The Storm Series, page 5
“Seriously,” Roark bit out. “What the fuck, Leslie?”
Leslie looked around, her face the perfect picture of innocence, even though she knew that she was seriously out of pocket with this one. “What? If Junie is still upset, then we need to know that,” she insisted. “We’re supposed to all be friends here.”
“Yeah, because putting Junie and Paul on the spot is the friendly thing to do,” Démon huffed.
“All I’m saying is-”
“No, it’s fine,” Junie jumped in, finally getting over the shock of Leslie’s audacity. “While indelicate, she does have a point. I know you guys had concerns, even if you weren’t voicing them. The topic is valid.”
“Are you sure, Junie?” Sheridan asked. “I mean, it’s none of our business, truth be told.”
“Of course, it’s our business,” Leslie insisted. “We’re all supposed to be friends.”
I looked over at Paul, and he was looking at Junie in a way that had my stomach muscles tightening. If this fucker was using this weekend to try to get her back, then this would be my last trip here with them, and Mom was just going to have to deal with it. I had no problem with forgiveness, but the thought of Junie going back to this cheating asshole was too much for me.
“To answer your question, I’m fine,” Junie told the entire room. “It’s been almost a year, and it’s in the past as far as I’m concerned.”
Leslie grinned. “See, now that wasn’t so hard.”
“Christ, Leslie,” Paul grumbled. “This wasn’t necessary.”
She turned towards him as she said, “That’s where I disagree. It was very necessary.”
“How in the hell do you figure?” Bruce asked, finally joining in. “You could have just asked Junie in private if it was bothering you so much. You didn’t have to make a show of it.”
“Look, I wasn’t trying to be a bitch, but I needed to know if Junie was okay and over that unfortunateness with Paul,” Leslie replied.
“Unfortunateness?” Sheridan almost choked out. “Well, that’s putting it politely.”
“Okay, just…everyone, just stop,” Junie said as she stepped out from her place behind the counter. Making her way to the other side of the island, I stepped aside, making enough room for her to get through. “It’s over.” Her eyes scanned all our faces, doing her best to put this topic to rest. “Whatever happened between me and Paul, it doesn’t even matter anymore. He’s over it, and so am I. Bringing it up isn’t helping the situation, and I’m quite tired of everyone assuming that I’m still…heartbroken over it, because I’m not.”
“So, you forgive him?” Leslie asked.
Junie let out a deep sigh. “No,” she answered. “But that’s because I don’t care enough to put in the effort.” Ouch. “I’m done with that part of my life. I’ve been done with it. So, can we all move on now?”
While everyone else didn’t know how to respond to that, Leslie had no trouble with it. “Good,” she stated cheerfully. “Because there’s something I need to tell everyone.”
She glanced around the room, all smiles, and the pit of my stomach dropped to my knees in the way that your instincts did when they were trying to warn you of what was to come.
“What?” Bruce asked, a little attitude in his voice. It was clear that if this group ever had to choose between Junie or Leslie, they’d pick Junie, and rightfully so.
“Leslie, don’t-”
Ignoring Paul, Leslie blurted, “Paul and I are getting married!”
What in the actual fresh hell?
The entire room stilled, no one saying a word. However, that’s what shock did to a person. It rendered you immobile and at a loss for words.
Finally, Roark hissed, “What in the fuck are you talking about?”
Leslie walked over toward Paul, then hooked her arm around his. To his credit, he looked horrified, but he wasn’t denying anything. “Paul and I are getting married,” she repeated. “Next April, and we expect you to all be there.”
“This is a joke, right?” Sheridan asked, shock still lacing her words.
Leslie pressed her body tighter against Paul, very much looking like a couple. “It sort of just happened,” she told everyone. “It’s not like we planned it.”
“Did you know about this?” Roark asked Junie.
Junie shook her head. “No.”
“Wait,” Bruce said, his hands waving around like a lunatic. “Just…wait.” He glanced around at everyone. “Are you telling us that you guys just started dating and are already planning on getting married? I mean, seriously?”
