by Amo Jones
My palms tickled with sweat and my body temperature kicked up to an unnatural level.
“Sorry,” I answered, bringing my eyes to his but hiding my chin behind my shoulder. I gave him a small teasing smile before clearing my throat and getting back to more pressing issues. Like Nate and Tate already arguing.
“Guys,” I snapped at them both. “Please shut the fuck up. I don’t want to have to listen to this shit through a two-hour flight.”
“Word,” Cash muttered, getting to his feet while pulling out a smoke. He put it into his mouth and went to light up.
“Um, and you can smoke that outside.”
Bishop’s body was shaking beside me and I whipped my head around to look at him. He was hiding his laughing behind his hand. “Why are you laughing?”
Bishop coughed, shook his head and cleared his throat. “Nothing, baby. You’re just a little moody today.”
My face relaxed a little, realization sinking. “Oh.” A wave of guilt washed over me and my cheeks heated. “I’m sorry.”
“She’s either hungry or needs a nap.” Nate pointed to me with a floppy pancake.
My eyes shot down to the cooked flour and then went back to his eyes. “Well, Nate,” I seethed, getting to my feet. “I had a great sleep last night and I’ve eaten enough this morning.”
“Baby girl, you aren’t fooling no one. We heard your moans through the fucking walls early this morning.”
I rolled my eyes and headed for the front door. Stupid boys. Cash was sucking on his cancer stick, his eyes squinting from the smoke. It was a habit I noticed they all shared, except Nate and Jase. I had seen Nate smoke cigarettes maybe once, and that was the night he found out about my past. Other than that, he mainly sticks to pot.
The door closed behind me and Cash grinned, blowing smoke out in front of him.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, crossing my arms in front of myself. “For snapping at you back there.”
He shrugged, flicking the ash off the tip of his smoke. “Not bothered, babe.” I ran my eyes over Cash. I hadn’t really had much bonding time with Cash as I have had with the others. Same with Eli, Ace, and Saint, but all though we may not have a huge relationship like I did with Nate, Bishop, Brantley, Hunter and Jase—I still cared for them. The invisible bond between us all remained tight around my neck, like a noose. Cash had on dark jeans, combat boots, and a dark shirt. He always had a five o’clock shadow that scattered his fine jaw, and his eyes were as dark as Brantley’s, only not as tortured. He had dark floppy hair that he kept shaved close to the scalp on the sides and a beauty spot was below his right eye. He reminded me of one of the One Direction guys, I couldn’t tell you which one. The hot one. He flashed his long eyelashes and gazed out straight ahead. “Why are you looking at me like I’m something to eat?”
I snorted and took a seat on the step in front of us. He stayed standing, his legs crossing at his ankles and his shoulder leaning on the beam. “I’m not. I just, I guess…”
“Scared?” he answered for me, and then sat down beside me. His knee brushed against mine.
“Yeah, I guess.” I tucked my long hair behind my ear, wishing I had tied it up now. I chose black tights, my white Converse with the red stripes, and a light loose t-shirt that hung around my ass. It was me, comfortable enough to run if needed.
“You have every reason to be scared, Mads. Perdita is no joke, in fact, we were all surprised Bishop agreed to letting you ride.”
I looked at him, my eyebrows tugging in. “Really? I mean, that wasn’t why I was afraid.”
His eyes searched mine. “Daemon?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I just...” I looked out straight ahead. “I can’t live without him and it’s terrifying to have the fate of your happiness in the hands of someone else, you know?”
Cash kept a straight face. “Nah, babe. I can’t say I do know, but, I can hear what you’re saying.”
I snorted, shaking my head. “Have none of you boys ever fallen in love?” I quirk an eyebrow at him, dropping my Ray Bans over my eyes.
“I didn’t say that…”
“Ohhh…” I lean back on my elbows and stretch my legs out in front of myself, raking my hair out of my face. “You have to tell me the gossip.”
He didn’t look at me, his focus remained solely in front of himself, but I could see the grin that stretched his cheeks. He took another puff of his smoke. “Who would be the King you would least expect to show love?”
I didn’t need to think long. “Brantley.”
His grin deepened and he turned to face me. “There’s your answer.”
Confusion pulled at me. Brantley had loved someone before? No way. He must see the shock—I made no effort to hide it. “Baby girl, you really need to stop making assumptions.”
“Wow, I’m not, I’m just, I guess shocked.”
Cash flicked the smoke out to the dirt at the bottom of the steps. “It was a long time ago and didn’t end well, so we don’t talk about it, but she still haunts him in his sleep.”
“…His nightmares,” I whispered out in realization. It was more for myself than for Cash. That was what Brantley had nightmares about? I always assumed it had something to do with his fucked up dad.
“And that…” Cash answered my unspoken thoughts.
“That’s deep…”
“The depth of Brantley Vitiosis is an endless pit of lava. Don’t go down that road, baby girl. Only one person could’ve saved him, and she’s not here.”
