He sighed and let me go. He looked pissed, but pulled the phone out. When he saw whoever was ringing, he sighed his displeasure. “Justine, I thought I made myself clear earlier.”
Oh shit, the girl he was fucking earlier. Had I completely managed to forget about that? All thoughts of Hunter and I skipping the night fandango were well and truly lost the moment his phone started ringing. Hunter knew this when he saw the expression on my face. Instead of being apologetic about it, he gave me a somewhat hard stare and stomped out of my bedroom saying, “It was a one-time thing, Justine. No repeats.”
I slammed my door and slumped on my bed. What an idiot I was. Why could I never see through him? One time and no repeats. Then why was he constantly chasing me for a repeat? Oh yeah, I forgot; I was the one who had had the last say. Shit, I was so naïve at times. I kept falling for his spell—only to be knocked against a brick wall again. No more. I was determined this time. Determined to keep out of his way. As long as I did that, then maybe, just maybe, he would stay out of mine.
I could only hope.
Chapter Fifteen
Monday morning rolled around, and it couldn’t have come soon enough. Hunter kept walking around like fucking sex on a stick with his slicked back hair, piercing green eyes, and abs I wanted to lick. I hated him. I hated what he was, and I hated that I wanted him so much despite everything.
For some reason, soon after Hunter’s elusive phone call, which thankfully interrupted us, some decorators knocked on our door. Apparently, Mason was doing the guest rooms up as a surprise for Mum. I was unsure why, but we had strict instructions to lock the doors when they came back. So, we did.
I was actually glad they came because it meant that Hunter stayed out of my way as I stayed out of his. On Saturday night, I went out with Mandy. I actually got grief from Hunter about it, but I went anyway. I called a cab to come pick me up and arranged for the same cab to come and collect me at midnight. That was my compromise because I would have never heard the end of it from Hunter otherwise. Why he cared so much, I had no idea.
I managed to sneak in without seeing Hunter again, and, when Sunday morning came, the decorators were at the house by the time I got up. Again, I was grateful for that. I wasn’t sure if Hunter was in when I got home, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to find out.
Mason offered me a lift to college the next morning as he said he was going that way anyway, so of course, I said yes. The drive with him was a little awkward, but it went by quickly enough. I didn’t much like travelling on the buses anyway. I had a lecture this morning and then a class in the afternoon. I was going to meet Mandy and Christian in-between. It was about time I spent some time with my friends.
The lecture, although long, was very informative. The professor in attendance was lecturing about the differences between criminal and terrorist behaviour. Of course, nine-eleven was mentioned and so were the bombings in London on the seventh of July. It was always interesting to see how the mind worked. Normally, criminals did their level best to hide their crimes, but terrorists wanted the glory; they wanted to have their crimes recognised by the public. The killing of a soldier on the London streets was a prime example.
With the lecture finished, I started packing my bags when a guy I recognised and said hi to on occasion, came up to me. “Ayden, hi.” I was quite surprised by that as he normally kept his distance. He was cute with dark blond hair, soft brown eyes, and dimples on his cheeks that appeared when he smiled. He was also very tall, athletically built, and sported a tattoo of a sword on his upper right arm. His clothing consisted of jeans with a white T-shirt, and the jeans were riding well on his hips. I had always liked ogling him, but I would never make the first move. If he ever wanted to, then that was his call, but I certainly wasn’t going to be the first.
“Hi, Trey. How are you?”
He shuffled a little, looking out of sorts. “Great lecture, huh?”
I nodded in agreement as I closed my bag. “Yeah, it was good.”
He motioned to the door. “Are you going somewhere now? I could take you for a coffee—if you want?”
I smiled. “I would really like to, but I’ve already got a date with two of my friends. Sorry.”
He looked disappointed and way too cute to turn down. “I’m free after class later though, if you want to go somewhere?”
He suddenly beamed. “I would like that... very much.”
I nodded. “Great then. I’ll see you soon.” Trey nodded and watched as I walked past him. “I’ll look forward to it.”
