“Because?”
I sit up and jump on him, straddling him and touching my lips to his. “Because I found the two hottest guys in California to do all this stuff with.”
He blushes and chuckles. “Wait till Bryce knows that you think he isn’t the hottest. He’ll be so pissed,” we laugh about the way Bryce would pretend to be hurt to make me say that he’s the hottest but then Parker returns serious.
“Ok, but if you think that Nic will be happy for you, why the worried expression?”
I shrug, not wanting to admit that out loud, as if speaking about it would give veracity to my words. “I don’t know. Lately she seems a little off. It’s been since that day at the State Fair. She’s answering my texts hours after receiving them and it’s like, short answers. Mostly monosyllables. I know she’s working two summer jobs and there’s Nate but it really isn’t like Nic to be so distant. I’m wondering if I did or said something wrong.”
Parker thinks about it for a second and then tells me to talk to her. “Why don’t you two have a girls night or something? Bryce and I are happy to take up all your free time but we understand that she’s your bestie. Just have some quality time with her and ask her if she’s ok.”
I hug him tighter. “Thank you for being the best ‘friend’ ever and for listening to my girl drama.”
He slides down on the mattress, resting his head on the pillows and holding me close to him.
“Anything that’s important to you, is important to me, K.”
I sigh, with my head on his sculpted, smooth chest. “You and Bryce are so fucking perfect and sexy! I’ve been thinking that I’m ready to take the next step with both of you. You know how you both said that that’s a choice you want me to make, who should be my first?”
He kisses the top of my head. “Yeah,” and I look up into his eyes. “I really don’t know who to choose, Parker. I care for you and Bryce equally. I wish it could be both of you.”
Parker’s smile is confident and devoid of any jealousy. “Look, we meant it when we said that it’s your choice. And we also meant it when we said that we will accept your choice without getting mad. If you’d had sex before, it wouldn’t even matter so much who had you first. But we want to be sure that you don’t regret it, you know? I regret not waiting for someone who mattered more when I lost my virginity. So I don’t want the same thing for you. That’s all.”
Bryce told me the same thing and I feel so fortunate to have two guys who care so much about me. “Well, that doesn’t help at all. One of you could volunteer.”
He chuckles. “Yeah or we could toss a coin. And ‘may the odds be ever in my favor,’” then he becomes suddenly serious. “Of course I want to be your first, K. But so does Bryce. And to be honest the reason why we’re both at peace with whoever you choose, is that we know that we’ll both take care of you. Is this why you want to talk to Nic? Do you need your bestie’s advice?”
I laugh at that notion. “Fuck, no. She’d say something silly, like to have both of you inside me at the same time. Or something like ‘choose the one with the smallest cock, because I promise you that your first time will hurt like a motherfucker.”
Parker laughs at my impression of Nic. “Well shit, I don’t presume to know how it feels for a girl. I know my first time I was so nervous and I lasted probably thirty seconds. I guess for a girl it’s a bit scary, thinking that it might hurt. Don’t tell Bryce what Nic’s advice would be or he’ll think that he’s won the battle!”
I laugh at the fact that those two rib each other constantly and we fall asleep discussing their cocks’ sizes. He maintains that he’s longer so that counts as bigger but that Bryce’s major girth would probably hurt more, if size is the criterium we’re using.
I just know that whoever I’ll choose, I’m sure I’ll have no regrets because I’m beginning to fall for both of them.
Chase
THE SUMMER SEASON IN Star Cove is in full swing and it’s one party after the other. Reid and I work with Dad during the day and party until the sun comes up every single day.
Especially now.
Kaya dating Bryce makes me happy and furious at the same time. I’m happy because I know that Bryce is an excellent guy, probably even better than me for her because he doesn’t share my stupid hot temper. And I know that he knows that if he hurts Kaya, Reid, Dad and I will fucking erase him from existence in the most painful way possible. Dad told me as much and he also said that he had a ‘man to man’ chat with Bryce.
That’s another thing that I hate and love at the same time: I’m happy that Dad loves Kaya as a daughter, I can see how they have a lot in common and they enjoy spending time together. I love it all the more because I know that Kaya doesn’t really have a relationship with her own dad. But I also hate it because if our parents weren’t married, then maybe there would’ve been some hope for me and Kaya.
Not that it matters anyway because we can’t change reality and before all the shit hit the fan three years ago and Dad made it clear that Kaya was to be treated like a sibling, she never even replied to that love declaration I wrote on the last page of that manga. So regardless of our family situation, I know that Kaya never liked me the same way I liked her.
But love is the most fucked up emotion there is: it wrecks your heart and rips you open, leaving you to bleed out when the other person doesn’t feel the same way. Because that’s what I’ve learned in these three years: love doesn’t need to be requited to keep living. The fact that Kaya doesn’t love me back and that I couldn’t have her anyway, doesn’t change my feelings in the slightest. Actually if anything, my love for her grows every day, fed by the sight of how the cute, smart teen girl I met three summers ago, turned into a gorgeous, feisty young woman. I not only love Kaya, I admire her for her strength and her intelligence. I sigh looking at my soda in a red solo cup. Bryce is one lucky motherfucker.
