by M. H. Soars
“Are you done?” Kimmy asks her husband and there’s a pause in the yelling.
“Yes.”
She stands in front of Derek, catches his chin between her hands, and forces him to look at her.
“You are a mess. How much did you drink last night?”
“I had a couple of beers at the bar, and a shot of tequila. That’s it.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
He pushes Kimmy’s hand off and runs his fingers through his hair. “I remember speaking to Liv and Saylor at some point, and then I left with my cousins. Cam insisted on a last round at the resort’s main bar. We had tequila shots and that’s the last thing I remember. I swear.”
“Hmm…” Kimmy turns to look at Liv.
“What do you remember, sis?”
“Lloyd convinced me to come to his room for a night cap. I had one drink, then I came back to my room. I think I bumped into your cousins in the elevator. The details are kind of fuzzy.”
“Fuck…” Derek says and begins to pace. “If those two little pieces of shit have anything to do with this, I swear…”
“What’s that?” Kimmy points at something on the floor.
She bends down to pick up a business card of sorts.
“Sultry Pleasures Club?”
Derek yanks the card from Kimmy’s hand and curses, “Son of a bitches. I knew I shouldn’t have brought those two idiots here.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Cameron got this card from some random dude at the resort, and he and Phil kept pestering me the whole night to go check this place out when we got to Honolulu.”
“So that means at least one of your cousins was in this room,” Kimmy concludes.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. They love a practical joke. But they’ve gone too far this time. The memory loss, the jittery feeling in my body, they are all side effects from being roofied.”
“Do you think they drugged you?” Liv asks.
“It’s the logical explanation. God, Liv. Do you think I would have taken advantage of you last night? I’m not a monster.”
“I need to find Bas.” Liv starts for the door.
“Oliver went after him. What we need is to find Derek’s asshole cousins first and get them to fess up. Nothing short of a confession from the culprits will make Bas see reason. You know how he feels about Derek.” I turn to Derek, who grinds his jaw and avoids my gaze.
Shit. Maybe he’s not completely over Liv yet.
When I look at Liv, I see a shadow of hurt in her eyes. Her relationship with Owen’s former best friend almost destroyed Sebastian. Not that it was her fault. Sebastian was the one who left her behind and broke her heart first.
“Derek, put your clothes on and let’s go find your stupid cousins,” Kimmy says.
Owen cracks his knuckles. “I can’t wait to get my hands on them.”
Kimmy rolls her eyes at her husband, and then she glances my way. “I’m calling Emma and Kennedy to stay with Liv. You’re in charge of finding Sebastian, Saylor.”
“I don’t need to be babysat. I want to look for him,” Liv says.
“I know you do, little sis. But I’m afraid he won’t talk to you right now. Trust me on this.”
Kimmy leaves with Owen and Derek, and I tell Liv to hop into the shower while I wait for the girls to arrive.
As soon as I explain the situation to them, I’m out on my mission. I grab my phone and call Oliver. He’d better answer the damn call.
Twenty-Nine
OLIVER
As I predicted, I find Sebastian drowning his sorrows in one of the resort’s many tiki bars. The idyllic landscape is a rash contrast to the fucking mess that is my mate right now. Kauai is not the place to get your heart broken. If we were back in London, I could drag his sorry ass to a seedy, hole in the wall pub and no one would look twice in his direction. Here, surrounded by all these happy, shiny people, someone is bound to recognize Sebastian and go pester him.
I take the seat next to his. He only glances in my direction briefly, before staring straight ahead. His eyes are bloodshot already. I hope he didn’t make a spectacle in public. Not that I have a problem with men crying, but Sebastian is a fucking ugly crier.
“Why did she do it, Ollie? Why?” He grips his empty glass tighter.
“I don’t know, mate.”
“I love her. I love her so much. Do you think she’s punishing me?” His voice breaks at the end and I pray to never be in his shoes. Ever.