I smiled. “Me too.”
As I walked toward the door, I briefly turned around and saw him pull his arm back in a yes gesture. It was so cute, I had to giggle.
As I walked out the door, I turned my phone on. It immediately pinged with a text message. I had been getting a lot of those from Hunter lately.
Fuck Face: Play with yourself while thinking of me in your lecture today?
Me: Wouldn’t you like to know!
Fuck Face: Yes.
Me: Well, I’m not going to tell you anything I did or didn’t do in my lecture today! :P
Fuck Face: Spoilsport.
Me: Don’t you have anything better to do?
Fuck Face: No. I would rather be doing you.
Me: Can you imagine how this would look if my mum or your dad saw these text messages?
Fuck Face: Delete them. Simples. :-)
Me: Maybe I want to keep them as evidence.
Fuck Face: You wouldn’t.
Me: I think I would.
Fuck Face: Okay then. I, otherwise known as “Fuck Face,” will only make my text messages in jest. I do not mean any harm by them, nor am I the monster that thee, AJ, portrays me to be.
I gasped, wondering how he knew I called him “Fuck Face,” but I couldn’t keep the stupid smile off my face.
Me: How do you know about “Fuck Face?”
Fuck Face: I know everything. You really shouldn’t leave your phone lying around while you play with yourself in the shower.
Me: You’re disgusting.
Fuck Face: I can get more disgusting, but as I said in the previous text message, I don’t mean any harm by it.
Me: So, now you’re spying on me? That’s kind of stalkerish, you know.
Fuck Face: “Stalkerish” isn’t a word.
Me: It is in my vocabulary. So is muppet... or my personal favourite, wanker!
Fuck Face: My feelings are crushed.
Me: Go get Justine to make you feel better.
I couldn’t help the snide remark. He didn’t offer any information, so really he deserved it. That’s what I kept telling myself anyway.
For a while, I didn’t get an answer back. I thought maybe he was pissed with me, but just before I got to the coffee house, my phone pinged.
Fuck Face: There is no Justine. Only once—and that was over two months ago.
I stared at my phone. Was he really telling me the truth or just bullshitting me? I could never tell with Hunter anymore. He was so Jekyll and Hyde; it was unreal. Despite this, I couldn’t help the little flurry of butterflies in my stomach at the thought that he didn’t actually sleep with Justine on Saturday morning. Come to think of it, he only got back about an hour after me. That wasn’t really enough time to do his business, take her home and get back home himself. I knew men could be quick, but I also remembered Hunter taking his sweet time with me. He certainly knew how to work me up good and proper.
Shit, now I was horny and about to meet two of my best friends for coffee. If I could turn coffee into Cosmopolitans, I think I would be set.
Fat chance!
“Aydeeeen,” Christian squealed. He was off his chair and rushing towards me as quick as lightening. Mandy was there rolling her eyes.
“Hey, Christian.”
He started flapping his hands about. “You have to go to Flora’s! They totally have a shoe sale going on. Fifty percent off.” He ended that note with a clapping session.
I looked
at Mandy and mouthed the word totally?
Mandy rolled her eyes again. “He’s been on the sugar.”
“Oh,” I answered. I knew this about Christian. Once he has something sugary, he goes from butch to total squealing teenage girl within six-point-two seconds.
“And you have to check out the skirts they have in there, Ayden. With legs like yours, it would be a sin not to get one.”
I smiled at Christian. “A sin, ha?” I pointed to the table. “Am I allowed to have coffee first?”
Christian looked at the table and back at me. He looked so childlike. “Sure, hon. I’ll go get you one.” Christian raced off leaving Mandy and I together.
As I sat down, Mandy noticed my arm. She pointed to it with a frown. “What happened?”
I looked away, biting my lip. “It’s nothing.”
Unfortunately, Mandy knew me too well. “Ayden, don’t fucking play dumb with me. This is your best friend talking.”
I sighed. I didn’t want to say anything, but Mandy and Christian were the only friends I had who knew about my situation.
