A Reason to Stay

by Melissa Ellen

  “I can’t, Val. Not yet. She’s right. Sadly, I don’t think he would believe me over her without proof.” I looked down at the sink, feeling the tears of realization building at the back of my eyes.

  “It’s not true, you know,” she softened her voice.

  “What?”

  “That you aren’t special. She knows you are and that’s why she bothered coming in here to attack you. You aren’t like the other girls Rhett has dated or whatever he does with them.”

  “Why, because I have brown hair instead of blonde?” I snorted sarcastically, trying to hide the hurt in my voice.

  “No… Ava, he’s never brought a girl home to meet us before.” She paused, letting that sink in. “I mean, yes, we have met them in passing at different social events, but he didn’t bring them home to us.”

  I looked up at her, not knowing what to say. She was such a sweet girl for comforting me. I hoped she was right, because I had fallen madly in love with her brother, and I couldn’t bare thinking Serena was right. She moved to give me a hug. I hugged her back. I had become very fond of Valerie. She’d stolen my heart as quickly as her brother.

  “Come on!” I broke our hug, feigning happiness. “Let’s get back to our cute boys. I think we have kept them waiting long enough.”

  We linked arms, strolling out of the restroom back to the ballroom. I scanned the room, searching for Rhett, finding him socializing with an older couple with his eyes glued to the entry that I stood at. As soon as he saw me, he excused himself to make his way to me.

  Valerie gave my arm a light squeeze, smiling at me and then at her brother. She left me for her group of friends just before Rhett made it to me. He pulled me to him immediately upon his arrival, stroking my face with his other as he stared into my eyes.

  “You had me worried. I thought I was going to have to send out a search party for you two.”

  “Just a little girl time in the restroom,” I grinned, brushing his concern aside. He smirked and then kissed me shamelessly. I reveled in it, hoping that Serena was watching.

  “Come on. It’s almost midnight. They’re starting the countdown soon.” He ushered me towards a server where he snatched up two glasses of champagne. He handed me one before escorting me to the table where his parents were sitting in the front near the dance floor.

  We took a seat next to them, talking until the countdown started. As soon as we started counting, Rhett pulled me onto his lap where I felt his arousal just before he kissed me at the count of one. It looked like I would definitely be ringing in the New Year tonight. I thought to myself. I smiled inwardly at my wayward thought and kissed him back, deepening our kiss as everyone around us cheered and celebrated the New Year.

  CHAPTER 16

  “You’re not done packing yet? Your sister and the limo will be here any minute!”

  I was hastily throwing clothes from my closet onto the bed, so I could shove them into a suitcase when Lizzie sauntered into my room.

  “I know! I know!” I sighed, running from my bedroom to the bathroom to grab my toiletries.

  It was already the end of March and my sister’s bachelorette party was this weekend. Between school, work and Rhett the last few months were a blur. I had picked up a double shift yesterday, hoping to have some extra cash for spending money this weekend, but was regretting it since all I wanted to do today was sleep. Instead, I was having to pack in a hurry before my sister and her friends arrived to meet up with Lizzie and me.

  The plan was to meet at our apartment where Rhett had arranged for a limo to pick us up and take us to a private jet that would fly us from Boston to New York. There Jim would be awaiting at the airport with another limo.

  I tried to argue his luxurious travel plans for us, telling him we would make it to New York City the normal way like every other human being. He had done enough making all the arrangements for our stay. But the man wouldn’t know normal if it smacked him in the face. He just stared at me blankly when I said traveling via limo and private jet were not normal.

  “I guess it’s a good thing we have a private jet that won’t take off without us,” Lizzie teased, knowing it had been a dragged out fight between Rhett and me. One she, I might add, only encouraged by siding with him versus me, her best friend in life. “You don’t need to worry about party dresses. I have you covered. I packed some extras in my bag.”

  “And that is why I love you and will ignore your previous little comment,” I moved swiftly back into my bedroom, throwing my toiletries into a bag and stuffing all the clothes on my bed into the suitcase. “Okay,” I breathed heavily. “I think that’s everything.”

