22 | better luck next time
Last night was a hazy memory, ripped into bits and pieces. The club. William. The spot under the stairs. Kissing. His fingers inside me. Tequila. Vomiting.
Jason.
‘Jason,’ I whimpered and opened my eyes. I was in my bed, alone. Sitting up, I pushed my duvet aside, and the sight of my nightie reminded me that William and Jason had put me to bed last night.
I looked around. William was gone, and so were his clothes. Had he left?
It felt like a hammer was bashing on my head. I closed my eyes, wincing. I was suffering from a tremendous hangover, but Jason and I needed to talk, and it couldn’t wait. I was desperate to clear the air and make amends. I felt terrible, and it only added to my headache.
As I opened my bedroom door, the smell of bacon filled my nose, and it was sent directly from heaven. Was Jason making me breakfast? He couldn’t be too angry with me, then – I hoped.
I decided to have a shower before I faced him. Walking across the corridor, I opened the bathroom door and froze.
There stood William, naked in all his glory and drying his hair with a white towel. What a beautiful backside he had. Prominent muscles hugged his long spine, and dimples carved into the flesh right above his taut bum. His biceps and deltoids, as well as the muscles of his hairless, broad back, rippled with his motions. Saliva accumulated in my mouth. What a bomb of testosterone. He was strikingly masculine. I wasn’t even remotely prepared for the captivating sight of him.
I tore my eyes off him and stood perfectly still. As my eyes flickered around the humid room, I saw that his clothes from last night were dumped on the toilet seat.
His head turned toward me, and when our eyes locked, a roguish smile claimed his mouth. He looked elated. His eyes glowed with a joy I hadn’t seen in them before.
‘Morning, love. I’m flattered you wanted to shower with me, but I’m afraid you’re a few minutes too late. Better luck next time.’
My cheeks turned rosy and hot. ‘Are you finished?’ I asked, slightly abashed, and averted my gaze.
‘Oh, don’t be that way.’ He chuckled. ‘Nothing you haven’t seen before.’
My face grew hotter. ‘Will.’
‘Care for a look of the front? It’s all yours.’
He turned slowly toward me, but I whirled around before I could see anything.
‘Oh my God, stop it!’
He laughed. ‘Sorry, that was inconsiderate of me. The view would of course only increase your current sexual frustration since I refused to fuck you last night.’
‘That’s not it, you conceited twat!’ But it was.
He kept laughing, and I heard him turn on the tap. I dared a peek at him. He had wrapped the towel around his hips and was watching my reflection in the mirror, his lips bent with amusement.
‘Could you hurry up, please?’ I asked. ‘I need to shower as well.’
‘Then do.’ He gestured to the transparent glass door. ‘I don’t mind – at all.’
My whole face flushed. ‘Without you here.’
He rolled his eyes and raised a toothbrush to his mouth. ‘Then you’ll have to wait.’
Sighing, I folded my arms and looked away.
‘William, come on,’ I moaned when I had counted to a minute.
With white foam around his mouth, he grinned at me in the mirror and then spat into the basin. ‘Patience is a virtue, darling.’
He rinsed his mouth and spat once more before he finally approached the door, still grinning. Just as he was about to pass me, he paused and curled his hand around my neck. Bringing me close, he planted a firm kiss on the top of my head.
‘Enjoy your shower,’ he purred as he pulled away. ‘I’ll see you in a bit.’
Paralysed, I heard him close the door. My body was complete chaos. I couldn’t understand a single thought or emotion. Everything lacked sense. But there was one thing I knew.
He fuelled the fire of my soul and gave the beats to my heart. In his presence, I felt capable of glowing in the dark.
Shaking my head, I walked into the shower and lowered the temperature. After a dreadful night, my body was feeble, so I sat on the beige tiles under the stream of cold water, reviving. I had obviously had too much to drink. Those last three shots of tequila hadn’t helped anything at all apart from offering a temporary relief from the panic I had experienced.
When I started shivering, I dragged myself out of the shower and dried myself with a towel. Then I put on my white satin robe and walked out. Jason and William were talking in the dining room, so I paused to eavesdrop, wondering if Jason was still angry with me.
‘Yeah, we’re quite compatible,’ William said.
‘I can’t believe I never tried to set you up with her.’
‘You should have.’
‘I would have if she hadn’t been so uninterested in dating. Plus, you weren’t really that interested in it yourself.’
‘I wasn’t until I met her,’ William said, and my heart throbbed.
‘I suppose that’s what happens when you find the right one.’ There was a smile in Jason’s voice.
‘Yeah. You sort of did set me up with her, though – by sending her to Disrepute. You know I often go there on Fridays.’
‘True.’ Jason chuckled. ‘But since you’re not one to have one-night stands, and since you already had Violet and Francesca, it never occurred to me that you might end up interacting, let alone actually sleeping together. Honestly, when she came home the next day, I was sure it had to be someone else – perhaps a colleague of yours or something. I definitely didn’t think it could be you, all things considered.’
‘She never mentioned my name?’
‘No. But, in hindsight, she did say you were really forthright and opinionated, so maybe I should have suspected at that point. ’
‘Very funny.’
‘I’m actually not joking. Anyway, seems like you made up last night.’
‘I’m not sure. She was very drunk, even at the end. Hopefully she meant what she said.’
‘I’m sure she did.’
