“I don't know what you're talking about.” He gave a little shrug.
“Give me a break, Chad. I'm not Brandon or Rees. I have a brain,” I replied, folding my arms. “You put your little buddy Robby up to making that tape. You got Bobby to circulate it to the brothers. You got Jay fired from his job.” I clicked my tongue. “You really have no conscience, do you?”
“I didn't have sex in my gym.” His eyes glittered. “You both knew the risk you were taking. Why should I feel bad about it?”
It was like I was seeing him for the first time. I no longer wanted him or felt any attraction to him. All I could see was his interior ugliness, disguised for so long underneath some pretty packaging. The ugliness radiated out through his eyes. I made excuses for his meanness, his pettiness, because sometimes he was kind, sometimes he was vulnerable, and I'd cared for him so damned much I let that outweigh everything I knew was true about him but had denied.
I'd been so fucking stupid.
I'd allowed my heart to trump my brain. Emotion, not logic. Fantasy, not truth.
“All I really want to know, Chad, is what did I ever do to you?” I shrugged. “I was never anything but nice to youâeven though you were so hateful to me.”
“Please.” He waved his hand. “You didn't want to be my friend. You wanted to fuck me.”
“So?” A few months earlierâhell, a few
days
earlierâI would have been horrified to realize he'd known how I felt. I no longer cared.
“It was so pathetic.” He kept smiling. “Really, you have no idea how pathetic you were. You know, I felt sorry for you. That's why I took an interest in you. I thought I could help you.” He gestured at me. “And I did help you. Look at you now. You'd still be that pathetic, chubby schlub if not for me.”
“I'll give you that,” I replied evenly. “Maybe that was how it all started, but now I do it for myself.”
“And how do you thank me? By going after my ex?” he hissed. “You don't do that kind of shit, Jordy. And you just turned yourself into a shameless whore. It's really disgusting. And I thought Dante had a right to know what he was getting himself into.” He laughed. “I'm not somebody you want to fuck with, Jordyâas I think you're finding out.”
I crossed my arms. “I knew you were behind it all, Chad. It didn't take a genius to figure that out.”
“So, you and Dante are over. He'll never want to see you again, you know.” Chad mocked me. “And your gymâyou're done there. And Monday you're going to get drummed out of the brotherhood. Are you happy? Was sleeping with Dante worth it?”
“This has nothing to do with Dante,” I replied. “I didn't sleep with him until Thursday night. You had your little buddy at the gym tape Jay and me on Wednesday. How long had he been waiting for a chance to tape me doing something?”
He shrugged.
“You were out to get me from the minute I walked into this house,” I went on. “You were so hateful to me that first night of Rush, and then of course once you found out I was richâwell, that was really what it was all about, wasn't it. You made me fall in love with you, didn't you? You were playing a game with me. You showered me with attention, acted like we were friendsâall so you could pull the rug out from under me.”
“Money isn't everythingâand you needed to learn that lesson.”
“The great irony of it all, Chad, is I would have spent every cent in my trust fund to make you happy.” I leaned back against the door. “But you had to be superior, right? Put me in my place?” I shrugged. “Money isn't everything? I know that, Chad. But coming from your sad, working-class background, you have no idea what it's like to have money.”
His jaw tightened. “Spare me the poor little rich kid story, okay?”
I laughed. “Oh, Chad, if anyone is pathetic, it's you. You so missed the boat on everything, you know that?” I walked over to his bed. “When you have money, Chad, you learn very early on that there are some people who will suck up to you because of it. You learn there are people who will hate you for it. And you learn how to protect yourself.” I patted his leg. “Poor, poor Chad. Even now you have no idea, do you.”
His eyes were slits. “What are you talking about?”
“Poor people should never fuck with the rich.” I gave him an extremely pleasant smile. “It was bad enough that you played games with me, and deliberately hurt me. But you know, I could overlook that. I could even understand it, on some level. But when you start hurting other people to get at me, that I can't overlook, Chad. I can't let that slide. I need to teach you a lesson.”
