Gilded Craving - Olivia Jaymes Page 0,18

huge bank but he was also a drunk. A mean one. Carl had spent as much time as possible away from home.

Mike had always been a cautious person and that night was no exception. From what Ryan could remember, his friend - and now brother in law - had nursed a couple of beers all night. From what Mike had said on the plane the next day, he'd left soon after Ryan and Mariah.

Theo was like Mike in that respect. He didn't binge drink like so many young people, keeping to a few beers all night and maybe doing a shot or two. On his birthday, he'd thrown caution to the wind and ended up drunker than a skunk and puked most of the next morning. Since then, he'd been wary as hell.

Dan and Brad? They were the original party animals. They'd start pre-gaming at home before they even headed out to a bar. They loved rowdy crowds, loud music, easy women, and lots of booze. As far as they were concerned, life was one never ending party and last call just meant they had to move to a new location.

"We had a table in the corner," Ryan said. "Dan and Brad were knocking back shots as fast as the waitress could bring them. At one point, Caroline came over and tried to get Brad to leave but he wouldn't go."

"She knew she was wasting her time," Mariah replied. "Brad never did anything he didn't want to do."

"I'd say we were all like that."

More than a little spoiled.

"He had it down to an art form though, and you would know. You went to boarding school with him. Didn't you say he was constantly in trouble?"

Ryan didn't have to tell anyone because Brad would brag about it. He'd loved playing pranks and breaking rules. In fact, he went out of his way to break rules.

Even the Bro Code Rules.

"He's lucky he didn't get punched in the mouth more often."

"You're thinking about that night. It wasn't a big deal. I handled it."

"You shouldn't have had to handle it at all. He should have known better."

They both knew what night Ryan was thinking about. It had been Spring Break and their families had rented houses in the Caribbean - all in a row. The adults had shuttled the teenagers off into one house so they could make noise and wouldn't bother the grownups. To this day, Ryan couldn't believe his parents and the others had done that. He sure as hell wouldn't be doing anything like that with his kids. It was asking for trouble.

Brad, as usual, was being a jerk to Caroline, flirting outrageously with other girls and generally being a dick. She'd finally had enough, slapped his face, and stomped out, taking several of her friends with her. Eventually Brad had camped out in the kitchen feeling sorry for himself. When Mariah had come in there to get a fresh soda, he'd tried to get some sympathy, and with her being soft-hearted she'd tried to comfort him.

In a friendly way.

She'd given him an inch and he'd tried to take a mile, getting handsy with her until she'd had to knee him in the balls. Brad had yelled, causing everyone to run into the kitchen to see what was going on. Mariah looked pissed. Brad was yelling and saying that she'd lost her mind. She'd told Ryan what had happened and then she told Brad that she wasn't sorry. He needed to learn to keep his hands to himself.

And he had. Brad had never tried anything with Mariah again, although he'd pulled that crap with most of the other females in their group more than once.

As for Ryan, his close friendship with Brad had never been the same. At one point, they'd been more like brothers, but after Brad's actions with Mariah, Ryan had put some distance between them. He simply couldn't trust him the same way.

I should have punched him that night. He'd deserved it.

"But I did handle it," Mariah said, breaking into his thoughts. "He was always that way, pushing at every boundary he came across. Sometimes, I wonder if that's what happened to him. Did he run into the wrong person that night? Did someone take offense to something that he did?"

She spoke the last part so softly Ryan almost didn't hear the words.

"I've often wondered about that myself," he confessed. "Brad could be so naive about the world at times. He thought everyone was just like him. Just