Chapter 1 part 1 *megan*
“She would rather walk alone in darkness than follow anyone else’s shadows”
“Why are you literally always the last one ready?” Jay grumbles to me as I step from my closet for the fourth and hopefully the final time. I sneer in her direction.
“You know I literally hate you right?” I give her another quick glance before turning my back to her and looking in my full length mirror. I sweep my waist length white blonde hair over my left shoulder and motion for someone to zip me up.
It’s Karlie, who rises from her sprawled out position on my bed with a joint hanging loosely from her mouth, that comes to my aid. “I don’t know why you have to try on everything you own before we go out. You could show up in a garbage bag and the boys would still drool over you.” She passes me the joint and I press it to my lips as I admire our reflections staring back. Karlie stands behind me in a short Scarlett red dress that is tight enough to look painted on. Her n****e rings show through the thin fabric proving that she isn’t wearing a bra. Her shoulder length dirty blonde hair falls in loose waves, she’s so naturally beautiful. She hardly ever wears makeup and tonight is no different, a light touch of mascara and a nude lip. The thin straps of her dress showed her heavily tattooed arms and its length hardly left her ass to the imagination. The ensemble was finished off with sky high black red bottoms. The sight makes me smirk, we always seem to match oppositely on accident.
Jay huffs and comes to stand next to us. She’s clad in a tight Blue Jay blue dress, her blonde hair falls straight just past her bra strap. She snatched the joint from my fingers. “You and Karl always match and make me look like a f*****g i***t. Just f**k Jay always, right?”
“Shut up Jay girl. You look amazing, as you always do.” I turn from the mirror and walk to my dresser. “Anyone want a dab before we go?” It’s a question I don’t even have to ask, these stoner bitches were always down to smoke. Justine leaped from my side and started scooping out a large clear dab from the jar I had swiped from my brother, Athens. I was just pulling the torch from my rig when my phone lit up with a notification.
From Jordypoo: “ If you are coming with us, we are leaving in exactly 5. I’m not waiting for your stoner ass.”
I roll my eyes and bring the rig to my lips and Justine drops the dab in and Karlie messes with my hair, impatiently waiting for her own turn to smoke. I choke out a cough and let out a huge plume of smoke. “Hurry.” I gasp out, “Sir Jordypoo is feeling particularly impatient this evening it seems.” I continue to cough around my words and the girls wrestle over the rig.
Meanwhile I walk back into my closet and search for my white MCM clutch, locating it quickly next to a discarded skirt from earlier. I quickly load it with my wallet, vape, brass knuckles, and a handful of joints before once again stepping from my closet and into my smoke filled bedroom. “Let’s go bitches.” I throw casually in their direction before walking straight out into the hall. I start making my way to the stairs before grumbling to myself and turning around on a heel.
“I got your phone babe!” Karlie yells from my bedroom door, so I turn back around and make my way down the main staircase to our foyer.
Athens and Jordy are already there waiting for us. I don’t miss the look in either of my brothers eyes as my best friends descend down the stairs behind me. I know better then to say anything out loud in front of them, so I physically bite my lip to keep my mouth shut.
“Ready?” Athens asks and his mask slips back into place, stoic and cool. I nod quickly and lead the way outside and straight to Athens G-wagon. He unlocks it from his place still just inside the house and myself, Karlie, and Justine slide into the backseat together. I silently squeeze my body between the two front seats and claim the AUX cord as my brothers climb in. I reach up and crank the volume on my favorite playlist before settling between my two best friends again. We drive for a while, me and the girls screaming out our favorite songs at the top of our lungs, but all too quickly we make it to the club.
I nudge Karlie to open the door but before she can Jordy whips around and gives me a glare that only says “I’m only going to say this once so listen up” he clears his throat before shooting me his warning. “You will behave tonight little sister. I am not in the mood to clean up your mess today.” He turns from me and both of my brothers get out of the truck simultaneously, both slamming their doors shut as they march into the club.
“f*****g assholes” I mumble under my breath as we file out of the truck ourselves. “I already need a drink.” I say while I dig in my bag pulling out my vape and dropping in my phone. I take a long pull off of my pen before depositing it back into my bag too. I run my hand through my hair and push up my triple D boobs “Don’t get in trouble.” I scoff, “It’s like they don’t even know me at all.” The girls let out a fit of laughter behind me, knowing full well we only came here to cause trouble tonight.
The loud music and thumping baseline wrap me in a haze of frantic calmness as soon as I step inside. “Drinks first? Then dance floor?” I suggest, “I need to shake my ass for the cutest guy in here right now.”
“Now you are speaking my language.” Justine giggles and she grabs my hand and we make our way to the bar with Karlie in tow. “Three cherry bombs please!” Justine yells over the music to the bartender. Our drinks land in front of us in record time, despite how busy they are. One of the perk of being apart of the three most powerful families in California. I grab my glass and the girls grab theirs.
“To getting in trouble!” Karlie toasts.
