The young man looked appalled. “No! Of course not, Father. I would never keep a file like that on my work laptop. You know me better than that.”
The governor looked unconvinced and gave him a stare.
Cory scowled. “I swear. Someone must have tampered with my laptop while we were going around greeting everyone.” Cory pointed sharply at the CD that he pulled from the laptop. “See here, the CD is named Gary Rich Theater Presentation.”
“Wait,” Cory added. “This isn't my handwriting. Someone must've replaced it somehow. Someone got on my laptop and put this CD in instead—I just assumed it was the same CD. I'm so sorry, Father.”
The next few words of their conversation were lost in the loud chatter of the outraged guests, but I could tell by the look on both of their faces that they were discussing what to do about the culprit.
After a moment, the governor turned and walked back onto the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the governor spoke into the microphone in an apologetic tone, “I am very sorry about what you just saw. I can assure you that this wasn’t intentional in any way. My son, Cory, is a young man of integrity and would never conspire to pull off something so offensive—even in jest. It is our belief that someone with an agenda has tried to sabotage this party and tarnish my reputation. I’m sure you are all aware that as governor, I have no shortage of political enemies who wish me out of office. Rest assured, we'll find whoever did this. They're not going to be laughing when we find out who's responsible. In the meantime, I implore you all to remain seated so my son can locate the real video file and we can continue on with our evening.”
But the outraged crowd wasn’t buying the governor’s explanation and people began filing out of the ballroom in droves.
“Sick bastard!” a woman yelled as she swept from the room with her husband and two children in tow.
“I’ll never vote for him again,” someone else added.
The governor raised his hands imploringly. “People, please calm down and remain seated. This is all one big misunderstanding.” But his pleading went unanswered as people continued to file out of the room.
Beside me, Bella tensed as she prepared for the explosion that was about to be unleashed on our heads by our parents. Underneath the table, her hand grabbed a portion of my right thigh and squeezed, her nails almost piercing the expensive material of my pants and digging into my flesh.
I gritted my teeth and ignored the sharp pain her nails caused. If digging her claws into my flesh helped her retain her calm before the storm, then so be it. I was going to be her rock through whatever bullshit that was about to go down.
Evelyn still seemed to be numb from shock, her eyes darting to the blank screen behind the stage and then back to us. My father looked disgusted, his face filled with disbelief as he watched people flee the ballroom.
I braced myself for the barrage that was coming at any moment, summoning the energy I was going to need to defend our relationship.
Before anyone could say anything, a peal of high-pitched laughter assaulted my ears.
It was Veronica George, strutting her way to our table, dressed in an evening gown that showed off her big fake tits and hugged her thin body in all the right places.
“Hi, Bella,” Veronica purred in a cheery tone that made me want to jump up and throttle her. “Hey, Stefan! That was such a great show, wasn’t it?”
Bella dug in harder and I winced. Bella had sharp nails. I was sure she’d made a hole in my pants by now.
Veronica grinned at Bella. “Didn’t think your past would catch up to you, did ya?”
I swallowed back the rage that rose from the pits from my stomach. The only thing that saved Veronica from needing a plastic surgeon was the fact that I’d been raised to never put my hands on a female.
But I was tempted.
God, I was tempted.
I sucked in my breath to send a scathing reply her way. I wasn't going to hold anything back now since I had absolutely nothing to lose, but then Veronica turned her gaze on my father.
“Hello, Terry,” she said in a low, sultry voice, placing her hands on our table and bending forward so that her cleavage was on maximum display. “You haven’t been texting me as much lately. Why’s that?” Tossing a triumphant glance at Evelyn, Veronica strutted away from the table, leaving hysterical laughter in her wake.
Much to my surprise, Evelyn snapped her gaze around on my father like a hawk. My dad looked like he’d just seen a ghost, his face pale, his hands trembling.
“What the hell was she talking about?” Evelyn demanded.
Bella and I traded surprised glances. We’d been expecting Evelyn to erupt on us, demanding to know why we were on that video having sex while dressed in costumes.
My father remained silent for many moments as everyone in the ballroom continued to file out before finally letting out an explosive breath. “I have a confession to make.”
Bella
I couldn’t believe it. The whole party had seen Stefan and me having sex on tape, including our parents. Yet, for some miraculous reason, neither of our parents had recognized that it was us on the screen. Yes, we had on costumes and masks, but they still should have been able to identify their own children.
The only logical explanation I could come up with was that, given the situation, the last thing they would've expected was a sex tape involving their children to be shown in front of everyone.
In other words, it simply hadn’t registered to them that those two young people on the screen fucking each other’s brains out were me and Stefan.
Whatever the case, I wasn’t going to waste time pondering the issue.
We had been granted a temporary reprieve, and I intended to make the most of it. It was funny, actually, that I had Veronica to thank for saving my ass.
Had she not come along when she did, providing the perfect distraction with her comment to Terry, I’m sure my mother’s shocked mind would have eventually put two and two together.
But it was only a matter of time before she did.
And it wouldn’t be long.