  I threw myself backwards on my bed, trying to catch my breath when the doorbell of our apartment rang. “I’ll get it. You rest,” Lizzie said sarcastically as she left my room to answer the door.

  From all the squealing that followed her immediately opening the door, I assumed it was my sister and her friends and not the limo driver. I remained lying there, trying to mentally prepare myself for the weekend when my sister ran into my bedroom, jumping onto my bed, straddling my body as she jumped up and down, bouncing me with her.

  “It’s time to party, Ava!!! Get your lazy ass up and let’s pop open a bottle before the limo gets here,” Emily screamed as she jumped on my bed like a five year old. Lizzie had obviously sicked her on me.

  Before I had a chance to respond, Lizzie popped her head around the door frame, “Limo’s here!” My sister squealed with more excitement, if that’s even possible, as she bounced off the bed, spinning around to pull me up. I bent down to pick up my luggage when I heard my phone chime with a text. I pulled it out of my purse that was draped over my shoulder.

  R: Have fun this weekend, beautiful. I’ll miss you. Be safe. x

  I smiled, typing out a quick response before dropping my phone back into my purse.

  A: I will. Miss you, too. x

  The driver loaded all of our luggage as we made ourselves comfortable in the limo, popping open a couple of bottles of champagne that had been provided. We toasted to Emily, sipping the champagne as we giggled and gossiped on the way to the airport.

  There was a total of six of us girls. Emily, Lizzie, and me, along with three of my sister’s friends from college, who were bridesmaids in the wedding – Jamie, Emma, and Natalie.

  “So Ava, Emily has been telling us all about your new sexy, wealthy boyfriend on the drive up. Does he happen to have a brother?” Jamie asked me teasingly.

  “Afraid not,” I forced a smile, chugging my champagne.

  I did not want the topic of the weekend to be about Rhett and me. Unfortunately, since he had forcefully inserted himself in the planning of the bachelorette weekend, I was afraid it was inevitable. Lizzie, sensing my avoidance of the topic, helped to change the subject. I gave her a silent thank you.

  We arrived at the airport tarmac to a private jet awaiting us. The driver and some of the flight crew transferred our luggage from the limo to the plane as we boarded. The girls oohed and awed as they looked around the jet.

  The plane had eight captain’s chairs that faced each other, four on each side, with dark wood tables in between them. There were large televisions over the seats that had their backs to the cockpit, where you could watch pretty much any movie you wanted. Past the first eight seats were two couches that flanked each side of the jet. The chairs were all covered in a beige leather, while the couches were a soft cream colored fabric with small printed throw pillows strewed across them.

  On one of the tables, the flight crew had bottles of champagne iced down. Another table had a bouquet of white roses and a card with Emily’s name on it.

  Emily, I hope you enjoy your last “hurrah before the ring.” Take care of my girl for me. – RB

  “How do we find a man like that?” Emma asked, reading the card over Emily’s shoulder.

  All the girls giggled their agreement while I served myself another glass of champagne. My man could charm the ladies, even without being
present. The flight attendant came through, making sure we were comfortable as we got seated for take-off.

  We landed after minutes of being in the air. I had to admit, it was very convenient to travel in style. We exited the plane, and I spotted Jim waiting for us by a long black limo. I led the girl’s towards Jim, where he stood with the door opened for us.

  The girls piled into the limo as Jim gave me a nod and a smile, “Ms. Conner. It’s good to see you again.”

  I blushed, remembering the last time I had been in a limo driven by Jim. Rhett had given me a mind-blowing orgasm during the drive, and I hoped Jim was none the wiser.

  I started feeling like Rhett’s intent behind planning this trip was to make me remember I was his, even though we would be apart for the weekend. In fact, as we arrived at The Vivian, I would almost guarantee it, as memories of New Year’s Eve came flooding back to me.

