by K. Webster
“Make love to me.” My final demand.
“Bray, oh my gosh! Check out this bathroom,” I called out to him. He was still telling me all about the contents of the mini fridge in the room.
“That tiny bottle of vodka is thirty-nine bucks,” he whistled in awe.
Jordan had spared no expense in these rooms. They were all fancy suites, including Opal’s. Bray walked into the bathroom and smiled. We were both in awe at the sheer luxurious feel of it.
“I want you in that Jacuzzi tonight,” he said in the demanding tone we’d recently found was hot for the both of us.
“Well, I read that it is okay to take baths while pregnant, but they just shouldn’t be too hot. As long as we keep it a nice warm temperature, we should be f—” I replied before getting interrupted by a chaste kiss on my lips that instantly warmed my insides.
“I read it too, baby. I’ll take care of you. You know that.”
And I did know that. Bray had been taking care of me since the day we met. He took care of all of my needs—emotionally and physically. Bray meant the world to me.
“Are you ready to head down for dinner?” he asked.
I frowned because I really wasn’t ready. This was the first time I would see Pepper since the incident of her kicking me out. She still didn’t know I was pregnant. It was going to be beyond awkward, but I’d promised Bray I would try for Jordan’s and Andi’s sakes. I still loved Pepper, so I wanted us to get past our issues.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I sighed. He kissed the top of my hand and led me out of the bathroom.
On the way downstairs, we knocked on Opal’s door. When she answered, we giggled when we saw one another. The last few days, we’d been practically inseparable. It was so good to have my sister back. She looked great now too. Thankfully we were close to the same size so she was able to wear my clothes. Since she’d come to us with nothing, we’d had to improvise. She was the same little sister I remembered from living back home, but now she was a beautiful woman. It was hardly noticeable that just days ago she had been tied to a bed, having unmentionable things being done to her by Drake.
“Are you ready, Opal?” I asked. She nodded and we all headed down the hallway.
Bray, always needing to touch me, had his hand on the small of my back, guiding me toward the elevators.
“I can’t wait to meet your friends under better circumstances. I’m so embarrassed that Jackson and Bray saw me naked that night. I didn’t speak two words to Andi. It will be nice to hang out like normal people,” she said.
I laughed and pulled her in for a side hug. “I wouldn’t say we’re norm—”
We were interrupted by the elevator doors opening, which greeted us with a very hot and heavy Jackson and Andi. With a smug grin over at us, he slowly withdrew his hand from under her dress. She was flushed but looked horrified.
“Olive, Bray, Opal!” she shrieked in surprise.
“Whoa, Fifty Shades much?” Opal laughed.
“Get a room,” Bray teased as we joined them on the elevator. He squeezed my hand and pecked my cheek.
“Where are Jordan and Pepper?” I asked, trying to change the subject for Andi’s sake.
“They’re going to meet us in the restaurant at seven. How are you feeling, Opal?” she questioned my sister.
“I’m great, and it’s awesome to finally meet you both under more normal circumstances.”
The elevator doors opened to the floor of the restaurant and we all shuffled out. Jordan and Pepper were waiting by the entrance. He waved at us but her back was still turned. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach at having to speak to her again.
“Hey, guys!” Jordan greeted happily when we reached them. Pepper turned and smiled at Andi but refused to look at anyone else. My heart sank.
“Pepper, meet Olive’s sister, Opal,” Andi politely introduced.
Pepper arched an eyebrow as she looked at my sister in a non-friendly manner. She nodded once and turned her back to us. Opal hissed out an, “Oh no she didn’t,” from beside me.
“Elizabeth! You’re being rude,” Jordan growled through clenched teeth.
“I’m confused. Is your name Elizabeth or Pepper?” my sister chimed up from beside me. My body tensed as I realized it was her way of standing up for the both of us. Opal was a smart cookie and probably sensed the animosity.
Pepper spun back around and glared at her. Jordan grabbed ahold of her arm and whispered a warning under his breath.
