by L A Cotton
“ISN’T THIS FUN?” CALLIE glanced over at me.
“Fun, yeah.” I focused on the waves, on the swell of the water as the boat cut through it.
“Well, I think it’s wonderful.”
I glanced back and she glowered at me before tilting her face to the sky, basking in the sun’s rays.
Being on Sam’s family’s boat was the last place I wanted to be, but after Kiera walked away from me, I’d realized I was too late.
I’d broken her.
Destroyed her trust in me. Shattered any chance of there ever being an us. It was only what I deserved. I still didn’t know what the fuck had happened. But seeing her sitting there on the Stone-Princes' wall, lonely and somber, a switch flipped in me. I wanted to be the one comforting her. Holding her. A part of me had always wanted that, but this time, I was ready to do something about it. I was ready to claim her.
And she walked away.
Kissing me, feeling her soft lips move against mine, Kiera gave me a glimpse of how good things could be between us only to rip it away from me seconds later. Now here I was, suffering a different kind of torture.
“We’re so glad you decided to come.” Sam settled down on the bench beside me, sipping some sugary cocktail, her hair piled on top of her head like a pineapple. Her smile was forced, her voice saccharine.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” I shot back around a smirk, a silent fuck you to the girl who made no secret of her disdain for me.
Sam’s brow arched as if she saw straight through me, and she probably did. But I was past caring. If she knew the truth about mine and Callie’s relationship—and I doubted she did—she’d realize her best friend wasn’t as innocent as she thought. But Callie played her part to perfection. After all, the apple never fell far from the tree.
Until I’d stepped foot back in Wicked Bay, things had been fine. I had been fine with playing this game. Then I’d laid eyes on Kiera and her pink fucking hair and all my resolve crumbled. I’d been fooling myself to ever think we could be in the same room and act normal. Maybe that’s why I went, why I broke my promise to Lo to leave Kiera alone.
But it didn’t matter now.
Kiera had made her choice, and it wasn’t me. And who knows, maybe she’d done me a favor. Saved me from screwing up my life any more than I already had.
“Yes, well, I suppose we all need to get used to being around each other if—”
“I think Kenny wants you,” Callie shot her best friend a look. Sam’s expression hardened but then she plastered on a fake smile and said, “I think you’re right.” She disappeared and I narrowed my eyes on Callie.
“What was that about?”
“Nothing,” she replied quickly.
Too fucking quickly.
“But she’s right, can you two at least try to get along? This is important to me.”
I glanced back to where Sam and Ken were talking to the captain, laughing and joking, sipping on overly priced champagne and eating canapes that resembled something my dog had puked up—if I had a dog.
“You really don’t like this, do you?” Callie’s voice softened and I slid my eyes to hers.
“I just don’t fit in here. All this,”—I threw my hands up—“It’s so fucking conceited.”
“There’s nothing wrong with enjoying money, Trey. Some people have it and some people don’t.” She gave a small shrug. “It’s just how it is.”
“It’s not about the money, Cal.” I sighed into my hand, running it over my jaw and to the back of my neck. “It’s just...”
Callie got up and came to me. Sitting on my lap, her sheer kaftan fell open revealing her perfectly smooth, perfectly tan legs. “I don’t get you,” she said, brushing my chest with her fingers. “You come from money, Trey. Your father’s business—”
“Has nothing to do with this.” My jaw clenched.
“So why did you come?” Her brow rose. “Why are you here?”
Good fucking question.
Because I was weak.
Because I was running.
Because the girl who I wanted more than anything could never be mine and I didn’t know how to deal with that.
But I couldn’t tell Callie any of those things, so I said, “Because I’m trying.”
“You need me,” she said as if I was a forgone conclusion. “Just like I need you. Like it or not, Trey, we’re the same. We can’t have what we really want, so we move on to the next best thing.”
Callie was wrong. We weren’t the same. She was just throwing a tantrum after her father fired her ex-boyfriend and ran him out of town when he found out about their illicit affair. And I was her consolation prize. The guy with a few tattoos and enough attitude to piss daddy-dearest off. I was the complete opposite to the kind of guys Callie dated but I had two things going for me. I wasn’t her daddy’s junior partner. And I wasn’t eight years older than her. She said she loved me, but she didn’t. She loved what I could do for her. I was basically a walking talking 'fuck you' to her father. But I wasn’t using her to piss my old man off. I was using her to save my skin.
After my father found out I was close to being kicked out of college, I knew I needed to make a grand gesture. Something to prove I’d really turned things around, and it landed in my lap in the form of Callie Timson. But if I knew then what I knew now, I’m not sure I would have ever got tangled up with Callie and her family of vipers.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I shot back, not wanting to get into a fight with her in front of her friends.
She laughed bitterly. “You think I don’t know you, Trey, but I do. I don’t know who she is, but whoever she is, she doesn’t deserve you.”
“Callie,” I warned, not liking where this was headed.
“It’s okay,” her voice turned soft again. “I’m not expecting answers. I just want you to know I get it and I’m still here.” She kissed the corner of my mouth.
“I need to get some fresh air.” I lifted her onto the bench beside me and stood up. Her laughter followed me. And I hated it.
