Page 65 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11

Friday

RJ pulled into the warehouse district.

“RJ, where are we? We’re supposed to go to Billy O’Reilly’s house.” He played football with Axel and Jacob. And I guess with Liam and RJ now too. His house was on the outskirts of the city. He threw a party there every year.

“Wrong,” RJ said. “We’re supposed to go to O’Reilly’s.”

“What?”

“O’Reilly’s,” Liam said and pointed to the neon sign on one of the buildings.

“I don’t think that’s right. Now I get why the two of you were invited. They’re hazing you.”

Liam laughed. “No way. Look at all the cars. Sounds like you would have been the one being hazed if you showed up at O’Reilly’s parents’ house.”

“Scarlett usually leaves the details to me,” Sophie said. “Isn’t that right?”

I shrugged. But she was right. I was always Sophie’s plus one to all these things. She was the one that loved parties and letting her brother drive underage and cut holes in ceilings.

“And in this one weird case, RJ is actually correct,” Sophie said.

RJ cut the engine and turned around. “Hey.”

Liam laughed. “This party is gonna be epic.”

“The most epic night ever!” Sophie yelled and climbed out of the car.

I climbed out too and closed the door behind me. We all walked up to the warehouse. “So is this where Billy O’Reilly’s parents work? What exactly do they do?”

“You don’t know?” Liam asked.

I shook my head. O’Reilly was friends with Axel and Jacob, but I’d barely even talked to the guy.

“Well you’re in for a real treat then,” RJ said. “And when I say treat, think peanuts.”

“Okay…” my voice trailed off. “Do they manufacture snack nuts or something?”

“It’s so much better than that.”

“Granola bars?”

He laughed. “I agree, granola bars are better than snack nuts. But it’s not really food related.”

“You said peanuts.”

Sophie laughed as she opened the front door. “Think more…large animals.”

“What?” Large was the exact opposite of peanuts. And they had nothing to do with animals.

“And magic,” Liam added.

“What the heck are you all talking about?” There was a small entryway that gave me no additional clues. Except for a huge red and white striped curtain.

“It’ll be a grand old show,” Sophie said.

I just shook my head. “Do they own an old timey movie theater?”

Liam laughed. “With animals?”

“Really big animals,” RJ added.

“I don’t know what the hell is happening!”

RJ pulled the curtain to the side.

Oh wow. Peanuts. Animals. Magic. A show.

No, not just any show. A three-ring circus.

We walked down the bleachers toward the sand pit.

Fairy lights hung from the rafters, casting romantic shadows all over the space.

There was a bar set up in one of the three rings.

Snacks in the one on the right. And the middle ring was raised.

A spotlight was hitting it, but there was nothing on it. Maybe there would actually be a show.

“This is seriously cool,” I said. “So much better than a house party or some lame club.”

“Right!” Sophie looped her arm through mine. “And I see Axel and Jacob!”

My eyes gravitated to them. And my heart started pounding.

“We’ll catch you guys later,” Liam said. “We gotta go get ready.”

I didn’t have time to ask him what he needed to get ready for because Sophie was pulling me toward Axel and Jacob.

Axel’s eyes locked with mine. And they didn’t move at all.

He wasn’t taking in my sexy dress. Or my heels.

He was practically just glaring at me. Maybe he was mad that I wasn’t wearing his jacket?

But he hadn’t asked me to. I didn’t know what he wanted from me. It just seemed like he didn’t want…me.

“I see you broke out,” he said and downed whatever was in his red cup. “I need a refill. I’ll be back.”

I pressed my lips together. I tried to brush off his reaction to seeing me, but I could tell my smile faltered.

“What’s eating him?” Sophie asked and stole Jacob’s cup from him.

Jacob laughed. “Who knows. But I’m really glad you made it, Scar. You look gorgeous tonight.”

“Thanks, Jacob.” He really could sense whenever I was a little down. And he knew exactly what to say.