I took a deep breath—ready to tell Mandy. “You know we had that shindig for my mum and Mason’s engagement party?” She nodded. “Pete was there.”
Mandy sucked in a breath. “Go on.”
“That was just a small part of the story.” I looked down for a moment, feeling embarrassed by everything that had happened. “A little while later, Robert turned up... ”
“What the fuck was he doing there?”
“What the fuck was who doing where?” Christian sat down with my coffee. “Black, no sugar, babes.”
I nodded with a smile. “Thank you.” I then got Christian up to date on my story.
“My mum invited him.”
Mandy reared back. “Noooo??”
I nodded. “Oh, yes.”
“To make a long story short, Robert tried forcing a kiss on me, but got caught by Mason. Mason told him to fuck off, but not before my mum saw the whole thing. She got mad at me, and, well… ” I said, pointing to my arm, “this happened.”
Christian grabbed my arm and looked at the bandage. “What did she do to you, Ayden?”
I sighed and closed my eyes. I didn’t know why it was so difficult to tell them this. Maybe it was because this was so fucked up... even for Mum.
“She sliced my arm with a knife. I needed eighteen stitches.”
Christian hissed and placed his hand over his mouth. Mandy just sat there, trying to blink back obvious tears.
Finally, after a while of silence, Christian spoke. “We have to get you out of there, Ayden. I’ve been thinking about moving into a bigger apartment. Maybe we can share. What do you say?”
I smiled, thinking that would be great. “I would like that. Don’t worry too much. In just over five weeks time, my mum and Mason will be married, and then they will go away for their honeymoon.”
Christian nodded. “Okay. That’s perfect. The lease on my place runs out in two months time. We’ll look for something together a couple of weeks before the lease is up. You’re better out of there, sweets.”
I nodded. “I know.”
Mandy still looked dumbfounded. “Don’t Mason or Hunter have a clue about what the hell’s going on under their own roof?”
I was about to answer when Christian cut me to the chase. “Do you think they would still be living there if they did?”
Mandy shrugged. “I guess not. I just don’t like it, that’s all. Mason should know what kind of woman he’s marrying.”
I inhaled sharply. “Don’t you think I know that?!”
Christian grabbed my hand and patted it. Mandy looked regretful as she leant forward in her chair. “I’m not blaming you in all this, Ayden. You shouldn’t be having to fucking go through this in the first place. That bitch is getting on my last nerve.”
Christian’s posture picked up. “Mine, too.”
Mandy looked deep in thought. “Do you know if your mum and Mason have done a pre-nup?”
I shrugged. “I’m unsure. Why?”
“I’m just thinking about how bitchy your mum can get. I would think it best that Mason have one... just in case.”
I hadn’t thought about that. Thanks to my father, my mum had plenty of money, but I couldn’t count on how far she would take things if Mason pissed her off about something.
“I’ll have to ask.”
Christian squeezed my hand. “Try not to make it look too obvious when you do.”
I took a sip of my coffee and placed it down. “I’ll try.”
My phone pinged again, and I pulled it out.
Fuck Face: Did my last text surprise you? I’m not as bad as you make me out to be.
I smiled and replied back.
Me: No, you do that all by yourself, lol.
Fuck Face: You are so going to get it, and you don’t even know it.
Me: Quoting film lines now, are we? I’m sure something similar was said in The Wedding Singer. You have a thing about the nineties.
Fuck Face: The nineties were the best, that’s why. :-)
“Who’s the guy that’s plastered that big ol’ doozy of a smile you got on your face?”
I jumped at the sound of Christian’s voice. When I realised I had been caught, I bit my lip. “Sorry, that was rude of me. It’s only Hunter.”
Both Christian and Mandy looked at each other. It wasn’t any old look though. That look told me everything. “What’s that look for?”
Christian smiled. “Are you bumping uglies with your stepbrother?”
I looked around and leant forward. “He’s not my stepbrother. Not yet, anyway.” God, that sounded bad.
