Chapter 12
Holland
Coming to Party Glowers wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when we decided to get food. The club, previously owned by my father, and currently owned by, well, me, has not been one of my party spots lately.
I guess it pisses me off that it was used as a coverup for a lot of illegal shit that Ellie and I had no clue about. We brought our friends here, and half of Ellington’s campus comes here to get shitfaced.
Knowing that we might have all been in danger and my father never said anything sends a rage through my body.
My father was a decent man, as far as we knew growing up. We never had any reason to believe he was doing anything nefarious behind our backs. Mom never seemed to ask questions either, so there was nothing that set off alarms.
Sure, we grew up wealthy, just as wealthy as Lainey’s family, if not wealthier. Ellie and I knew our father owned several night clubs and other various businesses, so we assumed all of his money came from those.
I don’t think either of us expected to find out that a lot of that money was coming from selling drugs and other things.
Since he lost all of his control over the club, I’ve turned it around a lot, into something legit. I’ve asked Ellie for a lot of help in remodelling ideas and such, and she’s really enjoyed having something to do.
We have people here all the time to do the hands-on work, and we kept most of the employees that previously worked here since they knew the club better than we did.
I don’t feel as guilty bringing my friends here anymore since we’ve cleaned it up, and I don’t have any concerns about dad trying to get it back since he’s spending a long while in prison.
I think it’s been hard for my mom, not having him at the house and us being away at school. She’s been putting on a brave face, and she hasn’t really complained, but I know she’s lonely.
Mom doesn’t usually show her feelings, which is probably where I get it. Ellie wears her feelings on her sleeve, and you’ll always know when she isn’t happy. Me? You wouldn’t know if I was dying inside. I’ve never been one for sharing feelings, which might explain why I’ve never had an actual girlfriend.
The thought of telling a girl my deep, dark secrets makes me physically cringe. I can’t imagine someone knowing so much about me.
“What can I get you?”
Sherry, one of the original bartenders at the club asks me with a sexy smirk. Sherry is attractive, with big tits and blazing red hair that falls down her back. The small black top she’s wearing shows off the ample amount of cleavage she has, and my eyes automatically move in that direction before moving back up to her face.
“Whiskey, please Sherry,”
I say, giving her a wink.
“You got it,”
she replies. I watch as she turns around and walks away to make my drink.
“Hey,”
Ryker’s familiar voice rings through the loud music blasting through the club. He leans next to me against the bar, watching the table that consists of his fiancée and the rest of friends.
Logan brought his new girl, Charlie, who looks completely out of her element. I feel kind of bad for the girl, honestly. She looks like she’s going to cry.
I’m happy for Logan though. Charlie seems like a nice enough girl, and his ex was a bitch. They’d been together forever, and she cheated on him with Ashton fucking Davis. Ashton was a prick who messed with Gwen last year, and clearly didn’t know when to quit.
Ryker clears his throat as Sherry sets my drink down on the counter.
“Anything for you, hun?”
she asks Ryker.
“Yeah, I’ll take a whiskey, too. Thanks,”
he tells Sherry who smiles and walks away once again.
His gaze moves back to the table where the girls are laughing at something that Mason probably said. He watches Gwen like he doesn’t want to miss any of her movements, and I catch myself doing the same as I watch Lainey take a sip of her drink.
“I can’t believe my wedding is two weeks away,”
Ryker shakes his head in disbelief.
“I can’t believe you’re getting married,”
I tell him, taking a sip of my whiskey and enjoying the feel of it going down.
“I never thought I’d see the day.”
Ryker scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his back on the bar. Keeping his eyes trained on his girl, he smirks.
“Neither did I. But Gwen kind of changed everything I ever thought I wanted. A good girl will do that to you,”
he explains, and I can feel his eyes on me as mine lock on the one girl I shouldn’t fucking want.
If she wasn’t my sister’s best friend, I don’t think I’d feel so dirty for wanting her, but Ellie would kill me if I went after her best friend. Wouldn’t she?
I mean, I’ve never really asked her about it, and to be honest, I’ve never been interested in asking her since I never planned on doing anything. But lately, watching Lainey with other guys has made my stomach churn and has caused an irrational amount of rage to build inside me.
I’ve always been protective of Ellie, even though I know she’s tough and she doesn’t really need my protection. But I’m her brother, and that’s what brothers do. That protectiveness trickled over to Lainey since she was always around.
Back in high school, when Lainey started dating and guys started fawning all over her, that’s when my protectiveness really started.
What if it wasn’t protectiveness at all though? What if it was always just jealousy? I mean, sure, I would get pissed when a guy would make her cry, or if I saw the guy treating her like shit. But I always thought that was because I was trying to shield her from getting hurt.
I knew the way she grew up, I know how lonely she was, even if she tried to tell everyone she was perfectly fine. I could always see straight through her fa?ade.
She thinks she’s perfected it to a T, always trying to act like nothing bothers her, like she isn’t hurting. But I know her, and I see her. She may not think I do, but I do.
