Begin Again
Page 20I opened the storeroom door and checked the hallway before making a hasty exit. I couldn’t see Body, so I snuck out and walked into the ladies bathroom to clean myself up. When I caught sight of myself in the mirror, I was embarrassed. My hair was a mess, my eyes glassy and my cheeks red. That’s when I started to feel sick for the second time in one night and it had nothing to do with the alcohol. It was caused by the hard reality that Brody had just screwed me in the storeroom like a dirty little secret. Somehow he’d managed to cheapen it and made me feel like trash. My eyes welled up and I wanted nothing more than to go home and take hot shower to wash Brody off of my skin. I cupped my mouth, choking back the urge to sob. I was being ridiculous and once again it proved that I was indeed a mess. The bathroom door opened and I was relieved to see Huntley walk in, concern written all over her angelic features. She looked stunning in her red wrap dress, her hair tied up with a few loose curls hanging free. Her blue eyes were darkened with worry and her mouth was set in a hard line.
“Demi, what’s wrong?” she asked, taking a step closer.
“I – I – I don’t know what just happened. I’m such an idiot. I don’t know how it happened.”
Her brows furrowed in confusion. “How what happened?”
“Brody, he just…we just… I didn’t mean to but it just happened.” I started crying harder and Huntley wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “You have to tell me what’s wrong, Demi, so I can help you.” She couldn’t help me. I had to help myself.
“Brody took me to the storeroom and we…” I hesitated, fighting my urge to throw up.
“You had sex,” Huntley said, finishing my sentence. I was glad that I didn’t have to say it but somehow hearing it from her made it so much worse.
I nodded, mumbling, “I’m such a fool.”
“No,” she replied, “you’re not. You have a history with him and considering everything you went through with the baby. I’m surprised you’ve managed to keep it together this long.”
“I can’t go through this with him again,” I cried, “Losing him was hard enough the first time and now he has me tied up in knots. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going when I’m around him and I hate that he still has so much power over me.”
“You love him,” Huntley stated, “and that will never change, especially after what you’ve lost in the process.”
Before I could respond, the bathroom door opened and Sienna walked in. Her eyes darted between me and Huntley and her lips curled into a leer. I swallowed hard, feeling uncomfortable. The look in her eyes unsettled me.
“Let’s go,” Huntley said. I nodded and walked out, hearing Sienna’s snicker disappear with the closing of the door.
I stopped in my tracks and Huntley came to halt beside me.
“Oh God,” I whispered, “Do you think she heard us?”
As we headed back to rejoin the rest of our friends, I couldn’t help the worry that took root in my belly. If Sienna had heard us, it would mean I’d have to tell Brody what happened when he left much sooner than I’d expected. And I just wasn’t ready. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready.
I walked back to our table as if I hadn’t just fucked Demi like a two-dollar hooker in the storeroom of Nicky’s Bar. I was agitated as fuck and now I felt like an absolute asshole. I shouldn’t have done that and somehow I’d managed to cheapen what Demi and I had and would always have. She was here with Jeff, but I couldn’t resist the animalistic urge deep inside me to claim her, mark her with my body and remind her that she would always belong to me. I’d left Sienna at our table, told her I had to take a piss, and grabbed Demi while she was the line for the restroom. She was surprised, and maybe even a little pissed with me, but she hadn’t stopped me. Not once. Instead, her tight little body welcomed me, reminding me just how tempestuous and combustible the chemistry was between us. She was still brewing after our argument last night, that much was obvious, but she did nothing to hide the desire her body felt for mine. It had been a year since we’d last had sex and it was still the most amazing sex I’d ever experienced. Only now I’d somehow tainted it by treating her like the trash I knew she wasn’t.
It was supposed to be a fun night, a last hoorah for Grayson and Huntley before they got married in two days, but it had somehow turned into a wicked game between Demi and I. I was very aware that she’d been watching me all night and I did nothing to hide the fact that I was doing the same. It had soured my already bad mood, not only watching her with Jeff but also watching her attempt at getting drunk. My ogling caught Sienna’s attention more than once but I didn’t care. Only now, she was trying my patience and I hadn’t had very much to begin with.
“I’m bored,” she whined when she arrived back at our table. “When can we ditch this shithole?”
I glared at her and tried to get the tick in my jaw under control. “Feel free to leave, Sienna, but I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for my best friends, and if you’d rather not be selfless enough to suck it up for one night then call a cab.”
She scowled at me. “I can’t believe you’d put your friends above your girlfriend. I’m miserable and you don’t seem to care at all.”
I turned to face her and got in her personal space. “Let’s be clear,” I gritted my teeth, “you are not my girlfriend, and they’re not just my friends, they’re my family. If you can’t handle them being such a big part of my life and the maybe it’s time we re-evaluate this thing,” I gestured between us, “with you and me.”
“Don’t threaten me,” I warned. “It won’t end well. You wouldn’t want your dear old ‘daddy’ to know you’ve fucked half of the board members and threatened them with that information. Extortion is a dangerous game, baby, especially when you have no fucking idea what you’re doing.”
We stared at each other. It felt like I’d come face-to-face with my biggest mistake and the phrase “hindsight is 20/20” popped into my head. I should’ve seen this coming because I knew Sienna was a manipulative, vindictive bitch, but I was hurting so badly at the time that we’d met that I hadn’t stopped to think it through. Getting involved with my boss’s daughter was probably the second dumbest thing I’d ever done. The first was leaving.
“I’m leaving,” Sienna bit out. “I hope you will have changed your mind by the time you get back to the hotel. I’ll be ready and waiting for you in bed.”
She kissed me fast and hard but I held back. After what happened with Demi and I in the storeroom, it felt wrong to kiss Sienna back. I watched Sienna walk away and cursed under my breath. She thought I was going to have sex with her when I got back to the hotel. No way. For the first time the thought repulsed me. I didn’t want to lay a hand on her. I was ruined all over again after being inside Demi.