I drain my cup and toss it in the trash can, walking out of the kitchen in search of Reid. I don’t even know whose house this is, it doesn’t even matter, all I know is that I’m done with this party and I’d rather drag my brother’s sorry drunk ass back home while he can still use his legs and I don’t have to carry him to his room.
Reid is drinking more than usual lately. I don’t drink, I hate the feeling of losing control but that seems the way my twin decided to handle his own feelings instead.
I know that he isn’t fucking Jasmine, I can see his ploy from a mile away. He decided to hang out with the girl with the worst reputation in town, so that everyone would assume that he must be fucking her. Especially our dad. In reality, Reid is as miserable as I am.
Fucking random girls was possible at college when we were far away from her, but with Kaya in our same house, seeing her every single day, I doubt that I could even get hard. Because she’s all I can think about.
I wander all over the house, dodging couples making out in every corner, and people in various states of drunkenness, beginning to stumble their way out as the sky outside is starting to get that grayish tinge that announces the imminent dawn.
I can’t see Reid anywhere, so I step outside thinking that maybe he’s trying to sober up with some fresh air.
I step onto the deck and the only people out here are a couple making out on the plush garden couch.
It’s pretty dark, so I don’t recognize them immediately but when the sliding back door of the living room slides open, the light from the house reveals that I’m looking at Jasmine making out with ... Marc?
Fuck, I seriously don’t like that kid. I mean, it’s not like he’s cheating on Kaya or anything but I’m surprised to see him with his tongue down Jasmine’s throat, especially because he seemed so smitten with my stepsister. I guess he’s trying to forget her and it’s not like I can’t relate.
They stop kissing to look at me and I’m about to walk away, deciding that Jasmine definitely doesn’t know where Reid is, when Marc snarls at me.
And now don’t get me wrong, if the little
douche sounded drunk, I could possibly ignore him but when his venomous words hit me, he sounds completely lucid.
“Where’s that little cunt of your sister, huh? I guess she doesn’t have the courage to show her face after the other night?”
I don’t like his tone and I respond with a derisive smile. “Watch your language, asshole. It’s my stepsister you’re talking about! Why should she have a problem showing her face anywhere? Because she decided to date someone else? You sound like a sore loser to me. Just accept that she chose someone else and she moved on.”
His smile widens, the corner of his mouth lifting in a satisfied grin.
I want to hit him so badly but I guess that’s what he wants, so I begin to turn to walk away but his next words give me pause.
“I don’t think I’m the loser here. I’m not the one wasting my breath to defend that little whore.”
I take a step closer, not caring about Jasmine’s annoyed expression. “I thought I told you to watch your mouth.”
Marc lets out a dark chuckle. “You’re so fucking pathetic. Defending the little slut who cheated on her boyfriend with your two best friends.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I ask, stunned by his words.
“Aww, how sad. You didn’t know? I dumped that tramp when I caught her kissing Bryce at the yacht party, but that wasn’t the first time she cheated on me. My bad for forgiving her after she ditched me during another date and I caught her sucking face with your other friend. The quiet, tall one.”
I gasp, shocked by the news. Kaya told Dad that she’s dating Bryce and he seems completely smitten with my sis.
He took her out on a date tonight, ditching the party. Is it possible that she’s messing with Parker too on the side? I mean, I noticed the way Parker looks at her but I didn’t think that he would ever betray Bryce that way.
Marc smiles at me, with glee in his eyes. “I would have warned them that they’re being played but you’ll understand why I didn’t feel like it, since they didn’t think twice about fucking another man’s girlfriend. Unless, they know and they’re both fucking her. It wouldn’t surprise me after the way they were both copping a feel on the beach last week with the excuse of a surf lesson. See, maybe I dumped her too soon. I should’ve seen if she wanted to have some fun with me and my buddy Nate. After all, she did give it up to me on the beach the very first night I got here. She was so grateful for the necklace I got her as a present, that she couldn’t wait to have me deep in her pussy. I was a bit surprised by how easy it was to get in her panties, since she plays the part of the innocent, hard to get girl. She kept saying how expensive the necklace was and how much she loved it. I guess it’s understandable since she wasn’t born in a rich family. My parents wanted me to date her seriously because your old man is loaded and they want me to marry well, but they couldn’t blame me for dumping her, since little sweet Kaya can’t keep her knees together.”
The filth he’s saying makes me see red and I take a step closer to the asshole, ready to make him swallow back every filthy word he just spewed about Kaya, when Marc’s smile is replaced by a more serious expression.
“Come on, man, I really liked your sister. She might be a little slut but she’s pretty and quite smart. She really broke my heart, you know? Even when I caught her making out with your tall friend, I seriously thought about forgiving her, especially since she’s so fuckable. Look, I know you’re mad but am I the one you should be angry with? I just told you this shit because I don’t want your friends to be hurt like I was. Even if they’d probably deserve it for fucking my girl. It’s up to you if you wanna warn them or not but either way, I’m not the enemy here and sure as fuck, she ain’t worth us fighting over her. Just watch your back, that’s all. If she keeps this behavior up, people will start to talk. She’s lucky that I had feelings for her and I’m keeping my mouth shut. I’m just telling you so you can protect your family’s name. People in small towns are cruel and I wouldn’t want some gossip to ruin your dad’s business, since he plans to move his company HQ here to Star Cove.”