* * *
“Now, would you like to explain what the hell that girl was talking about?” demanded my mom when we were all back home from the governor’s party, spread across the living room.
My mom stood in the middle of the floor, her arms crossed across her chest, while Terry sat on the couch, his head in between his hands.
She looked like some enraged ice queen in her magnificent ball gown as she scowled expectantly at Terry.
Stefan and I were seated opposite of Terry on the other couch in the living room, Stefan on one end and me on the other.
Stefan still looked like he had stepped straight out of a GQ magazine, with his overcoat resting on the arm of the couch and his dress shirt open at the collar, giving a peek at his sexy chest underneath.
His eyes on his father, he sat with his legs spread wide like he owned the place. Even with everything going on, it was hard not to stare at him. He practically oozed confidence in the face of our shaky predicament, which turned me on even more.
In fact, he’d handled the whole situation at the party way better than I did. While I’d been about to pass out, Stefan seemed like he’d been ready to fight.
Fortunately, it hadn’t come to that . . . yet.
Terry brought his head up out of his hands and glanced at the glass of red wine sitting on the coffee table in front of him.
As soon as we’d gotten back home, Terry offered to pour all of us a glass to help prepare us for whatever secret he was about to reveal. Obviously, my mother had immediately declined, and though I could have used a sip to calm my nerves, there was no way I was drinking alcohol while I was pregnant. Stefan had surprised me when he had accepted. He was one who usually shunned alcohol, claiming that it made him unfocused, and as an athlete, he always wanted to perform with a clear mind.
But now he was on his second glass.
Terry picked up t
he glass in front of him and took a sip. “Please don’t go crazy when I tell you this, Evelyn,” he said quietly, setting the glass back down on the table.
“I’ll make no promises,” my mom replied stiffly.
Terry sighed and glanced over at us. “I’ve been unhappy in our marriage for a while now. I'm sure I'm not alone.”
Shocked silence descended over the room like a dark blanket, and Stefan and I exchanged worried glances.
“But that gives me no excuse for what I’ve done,” Terry said quickly when my mother’s features twisted with outrage. Terry proceeded to tell us all about his online fling with Sororitybabe95, A.K.A Veronica George, going into very explicit detail. How it had started with just a random invite to his social media, and how it had progressed from there, trading pictures, texting, sexting . . . and while Mom didn’t quite get it, I did. Veronica had somehow planned all of this. I don’t know when she started it. It must have been before the Sacrifice, for some reason, but the more I heard, the more I felt like I’d been a fly in her trap for months.
I listened to Terry’s account, feeling an array of emotions—disbelief, shock, horror, and then, finally, outrage. Sure, I was mad at Terry, but I was even more pissed at Veronica. How could she do something like that? What had I done that was so awful to made her want to seduce my stepfather and cause trouble in our family?
As far as I knew, sleeping with my stepbrother wasn't against the law. And by accident, I might add. What gave that slutty tramp the right to judge me?
And if she called this revenge because of the sorority facing a shut-down, then she was wrong about that, too. Alpha and Kappa had been engaging in questionable practices since their inception. So, even without what happened during my Sacrifice, it would’ve only been a matter of time before their unscrupulous actions caught up with them.
Fuck her, I thought angrily. Fuck her and all those crazy Kappa bitches.
My mom’s next words pulled me out of my reverie with a jolt.
“I want a divorce.”
Terry jumped to his feet, his arms outstretched as he moved toward my mother. “Now, now, come on, Evelyn, I want to work on things. There is still counseling and—”
“Don’t fucking touch me!” Mom screamed, swiping Terry’s hands away. “Don’t you ever fucking touch me!”
Sobbing, my mom pulled up the edges of her gown, hiking them above her ankles, and fled the living room. I moved to go after her, but Stefan made an imperceptible gesture and I sat back down on the couch.
This is between Dad and Evelyn, his eyes seemed to say to me.
Terry turned to look at us. “I’ve really screwed things up, haven’t I?”
“Just go talk to her, Dad,” Stefan bade. “I’m sure she’ll listen when she calms down.”
Terry cringed and glanced down the hallway. “Wish me luck, guys.” Shaking his head, he left the room.
“Whatever you do, don’t faint on me,” Stefan was quick to say to me when Terry was gone. He picked up his glass and downed the wine in one gulp. “I’ve had enough shocks for one night.”
“We came so very close to being found out,” I said, ignoring his attempt to make light of the situation. “I thought for sure that Mom was about to jump our shit.”
Stefan nodded. “I did too.”
I stared at the space between us. I badly wanted to move across the couch and into his arms, but I knew I couldn’t. We’d already taken too many liberties, and we were now sitting on a ticking time bomb.
It was just the matter of when before it exploded.
“We're still screwed, though, as soon as the Governor or his son looks at the end of that video.”
“You mean the video on this CD?” Stefan held out a broken CD entitled Gary Rich Theater Presentation. “Nope, I handled that during all the commotion when everyone started leaving.”
