by Zoe Reid
“You sound like you’re falling for her. Like you’re shopping for a wife,” he sneered. “You don't have a big enough checkbook to satisfy her needs. Your dick may make her scream, but she needs a rich man.”
“Watch your mouth. I'm done listening to you talk about her like that,” I warned him. “Hate me if you want, but she’s still the same woman who opens her home to you every time you want a break. She cooks for you and obviously cares about you. Have some respect.”
“This isn't her home,” Blake shot back.
I laughed. “Actually it is. Take it from a business major with a minor in business law. You told me as much years ago. He left you a big, fat trust, but this house—it's hers. If you want to be a dick about everything, you can kiss all this goodbye.”
He shook his head. “This is not cool. So, the whole time I've been gone? No, don't answer that. I don't want to know.”
“Blake, seriously, grow up. You were practically fucking Marissa on the dining room table. I don't see how you can be so pissed about this.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I don't know. I know it's stupid. I know that.”
I stood there, watching and waiting. I knew he would be pissed. It's why we’d hidden it. I couldn't blame him for being a little weirded out, but I wouldn't let him talk shit about Leah. She wasn't to blame for this.
“Look, I'm sorry. I know it wasn't cool, but don't blame her. I do like her, Blake. I don't know what we're doing exactly, but that's for us to figure out. Will you please try and be cool with this? Don't be a dick to Leah. I really can't let you do that,” I said with sincerity.
He blew out a long breath. “I need some time. Just leave me alone for a bit.”
“Done.”
He walked past me and headed upstairs to his room. I heard the door slam. I debated going to find Leah but figured that could make the situation worse. For now, we all needed to cool our jets. I headed for my own room and flopped down on my bed. Things were not supposed to go down like that.
I wondered if Leah was okay. I knew Blake had hurt her feelings. She was likely feeling very guilty. She shouldn't. She had not been sleeping around. She had honored her husband's memory, but now it was time to move on. She shouldn't have to live in this mansion all alone with no one to love her.
Good job, Chase. You just caused a rift between the only person Leah called family.
Chapter 16
Leah
I knew I was being completely immature, but I didn't care. I felt so dumb. So embarrassed. I knew I had hurt Blake. His disdain for me made me sick to my stomach. I was so ashamed. My lust for Chase had blinded me. All I had been able to think about was sex with him. It had shut down all my inhibitions. I ignored my moral compass and gave into my sexual desire.
Now, I could hardly look at myself in the mirror let alone show myself in public. Or my own house.
I hadn't left my room since the incident yesterday. I did sneak down around four in the morning to grab some snacks. It had been a risk I was willing to take in the name of starvation. The dinner I had planned to make last night was quickly dismissed after Blake's early arrival.
I had a mini fridge in my room, which was stocked with water, juice, and even some protein shakes that had sustained me last night. It wasn't exactly fine dining, but it would keep me alive. I wasn't sure how long I was planning on avoiding my house guests, but for now, I was staying put. I couldn't fathom facing either one of them.
Thankfully, my room wasn't exactly the standard bedroom. It was the size of a small apartment. I had plenty of room to wander. I wished I could go to the gym, but I wasn't about to risk that. There was too great a chance I would run into Chase. We could not be trusted alone together in the gym.
The thought of him and the gym made my stomach flutter. Images of him taking me on the floor floated through my mind, making my body tingle. That first time had opened a door that could never be closed again, and despite everything that had happened, I didn't think I regretted it.
I had heard Chase and Blake talking. Well, Blake had been yelling, and Chase had been talking. Chase had been calm and reasonable and very mature. I liked that he was trying to figure out what he wanted from our relationship. Knowing he felt more gave me some solace. I was relieved to know I wasn't the only one who thought we had more going on between us than a quick fling.
No matter what I felt for Chase, I couldn't deny what I had done to Blake. He’d lost his dad. He and his mom weren't exactly close. We had a strange relationship, but I knew he cared for me, even if he pretended otherwise. When Dennis had died, we had cried together. It was a private moment between the two of us that we never talked about. We didn't have a parent/child relationship, but I did like to think he trusted me and could depend on me when needed.
My phone beeped. I checked it and saw it was another message from Chase.
Are you okay?
I didn't answer. I hadn't answered the last ten or so texts he’d sent. He had done nothing wrong, but I couldn't face him, even if it was over text messages.
I almost regretted giving him my number at all. I had given it to him that first day, in case they needed anything while I was out. He must have stored it in his phone. He was taking full advantage of it now. The phone beeped again.
I'm sorry.
I sighed. I couldn't ignore him forever. I owed him the apology, but I wasn't going to say it. Not yet.
