Page 75 of My Brother's Best Friends
“Good. Let’s hope it stays that way…” My voice trails off.
As if conjured, Melanie swoops in from our left. “There you are!”
“Stay the fuck away. This is harassment.” I roll my eyes and briefly consider a strategic retreat.
But the closest exit is the chairlift, so I set my sights on reaching it as fast as I can. If Alex and I can hop on, we’ll leave Melanie in the dust and tune out the rest of her toxic bullshit.
Her insufferable smirk slams me to a halt. “I thought you might be interested to know what I saw last night,” she says.
“Not interested.” I keep my tone flat. I’m not giving her the stage.
“Not interested in anything you saw or think you saw,” Alex adds, matching my pace. If we lengthen our stride, we can leave her—and this conversation—in the dust.
“You know, I must be on the same floor as you guys,” Melanie says, quickening her pace to stay on our heels. “While I was sipping wine on my heated balcony, I could’ve sworn I heard something across the courtyard—familiar sounds, familiar voices…”
My stomach turns. I’m not going to play into her hands. “You didn’t hear anything because there was nothing to hear,” I tell her.
“Oh, it was adorable,” Melanie laughs. “She bobbed on your cock while Muscles here pounded her from behind. One pinch-zoom and every stupid grin lit up my screen.”
That makes me pull up short. “You did what, now?”
“Doesn’t that turn you on?” Melanie purrs. “Why else would you be on the deck, naked in the hot tub for the whole world to see? Aren’t you proud—all three of you turning that poor woman into your whore?”
“Watch what you say about Makayla.” My fingers curl into a fist. I want to silence her poisonous tirade with one punch. My honor prohibits me from hitting a woman, but dammit, she’s testing my limits.
“Why?” Melanie sneers. “Do you actually like her? Do you think she actually likes you? She’s just an airhead eager to experiment. If you think there’s anything more to that, you’re sadly mistaken.”
“As opposed to a money-grubbing sociopath such as yourself?” Alex says.
Melanie bristles and tosses her hair over her shoulder with a sharp huff.
“I wouldn’t know,” she snaps. “I didn’t enjoy myself.”
“We were all there,” I remind her. “There are no lawyers here. You don’t have anyone to lie to.”
“You’ll never get me to admit I liked it,” she spits. “That would defeat the whole purpose of this little exercise. Looking at you now, I’m starting to think that Makayla might not be the airhead, after all. It might be the three of you. Three dicks between you, and you barely reach the threshold of what is considered a realman, fawning over that bitch. It’s hilarious to watch. And a little sad.”
I surge toward her, no longer able to hold back. Alex is quick to get between us. He shoves me away, doing more to protect my freedom and reputation than to protect Melanie’s wellbeing at this point. Truthfully, I’m not proud of myself.
So, I pull back. It would only feed into her scenario, anyway.
“It’s not worth it,” Alex cautions.
“I agree,” Melanie taunts. “The sex definitely wasn’t worth it.”
She’s trying to provoke me, and I’m going to gain zero advantage if I let her. Despite all the nasty words she’s throwing around, her pain is obvious.
“I think I finally get it,” I say, catching the flicker in her eyes. “You’re pissed we never wanted more than a quick, dirty roll in the hay. You’re still itching for revenge.”
“Maybe I’ll tell your flavor of the week exactly what’s in store for her,” Melanie considers. “She might like to know you three paid a small fortune to keep me quiet. That settlement screams ‘guilty,’ doesn’t it?”
“You know damn well what that settlement meant,” I fire back. “Our word against yours looks bad, and you had zero proof. Hell, I remember you begging for more, legs spread wide.”
I see the words hit home; Melanie’s face scrunches as she tries to recover from the naked truth I just shoved at her. “How dare you?” she hisses.
“Honestly, Melanie, the sex wasn’t even worth the price tag,” I add.
I can almost see her crumble inside. That’s what happens when you bring a knife to a gunfight. The problem? I’ve fed her frenzy, and the fallout is coming.