“Fuck you,” he seethed. “There's nothing I can learn from
you.
”
I walked back to the door and opened it. “When I am finished with you, Chad, all that's going to be left is a smoking crater. And then”âI stepped out into the hallwayâ“I am going to sow the ground with salt so nothing ever grows there again.”
“Bring it, bitch.” He sneered at me.
I laughed. “Oh, Chad, poor, silly, stupid Chad. Even now you don't get it.” I winked at him. “It's already brought.”
I slammed the door behind me.
Chapter 14
I
felt incredible as I walked out to my car.
I happily waved at the brothers playing basketball, a big grin on my face. The ones who didn't return my wave just stared at me. I felt like I could read their minds.
Why is he so happy? Doesn't he know he faces expulsion from the brotherhood on Monday?
That just made me laugh out loud as I started up my car.
Poor, stupid fools. Did they really think they could beat me?
I drove out of the parking lot, but rather than driving home I turned left on Shaw Avenue and headed out to Avignon. Dante was the only loose thread left, and since he wouldn't take my calls or answer my texts, he left me no alternative but to go over and hash it all out in person.
He was out in the driveway washing his car when I pulled up. He looked amazing, as always. He was wearing a pair of white cotton workout shorts that were damp with sweat in the back, and beads of water glistened in the late evening sun on his amazing torso. Stubbled hair made his chest look like it had been tinted bluish. In spite of myself, I could feel myself getting aroused.
Don't get distracted. Remain on point and stay focused.
He frowned as I got out of my car and turned the nozzle on the hose off before tossing it into the grass. “I don't want to talk to you, Jordy.”
“You've made that clear,” I replied as I walked up the driveway. “But you left me no choice. You could have had the decency to answer my texts or call me back.”
He turned his back to me and picked up a sponge out of the bucket of soapy water. He started wiping at the front hood of the car, lathering it up. When he leaned forward, the shorts rode down a little bit, exposing the top of his butt crack and some white cheek. He really did have a phenomenal ass. “You're a fine one to talk about decency.”
I picked up another sopping sponge and walked around to the other side of the car. I slopped some suds onto the hood and started scrubbing. “So, Chad did send you the video,” I said. “And that was all it took?”
“You had sex in a public place with someone,” he replied, not looking at me. “I thought I meant something to you.”
“That video was taken
before
our dateâthe day before, in fact.” I rolled my eyes. “When I was with Jay I had no idea you were even going to ask me out. I didn't realize you were looking for a virginâespecially since you'd already dated Chad.” I laughed. “Unless of course you thought Chad was a virginâbut surely you're not that naive.”
He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. “It was before?”
“I swear to you, Dante, it was on Wednesday afternoon.” I held up my right hand toward the sky. “I swear on my mother's life.”
“Oh.” He looked confused. “But Chad said . . .” He threw his sponge down into the bucket. “I'm an idiot. Chad was trying to cause trouble.” He walked around the car and pulled me into a sloppy wet hug. “I'm sorry.”
“You're getting me wet.” I laughed, pushing against his chest. “But there's something else we need to talk about. Well, a lot we need to talk about.”
“Okayâjust let me hose the car down and we can go to the sanctuary.” He kissed my cheek and walked back to the hose. Before I knew what he was doing, he'd turned it on and aimed it at me.
“HEY!” I ducked down behind the car. I was completely soaked. “Damn it, Dante!”
I heard him laughing, and I moved away from the car as he started rinsing the suds off, but I didn't stand up again until he'd turned the hose off. When I stood up, he winked at me. “You look good wet.”
“You always look good, wet or dry,” I replied, following him into the house and then heading out to the backyard. He came out with two towels slung over his shoulders, a bottle of wine in one hand, and two glasses in the other. He put the wine and glasses down and tossed me one of the towels.
