More Talk
Presley saw the way his eyes widened, his pupils dilating and his breath hitching as he rested his forehead against hers and exhaled quietly.
“Do you mean it?”
“I do.”
“Thank you, God.” He whispered quietly.
“I’m still really angry, Cruz.”
“I know you are. You have every right to be. I promise, I’ll make it up to you.”
She stared into his eyes and then admitted, “I wouldn’t have married him.”
“What?”
“If he would have proposed, I would have said no.”
“Why? You loved him.”
“I did. I loved him a lot but,” she felt mean for saying it, “his mother was a third wheel in our relationship. I was with him for almost four years, and I never introduced him to my parents as anything more than a friend and told him Daddy threatened to cut off my tuition if I got a boyfriend during college, which was true, but he said it as a joke.”
“Your father said that?”
She nodded, “So at first, we were only hooking up, but he got serious faster than I did. Then we decided third year we were going to room together at the dorm, and it was then I realized how much of an influence his mom held over his life. I can’t even make it up, but she brought toilet paper to him because she felt the toilet paper the dorm bathrooms were stocked with were too rough for his delicate bottom. She came to pick up his laundry every week. She would go on and on about how she would take care of all his needs so all he needed to focus on was his degree.”
“She must have freaked when you shared a dorm.”
“No because he told her I came from rich family, and she was fine with it. She was incredibly overbearing. Sloane and I would joke about how if we weren’t on the third floor, she probably would have been watching us have s*x through the window to give him pointers. She was incredibly involved. When he told me he got a job offer I wanted him to tell me he would miss me, how he wanted me to come with him and he needed me but instead he just walked away. I didn’t think he and I were going to be forever but the way he ended things hurt. It was like none of it meant anything to him. To this day, if I see his mother, I duck and run.”
“What if you saw him?”
She looked around nervously, “what?”
“He’s not here,” Cruz laughed at her actions, “but what if you could see him in person and say what you wanted to say. Would it help? can make it happen.”
“No. I don’t need closure.”
C
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“As long as you are sure, then I will let it go but I can arrange for him to be where you are so you can ask him how he could walk away from you so easily.”
“I’m sure.” She took a breath. “We have enough to deal with without adding in a fourth complication.”
A knock on the door inside made them both look nervously towards it.
“What now?” Cruz groaned. “I don’t know if I can take any more of this shit.”
She rose from his lap to allow him to stand but he shook his head at her and lifted her, so she was forced to wrap her legs around his waist. “Cruz.”
“Look how good you fit me, Ladybird. It’s meant to be. We are going to have a little ceremony here but someday, I’m going to give you the huge wedding you used to dream of back home. The one with a thousand people, a giant poufy dress, your groom in a tux and a happily ever after, it’s what I want to give you. I want to give you everything, Presley for taking away so much of your childhood.” The rapping on the door grew louder and he groaned, “I can’t catch a f*****g break. I’m trying to tell my girl I want forever with her.”
She buried her head in his neck and smiled, “we have forever to talk about it. Let’s go see what other chaos is
waiting.”
Cruz looked through the peephole and sighed before pulling the door open, “don’t you need to sleep man?” “Yes, I do but I can’t sleep when I’m pretty sure there is a bunch of mafiosos looking for Odin.” Anderson slipped into the room and leaned against the door after closing it quickly. “I put him in Algernon’s room because he has no connection to us but if they get Odin, they might kill him. I’m telling you, I am no longer ever going to be friends with him but killing him isn’t something I want on my conscience.” He paused and looked at the couple in front of him and grinned, “you were right. She does fit. You should get one of those baby carriers, but Presley sized and just carry her around.”
“It’s on my list,” Cruz winked at Presley before kissing her head, grinning at Anderson’s exaggerated sigh of
contentment.
“Why do you think they are looking for him?” Presley asked Anderson shaking her head at him.
“Because we started to take him down the hall to my room and we saw a couple of guys. We moved him back into Algernon’s room across the hall. He’s a weird guy but once you get talking to him, he’s cool. Did you know he owns a private airline company? He is a commercial pilot. He knows all kinds of people. He often gets hired by celebrities and stuff to take them to remote places. His wife got pissed off at him for wing all the time to give their sons a real life and she cheated and so he came to this resort to get even. He said his sons are his whole life and he’d do anything for them but staying with their mother isn’t on the list. He told her he either gets to f**k someone else or they get divorced but apparently, she doesn’t want to share him. He played me a voice mail she left him earlier today and she was going off about how it would kill her to know he would make another woman faint from orgasms. He knocks them out with his d**k,” Anderson shook his head, “weird guy but kind of cool. He is the oversharing kind.”
“The first day I met him, he asked me to go in the water with him to get wet and did this hip thrust thing which made his little banana hammock dance and he’s packing. I simply don’t want anything to do with him.”