“To getting in trouble!” Echo me and Justine. The bomb is sweet on my tongue and I instantly crave another, however at 105 pounds soaking wet it was best to pace myself at least a little. Instead I pull the girls out to the middle of the dance floor.
Some Main Street rap blares from the speakers and even though I cannot stand this kind of music, I grind my hips to the beat. I drop my body low and wiggle myself back up in a fashion that would frighten most men even in the bedroom. I didn’t care, I know there is only one type of man who can truly handle all I have to offer. I scan the crowd, but the someone I have in mind is nowhere to be seen. Giving up on my search for Mr. right now quickly, I glance over just in time to see my brothers pulling my friends from the crowd. I scowl to myself and try to ignore the fact that not one one but both of my best friends just blew me off to get dicked down by my brothers. Gross. I throw myself back into the music, closing out the world around me for a few songs. I absent minded make my way back to the bar and I fish my phone from my bag.
To Blue Jay & Karl: “When you are done f*****g stupid 1 and stupid 2, come find me.” I roll my eyes at them even though I know they wont see it.
Quietly I flag down the bartender, “Can I please get a double Tito’s lemonade?” The young bartender gives me a nod and turns to make my drink. A comfortable heat spreads through my body as I feel a warm, muscular chest press against my back.
“If you were mine, I’d never let you shake your body like that in public.” A dark, husky voice rumbles in my ear. I instantly place the voice to belong to my brothers’ best friend, CJ. His closeness runs a shiver down my spine and I take a sip of my drink. Turning to face him slowly, I run my pointer finger down his chest stopping at his hard abs. I can’t help but to run my tongue over my bottom lip before drawing it between my teeth.
“Well, if you were mine, we’d never leave the bedroom.” My voice coming out more husky then I intended. I look up meeting his dark blue eyes, my hand still on his muscular stomach. I can feel the definition even through his thin gray shirt.
CJ lowers his face to mine until our lips are centimeters from each other. “Athens and Jordy took the girls to Mercado’s, do you want to meet up with them?” I smile and lean slightly closer, closing the space between us and placing a sweet kiss on his lips. Quickly I duck my head down to hide my reddening cheeks, but before long a strong hand comes under my chin and forces me to meet his gaze once more. Something overtakes my bodily control because my hand is all of a sudden cupping his that has now moved to cradle my cheek. “Come on beautiful.” He grumbles the words in his low voice. He slides his hand down to my hip like lightening as he pulls me from the barstool and into his hard chest.
I look up again, “Those fuckers really left me here?” I’m not able to hide the bitterness that laces through my voice and honestly I don’t care. He doesn’t answer me, instead he laughs and pulls me through the crowd towards the door. When we finally get back to the outside world CJ’s shiny new Tesla is there waiting for us. He never lets go of my waist as he brings me around to the passenger side and opens the door for me, helping me into the car before closing my door and climbing into the drivers seat.
“Just so you know, they didn’t just leave you.” CJ starts the car and drives off as he mumble something so low I hardly catch it. Something that sounded an awful lot like, “Mercado would kill us if we did.” I reach my hand over the center consul and rest my palm lightly on his thigh.
What in the world was going on with me? My brothers would kill me if they knew, hell if they even suspected I was hooking up with one of their friends. As quickly as the thought comes, I push it to the back of my brain. “Sooo, what else would you do if I was yours?” I ask shyly. A low growl rips from his lips instead of an answer as he brings his hand to rest on mine and squeezes my fingers tightly into his thigh.
“Don’t temp me right now, little princess.” He all but glares as me as he spits the words in my direction. I couldn’t hide the smile that crossed my face even if my life depended on it. I move my hand slightly higher until my pinky grazes his crotch. I can feel his hardness but I try my best to keep my face composed.
“And why exactly shouldn’t I temp you CJ?” There is absolutely no hiding the heat that is lacing my voice.
“I promise, you won’t like it if you don’t.” He tilts his face to give me a sexy smirk, “Oh but princess, I will.” My heart hammers in my chest at his words. My insides forming into an uncomfortable knot of lust and nervousness, and it makes a shiver run through my body. He really knows nothing about me if he thinks I can’t handle him. If anything it was CJ who couldn’t handle me. I wasn’t your average trust fund baby; I could hurt people, s**t, I could kill someone without batting an eye. My big brothers weren’t the scariest things that lurked in the shadows, I could hang with the worst of them on my best days.
His words sparked a heat of anger in my soul, but I quickly cover it with a smirk. “Sweet little CJ, if only you knew.” I murmur to myself as I palm his groin in my hand, giving him a little squeeze before letting go and bringing my hand back to my own lap. I turn and look out the window as we pull off of the main road and onto Mercado’s winding driveway that leads to the hidden mansion at the end. The tension in the car is thick enough to choke on, but I don’t dare say a word to break it. As we finally approach the house only one thought crosses my mind, this fucker better not say s**t to Athens or Jordy. I had exactly zero intent of fighting with them tonight.
