5sos Imagines

Million Dollar Baby L.H (Chapter 13)

I FEEL FROGGY (13)
LPOV
I left work early after finding out about the real reason Jasmine had come to be my sex slave. I just couldn't do it; couldn't sit there acting like everything was fine, conducting business as usual...because what we were doing was about as unusual as it could get.
"Yo, Hemmings," Calum stopped me as I made my way toward the outer office door. "You heading out? What's up?"
Yeah, I probably should tell my assistant something, right? See...Everything in my goddamn head was a jumbled mess. Un-fucking-usual.
"Yeah. Just send my calls to my voice mail. I'm checking out for the day. And if anyone asks, you don't know where I'm going," I answered.
"But, I don't know where you're going."
"Exactly."
I turned on my heel and continued on my way, ignoring Calum's, "Is everything okay?" question. No, everything was not okay. And no, I didn't want to talk about it. I just wanted to wallow in my own guilt for a while and figure a way out of this mess.
I knew there was only one place where I was ever going to get the peace and serenity I needed to sort this shit out, and I wasn't going to let any Chatty Kathy's delay my purpose. Which meant I had to be rude, and I was...to several employees. But, you know what? I didn't give a good goddamn if they felt slighted because I didn't smile politely when they asked how I was doing and give them the superficial, "Fine, fine. And you?" I didn't fucking care how they were, or that little Johnny had a snotty nose, or that Susie made the cheerleading squad or even that Bob finally got that promotion. I. Didn't. Fucking. Care.
I made my way out of the building and jumped in the first cab that answered my hail, because no way was I going to hitch a ride with Riley. I didn't want anyone to know where I was. Was it irresponsible of me not to tell someone? Probably, but again, I didn't fucking care.
I flipped a fifty over the seat to the driver and said, "Sunset Memorial," and nothing else.
"Sure thing, man. Say, aren't you that Hemmings kid?"
"Nope. Must have me confused with someone else," I sighed as I sat back in the seat. Of course he knew I was full of shit. He'd just picked me up in front of the very same building "that Hemmings kid" owns for Christ's sake. So, it was his fault that I had to lie to him. He shouldn't have asked such a stupid question.
Before long, the heavy traffic of downtown New York faded from view and the sun broke through the cloud-laden sky. It was odd to see the rays streaking down through the miniscule opening, especially when the clouds surrounding them looked like they were about to pour hell bound rain at any second, but it soothed me a tiny bit when I followed the beams straight down to the place where I was headed.
The Hemmings Crypt.
Well, I suppose mausoleum is the correct term, but Hemmings Crypt just sounds better. Either way, it was the final resting place for the two people who really got me, who loved me for who I was...but, one of which was probably going to walk out of that thing to smack me in the back of the head for what I had become.
"You want me to wait?" the cabby asked when he stopped at the walkway at the bottom of the hill led to my family's burial ground.
"Nah. I'm good," I answered.
"Are you sure? Looks like it could start raining any time now."
Thanks for the weather report, Al Roker.
"All the better," I mumbled and then stepped out. Torrential rain would match the way I felt on the inside perfectly, anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I wasn't the real emotional sort, but I felt like fucking hell. I wasn't so much feeling sorry for myself, I'm a man goddamnit, but everything - what Aleisha and Jake had done to me, what Jake continues to do to me, what had happened to my parents, what I'd done to Jasmine - it was all just...too much. For Christ's sake, I'd stolen the girl's virginity, fucked her in the back of a moving vehicle, made her suck my cock in the middle of the foyer, knowing someone could walk in on us at any moment and what I'd done to her on my baby grand. Well, that part probably wasn't too bad. After all, she had instigated that shit. But I had every intention of fucking her in the ass. Fucking hell.
"Well, I wouldn't feel right leaving you out here by yourself without at least a little something to warm your bones," the cabby said as he reached across the seat and handed me a brown paper bag with an unopened bottle of Jose Cuervo inside. My father's favorite, how ironic?
"Thanks," I said, handing him another fifty and taking the bottle.
