“So you do like him. I knew it!” Holly stands to raise her glass.
“Sit down, fool. We all knew she liked him.” Kadence rolls her eyes and turns back to me.
“So what’s the issue? He’s too moody?”
I laugh at her question only to find them all staring back at me blankly. “Beau is not moody. He’s just composed,” I defend him, watching as each of them share a look.
“Girl, the man is so moody, some days I wonder if he’s PMSing on the same cycle as me,” Kadence fires, and I can’t help but laugh along with them.
“He’s not that bad.” I shrug, not seeing Beau the way they do. He’s direct and quiet, but moody? No.
“We have bets to see how many words he can say sometimes. I think the most I’ve ever heard in one night was fifteen. Fifteen, Kenz. Fifteen.” Kelly shakes her head, disturbed by the number.
“He talks to me,” I offer, hoping to show them he’s not the moody asshole they seem to think he is.
“Yeah, ‘cause he likes you, probably wants to tie you up and spank you.” Bell’s hand slaps over her mouth just as fast as the words leave her lips.
Oh, God, did everyone know about Beau and his wants but me?
“What. Do. You. Know?” Kadence turns to face the younger woman, whose eyes are practically falling out of her head.
“Oh, God. No, nothing. I know nothing.” She shakes her head, denying it as much as a kid caught with his hand in the candy jar would.
“Bullshit. Don’t you dare hold out on us,” Kelly pushes this time.
“I can’t say. I wasn’t meant to say. Oh, I’m gonna be in so much trouble.” Bell starts rocking.
The thought of her knowing something she isn’t supposed to doesn’t sit well with me. A spark of jealousy settles in me. What does she know?
“Well, the cat’s out of the bag now. Just spill,” Kelly adds, just as eager to know.
“Shit, guys.” Bell stands and starts pacing.
“If it’s bad, you shouldn’t say.” I try to pull the conversation back, not wanting to know.
“It’s not bad, bad. Just, I was sworn to secrecy. And now I’ve gone and blabbed.”
“What if we guess?” Kadence asks, offering her a way out of her guilt.
“Yeah, okay. If you guess correctly, I’ll just nod, that way I’m not actually telling anything.” I nearly laugh at how serious Bell’s taking this.
“Let me guess. Beau is the kinky fuck who tied Lissy up, spanked the fuck out of her ass while we were in Vegas.” I spit my drink at Holly’s guess and watch all color drain from Bell’s face.
Lissy? Oh, my God. This is worse. He’s had sex with Lissy. Is he still having sex with her? Is that why he doesn’t want more from me?
“How did you know?” Bell sits, her hands moving back to her mouth. “Shit.”
“’Cause Lissy told me.” Holly shrugs, a slow smile pulling at the corners of her lips. “She didn’t swear me to secrecy, so we’re cool,” she assures Bell before turning back to me.
“Are they still?” I stop to think how to phrase it. I’ve met Lissy a couple of times in the last two months. She’s a little crazy and loud, but a nice girl. I never once suspected her and Beau had or even have a fling.
“Oh no. It was a one-time deal. You know Lissy, she’s just having fun. You have nothing to worry about. It’s all in the past.” I look at Bell, silently pleading with her to stop.
“Why, do you have a taste for kink, Mackenzie?” I fight the blush that runs over my face and offer Holly my innocent look.
If only they knew.
“I don’t have a taste for anything.” I clear my throat and push all images of a naked Beau spanking Lissy out of my head.
“I bet ya that’s why he hasn’t made his move. Innocent Mackenzie is messing him up.” Holly, oblivious to my panic, starts running through all the scenarios. Jesus, is this woman psychic?
“Beau just isn’t interested in me, guys.” I try to put out the fire they started with their questions and let them down easy. It’s not like I can tell them he wants me, but because of my past is too afraid to go there, and I was too clueless to understand any of this until I practically begged him.
Yeah, I’m a hot mess.
“Are you deaf, blind and stupid?” Kadence asks this time. “The man is so into you, I’m concerned for his own health.”
“I kissed him then kind of freaked out. Now he says we can’t go there, and I’ve tried to forget about it ever since.” This time I slap my hand over my mouth, realizing I just revealed too much.
“HA! I knew it.” Kelly stands, dances in her spot then holds her hand out. “Pay up, bitches.” She waits patiently as Kadence, Holly and Bell place ten-dollar bills in her hand.
“You made a bet?” I ask, not sure if I should be offended or laugh along with them.
“You’ll get used to them, don’t worry,” Bell offers and for reasons I can’t explain, I believe her.
Yeah, they’re crazy, brash, loud and over the top, but it’s not all there is to them. They’re kind, funny and caring. They opened their lives to accommodate me, look after me, and now in such a short time, accepted me as a friend. I’m more than lucky to have them in my life, especially when I still have no idea if Heidi is in hiding or if Chad has done something to her.
“So what was the bet, then?” I ask, wanting to know the odds.
“Well, I bet you had already fucked each other’s brains out.” Holly shrugs, before taking a sip of her drink. “You could have taken one for the team, babe.” She winks and I laugh.
“I bet you hadn’t done anything,” Kadence adds, not at all worried she lost out.
“And I bet you made it to second base.” Bell blushes a little and I want to say sorry I couldn’t take it further for her.
“And I, of course, won the bet,” Kelly says, counting her money.
“Huh.” I look at each of them, still not sure what to say.
“You’re not mad, are you?” Kadence asks, looking a little guilty.
“No, I’m just trying to figure out how I can get in on these bets.” I smile, setting her at ease. I’m not mad; I knew there were whispers about us. Who wouldn’t talk?
“Well, we have a pool for when Bell announces she’s getting married.” Holly offers.
“What? You do?” Bell shouts, not clued in on the bet.
“Yeah, I lost out already.” Holly clearly has high hopes for everyone getting it on and getting married.
“Okay, well, can I be in on that one?” I ask, trying to figure out when she and Jesse would want to settle down. I know they just started living together, but I might have an advantage here.
“Yeah, the pool is at two hundred.” Kelly smiles, ignoring Bell’s shock.
“Okay, I bet $50 they’re engaged by Thanksgiving.” My mind goes back to the morning Jesse taught me or should I say tried to teach me how to make an omelet and I remember Jackson telling Jesse he needed to put a ring on Bell’s finger. He said soon and dropped the subject just as quick.
“Done. Locked in.”
I turn to look at Bell and watch a knowing smile spread across her face.
“What?” I question, wonder what she’s hiding.
“Nothing.” She shrugs but I caught it. She’s keeping something. I just hope it doesn’t happen until Thanksgiving.
I could do with $200.
“Ugggh.” I wake up the next morning to the smell of coffee and bacon. Normally, this combination would have me rolling out of bed eager to start my day. But after the six cocktails I consumed last night, my head and my stomach are telling me otherwise.
“You awake?” The deep voice of Beau echoes around my head, causing me to flinch in pain.