Arrival
Presley was tucked under Cruz’s shoulder, her arm wrapped around his waist, laughing at the way he was hoping Paris would find a way to get Ramona to piss off when she heard her name being squealed loudly.
She ripped herself out of and fell into their group hug “Oh my
Cruz’s grip and raced to Sloane and Hal god. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“This place is incredible!” Sloane looked around excitedly. She leaned sideways, “They Cruz, looking massive as always.”
“Sloane,” he shook his head at her comment, “you and I need to have words about sending my ex here.”
“I’m sorry she’s stressing Presley out. I’m not sorry she’s pissing you off though. You’re an ass.”
Halima snorted, “yeah. A ginormous ass.”
“We’re together now,” Cruz motioned between himself and Presley, “you should be nice.”
“No.” Sloane laughed in his face. “She’s confused by the massive d**k I keep sending photos of to everyone. Why your ex kept multiple pictures of your junk is unclear, but it’s been helpful in my support of Presley” “You have photos of my d**k?” his jaw clenched, and he looked at Presley, “Ladybird, you didn’t tell me this.” “Why stress you out over it? There isn’t anything I can do about it.”
“Why do you think she slept with you?” Sloane kept pushing. “She saw the D in image before real life.” Presley giggled, “down girl,” she put her hand on Sloane’s arm. “He’s not the enemy in this moment.”
“Delete the photos, Sloane,” Cruz said angrily.
“Fine but,” Sloane put her finger right in his face, “you make my best friend cry again, and I will take a billboard out on the Sea–to–Sky highway and post a billboard with your hairy ass all over it.”
“Anderson!” Cruz called to his friend who was coming out of the bathroom near the lobby. “Thank f**k,” he gave a wave and started to walk to him but then paused, turned back, grabbed Presley, and kissed her mouth lingeringly, “Do not go far”
“I won’t,” she smiled at him as he pressed a second kiss to her forehead and then went over to where Anderson was checking in a the counter.
“Okay” Sloane whispered, “that was kind of cute. He likes you.”
“I like him too,” she watched him lumber away. “Even his hairy ass.” Her words got the girls giggling and she looked around, “where are my parents?”
“They managed to get in a car where the driver apparently doesn’t understand speed limits. They were here, checked in and on their way to their room before we even got into our cab. Marsha is with them, and I have to tell you, P, she looks bad.” Halima said quietly squeezing Presley’s hand. “My mother tells me all time mom guilt is a real thing, but I’ve never seen it so blatantly firsthand before. She’s struggling.” “Poor Marsha. We haven’t seen Odin since Cruz threw him from our room yesterday. He’s been laying low. We told him everyone was coming, and he looked panicked. I don’t think he was expecting everyone to come for him.” Presley said sadly. “He’s turned into such a massive i***t and for what? Our family has always been an
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open, accepting one and it makes zero sense to me he couldn’t confide in anyone.”
“But if the kids on the team beat him up for being gay, Presley, maybe he was scared. Anderson told me there were fist sized bruises on his back and bottom.” Sloane shook her head sadly. “Someone tried to beat the gay out of him and it scared him enough as a preteen it’s stuck with him all along.”
“He was giving me and Cruz s**t about how the only thing a woman has ever done in his life, is wrong him”
“If he wasn’t such a jerk to them, and so cold and cruel, maybe they wouldn’t.” Halima argued. “He’s not a nice person. Gay or otherwise, he’s not nice, Presley. He takes pleasure in other people’s pain, especially yours.”
1 guess.
The elevator doors opened, and Presley saw her parents and Marsha coming out and felt her bottom lip wobble as she noted the stress on the faces of her parents. She felt Sloane pushing her in their direction and in seconds she was wrapped in her dad’s arms, sobbing pitifully, while her mother rubbed her back.
“Shh, P her father whispered against her hair. “It’s going to be okay.”
“It’s all messed up. Dad.” She cried against his shirt.
“It is but we’ll get it sorted. I promise, sweetheart,” he held her tight, his voice gruff in her ear. “We always work things out, don’t we?”
She nodded against his chest as she felt Marsha slip some tissues into her hands. She shot her a grateful look, “thanks Marsha. I’m so sorry you got dragged over here and into this.”
“Dragged into this? It’s all Odin’s fault, honey.” Marsha sighed sadly, “I was open and vulnerable with him only weeks ago and it would have been a perfect time for him to come clean, but he chose not to. He doesn’t feel he can trust anyone with his secrets and none of us understand why. He’s always been a suspicious boy, but this is too far. It takes a lot for me to get angry but I’m angry,” Marsha said with a sad sigh. T’m very angry
“I understand.”