I walked up the hill to the family crypt and took a seat on the marble bench across from the door. Then I took the bottle out of the bag, twisted the top and poured a healthy dose onto the ground. After all, how rude would it have been for me to drink it in front of the old man without offering him a sip?
"Cheers," I said with a tilt of the bottle before I took a swig. It burned going down and I winced; much like the very first time I had when I'd swiped some from his liquor cabinet when I was thirteen. Jake had dared me to do it, and I didn't want to look like a pussy, so I choked back the cough my body had fought to let loose so that he wouldn't know I wasn't as tough as I perpetrated. Funny thing is that when Jake took his turn, he coughed the shit out his nose. I could still see him pinching his nostrils together and whining about how much it burned, for like a good hour after it happened.
I had to let out a chuckle at the memory, and then I took another hard swig before looking down at the ground. Fuck Jake. And, fuck me.
I still remembered the night I'd lost my parents. Of course I remembered it; I'd murdered them, so it wasn't like I was ever going to be able to forget that shit. Maybe not by my own hand, but it was my fault nonetheless, and that made me a murderer.
Jake and I had been fucking off, as usual...drunk out of our goddamn minds. I believe Grey Goose was the culprit that night, and we were drinking that shit like it was water. The challenge? Who could drink a bottle faster - straight up, no chaser. We weren't the least bit concerned about alcohol poisoning, didn't give a shit that we were graduating the next day and had to be up at the buttcrack of dawn. And neither of us was in any shape to drive. My parents...they were on their way home from a night out at the opera when I called them. I only meant for them to send our driver out to get me, but my father was pissed, my mom, worried as usual. So, they insisted on picking me and Jake up on their way home. They never made it; some other drunk motherfucker, who'd decided it would be a grand idea to get behind the wheel of a fucking car instead of calling for his own goddamn ride that night, hit my parents head on. They were both dead at the scene, clutching each other's hands in their lifeless state. I knew, because I'd walked up to the accident when I saw the red, white and blue lights. They were only three blocks away.
I won the contest, but it came at a very high price. It was my fault, but Jasmine's mother...that shit wasn't anyone's fault, especially not Jasmine's. She wasn't a spoiled rotten brat, born with a silver spoon in her mouth that had no idea just how good she had it. She wasn't a belligerent asshole that thought getting drunk and fucking everything that had a decent set of tits and a nice ass was the perfect recipe for a good time. So why was her price set so high?
I sighed and looked up toward the darkened clouds overhead. "Tell me what to do," I said, throwing my hands up in desperation and sending the tequila sloshing around inside the bottle. Coincidentally, the rain clouds above me decided to let go of the load they'd been carrying, for God only knew how long, at that exact moment.
I had my answer. I had to let her go. Duh, I already knew that. I didn't need the euphemism. She needed to be with her mother and father. But that was a whole hell of a lot easier said than done. I tilted the bottle back again, but before the liquid fire could scorch my tongue, I threw the shit over the grassy knoll to the left of the mausoleum. I watched it roll until it stopped at the bottom of the hill and emptied the majority of its contents onto the ground, but not all of it.
The symbolism was uncanny. Jasmine was the devil's juice, capable of setting me on fire from the inside out. Whenever I was around her, my mind was numb and my thoughts incoherent. And now...she was free, but there would always be a small part of her that I would carry around with me. Because Jasmine Johnson was not easy to get out of your system, at least, not mine.
"Fucking shiiiiit!" I screamed as I pulled at my hair. "Just...shit."
I couldn't do it. I just...couldn't.
~*~
I stayed there in the graveyard until well after the sun had set. It could have been hours after, I wasn't really sure because time seemed to stop while I wallowed in my own guilt. I did know that I was freezing and my ass and both legs were numb from not having moved from that spot on the bench. Well, except for the one time that I had to take a piss. Thankfully, the rain had only lasted for about half an hour and I was completely dry again.
