As I glance out the window, I am at one with New York City and its animal energy; it’s alive and breathing as the sun starts to descend. I had wanted to be at Tess’s earlier, but Jax wouldn’t get off the phone with “that girl.” Apparently he’s still hooking up with the redhead from Zack’s crappy party.
I should have said screw it and hailed a cab, but for reasons I can’t even verbalize, I need my twin tonight.
Jay is driving us. We decided to take the Maybach. Sometimes it’s easier to get around in it. I know that sounds arrogant and pretentious, but people always give you room when you’ve got a driver. Rubbing my neck, I interrupt Jax and his texting.
“What’d you get Tess?” I have way too much nervous energy. Jax doesn’t even look up from his phone, though his mouth twitches, which aggravates me.
“Another thing, Tess wants you to be super nice to her mother and Brance.” I slip this in casually. His eyes slowly go from his phone to me. Raising an eyebrow, he stretches his long legs out, crowding mine. If I didn’t need him to help me tonight, I would kick his legs to the side. Instead, I lean forward, nervously cracking my knuckles.
Jax’s eyes laser in on my hands “Really? Why would she worry about me? I’m ten times nicer to Claire than you are.” He pockets his phone.
“Just be on your best behavior is all,” I grumble. His knowing smirk makes me want to punch him in the gut. Suddenly, Jay slams on his breaks. Sliding his window down he curses out a cab driver who cut us off. I bump my head on the back of the driver’s seat, but Jax barely registers the car’s movement.
“Why? Tess promise you a blow job?”
“None of your business, man, but act right, okay?”
He snorts. “Whatever you need, brother.”
Our midnight blue Maybach glides up to the parking area of Tess’s building. My heart starts pumping faster. The anticipation of seeing my girl makes me smile. Jay is cursing away at the tight fit of her garage.
“Dude, let us off here, and you can take your time parking,” I tell him.
Waiting for the elevator, Jax leans over, putting his annoying face in front of mine. “I got her a giant crystal ball.”
“What?” With a blank stare, I shove him backward. “Get your face out of mine!”
He laughs, then acts like he’s doing sign language. “I… got… her… a… crystal… ball! For her birthday present.” Dropping his hands, he puts them in his pockets and shrugs. “It’s a rare crystal, and it’s huge. Cost me a fortune. They told me if you hold it, it’s supposed to calm and heal you. I think Tess will love it.” Knowing he kicked ass on her present, he smiles broadly.
“Yeah, that’s right up her alley,” I say, taking a quick glance at my reflection in the mirrored elevator.
I look good tonight. The black suit is tailored to a tee. I also allowed my barber to cut my hair, though I did leave some curls. Tess likes them. I catch Jax staring at me, one eyebrow raised.
Rubbing my hands on my pants, I admit it. “I’m nervous.”
He starts laughing. “Why? Because you know she is going to like my gift better?” He waggles his eyebrows.
“Why are you being a dick tonight?” No way am I admitting that is exactly what I was thinking.
Jax doesn’t answer but keeps that smug smile on his face all the way to her apartment. Glaring at him, I pound on the door. Brance opens it, and I almost take a step back. He’s wearing a shiny silver tuxedo! And is that eye makeup on him?
“Hey, hey, hey. Welcome, you gorgeous men.” He waves us in.
“Brance, tone the gayness down a notch or two,” I snarl.
“Hmm, Tess, said you were going to be prince charming tonight.” He shrugs, dismissing me and leaving us to enter alone.
“SexyBack,” by Timberlake is blasting. With a deep breath, I take in the scene around the apartment. What the fuck? I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone. The apartment has been completely refurbished and repainted in reds and golds. Velvet couches with mixed with metallic gold pillows line two walls. And that’s in addition to the ridiculous number of Chinese lanterns, silver and gold streamers, and metallic balloons drifting from the ceiling.
Looking at Jax, I point around the room. “The whole place is changed. Did Tess mention this to you?”
He shakes his head. “Wow, Claire might actually be losing it. I can’t wait to see Robert’s face when he comes home after months of being gone and finds his multimillion-dollar apartment is a gay man’s dream.” Jax snorts.