“Okay, let me rephrase it for you. Are you bumping uglies with Mr. Orgasmic? If you are, then it’s about to get real complicated once your mum and his dad get married.”
“Don’t you think I know that?”
Mandy leaned forward. “So, you are bumping uglies with him?”
I shook my head. “No, I am not.” I sighed. “We’ve come close a couple of times, but things kept getting in the way. It’s good, though. Things could get too complicated.”
Mandy took a brief sip of her coffee. “As in, you could get too close?”
I cringed inside knowing I had already let myself get that far. Despite the fact I knew he was a player, I still couldn’t help thinking about him twenty-four-seven. It was ridiculous.
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
Christian saw my frown and squeezed my hand. “Well, it’s a good thing you and I will live together, then. We can have our fill of men and in the mornings, we can take notes.”
I laughed. Christian was making it out as a joke, but I knew he was dead serious. He would ask me how good such and such was in the sack last night. He was perverted that way, and I loved him for it.
“That sounds good enough to me.” And the way Christian said it sounded so simple. How great it would be to live an uncomplicated life with no-strings-attached sex? I never wanted to fall into that trap again after what those two scumbags did to me. It just made me realise after failure number two that relationships weren’t all that they were cracked up to be. I mean, I thought I was in love. I cried afterwards both times. I think it was the betrayal that really hit me the hardest... rather than who was doing the betraying. Sometimes, people let their guards down and learn to trust—only to be let down in the end by the very person they trusted. How shitty is that?!
“So, do we want to talk some more about Mr. Orgasmic, or are we going to hit the town?”
I looked up at Christian. “I think I’ve had enough talk about Mr. Orgasmic. Let’s get going.” We all laughed, grabbed our coffees and made our way outside. Once on the street, my phone pinged again.
Fuck Face: I take your silence to mean that you’re with Mandy and Christian. Talking about me?
If he really knew, his head would get too big for his own boots.
Me: Not everything is about you, Hunter. :P
Fuc
k Face: It will be when I’m licking that sweet pussy of yours.
I stopped dead in my tracks. Did he really just say that in a text? I looked again, and sure enough my eyes were not deceiving me.
Fuck Face: Cat got your tongue, AJ? That’s so unlike you.
When I didn’t answer, he texted again.
Fuck Face: Tell me what you’re wearing underneath that pretty dress you put on this morning. I could have bent you right over the sink you were washing those grapes in earlier. Please tell me you’re not wearing any underwear?
My face went all kinds of shades of red, and Christian and Mandy could see it. “Is he sexting you?” Christian piped. “He’s so sexting you, isn’t he?” He came next to me to peak over my shoulder. “Let me see.”
I pulled the phone away. “No way, José. Get that filthy mind of yours out of the gutter and onto shoes.”
Christian gasped. “Oh, the shoes. Fuck, Ayden, they were to die for. If I had the legs, I would totally buy a pair of their six inches.”
I looked him up and down with a smile. “I thought you liked a bit more than six inches.” I winked at him, and Christian all but fell over in laughter.
“Oh, sweets, you know me so well.”
Chapter Sixteen
Fuck Face: Why won’t you answer the question?
I was sitting in a cubicle trying on ten different outfits, all of which Christian picked for me. He said the red and blue blouses would bring out the colour of my eyes or some shit. He also picked out two short skirts and a terracotta maxi dress. I was actually in the middle of trying that one on when Hunter texted me again.
Me: I’m trying on clothes here. Go away.
Fuck Face: Are you naked right now?
Me: Kind of.
Me: Why am I telling you this?
Fuck Face: Because I’m jacking off, and you want to make me come.
Me: Jeez, you’re disgusting.
Fuck Face: You make me disgusting. I could really do with squeezing those plump, juicy tits of yours. Why don’t you touch yourself for me?
Me: No way.
My phone immediately rang. “Hunter, will you stop!” I whispered it with as much venom as I could. There were quite a few people trying on clothes near to me, including Mandy and Christian.
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