“Hey, Eris. I’m home early. Just wanted to let you know. I couldn't stay. I know Ash was supposed to be a one-night stand but I...”
Kallie’s voice filled the space between them and Ash was entranced.
“He’s not what he seemed. That’s all. So much more like James than I wanted him to be. Can you come over later? I just really need my best friend.”
Ash’s eyes widened as the voice mail stopped going.
“What the hell was that?” he asked.
“That was the voice message Kallie left me when she got back from the island,” Eris said. “And before you ask why I haven't deleted it yet and try to twist it to look like some kind of intricate plot in your twisted narrative, I haven’t gotten rid of it because I don’t delete shit. Ever.”
“It’s pretty bad,” Jeremy said. “I mean, she doesn’t delete a thing. Emails. Text message. Apps on her phone. The woman’s practically an electronic pack rat.”
The room was silent. At a complete standstill. Ash looked up to Jeremy, but he didn’t look shocked. Stanley’s words rolled through Ash’s mind, and coupling that with the voice message he just heard, an unsettling feeling bloomed in his gut.
Was it possible he had gotten this wrong?
“I’ll give you my damn phone if you want,” Eris said. “But it’s all bullshit. Kallie came back from that island because you weren’t the basic island surfer she thought she was entangling herself with. She came back because you admitted her wealth to her and, in her eyes, it made you too much like James.”
Ash had no idea what to say.
“Have you heard this before?” Ash asked Jeremy.
“Yep. The first time I tried to defend you, actually. She whipped it out and put me in my place,” Jeremy said.
“But none of this even matters anyway, and you know why? Because you're not worth Kallie’s time. That girl is special. Intelligent. Kind to her core. And you’ve screwed up too badly. She was almost willing to forgive her cheating ex. That’s how dedicated she is to the people she loves. But you?”
Ash watched Eris snicker as she took Jeremy’s hand.
“You’re just a dumbass liar from an island that screwed my best friend over.”
He watched the woman drag his friend away. His mind swirled in its drunken state as the entire room watched them leave. Ash didn’t know what to believe. He didn’t know what was real and what was fake. Eris’s words hurt. Jeremy taking her side hurt. Stanley telling him he was a poor judge of character hurt.
He stalked off as the room slowly came back to life, but he wasn’t walking long before Sasha cornered him.
“Well, that was interesting,” she said.
Ash could smell the booze pouring from her pores.
“I need to go,” he said.
“Oh come on. That girl’s no good for you anyway,” Sasha said. “Plus, you haven’t given me my birthday present yet.”
Her hands grabbed his shorts and tried to pull them down.
“Sasha, cut it out,” he said.
“I’ll start with my present first,” she said as she slurred her words.
She tried to get down onto her knees, but Ash wrenched her up from the floor. She used the momentum to propel herself into Ash’s face, but he put his hand over his mouth. Instead of Sasha’s lips falling against his, they fell against the back of his hand. Her eyes were half hooded with alcohol and bloodshot from being way too intoxicated and it made Ash’s stomach turn.
“You can do whatever you want with me,” Sasha said. “Just take me, Ash. Let me remind you of all the fun times we’ve had.”
Sasha pulled him into a room before the door closed behind them. He fought her off as best as he could without hurting her. The room was dark and her hands were everywhere. Up his shirt. Tugging at his shorts. Palming his cock.
“Cut it out, Sasha,” Ash said.
“Fuck, I’ve missed you,” she said with a sigh.