“Punishing you for what?” I raise my hand to get the bartender’s attention. I can’t have this conversation sober.
“For the shit I put her through.”
“Listen, I’m fucking mad at Liv right now, but I don’t think she’s a cunning bitch. Maybe she had too many drinks last night. Drunk people make mistakes. What did she say?”
“She denied it, of course.” Sebastian snorts. “I caught the guy in bed with her, spooning. God, I think I’m going to be sick.”
I consider asking the bartender for a bucket, just in case.
My phone vibrates and I see Saylor’s name flash on the screen. I ignore the call. She only wants to plead her friend’s case, I’m sure.
She texts me next, asking if I’m with Sebastian. I ignore that too.
The bartender comes with my whiskey shot just in time. I throw my head back and let the potent liquid wash away the vestiges of last night. I tell the guy to bring the bottle. It will take more than one measly shot to forget the incredible time I spent with Saylor here in Kauai. I had plans to keep seeing her when we got back to Cali. One week is just not enough. I want everything she can give me and more. But I don’t see anything between us ending well now. Sides have been picked.
A manicured hand hits the bar counter hard and I turn in my seat to see Saylor glaring at me. Lust hits me before animosity can. I shove it aside. I need to be Sebastian’s best friend right now.
“You should have answered your God damned phone,” she says.
“Piss off.”
Her nostrils flare and her jaw clenches. The fury in her eyes is unmistakable, but she chooses to ignore my ugly reply. Too bad, I was hoping she would take the bait. A good shouting match with her would do me good right now. Her gaze travels past my shoulder to land on Sebastian. She moves to his side.
“I don’t wanna talk to you, Saylor,” he says.
“Bas, listen to me. Liv didn’t cheat on you. It was a set up.”
“Please. How gullible do you think I am?”
She throws her hands up in the air. “Are you fucking stupid? Use your head for once. Liv would never do that to you. Derek’s cousins roofied him and then they put him in bed with Liv, who was too drunk and didn’t notice a thing. The idiots thought it would be the ultimate practical joke. I can prove it.”
Sebastian doesn’t say anything for a good minute or so. Then he exhales loudly while running a nervous hand through his hair. “I’m a fucking ass.”
“Wait, what the fuck, man? Do you believe that shit?”
Saylor levels me with a glare so intense, I almost believe she’s going to punch me in the throat. I obviously have a death wish, because I continue to dig my grave. “No offense, but that sounds like a convoluted story to me.”
Sebastian throws a couple of bills on the counter and stands up. “It’s not convoluted. It makes total sense. Where is she?”
“Still in her room, crying her eyes out.”
“I’ve got to see her.”
I watch my friend run back to the main building and I shake my head. “Well, that was easy. You must be really proud of yourself.”
“Not everyone in the world is an ass like you, Oliver.”
I face the bar and pour myself another shot. “Forgive me if I don’t buy convenient stories like the one you just sold to my mate. If that makes me an asshole, so be it.”
I drink the shot and it does nothing to dissipate the sudden anger churning in my chest. Why the fuck am I feeling this way? Problem sol
ved, wedding saved, everyone is happy again. I rub the back of my neck, and I realize that I’m probably going through withdrawals right now. I haven’t done anything besides drinking and fucking Saylor for the past five days.
“What made you so jaded?”
Her question surprises me. What didn’t make me jaded would be easier to tackle. “Who says I’m jaded?”
She watches me closely, no longer with fire spitting from her eyes, but with concern perhaps. The one-eighty change on her part manages to break through my irritation. I raise my arm and reach for her, wrapping it around her waist. I pull and she comes without resistance, settling between my legs. I run my hands up her naked arms and I hear her sharp intake of breath. Saylor is still wearing the same party dress from last night, and even though her make-up is gone and her hair is a mess, I still want her like I’ve never wanted any other woman.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “Liv is Sebastian’s Achilles’ heel. He’s my best friend, I have to look out for him. You haven’t seen Bas at his worst.”
