“You're so annoying.”
“That doesn't count towards your apology when it's insulting.”
Her eyes rolled back, and she whispered her apology so no one could hear it, not even me.
“What was that? You wanna hold off on getting married until the attitude clears up? I totally get it, babe.”
Leon was about to piss himself, when her brows dipped down in anger and then released into laughter. “I hate you. Let's go.”
The restaurant downstairs located in our hotel had a private room that was intimate enough for the wedding party. I was avoiding anything too dramatic. Liz squealed when she saw Layla, Hayley, and Maddison—the original Sinners in the flesh at my wedding. There was no real way around not inviting them if we invited Liz. Her plus one would multiply so that every Sinner would be there, so I didn’t give her a chance. I comfortably invited them, because their sins paled in comparison to how criminal I was.
I glanced over at Layla, testing if I had anything left hiding in my heart. Addi’s love wasn't going to condone being roomies inside my small black heart, but it was nice to finally look in her direction and feel nothing.
Relief.
Contentment.
No longer a crutch.
I left the Sinners in the room alone, with every one of the guys present: Ollie, Aspen, and Caden. I had nothing of value to say to them. I was never truly part of their little club, so I kept my distance.
Looking around the room, I didn't see Jade present and accounted for, so I texted her number with just the letters: ETA.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket, surveying the guests, mainly because I had no one to greet, except my sister who was coming with my dad and stepmom. All my support was late.
Addi leaned into me, with her shoulder digging into my chest. “Who's the hottie with Caden? She looks like a real life Snow White.”
I shrugged, having never seen her before in my life, but I was interested if the playboy of their group with the mommy issues finally found someone before he caught something like an STD or a nine month virus that ended in a real life infant.
I felt arms around my waist. I stiffened and lifted my arms up alarmed, until I realized it was my little sister. She loved Addi almost as much as I did, and there wasn't any way I was getting married without her there. She quickly moved on to my bride, who was wearing some sparkly see through dress that made her look like an angel. When I caught her eyes, we exchanged the same look, confirming just how much she wasn't angel.
Addi’s dad tapped a knife to his glass and made the announcement for everyone to sit. He made everything sound official when he spoke. I felt my nerves come to life as I sat next to Addi at a table only for the wedding party, with one seat still empty. I was on display, facing everyone, hoping I'd fade into the black walls that matched my black outfit.
The speeches started with Addi’s parents, then Liz. My sister rapped to Fresh Prince’s theme song, but exchanged the lyrics so that they related to us, and that's when my missing guest strolled in, picking up a glass of champagne at the door.
Jade West. In the flesh.
She was already smirking, and she couldn't even see Ollie’s face from the entrance where she stood. She made it across the room to kiss my cheek from behind. “Sorry I'm late. I got lost a few times.” She moved on to kissing Addi’s cheek, while hugging her from behind. They had gotten close, since I gave into Addi that day and I defended my right to her heart. I watched Jade sit down next to Leon, and her eyes found Ollie’s right away.
The whole room went quiet, and the Sinners all looked either panicked or pissed.
I was eating up every minute of pissing them off on purpose—the same way they did to me countless times in college for an incident they weren't present for. I was purposely making life harder for the innocent bitch who lead me on for five years.
Payback is a bitch.
Ollie got up, pissed. He poured his drink down his throat, while he stood there—the tallest one in a room full of sitting people—before he walked with purpose toward Jade. I was on edge, waiting to jump into something that wasn't my fight if I needed to.
“You have some nerve showing up here!” He didn’t move any closer, knowing she’d be paying attention to his words.
Jade didn't move one inch either, leaning further back in her seat, showing how comfortable she actually was. “This is a non-Sinners event. Are you here for the bride or... groom?” Her voice was full of sarcasm, and it made a smirk on steroids spread on my face.
In the end, I won. He took the battles of my youth, but I won the war. And my trophy? Well, she was marrying me tomorrow.
Caden
I had been wondering the whole time why every Sinner got invited to Hunter’s wedding when none of us softened how we felt about him. It wasn’t for the open bar and certainly not because he was marrying Liz’s little sister. He was always going to be the guy wicked enough to blur the lines between consent and rape.
Not a Sinner—something worse.
I was prepared for this to be a shit show, and I was going to sit back, watching it implode.
It all made sense when all our heads twisted to see who had the balls to arrive after the speeches started. None of the Sinners saw the teal ends and vile personality coming.
Jade West.
The mother of Ollie’s son, Arson.
The notorious dealer of Amherst College.
The one who left Ollie alone, while his body convulsed and his mouth foamed while he overdosed.
The same person who played mom for five years before calling it quits with nothing but a note left on his pillow.
I loathed this bitch. I was the one cleaning up her messes, and it was reason enough of my own.
I had just left bachelorhood behind, and I was doing everything in my power to sway Sabrina into thinking I was a saint. I had to beg her to even be here next to me, and when I wrote a very large check, she cashed it. I wasn’t above paying for someone’s time, their presence, and what I wanted from them. When it came to sex, though, I expected it to come for free.
My personality? Acquired taste.
My dick? Now, that was for anyone.
For now, Sabrina was just an expensive friend and a cock block that kept me from fucking anyone else until she changed her mind. I was stone cold sober from all my vices—sex, weed, booze stiflingly so. I was trying so hard to be a saint that I didn’t account for Ollie losing it at the sight of Jade and me having to have his back.
I leaned into Sabrina. “This is gonna get ugly, fast. I’m sorry in advance.”
She didn’t hate me enough to roll her eyes still. I’m sure basically giving her free reign to my checking account helped.
“I’m sure you don’t do ugly anything.” Her voice was raspy and deep, like she had been sassy her whole life and her voice paid the price.
Shit was about to hit the fan, and I didn’t need to be this sober. I had been good enough for too long. Reaching over the table, sitting next to Sabrina, I swiped Aspen’s drink and shot it back in one gulp. It wasn’t enough to do anything but act like placebo.
Just enough.
Sabrina chalked me up to be exactly what everyone else did: a pretty face and no depth. Sabrina, on the other hand, was full of depth and mystery that kept me up at night, while I wasn’t having sex. She wouldn’t tell me where she lived or anything about herself. The only real facts I had were that she cater waiters on the weekends for extra cash and holds down two other jobs to make rent.