I close my eyes thanking all the gods for my shades and for the fact that Parker’s car windows are tinted as dark as legally allowed.
So this is a hangover.
Dude, I swear I’ll never EVER drink again.
Those skinny margaritas tasted good last night but despite brushing my teeth twice, this morning I feel as if my mouth was full of cotton and sand. Sandy cotton, is that a thing? Yuck.
“Ready?”
Parker’s low voice reaches me and I try to nod without causing a bout of nausea and lean my head against the car window, hoping that I’ll survive the two hour drive to my parents’ house. Mom and Dustin eventually plan to move to Star Cove and live there all year round but right now a considerable part of Dustin’s business is still located between San Francisco and New York, so they travel between the three places all the time.
My stepfather has always been drawn to the water regardless of his business of building and racing boats, so all his houses are by the sea, except for his apartment in the Upper East Side in New York (but he does have a house in the Hamptons).
I guess the house in Star Cove is my favorite out of all of them, the one we’re going to now, one hour outside San Francisco is beautiful but a little too formal for my liking.
It looks like an old English countryside mansion, like in Downton Abbey or all the period drama TV shows I love to watch.
Mom mentioned a party tonight and I seriously hope she hasn’t gone overboard with the celebrations because all I want is to be surrounded by the people I love and possibly pizza. Loads and loads of pizza.
The thought of a slice of pizza makes my stomach growl just as Parker drives through a Jack in the Box and I have to give it to him and Bryce: they might not want to put a label on whatever we have between us but they surely learned what I like in the couple of months we’ve known each other. They order me an egg and sausage sandwich, hash browns and a large black coffee without even asking and I love them all the more for it as I sink my teeth into the greasy, slightly spicy goodness.
None of us talks for a long time, first as we’re all busy eating breakfast and then because each of us seems lost in our own thoughts.
I’m grateful that neither of the boys seems interested in talking about last night. Not just my kisses with Oliver and Chase that were definitely part of the pledge challenge but mostly the fact that I drunkenly tried to convince Parker and Bryce to come to my bedroom last night.
And the boys did, but just to tuck me in and to make sure that I had water and painkillers on my night stand.
Some people forget the shit they say and do when they’re drunk but I have no such luck. I clearly remember trying to drag Parker into bed and wrapping my thighs around his hips, complaining that we haven’t ‘been together’ since Star Cove and that I was ready to take things to the next level.
The boys cuddled with me until I fell asleep but they shot me down every time I tried to take things further than a chaste kiss. “Whoa, you little temptress! You need to get some sleep. Bryce and I will still be here another time, when you aren’t drunk.” I complained that I was horny and it was their fault because it had been weeks since the last time they ‘took care of me’. “Aww sweet stuff, you make things so hard, quite literally. I want nothing but to show you how much I want you but Parker is right. Not like this, not while you’re drunk.”
So yeah, they were perfect gentlemen and slept by my side resisting all my sloppy advances.
And let me tell you that drunk Kaya isn’t only horny and free of all her normal inhibitions, she’s a whiny little bitch. Had I been Parker and Bryce, I would have smothered myself with a pillow, rather than fuck because I wouldn’t shut up nor stop complaining.
I need to apologize to the boys for being impossible last night and I’m determined to speak to Chase and tell him that I can’t keep our secret any longer.
I know it’s a risk but I don’t share Chase’s fear that what we did could reach our parents’ ears. My biggest worry is that Parker and Bryce might feel that I betrayed them. I love them just as much as I love Chase. It doesn’t matter that officially they don’t call me their girlfriend, I hope they understand that they’re all a part of me in ways that I can’t even explain. I fell for Chase and Reid three years ago at first sight and with Parker and Bryce it was the same way at the beginning of the summer just gone.
I hope they can understand that I love them with all my heart, all four of them and that I never meant to hurt them.
My phone pings with a text message and snaps me out of my reveries. It’s Valeria.
Valeria: congratulations, pledge! You’ll receive an official email on Monday morning but I wanted to let you know that you’ve been selected to pledge ΖΘΒ. We’re excited to have you and I know we’ll have an awesome year. Welcome sister!
I have mixed feelings about it. In a way I’m happy because I know how much Mom wanted me to share in her legacy and now she’ll have less reason to try and scrutinize my relationship with Bryce.
In another way, I don’t know if this is really me. But I guess that the whole point is that college is about self-discovery and that’s what Mom wants. That I find out who I am and that I don’t tie my self-worth and my identity to a boy ... or two. Or four.
The guys congratulate me and I wince, holding my head in my hands and groaning in pain. “Thank you. But do you guys have to be so loud? My head is killing me.”
Bryce chuckles and passes me two tablets. “Here. Swallow them with your coffee, caffeine will help the painkillers work faster.”
I accept them gratefully and then I swear that I’ll never drink again.
“Sure you won’t. Until the next party,” Bryce says with a smirk. “But Parker and I will make sure to teach you how to pace yourself and stay hydrated, so next time you won’t feel so rough in the morning.”
I beam at him, turning my head to look at his muscular frame sprawled all over the back seat.
I love Bryce’s easy smile and the way his green eyes light up when he looks at me. “What would I do without you?” I ask him and he scoots closer, touching his lips to mine.
I’m about to unbuckle my seatbelt to climb into the backseat and into his arms but the high gates of the mansion appear in the distance and I decide to postpone making out with Bryce till later on. Maybe we could go further, if I manage to talk to Chase and if Bryce won’t hate me after my confession.
“Uhm, I think your parents might have more guests than just immediate family.” Parker’s voice makes me turn back as he parks the car in the huge circular driveway.
Two Aston Martin convertibles are parked side by side but I have no time to wonder who they might belong to because Reid’s Tesla arrives and stops right next to us.
“Hey sister! Happy birthday!”
Valeria jumps out of one of the two Astons looking as fresh as a rose and enveloping me in a tight hug as if we were long lost friends.
Kaya
“OH, UHM ... THANK YOU? What are you doing here?” I ask trying to make sense of why my sorority president is at my parents house.
“Yeah and I’d like to know what the fuck he’s doing here!”
Reid and Chase have stepped next to us and are glaring at the whole scene with blazing blue gazes.