I didn’t want to press the subject any more than I already had, so I opted to change topics. “I really hope Nate and Tate don’t fight the whole way.”
“Oh, I have no doubt they will,” Cash laughed, getting to his feet. He reached for my hand to help me up and I took it, dusting off my pants.
“Thanks for the chat.” He winked and then walked back inside, just as Bishop was exiting.
“You bonding now?” He grinned, carrying our duffle bags.
I smiled at him. “You know, it’s amazing the things you learn when one is alone with a King.”
“Easy, Kitty…”
He dived for me, his arm wrapping around my waist to pull me into him. He snapped at my lip, his teeth sinking into my flesh and pulled back. His eyes fell to my mouth and then came back to my eyes. “You don’t wanna be the next missing person case over the Bermuda Triangle, do you?” He said it with such seriousness that my laughter quickly died out as I turned and watched him carry our bags to his Maserati.
“Not funny!” I hollered out.
His head tipped back in laughter.
Asshole.
I smiled. He was an asshole, and I loved it. I wouldn’t ever want Bishop any other way. Even though we’re an item now, and even though he’s mine and I’m his officially, he was still the same Bishop. He wasn’t some watered down version of himself just because of me. A loud slap sounded out just as my ass cheek stung in pain. I yelped and grabbed onto my cheek, turning to see who the fuck wanted a knuckle sandwich.
“Come on, bitch. I’m ready!”
“Tate!” I scolded her as she brushed past me and made her way to the Maserati instead of Nate’s Audi. “Um, why don’t you ride with Nate so you can both have a chat about how you’re not going to argue on the plane ride!” I yelled out, just as she dropped her bag into the trunk of Bishop’s car.
“How about no! Because you might be down a brother if I do.”
Jesus. Nate came up next to me, shoving an apple into his mouth. “What did you do?” I didn’t look at him, my eyes stayed on Tate.
“What did I do?” he asked, turning to me. I finally looked at him as he crunched down on his apple. “What I did was be honest with her. It’s not my fault she can’t handle it.”
“But were you nice, though?” I quirked an eyebrow at him.
His eyes darted over my shoulder absently. “I’m always nice.”
“Nate!” I punched his shoulder.
“Ouch!” He rubbed his wound. “That wasn’t ver
y nice, sis.”
“Pot meet kettle.”
He rolled his eyes and walked down the steps. “I’ve always told her from day one that I ain’t with relationships. It’s her that couldn’t handle it.” Somehow, I feel like there’s something he isn’t telling me, and if that’s the case, I’ll be disappointed. I thought we were all beyond that stage. I headed down and climbed into the front seat, shutting the door behind myself. Bishop was still talking with Saint and Chase, so I turned in my seat to face Tate who was looking absently out the window.
“What is going on? And don’t lie to me, T.”
She sighed. “He pulls me in, makes me feel things, gives me incredible sex and tells me everything I want to hear, and then after all the excitement is done, he goes back to telling me that I’m just a bit of fun and that we can’t go anywhere.”
“Congratulations, you’re sleeping with a male.”
She laughed a little at that, which made my heart a little happier, then her eyes came to mine. “I’m serious, Mads. It’s seriously fucking with my head, and I’m such an idiot because I keep going back to him like a fucking twat. I’ve turned into one of those girls I make fun of.”
“Well, yes, you were a dick for making fun of those girls, but Tate, give yourself a break. Not only is Nate, well, —”
“—Hot, dangerous, sexy wrapped in tattoo’s, piercings, and muscles?” she ended for me.
“Well, yes, that, but what I was going to say is that you’re a girl, Tate. We do this. You’re not alone. My advice, if you want it, is to stay away from him until you can grasp your feelings, or else you’re making this too easy for him and also, every time this happens you sink deeper and deeper into feelings. It’s a pointless dive.”
“Because he loves Tillie.” Her face fell and she went back to looking out the window. “You know,” her tone turned angry. Hopefully Bishop waited until I had cooled her down before jumping into the car. “I don’t fucking get it! She is not even here. She ran away and left all of us! He had been with her once! Like they haven’t even shared the same memories as he and I have.” I wanted to bite my tongue, but she was beginning to get silly over it.
“Tate, all that shit doesn’t matter when it comes to that one person, and I know that will be hard for you to hear, but when you get that person, you’ll understand. You could have a million memories and good times with someone, but if that someone is in love with someone else, that single memory doesn’t mean anything up against even one memory of the person they truly love.” I turned back to face the front of the car because my neck felt as though it was cramping up. “I love you, you know this, and I do think Nate has feelings for you, but I had seen him with Tillie too, babe, and I’m not saying this to hurt you. I’m saying this so you can prepare yourself for that day she may turn back up, okay?” I looked in the side mirror and she swept a tear from her cheek, not knowing I could see her.
She cleared her throat. “Yeah, you’re right. I won’t go there again. But I hope she comes back in one piece too. I’m starting to get worried.” Something about her tone told me that this time, she was serious about not sleeping with him.
“Me too.”
