12. Silas
CHAPTER 12
Silas
T he front door slams shut, and I glance toward it to see who has just walked in. I’m surprised to find Caston storming through the house like a bull.
“Everything okay?” I ask when he passes by me.
“Don’t want to talk about it,” he returns as he moves toward the kitchen.
I get up off the sofa and follow behind him, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this pissed off. When he opens the cupboard for the whiskey, I know something’s happened. “Where’s Saya?” I ask, he left this morning to spend the day with his girl.
He turns his head and scowls at me. “Si…” His voice breaks.
“Cas, fuck man, what happened?”
He pours us both a glass of whiskey. “She left, today was her way of saying goodbye.” He pushes the glass toward me and downs his.
“What? Where has she gone?” What the hell is wrong with females? Payton doesn’t want anything to do with me, I sent that goddamn letter thinking that she’d call, but she hasn’t, and now Saya has broken up with Cas.
“Don’t know. I asked, but she never said.” He shakes his head, and pours himself another glass. “I’m fucking pissed. Something is going on with her and she’s hiding it from me.”
“Take this from someone who’s lost my one.” We’ve spoken at length about how Payton and Saya are the women that are made for us. They’re our soul mates. “The longer you leave it, the harder it’s going to get. Don’t let her leave. Find out what the hell is going on and get her back.”
He brings the glass to his mouth and downs it in one swallow. “She’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to be with me anymore. What do you suggest I do, tie her ass to my bed?”
I smirk because that’s exactly what I intend to do when I get Payton back.
“You’re an ass,” he says, but his anger is diminishing. “I need to find out what she’s hiding.”
“Want me to give you the number to the private detective I hired?” I ask him. The guy’s good, he managed to get me a full dossier on Payton within forty-eight hours. Damn, but my girl has become a superstar. She’s made a name for herself in the modeling world. Not only is she one of the most sought after models, from everything Harrison found out, she’s still the sweet, down to earth beauty that stole my heart.
He sighs. “I’m not sure.” He shakes his head as he reaches for my glass. “That’s invading her privacy.”
I stare at him, “And?” I don’t understand his point.
He glares at me as he downs the whiskey from my glass. “Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”
“Not if it means not losing her. What if something happens to her? Then you’ll be kicking yourself that you never found out. I’d rather have a pissed off woman than a hurt one.” I’m mad at myself for not doing it earlier.
“Let me think about it, I’ll call her later and see if I can get her to talk to me. Since the Tate and Kayley shit, she’s been pulling back. No matter how much I reassure her that I’m nothing like that ass, she doesn’t believe me.”
I sigh. Things between Tate and Caston are strained to say the least. Tate’s behavior is getting worse, he’s turning up to training hungover, he’s drinking every night, and the women come and go from the apartment like a revolving door. Caston’s pissed that the women are always here. Hell, one night, we returned to find the apartment filled with about fifteen women, all of whom were trying it on with Cas. Then Saya showed up and was rightly pissed.
I’ve watched as my friend has slowly hit rock bottom, nothing I say is getting through. It’s only going to be a matter of time before coach reams his ass. He’s at risk of losing everything that he’s worked for. I’ve been sucked into where he is, screwing nameless women to get the one woman we want off our mind. It doesn’t work. There’s only one girl I want, and that’s Payton. Everyone else is inconsequential, they were just another notch on my bedpost.
“What’s the plan for tonight? Are you still set on torturing yourself?” Cas asks, and I take a steadier breath; the anger is gone, he’s gotten himself under control.
I found out last night that Payton’s walking the runway for the Tiger Campaign, and it’s being televised. “Of course.” Like hell I’m going to miss being able to actually see her. I may not be able to touch her, or be with her, but I can watch and make sure that she’s okay.
“Why the hell do we do this shit?” Cas asks with a shake of his head. “I’m going to call Saya’s mom and see what’s going on.” He pulls out his cell, and I turn to leave him be. Hopefully he’ll be able to get some information from her mom.
“You sure you should be watching this?” Caston asks for the fifth time.
I get why he’s asking, he’s worried about my reaction. I’m not stupid, I know that my girl is going to be in underwear, but I need to see her, and right now, this is the only way that can happen. “Yes.”
He shrugs. “It’s your funeral,” he tells me. He’s still in a pensive mood, the call to Saya’s mom didn’t give him the answers that he wanted, and he’s currently weighing up his next options. I still think that he’s better off contacting Harrison and getting him to do some digging. Best to find out what’s happening so he can face it head on.
