears to begin. She cried, sobbing loudly, the tears pouring down her cheeks – by the time she was cried out, she wasn’t even aware of how long she had been crying. She was dimly aware of an insistent tap-tap-tap at the door.
“Hailey, honey, you’re hurt and mad – and you have every right to be. But I’d like the chance to fill you in before you decide to write us off. Please,” Liam’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door.
Hailey was caught by the truth of what he said. She was a fair person and she tried to give everyone a chance to show their character. Walking slowly to the door, she unlocked it, standing square in the middle of the doorway, preventing him from entering.
“I’ll listen to you – but if I don’t believe you, you’re outta here, do you understand me?”
“I understand. I just hope you’ll see my side of things and understand that your sister played me, too. May I come in?”
Hailey stood to the side, shutting the door when Liam had come back in. She gestured to the love seat and Liam sat down next to her.
“Okay, so talk. Explain yourself,” she said with a cold note in her voice.
Liam winced. Grace had done some real damage.
“I knocked and opened the door. Like you said it would be, it was unlocked. I checked the kitchen, but it was dark. I didn’t know what had happened – I should have called you. Instead, I took my bag to the bedroom and I saw you – or what I thought was you – in your bed, so I decided to join you. A . . . few minutes later, you came in. Why weren’t you here? You said you’d be busy in the kitchen.” Liam said.
Hailey looked at him. His account certainly sounded honest. She knew Grace was capable of some very manipulative behavior. Is he . . . telling the truth?
Her small, pink tongue darted out and moistened dry lips. “I got a frantic call from Grace. She left a voice mail on my phone, telling me to go meet her at the Target by the Winrock Mall. She was crying, so I thought something had happened – well she sounded like she was crying. I thought, maybe she’d gotten into an accident and had been hurt. Our relationship has always been stressful. Anyway, I thought, ‘She’s my sister, so I’d better go check.’ I got to the Target and she wasn’t there – I checked up and down every aisle. I asked a store employee if he’d seen anyone who looked just like me, only more plump. He was completely confused and he said, ‘no.’ That’s when I started to get suspicious because I remembered what she . . . look, when I was sixteen and she was fourteen, she got my boyfriend into bed with her.”
Liam muttered, “Oh, my God,” because he knew what was coming. His face had gone ashy white.
“When I got home from school, she told me that mom wanted me to get some things at the store – gave me a list in mom’s handwriting, along with some money, so I went. When I came home, the house was empty. Bobby’s car was out front, so I knew he’d gotten to the house while I was at the store. I heard Grace moan and I thought she was sick. I went back to my room – that’s where the sounds were. I heard her moan again . . . then I heard Bobby moan. That’s when I realized she’d done something . . . bad. When I got to my door, I saw Bobby on top of her. He was . . . inside her and he came, just as I got to the door. They heard me at the door. Grace looked at me like, ‘I got you, bitch.’ Bobby looked at me . . . and his . . . thing went down, he was so scared.”
He grabbed his clothes, got dressed and got out of the house. I got into it with Grace – we were screaming, kicking and pulling each others’ hair. That’s when mom and dad came in. I told them what she’d done. Mom made her put a robe on and clean up. Dad told me that, while Grace had done something really bad, Bobby had raped her – statutory rape
because she wasn’t sixteen. They called the police and he was arrested and charged. He pleaded guilty and is a registered sex offender – because of . . . her. She ruined his life.
And, now, whenever I date anyone, I have to keep that relationship a secret from her because she’s so damn, fucking jealous of me.
Liam . . . did you really think she was me . . . in my bed?” As she asked Liam the question, she got up and began moving toward her bedroom.
“Yes . . . where are you going?”
“I have to pull those sheets off the bed. Just the thought of sleeping where she was lying makes my skin crawl,” she said. “Are you serious? You thought she was me?”
“Yes, Hailey. I thought you’d changed your mind and decided to start our lovemaking early. I hate to say this, but she looks very much like you – except, where you’re ‘blessed’ with curves, she’s just getting fat.”
Hailey heard the disdain in Liam’s voice. Her eyes shot to his face – she saw strong disgust there. The corners of his mouth were drawn down. Maybe he’s telling me the truth. Maybe she pulled her stunt again. The thought made her stomach turn with nausea.