I’ve always thought that her parents were shitbags for letting their daughter feel like she wasn’t important. Like they couldn’t care less about their own flesh and blood being home alone all the time.
I used to have dreams where her parents would come home, and I’d confront them about being such shitty parents and how Lainey deserved better.
I had imagined it so much that it started to feel real. It started to burn itself into my memory, and I could recite exactly what I’d say to them to this day.
Of course, Lainey doesn’t know about that. She doesn’t know how much I wanted to protect her from the pain it was causing her. How I wished I could take it all away because she didn’t deserve to feel so alone, so insignificant.
“I see you still haven’t done shit about that,”
Ryker says, making my gaze turn from Lainey back to him.
My brows narrow in confusion. “What?”
He nods his head toward the table again, and I know he’s talking about Lainey. He’d asked me about her last year, and I’d told him it was nothing. We just enjoyed getting on each other’s nerves.
I don’t think he believed it, and to be honest, I don’t even know if I believe it.
“Her,”
Ryker states.
“Who?”
I ask, acting as if I haven’t got a clue who the hell he’s talking about.
Ryker rolls his eyes.
“You know who. The drunk girl hanging all over my fiancée. The one that you’ve been pretending you don’t have feelings for since the day I met you.”
I scoff.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, man. I don’t have feelings for anyone.”
Ryker laughs, grabbing his drink off the counter and taking a large gulp. My nerve endings feel like they’re on fire, partly because of the whiskey and partly because of the confusing as fuck feelings swimming around in my head.
I’ve known this girl since she was eight. I’ve seen every part of her, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I never once imagined I’d feel… something for her. I’m so fucking confused, and of course Ryker would call me out on my bullshit.
“Yeah, right. So, you don’t have a problem with Colton Kent having his hands all over her, do you?”
Ryker questions.
My head snaps in the direction of the table where sure enough, Colton Kent, another Elite member takes Lainey’s hand and drags her to the dancefloor.
My heart pounds loudly in my chest as a surge of anger and jealousy take over my body. What the hell is he doing? My fists clench at my sides as I watch Lainey wrap her arms around Colton’s neck.
They begin to dance to the upbeat music, him turning her around so her ass is practically grinding on his dick.
Lainey’s smile makes my already racing heart thrum faster and I have to fight the urge to go over there and physically remove her from his grasp.
Ryker’s soft chuckle brings me back to the conversation at hand.
“That’s what I thought. You have feelings for that girl.”
Grabbing my glass, I down the rest of my whiskey before slamming it back down on the bar.
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,”
I bite out, stalking toward the table where my sister and the rest of our friends are.
Ellie’s brows furrow as I slump into the seat next to her.
“What’s wrong with you?”
I shake my head and avoid looking at her. “Nothing,”
I grumble.
“You seem pissed off. Are you alright?”
my sister asks, concern lacing her tone.
“I’m fine,”
I say firmly. I don’t mean to be a prick, but my emotions are running haywire, and I feel like I might explode as I watch Lainey and Colton dance like no one’s fucking watching. I’m fucking watching.
For some reason, I can’t tear my gaze away. It’s like watching a car wreck. I want to look away, but my body is forcing me to stay rooted in place, watching as Colton’s hands roam over Lainey’s body.
When his hands begin to slowly lift the hem of her dress up her thigh, I think I see red. I am not going to make it out of here without a murder charge if I keep watching this.
“Dude, you look like you’re about to burst. Do you need another drink?”
Mason asks, a smirk on his lips.
“No. I don’t need another fucking drink,” I seethe.
Mason holds his hands up in surrender, and for a minute, I almost feel bad for snapping at him, but when my eyes find Lainey again, the anger overtakes me.
Don’t cause a scene, Holland. Don’t cause a scene.
“No need to bite my head off, Holli. I was only trying to help.
I shake my head, looking down at the table.
“I said I’m fine. I don’t need help.”
Feeling Ryker’s knowing gaze on me, I look up with an expression that I hope conveys how pissed off at him I am. He didn’t really do anything, but he made me think about the feelings I’ve been having toward Lainey. Feelings I’ve been trying to avoid. Feelings I don’t even understand.
My fingers tap anxiously on the table as I wait for my anger to settle, but the more I watch that pricks hands move up Lainey’s thigh, the more I want to tear him apart.
She moves closer to him, like she’s enjoying his touch, and that pisses me off even more.
Keep your head, Holland. You don’t need a murder charge on your hands. You are too pretty for prison.
When Colton’s hand slips fully under Lainey’s dress, and she makes no move to remove it, my patience runs out.
Jumping up from the table, I barrel through the crowd to where the asshole and Lainey are dancing. They don’t see me approach, too busy feeling each other up.
I’ve seen Lainey with a lot of guys over the years. I’ve seen her making out in corners, in dark rooms where she thinks no one’s watching. I’ve seen it and it’s never pushed me to act this way.
The already confusing as fuck feelings just got a hell of a lot worse.