The front door opens just as the models start to walk down the runway. I groan when I hear giggling and from more than one woman. When Tate rounds the corner, it takes everything in me to bite my tongue. It’s not two women he’s brought with him, it’s five and one of those women is Julia. I warned her about staying away from me.
Tate takes a seat on the armchair, and two of the women drape themselves over him. The others spread out across the room, thankfully, none of them bother Cas or I. The women know that we’re not into that shit. One thing is for certain, I’ve never done any girl that’s been with Tate. They know it, and he knows it.
“Fucking hell,” Cas mutters, his jaw clenching as he takes in what is happening right in front of us. Tate starts kissing the women. “Take that shit to your room,” Cas growls and the women jump.
Cas would never hurt them, most of the time, he doesn’t even acknowledge that they’re here, but tonight, he’s hurting, and he’s lashing out. If Tate doesn’t realize that, he’ll end up on Caston’s bad side.
“This is my apartment too.” Tate smirks.
“That may be so, but there’s a thing called being respectful,” I interject before Cas loses his damn mind. “You don’t see us doing this shit. You want to fuck, take it to your room, or better yet, theirs. We don’t want to see this.”
Tate shakes his head and gets to his feet. “Fuck you,” he sneers and nods his head to the women, all five of them follow him to his room.
“Thank fuck,” Cas mutters. “I can’t deal with his bullshit tonight.”
I turn my attention back to the TV and wait, seeing the women in lingerie should have me lusting after them, but it doesn’t, I’m anxiously waiting for my girl to go down the runway.
“Dude, relax.” Cas smirks, but I can’t relax.
“Damn, you’re a lucky son-of-a-bitch,” he mutters moments later.
It’s as though I get sucker-punched, my breath leaves my lungs as I stare at the screen. My girl’s strutting her stuff down the catwalk. She looks better than ever: her brown hair glossy as it falls down her back, her tits huge in her black bra, her stomach flat and toned. My mouth waters as my eyes move further down her body; her panties are also black, and her legs are shaped and toned, they go on for fucking days.
When she reaches the end of the runway, she strikes a pose, and I practically swallow my tongue. My girl is confident, sexy, and out of this world. Damn.
She turns, and I’m pretty sure I whimper. Her ass. Fuck. Her ass is phenomenal. I glance over at Cas to make sure that he’s not gawking at her, I’d hate to kill him if he were. But he’s got his hands covering his eyes. I shake my head and smile.
“You can take your hand away now,” I tell him when she’s gone backstage.
His shoulders slump in relief. “You didn’t lose your mind.” I glare at him, why the hell would I lose my mind? He must sense the unasked question, “Si, you’re a little…” He inclines his head as though he’s searching for the word. “Temperamental when your girl’s involved. You’ve not seen her in three years, and now half the damn world has seen what she looks like in lingerie. I get it, if it were Saya, I’d punch anyone who looked. So seeing how calm you are has me a little suspicious. What do you have planned?”
“What the fuck? I don’t have anything planned.” Right now, the ball is firmly in Payton’s court. She’s got a week, and then I’m coming for her.
“Right…” he drawls.
“Si!” Tate yells, and I roll my eyes, what does he want? Are the five girls not enough for him? “Get the fuck out of there!”
That has my attention, and has me up on my feet and moving toward our rooms; Cas hot on my heels. When we reach him, all the girls are standing around, and Tate is glaring at Julia.
“What the hell is going on?” I demand.
Tate shakes his head, “Bro, I’m sorry. Fuck. Your cell was ringing, and this bitch…” He nods in Julia’s direction, “answered it.”
I frown. What the fuck was she doing in my room?
“That’s not the worst of it. The caller was Payton,” Tate says. “I took the phone from her and spoke to Payton briefly, I’m sorry man, but she said that she doesn’t want to talk to you. She’s sick of having you shove women down her throat. Something about witnessing you with a girl and having them answer your phone.”
What he’s saying makes no sense. Besides Julia, when did someone answer my phone? Hell, when did she see me with another girl?
“It’s time for you to leave,” Cas growls, and the women jump and scramble to get away. Skirting past both Cas and me on their way out.
I take my cell from him and try calling her back, “Why the hell was that bitch in my room?” I snarl at him as there’s no answer.
“You’re an asshole, Tate. You lost your girl because you’re a fucking idiot. Now, we’re losing ours because you can’t get a handle on your life!” Cas yells, the frustration of today finally spilling out.
I storm into my room as I realize what’s just happened. My one chance at getting my girl back, and it’s ruined. I can’t wrap my head around what she meant by her words. As soon as the door closes behind me, I sink to the ground, my head in my hands and I try to figure out my next step. I love Payton, and I know she’s my future, I just have to make her see that.