“The people who love me call me Elizabeth. You can call me Pepper,” she spat out at my sister before turning and storming into the restaurant.
That stung.
While Jordan always called her Elizabeth and Andi mostly remembered, the rest of us still called her Pepper.
“Everything’s going to be okay, baby,” Bray whispered into my ear as we followed her inside.
We managed to make it through dinner without incident. Pepper directed all of her conversation toward Andi. Thankfully Jordan made sure to include everyone else. He even had us all laughing most of the time. Several times, Pepper made sure to glare hatefully at me. When Bray kissed my cheek at one point, she slammed her fork down.
“I can’t take this anymore,” she huffed out, pinning me with her stare.
My eyes widened as I looked over at Bray from the corner of my eye. He was just shaking his head, trying desperately to refrain from going off on her.
“Take what, Pepper? Andi fucking knows. You’re the only one being a bitch here,” he snarled back at her.
She snapped her head to Andi, who looked back at her guiltily.
“You know and you’re okay with it?” she demanded.
“Uh, yeah. They told me the other day. Look, hon. We were waiting until we were all here together to talk it out with you—to smooth things over. We’re all best friends, and there isn’t a reason why we can’t get past this. I promise I’m okay with it. You should be too,” Andi said reassuringly.
The table was silent as Pepper processed her words. Her glare softened to a frown and a tear escaped.
“Andi, I was so worried about what it would do to you. You nearly killed the both of us back then. I couldn’t go through that again,” she whispered. Jordan reached over and clutched her hand. I felt my own eyes fill with tears.
“I know. Thanks for looking out for me, babe. But we want Olive to be happy too. They’re happy, Pepper.”
Pepper risked another glance in my direction. The sadness on her face reflected the memories she had of when Andi had nearly died. I felt my heart break open. Recovering from the vulnerable look, she put on her Ice Queen face again and reached for her purse on the floor.
“If you all will excuse me. I’m going to my room for the night.”
Andi stood quickly. “I’m going with you—so we can talk.”
I finally spoke up. “Pepper, I’m sorry. I—”
“No. I’m not ready to talk about this right now, Olive. But heed my advice. Get as far away from him as you can. Once a cheater, always a cheater,” she hissed at me. She and Andi started to leave when Jordan stood.
“Baby, let me pay the bill and I’ll be up to the room,” he said, trying to provide her some comfort.
I could hear Bray grinding his teeth furiously from beside me. He was scowling with his arms crossed across his chest when I looked over at him. Jackson was staying out of it by typing on his phone. Opal was studying the hem of her shirt obviously, feeling as uncomfortable as the rest of us.
“No, Jordan. Hang out with your brother. I’ll be fine. Talk to you later,” she assured before kissing his cheek and leaving with Andi.
“Well that was fucking awkward as hell,” Jackson grunted, not looking up from his phone.
“Bray, I don’t feel so well. I’m going to go on up as well,” I told him. And I felt really nauseated. Probably a little of both pregnancy and Pepper.
“Okay, let’s go,” he huffed, still clearly very angry with her for lashing out at me.
He nodded as I kissed his forehead. Before I got too far away, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him.
“Come here,” he whispered. When I leaned in closer, he softly said, “I lo—I’ll text you later.”
Pecking him on the forehead one last time, I left with Opal.
Thirty minutes later, the three of us guys were sitting at one of the casino bars, finally relaxing after several shots of Patrón.
“Oh, shit, Jordan. I forgot to tell you that I’m going to be meeting with one of Mr. Higgins’s hotel friends. He wants to purchase an existing building and do a teardown. It could be a huge account if I take it,” I told Jordan.
He grinned and slapped my shoulder. “That’s awesome, Bray. You’ve really helped land us some big accounts—helped save the company really. We know it wasn’t Jackson’s lazy ass,” he joked.
Jackson looked up from his phone and flipped us off. “Whatever, dickheads,” he grumbled.
