Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Audrey
For whatever reason, no one cared about me except the Cristof brothers. They made sure to give me trouble about the video while griping that they missed the show. They begged for another and I held up my water proudly. There was no way I was going to get drunk and wild at a wedding function. Bars and clubs were always fine, but private events and weddings were off-limits. I knew better. I knew how to handle myself. That was until most of the older family members and people I didn’t care to know decided it was time to leave.
Someone, who was definitely a Cristof brother, got ahold of the music and when Cash Money Records started bumping, Carina poked her head around her fiancé and she pointed right at me. Before I knew it she was twerking across the yard to me. Thankfully there wasn’t any alcohol in my system because alcohol and Cash Money Records was a dangerous combination and I didn’t need any more incriminating evidence against me.
Even though my hips so badly wanted to get down, I nodded my head innocently. It was hard. It was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. My inner ho wanted to come out so badly. It was my weakness.
It hit me with the next song. My eyes flashed at my chosen sister and her twerking immediately changed directions right to Ace. She grabbed him around the neck and started grinding on him. As I got closer she used him as a human shield. How she maneuvered that massive man was beyond me.
“Tell me you didn’t,” I fumed.
She made a face and put Ace between us again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She could pretend all she wanted to but when Salt Shaker came on, I knew she’d done me dirty. My body was no longer my own. I was a slave to the music and Carina had done me soooo dirty. She’d given over my ho playlist .
Gone was all my self-control when Booty Wurk played next. I knew Alexei was grinning somewhere, but I couldn’t locate him and I couldn’t pry myself away from the beat bumping through me. Carina was no longer using Ace as a human shield and was slowly making her way to me across the dance floor. I was honestly surprised by how many young people there were because I hadn’t noticed them before. Carina grabbed my hips and ground against me.
“I can’t believe you,” I whisper-screamed at her.
She pressed her lips together and jutted her chin out in an innocent look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
It was absolutely not a coincidence when the next song came on and it was Freek-A-Leek. I deadpanned. Her grin was over the top and obnoxious. “Okay, I might have been a little drunk when I gave it to him last night. He wanted to know what songs you liked and my stupid ass was like oh yeah, ho phase Audrey. I don’t know, I guess I just miss how things used to be. You don’t have to be her all the time, but it would be nice to have some of you back. You weren’t the safe or cautious one. You were always Wilde before Brian.”
I nodded. I felt the same way but I didn’t know how to get her back, especially not now that I was going to marry Brian. “Speaking of,” I grabbed her elbow and hauled her off of the dance floor. “Your Snapchat was seen by my fiancé.”
She frowned. “I don’t have Brian on Snapchat.”
“Someone saw it and showed it to him.”
Her over-the-top grin quickly fell away. “I wasn’t thinking. About any of it, obviously. I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “It’s too late now, but he wants to come on the trips with me.”
“Maybe it lit some fire under his sorry ass.” Carina cocked her head and made a face. “I hope this is enough to push him into accepting all of you and not just the parts he wants to change.”
After that, I no longer cared. People were having fun. With aching feet, I kicked off my shoes and joined everyone else on the dance floor. Giggling, I watched as Carina jumped right into the pool, dress and all. With a loud whoop, Ace followed right behind her.
“Come on, Wilde!” Before I could stop him, Alexei had his arms around my waist and hauled me straight for the water.
I squealed and pounded on his shoulders but it was no use. He was so much stronger than he looked. The photographer snapped photos and I wondered if these would get me in more trouble with Brian. I let it go as the water rushed over our heads and we quickly kicked to the surface.
Laughing, we both gasped for air and grinned at each other. For the first time since I met the Cristof brother, I didn’t hate him. For the first time, I felt completely content. Almost happy.
We wrapped towels around our bodies while we laughed and talked about nothing. Carina smeared cake in Ace’s face and he grabbed her for a passion-filled kiss instead of going for revenge. He could have easily destroyed her face with his slice of cake. Not that it mattered as her mascara was smeared down her face from the dive into the swimming pool.
Thank goodness Emeline and Sinclair retired before the ho playlist began. I wouldn’t have ever been able to face them again if they’d heard the music on it. But at the back of my mind I had a feeling Emeline was watching and living through the cameras.
The party seemed to stretch on for hours, all the way into the next morning and I wondered how I would ever recover from these partying nights. I wasn’t a spring chicken like I was when Audrey Wilde lived her best and wild life. I was much older now and my body didn’t snap back like it did before. I could practically hear my knees screaming already.