“If he’s packing with a belly like his, imagine how big it was before he got fat.”
“He makes me think of Obelisk from the Asterix and Obelisk comics. Remember when we took French classes, and they made us read those comics?” Anderson asked Cruz who clapped his hand against
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Presley’s thigh.
“That’s what he reminds me of. I couldn’t figure it out but you’re right.”
4G Pornste
Anderson was digging his phone out of his pocket to show Presley an image from the internet of what they were talking about, and she made a face.
“What is this?”
“An old French comic strip. I wanted to learn French so Anderson took too many courses with me.”
“It actually really helped me when I moved to Montreal for work.”
“Can I get down now?” Presley asked as the men started laughing uproariously at the photos Anderson was pulling of a cartoon character which did eerily remind her of Algernon.
“No.” Cruz argued. “I like carrying you.”
“Please? I feel ridiculous.”
“Fine but you need to stay close. I swear to God I was worried you were leaving me when we were on the
patio.”
“Has he always been this much of a sap?” She asked Anderson who grinned.
“Not at all. It’s fun to watch. Usually, he’s growly and grumpy with the ladies. Flirting isn’t his thing. He’s more of a,” he waved at Cruz, “me caveman with big d**k, come back to my cave.” Anderson flexed his muscles in front of himself.
Presley’s fit hit the floor, and she laughed when Cruz tackled Anderson and sent him flying into the bed. They rolled around exchanging punches and laughing and Presley couldn’t stop smiling. It felt like the first bit of normal they’d shared in a while.
She cleared her throat, “hey, animals, can you pull it together because we’re supposed to be brainstorming how to deal with murderous thugs trying to kill my only sibling despite him being a complete asshole.” “Right,” Anderson sat up with his neck wrapped in Cruz’s bicep, crushed to the other man’s chest. “What do we do? We can’t leave him in Algernon’s room all night.”
“Send him back to his room.” Presley argued.
Both men were shocked by her words.
Cruz frowned, “babe if we send him to his room, Liborio is going to find him and maybe kill him.” “Not likely. Liborio wants to get paid more than anything. He’s going to give him a smack down and really it won’t be worse tA one of Odin’s molars are in here somewhere,” she looked around the room. “Regardless, they want to talk to him. They’ll want to find out what he knows. They aren’t going to stop until they get what they want. He’s a grown man who put himself into this situation. Let him deal with it.”
“What if he tells them what room you’re in?”
“Pretty sure if this guy was clever enough to figure out how to get my entire family here to use them against me, he already knows my room number Cruz. He’s waiting for something and while I don’t know what it is, I’d rather let him deal with Odin than for us to have to do it.” She looked at Anderson, “did Dad get his nitro?”
“Your mom took him back to the room with the girls. I helped Algernon with your brother. I’ll text Sloane and make sure he’s okay but if there was a problem she would have reached out.”
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* Points
“Everyone is exhausted. Dump Odin back in his room. Cruz and I can order room service tonight if we have to. Tomorrow we’ll all go shopping together to get away from the resort. We have the wedding to prepare for in two days which is to get Cruz’s dad off his back.”
“It’s our practice wedding,” Cruz smirked at her. “The feal one is going to be epic.”
“You proposed for real?” Anderson smirked.
“Not yet. I need a ring, but this is happening.”
“Ramona is going to s**t bricks. She needed to beg you to marry her and even then, you couldn’t be arsed to commit. She is going to flip her lid.”
“Her lid was flipped long ago,” Cruz grumbled. “I’d hoped her parents would be here by now to reign her in. With any luck, Paris has in her bed with her ex–lovers.”
“Now she is a weird woman,” Anderson bucked upright. “I really think she was making a play for Marsha and
Scarlett.”
“She propositioned me in the bathroom and has been asking me daily ever since. Mom is the OG. I mean why have me if you can get her.”
“I do not want to think of your parents swinging,” Cruz shuddered.
“Same.” Anderson nodded vehemently and then headed for the door. “Alright then, I’m off to drag Odin back to his own room and we’ll leave him there. If he tries to run though?”
“Liborio Bartoli is watching his room. If he tries to run, he’ll get nabbed.” Presley was digging deep to try to find sympathy for Odin but knowing he sold her to a mafia Don was making her hard pressed to consider her brother’s feelings or his safety in any regard.
“Alright then lovebirds,” Anderson winked. “I’m off to bed. You shouldn’t hear from any of us now until tomorrow morning. Enjoy the rest of the evening.”
Anderson exited the room quickly.
Presley stood up and moved to close the curtains of the room after securing the patio doors to make sure they were locked and the deadbolting the door after Anderson.
“What are you doing?”
“We argued. We need to make up,” she shot him a cheeky grin, “and can’t if there are people watching. I’m not into it no matter how much Paris wished I was.”
Cruz’s happy dance almost killed her mood. Almost.
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