I ignored my growling stomach, my parched mouth, and my incessantly ringing cell phone. People were looking for me. I knew it. And it was only a matter of time before Keesha brought out the bloodhounds to track my trail. But the one name that flashed across my caller ID that made me curious, was Jasmine's.
Not gonna' lie. I wanted to answer that damn call more than anything. I grabbed the phone on the first ring, stared at it through the second and held it so hard through the third that I thought for sure I'd cracked the damn thing. But, I didn't answer it. What in the hell would I have said?
"So, I hired a PI to check into your background, because I'm a nosey motherfucker, who might have a slight tendency toward being a control freak..."Damnit, she was going to be beyond pissed when she found out I did that shit. I guaran-fucking-tee it. "...and guess what I found out? That's right. I know that you sold your body to pay for your dying mother's heart transplant, but I'm going to keep fucking you regardless, because I'm sick and I need help...lots and lots of shock therapy...to my dick...just might do the trick."
Yeah, so not going to happen.
My phone chimed the familiar notification that I had a text message and I picked it up. A little flutter went through my chest when I saw that it was from Jasmine, and before I knew it, I was opening the message. The digital clock told me that it was after ten o'clock already. Shit, had I been there that long?
Where r u? I'm all alone...in this big bed...naked.
My dick twitched in my pants at the image he and I both knew all too well. "Shut up. This mess we're in is all your fault, you horny little motherfucker," I scolded my lifelong friend.
Business meeting. Don't wait up.
Bullshit. Talked to Keesha, but glad ur alive. I'll let her know.
Thank God she wasn't going to push it anymore than that right now. Of course I was perfectly aware that when I had to actually face her, all bets were off. But at least she'd get Keesha off my back...for the moment anyway.
Going to sleep. Feel free to wake me when you get home...if you want. ;)
Oh, I want. But I won't.
I put my phone back in my pocket and went back to staring at...nothing at all. My mother's ghost hadn't appeared to smack me in the back of the head. My father's ghost hadn't come out to scold me for wasting good Cuervo, or to tell me to get my shit together and stop acting liking an idiot. I hadn't had some great epiphany, or made any kind of decision of what I was going to do. All-in-all, it was a wasted day...and night.
I pulled my phone back out and called my Uncle Harry. Harry was a cardiologist, best in his field. Not only that, but he seemed to know everyone. Probably because he was a huge supporter of everything that had anything to do with medicine. Just like how he bought the business where Aleisha's father practiced. That medical building supported specialists from just about every field, and Harry was like a sponge, constantly trying to soak up as much knowledge about everything that he could. I knew calling him was a stab in the dark, but I wanted him to see what he could find out about Maria Johnson's condition and if he could maybe help her out. No way was anyone going to give me any information with all that HIPPA bullshit - not that I'd understand one word of any of it even if they did. But, Harry...he could do anything.
After placing my call, and thankfully getting Harry to agree to help me out, I called Riley for a pick up. It was time to go home, and even though I was dreading my body's reaction to seeing Jasmine, my heart needed to.
Riley knew better than to say anything to me on the way home. Clearly, I was not in the mood for sharing. When we got to the house, I went in without a word and made my way toward the bedroom. Even though I knew the way by heart, it still felt like I was being pulled in that direction by some unseen force. She was there, and I was like a magnet drawn to her.
For the very first time in a long time, I climbed into my bed with every stitch of clothing still on, except the shoes of course. She was asleep, but she was turned toward my side of the bed, her angelic face looked peaceful even though I knew the hell Fate...and I...had imposed upon her.
Every molecule in my body wanted to reach out and touch her, but I couldn't...because I was dirty and she was not. And I wasn't talking about the fact that I had spent the day in wet clothes and hadn't yet showered. I couldn't bring myself to smudge something so...pristine. But my smudges were already all over her, weren't they? I had touched her everywhere, left no inch of her perfect skin unmarred by my branding.
So, I just lay there and watched her sleep, memorized her every feature, watched her breathe. And I knew right then that I would never treat her like a sex slave again.
