Page 91 of Double Dare

I called Maeve to say Happy New Year, but we had shitty service. She’s up north at some hunting camp with her boyfriend, and I’m just sitting here trying to picture Maeve at a camp like that. I know Ben is into the outdoors stuff, but Maeve isn’t really all about that. Does he not know her at all? He better be treating her right, at the very least. Can’t wait to tell her that Laken loves me when she gets back; Mae is going to flip her shit and be so happy for me. I smile just thinking about her reaction.

There are more people here than I thought there would be, and I’m either too drunk to recognize them or I don’t know them. I’m pretty sure some of the resort guests are here, too, and they shouldn’t be. We aren’t supposed to have to act professionally tonight, and by this point, there isn’t a chance in hell I can fake it. Even Mom and Dad are shit-faced, taking advantage of the holiday to really let loose and have a good time.

Laken is laughing with Gar about something, the two of them looking like the sexiest pair of friends I’ve ever seen, and his girlfriend, Amber, is just standing there with a scowl on her face. I don’t trust that bitch, and if she makes Laken feel like shit about her friendship with Gar, I’ll put her in her place and not worry about being nice about it. Gar can hate me for it all he wants; I’ve always wanted to be on the receiving end of his scorn. He’s too good for her, anyway.

“Hi.”

I turn around and cringe, seeing the two brunettes I checked in the other day. What are they even doing here? My filter is broken, so I ask. “What’re you doing here?”

“We followed some people from the resort,” one of them says, giggling. “You’re drunk.”

I sway, gripping the counter for balance. “It’s a fucking party. You should go back. No guests allowed here.”

“We saw your girlfriend today,” the other one says.

I raise a brow. “Sexy, eh?”

Their eyes start to roll. “We saw her with another guy, too.”

“We thought you should know. We’d want to know if we were being cheated on.” She leans forward, getting all up in my personal space.

“Cheated on?” Am I fucking with them or kicking them out?

“We saw her kissing another guy…”

Oh my fucking god. Stay the hell out of my business. Now in a confrontational mood, I’m ready to put them both down. “Bossy!” I shout, waving her over. “Come here.”

“Wait, we didn’t…”

Laken stumbles right into me, smiling at these girls like I’m about to introduce her to some new friends. “Hi!”

“These two were just telling me they saw my girlfriend kissing another guy today.” I kiss her temple and wrap my arm around her shoulder. Mostly for balance. Hers and mine.

Laken looks between the sisters, who are now blushing and fidgeting. That’s right. Don’t be cunts if you don’t wanna get fucked.

“They say you cheated on me,” I go on, loving how uncomfortable these two are. “Did you kiss another guy today?” I smirk at Lakes.

“Yes.” She grins back, joining the fun.

I can’t help pulling her in and laughing against her lips in a sloppy kiss. If these two were trying to be nice by telling me, I’d respect it, but they aren’t. They’re trying to get laid, and their intentions are see-through.

“Thanks for ratting me out,” Laken scoffs at them.

Holding onto their last shred of dignity, they look at me. “What? You’re just okay with that?”

“Jed!” I shout, even though he’s only a few feet away. He walks up to us, still laughing at something Zahn said. “Was this the asshole she kissed?”

“Yes,” one of them mumbles, completely uncomfortable now.

“What? What’d I do?” Jed asks, late to the conversation and too drunk to pick up on the game yet.

“They saw you kissing my girlfriend and thought they’d stick their noses in it and come all the way over here to tell me I’m being cheated on.”

Jed grips Laken’s jaw, which pushes her back into my chest. “Are you cheating on me too, Lakes?”

Laken laughs, and it comes out as a hysterically drunken giggle. A giggle. From Laken. Don’t think I’ve ever heard that before, but shit, it’s cute. “I’ve been bad.” She pouts, looking at the girls, who now have red faces.

“You’re always bad, love.” Jed leans forward to kiss Laken, so I watch these two twats eat their words. Yeah, our relationship is weird, but they didn’t have to be so malicious about it.