She opened her mouth. Closed it. “I think I believe you. But I’m going to have to be very careful with you. I want to trust you, but seeing you in bed with her . . .”
Liam released a heavy, pent-up sigh. “Thank you . . . Hailey, I don’t have any right to ask, but I am anyway. I’d really like to stay. We need to start rebuilding what we had before Grace did her damage. Please.”
Hailey sighed. Nodding, she said, “You’re right – we do need to start working on the damage she did. I’m going to take the sheets off my bed. I’ll reheat dinner and we can start talking in a few minutes.”
“Hailey? Let me help you change the sheets, please.”
Hailey sighed again. “Fine. Thank you.”
After they changed the sheets on the bed, Hailey pulled the food out of the refrigerator and set it on the stove. She began heating it back up and grated mozzarella cheese into a large bowl. Scooping most of a container of cottage cheese into the bowl, she mixed them well. Once the pasta sauce had reheated, she ladled some into a baking dish and began assembling lasagna noodles, more sauce and the cheese mixture. When the dish was full, she covered it with foil and set it in the oven. She worked on the garlic bread, spreading garlic butter on French bread.
Liam set the table for two and opened a chilled bottle of wine. Pouring two glasses, he gave one to Hailey.
“Sweetheart, look at me. Grace did some real damage tonight. Do you know where it comes from?”
“At a guess, she just hates that I’m the older sister and that I have what I have. If she doesn’t have it, she’ll do everything she can to get it and damn the consequences.”
“Has she ever paid the consequences of her actions?”
“No. Even thought she seduced Bobby, he was the criminal and she was the ‘victim.’ That always pissed me off, even when I told mom and dad.”
“You may not believe me, but the best way to start making her pay for what she’s done is to tell your parents what she pulled tonight. They need to see that she’s got this destructive pattern, where she tries to get what’s yours. She does whatever she thinks she has to, justifies it in her mind and, like you said, ‘damn the consequences.’”
Hailey was quiet for a long time. “This is really going to make family get-togethers really . . . wonderful,” she said with a gusty sigh. “But, you’re right. Is this what you tell the kids at school?”
“It depends on the situation, but yeah. You need to reclaim the power in your relationship with Grace. Because she’s so willing to take these underhanded kinds of actions, it’s out of balance. If you’d like, I can be with you while you tell them that she pulled that stunt again.”
Hailey thought about his offer as she checked the lasagna. Pulling it out, she turned the broiler on and put the garlic bread in.
“Let me think about that. You’re right. I do need to tell them and take my power back.”
After the couple had eaten and cleaned the kitchen, they were relaxing on the love seat. The doorbell chimed. Looking at Liam in confusion, Hailey got up to answer it. Grace was on the threshold.
“Hailey, I just want to explain . . .”
As Liam heard the high-pitched, whiny voice of Hailey’s younger sister, he jumped up and joined Hailey at the door. Placing one hand on her shoulder and listened as Hailey began yelling at Grace.
“You’re a selfish, self-centered bitch, Grace! All you’ve ever been interested in is what you want, how you can get it and you don’t care what you have to do to get it. It’s over! Over! You did this with Bobby and you tried it with Liam, but it didn’t work! You’ve lost, little ‘sister!’”
Grace, hearing the anger and contempt in Hailey’s voice, crumpled. She had tried to come to the house so she could see if Liam was still there – that he was – meant her plan hadn’t worked. She felt the stirrings of anger deep within . . . then, Liam’s deep voice began.
“You know, Hailey, if I’d met your . . . sister . . . before tonight, I would have known right away that it wasn’t you in your bed. I would have left and waited for you in my car. She’s . . . not even one-fourth the woman that you are.” Liam gestured toward Grace and the contempt was heavy and obvious.
Liam’s eyes were switching back and forth between the sisters – the differences were slight, but now that he knew what to look for, they were obvious. Hailey was voluptuous, but not overweight. Grace, on the other hand, had the same curves, but they had begun to melt into visible rolls of fat around her body. Cringing in dislike, he grabbed Hailey’s front door and slammed it shut, locking the main lock and the deadbolt.