JPOV
"Get your ass in gear or we're going to be late!" Keesha's shrill voice was suddenly deep and more commanding than I'd ever heard her before as she barked orders at me from outside the bathroom door.
I had just wrenched open the door to tell her to kiss my ass when all of a sudden, a loud rumble shook the house and a meteor the size of Texas crashed through the ceiling and landed directly on top of Keesha's head before barreling through to the first floor and landing with a thud. Her little arms and legs were all the evidence I could see when I looked down through the mammoth whole in the floor, and they weren't moving - not even a twitch. Ding, dong the bitch is dead...
"Well, it's about time!" Keesha screeched, shaking me from my hallucination. The whole in the ceiling was gone, as was the whole in the floor, the debris and the gigantic meteor. Serious acid trip. Must do again.
Keesha gasped and then she was...speechless? Really, that wasn't anything like her. "You're absolutely...God, I am so effing jealous of you right now," she said as she walked around me. "If the sight of you in this dress doesn't knock Luke out of that I'm-pissed-at-the-world mood of his, nothing will."
I walked over to the full body mirror attached to the back of Luke's closet door and looked at myself. The dress was gorgeous, what there was of it, anyway. It was a navy blue satin number, cut low in the back until it dipped just above the crack of my ass. The chest area was basically a sash that criss-crossed over my boobs and wrapped down and around my hips. My stomach was bare down to the place where the skirting began at my hips. Talk about low rise...And the skirt may have been floor length, but what difference did that make when there was a slit all the way up to mid-thigh? At least the skirt's material was loose and free-flowing.
Keesha had swept my hair up into a french twist, but she left little wisps of hair, strategically placed so that it looked elegant. The make-up was much bolder than anything I would have done myself, but smoky eyes actually looked good on me. If only Jesse could see me now...he'd swear I was a different person altogether, and maybe he wouldn't be so embarrassed about being seen out in public with me.
But as pretty as I felt, I doubt Luke would notice. Keesha was right, he seemed to be pissed off at the world, and I had no idea what the reason was. He hadn't even touched me since that night in the music hall; the night we made the most beautiful music I'd ever had the pleasure of hearing, our bodies and his piano the only instruments in the orchestra. I had to giggle-snort at myself because that sounded corny as hell even in my own head, but it was true.
I missed him.
When he came home from his "business meeting" he didn't wake me. Unusual for him, disheartening for me...devastating for the Cooch. Keesha told me that Calum had said he took off from his office like a bat out of hell with no indication whatsoever of where the fire was. He didn't answer his calls, not even mine.
I guess it's a good thing Dr. Doom hadn't shown up and opened a portal to another dimension smack dab in the middle of Luke's living room, because he sure as hell wouldn't have been here to do a damn thing about it. If he pulled that shit again, I was going to force him to invest in a big ass spotlight like the mayor of Gotham City had...only this one would flash the ColossalCockward insignia instead. Just picture it...a giant penis with a cape waving over the pitch black sky. Fucking epic!
Super Cooch wanted to know where in the hell her spotlight was. After all, she'd been performing some outstanding feats, considering how untrained she'd been when we started this gig.
"Did you hear me?" Keesha asked in that heeeellloooo-o tone. Oh right, daydreaming again. Note to self: Find out if Jesse ever actually did spike my drinks with something like acid.
"Um, yeah?" I asked, rather than stated.
"What did I say?" Keesha had her hands on her hips and her head tilted to the side with the you're-in-big-trouble-if-you-don't-come-up-with-the-right-answer look.
"Luke lost his sight because the dress knocked him out and he wrote the world into his will," I repeated. Okay, so maybe it wasn't spot on, but I had to be close, right?
"I really fucking hate you sometimes," she said with narrowed eyes, knowing she was lying through her perfect teeth. "Get your shoes on. The boys are waiting."
I slipped my heels on and grabbed my clutch purse before following the little her out the door and down the first set of stairs. I stopped when I reached the top of the first tier, stunned into silence when I saw Luke. He was decked out from head to toe. Black tux, navy vest, white dress shirt, black shoes...hair in total disarray. Yummy.