19.
Truths
Kaya
I LEAN AGAINST THE wall that divides Joe’s shack from the beach, waiting for Nic’s lunch break to begin.
There are a few tables here in the back for the employees to sit down and have lunch at and I hope my bestie didn’t decide to go out for lunch or see Nate.
I count on the fact that they only get a twenty minute break and I hope that twenty minutes will be enough to talk about whatever it is that’s going on between us.
Because something must be going on for Nic to not pick up any of my phone calls and to basically ignore my texts. I asked her a few times if she wanted to have a girls night but she never replied.
I spot her before she sees me, coming out of the restaurant’s back door holding a box of salad.
“Hey girl,” she almost jumps when she notices me and laughs nervously, a hand splayed where her heart is. “Fuck, Kaya. You scared the living bejesus out of me!”
Still her eyes won’t meet mine, so I draw a deep breath and ask her if we can talk.
“Uhm, sure. But I don’t have a lot of time. You know it’s high season and we only get twenty minutes.”
I wonder if there might be a bit of resentment in her tone, because Nic has to work to afford college, while I have everything handed to me on a silver platter.
But I don’t think that is it, things have changed in the last week or so, right after that night at the State fair.
“Ok babe, I’ll make it quick,” I know Nic and normally she isn’t the type to beat around the bush. Some people don’t like how outspoken she is but I love her fearlessness and I’ve often wished I was more like her. So I take a page out of her playbook and get straight to the point.
“What’s going on? Have I said or done something to offend you? Because you’ve never not picked up my phone calls or not replied to my texts. So please, whatever it is spit it out. I obviously never meant to hurt you and if I have, I need to make it right.”
I say all that in one single breath, my voice catching at the end when she still won’t meet my eyes, looking at her salad as if it were a piece of modern art or something.
“I’m just busy, dude. And judging by the shit I’ve been hearing, so are you. So don’t sweat it, we’ll get together when we’ll get together, you know?”
Yeah, no. I immediately call bullshit.
This would be believable from anyone else but I can detect the hurt and the anger in her tone.
“What are you not telling me, Nic? I want to make things right between us but you have to give me something to work with, because as of right now, I feel like a fucking mushroom. You’re leaving me in the dark and feeding me shit. Come on, we’ve been best friends for three years, you’re really my only friend and I love you. I miss you and I need you. What’s wrong?”
She sets her salad down on the wooden table and squares her shoulders, lifting her face to look at me.
“Do you really need me to tell you? I understand that you really don’t give a shit about me but don’t treat me like an idiot. I might not be going to Bridgeport U in the fall but—”
I interrupt her. “Nic, why are you saying that I don’t care about you? If anything, it’s the other way around. A lot of things have been happening in my life and I need my best friend and you’ve abandoned me.”
She rolls her eyes and then lets out a bitter laugh. “That’s so typical you! The world revolves around Kaya and her shit and other people’s feelings don’t matter. Not mine, not Marc’s—”
I gasp at the mention of Marc. Is Nic really taking his side in all this? Without really hearing me out?
We haven’t really spoken about anything since that party the boys threw at my house, when Marc kissed me and then I kissed Bryce.
Every time we’ve seen each other, we’ve been surrounded by others and she hasn’t really had time to talk whenever I tried to reach out to her.
“Nic, I’m sorry I hurt Marc. But he wasn’t the one for me and I tried, I really tried to let him down gently but first he wouldn’t take no for an answer and then at the yacht party, he said some really horrible things to me. I—”
The way Nic shakes her head stops me in my tracks.
“Kaya, I don’t even fucking know you anymore, seriously. Can you even hear yourself? Ok that I told you to have a fling or a few flings but I didn’t mean for you to wreck people’s feelings and betray me too in the meantime. I could forgive the way you fucked Marc and then decided to start fucking Parker and Bryce behind his back but going around saying that I wasn’t worthy of Nate and that he should give you a chance to show him how rich girls fuck, that was something I would’ve never expected from you. If you wanna fuck every guy in Star Cove, be my fucking guest but at least leave the one I like the fuck alone.”
Her voice breaks but it’s not her hurt expression that makes me gasp, it’s the stuff she just said.
“Nic,” I take a step closer and I try to take her hand but she shakes her head.
“You know what? I wouldn’t even care that much if you wanted to fuck Nate. I really doubt that things with him will work out in the end because you are right about the social difference between me and him. But what hurt me the most is that you’d tell him that I’m white trash. I never expected that from you.”
I don’t even know where to start. So I start from the most important thing. “Nic, you have to believe me, I’ve never even spoken to Nate, not alone. Every interaction I’ve ever had with him, you were present. And I would never ever go for a guy you like. Even if for you it was just a fling, I’d never even look at a guy if I knew that you’re interested in him. Come on, Nic, you must know me better than that! Did Nate say that I told him that shit?”
Forbidden (Perfect for them Book 1) Page 18