“I’m not sure if Axel meant a refill for just himself or if he was getting you guys something too. But what do you want to drink?”

Sophie scrunched up her nose. “Something fruitier than this,” she said and handed him back his now empty glass.

“Not beer then. Scarlett?”

“Um…” I looked over at the ring where the bar was set up. Axel was standing next to Gigi. She was wearing a ridiculously slutty ringleader outfit. If you could even call it that. It was more just lingerie. Apparently she’d known it was a circus party. Axel laughed at something she said.

And Gigi looked over at me.

Were they laughing at me?

I expected that from Gigi. It would have been weird if I made it through a party without her making fun of me. But Axel?

She turned back to him and said something. He laughed again.

I bit the inside of my lip so I’d feel something other than the ache in my chest.

“Scar?” Jacob said and lightly touched my elbow.

“Hm?”

“What can I get you to drink?”

“Something strong.”

“Something strong coming right up.” He squeezed my elbow and then walked away.

I kept staring at Axel. We’d made a deal earlier this week. That he wouldn’t kiss Gigi again if I didn’t flirt with Jacob. It was a terrible deal. A stupid one. But did he think I broke it? Maybe I had… I swallowed hard. But he wouldn’t kiss Gigi again, right? He wouldn’t do that to me.

“What’s up with your face?” Sophie asked. “It looks like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I turned away from the bar. “Axel is my problem. Why is he talking to her?”

“To who?” Sophie looked over my shoulder. “Oh my God. What an ass hat. But this is perfect because it was time to take Phase Incest to the next level anyway. You need to kiss Jacob.”

“What?” I shook my head. Sophie knew that I’d been saving my first kiss for Axel. I couldn’t just give it to Jacob instead. That wasn’t the plan.

“When Jacob comes back put one right on his lips.”

“On his lips?”

“Where else did you want to kiss him? Oh. Oooooh. You’re going to the blowjob phase? I love that for you.”

“What? No. I…no.”

“The lips it is then.”

“Soph!”

“Scar!” She grabbed my shoulders and turned me toward the bar so I could see Gigi seductively whispering something in Axel’s ear.

I felt like I was going to be sick.

“You’re kissing Jacob tonight because Axel is a stupid boy who is currently acting very stupid. Besides, Jacob wants to kiss you.”

“I don’t think that’s true. The Jacob part. Not the Axel part. Axel is indeed stupid.”

Sophie laughed but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m really sorry. That Axel is acting like that.”

“It’s fine. I’m used to it.” And I was. This ache in my chest had been plaguing me for years.

“You shouldn’t be used to it, Scar. He shouldn’t treat you that way.”

“It’s not like we’re dating or anything.”

She groaned. “It doesn’t matter. Anyone with eyes can tell that you like him. He knows it and he’s being the worst.”

God, I just wanted to crawl into the corner and cry. For years I’d told myself that Axel didn’t know how I felt. But how could he not if everyone else did? He had to know. Was he torturing me just for kicks? Did he really dislike the thought of us being together that much?

It was like something inside me broke. Screw him. Screw Axel Stevens. I was done being his punching bag or whatever the hell kind of game he was playing.

“Operation First Kiss,” Sophie said.

I took a deep breath. After Operation Trap, I should have immediately said no. But I was actually down with this operation.

Jacob reappeared carrying three cups.

He handed me one and I tilted it back. I downed the whole thing in four gulps.

Jacob was staring at me when I lowered the cup.

All I had to do was stand up on my tiptoes, grab the back of his neck, and kiss him. Easy. So why couldn’t I do it?

I’d dreamed of my first kiss being with Axel my whole freaking life.

But Axel had already kissed a million girls. He didn’t deserve to be my first.

“Here, you look like you need this,” Sophie said and handed me her drink too.

I nodded and downed it.