That tux made him look so powerful, I began to wonder if maybe it were the same one Jackie Chan wore in that movie where the suit gave him all sorts of abilities he hadn't possessed before putting it on. Only, come on...we all know that Jackie Chan most certainly did not need some 007 shit to kick ass. And neither did Luke.
He looked up toward the landing where I was standing and went to turn back around before he did a double take, whipping his head back in my direction. Ah, so I did catch his attention after all. He smiled awkwardly as I descended the staircase and ran his hands through his hair before he took my hand.
"You look...stunning," he said and then kissed the back of my hand like a real Prince Charming. I realized then just how much Cinderella and I had in common. Like Cinderrellie, I was just a girl from the working class living out a beautiful fantasy. Only instead of a Fairy Godmother, I had a five year contract.
Luke's smile broadened when he saw the Hemmings cuff bracelet on my wrist, and then suddenly, he dropped my hand and the smile was gone. Then he cleared his throat awkwardly and tucked his hands in his pockets before saying, "Okay, so we should go."
Keesha cleared her throat in turn - totally inconspicuously, yeah right - and when Luke looked in her direction, she quickly tilted her head toward me while patting her throat.
"Oh!" Luke said, finally getting the fucking hint. "I got a little something for you." He reached into his pocket and brought out a thin silver chain. When he held it up, I could see the simple blue diamond dangling from the center.
"Oh, Luke. You really shouldn't have-" Jesus, I even sounded like Cinderella, but that's what the man did to me.
Luke shrugged his shoulders, but didn't look at me. Instead, he focused his attention on the clasp of the chain. "It really isn't a big deal. You deserve..." he sighed as he finally lifted his head with a look of certainty in his eyes, "...so much more."
Okay, so that was weird. Especially considering the way he'd been treating me like I had the plague for the past couple of days.
Luke walked behind me and barely brushed the bare skin of my back with his chest as he clasped the necklace in place. Before he stepped away, his fingers swept across my naked shoulders, sending chills down my spine.
I put my hand on his forearm to stop him from walking away. "Thank you," I whispered, and then I stood on my tiptoes and gently kissed his lips. When I stepped back, I noticed the muscles in his jaw tensing like he was grinding his teeth.
I mean, I really didn't get what his fucking problem was. Up until yesterday, he'd been all over me like he couldn't get enough. And now...total 180. I didn't know if he was disgusted with me, if I'd done something to piss him off or what. But I knew one thing...he most certainly was starting to piss me off. Then again, maybe that was the point. Since I found out about Aleisha, I'd been trying to put my bitchy side away and play nice. Maybe he didn't like that side of me. After all, he really did seem to get off on my being bitchy in the past. Maybe he hadn't changed. Maybe I was the one who had, and the new me just didn't work the same for him.
Fine.
I stuck my chin out, dropped my hand from his arm and started for the door. And then I realized no one was following. So, I turned and looked at them and said, "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's get this over with."
~*~
The ride in the limo was...quiet. Keesha and Calum had driven themselves to the ball, just in case either we or they wanted to leave early. Luke sat on one side of the limo, smoking a cigarette while he stared out the window. Translation: he was torturing me with the whole watch-me-make-love-to-this-cigarette-while-I-ignore-you vibe he had going on.
And then the real torture began.
People. Lots and lots of people. And cameras. Flash bulbs were going off everywhere as we walked down the red carpet to the Four Seasons, people were yelling and shoving, vying for position to get a better shot...and the center of attention? Luke motherfucking Hemmings...and his date. I kept my face hidden behind his broad shoulders or just turned away in general. Luke kept his arm around my waist as he smiled and posed, waved and greeted so many people...completely ignoring the probing question, "Who's the beautiful woman on your arm tonight, Luke?" Until finally, we were out of the chaos and inside where the party was in full swing.
I was relieved, but then Keesha took her place by my side and said, "You ready to go inside?"
"I thought we were inside?" I asked as I looked around.