  We opened the door to the suite that would be our home for the weekend, and it looked just like that… a home. It was larger than the apartment Lizzie and I shared. The suite had a large living area and kitchen with a dining room all arranged in an open floor plan. To the right was a master bedroom with a king size bed and large en-suite. To the left of the main area were two smaller bedrooms with queen sized beds, also each with their own smaller version en-suite. There were large windows spanning the main living area to give you a beautiful view of Central Park. The furnishings were a mixture of dark woods, leathers and cream fabric with accents of gold and navy blue. It exuded elegance as did everything that had Vivian’s stamp on it.

  The bell-hop delivered our bags, and we all broke off, picking our rooms for the weekend. We gave Emily the master suite, which she shared with Natalie. Lizzie and I shared one room and Jamie and Emma took the other one.

  After we settled in, we raided the fully stocked, all expenses paid bar. We ordered some small plates via room service to snack on while we looked over various tourist brochures, wanting to get a little sightseeing in before our first night out. Rhett had made us reservations for dinner along with reserving us a VIP section at one of the hottest night clubs in the city.

  The day flew by as we jumped from one tourist spot to the next. We visited the usual suspects. First, the Empire State building where we viewed the Statue of Liberty from a distance in the 86th floor observatory, and then we took a group picture outside the Rockefeller Center and the Metropolitan Museum. We allowed ourselves two hours to walk through the museum before heading to Central Park to wrap up our fast and furious city tour.

  We hung out on a blanket in Central Park, enjoying the beautiful spring weather and a picnic basket that Jim had so kindly arranged for the chefs at The Vivian to make. The day had been fun and exhausting. I was thankful for the reprieve of just lying on the ground for a little while. We all chatted lazily until it was time to head back to the hotel to shower and get ready for a night out on the town.

  I woke up Saturday morning with a pounding headache – so much for taking it easy on the drinking - and a passed out, sprawling Lizzie with her arm and leg draped across me. I had forgotten she was a bed hog when I agreed to share the room with her.

  The rest of the suite was silent. I figured all the girls were still sleeping from our late and drunken night at the club. I had no idea what time we all finally passed out. I figured it was just before dawn after we had finished gorging on our late night room service. I picked up my phone from the bedside table to look at the time. It wasn’t quite noon, yet.

  I rolled out of bed to take a shower, hoping my movement would slowly start waking the other girls. We needed to get ready if we were going to make it to the spa on time. Rhett had arranged for us all to be pampered at the same spa his mother had taken me to during my visit to meet his family.

  My plan worked, and the living dead slowly started rising. We ordered in some room service for brunch as we all readied ourselves for the spa and a day of shopping. The room service at the Vivian was phenomenal. It was like dining at a five star restaurant and it was all paid for, so the girls were more than happy to eat most of our meals at the hotel.

  After getting massages and our nails done at the spa, we set out for our shopping spree along 5th Avenue. We mostly window shopped as none of us could actually afford anything in the stores. It was still fun just to browse and joke about what all we could buy with the cost of just one shirt. After spending some time admiring all the glamorous things, we moved onto Chinatown where we could actually spend a little money.

  We grabbed some lunch at a little Karaoke bar and restaurant that we stumbled upon. We ate and drank some sake, until Jamie and Lizzie convinced us we all needed to sing. It was the middle of the day and the place was mostly empty. I watched as the girls took turns singing in pairs, laughing at their silliness while thoroughly enjoying the entertainment. The third song in, they chose to sing Girl’s Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper and with a good day buzz going from the sake, I couldn’t help joining in when Emily dragged me to the stage.

  There was a light chill in the night air as we exited the limo to enter the club Emily had selected for tonight. We were ushered in immediately, bypassing the long line. Rhett had put us on the list, and we were being led to a VIP section that was reserved for us. He had ordered bottle service, so we didn’t have to wait on any drinks.

  The girls all took their seats, sliding into the booth, chatting as glasses were handed to them filled with bubbly champagne cocktails. It didn’t take long for us all to find our way to the dance floor and start to dance the night away.