“Get out of those wet clothes,” he said, wiping his own chest and arms down with his own towel.
I kicked off my wet shoes, pulled off the socks, and undressed until I was standing there in just my underwear, which was damp. I laid my clothes out in the sun and wiped myself down with the towel before wrapping it around my waist and sitting down. I took the glass of wine he held out to me and took a sip. “Good wine,” I said, setting it down on the table. “I love that it's so peaceful back here.”
“I guess I owe you an apology,” Dante replied. He reached across the table and grabbed my hands. “You know, the other night when you were here, I felt like we connected, like it was something special. Even with my long-term boyfriend, Cade, the sex wasn't like that. That was, I don't know, that was more than sex to me. I thought you felt it, too.”
“I'm not a saint, Dante,” I said. “I've been with other guys, but you're right. It was never like that before. Every other time, it wasâdon't get me wrong, it was always funâbut it wasn't, I don't know, I didn't feel connected to the other person. It was just sex. The other night, I felt like we made love.” I cringed inwardly. I'd always thought that phrase was stupid, and it still sounded stupid to me, but it was the only thing I could think of to describe how I'd felt. “It was like we connected.”
“That's why I was so hurt when I saw that video.” He shook his head. “And Chad said it was shot Friday afternoon. It was like being punched in the face, Jordy. It was a horrible feeling. I just wanted to hide out here and avoid the world.”
“I'm not going to lie to you,” I went on. “I did have sex with someone else on Friday night.”
“Okay.” He looked at me, and I winced when I saw the hurt in his eyes. “How could you do that, after Thursday night?”
“I'm not a saint, Dante, like I said, and if that's what you're looking for, then I'm not the guy for you.” I took a deep breath. “I like you, I like you a lot. I think I could fall in love with youâand not just because you have one of the most flawless bodies I've ever seen.” He grinned at this. “You're a nice guy.” I gestured around the backyard. “I mean, this tells me so much about you. Only someone truly special would create this much magic in one space. All day today, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to escape over here and hide. It's so peaceful and serene, and that's what I need in my life. But we barely know each other. I'm not opposed to getting to know you better.”
“I'd like that, too,” he said softly.
“But if we're going to do this, we have to do it right.” I took another drink of the wine. “We have to be honest with each other. And I don't ever want to have to lie to you. I want to know that I can tell you the truth without you deciding to give up.”
He nodded. “As long as we're honest with each other, I can deal with it.” He touched my hand. “That was the problem with my ex. He cheated on me.” He shrugged, his eyes getting wet. “After it was all over, I realized it wasn't so much the cheating that bothered me, it was the lying. He never told meâI had to find out from someone else.” He sighed. “I guess that's why I reacted the way I did to the video. It was like I was going through the same thing all over again, and it was a horrible feeling, one I don't ever want to go through again.”
“I'll never lie to you, Dante.” I closed my eyes. “And please don't ever lie to me. I think I can deal with anything else, but I can't deal with lying. Lying breaks trust, and it's hard to trust again when someone has broken that trust.”
“I agree.” He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it.
“I slept with Brandon Friday night,” I said softly. “He came over because I was supposed to help him with his term paper, remember? But he didn't want my help, reallyâhe wanted me to give him a paper on the same subject I'd written in high school. And I guess he decided if he seduced me I'd give it to him.” I shook my head. “And I fell for it, of course. I'm not used to having hot guys want me. He used me to get my paper.”
“And you wanted to come over here and be with me after?”
“Being with Brandon made me understand how special what we have is, Dante,” I insisted. “When I was with him, I realized what was missing from all of my sexual experiences. It was just sexâlike it was with everyone else. And I don't want just sex. It's not enough for me anymore.”