“Jesus, I think that’s insulting to most gay guys,” I say. “It’s more like Liberace’s wet dream.”
Leaving Jax speechless at the décor, I head straight for the kitchen where I know I’ll find Maria and Letty.
Their dark heads are close together, and they speak in hushed Spanish, checking to make sure the appetizers are warm.
Their eyes light up when they see me. Grabbing and kissing me, they make me feel instantly welcome.
“What has happened to this place?” They both smile and shrug, a knowing look in their eyes.
“What? You don’t like it, Mr. Reed?” Letty acts shocked.
Rolling my eyes, I grab a bacon-wrapped date before Maria can stick a toothpick in it. I pop it in my mouth, almost groaning out loud as it burns my tongue, bursting with goat cheese and the bacon’s salty sweetness.
“Holy God, that’s so good.” Kissing Maria’s forehead, I reach for another.
She slaps my hand. “No more, Mr. Reed. You have to wait for everyone.”
“Just one more. I need to make sure the bacon is fully cooked.”
She eyes me up and down. “One more, and don’t get any on your suit.”
Hugging her, I ask, “So what’s the story with Claire and Robert? Are they getting divorced? Because if they’re not, they will be when he comes home.”
Both giggle at my joke. Unfortunately, I’m kind of serious. “Is he going to be here tonight?” Tess hasn’t mentioned it, but I know she wants her dad to be here for her birthday party.
Maria looks at the doorway, then lowers her voice. “We have not seen Mr. Robert in months. Mrs. Claire was fighting with him on the phone a couple days ago, though.” She shakes her head disapprovingly and bites her lip with worry. “I don’t think he is going to show tonight.”
“Asshole.” Robert has never liked me, so I’m not a fan. In the last year, I think I’ve seen him twice.
The doorbell rings, breaking up our gossiping. Assuming it’s my parents, I allow Jax to let them in.
Putting my arms around Maria and Letty, I squeeze them tight. “I’m going to go find Tess. I’ll see you two later.” When I wink at them, they laugh, then chastise me for stealing another hors d’oeuvre.
“Jesus.” Shaking my head at the gaudy gold hallway, I make my way to Tess’s room.
When I stop at the door, I’m almost scared of what I’m going to find. Not bothering to knock, I open it. I can’t get a good look because Tess, some tattooed girl with pink hair, and Olive Oyl are all screaming at me. I start laughing at the stupidity of it all. Brance appears and shoos me out, shutting the door behind us.
“What the hell has happened to this place?”
He stares at me, arms crossed.
“We need to talk,” I say, motioning with my head for him to follow. This conversation is long overdue. Especially, with his decorating and how it seems he is becoming Claire’s life coach.
He keeps up with me. His dark eyes show no fear. If anything, he seems to be trying to decide if I’m good enough to bother with.
Snorting at his smugness, I enter the library slash billiard room: meaning it is surrounded with books and in the middle of the room is an ornate wooden pool table. This is one of Tess’s and my favorite rooms for numerous reasons. Brance moves to a love seat in the corner. He glances around, taking in the hunter-green walls and dark wooden bookshelves as if he can’t wait to get his hands on it.
“Touch anything in this room and you lose a testicle. I�
��m serious, Brance. Consider this my room, and I like it the way it is.”
He snickers. “Reed, I can’t wait to hear what you have dragged me in here to tell me, or are you only going to threaten me?”
The guy’s got balls, I’ll give him that. No one talks to me like that except maybe Jax.
Sitting down across from him, I place my elbows on my knees and lean forward. “Look, Tess needs a friend. She has decided that’s you. You fill some void in her life.” Sitting back, I add, “But, I need you to know that I always come first.”
Silence fills the room. Brance maintains eye contact with me. Slowly he smirks. “Of course Tess loves you. I would never dream of coming before you.” He crosses his leg. “Unless you do something where I have to step in and be first.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What does that mean?” My voice is low.
He shrugs. “Nothing, Reed.” He stands. “Now, I need to finish Tess’s hair.”
“Wait, what?” I’m confused at this guy’s gall. “I need to talk to Tess for a second.”