I hated she saw through me.
Even more, I hated that she was okay with this. Us. And for as crazy and fucked-up it was, part of me hated that I wasn’t her first choice. I was playing second string to some guy I’d never even met.
It was messed up.
We both were.
I wandered to the front of the boat, leaning against the guardrail. The cool sea breeze washed over me as I stared out at the vast ocean. What was I doing here? I didn’t like these people. I didn’t belong in this world.
“You shouldn’t be here, you know?”
“What do you want, Sam?” I didn’t even bother looking at her.
“I want you to do the right thing and end it. Callie isn’t right for you and God knows you’re not right for her.”
That did get my attention and I slid my eyes to hers. “What the fuck do you know?”
“I know she’s just stringing you along to get back at her daddy after Logan. What I can’t quite figure out though is if you’re with her because you really want her, or because you’re after something else?”
“I don’t want anything from her,” I sighed, done with this conversation.
“We all want something. It’s her dad, right? You probably think he can—”
“Trust me,” I laughed. “I want nothing from that man.” The guy was a complete asshole.
Sam inclined her head. “So, what is your game?”
What could I tell her? Even I didn’t even know anymore. When I’d started this thing with Callie, it had just been sex. Hot angry sex. Last year had done a real number on me. Being friends with Kiera, but not being able to kiss her, touch her. I couldn’t give her up completely, but I couldn’t be with her the way I’d wanted either. And before I knew it, I was drinking a lot and getting high, anything to forget. To push her out of my head. Because she was right—we couldn’t be anything more.
So I used Callie to h
elp me forget. She wasn’t needy at first or asking for more than I could give her. She was just there, and I didn’t hate being around her. Probably because she was the complete opposite to Kiera. Then my mom and dad found out about her and for the first time in my life, my old man actually sounded proud of me. His son, dating Callie Timson, only daughter and heir to the Timson fortune. And slowly, over time, I got pulled more and more into Callie’s life—her world.
“That’s what I thought,” Sam hissed. “Some friendly advice, Trey, end it now before you’re in too deep.”
I watched her walk away, heading back to Ken’s side. He barely looked at me. Pussy. I didn’t care about Sam or her opinion of me, but there was something in the way she’d said those last words. It didn’t sound like advice at all.
It sounded like a warning.
I SURVIVED THE BOAT trip, barely. So when Deacon and Micah invited me to gatecrash their guys’ weekend in Laguna Beach, I jumped at the chance to get away from Callie and Sam and all the bullshit. It wasn’t like Callie could argue since she’d dumped my ass last weekend to go to the spa with Sam.
“I just need to swing by Callie’s apartment and then we can head out,” I said to Deacon as we loaded up my truck.
“Forget your balls?” he smirked, and I flipped him off.
“I left my favorite sneakers there.”
He rolled his eyes before ducking inside. “Seriously, did you hear that?” he said to Micah, barely containing his laughter. “We’ve got to stop by Callie’s apartment so this fucker can get his favorite sneakers.”
Micah shrugged, leaning back. “Could be worse. He could have forgotten his balls—”
“Fuck off, both of you.”
“You asked for it, man. You’re over there more than you stay at the house.”
“Yeah,” Deacon said. “But that’s because Callie couldn’t possibly slum it at our place.”
“That’s not... fuck, yeah, that’s about right.” I conceded, firing up the engine.
“So how was the boat trip with Barbie and Ken?”
“About as fun as I expected. Sam is a poisonous bitch, and Ken is just... well, there’s more personality in a corpse.”
Deacon and Micah carried on taking the piss out of Ken while I focused on the road. Callie’s apartment was only a couple of blocks over, but traffic was a fucking nightmare. Fifteen minutes later, we pulled up outside her building. “I’ll be five minutes,” I said.
“Don’t forget your balls,” Deacon called out as I went inside. Hopefully Callie was home because I’d sent her a text earlier and she hadn’t replied yet. I took the stairs to the first floor and made a beeline for her door. But when I reached it, I heard the ball busting shrill of Sam’s voice.
Ugh. That was all I needed. I lifted my fist to knock but paused when I heard, “Have you talked to him yet?”
“No, I haven’t had chance.”
“You mean, you’re stalling. Jesus, Callie, this is fucked-up.”
“I panicked, okay? My dad found out Logan tried to contact me and lost his shit. I had to think of something.”
“So you told him you and Trey were engaged?” Sam sounded incredulous, but I was stuck on the part where she just said Callie had told her father we were engaged.
What the fuck?
“I know, I know, it’s crazy. But I think it could work. My father hated Trey at first, he’s everything he’d never want for me, but there’s one person he hates more...”
“Logan.”
“He’d rather welcome Trey into the family than have me run off into the sunset with Logan.”
“But engaged? That’s ballsy, Cal, even for you. And Trey doesn’t know any of this. I mean, I can’t stand the guy, but even I feel kind of sorry for him right now.”
Ouch. Fucking bitch.
At least now I knew why she’d warned me on the boat to get out now before I was in too deep.
“There’s nothing I can do now. He left with the guys for the weekend.”
