Everly’s POV

We decided to go.
We were already seconds from going home, so it seemed mostly harmless to stay a couple of hours longer and at least try to achieve that moment of peace between the two couples.

It was in Brian and my own interest too – to have Chris out of our hair if we wanted to explore whatever of a real romance there was between us.

So we prepared ourselves for a truce over brunch with the soon to be bride and groom. We could still leave right after, what could possibly go wrong?

Brian kissed the back of my neck as he zipped me up into the dress he had purchased for me that day we ran into Taylor. Then perched at the edge of the bed, I watched him change freely in front of me, still struck from head to toe by his magnificence, muscles and tattoos all over.

Amusingly enough, I wasn’t dreading going to that brunch because I didn’t want to see my ex with his model fiancé. I was dreading it because I knew it would be torture for me to sit at least an hour without being able to crawl all over Brian and put my hands all over his body.
Judging from how he pushed me against the wall and kissed me hungrily for several minutes before we left the room, he felt the same way.

Now that the seal was broken between us, we couldn’t get enough.
But we had all the time to explore each other once we got back to Huntington Beach and knowing that made my heart sing. I just needed to survive the next hour or two, and then I could have as much Brian Haner jr. as I could possibly as for – in my apartment, his apartment, his studio, my office, wherever.

And I couldn’t wait.

“Ready to go?” Brian asked, holding the door open for me. I laughed, adjusting my dress and watching his eyes follow me into the hall.

“As ready as I’ll ever be”

Considering the mess that was last night at the pool, it was almost funny to see all the same faces gathered around brunch this morning in their Sunday suits. Rather than swim trunks and string bikinis, there were now dress shirts and pants and tea-length dresses. Matching were the bride and groom, Chris wearing a striped pink tie over his white shirt to balance the rosy, halter dress that Rachel wore painted to her lithe body. Her honey-colored hair was neatly pinned into a braided side bun that nicely complemented her razor sharp jaw as well as the ladylike manners she had polished for her pre-wedding brunch.

Even though I saw flashes of that temper she made famous during her time with Brian, or hell who else she had been with before. She had been perfectly sweet while greeting us, and even nice to me by complimenting my dress, but it wasn’t long before Rachel was peering over at me with rapidly declining politeness.

She tried to hide the first few glances but as the meal went on – especially with Chris staring at me on her left, and Taylor whispering in her ear on her right – the green eyes monster inched forward to rear her ugly head.
But it started small.

“Wow. You really finished that fast” she smiled, interrupting the tables conversation to point out my empty plate.

It would be a possibly harmless remark from someone else, but there was no set of ears at the table that didn’t read between the lines of Rachel’s words, especially since she let her gare fall briefly to my stomach.
But while Brian was more than half to blame for my cleanly finished plate, I said nothing to defend myself.

“It was delicious” I returned her smile, taking a sip of my water. I waited for another remark from her but there was nothing shortly after, the conversation returned to where the bridesmaids had purchased their dresses.So for the moment, I was in the clear.

“You are a fucking champ” Brian murmured in my ear, a laugh in his voice as her draped his arm over my shoulder. “You deserve a reward for sitting through this”

“The plane ride home with you is reward enough” I smiled at him from the side and he added “And I already know what I want to do to you.” I smirked even more when I looked down and smoothed the napkin on my lap and the looked up to meet his eyes again “You had the time to think about that already?”

“Vividly.” He smirked, and I wanted to kiss and touch him so bad, I let my eyes slowly move away from him to see if someone was watching us, and found Chris. He had a blank look on his face as he watched me try to suppress my giggle.
I averted my gaze, eager to be looking at anything else as Brian made me squirm with husky whispers of all the dirty, bad things he had in store for me.
“Not now!” I scolded him playfully but it was too late – Rachel had caught Chris looking again and with both friends attention rapt on me, she was growing quickly livid.

“I do think it would have looked better on you,” she declared, sipping champagne as she stared at me. I was briefly confused until I realized that despite her dark eyes on me, Rachel was talking to Taylor. Oh dear god…

They were talking about my dress – the one I had been trying on when Brian and I put Taylor in her place.
Reaching for Brian’s hand, I squeezed, letting him know that there might be trouble ahead – if not trouble, the at least some considerable bullshit.

“Everything okay?” he murmured under his breath, oblivious to the subtle put downs coming at me from down the table.

“I’m not sure” I answered waiting for the direct insult to hit. But it didn’t come and I was thankful for it because it wasn’t long before I found myself laughing in a conversation that included Val, Brian and – Chris.

Brian’s POV

Funny how sometimes little things could spark nostalgia. Even if it was as little as a dessert.
I looked at Eve from the side, she was laughing, whisking tears from the corner of her eyes, and damn… she was beautiful… funny and I would never understand why I had waited so freaking long… why had I given anything on the freaking bro code, when Chris hadn’t wasted a fucking second on thinking about it twice.