  During breaks between dancing, we would make our way back to the VIP section where the girls would take shots. I decided to pass on the shots, trying to stay a little more sober tonight. I was still feeling a little hungover and guilty that I couldn’t fully remember the previous night’s events.

  Of course, I received a major guilt-trip from Emily and Lizzie every time I passed on a shot and hell from the other girls, but I stood my ground. I had a good buzz, and I wanted to be able to remember the night.

  We were having a blast moving our sweaty bodies with the music and laughing. Jamie and Emma, being the only single ones, snatched up a couple hot guys and were dancing with them a few feet away. The club was filled with beautiful people and part of me wondered if it was a requirement to even be admitted inside.

  Needing to go to the bathroom, I signaled to Lizzie. She nodded her head agreeing to follow me. I let Emily know we would be right back before heading to the restroom with Lizzie in tow.

  We pushed our way through the crowd of sweaty, drunken bodies, arriving to a long line in the restroom. As we waited our turn, Lizzie pulled out her phone, smiling at a text from Mike. I looked over at her phone, expecting a sweet text of him professing his love and how much he missed her only to find a nude photo of him prominently on her screen.

  “Oh, shit!” I gasped in embarrassment, turning my head away. “Put that away, Lizzie!”

  Lizzie just laughed, finding the whole thing humorous.

  “Well, I guess we are even now.” She laughed harder.

  I rolled my eyes at her. “I gather you guys are still not having actual sex, then?” I said, trying to understand why you would ever want to sext.

  “Oh no, we are.” She grinned ear to ear “And it is the best sex of my life. This is just to remind me what I’m missing while I’m away.” I shook my head in disbelief. It wasn’t something I would put past Lizzie to do, but Mike?

  “I guess you have warped Mike’s mind into all your wicked kinkery.” That led to her laughter only increasing.

  “Ava, that man needed no help with that! He is an animal in bed.”

  I plugged my ears, not wanting to hear it for some reason. It was odd. I never had a problem with Lizzie dishing all the details about her sex-capades. For some reason, this was different. It was like hearing about a brother’s sex life. A stall opened up, and I moved into it, leaving Lizzie to her sexting.

  As I exited the stall, I looked a
round for Lizzie but not finding her. I moved to the sink to wash my hands and freshen up. I called Lizzie’s name, and she responded from a closed stall.

  “I’m just going to wait outside the restroom for you,” I yelled to her.

  “Okay,” she yelled back.

  I walked out of the restroom to find Rhett standing outside the door, his hands in his pockets. I immediately felt a wave of excitement spread through my body at the sight of him. It was quickly wiped out by fear. Rhett didn’t look bright eyed and happy to see me. He wore an expression of concern, his eyes filled with worry.

  “Rhett?” I stepped towards him.

  “Ava.” He took my hand, pulling me in closer. “I need you to come with me, babe,” he said softly.

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Ava, for once, please don’t argue with me and just come.”

  “I think you should go,” Lizzie interrupted. I hadn’t even realized she’d joined us.

  “Lizzie.” Rhett nodded his greeting at Lizzie, who was standing behind me. “You should head out front to the limo. The other girls are waiting. Jim will take you all back to the hotel.”

  “Rhett, what’s going on?” I asked, again.

  “Babe, let’s go. I have a car in the back. Emily is waiting for us with a security guard.”

  “Emily? Oh my, God. Did something happen to Emily?” I started to panic.

  Rhett shook his head no, but didn’t explain anything further. He put his arm around me, guiding me towards the back exit. I looked over my shoulder back at Lizzie, who was still standing in the hallway, wearing the same despaired expression as Rhett.

  As we approached Emily, her body shook violently as she hugged herself, tears streaming down her face. I broke from Rhett’s grasp, quickly running to my sister’s side. I suddenly felt a surge of protectiveness and guilt. Had somebody attacked her? So many thoughts ran through my head, wishing I had never left her side. I left her with her friends, but I didn’t know if she had wandered off by herself.