Hailey, who had heard what Liam said about Grace, knew he had told the unvarnished truth, especially when she heard the note of disgust in his voice. When he grabbed the door and shut it so emphatically in Grace’s face, she knew he had been telling her the truth. She reached for him and wrapped her hands around his lean, hard torso, resting her head against his chest.
Liam, feeling Hailey embracing him, breathed a sigh of relief and sent up a silent prayer of thanks.
“Liam, I need to tell you everything she’s ever done – you’re going to be encountering her, so it’s best for you to know what to expect . . .” Releasing him, she took a bottle of beer out of the refrigerator and gave it to him and poured herself a glass of wine.
Sitting on the love seat with her legs tucked under her, she went back in her memory.
“Okay, this is what she would do . . .”
Hailey was ten, Grace eight when Hailey was given the privilege of sleepovers with her girlfriends. When Grace saw Hailey packing for these parties, she routinely pouted, screamed, cried and threw tantrums, begging her parents to allow her to tag along with Hailey. Hailey was long-familiar with Grace’s greediness and manipulations.
She rolled her eyes and, putting her hands on her hips, she told her parents, “Melissa invited me to her birthday party, not me and Grace. She’s my friend from school. Grace’s name isn’t on the invitation.” Her parents, listening to her, nodded in agreement, and then they told Grace that Hailey was right – Hailey had been the only Wilson child invited to the party.
Hailey, hearing this, gave her parents hugs and kisses, grabbed her belongings and left for Melissa’s sleepover party. As the door closed, she heard the volume of Grace’s voice rise to a piercing shriek as she realized she hadn’t gotten her way.
Hailey’s mind moved forward to her first year of middle school. Her mother had bought her a small cosmetics kit and showed her how to apply makeup suitable to a 12-year-old girl. Again, Grace was put out because she hadn’t received the same privilege. Their mother explained that, as a 10-year-old girl, she was still too young to wear makeup. Grace would hear nothing of that.
Shortly after the school year started, Hailey came home from school and walked into her bedroom – and found her cosmetics destroyed all ove
r the floor. The blush was crumpled on the tan carpet, as were the eye shadows. Grace had broken the pencil eyeliners, opened the tube of mascara and rubbed it all over the top of Hailey’s desk. Hailey had screamed for their mother, who, when she saw the damage Grace had done, grounded her for several days, removing her privilege of visiting her girlfriends on the weekend. That weekend, Grace was made to scrub the makeup stains out of Hailey’s bedroom carpet. She was required to clean the brown mascara off of the desk as well.
Hailey decided to skip over the Bobby seduction events. Instead, she remembered that, when their parents had bought Hailey a used VW Beetle, Grace had gone into a rage again. This time, Hailey and her parents were ready for Grace’s machinations. They sat her down and told her that, when she turned 16, she would receive a used vehicle – and that, if she attempted to damage the Beetle, the repairs would come out of her savings account. Grace, looking at their parents, knew not to try anything, but it was a good three months before she spoke willingly to Hailey.
Chapter 2
“Hailey, that girl has a major sense of entitlement. Has anyone ever suggested therapy for her?” asked Liam.
“We’ve all tried to make her go. She went a few times before she turned 18, then refused by saying the therapist was ‘lame’ and knew nothing. She got out of that by saying the therapist had hit on her - that she was a ‘lesbo.’”
“And? Did your parents have the allegations checked out?”
“Oh, yeah! Grace was lying – again. She’s just always been a greedy, manipulative . . . bitch. That felt good saying that, Liam. Thankfully, the therapist didn’t suffer any lasting damage -– unlike Bobby.”
“Your boyfriend that she seduced?”
“The very one. Look, Liam, I don’t know what’s going to happen with you and me. But I just want you to be ready for anything. She’s toxic. You did the right thing pushing her out of your life. And I hope you’ll tell your parents – soon – what she’s pulled again,” said Liam. As he spoke, he set his beer bottle on a coaster, pulling Hailey into his arms. He tucked her head under his chin and caressed her back. “My bag is downstairs in my car – I’m leaving it up to you. Can I bring it up and stay the weekend like we’d originally planned?”
In Love With My Lover (Lunchtime Love Stories - Erotica) Page 1