Okay. I’ve got this. It was just a kiss. I’d built it up in my head so much, but it truly was just a kiss. People did it all the time. I stared at Jacob. My eyes fell to his lips. And I had the oddest sensation that I wanted to know what his lips tasted like.

I was just about to make my move when someone yelled, “Ladies and gentlemen!” in what could only be described as a ringleader voice.

I turned to see Billy O’Reilly with a megaphone standing on the center ring. The spotlight grew brighter. “The main event starts in half an hour!”

The main event?

“Grab your drinks. Dance. Get drunk!”

A few people cheered and whistled.

“You can place your bets in ring three.”

Bets for what?

“Now let the party begin!”

As soon as he said it, the spotlight cut out, almost making it look like he disappeared. And then the lights streaming along the ceiling cut out too, bathing everything in darkness.

There was a roaring noise and I jumped. “Are there actually animals here somewhere?”

“Probably,” Sophie said.

As long as there weren’t snakes. I really, really hated snakes. “And what are people betting on?”

“You’ll see,” Jacob said.

“I can’t see anything.” I reached out in the darkness and my hand collided with Jacob’s hard bicep. I swallowed hard.

“Wait for it,” he said.

I laughed, remembering RJ’s silly texts earlier. “Or you could just tell me.”

“Or you could dance with me.”

“What?” I wasn’t sure he heard me over the beat of the bass that just dropped. The fairy lights turned back on and everyone gasped.

I looked up at the trapeze artists who were now swinging above us.

There were suddenly dancers in cages that I was pretty sure were supposed to be for the lions I’d just heard.

And there was someone breathing fire dangerously close to the bar.

I was a little worried about that. And definitely worried about where the lions currently were if they weren’t in their cages.

But instead of voicing any of my fears, I just laughed. I looked down at my second empty cup. I probably drank those too fast…

“Yeah! Let’s dance!” Sophie yelled over the music. She grabbed my hand and Jacob’s and pulled us to the makeshift dance floor in front of the middle ring.

I twirled in a circle and looked down at my dress. It practically glowed in the dim light. I kept twirling until Sophie caught my hands.

“Move back,” she said.

“What?”

She stepped forward, so I stepped back, and my butt hit Jacob.

Sophie laughed and turned around, pressing her butt against me. Effectively sandwiching me between her and Jacob. But she didn’t need to do it. Because Jacob’s hands instinctively grabbed my waist.

I’d danced with Jacob a million times. And he was a great dancer. Probably because growing up he had danced every night with his mother in the kitchen. He still did it, actually. It was really cute. And whenever I visited I’d always dance too. They’d blare the music as we all cooked together.

But the dancing there was usually silly things. Like hopping around and him pretending to be a shower and me bathing underneath of it. But now that I thought about it…that was kind of hot too.

I somehow managed to turn around so I could look up at him. And it was like Jacob knew exactly what I was thinking about. Because he put his hands above my head and wiggled his fingers like they were the water.

I laughed and ran my fingers through my hair like I was washing it. I shook my hips as I moved my head around.

He laughed too. But he stopped when I ran my fingers down my plunging neckline.

What I was doing could barely be described as a funny dance anymore. I wasn’t even pretend scrubbing.

Jacob lowered his hands.

We had both stopped dancing. I stared up at him.

He stepped forward, closing the small distance between us.

The ache in my chest had vanished. All I could feel was my heart pounding as I stared into his brown eyes. And all I was thinking about was him.

Jacob’s eyes fell to my lips. It seemed like I wouldn’t even have to be the one to kiss him. I held my breath. Because I was pretty sure he was about to make the first move.

“Scarlett, a word?” Axel yelled over the music.

I turned to see him glaring at me. “We’re dancing.” I shimmied to get my point across.

His eyes dropped to my chest for just a second. If I’d blinked I would have missed it.

“Now,” he said.

Now? Seriously? I didn’t have to listen to him. “I’m busy.” I dipped it low and slowly rose back up and Sophie spanked my butt. I laughed.

And then I was somehow upside down.