“Getting drunk,” Easton said.
“Shaking hands and making sure the next generation of money and power is safe,” Xavier added.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said. “Is this something I’ve done before?”
No. I’ve never heard of this before.
“No,” Noah said. “You’re not rich enough.”
“Thanks for that…”
“It’s the truth,” Easton said. “Your old man is rich as fuck. But everyone looks at him like a doofus.”
“Did you just say doofus?” I asked with a smile.
“Did you want him to call your father an idiot?” Xavier asked. “He doesn’t belong around here. He doesn’t fit in. Is that what you want us to say?”
I curled my lip at Xavier.
“Look, Winter, stay with me here on this,” Noah said. “This is a big event. It’s hard to explain the people that will be there. But it’s all fancy bullshit. It’s a way for the ultra-rich to brag about being ultra-rich.”
“Okay,” I said. “What does this have to do with me?”
“You’re coming with us,” Easton said.
“What?”
“You’re coming with us,” Xavier repeated Easton’s words. “You can’t be down here by yourself. At least for that long.”
“How long is this thing?” I asked.
“It’s overnight,” Noah said. “Two day thing. Sleep there once.”
“And I’m going with you?” I asked. “The three of you? You expect me to walk into some place I don’t know, with a bunch of people I don’t know and just say hey, it’s cool, I’m banging these three guys at once!”
“You want to bang us?” Easton asked.
“No,” I said. “That’s not what I meant.”
“That’s what you said,” Easton said.
“Winter,” Xavier said.
His voice was deep yet sharp.
I looked right at him. “What?”
“Listen,” he said. “This is important. Something is going on around here. You’ve seen the shit going on. We don’t want anything to happen to you. If you want to stay back, then stay back.”
“No way,” Noah said. He almost lunged at Xavier. “There’s no way she’s staying here alone. I won’t go then.”
“Yes, you will,” Xavier said. “You have to go. You know what’ll happen if you don’t…”
“Don’t even talk like that,” Noah said. “I swear to God, brother, I will fucking fight you right now if you keep talking…”
I glanced at Easton.
He looked pissed. And nervous.
They were all on edge over this thing.
“What even is this?” I asked.
“It’s a ball,” Xavier said. “Like a fancy ball. Dinner. Dancing. Tuxedos. Dresses.”
“It’s all for show,” Noah said as he eased back from Xavier.
“Show?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” Easton said. “We just need you there.”
“You need me there… need…” I said.
“So you don’t get hurt here,” Xavier said.
Noah walked toward me.
He moved fast, grabbing my hand.
His thumb eased along the back of it.
I had never seen him like this before.
“You’re going to come as our date,” he whispered. “Not in some dirty way or anything like that. But you’re with us. There’s nothing formal, no need for titles or anything. You’re not going to pretend to be in love with one of us or something.”
“But if you want to fuck one of us, I’m your guy,” Easton called out.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said to Easton.
Noah’s lip curled.
He did not like when Easton and I flirted about that topic.
I pulled my hand away from Noah’s.
“So I just show up as… what?” I asked.
“Whatever you want to be,” Xavier said. “You’re with us.”
“You can be a hot intern,” Easton said.
“Do you ever turn it off?” I asked.
“That’s what happens when you haven’t gotten laid in two years,” Noah said as he looked back at Easton.
“Oh, fuck you, man,” Easton said. “You want to talk about who got what when?”
“Yeah, maybe we should,” Noah said.
They started to face off, yelling at each other about their conquests.
I set my eyes to Xavier and he nodded to the door to go outside.
I looked back at Noah and Easton.
“Two fingers are what counts,” Easton said. “Not just rubbing-”
“You have no idea how stupid you sound right now,” Noah said.
I shook my head.
Xavier walked by me.
I followed him.
I could use some fresh air.
And maybe time alone with Xavier.
Or maybe I’d run off the deck and just start running down the beach.
And I would never be seen again.
Chapter 12
conquests and kisses
Xavier leaned against the railing next to me.
“They’ll be in there for a while,” he said. “Back and forth.”
“Best friends, huh?”
“Something like that.”
“And they really argue over each other’s sex life?”
Xavier smirked. “When you can’t get it, you make sure you brag about the times you’ve gotten it.”
“Stop,” I said. “I don’t believe that for a second. You three? No way you guys are running dry when it comes to that.”
“Oh yeah?” Xavier asked. “What about you?”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. “What about me?”
“I know you have no memory, but you still have feelings. Needs. Right?”
“That’s a little personal.”
“You brought up the subject,” Xavier said. “I took you away from it in there. I just thought we could come out here until they were done arguing.”
I had a lot of questions for Xavier but I didn’t want to go down that road with him. I didn’t need to know how many girls he had slept with. Because it would probably end up making me jealous.
There, I can admit it.
And I didn’t need him asking questions and have me slip up and confess things that I wasn’t supposed to remember.
“So… this ball thing…”
“That sounds dirty,” Xavier said.
“You sound like Easton,” I said.
“No. I’m always me. You just haven’t seen all of me yet, Winter. Give it time. Hang around.”
“Get followed,” I said. “Feel threatened. Be confused. Yeah, this is a great way to live.”
Xavier laughed. “You get really worked up sometimes, you know that?”
“Do I not have the right?” I asked.
“I didn’t say that,” Xavier said. He looked forward. “Look, this ball thing is a big deal. For us. For our families. We usually just slip away and handle it. Someone will spread a rumor that we’re off to track someone down or we got into trouble. Who the fuck knows or cares, right? That’s what they do over at BFH. Anyway, this is just part of the gig.”