I'm fine. Don't be sorry.
That's all I sent. I needed time to sort through everything. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve. I had planned to cook a big meal, but now, it didn't seem like anybody would be interested in eating. Besides, it wasn't going to get done if I was locked up in my room. I needed to decide what was more important, a traditional meal or my privacy.
Right now, I was leaning toward my privacy. I didn't want to sit around a big, festive table and pretend we were a jolly, happy family and nothing had happened. I didn't think I could do that. Every time I looked at Chase, I wanted to touch him. How could I get through a meal without looking at him or dreaming about him buried deep inside me with Blake sitting at the table? Awkward.
I flipped on the television screen and began flipping through channels. I was bored. I stopped on some silly soap opera. The scene caught my eye. A woman was screaming at a man who had clearly been caught in a compromising position with the maid in the kitchen on the table.
I started giggling when I remembered I had recently walked in on a similar situation.
“Hey!” I said aloud to nobody in particular.
Blake was pissed at me for sleeping with Chase, but he was sleeping with my best friend, Marissa! How dare he pretend to be so high and mighty. I remembered Chase said something last night, but it had been very low, and I hadn't been able to make all of it out from my position at the top of the stairs.
Chase obviously knew about Marissa, which meant that it had been going on long before that day I caught them on the table. My mind drifted to the past summer. Now that I thought about it, Marissa had come over quite a bit back then. She had made sure she wore skimpy bikinis, which at the time seemed a little strange for a dip in my pool, but clearly, those suits weren't meant to impress me.
“That little bitch,” I said with a grin.
I couldn't actually be mad at her. I was happy she had found a good man, even if he was a little young. Marissa was a few years younger than me. That made her five years older than Blake. That wasn't really a big deal at all. If it had been the other way around, Blake being five years older than Marissa, it would be a non-issue. It would be the same for me and Chase. If he were ten years older than me, would it be such a big problem?
I knew it wouldn't. It was stupid society standards. Men were the older ones in a relationship. Clearly, Blake and Chase did not have those same standards.
I started laughing when I thought back to last summer. That whole long, hot summer, I thought she had been sad and lonely when she had been banging my stepson. She had started coming o
ver almost every day. I was under the impression she was struggling with her recent breakup and didn't want to be alone in her house. I had offered to take her out, but she always said she wasn't up for that and just wanted to hang out at my house. I was only a little bummed that she used me.
I shuddered to think about her and Blake. I think I understood a little why Blake was creeped out by my relationship with Chase. There was definitely a weird factor. We weren't blood-related, but we had a familial type relationship. It would be like my brother and best friend hooking up. It was a little odd. I wondered how long they had been sleeping together? Were they in an actual relationship? So many questions and so few answers!
“Argh!” I wailed.
I had no idea what to do. I really wanted to take a run on the treadmill. It would help me work through all this craziness.
Did I dare talk to Chase about whether we had an actual relationship? Would it freak him out and send him running out the door if I even mentioned the idea of us in a relationship?
Did I dare talk to Blake about anything at all? Maybe I would leave that to Chase alone. Give it some time and maybe try to approach it on spring break. That was assuming he came back at all.
The soap opera on the TV was irritating. I flipped it off and decided to do some yoga. It would help relieve the tension and hopefully give me clarity. After spending close to an hour putting my body through some very rigorous stretches, I headed to the shower to wash away all the sweat and the worry.
I still had no idea what I was going to do, but I felt a bit more relaxed. The moment the stream of hot water hit my body, I immediately imagined Chase's hands touching me. My eyes drifted closed, and I let my head drop back, pretending he was there next to me, caressing my body.
I missed him. How was I ever going to get over him? He would be going back to school in a week. I didn't know if I would ever see him again. The thought made me feel extremely sad and very alone. Chase was young and just starting life. I needed to think about dating. I couldn't count on Chase to fill the gaping hole in my life. It was time to move on.
Chapter 17
Chase
My break had gone from absolutely amazing to absolute shit in a matter of seconds. Blake's early arrival had fucked up everything. Things would have gone on completely normal if he wouldn't have walked in on Leah and me.
Now, we weren’t speaking. Leah hadn't left her room, and I was an obviously unwanted house guest with no way back home. The massive home was so filled with tension, it was making me crazy. I was desperate. I had to fix the situation. Blake was my best friend, and he wasn't talking to me. Leah was, well hell, I didn't know what she was, but she wouldn't talk to me either.
I called the bus line yesterday, fully intending to take a very long Greyhound bus back to school but changed my mind at the last minute. I wasn't a quitter. I wasn't going to give up my friendship with Blake, and I wanted to figure this out with Leah. Maybe we were just a fling. I could live with that, but I couldn't live with ending things the way they were right now.