“You haven’t seen Liv at her worst either.”
We stare at each other, a silent battle of wills. I finally sigh and lean forward, placing a kiss between Saylor’s breasts. “I don’t want to fight with you about this.”
“You still believe I’m lying?”
I never doubted her. That was the monster talking. I look up and make sure our gazes are locked. “No. And for the record, I never did. Like you said, I’m an asshole. I was acting according to character.”
Saylor touches my cheek, then rubs her thumb over my lips. My arm tightens around her waist, pulling her closer. I want her to feel what’s she’s doing to me already.
“Assholes come a dime a dozen. Loyalty is much harder to find. I guess you have that going for you.”
“Did you just compliment me?” I smirk.
“Maybe.”
I tug Saylor’s dress until her lips are within reach. The kiss is nice and sweet, completely different from our MO, but not in the least less powerful. By the time she pulls back and smiles at me, my chest feels like it’s going to overflow.
“Was that part of the apology?” she asks.
“No. I just felt like kissing you.” I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“I just had an idea.”
“Is it naughty?”
She slaps my arm and laughs. “Take your mind out of the gutter, will you? No. I think we should sing a duet at the wedding.”
I raise my eyebrows. “I’m intrigued. What song do you have in mind?”
She leans closer and whispers in my ear. Then she watches my face in expectation.
I smile. “That’s fucking brilliant. Let’s do it.”
Thirty
OLIVER
I would be lying if I said that Sebastian’s wedding didn’t mess with my head. I thought I was immune to mushy, sentimental feelings. But walking down the aisle with Saylor in my arms forces me to see a future I never considered before. I can’t exactly pinpoint when the shift occurred.
We reach the end of our sandy walk, and in an impulsive gesture, I bring her hand to my lips for a kiss. She arches an eyebrow, then shakes her head, while fighting the smile that wants to blossom. Fuck me if that reaction doesn’t make me want to shout in happiness. I’m so over my head, it’s not even funny.
I slip my gaze to Sebastian’s face, but he’s standing there under the flower decorated pergola stiff as a board and doesn’t notice my stare. There’s a sheen of perspiration on his forehead and I don’t think the heat is to blame. I take my place next to him and clap his back, making him jolt on the spot.
“Relax, mate.”
“Easy for you to say.”
I catch Saylor looking at us and I wink at her. She reciprocates with a dazzling smile before blowing me a kiss. For someone who didn’t even want to give me a second chance, the one-eighty change infuses my stupid heart with hope. Such ridiculous emotion should have me packing and running, but I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know what I did to deserve that girl, but I won’t shove my head up my ass and fuck things up. Maybe my touch is not cursed after all.
Liv makes her grand entrance on the arm of her father to the sound of Ed Sheeran’s Photograph. That’s the song Sebastian sang to her before he proposed. I feel a pressure on my chest, and then a lump lodges itself in my throat. This ceremony is bringing up too many feelings I didn’t even know I had.
When Sebastian and Liv exchange their vows and she mentions his parents, there isn’t a single dry eye in the crowd. I clench my jaw and fight to not let memories resurface. I cannot think about Harry, not today. Nothing ever ends well when he takes over my mind. Fuck, I should have known better and taken precautions. Alcohol alone never suffices. I steel myself. I only have to endure it for a while longer until I can slip out and grab something from my room.
My eyes automatically seek Saylor for she somehow has become a safe harbor to me. She looks almost ethereal standing there in her lavender colored strapless dress, with her hair pulled to the side, falling over her shoulder in loose waves. She’s already watching me with bright eyes, and it feels like she can read my mind, see my black heart.
I love her.
The thought comes unbidden, but it’s not a brand new realization. Deep down, I knew what the feeling competing for space with the darkness inside my chest was. I just didn’t have the guts to allow the word to form in my head. People believe that being in love and loving someone is the same thing. It’s not. Being in love is a fleeting emotion, it’s a high that eventually ends. Loving someone has roots, it doesn’t go away that easily. It scars you when it goes wrong. My feelings for her are the latter. I fucking love her. There’s no mistake about it.
