shit?
“Everything okay?” J asks, coming outside.
“I have to head down the coast. Can you let Scott know I won’t be back? I’m just gonna go home after I’m finished.” I feel like Wilder today, not in the mood for people.
J nods. “Yeah, brother.”
An hour and a half later, I walk into the hotel Alexa’s at and pull out my phone to text her.
“What the fuck?” I mutter when I see a stack of Facebook notifications on my phone.
I don’t do Facebook much and never get this many fucking notifications. Opening the app, I see that Harlow has posted a heap of photos from the barbecue and tagged me in her post. The first photo I see is of Louise and me. Harlow caught us while we were grinning over something. I’m about to tap on the post when I see the next post in my feed. It’s from Alexa and features a photo of her and Chelsea.
Fuck.
Chelsea’s here.
How the hell did I not figure that would be the case?
Alexa mentioned the day spa, and she pretty much never goes to one without Chelsea these days.
I tap on the photo of them and blow the image up to zoom in on Chelsea, a sure fucking sign I’ve lost any sanity I thought I still had. She’s wearing a red bikini, and I’m helpless but to get my fill of her body.
A text flashes up at the top of my screen.
Alexa: Are you here yet?
Me: Yeah, just arrived. You at the spa?
Alexa: Yes. Just ask for me at their reception. I told them to expect you. I love you!
Me: Yeah, and you fucking owe me.
I head in the direction of the day spa and ask for Alexa when I get there. The redhead behind the counter smiles and leads me down a long hallway to where my sister is. This place is fucking fancy with its high ceilings, gold trims, and flowers everywhere. Soft music floats through the space with a backdrop of trickling water. It’d put me the fuck to sleep coming here.
Alexa appears at the door in a massive white robe. Taking her emergency card from me, she says, “Thank you!”
“Who are you here with?”
“The girls.”
“Who?” I demand, feeling agitated that she’s not giving me the answer I’m looking for.
She gives a quick shake of her head. “You need to go, Mason. Do not go looking for her.”
I don’t know why the fuck I asked her when I already knew the answer, but I had to hear it.
“Fuck,” Alexa says softly, her eyes shifting to something behind me.
I turn at the same time Samantha says, “Mason. How are you?”
My head swings back to my sister and I whistle low. “Fuck, I’m surprised you invited her.” Not that I give a fuck, but I’m surprised Chelsea is okay with this.
Alexa snaps her hand around my wrist and pulls me into the room with her, closing the door to Samantha. She looks at the lady waiting inside for her. “Sorry about this. I won’t be a minute.” Then to me, she says, “Of course I didn’t invite her. I invited Toni, who brought her. They just arrived. Chelsea doesn’t know they’re here, and I told them they need to leave before she sees them.”
I shrug. “I don’t care, Alexa.”
She hits me with a dirty look. “You should. You love that girl and I fucking know it.”
“No, I loved that girl. Past fucking tense.” I reach for the door handle. “Don’t lose that fucking card. I’m not coming back to bail you out if you do.”
I exit the room and stalk down the hallway, running into Samantha halfway along it.
Fuck.
She smiles at me, moving closer as I come to a stop a good distance away. “Long time no see, Mason. How have you been?”
This is the woman I fucked after I discovered Chelsea was engaged. I chose her intentionally in a moment of hurt because she was close to Chelsea. We slept together once, but I’m fairly sure Chelsea thought it was an ongoing thing. I sure as fuck let her think that at the time because it gave me some satisfaction seeing the same jealousy and hurt in her eyes that she’d put in mine. Samantha called me for weeks straight trying to see me again, but I was never interested in her. I used her, and right now, I feel bad for being a complete fucking asshole for doing that.
“Hey,” I say, smiling. “I’m good. You?” I need to apologise to