“Oh, I never even saw you do that! But why do you think they didn’t recognize us? I mean, even with our costumes on, they could hear our voices. How would my mom not have recognized me?”
“Well, that's an easy one. We only recognized ourselves because we knew already. The video was pretty dark, and think about it from their perspective. They would've never in a million years thought it was us unless they actually saw our faces. Hell, even then, they probably wouldn't believe it. I'm sure everyone there just assumed it was an attempt to embarrass the Governor.”
“I guess,” I admitted. I had already reasoned as much myself. The fact that Stefan had come to the same conclusion made me feel a little bit more secure about the situation.
“Exactly. They had no clue what the fuck that was. I'm just glad Cory finally shut it off in time, or we'd be singing a different tune right about now. Lastly, Veronica came along and unknowingly covered our tracks with that comment toward Dad. Evelyn is going to be focused on that for now, buying us a little more time.”
“I still can’t believe what happened,” I said with a gentle shake of my head. “Veronica really was determined, tracking Terry down online like that. But I just don’t understand how Terry could let himself get caught up in her web.”
Of course you know how, I told myself. He’s a man, and all men have two heads, and sometimes, the smaller head wins.
Stefan clenched his jaw. “Even though Veronica baited him, I’m going to find it hard to forgive him for what he did. Hell, I’d seen him in the office. I thought he’d been watching a few pornos or something, not online cheating. He could have easily turned her down after he found out what she was about.”
“But is it really that easy though?” I asked. “Come on, you’re a guy. My mom is getting up there in years and doesn't have the body of a young twenty-year-old. I mean, it’s not bad, but it’s not Veronica’s. What man, young or old, wouldn’t find it hard to resist someone with a body like Veronica’s?”
I had to admit, I was asking this question for my own benefit. I wanted to see Stefan’s reaction because, despite all that he’d said to me about my ever-changing appearance, I couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious about gaining weight.
Stefan stared at me. “Yeah, it is that easy. I’m a man of my word. If I commit to something, I’m in until it’s over. That’s it. I thought Dad was the same type of man, as he raised me to be that way, but I guess I was wrong.”
“I don’t know. My heart bleeds for Mom, but at the same time, I feel bad for Terry. It was kind of our fault.”
Stefan glowered. “Dad’s actions put him in the position he is in now. He doesn’t deserve your sympathy . . . or mine, for that matter.”
I grew silent in the face of Stefan’s anger. I was shocked, actually. He seemed to be more upset about what Terry did than I was.
“In fact, I’m going to need you to stay completely out of this.”
“Why?”
“Judging by how serious Evelyn sounded, things are about to get really, really ugly. I’m sorry, Bella, but I know Evelyn almost as well as you do. She won't hesitate to use you as a pawn should this come down to a divorce.”
“But Mom is going to need me—” I began.
“Have you forgotten our little secret? This whole mess has put tremendous stress on the both of us. Now add the stress of a divorce to that, and what do you think that will do to your body and the—” Stefan’s voice trailed off.
I couldn't deny the truth in Stefan’s words. I was already under tremendous stress given everything that happened, and a contentious divorce just might put me over the edge.
To punctuate Stefan’s words, the sound of muffled screaming wafted down the stairs to our ears, followed by some rumbling.
Mom must be kicking Terry’s ass, I thought in despair. Look at all the strife that bitch Veronica has caused in our family.
Stefan made a face and looked up at the ceiling. “You hear that? No telling how long that's going to go on.”
The screaming intensified, and I wondered if the neighbors down at the end of the block could hear my mother’s screeching.
&
nbsp; “Then what are we going to do?” I asked fearfully.
Stefan grabbed the wine bottle sitting on the coffee table and poured what was left of it into his glass. Then, to my surprise, he turned back the entire glass in one gulp before replying to me.
“I have to get you out of here.”
Stefan
Shortly after I had assured Bella that I had plans to get us out of the house, my dad had come back downstairs. He looked defeated and as if he’d rolled in the hay a couple of times while receiving several mean punches to the eye.
He’d looked at us once, not saying a word, and then headed to his office. As much as I wanted to stay out of the whole affair, I felt like now was the time to confront him.
I was angry about what happened. As a man of supposed integrity, it pissed me off that he’d let a slutbag like Veronica George take advantage of him.
I knew the temptation, God I knew, but that didn’t make it right. A strong man was never cowed by temptation. He was always in control of the situation, no matter what.
And as a man of my word, I'd take control of the chaos and protect Bella at all costs.
I stomped into my dad’s office and slammed the door behind me. “That was pathetic! How could you hurt Evelyn like that?”
My dad, who was sitting at his desk, looked up from his laptop at me with surprise. I expected him to explode on me in a rage—wanted him to, even—but he just sighed. “I couldn’t help myself, Son.”
I shook my head with disgust.
My dad sat back in his chair and studied me coolly. “Tell me, what would you have done? You, the ultimate jock, who has probably slept with more girls than you can even count.”
“What does the number of girls that I’ve slept with have to do with anything?”
Baby Fever Page 56
