“That’s a wrong we need to right,” Garrett smirks across the table. “Come on Dax, give her a show.” The other end of the table is still eating formally as if they are above us, although from time to time, Blondie glances over in clear hope to join in.
“Never have I ever had a threesome,” Dax counters bitterly. Garret and Avery cheer loudly, holding their glasses in the centre to clink with mine and I sip my orange juice with pride.
“Never have I ever faked an orgasm,” Huxley takes his turn, looking across to Garrett expectantly. Avery alone downs her entire drink and we all stare at her, clearly thinking how much of a crying shame that is.
“Never have I ever...” Garrett begins looking up in thought. I can’t even imagine what’s churning in that mind of his and I’d be dreading it if I wasn’t finally enjoying myself. “Sent a naked photo to someone holding Huxley’s cowboy hat over my junk while he was asleep in the same room.” My eyes bulge and mouth drops wide open before curving into a smile and punching his arm.
“You asked for that photo, it was Valentine’s Day and you promised you’d never tell him!” I half shout jokingly, although Huxley doesn’t look very impressed.
“That’s my favourite hat,” he complains, running a hand through his hair as if he knows my balls were lying on the inner felt for that photo and he can scrub my sack germs from his scalp. The moment of feeling myself again soon ends, my meds beginning to wear off and abdomen starting to ache. Our empty plates are cleared, and I use the table to push myself upright.
“You can’t leave yet, you haven’t had dessert,” my mother instantly chastises me. The tightness of her lips and twitch in her left eye tells me just how annoyed she is with my behaviour, and I bathe in that small victory for one moment more. Her outer shell is tougher than ice but once it cracks, it shatters.
“It’s my house, I can do what I like.” My reply sends a further flare of anger through her brown eyes, her mouth opening and closing a few times like a fish out of water. Another fun clause of my father’s will, this mansion becomes mine the day I turn twenty-one and I won’t waste a second putting it up for sale. There’re too many memories in these walls that need to be forgotten. “Besides, I’ve got my dessert right here.” I stroke the length of Garrett’s throat with my finger, tipping his chin up to be captivated by his smile and dimples. Finishing his drink, he rises and links his fingers through mine. Turning towards the door, a sea of blue catches my attention and a wicked thought flares to mind. Offering my free hand out to Avery, she blinks a few times before accepting, a knowing smile lifting her lips as I gently tug her to her feet. “You’re coming too.”
Wyatt
Pacing around my room, I’m about a minute and a half from erupting. Weak. That’s what Ray called me. As if I’m not the only one who follows his requests without complaint and delivers actual results. And maybe the enigma that is Meg Connors did manage to breach my walls with her unshakable resolve, but I haven’t shown a shred of weakness in all the time Ray has known me. He should try guarding a girl that fills his dreams with sultry looks and impossible suggestions, only to have the reality match once awake with the bonus of her body warmth constantly too close. Well that ends now. Consider the walls re-erected and my outer armour impenetrable.
There’s a groove in the carpet from my black socks, spots of fluff scattered through the cream tread marks. I need to get out of here. Away from the guards and Ray’s expectations and the shadowed figure in the corner and my fucking dreams and her. Yanking a pair of black designer jeans from the wardrobe, I pull them over the boxers I donned after my recent shower and hunt for a shirt. Not black, I’m not going to a funeral – yet, or white because I’m not a domino, not in the mood for lilac or mint. I’ll go burgundy for a change. Slipping a gold Rolex onto my wrist, I slide my feet into my Nike’s with the matching gold tick and laces before giving myself a quick spray of cologne.
After a quick goodbye to my mom’s eerie shadow, I stride from the room with a roll of cash and Meg’s cell key in my pocket, so no one can gain access to her while I’m out and head in the direction of the garage. Rachel is wiping the TV stand in the living room as I pass through, dust collecting from lack of use no doubt. After a quick gush over my appearance, she runs a hand through my damp hair to push it back from my eyes and tells me to be safe. I kiss her cheek and promise not to get into any trouble with a wink, feeling more myself already.
I duck into the kitchen quickly to grab an apple for the time being and stroll through the connecting garage door. A skinny man in a black suit with matching flat cap nods to me in greeting, a cigarette hanging from his lips as he opens the back door of the limo. Word sure travels fast around here, but I can’t complain. This beats driving around in the sedan for hours without a destination in mind anyway. Dropping into the leather seat, the door is closed for me while I lean over to grab a bottle of whiskey from the mini bar.
“Where are you headed?” the driver asks from the front, eyeing me in the rear-view mirror.
“Surprise me,” I reply, pushing my finger onto the button that closes the glass partition between
