Chapter 29
Sunlight drifted through my window. The salty air greeted me as I woke up. The sounds of seagulls, and traffic, and crashing waves were so familiar that they barely registered some days. But this morning felt different.
The images and thoughts that usually flashed in my head when I woke up each morning were usually work related, but they were now replaced by images from the other day. Everleigh’s face. Everleigh’s body. The look in her eyes as I’d pulled away. I groaned, plagued with regret and uncertainty.
Padding out to my kitchen, I made coffee and drank it slowly as I stared out at the ocean. The bright morning soberness rendered my thoughts crystal clear.
My feelings were undeniable.
I wasn’t sure if Everleigh only wanted me for sex, or if she had actual feelings for me. But I was sure that if she did feel something for me, if she possibly wanted a future with me, then I was done fucking around. I had a plan.
Step one was to ask her how she felt. Bluntly, plainly, vulnerably.
If she said she did have feelings for me, then step two was to confront West. I’d tell him the truth and let him deal with it like a fucking adult.
Life was short. Why should she and I deny ourselves? Being with Everleigh felt electric. I’d never felt more alive than I did yesterday with her in my office. I was done with this dance of uncertainty and forbidden lust. We were all adults, for fuck’s sake. Including West.
If it so happened that Everleigh answered no to my question, then I could at least, once and for all, attempt to let go and move on. I knew that wouldn’t be easy, but it wouldn’t be impossible.
Everleigh wasn’t the only woman in the world, I reminded myself.
Even if she was the only one that I really wanted…
I watched as a seagull landed in the sand a few yards away. He stood, staring out at the ocean, looking as pensive as I felt.
The decisions I made today could change my whole life.
By telling West about my feelings for his sister, I knew I would be risking both our partnership and our friendship. It was a big risk, not to be taken lightly.
Before I made all of these very big moves, I needed some counseling. I texted Rian, told him I was on my way to his place to talk to him about something important, and then jumped in the shower.
I knew I could count on him to tell me the truth. If I was making a colossal mistake, he would tell me. If I was signing my death wish, he’d stop me.
By the time I got to his house an hour later, I was nervous as hell. He buzzed me in through his gate. I made my way up the long curvy driveway, the weeping willow trees greeting me with graceful waves of yellow leaves that rained down on me as I got out of the car.
The front door opened, and two gorgeous women emerged with huge smiles on their faces. They were scantily dressed, with tousled hair and smeared makeup. They kissed Rian goodbye and jogged out to a waiting car.
Rian, wearing nothing but a pair of Levi’s, smiled sheepishly at me.
“Some things never change,” I mused, as I walked past him into the house.
He shut the door behind me and laughed at himself. “Yeah, yeah, I know. But hey, they were hot and playful, and we had a good time.”
“It’s all so easy for you, huh?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged, like he didn’t have a care in the world. “It is what it is, Theo. Don’t act like it isn’t easy for you, too.”
“Think you’ll ever settle down, man? You’ve been doing this shit a long time now. We both have.”
“I certainly hope not,” he laughed. “You don’t want to settle down, do you? Fuck, we’re young. We’ve got lots of time for wives and kids, and all of that ball-and-chain stuff in the future. Right now, I’m having a hell of a good time living it up.”
“You make it sound so appealing,” I quipped. “But maybe it’s not for everyone.” The way he described settling down sounded horrible, but when I thought about it lately, it was nothing like he was describing. I know I used to think like him, but everything seemed to be changing very quickly.
“Do you mean West? Sure, West seems happy. Doesn’t seem like he misses his time at the temple at all. Maybe it was just his time to bow out.”
“Well, he’s head over heels in love with Kaylee. So to him, living it up means something else now. I don’t anticipate we’ll see him in the temple too often anymore.”
“Speaking of which, you disappeared the other day.” Rian tilted his head. “And then I never saw you again.”
“Yeah, I was, uh, preoccupied, I guess.” Images of Everleigh splayed out naked flashed in my mind.
“Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?” He raised a brow, looking at me curiously.
“Yeah,” I admitted, hanging my head.
“This looks serious. Coffee?” He looked at my face and shook his head. “Wait. Whiskey?”
“How about both?” I asked, following him to the kitchen.
“Damn. Okay, let’s do this.”
While he brewed the coffee, I glanced into his nearby sunken living room and saw the remains of last night’s party strewn everywhere — clothes, liquor bottles, condom packets, panties.
“Damn, dude,” I said, gesturing to the mess.
“Turned into a bit of a party, I guess,” he shrugged.
I couldn’t help but laugh. I loved Rian. He never pretended to be anybody he wasn’t.
He slid a cup of black coffee my way, then handed me a bottle of rye. We sat at his kitchen table and he looked over at me expectantly.
I poured a shot into my cup and sat back. I took a deep breath, my stomach in knots. “I need to talk to you about Everleigh.”