Jordan and I laughed as the cocktail waitress come up to us.
“Hi, I’m Candy. We just had a shift change, so I can help you if you need anything,” she purred as she batted her eyelashes at us. Her tits were spilling out of the top of her uniform, making it very awkward to look at her.
“Candy, bring us another round. We’re enjoying one last weekend of debauchery before I get married next month,” Jordan told her jovially. That guy was always grinning like a fool.
“Oooh, so like a bachelor’s party weekend?” she asked, once again batting her long eyelashes at him.
“Something like that. The women are with us, but they’re in the rooms.”
“Ahhh, I see. Well, there’s a private party happening right now on level eight at the pool. Someone told me Nikki Sixx was going to be there. It’s by invite-only but I could get you access,” she flirted. Jordan was oblivious to the fact that she was pushing her tits closer to his face.
“Candy, that sounds great! Bring us two more shots of Patrón each and there’ll be a nice tip waiting for you,” he instructed, grinning at her. She winked at him and sauntered off to the bar. The poor girl probably thought he was flirting with her, but I knew better. Jordan only had eyes for Pepper, and he was fucking friendly as hell. People mistook that for flirting all the time.
After two more shots and a funny-as-hell wrestling match between Jordan and Jackson in the elevator, we finally made it to the pool party. Rock music blasted as soon as we got off the elevator. People were everywhere, dancing and drinking. We were still taking in the scene when a group of people got up and abandoned a table near the bar. Jackson and I snagged it while Jordan took off to get us more drinks.
“Dude, I still can’t believe you knocked up Olive,” Jackson laughed. He was a lot friendlier as a drunk motherfucker.
“I’m glad it happened. I love her. She doesn’t know it yet, but I do,” I told him honestly.
His face sobered up and he slapped my knee. “She knows. How can she not? You two have been glued to each other’s sides since Andi’s birthday party. You’re growing on me, Bray—I’m starting to like you. But you better not fucking prove me wrong or I’ll beat the living shit out of you,” he threatened.
I nodded, agreeing that I wouldn’t ever hurt her.
“Who’s going to beat the shit out of whom?” asked Jordan, nearly spilling all the contents of the drinks as he clumsily set them down on the table.
“You’re fucked up, dude,” Jackson laughed at him as he grabbed the fullest of the three drinks.
“I’m not fucked up, I’m fucking happy,” Jordan grinned over at him.
“Hey, boys. Looking for some company?” a female voice purred.
The three of us looked up to see four women scantily clad in barely there bikinis. Makeup was perfect and hair was in place. They even had fucking high heels on. Who wore high heels to the pool?
“Nope. We’re just fine having a guys’ night,” I told her as I refrained from looking at her shoes again. I mean, really. Who wore fucking high heels to the pool?
“Are you gay? All the hot ones are gay. I bet we’d turn you straight given the chance,” she purred.
“I see Nikki Sixx,” Jackson said, pointing off toward a group of people. The girls snapped their heads in that direction and pranced off without even a goodbye.
“Fucking groupies,” I laughed. I downed the rest of my drink and started to feel really tired. A little rest of the eyes seemed to be in order.
“Wake up, fucker,” Jackson chuckled and kicked my knee.
I snapped my eyes open. “How long was I out?” I asked as I wiped drool from the corner of my mouth. “And where’s Jordan?”
“Pepper has him pussy-whipped. He left not long after you passed out. You’ve been out for at least thirty minutes. Check your phone, stupid-ass. I sent you a text.”
I rubbed my eyes and pulled out my phone. When I realized I had several texts, my heart rate picked up. I hoped Olive was okay. The most recent text was from Jordan, so I read it first.
Jordan: Fix it, dickhead.
Um, okay? Drunk-ass. The next one was from an unknown number.
Unknown: It’s Pepper. You’re a stupid-ass mother-fucking asshole. I hate your guts and I hope you rot in hell. When I see you again, I’m going to cut off your balls and shove them down your throat. Stupid fucker.