"Silly girl. This..." she said as she opened a set of double doors, "is the Scarlet Lotus Ball."
Wow. The place was huge, not that I was surprised. Everything Luke did was huge, including Luke himself. There were red lotus flowers everywhere; floating in glass bowls filled with water and candles, in bouquets...everywhere. Silky red banners were draped from the ceiling, red table cloths, red bows...it looked like a beautiful massacre had taken place in the room. And the people were just so lively and perky, too damn perky.
"Welcome to my world," Luke whispered into my ear before taking my elbow and leading me through the crowd. "There are some people I want you to meet."
"Luke! I was waiting for you," this little bouncing brunette screeched as she saddled up to his side. She looked like she'd already had one too many drinky-poos if you asked me. "Oh, you brought a date? I didn't realize you were seeing anyone."
"Bethany, just because we're outside of the office, it doesn't mean I cease to be Mr. Hemmings," Luke told her in a firm, commanding voice. Just then, a waiter came by with a tray of champagne glasses. He grabbed one and handed it to me and then took another for himself.
"Oh, right. Sorry," she said, her buzz seemingly killed. She looked me up and down with a scrutinizing eye and then scrunched her nose up. "Who's she?"
"She...is none of your business. Now, run along and find another drink, Miss Richards," he dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
She gave me the stink-eye one last time and I leaned into Luke with an adoring smile on my face. Fuck and you. I downed my drink because if Miss Richards was any indication of how the evening was going to go, women throwing themselves at my man, then I was really going to need it. If I was blitzed out of my mind, maybe I wouldn't notice it as much.
"Oh! There's Stella and Ashton!" Keesha squeaked, pointing toward a gorgeous couple just a few feet away. I managed to snag another glass of champagne before she grabbed my wrist and practically yanked my arm out of the socket as we made our way over to the world's most gorgeous couple. Luke got stopped by some suits, but Keesha, determined little shit that she was, just kept chugging along.
"Stella!" Keesha squealed as she finally dropped my arm and ran up to the leggy brunette and hugged her. This chick was the very definition of a bombshell; gorgeous tan, amazing body, beautiful face , red lips. I about halfway expected to hear The Commodores break into the elevator music that was currently playing.
"Oh, Ashton!" the gargantuan guy next to her started in a girly voice, mocking Keesha as he batted his lashes and waved his wrists in the air, sort of the same way Jesse always did. "I've missed you so, and you're my favorite person. Ooh! Let me feel you up too!"
Keesha broke the embrace with the beautiful brunette and stared him down while said beautiful brunette smacked him in the back of his head. "Don't be an ass, Ash. We have company," she said, nodding toward me with a curious look.
"Oh, yeah...this is-"
"Jasmine...my Jasmine," Luke cut her off, suddenly appearing as if out of nowhere. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into him possessively. "Jasmine, this is my favorite cousin, Ashton, and his wife, Stella."
"You can just call me The Gentle Giant," Ashton said.
"He's a starting defensive tackle for the New York Giants," Luke clarified.
"Damn straight," Ashton boasted, puffing his chest out.
"Stella is his ball-busting agent," Luke continued with a nod in her direction. "I think she busts his balls more than she does any of those blood-sucking contract negotiators."
"Someone's gotta' keep him in line. Besides, he likes the rough stuff," Stella smirked.
"Nice to meet you," I said as I offered my hand toward Stella in greeting. "Luke's told me...absolutely nothing about you," I laughed awkwardly.
"Likewise," Stella said, shaking my hand. One might think the whole "likewise" bit was in regard to the pleasantries, but I had a feeling she meant that as an answer on both accounts - Luke hadn't said anything about me either, which made sense, just not to them.
"So, Hemmo? Have you seen Mom and Dad?" she asked Luke.
I looked at Luke with my brows raised in question. Hemmo?
He knew right away what the look was for. He rolled his eyes in embarrassment before shrugging his shoulders and saying, "Everyone in my family has always called me Hemmo. It's just a nickname."
