Chapter Three
Brooke
After three weeks of my boring daily grind, I find myself on a beautiful island. Lucy, my super bubbly mother-in-law, has guilted us into a family trip, with no working allowed. The villa she rented for us on the coast of San Tropez is over the top nice. I can’t tell you how hard it was to get her to let me bring Jason along. Blake wasn’t going to go without him. While I understood that on one level, most of me was like what the fuck? Can’t you go a whole week without him? The lies are really starting to get to me too. I am not a liar by nature, but this whole situation has turned me into one. Lucy gave us free nights to relax because 8am-4pm was scheduled for “Family Fun” activities. It’s 8 o’clock at night and I have had 3 bottles of wine. By myself. Jason and Blake have been going at it for hours now and I must get out of here. I am going insane. I still have my tasteful black halter one-piece bathing suit on from the beach earlier. I head down to the pool and see Derek sitting there. His back is to me. There are several empty beer bottles littered all around the table where he is sitting. I think I should just go back to the room and tough it out.
“Don’t go B.” He says, startling me.
“How’d you know I was here?” I ask.
“You are wearing the perfume I bought you last Christmas. I may have bought my own bottle of it, to spray on my pillow.” He said in a way that I know he is smiling.
“You shouldn’t say things like that Derek. It isn’t right. Or fair.” I am beyond my filter at this point and I want what I can’t have. I’d do almost anything to get it.
“I know that B. You are my sister-in-law for fuck’s sake.” He said tugging his hands through his hair. I am aching to run my fingers through it as well. His voice has that gravelly quality that makes me clinch my thighs together. I notice that I have moved around the table and am standing across from him now.
“Jesus, B. You can’t just stop wearing clothes around me. That’s not fair either. My brother should control what you let other men see.”
“Control? Please, he couldn’t care less about what I wear.” I scoff. I know that it’s the wine talking but I can’t bring myself to care at this point. If I am being honest, Blake does care. Not about the amount of skin I show off but about labels and colors.
“If you were my girl, no one would see you like this B. Your pretty pink skin would be all for me. I’d never stop touching and looking at what is mine.” I think he might be drunk too. He steps closer to me and grabs my wrists. Using them, he tugs me closer to him. My hands seek out the defined pecs that they are attempting to cover. I have really small hands. Compared to rest of my curvy body, they are almost freakishly small. The dim overhead light attached to the fan is pinging off my wedding ring. He notices immediately and drops my wrists. I feel the loss of his touch throughout my body. “I am sorry B. I can’t seem to remember that you are my brother’s wife. No matter how much I want to touch you and make you mine, I can’t. It pisses me off that he is the one who gets to touch you, kiss you, make you cum.” He says. His voice is hard but trails off as his fingers trail over my jaw. For some reason, let’s blame the wine, I get angry and back away from him.
“No one touches me, Derek. No one has ever touched me” I yell at him like it is his fault. I slap my hand over my mouth and I feel my cheeks heating. “Forget I said that. It doesn’t matter. I am your brother’s wife and we have to remember that.” I start to walk away, and he grabs my elbow, when someone upstairs yells out, I rush ahead, and I hear Derek close behind me. We run up the stairs and see Lucy in the hallway outside mine and Blake’s door. Her hands are over her eyes, but I think she is laughing. Ronnie and Everly come running, just as Mitch, my step-father in law, comes out of his room.
“Mom, what is going on?” Derek says.
“Umm, I was just going to ask Brooke if she would help me with breakfast in the morning. I opened the door and got the shock of a lifetime. I am sorry, I can’t stop laughing. It so wrong of me, but I have a feeling Brooke knows all about this.”
Blake has thrown open the door, wearing Jason’s swim trunks from earlier. He glances around taking us all in.
“Brooke, baby, where were you?” When his eyes land on me, he is trying to be nonchalant, but his mother is laughing like she has lost her freaking mind. He has also never called me baby before. I can’t help it. I start laughing too. Everly has also noticed his swim trunks too by this point.
“Uncle Blake? Why are you wearing Jase’s bathing suit?” Her sweet voice is clear.
I can’t take it anymore. My whole life is falling down around me, and I can’t stop laughing.
“What the hell is going on?” Mitch says. He’s looking at Lucy and me like we are totally crazy. We probably are, but this is just too much for me right now.
Derek puts his hand on my back rubbing it in tight circles. Tears are streaming down my face at this point and even I can’t tell if it is from laughing or if it is from this shit show situation.
“Get your hands off my wife, Derek!” Blake says, his face is several shades of red by this point. I can’t tell if it’s because of Derek or because he just got caught red handed by his mama.
“Like you care!” Lucy comes to my rescue. “You were just balls deep in Jason.”
“Jesus Christ Mama!” Ronnie cries out. “Everly go in your room and watch your princess movie please.”
“Ok, Mama. Is this because Uncle Blake is gay?”
“Everly, just go please.” Ronnie looks mortified.
“Ok, but I heard you talking to Daddy yesterday. You said Blake must think we are stupid. And poor Aunt Brooke. It’s no big deal. Lots of people are gay.”
Out of the mouths of babes, I swear. I bend down to be at her level.
“Yes Everly, lots of people are. We are going to be just fine. You go watch the princess movie ok?”
“Okay, Aunt Brooke.” She runs into her room and shuts the door.
As soon as she does, everyone starts talking at once. The loudest voice is Derek.
“You’ve been cheating on Brooke? What the fuck is wrong with you?” He sounds pissed and shocked. It’s what he does next that is so out of character for him.
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