Oliver Best, the manwhore, the never-commit guy, has fallen. And fallen hard.
Thirty-One
SAYLOR
I’m screwed. Completely, irrevocably screwed. Despite my vows, despite my resolutions, I succumbed to him. He has me entirely, whether he wants it or not. I truly hope he doesn’t. I have to ignore what my heart wishes and let my head take control for a change.
I must let Oliver go. I cannot tie him to a sinking ship.
I harden my heart against his charged glances. I don’t know what they mean and I’m afraid to look too closely. What if…no. I cannot let my mind take that dangerous path. Oliver had been on board with the plan since the beginning. Heck, it was his idea. Only one week. No more. If I knew that he changed his mind, it would only make it that much more difficult to pretend that what we have is just sex.
I cannot love him. I’m not allowed to love him.
Once the ceremony is over, Oliver links his arms with mine again and we follow the newly married couple to another part of the resort where the official wedding pictures will be taken. I’m glad when he doesn’t do anything to make things even harder for me. He dialed his intense stares down a notch.
Half an hour later, we head to the indoor ballroom where the reception will be held. Kauai is beautiful, but the humidity outside is killer. The resort’s event organizer did a phenomenal job with the décor, though. Strategic, tiny lights adorn the ceiling, creating a starry sky effect. Further illumination is provided by the candles on the white linen tables. The room is infused with a soft glow, making everything that much more romantic.
Oliver and I wait our turn to enter, and soon after, Liv and Sebastian are officially introduced as a husband and wife and have their first dance. Then, it’s show time.
I escape with the girls to a side room where we change clothes for our boy bands performance. We ditch dresses for sexy tuxedos because it would be too hard to imitate the styles of every single boy band throughout the decades otherwise. Our mash-up starts with The Beatles and ends with a Boys Future song, naturally.
We nail it.
But the guys pull an even bigger stunt—and it’s quite unfair to be honest. They start lip synching to Liv’s favorite TV shows’ theme songs, including I’ll Be There For Y
ou from Friends, That 70’s Song from That 70’s Show, and Where You Lead from Gilmore Girls. But the surprise doesn’t come until the end when Pony by Genuine cuts through the speakers and Sebastian puts Magic Mike’s Channing Tatum’s moves on Liv. My jaw literally drops. Sebastian has always hated dancing. I guess the bared chest firefighters video was only the warm up.
The crowd is totally into it and it’s clear who the favorite of the evening is.
“Oh my God. I’ll never hear the end of it,” Kimmy grumbles, pouting.
“I don’t follow,” I say.
“I bet with Owen that our performance would better than theirs.”
I shake my head and smile. Why am I not surprised?
Sebastian gives Liv a lap dance I honestly don’t know how he has the nerves to do so in front of her entire family. I’m just mighty glad that Oliver doesn’t give me one. I would combust on the spot.
When the performance is over, Liv and Sebastian are making out like two horny teenagers. I’m tempted to tell them to get a room, but hey, it’s their wedding party. They can do whatever they want.
Oliver comes to me, his face sporting that devious smile that tells me he’s up to no good. My breathing changes and I swallow hard. Stay cool, Saylor, stay cool.
“So, what did you think?” he says.
“Sebastian was great.”
He leans closer to whisper in my ear, “Only Sebastian?”
There’s no staying cool with Oliver so close to me, with his warm breath fanning across my skin.
“If you behave tonight, I might give you a private show later,” he continues.
I turn my face to his, bringing our mouths dangerously close. “Hmm, I don’t know. I like being naughty.”
I walk away, adding an extra sway to my hips.
Thank heavens we don’t sit next to each other during dinner, but even with the separation, there’s no escaping his heated gaze, the way that his eyes have almost the same effect of his hands caressing my body. How am I going to say goodbye to this?