Brance smooths out his jacket with his hand. “Yeah… no. It’s bad luck.”
“What are you talking about? This isn’t our wedding day.”
He sighs dramatically. “Reed, Reed, you can’t rush beauty. Why don’t you go wait in the main room and have some more appetizers? I can smell the bacon on you.”
He shuts the door on me, and I stand there staring at the closed door for a moment, replaying what just happened. Brance may play the flamboyant gay guy, but I’m starting to think the real Brance is somewhat sinister.
Taking my time going back, I try to shake off my unease. Tess is mine, and I have nothing to worry about.
I’m expecting to see my parents, but instead, I see Jax talking to a tall, skinny blond girl in a tight black dress. At first glance, I confuse her with Olive Oyl. As soon as I take a closer look, I realize my mistake. Grabbing a crab tart from the round bistro table, I shove the whole cake into my mouth. God, I love Maria’s cooking. The caviar and crème on top are mind-blowing.
“Hey.” I nod at the girl, turning my attention to Jax. “I really need you to be enthusiastic. Brance is going all out—”
“Dude! What is wrong with you? I’m here all dressed up. Being charming, having manners! Did you even realize there is another person here? Or are you so far up Tess’s ass you can’t even comprehend that you rudely interrupted us?” He motions at us with his hands.
I look at the girl, who shyly looks at her feet.
“Shit, sorry. I’m Reed, and I have no excuse for that. My brother’s right.”
“That’s okay. I get it.” Her voice is soft. I take a closer look at her. She has long blond hair and bangs. The bangs cover most of her eyes. Or maybe it seems that way because she hasn’t looked away from her feet. She’s tall, and I think I can detect small pink lips.
“This is Lexi. Her father is in business with ours. Apparently, she’ll be starting school with us.” Jax looks around the room bored. “I think that’s the door. Excuse me,” he says, leaving me with her.
Perfect, asshole! Staring at the girl, I have no idea why she won’t look at me. She seemed fine with Jax, but if she wants to not talk, that’s great with me. I’m about to use the same weak excuse Jax did when she decides to lift her head.
“I hope it’s all right that I came tonight?”
I was right—she has small bow-shaped lips and blue eyes. She’s quite pretty, if you like blonds. I happen to dislike them. They always remind me of Claire. She’s thin, with delicate bones and pretty much no boobs. But with all my mother’s friends having fake breasts, I kind of hope she’s one of the few who will let herself be. Clearly, if her father is doing business with my father, she comes from money. More than likely, as soon as she turns eighteen, she’ll run to the nearest plastic surgeon.
I smile at her, and she exhales. Wow, this is almost painful. Is she terrified of me or dumb?
Lowering my voice, I try to be reassuring. “I’m sure Tess will be thrilled to have another friend. You guys just moved here, right?”
My mind is already elsewhere, completely tuning this girl out. How the fuck did Brance redecorate this whole apartment so fast? I was here only two weeks ago! At least I like this room. It’s got a sophisticated, pleasing feel to it. The dark putty-colored walls have been replaced with crisp white ones, accenting the tall ceilings. A couple of large gray round rugs have been added. And a large gold spiky chandelier hangs in the middle. A little too upscale for me, but at least it’s an improvement, unlike the other rooms.
“Yes,” she answers, jolting my attention back to her weirdness.
Shit! What was I even talking to her about? Thankfully I’m rescued.
My mom breezes in wearing a green ball gown, with my dad following in a black tuxedo.
“Fucking Brance.” I shake my head.
“Pardon?” She bats her eyes at me.
Chuckling, I say, “Nothing. My girlfriend’s best friend is… unique, that’s all.” She looks confused.
“It was his idea to have us all dress up.” She nods—that’s all she gives me.
Suddenly I cringe almost like someone has dragged their fingernails across a blackboard. Unfortunately, it’s Claire’s high-pitched, annoying laugh piercing the large room, making me want to duck and run.
Of course I can’t. “Excuse me, I have some ass kissing to do.” She opens her mouth; however, I walk away. I know its rude, but I did my duty and Jax can step up again.
“Reed!” My mother’s face is flushed. Clearly this isn’t her first glass of champagne. “Come here.” She waves me over, animated.