“DID WE BRING SNACKS?” TATE asked, buckling into her seat belt in front of Bishop and I. She was beside Cash now, with Nate at the very back of the jet—alone. Where he should be. I couldn’t be angry at him. He had been nothing but honest with Tate, but if he had been stringing her along too, I’d be having words with him when we get home. Fucker.
“You don’t need snacks. We just had breakfast. It’s not like we’re flying to Europe.”
“There’s a thought,” she muttered, so quiet I almost missed it. “Oh!” She bent around her seat to look at me. “We should do Europe for your birthday, Mads! Oh my God!”
I shook my head at her, giving her the universal glare that silently screamed ‘shut the fuck up.’
She returned my unspoken words with her own dirty stare. “Oh please. He already knows your fucking birthday is in a couple of weeks. Twat.”
“Is twat your new favorite word?” I asked politely once she had turned back in her seat.
“Apparently. But seriously, we should hit Greece.”
“I just want to get through all this bullshit first.” I looked up at Bishop, who was already watching me.
“It’s cute that you thought I wouldn’t know about your birthday.”
“I guess, but I don’t know. I’ve never made a big deal about my birthday before, so I didn’t see the point in telling you.”
“What? You’ve never had a party?”
I shook my head and squirmed. “Oh, no. Contrary to what you may think, I don’t really like the attention on me.”
His arm came around my shoulders as the seat belt light flickered on. The pilot yapped off about preparing for take-off, just as Bishop’s lips came to my ear. “Actually, Kitty, I know exactly what you’re like.” Then he bit on my earlobe and I had to squeeze the armrest to stop from straddling his lap. My eyes darted down to his destroyed denim jeans and how they hung casually off his slim waist. His other hand came to his crotch. He squeezed his junk. My eyes shut and I sucked in a breath of air.
“Like what you see, Kitty?” His voice vibrated over my flesh.
“Bishop…” I warned through a shaky breath.
He chuckled and pulled away from me, leaning back in his chair. “Because I need you focused, I won’t fuck you up against the wall in the back cabin, but on the way home…”
Needing to take my mind out of Bishop and his sexcapades, I pulled my phone out and opened Spotify. Grabbing my ear pods out of my pocket, I untangled them and put them into my ear. The plane began speeding down the runway and I watched as the asphalt slowly started to disappear, and all that was in view was the thick clouds and the sinking city. One of my ear pods getting pulled out of my ear snapped me out of my daydream and Bishop took my phone from me.
“Listen to this song...” Out of any other guy’s mouth, that would be cheesy, but this was Bishop. He wasn’t cheesy. He wasn’t a broken ass loved-up fool. He was just Bishop. Once you knew him, his name alone was like warm, rich hot chocolate sliding down your throat on a snowy winter’s day. With added whiskey…
“Sure.” I smiled at him. He started flicking through my music, and then he pushed play on a song that had an electric guitar opening it. A guy’s smooth voice filled my ears. By the time the hook came in, I had goosebumps breaking out over my skin. The lyrics, the electric sound, the fact that this song meant something to Bishop. I was about to choke on the rock of emotion that had appeared in my throat.
“What’s the song called?” I managed to choke out.
His eyes searched mine. “’Torn to Pieces’ by Pop Evil.”
“I love it.” A small smile slid over my mouth, and I took the phone from him, opening a new playlist on Spotify. I thought about it quickly and then smiled while typing out “Madship’s Playlist” I began adding all the songs that we had listened to previously into the playlist. One of them caught my attention.
“This song is one of my favorites.” I pushed play on “I’m Ready” by Nikye Heaton.
He chuckled. “Yeah, you do love this song, huh.” He took my phone back and flicked through.
“I do,” I nodded. “It resonates with me on a deep level when it comes to us, I guess.”
His finger paused for a second, his eyes flicking to me briefly before he continued to scroll through.
The song finished and then Bullet for my Valentine “Your Betrayal” started playing. I giggle-snorted—straight ugly snorted—when I heard it.
“That day at the lake?” I smirked, my eyes coming to his.
“You remembered?”
“Your face was buried between my thighs while our friends were doing backflips off rocks in the water fifty meters away from us—yes, I remember. I remember this song was playing from Nate’s sound dock.” My eyes glassed over from the memories. “God, it feels like so long ago. Put that
in our playlist.” He does something on my phone, and then pulled out his. He started fiddling around with both phones and then tucked his away.
“I joined our playlist to both our accounts. Now we can both add songs to it for the other to listen to.”
The gesture may have sounded normal to most people, but again, this was Bishop, and I’m still warming up to this side of him. The caring side. Receiving love from someone who spent so much time hating you gives you a euphoric high that no drug could ever give you. It was intoxicating, deadly, and completely addictive. I took my phone since he could now use his, then pushed play on “Stupid Love” from Jason Derulo.
“Really?” he deadpanned.
I shrugged, sliding the song to our playlist. “It came on when we were on our way to the airport to fly to New Zealand. It connected with me around that time so it’s going in.”