“I’m still stuck on the fact that Junie didn’t know,” Démon exclaimed. “How do you start dating her ex-boyfriend without asking her if she was okay with it first?”
“Yeah?” Sheridan chimed in. “What happened to us all being friends?”
Paul closed his eyes as his head dropped back, and that’s when I knew.
I was pretty sure that’s when everyone knew.
“Because he wasn’t my ex when she started dating him,” Junie stated, and I had to give her props for sounding calm and not like someone who’d just been betrayed again.
“What?” Roark asked quietly enough to make me worry.
“You were the woman that I caught him on the phone with, weren’t you?” Junie asked her, her voice steady and…well, unnatural if you asked me. Most women would be an angry mess right now, and they’d have every right to be.
Leslie let go of Paul, then took a slight step forward, and she was a horrible actress as she tried to look contrite. “We didn’t mean for this to happen, Junie,” she repeated. “We found ourselves…having feelings for each other, and…well, what were we supposed to do?”
“Talk to Junie like grown fucking adults,” Roark snapped. “How about that? Not fuck around behind her back for months before getting caught.”
Leslie’s green eyes flashed. “That’s easy for you to say, Roark. You’ve never been in our situation,” she fired back.
“That’s because I’m not a fucking cheater on either side of the fence,” Roark shot back. “Plus, I would never do that to someone I considered a friend.”
“Amen,” Bruce muttered under his breath.
“Because what you and Démon have going on is so classy,” Leslie sneered at Bruce.
“We’re not cheating on anyone,” Démon calmly replied. “So, yeah, what we have going on is a lot fucking classier than you fucking your close friend’s boyfriend of three years, then marrying the guy.”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Junie announced. “This…bickering isn’t going to help anyone.” She glanced at everyone. “No matter what’s happened…this…this isn’t what I want for us as friends.”
I had to hand it to the girl; she was a way better person than I was. If it’d been me, I’d be kicking Paul’s ass. Junie was too good for Paul and Leslie, and I just couldn’t stand that she was choosing to take the highroad again. She deserved a little payback, and that was the only reason that I could think of for what I did next.
“Well, as far as I’m concerned, I think this is great news,” I said, finally joining in on the conversation.
Roark looked over at me. “You do?” he asked, and I was pretty sure that he was ready to kill me.
Hoping that I wasn’t about to make the biggest mistake of my life, I walked over to stand behind Junie, slid my arm around her waist, ran my hand underneath her shirt until my palm was flat against her bare stomach, then said, “I think it’s the greatest news ever.”
Chapter 9
Junie~
My entire body was frozen in shock, warmth, anxiousness, and quite a bit of horniness as Ripley’s thumb began stroking the soft skin just below my belly button. I feared that if he started to slide his hand south, I’d just stand there and let him. Everyone would get a show, and I’d probably get the orgasm of a lifetime.
However…
What in the hell was he doing?
“What’s going on?” Leslie asked, her voice pinched in irritation.
“Well, Junie and I have been dating for about six months, and I’m fucking tired of having to hide it,” Ripley lied, and I almost swallowed my tongue. “Not wanting things to be awkward on this trip, Junie wanted to take things slow and keep it to ourselves, but I don’t see a reason why we have to anymore.” Ripley pressed against me some more, and I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from moaning like a tramp. “We’re happy for you, you’re happy for us, and all is right with the world again.”
Before I could die of embarrassment, Roark joined in on the madness, and it looked like I was going to have to give the Storm brothers a lecture on lying. “It’s about fucking time.”
“You knew about this?” Sheridan asked him.
Roark shrugged. “He’s my brother, and she’s my best friend. Of course, I knew about it.”
“Bullshit,” Leslie hissed, and I couldn’t even be mad at her for it because it was bullshit. “After all these years, you two just started dating?”
“Wow, you have nerve,” Roark snapped, and I was still too stunned to even comment.