“You need to fix this, before he finds out. You know your mom can’t keep a secret. Half of Beverly Hills will know soon enough and then what?”
“Shit, I messed up.” Panic laced Callie’s words, but it was nothing compared to the tsunami of emotion rattling in my chest. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. And yet, it didn’t really surprise me. Callie lived in a cutthroat world. A world I’d never had any interest in. One where money talked, secrets got brushed under the rug, and lies were everyone’s favorite currency.
“You don’t say, but it isn’t totally unfixable. You can talk to your dad and—”
“And let him win?” Her voice rose a few decibels. “He’s already ruined Logan’s life. If he thinks we’re still in touch, he’ll kill him, Sam.”
“He wouldn’t—”
“Wouldn’t he? It doesn’t matter anyway. He’ll push for the engagement now if it means severing all my ties to Logan once and for all. Oh god, Logan... he doesn’t... I didn’t...” Sobs filtered through the door and I ran a hand down my face.
Part of me wanted to go inside and demand answers, but something held me back. Because part of me did care for Callie, and I didn’t like hearing her upset over her asshole of a father. But still... engaged? I couldn’t wrap my head around that.
Backing up, I slipped silently down the stairs and got the hell out of the building. Running to the truck, I climbed in a little breathless. “Did you get them?” Deacon asked looking at my empty hands.
“Hmm, no, she wasn’t home,” I lied, gunning the engine.
“Well if you need some extra balls for the weekend, I’m sure Micah can loan you his. He has enough to go around since it’s been what, two months, since you got laid?”
Micah dived through the front seats and smacked Deacon upside the head. “So what if I’m having a dry spell? At least I’m not going to be Mr. Timson’s little bitch one day.”
“What did you say?” I snapped.
“Jeez, man,” Micah said, sinking back in his seat, looking alarmed. “It was a joke.”
“Sorry, I’m just ready for a break.”
“Damn right,” Deacon agreed. “Let’s get out of here.”
But a weekend away with the guys wouldn’t change anything. When I came back, I’d still have to deal with Callie. With the fact Mr. and Mrs. Timson thought I was engaged to their daughter.
Fuck.
When did life get so complicated?
Chapter 12
Kiera
“Hi girls,” Rebecca said as me and Summer made our way to the back of the house. She’d invited me over to hang out by the pool since Jack and Nick were busy. “Make sure you two keep hydrated, okay?”
“It’s March, Mom,” Summer protested, flicking her long blonde hair off her shoulder.
“And?” Rebecca gave her a pointed look. “It’s still heating up out there.”
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “We’ll be careful.”
“No Nick today?”
“He’s got a thing.” Summer waved her mom off as we slipped out the back door into the yard.
“So where is Nick today?” They rarely went a day without seeing one another. At first, I’d thought it was a bit OTT, but now I didn’t think anything of it. They weren’t only in love, they were best friends. It was sweet even if they did make me want to puke sometimes.
“I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean, you’re not sure?” I laid out my towel and slipped off my shorts, accepting the bottle of lotion from Summer.
“Well, I invited him over, like I always do, and he said he’d try to stop by later.”
“That’s it? That doesn’t sound like Nick.”
“Right? I mean, I trust him, obviously, so I didn’t want to push, and I know things with his family can sometimes get intense, but he’s never blown me off like that before.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” I said around a half-smile, but Summer didn’t look convinced, she looked... sad.
“
Hey.” Reaching over I grabbed her hand. “He loves you and I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation. Wait to talk to him before jumping to any conclusions.”
Her lips curved slightly, and she nodded. “You’re right.”
It probably was nothing. It had to be. Summer and Nick were solid—the couple other couples got jealous of because of their togetherness. Besides, they were both off to USC in the fall. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that, and if he did, he’d have Kyle to deal with since he also went to school there.
Trying to think of something to cheer her up, I said, “So I heard the guys talking about Prom.”
“You did?” That got her attention.
“Yeah. Jack mentioned wanting us to stay out... all night.”
“Well, yeah, it’s Prom. There’ll be after parties.”
I widened my eyes, giving a little shake of my head, and her mouth dropped open. “Oooh, you mean like...”
“Yep.”
“And how do you feel about that? Spending the night with Jack?”
“Okay, I guess. I mean it’s not like we haven’t done... stuff.”
“But...”
“But I still don’t know if I’m ready.”
Summer shrugged. “So, what if you’re not? There’s no rule that says you have to have sex after Prom. It’s just some old high school legend to get girls to give it up.”
“Says you who’s been having sex with her boyfriend since she was fifteen.”
Summer flushed, ducking her eyes to the ground.
“Shit, Summer, I didn’t... I wasn’t...”
“It’s fine.” She gave me a weak smile. “There’s just some stuff you don’t know.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“It’s nothing really. But at the time it felt pretty huge. I was fifteen and we’d only been dating a few weeks. Nick didn’t push me or anything, but I wasn’t ready. The condom broke and I had to go to the family planning clinic and get emergency contraception.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, and I had to keep it from my brothers and Macey because... well, you know how they can be.”
Did I ever.
“What happened?”