"Oh yeah, of course," I said with a well-duh expression. And then I sucked back half of the champagne in my glass. See, little things like what your family calls you, is probably a good piece of information to share with the woman pretending to have known you for eons, idiot.
"And, no, Stella, I haven't seen them yet," he said, attempting to look around the crowd as if trying to rectify that situation.
"Well, they're around. I'm sure they'll eventually make their way back over here," she said with a wave of dismissal. "You know how Dad can be at these functions."
Ashton, Calum and Luke started up a conversation about some sports team, that I was paying absolutely no attention to because Luke was rubbing circles on the small of my back with this thumb, while his pinky dipped beneath my dress to rest in the crevice of my ass. Keesha and Stella were chatting it up about that chick, Bethany, and what some of the other company whores - their words, not mine, although they could have been - were wearing. I preoccupied myself with a game of let's see if I can drink all of my champagne before the next tray comes around with more, and I was winning. No small feat, mind you. There were lots and lots of trays.
"Pace yourself, baby," Luke leaned down and whispered into my ear. And...my head was swimming. Funny, I'd just drunk four, maybe five glasses of champagne, and I was fine. But the man calls me baby, and I'm suddenly unequivocally inebriated.
"I have to pee," I blurted out, sounding exactly like Putter from The Legend of Billie Jean, and I'm not even from the south.
Stella laughed. "I think I like her, Luke," she said as I turned toward her. "Come on, Keesha. Sounds like we need to hit the head."
"I swear, Stella," Keesha said with a disapproving scowl and then turned to me. "She may look like a debutant, but don't let that fool you. She's a rude, crude dude underneath all that glitz and glamour."
"That's my girl," Ashton crowed as he smacked her on the ass and sent her on her way.
"Hurry back," Luke's husky voice floated across the sensitive skin beneath my ear. "I want you by my side all night." He pressed his soft lips against my neck inconspicuously, but I definitely felt that kiss and it melted me like butter over a stack of hotcakes.
"Jesus, Hemmo. We're just going to the damn bathroom. I promise not to scare her off," Stella said with a roll of her eyes.
"Good luck with that," he scoffed. "I think you'll find Jasmine is quite capable of withstanding your witty charm."
"Fuck you," Stella retorted.
"Love you too", Justin smiled and then winked at me before he took a sip of his champagne and turned back to the guys.
As we made our way across the crowded hall to the ladies' room, Stella stopped short. "Look what the dog drug in," she said under her breath as she nodded to our right.
There was a huge mountain of a man with slick black hair, tanning bed bronzed skin and super bright teeth standing in the middle of a crowd of people across the way. I'm pretty sure I may have even seen a tiny sparkle glint off one of those insanely sharp canines. No shit, I could see the points on those bad boys from across the room. He certainly possessed a great deal of animalistic magnetism, which was fitting, I supposed.
"Well, he's a cutie...if you like the whole Wolverine Ken Barbie thing," I said with a snort. "Who is he?"
"Jake," Stella sneered.
"Jake who?"
Keesha leaned to the side like she was about to tell me a dirty little secret. "Jake, Luke's best friend that butt-fucked Aleisha in his bathtub, Jake, that's who."
I gasped, and then I got impossibly hot...under the collar, definitely not under the skirt.
"He's also Luke's business partner," Stella mumbled, pushing the bathroom door open. "Been trying to get Luke to forfeit his share of Scarlet Lotus since my uncle and aunt died...the cunt fucker."
And so my love affair with Stella Irwin began...
"Wait, Luke's parents died?" I asked, before I realized I probably should known that too, but I was just so...shocked. He'd never spoken of them before.
"Yeah, car accident," Stella answered. "He never talks about it, so I'm not really surprised you didn't know."
Keesha's expression was solemn. "He lost them both at the same time, and it has tortured him ever since, so don't bring it up to him. When he's ready, he'll tell you himself, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," I said in a daze just as Stella opened up a stall door for me.
"Hurry your ass up. I need to get my drink on. Gotta' love an open bar," she giggled.