‘Don’t give her a hard time when she comes out, yeah? Please, Jase.’
‘I won’t. I can see why she would hide it from me.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yeah. I’m only a bit upset because I really despised Sandra on your behalf. Safe to say I’m shocked it’s been Cara all along.’
‘Understandable.’
I blew out a breath of relief and went to the dining room. William had kept his word and had supported me, and I appreciated it immensely because, without his intervention, I was confident that Jason would have stayed angry with me for longer.
They sat at the dining table, where orange juice, coffee and a full English breakfast waited for me. I could have kissed Jason. This was exactly what I needed.
William appeared to have borrowed a pair of black joggers from Jason, and both brothers were shirtless. Had I not been so hungover, I would have appreciated the view more than I did.
They turned their heads to acknowledge me and, at that moment, I seriously wondered how I hadn’t realised that William was Jason’s brother when I first met him. While their hair colours were different, they had nearly identical eyes, although William’s were slightly more piercing and somehow darker, even if their irises were exactly the same colour. However, William’s eyebrows always formed a slight frown, as if he was sharply judging and examining everything he looked at. Jason gazed around with an innate desire to appreciate everything he saw for what it was. William’s jaw was also a little sharper than Jason’s, but even their noses and full lips were incredibly similar.
I was such an idiot.
‘Morning,’ I said and met Jason’s gaze. He smiled faintly.
‘Morning, love. How are you feeling?’ He pulled out the chair beside him. My chest ached at his tone. I didn’t deserve him. I hated that I had betrayed and disappointed him.
‘I have an awful headache.’
As I sat down, my eyes zoomed in on the paracetamol beside the glass of orange juice. My heart melted. Jason would make a woman the luckiest in the world someday.
He smirked and pointed at the pill. ‘I’m miles ahead of you, dear.’
Nodding, I swallowed it with a mouthful of orange juice and then faced him with a miserable pout.
‘Jason, I’m seriously so sorry about everything. I hate myself for betraying you like that. I mean it. I—’
‘I know, Cara, don’t worry. Just don’t do it again, all right?’
I inhaled sharply and nodded vigorously. ‘I promise.’
‘Apology accepted, then. I get that this was the exception to the rule since he’s my brother.’ He rubbed my back. ‘Just eat, you must be starving.’
‘I love you.’
He glanced at William, who was behaving like he neither saw nor heard us. ‘I love you too.’ Smiling, Jason stroked my cheek with the back of his fingers.
I grabbed my knife and smeared a thick layer of butter onto my toast. William’s eyes looked about to fall out of his skull when he saw it.
‘Damn. Would you like some more bread with your butter?’ he joked.
‘I like butter.’
Jason laughed. ‘Correction, she loves butter.’
William’s lips slid into a winsome grin. ‘Yes, I can see that. Duly noted.’
I gave him a smile and topped my toast with a layer of scrambled eggs. As I was putting the spoon back, I sensed William’s eyes on me.
‘Weak for his scrambled eggs, are you, love?’ he asked. ‘Familiar recipe, perhaps?’
I froze.
‘Right, what’s going on?’ Jason asked.
I sighed. ‘Will made me scrambled eggs the morning after we ... I thought they tasted familiar, but I...It just didn’t strike me.’
‘Oh my goodness,’ Jason laughed. ‘This is ridiculous.’
William captured my gaze, still grinning. ‘I’d be happy to make it for you anytime you like.’
It was like something cut into my chest – how could pleasure feel so painful? I took a quick, quiet breath. ‘Thanks. You’re very sweet.’
He studied me as he reached for his cup of coffee. ‘Am I?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then perhaps you’ll have dinner with me today.’
My heart jammed in my throat. He obviously wanted me to confirm that I had meant what I said last night –that I would give him a chance.
Though it took me a moment, I managed to calm down and smile at him. ‘I’d love to, but I can’t,’ I said sincerely. ‘I’ve got plans.’
He cocked his head to the side, his eyes riveted on my features. ‘What sort of plans?’
‘A birthday party.’ I struggled to hold his gaze. I wasn’t sure he would appreciate that Aaron would be there, but I wasn’t about to cancel my plans last minute. It was Tyler’s birthday, and he was my friend too. I had to show up.
‘Whose birthday?’ William asked, and it sounded like he was faking nonchalance.
‘Friend named Tyler.’
His features hardened. ‘Will Aaron be there?’
My heart stilled and I swallowed. ‘Yes.’
His eyebrows jumped. He looked disbelieving.
I rushed to explain myself before he could say anything. ‘It’s just a birthday party. Nothing’s going to happen between us –I won’t, you know ... ’
He knitted a brow. ‘Fuck him?’
‘Er, yes.’ I wrinkled my nose. ‘That.’
He frowned for a beat. ‘Well, I’ve got poker night, so feel free to call me if you’d like some company after the bash.’
I bit my lower lip, smiling, and poured myself a cup of coffee. ‘Thanks. I’ll probably take you up on that offer.’
At this he visibly relaxed, his gaze softening. ‘Good.’
‘I’m going to have such an advantage tonight,’ Jason said smugly, changing the subject. ‘What with you being hungover for once.’ He smirked at William.
‘You’ll regret saying that.’ William chuckled. ‘It will make things even more embarrassing for you when I beat you.’
‘We’ll see.’