CJ parks but before he can move I fling myself out of the tension riddled car and all but run up the front steps. Quickly I push myself through the front door and aimlessly make my way towards the theater room, looking for Justine and Karlie. Their laughter ringing from down the hall snaps me back to reality and I hold my head high as I march into the theater to join my girls. The door swings shut behind me much more violently then I had intended and I throw my heels off and to the corner of the room somewhere. Giving an exasperated sigh I fall on the couch between my waiting friends. I snatch a blanket that Karlie is currently snuggled underneath and curl myself into a ball under it.
I’m trying my best to be in the moment but between Legally Blonde droning on in the background and my phones nonstop buzzing are making me question my sanity. I give in, reaching for my bag to pull out my phone and a joint. Placing the joint between my lips and light it before checking my phone.
From Athens: Leave my friends alone!
I mean it.
I don’t respond, instead I pull up Snapchat and click a quick picture of the screen captioning it “Come find me later? ;)” and I send it to CJ without a second thought. A small smile finds its way to my lips.
“What are you smirking at over there?” Karlie inquires as she takes the joint from me.
“Oh, nothing.” I chuckle, “Just CJ.” Justin’s face pales as I confess I’m talking to her brother. Karlie breaks into an obnoxious laugh and I toss a pillow at her absentmindedly. I look back to Jay, her jaw still on the floor. “What? Like you didn’t bone my brother less then an hour ago?” I ask her, my tone laced with heated anger. My friends could f**k my brothers. My brothers could f**k my friends. But god forbid I f**k my friends brothers or my brothers friends. What a shitty double standard if you ask me. My phone buzzes again in my hand and a Snapchat notification rolls across my screen.
From CJ: You mean you want me to fight my sister later over who’s bed you’re sleeping in?
I never lose ;)
I smile and tuck my phone to my chest for a brief moment before quickly typing out my response.
To CJ: “Your sister is a b***h. Take me, I’m yours.” Everyone could talk s**t about it tomorrow, but I’m getting my kicks off tonight. I hardly even put my phone down before the theater room bursts open. Justine, Karlie, and myself let out startled shrieks in unison. Justine is the first to move and she chooses to chuck a pillow at the intruder.
“CJ! You asshole! You almost gave me a heart attack.” Justine is all but screaming at him, “Why are you ruining our girl time?” CJ ignores her, instead our eyes meet and her offers me a tiny smile.
“Get out, the boys are looking for you two.” He says it so smoothly gesturing to both Karlie and Justine. They silently look back and forth between each other then back to me before getting up and moving to the door.
“Don’t cry to me when he’s an asshole to you.” Justine mumbles to me then tosses a look that could kill to her brother before leaving the room.
“You know, you weren’t wrong. My sister is a bitch.” He laughs and takes a large step towards me.
“Well your sister was right too, you are an asshole. Can’t believe you ratted me out to my brothers!” My eyes darting down to avoid catching his glare. In a flash he’s next to me on the couch, his fingers once again under my chin forcing me to look at him.
“I didn’t say anything. It’s not my fault you left me with wood I couldn’t hide. They figured the rest out on their own.” He drops his head down to mine, so close that if I even shifted the slightest of bit we would be kissing. I had to will every ounce of self control to not move into him. “What kind of dumb chick flick are we watching?” He murmurs and his lips brush against mine as he speaks. My cheeks flush and any thought I was attempting to form left my head in a rush.
“Uhm.” I’m stumbling to even form a sentence, “Uhm, I’m not really watching it. But, Legally Blonde.” He laughs as I have to work extremely hard to get the words out.
“Let’s smoke. Chill out Megan, nothing has to change between us.” He wraps one arm around my shoulders as he speaks and his other hand reaches into his black hoodie pocket, pulling out a joint. “Come on little miss stoner. Light me?” His voice deep and musky around the joint hanging from his lips. I fumble for a moment before drawing out my own lighter and sparking the joint for him. I put the lighter down next to us before snuggling deep into his chest, my movements make him let out a low growl as I gently place my head on his shoulder.
“This, I could get used to, but sorry babe I am not watching this shit.” He chuckles and grabs the remote with his free hand. Gently tossing it to me as he takes a huge hit from the joint. I scroll Netflix but quickly settle on Shameless, it was my guilty pleasure show. CJ passes me the joint and I take my own hit before passing it back. We settle in this comfortable silence or smoking and cuddling. My hand begins to absentmindedly roam the muscular planes of his chest. He smells like pine trees and gasoline and it envelops me like a blanket of comfort.
CJ reaches over me and pulls the blanket I had discarded earlier over both of us. He wraps his free arms around my waist, adjusting our bodies slightly to a more cuddle appropriate position. He buries his face in my hair and this calm sweeps over me. I turn my body to face his, hitching my leg over his hip and his hand immediately finds its place on my ass. I continue to run my hands over his chest in finger light movements. His large hand palms my ass gently and I smile to myself.