I took care of my business while Stella and Keesha got caught up. Having babies was their topic of choice; Keesha wanted one, but Calum wasn't quite ready; Ashton wanted one, but Stella refused to be barefoot and pregnant while putting her career on the line.
"What about you and Luke, Jasmine?" Stella asked as I opened the stall door.
"Um," I hesitated and walked over to the sinks to wash my hands. How was I supposed to answer that?
"Jas," Keesha interrupted. "She likes to be called Jas, isn't that right?"
"Yeah," I said with an uneasy smile. "And, um, Luke and I haven't talked about babies. I mean, we're not really...there...in our relationship."
"Mmhmm, I see," Stella said. "Well, let's just go ahead and get this out of the way, shall we?"
I turned the faucet off and dried my hands. "What exactly is this?"
"Look, Jas. Luke has no mother, no father and no siblings. So the whole overprotective warning bullshit falls on my shoulders," she started. "I don't really know you, but from first impressions, I like you. But know this...if you hurt Luke, Ashton and me are going to kick your ass. And when I say I'm going to kick your ass, I mean you'll need an ass transplant by the time I'm done with you. We clear?"
I threw my used paper towel in the trash receptacle and put my hands on my hips as I faced off with her. Keesha took a step back because she's a smart kid.
"Fair enough," I started. "But you...know this...I love that man more than I ever thought I could love another human being, unconditionally and irrevocably," which wasn't a lie at all, I realized, "And if anyone has to worry about getting their heart broken in this deal, it's me. But, if shit goes down between me and Luke, and you feel the need to kick my ass, then you've got it to do. All I'm saying is, I'm not intimidated by you. So, if you ever feel froggy...jump."
Keesha sucked in a deep breath and I could actually hear her swallow the lump in her throat. I kept my stare intense, never wavering as I faced down the Amazon of a woman who very likely could've kicked my ass, but I wasn't going to back down. That would be a show of weakness, and although I felt vulnerable as hell when it came to Luke, I most certainly was not a weak person by nature.
Stella's scowl broke and one corner of her mouth lifted up into a smirk. "I swear to God, if I wasn't already married, you and I would be eloping tonight."
I smiled in turn and Keesha let out the breath she was holding. "You two are a match made in Heaven," she sighed. "Now, I'm missing Cal, so if you're through seeing whose ovaries are bigger than whose, can we get back out there to our men?"
"Absolutely," Stella said, linking her arm through mine. "Mine are bigger by the way."
"Well that remains to be seen," I countered as we stepped through the door.
"I'll whip 'em out right here and now," she threatened with a laugh.
My smile dropped immediately when the sea of people in front of us parted and I caught a glimpse of Luke. He was standing across from an older, blonde man who was very handsome in a father-I'd-like-to-fuck sort of way, and he was smiling and nodding. But what made my stomach churn in knots was the woman hanging off Luke's arm. Draped like she was part of his wardrobe and belonged there, was a shorter, dark blonde woman. She was movie star material, and she looked like she knew it too.
"Please tell me that's your sister, Stella," I choked out.
"You shut your dirty whorish mouth, bitch," she scoffed. "That skank only wishes she shared the same gene pool."
"Then who the fuck is she?"
"That...would be Aleisha," Keesha answered. "A...K...A...the octopussy. Rumor has it she fucked eight guys at once, after she and Luke broke it off, of course. Don't ask me how she did that shit."
"Octopussy, huh? I guess that explains why she's got her slimy tentacles all over my man," I said, seeing a whole lot of red...and admittedly, a bit of green. My mind started drumming up all sorts of images from Mortal Kombat, and I'm pretty sure the bitch didn't want me going all Scorpion on her ass.
"Want me to shank her? I've been itching to cut that bitch for a long ass time now," Stella offered. I really adored Stella . She was quickly becoming my sister from another mister.
"No thanks, Stella. I've got this," I said as I threw my shoulders back and made my way toward my man.
"Ribbit, ribbit," I heard her laugh from behind me....