The room was eerily quiet as they each stood on one side of me.
“Is he okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Xavier said. “He’ll be fine.”
“What now?” I asked.
“You want to know who that was,” Easton said.
“Am I going to find out any truths?”
“Henry is a piece of shit,” Easton said. “Noah’s father took him under his wing. When we were kids, Henry’s father died in a plane crash. He was flying his own plane and it went down. Noah’s father took care of Henry. Did everything with him he wouldn’t do with Noah.”
“Noah isn’t meant to walk in his father’s footsteps,” Xavier said.
“But Henry is?” I asked.
“That’s right,” Easton said. “Sometimes it gets the best of Noah. And being drunk like that doesn’t help.”
“So what do we do now?” I asked. “Just hide up here?”
“That’s the point of the masks, Winter,” Xavier said. “You get to hide tonight. Which, by the way, you can take your mask off now.”
I completely forgot I was wearing the thing.
I hurried to rip if off my face.
I dropped it to the floor.
I shook my head.
“I’m hungry,” I said.
“For what?” Easton asked with a grin.
“Want me to be honest?”
“Sure,” Xavier said.
“I want chicken tenders and fries,” I said. “In the worst way.”
“I’ll make a call,” Xavier said.
I looked at him. “You can get that kind of food here?”
Xavier slightly grinned. “For you, Winter, I can make anything happen.”
I had a drink with Easton and Xavier in the kitchen.
The food came in record time and was absolutely amazing.
I rolled one of the large, greasy fries around in ketchup and dangled it over my mouth.
I was eating like a total slob and didn’t even realize that I was until I was too far into eating to stop myself.
I was kind of comfortable near the guys.
“Food good?” Easton asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m going to gain about ten pounds by morning after this.”
Easton leaned back and looked right at my ass.
“Hmm,” he said.
“What?”
“I can see it,” he said. “Ass and hips… works for me.”
“Shut up,” I said.
I threw one of the fries at him.
Xavier jumped from the counter and drank right out of a bottle.
He grabbed a handful of fries and threw them down in one big bite.
“So this is what we’re doing?” I asked. “All these rich people around us and we’re eating like we’re Trocs.”
They both laughed.
“Trocs, huh?” Easton asked. “That was smooth coming from your mouth. Any chance you remember some shit now?”
“No.” I ran right through the lie with ease. “Nothing.”
“How long are you going to live like this?” Xavier asked.
“As opposed to what option?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“Neither do I, Xavier.”
“I like you like this,” Easton said.
“But you didn’t like me before?” I asked. “I thought you fucked me in the backseat of your car?”
Xavier snorted.
They were both a little drunk. And they were both gently letting their guards down.
“Shut up,” Easton said.
“Just admit it,” I said. “Come on, Easton… admit it…”
“Fine,” he said. “We never fucked.”
Now I had Xavier laughing.
“Why did you lie about it?” I asked.
“Fuck this,” he said.
He pushed from the counter and left the kitchen.
“I needed that laugh,” Xavier said. He quickly moved toward me. He touched my cheek. “Thanks for that, Winter. You should get some sleep soon. Tomorrow we have to mingle some more. And then I get to see you in the dress I picked out.”
“You think I chose your dress?” I asked.
“I’m confident in it,” he said. “Goodnight, Winter.”
He slid his hand to the back of my neck and pulled me toward him as his mouth came down to mine.
We kissed.
Passionately.
His lips and tongue were… they were… they were like the music under the tent. The movement and rhythm and the way he did it…
Xavier pulled away and our lips made a smacking sound.
My knees buckled for a second and hit the counter.
And he just walked away.
I put my hands to the counter.
I still had to endure one more night of this?
I opened the spare bedroom door and saw the figure of Noah in the bed.
I crept through the room to check on him.
Damn me for having a heart, but I kind of cared about him. He was in pain. That was for sure. His home life hadn’t been as easy as it looked. Financially, sure, he was well off. But emotionally, he was poorer than a Troc.
His parents didn’t love him.
His father took care of another kid right in front of him.
In a way, I understood that kind of pain.
My mother left and I always wondered why she did it.
I still didn’t have the full answer, even with living with her.
My mother was an evil bitch.
And I had some of that in me.
I also had plenty of care and honesty in me too.
I stripped away the emotion and hatred for Noah as I stood at the side of the bed.
He was out cold.
His mouth partially open.
There was dried blood on his top lip.
I reached down and touched his shoulder.
I moved my hand to his cheek.
My fingertips moved up and down his cheek.
What are you doing, Winter?
I wasn’t sure.
I was a tiny bit tipsy.
I was feeling emotions.
Yet that voice and fire in the back of my head reminded me that Noah - along with Easton and Xavier - had wanted me to die.
My nails curled and I dug into Noah’s cheek.
My lip curled.
“Motherfucker,” I whispered. “You were going to tell me the truth. I fucking hate you, Noah.”
He moved his head to shake my fingers away, but he didn’t wake up.
I moved my hand away and just stared at him.
I blinked fast, almost wanting to cry.
I didn’t want to hate. I didn’t want to seek revenge. I didn’t want to be the person I was. I didn’t ask for this… any of this…
My bottom lip quivered.
I sucked in a breath.
And a hand moved over my mouth.
I was pulled back a few feet before I started to thrash.
My entire body had completely frozen up.
All I could think was that they were right. That whoever had been following me was here at this rich persons gathering thing, and they were coming to get me. They were going to kidnap me, hurt me…
I kicked my legs and threw elbows.
When that didn’t work, I resorted to biting the person’s hand.
“Ouch!” Easton yelled.