That whole taking-the-highroad wasn’t as easy as it sounded. It’d been a struggle, confiding in Roark only, but I had managed it eventually. Even when everyone had started leaning towards my side, I’d done my best to remain above it all. I had allowed my friends to decide on their own because that’s the kind of friend that I wanted to be to them. I’d never been one to push my beliefs onto someone else because I didn’t appreciate the same being done to me. Our friends could have their own opinions on what happened, but I’d been determined not to be the cause of any friendships ending.
Still, this was a different kind of betrayal. When I thought of how many times that Leslie had called me to check on me…well, it made me madder than fuck. Her confession and blasé attitude were stirring some seriously violent feelings in me, but what would kicking her ass accomplish? Sure, she deserved it, but to what end? That highroad that I’d been so damn proud of would all be for nothing if I kicked her ass now. Besides, Ripley had painted a pretty picture of us being happy, so losing it might have Leslie and Paul thinking that I wasn’t over him, and pride was as lethal as any gun out there.
Before I could tell her that our ‘relationship’ was none of her business, more lies came flying out of Ripley’s mouth just as smoothly as could be. “Junie was going out one night, and she sent Roark a picture of her all done up in a new dress, asking him what he thought,” he told her. “Except that she accidentally sent it to me. Naturally, I told her that she was beautiful because…well, because she always is, then one thing led to another.”
My ex-best friend decided to join in on more lies when he added, “Yeah, I only found out a couple of months ago when I yanked Rip’s phone out of his hands because he’d been smiling at it all goofy-like, and to my surprise, it was my best friend who he was smiling at.” He wrinkled his nose. “Well, a text from my best friend.”
“It’s about time,” Sheridan grumbled. “Anyone with a pair of working eyes could see that Ripley’s had the hots for you since forever.”
My face ran hot with mortification. Now Sheridan was joining in on the lies to minimize my humiliation, and pity wasn’t anything that anyone welcomed, me included. I understood that everyone was upset, but I didn’t like feeling like the fragile victim in all this. What Paul and Leslie had done was unforgivable, and while they could shove their wedding up their asses, I just couldn’t bring myself to cause a scene. I wanted to, but I wanted everyone to focus on my strength, not my embarrassment.
Taking a deep breath, I addressed the two adulterers in the room. “Look, I’m past the point of caring what either of you think. Your opinions hardly matter where I’m concerned.” Ripley’s thumb kept rubbing back and forth over my skin, and it was becoming a struggle to keep my clothes on, so I had to hurry this along. “While I loved Paul, it’s not all that hard to get over someone who cheated on you. It’s not like I could ever be in love with someone who I no longer respected, and believe me when I tell you that I have absolutely no respect for you, Paul. I kept things cordial because I still have a tremendous amount of respect for our friends. Nothing more and nothing less.”
“Junie-”
I threw my hand up to stop whatever Paul had been about to say because I really didn’t care to hear it. Looking at Leslie, I said, “As for you, better to find out now that you were never my friend than to waste any more years of my life on you, not knowing what a horrible person you truly are.” Roark chuckled, but I just kept going. “Does it hurt to find out that we were never friends? Sure, it does. It hurts worse than when I found out that Paul was cheating on me. However, that’s because I place a lot of value on friendship, and it sucks to find out that I had priced you way above what you are worth.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Leslie sneered. “All I wanted to do was clear the air and make things right, but you want to insult us.”
“How is the truth an insult?” I asked, cocking my head at her. “Paul is a cheater, and you were never my friend. How are those facts insults?”
“It’s not like we planned it,” she repeated. “It just happened.”
“Yeah, I can totally see how landing on your friend’s boyfriend’s dick just happens,” I deadpanned. This time, Démon chuckled, and I knew it was time to put this to rest. “Look, do whatever you guys are going to do. I honestly don’t care. However, leave my name off the seating chart at your wedding because I won’t be there.”