“We love you both so much,” Scarlett said sadly, “and to know he’s taken things this far is a problem. Did you know the woman who extorted him is the same one who accused him of s**** coercion? She thought he’d be easy money because he was gay, and she knew details. Sloane found out he really did coerce. She was in their email exchanges. Your dad was feeling guilty because he thought he got played by this woman, but it seems Odin figured it out, who she was and made her pay on her back. He couldn’t get his money back from her because apparently it was gone, and we know now he owes a huge debt to the mob. Sloane found a video in Odin’s work computer which your father was able to get to her and he was rough with this woman.”
“For a man who prefers women, he was able to get the job done.”
“Maybe he’s bi,” Monica said with a shrug.
nges, or I’m
“We might never know because he’s so closed off.” Gavin said sadly. “I want him to know his sexuality doesn’t impact how much we love him, but his behavior is destroying our relationships and either he
done.”
Presley was
wide–eyed at her father’s words, “Dad, you don’t mean that.”
“I do mean it. I’m done, P. I’m done sacrificing the women in my life, you, your mom, Marsha, for his selfish and cruel bullshit. I will pay off his debt to the mob and then I’m cutting him off. I’m not doing any more brunches where you and your mother are subjected to his rhetoric. I’m not going to spend one more day
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where he gets under my skin to the point, I’m dragging him through my house to throw him out my front door. I’m not spending one more negative thought on what I’ve done wrong as a parent when all we’ve done, over and over and over is try. We keep trying and he makes zero effort and I’m done.”
She was going to argue but she saw her mom give a slow and subtle shake of her head. Presley knew this was an argument her mother would need to take up with her father.
“Does anyone know where he is now?” Scarlett asked quietly her hand still making long Presley’s back as she rested her head on Gavin’s shoulder.
sweeps up and down
“He crashed our balcony yesterday and he was drunk. Climbed up and gave us s**t and Cruz threw him out of our room. Dad, Cruz is hurting. Odin was plotting for him to be assaulted by Ramona, I don’t understand why anyone would do such a thing.”
“We will get to the bottom of it. First things first though, we need lunch because we are starving. We’re all jetlagged and exhausted. It will be food, sleep and then tomorrow we will have what Anderson was calling an intervention with Odin.”
“Then the next day I’m getting married,” she groaned.
Her father froze, “I’m sorry, what?”
“Did you not hear this part of the plan?” she met his eyes. “Cruz’s bright idea to fix everything? A fake marriage on the beach complete with you walking me down the aisle. It will make his father piss off, who sent him another message today asking for the date of our return trip because he wants to have me served the minute I land in Vancouver.”
“Asshole,” Gavin grunted.
“Cruz also thinks this will get Ramona to finally back off,” she looked at her mother, “you should see this lady. She’s twitchy and everything. She’s obsessed with him. When she sees him, she always screams, baby, and then trots over to him in heels hookers would struggle to walk in. Her parents are due here today or tomorrow. I’m not sure. It’s all becoming a blur”
“These are not good reasons for marriage.” Her father was grim faced
“It will fix the PR nightmare I created, Daddy and Odin will realize I have Cruz in my corner now and he’ll back off. Cruz is convinced this is the best option.”
“It’s also the best way for you to get hurt, P.” Her father said seriously. “For him it’s a tactical ploy, a game to get things back on track. You on the other hand are not the kind of woman who thinks more logically than emotionally. You’re going to go into this with your heart wide open, P and then it’s going to hurt when it’s not
real.”
“You were the one who sent him here”
ul you are, and “Yes. I wanted you two to work things out, with the worst–case scenario, you finally letting on of the hurt in the past and the pain you’ve felt over the years. The best case scenario, he’d realize how s you’d explore those emotions. I was not expecting marriage, especially a few days after he got here.”
“Its fake, Daddy.”
and
“But I know you, P. You don’t want it to be fake. In your romantic and sweet brain and heart, you’re hoping praying he’s done something behind the scenes to make it real.”
(Auval
She looked away sheepishly, “he’s a French national, did you know? We could legally get married”
“P” her father groaned. “Stop, honey. Just don’t. I’ll talk to him.”
“No!” she stopped her father. “You can’t stop him. I have to do this. I have to make it right. This is all my own, doing, and I need to be the one to fix it. If he says this is how we fix it, then so be it.”
“It’s not real. You have to understand this. He’s not going to marry you for real, P
“I know, Dad.” She gave a sad smile and nuzzled into him when he sighed and kissed her forehead. “You know, for someone who pisses me off on a monthly basis, you know me pretty
“Of course I do.” He laughed lowly. “Now, point me in the direction of food.”
As she led her parents towards the restaurant, she shot a look at Cruz who was deep in conversation with Anderson across the lobby. His eyes met hers and he gave her a smile, but something felt off about it. Once again, pushing her worries about what was going on, away, she focused on her parents and waved at Sloane and Halima to join them.
There would be time for worrying later. For now, she simply wanted to bask in the love of her family.
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