“Well.” He sighed, and my heart skipped a beat. “I know what you mean, Jordy. When you texted me about coming over, I was on my way to Fusions. I'd seen the video, and I was hurt and angry . . . but the later it got, the angrier I got. I decided to go to Fusions, and I met someone and went home with him. And it wasn't the same. It wasâunsatisfying. And when I came back home, I cried.” He laughed. “I actually cried. Because I thought what we had was lost, and I didn't want it to be over. But I couldn't . . . couldn't forget what Cade had done to me, and I couldn't go through it again.”
He touched my hand again. “Jordy, if we're going to try to make this work, I don't want either of us to see anyone else. Not if we're going to make a go of this. I know that's a lot to ask, but do you think you can do it?”
I nodded. “Yes, I think I can. I can't promise I won't fuck up, but I promise I'll try. And if I do fuck up, I promise to tell you about it. You won't ever have to hear about it from someone else. And you have to promise me if you fuck up, you'll tell me.”
“I can do that.” Once again he lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it. “You want to go sit in the hot tub?”
“I don't have a suit.”
“You don't need one.” He winked at me, standing up.
I took my glass and followed him over to where the hot tub was bubbling. Strands of steam rose from the water as the sun began setting in the west behind the mountains. I put my glass down and slid my underwear off before stepping into the hot water. I gasped at first, and then slowly settled down onto the ledge. I looked up to see Dante smiling at me. The sun was behind him, and he looked like a muscular giant blocking it out. He slid his shorts and underwear off and slipped into the water, sliding along the ledge next to me until our legs were touching. He refilled my wineglass and set the bottle down. He slid his arm around me, and I nestled my head down on his muscular shoulder.
“I also need to tell you what's going on,” I said. His arm felt wonderful around me. I felt safe there, and I never wanted that feeling to end. “Chad sent that video to everyone at the house. The guy in the steam room with me was my personal trainer, and that was the steam room at my gym. My trainer was fired.”
“Holy shit!” he exclaimed. “What a shitty thing to do!”
“Oh, it's all okay.” I laughed. “I had my financial adviser buy the gym today. I went in and fired the bitch manager, and I'm actually going to hire Jay to run the place. Jay's my trainer.”
“You
bought
the gym?”
“Yeah. I mean, it was the least I could do,” I explained. “It was my fault. Chad was trying to get to me, and poor Jay got caught in the crossfire.”
He kissed the top of my head. “That was really sweet of you, and I get why you did it, but that's not what I was asking. Where did you get the money to buy a gym?”
I pushed away from him and stared into his eyes. “You honestly don't know? Chad didn't tell you?” I started laughing.
He didn't know.
He liked me for
me.
I felt my eyes filling with tears. My breath caught in a sob.
“Hey, hey, I'm sorry!” He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. “I'm sorry, what did I say? Don't cry, baby.” He kissed the tears falling down my cheek.
“I'm crying because I'm
happy.”
I started laughing, and almost choked. “Seriously, you don't know?”
“Don't know what?” He smiled at me. “What's the big secret?”
I put my head down on his chest. “I'm rich, Danteâfilthy, stinking rich.” I wiped at my eyes. “I'm so used to being judged for it . . . people either like me for it or hate me for it. I have a trust fund worth, oh, I don't know, a hundred or so million dollars. My parents are worth close to seven hundred million dollars, give or take.”
“Wow.” He grinned at me. “You mean I've landed an heiress?”
“Yeah, you've landed an heiress.” I grinned back.
“Well, I don't care about the money.” He kissed my forehead. “All I care about is you.”
I struggled to keep from crying again.
This
was what I'd been missing my entire life. Sure, my parents loved me. Maybe their staff did, too. But never had someone else, outside of my family and the people on their payroll, cared about me and loved me. I could feel my heart swelling until it felt like it was ready to burst. I threw my arms around him and kissed him.
“Hey now, hey now!” Dante whispered. “Shhh, baby.”
I wiped at my eyes again and smiled at him. “Anyway, some of the brothers filed a complaint about my âconduct' with the Executive Council and demanded a hearing on whether or not I should be expelled from the brotherhood.”