Looking at the tall couple standing in front of me, I extend my hand to what must be Lexi’s father. “Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Reed.”
“Oh, such lovely boys.” The tall, plastic blond woman gushes.
“Yes, Dimitri and Anna, this is our other son Reed.” My mom beams at me.
“I just met your daughter.” It’s all I can think of saying. Looking over their shoulders, I notice Olive Oyl is whispering something to Maria. I almost rub my eyes in disbelief. She looks like a real person. Her makeup is soft and her dress is… awesome.
Breaking away from my parents and Dimitri and Anna, I reach for her elbow. “Claire, you look beautiful.”
She looks so happy her eyes mist up. I almost feel guilty about all the things I say about her. Almost.
“Reed.” Her bony hands grab my arms. She must see I’m truly being sincere because she throws herself into my arms.
There goes feeling sorry for her. Stiffly I pat her back.
“I can’t cry. Brance will never forgive me. And it would mess up Tilly’s taping of my eye.” She blinks, and her tears instantly evaporate. I can’t help but chuckle at her dramatics.
I want to whisper that she probably doesn’t want everyone to know that she has a fucked-up eye because of Botox. Instead, I grab her hand and kiss it. A bit over the top, but the room seems to love it besides Jax, who snorts loudly.
“I’m being honest—you are a vision tonight, Claire.”
“Reed, you charmer.” I know she loves that I’m giving her my attention since I never do.
“Mother,” I say turning toward my mom, “looking lovely as always.” I kiss her cheek. She smells like peppermint. Must have been drinking her favorite coffee drink—the main ingredient is peppermint schnapps.
“Oh, sweetheart, you look so handsome tonight. You’re not a little boy anymore.” She strokes my cheek with her hand.
“Brad?” Her voice is loud. “What are we going to do? Our babies are growing up so fast.” Clutching his jacket, she looks a little unsteady.
“Dad, how much has she had?” I ask, arching my brow.
He laughs. “Don’t worry about your mother, Reed. I’ve got her.” He winks at me.
Frowning at him, I turn away. The last thing I need is a visual of my parents.
“Holy shit.” Jax exhales as he stares at the double
doors that have been painted a silvery blue. Following his eyes, Brance stands to the side, allowing me the most stunning view I will ever need.
Tess.
My heart is thudding so hard, I don’t even hear the classical music playing anymore. I’m so fucked! So ruined. I’m unable to move, even speak. Vaguely, I hear my brother say something. Holding up my hand to shut him up, my eyes sweep her form, seeking her eyes.
Like a magnet, she moves toward me. God, that fucking walk of hers gets me every time. My hand goes to my chest. It hurts to look at her.
She wears a red chiffon dress—well, I think it’s chiffon; I have no fucking clue. All I know is that it’s tight around her breasts, making them almost spill out and the waist is covered with what looks like small pearls. Layer after layer, the rest of the dress makes her look like a princess.
Tess’s body always drives me crazy, but in this dress…
Brance is whispering like a proud father, something about Dior. All I see is the most exquisite girl in the world.
Her dark brown hair is straight and shiny, parted in the middle. Her eyes are smoky, and her puffy lips are red, matching her dress.
She stops when she gets close to me and twirls. Time slows, and everyone fades into the freshly painted white walls. It’s only us. As she twirls, the dress expands, like a butterfly, and I inhale again. Her face looks so happy. Like a flawless angel, she throws her head back and laughs. My eyes latch on to her long neck. And the pulse—I swear I can hear it from here.
“Reed? You okay, son?” Swallowing, I sense the room is once again invaded by unwanted family and friends. My dad is chuckling with Brance and Jax. I don’t even care if they think I’m crazy, because… are you kidding me?
Grabbing Tess by the waist, pulling her close, I lean into her, the scent of vanilla filling me up.
“How are you going to top this when you marry me, Kitten? I can’t use enough adjectives to describe how stunning you are,” I whisper in her ear.
“Reed!” my mom says. “Let Tess breathe.” Smiling, she widens her eyes at us in warning.
Yet I ignore her. Right now, the whole world could end, and I would be fine.
The Entitled Page 10