I smiled hearing about the old story from Thanksgiving where Val had decided to make a cake needing whipped cream which ended in me and Chris betting on who could whip the cream into a solid mass first.

“I think they bet like, one dollar. And Chris was convinced he was done first even though we all said he wasn’t, so I told him to turn the bowl upside down over his head to test it.” Val snorted, making Everly giggle loudly. And both my and Chris head turned towards her, staring at her, probably with a similar feeling, but divided in different directions now.

“Then what happened?” Everly asked looking with wide eyes between us back and forth. “God, I don’t know, Chris, what happened?” Val asked with her trademark sass. The entire table looked to him as he covered his face in shame for a second and then laughed.

“I knew I was wrong so I wouldn’t do it. But everyone wanted to test the cream now, and all the people around wanted to see what happened when the bowl got turned upside down, so I had to do it” Chris said. Then he grimaced and shook his head “We were at my place… and my mom saw how much I didn’t want to get all my nice clothes dirty.. so uh.. she basically demanded for me to ‘turn the bowl over me’”

I closed my eyes, seeing Chris mom still before me, she wanted to save Chris from the deed, the woman was a saint, and we were always welcomed at her place when we were younger.

“Chris Morris, you did not!” Everly cried, looking completely appalled. “Tell me you didn’t do that to the poor woman.”

Chris dragged his hand over his face, covering it in pure shame “I did” he groaned, sending the table into shock and laughter.

“But he was actually right and the cream was done” Val said with a chuckling Matt next to her “Chris finally beat Brian at something, but he couldn’t even enjoy it because we were judging the shit out of him all night for throwing his poor mother in front of the bullet.”

Everyone was laughing hard, myself included that had been a night we wouldn’t forget especially because Eve came late that night to help Val finish the dinner, it had always been special when she had joined us back in the first days, at least for me it had been.

“Yeah.. not my proudest moment and definitely nothing I plan to repeat.” Chris said and I was relieved because I had been slightly concerned if a switch in Chris would flip not liking everyone laughing at the story, or judging him, he was sometimes on a thin line when it came to that.

Especially when it also concerned me in one story… weird how I never noticed that before… or how I just now saw, how he always wanted to get into competition with me…

I was lost in thoughts so I almost missed the words Chris spoke next “I still remember how good it was though… And Val got so lazy.. big surprise, so Everly finished baking it and God I remember it being the best thing I have ever tasted.” My eyes snapped to Chris the tone in his voice while he talked and the faraway look as he gazed at Everly from across the table made me ball my hands to fists.

“Well. Let’s hope this cake compares to Everly’s” Rachel sneered, glancing at Eve as she picked up her fork. I ignored her comment and tried to get this whole brunch over with, it was almost done…

“Try it” I said holding my fork up for Everly.
“I’m full” She smiled and I lowered my voice “Come on.” A grin spread over my face, when I saw goosebumps rise on her skin. “Help me get through the rest of this brunch”

“Watching me eat dessert is what helps you get through boredom?!”

“Watching you wrap those lips around something, yes” I smirked and her next sentence made me even harder than I was before.

“If you wait a little longer, you will get to watch them wrap around something even better” She smirked and I almost groaned out loud.

“I don’t think so”

“Why not?”

“Because the second we get on that plane, I’m bending you over and fucking you, Eve” I said with all my seriousness and arousal that was in me.
I could see Eve was on the verge of her next comment, the next playful game for us but we were interrupted again.

“Everly, you have to try the dessert. I have to know if it compares to your cake” Rachel said smiling friendly, but I knew that façade.

“I will, but later, I’m really full.” Eve replied with a smile of her own, and I was really proud, she was managing this better than anyone I would know and I saw Matt and Val’s approving look, knowing they would jump in any second if someone would harm Everly.

“Oh but you have to try it now, it is soo good.” Rachel insisted, “Take off your Spanx if you have to”

I opened my mouth to reply but Eve was faster “Oh I’m actually not wearing any. This dress is too tight for me to fit another layer underneath.” Eve said and my blood rushed down south again.

“Yeah.. I know its like, in right now but I just don’t ever want to be the curvy type. They just don’t look as good in clothes” Rachel said to Taylor both staring at Everly and I rolled my eyes, this was about enough, I didn’t want to take much more of this.

“Okay, we might have to go soon” Eve whispered in my ear and I almost sighed in relief “Just say the word.” I smirked, I couldn’t wait to be out of here fast enough and have a whole new and fresh start away from this madness, we had tried our best, and we tried to make it work, it didn’t, but that was fine – at least for me.

Notes

Sooo we sat through the brunch.. or well almost... what will happen now?!
What do u think?!
Comments :)