What in the hell was wrong with that woman? She was seriously obsessed with terrorizing me about that one fucking time in my life when I’d hurt Andi. Clearly she was the only person who didn’t have a forgiving bone in her body. The next text was from Andi.
Andi: Bray, you need help. What is wrong with you?
Okay, so I was clearly missing something here. I looked up at Jackson, but he had his eyes closed now. I scrolled on to the next text, which happened to be from Olive. My heart pounded furiously when I read it.
Olive: I trusted you. You told me I could trust you and I believed you. Don’t ever talk to me again.
What the fuck? Was I so drunk that I was missing the point here? Why was Olive so upset with me? When I pulled up the last text, I nearly dropped my phone. It was from that stupid sleeping fucker across from me.
Jackson: Bray loves blow jobs.
The text wouldn’t have been that bad, but it was the picture he’d sent me. The picture was of the four scantily clad bikini Barbies all posing around me. The ringleader had situated herself between my legs and was pretending to give me a blow job. The others had their tits pressed against me and one even had her tongue in my ear. No fucking way. And since my stupid ass had been passed out, my head was tilted back, looking like I was enjoying the whole fucking thing.
“I’m going to fucking kill you!” I roared at Jackson as I sprang from my chair, lunging at him. His eyes flew open right before I punched him in the jaw.
“What the fuck man? It was a joke,” he snapped, standing quickly to better defend himself.
“Are you trying to make everyone fucking hate me? Why would you send that picture to them? To her? Tell me fucking why!” I demanded. My fists were clenching on either side of me, ready to take another swing.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just sent it to Jordan. It was a joke. See?” he said, retrieving his phone from his pocket. When he pulled it open, his eyes grew wide. “Shit! I sent it to my entire fucking address book!” he exclaimed, now checking his own texts.
I growled, “Fuck you,” to him and stormed off toward the elevators. He quickly jogged after me and caught up right before the elevators opened.
“I’m sorry, man. Shit, I even sent that to Mom. I just got a nasty reply back from her. And Andi texted me a million times. Dammit! I can’t believe I sent it to everyone. It was a joke for J
ordan. I didn’t mean to do this, Bray. You’ve got to believe me,” he groaned as we entered the elevator.
“Well, everyone fucking hates me now,” I spat out.
“We’ll fix it. Andi will be pissed at me for doing it, but I will take the heat. You were passed out—I thought it would be funny as shit. I didn’t think this would happen.”
Once we got to our floor, I took off in a jog to our room. Finding my key, I slid it into the slot and went inside. It was empty—just like I’d thought. Going back out, I went next door to Opal’s door. Jackson stood next to me, ready to defend my fucking honor.
“Olive, let me in,” I demanded as I pounded on the door. I could hear a flurry of female voices—one familiar one was wailing. My stomach sank at hearing her so upset.
The door creaked open a few inches and a furious Pepper glared back at me. I tried to push it open but the chain was engaged, effectively stopping me.
“Pepper, let me see Olive. This is all a big understanding. Please—” I began.
“No, Bray. You can’t see her. I can’t believe you can’t keep your dick in your pants for five minutes. Don’t ever talk to my fucking friends ever again!” she screamed through the crack.
“Pepper, wait. It’s my fault. I—” Jackson started to explain.
“Fuck you, Jackson! You took the fucking picture. What kind of friend does that make you to Olive?” she snapped. Not waiting for a response, she slammed the door back in my face and engaged the bolt lock.
I beat and kicked on the door while Jackson tried to reach Andi by phone. After several more minutes later of this, hotel security came storming down the hall toward us.
“Do we have a problem here?” one of the big burly men asked.
“Yes! My girlfriend thinks I cheated on her and won’t let me in to explain!” I shouted in explanation.
“Sir, when people have been drinking, emotions get high. I’m going to have to ask you to go back to your room. You’ll have to work this out in the morning when you’re sober,” he instructed calmly.