“Yeah, leave my name off of that list, too,” Roark added, but that was to be expected.
Leslie’s head was turning on a swivel, looking at everyone. “Are you guys serious?”
“Are you?” Sheridan asked, her voice filled with incredulousness. “You really want us to celebrate a relationship that started with you two fucking each other behind Junie’s back? I mean…talk about fucking tacky.”
Leslie’s back snapped at that, then she crossed her arms over her chest. “Because you’re so good and pure?” she fired back.
“Oh, no. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life and have gotten pretty dirty. However, I’ve never betrayed a friend before, so I got that on my resume working for me,” Sheridan taunted.
“I knew you guys were all going to side with her,” Leslie whined, and it really was amazing how she refused to see her culpability. “If Junie’s so happy with Ripley, then why do you guys care?”
“I need a fucking drink,” Bruce grumbled before making his way to the liquor bottles.
“I think I’ll join you,” Démon grumbled before joining him.
“You know what? I’ve had enough for one night,” I announced. “I’m going to take my ass to bed, and you guys can do whatever you want.”
I wasn’t even two steps in when Leslie decided to trip me up some more. “Well, now that the cats are out of the bags, me and Paul can share a room while Sheridan and Démon share a room, and Roark and Bruce can have their own rooms.” I turned to look at her, and her lip was tilted at the corner in a smirk. “After all, I imagine you’ll be sharing a room with Ripley now that your relationship is no longer a secret, right?”
I was two seconds away from forgetting about the highroad, pride, and maturity, and just kicking her fucking ass, but Ripley quickly put a stop to my violent tendencies by agreeing with her. “You’re right,” he said. “Those arrangements sound much better than my girlfriend staying in a room with Démon.”
“So, no pillow fighting tonight?” Bruce asked, and I had to laugh. Ever the peacemaker, I knew it was his way of trying to end the night on a better note.
“The only man who gets to see my girl in her underwear is me, Bruce,” Ripley told him, though you could hear the smile in his voice. “Sorry, bud.”
“I’ll help you gather your things,” Roark offered, but I knew that it was a ruse. However, that was okay since I wanted to ask him what in the hell he’d been thinking when he’d decided to help this little charade along.
“Yeah, okay.” I smiled at him. “Though, you know it’s only a couple of bags-”
“I don’t care,” he interrupted, eyeing me. “You know how I feel about that kind of shit.”
In a world where chivalry was quickly fading into nothingness, Roark Storm was all I-am-man-you-are-woman. While he had a healthy respect for females, we were still the fairer sex whenever he was around. Where a lot of women were the ‘I can do it myself’ type, Roark was the ‘sit your ass down’ type.
“I’ll go get our room ready for your stuff, baby,” Ripley added, and my knees almost buckled.
“Uh…okay,” I muttered, my face down, my eyes on the floor as I made my way to my room to pack up my stuff, suddenly panicked because there was no way that I was going to be able to pull this off for three days.
I was a terrible actress.
Chapter 10
Ripley~
“I’m sorry, someone must have spiked my drink because…what the fuck, Rip?”
Like a teenage fucking girl, as soon as Roark and Junie had gone to go pack up her room, I had gone upstairs, called Phineas, then spilled the details of what I’d done in rapid fashion. I was winging shit with the only girl that I’d ever considered proposing to, and I needed some quick advice since my brother was too busy being Junie’s best friend at the moment.
“Not my best idea ever, I admit, but what’s done is done, Phin,” I told him. “I’ve got three days to make this girl fall in love with me and turn this disaster into something real. I need something more than what the fuck.”
“You should have just come with me and had yourself a time with the blonde” he replied. “Definitely less drama.” Before I could tell him to go eat a dick, he added, “But I get it. The heart wants what the heart wants, and all that.”
“Phin.”
“Oh, yeah…yeah,” he muttered, quickly sobering up. “Dude, you’re a good guy. Just…treat her like it is real. I mean, after all, it is real for you.”