He raised a brow, waiting for me to go on, but I hesitated. “What did the little brat do now?” He squinted over at me.
I laughed, shaking my head. “Nothing, actually. It’s me.”
“Dude,” he groaned, cocking his head. “Please tell me you did not fuck Everleigh.”
I sighed, staring over at him for a beat before replying. “Uh, well…not technically.”
I mean I wasn’t lying. I did not fuck her. At least not with my cock. My mouth, my tongue, my fingers, absolutely. But that didn’t really count, right?
“Dude,” he repeated, his eyes wide.
“We’ve known each other forever,” I pointed out.
“And you’ve known her brother forever. You know West is overly protective of her. What are you thinking?”
“I know, that’s why I need your help. I’ve got it bad for her.”
“What do you want me to do? I’m not taking her off your hands! I know better!”
“That’s not what I meant, Rian! What the hell?”
“Good,” he muttered, sipping his coffee. “Then what?”
“It’s just. Look…I’ve had feelings for her for a very long time. It’s killing me that she’s been coming to the temple. The last few times, I’ve…well, I interrupted.”
He set his coffee down. “What the absolute fuck does that mean, Theo?”
“It means…goddammit. Fuck, it means I stepped in once. She didn’t know it was me. Not at first.”
“What the fuck?” His voice roared through his house. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I wish. Look, I know, man. I said it was bad. But now, she does know. And shit is tense. I don’t know what to do. She liked it. She wanted more. I want to tell West. But I’m not sure if it’s just sex…or what.”
“What do you mean, more?”
“I don’t know if she has feelings towards me.”
He looked at me like I’d told him the sky was green. “Everleigh? Is it possible for her to have feelings for anyone? I’ve never seen her date anyone longer than five minutes.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I think she just wants to fuck. I’m just not sure. But I’m going to ask her!” I said quickly. “And if she says she has feelings for me too, then I’m going to tell West.”
“Tell West what?”
“That I’m in love with her.”
The words easily slipped from my lips, like I’d said it a thousand times before. But my heart skipped a beat. I’d just admitted out loud the very thing I’d been hiding forever. And, instead of feeling like I’d done something wrong, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to say.
His eyes squinted in disbelief, and he shook his head.
“You really think that’s what this is? This seems very sudden, bro.”
“Maybe it does, but we’ve known each other forever. We’ve been through a lot together.” I admitted.
“What? Fucking high school?” He scoffed. “Theo, are you glamorizing this? So, you hooked up, almost. Don’t be foolish. You really need to think this through.”
“I’m not. These feelings are real. At least on my part. It’s driving me fucking crazy.”
“Fuck, okay, well if you say so, who am I to say different?” He ran a hand through his hair, and shook his head. “You and Everleigh, huh? West is gonna fucking lose his mind. Remember what he did to that one guy she dated that cheated on her? Kevin something? Once West was done with him, he left the state so quickly, I don’t think he’ll ever be back. And remember when West saw that security guard checking out her ass? West fired the entire fucking security team and made us hire all new guys. Yeah, man, he’s gonna blow a fucking gasket if he finds out about you and Everleigh. I don’t want to be around for that. But you know what, man? Fuck him.”
“Really?”
“Hell, yeah. If she feels the same way, then you’d both be idiots to let this go. You have to at least try. Love is love, and love is rare.”
“That’s a very romantic thing to say to me, Rian.”
He laughed and shrugged. “I’m a regular fucking Romeo, didn’t you know?”
“Let’s hope this whole thing doesn’t end the same way that story did.”
We laughed as my phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the text message.
My blood ran cold as ice when I saw the photo. The coffee cup fell from my hand, crashing to the ground in pieces.
“Dude, what the hell, are you okay?” Rian’s voice sounded very far away.
Time seemed to stop. My heart stopped. My life stopped.
I blinked down at the picture of Everleigh, lying in some dark space, tied up on a bed. Her eyes were wide and full of fear, tears streaming down her face.
“This can’t be real,” I muttered, trying to make sense of everything.
Rian grabbed my phone out of my hand and squinted.
“What the fuck am I looking at here? That’s fucking Everleigh! Theo! Where is she?”
“Fuck!” I shouted, the initial fog of shock lifting. “Fuck! I don’t know! It’s gotta be the person sending the texts. Oh, my god, fuck fuck!”
“What texts? Dude, tell me everything, fast. What the hell is going on?”
My head spun as the words toppled out of my mouth.
I told Rian everything. I told him about the texts Everleigh had been receiving. I told him about the photos. I told him how we were trying to handle everything ourselves because we couldn’t go to the cops.
And then, I told him exactly what happened in Austin with Avett.
He listened with disbelief in his eyes. When I was done, he said the only thing in the entire world that made sense.
“We have to tell West.”