I was desperate. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
“Hello? Blake?” I said, knocking on his bedroom door.
No answer. I opened the door and stepped inside to see if he was in bed. I didn't see him, but I could hear the shower running. I walked to the sitting area next to the window and found my target. His phone. I quickly ran my thumb over the screen and found the information I needed before putting the phone back and leaving the phone right where I found it.
I went to my own room and grabbed my phone.
“Hello?”
“Yes? Who is this?” the woman on the other end answered.
“This is Chase. We met the other night. Blake's friend staying with Leah.”
“Oh, yeah. What's up? How did you get my number?”
I sighed, feeling a little foolish for calling her, but she was my last hope to resolve this mess. I blurted out the condensed version of the story and then waited for her to say something.
“Wow.”
“That's it? Wow?” I asked, feeling like I had made a huge mistake.
She laughed. “Yeah, wow and way to go, Leah. So, you and Leah. You all are a thing?”
“I don't know, and I'm never going to find out if she won't talk to me. Can you help?”
“Of course. Sit tight, sweetie. Let Marissa take care of this.”
She ended the call. I stared at my phone, not sure what she had planned but willing to let her try. I headed downstairs, sick of hiding out in the bedroom. I felt like a caged animal, even if my prison was a huge, luxurious cell.
When the doorbell rang an hour later, I quickly walked to it and yanked the door open. No, it wasn't my house, but it wasn't like the two occupants who did live here would bother coming down to do it.
It was Marissa, and she looked pissed.
“Where are they?”
“Upstairs. In their rooms. Still,” I said, not hiding my own frustration.
She stomped inside, her heeled thigh-high boots making a loud clacking sound on the marble floor. She stood at the bottom of the staircase, a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand, and her purse in the other.
“Leah! Blake! Get your asses down here now!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.
She turned to look at me with a big smile. My mouth was hanging open in shock. That wasn't exactly how I thought this was all going to go down. We both stood there waiting. When no one emerged, she walked to the alarm pad on the wall and pushed the alert button. It sent off an insane screaming noise that could probably be heard in Canada.
I covered my ears. She quickly punched in a code and quieted the alarm.
“That should get a response,” she said with a sly smile.
It had. Leah and Blake both appeared at the top of the stairs. They looked down at me and Marissa as if we were crazy.
“Kitchen. Now.” Marissa ordered them both before stomping off in the general direction.
I looked at Leah and Blake, shrugged my shoulders, and followed Marissa.
Blake and Leah came trailing in behind, both of them acting as if they were headed to their own executions.
Marissa had pulled shot glasses from a cabinet and lined them up on the counter before filling them with some of the whiskey.
She looked at each of us. “Everyone take a shot.”
I raised an eyebrow, wondering if her plan was to get everyone drunk. That could work, but it could also backfire.
We all took our shots before she poured another round and ordered us to do it again.
“Now, we need to talk.”
Blake had been looking extremely nervous. His eyes darting between Leah and Marissa. I wasn't sure what was about to go down, but I had made the call to get the woman here. I had better be ready for anything I supposed.
“Leah, I need to tell you about Blake. Yes, I have been sleeping with Blake for the past year or so.”
Leah's eyes widened in shock. “You—”
Marissa held up a hand, cutting her off. “Don't. I don't need to hear your lecture. It happened, and it is going to keep happening. We have a thing. Deal with it.”
She poured another round of shots. The room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. By now, we all knew the drill, and each of us dutifully took our shots.
Marissa cleared her throat and turned to look directly at Blake. “You can't be mad at Leah and Chase for finding the same thing we did. Don't act like a spoiled brat. You don't see Leah over there stomping her feet and pitching a royal fit, do you?”
“But—”
“No. How is it okay for you to have sex with your stepmom's best friend, but she can't have sex with your best friend?” she asked pointedly.
All of us gasped in shock, none of us able to look directly at each other.
“Marissa,” Blake started again.
“I'm talking. From what I hear, you two have both been pouting in your rooms for two damn days! Both of you need to knock your shit off.
It's ridiculous. You two are all you have left. Blake, she has done nothing wrong. Leah, be the grown-up and make him talk to you. Don't let him run away. You know him. He needs you to step it up and be a bit more assertive. Don't be his friend. Be his big sister or stepmom. Whatever role you’re comfortable in. We all need to make this work if any of us wants to be happy. And I, for one, want to be happy. Leah, if you have a problem with me and Blake being together, that's too bad. It's happening,” she said, looking at her friend.
Leah opened her mouth to say something, but Marissa cut her off again.
