Page 76 of The Weekend Getaway

But reality was a punch in the gut.

A swift kick in the balls.

Reality was what he’d seen with his own eyes. Reality could not be discounted or ignored. Reality was Alex and Sarah, having sex in one of the many rooms in the chalet.

Several minutes earlier, Jason had been staggering through the massive house, intimidated and impressed by the sheer size and number of rooms, lost in a maze of wide hallways, feeling like a desperate rat as he searched for his way back to the main ballroom. He’d left to pee, unwilling to unzip his fly and whizz into a discarded empty glass like Alex and Chris had done. Dizzy and half drunk, he’d found a small powder room just outside a large, industrial kitchen. Relieved, he started the trek back to the party.

And he had come upon a room where the door was slightly open.

Moans escaped the small crack, and he’d chuckled to himself, knowing what was happening, wondering who might be hooking up. Maybe someone he knew. But probably not. He didn’t know many people at WBU besides Alex and Chris. Hadn’t made many friends since enrolling at the university. Not that Jason had tried to make friends. He’d known he wouldn’t be accepted by the scions and heiresses and trust fund babies, so he’d decided to keep his head down, go to class, study, get good grades, graduate, and move on.

He’d go to law school and start a small practice, maybe doing probate or civil rights. He’d find a girl to marry, start a family. Or maybe not. He wasn’t that great with girls even though he wasn’t a bad-looking guy. He hadn’t been on a date or hooked up with a girl since high school, and even then,he’d only gotten laid three times, neither of them very memorable.

As a result, he relied on porn for satisfaction.

And his fantasies.

Most of them starred Mia’s friend, Sarah.

Secretly, Jason thought of Sarah as his dream girl, but no one would ever know that. No one would ever know about the elaborate scenarios he created in his head about her. He often thought of the two of them together, as man and wife, creating a family. He’d imagined their courtship. His proposal to her. Their wedding and honeymoon, where they would make love incessantly. He would start his law practice and become successful enough to buy her a large home. She would become pregnant with their first child. He would be by her side, holding her hands as she delivered their little boy, Jared. Or, Jacob. Sometimes, they named the baby James. Sometimes, Jacob, Jared, and James were triplets.

Despite keeping his fantasies of Sarah to himself, somehow, Alex had figured out that Jason liked Sarah. Jason tried to deny it, admitting that Sarah was pretty, fucking gorgeous, actually, but that didn’t mean he wanted to hook up with her. Alex hadn’t believed Jason’s denials.

“You want to fuck her, don’t you?” Alex asked, an amused, yet sinister accusation in his tone.

Jason had felt his face go white hot, knew his skin was flushed red, a telltale sign of the truth.

“I can help you with that,” Alex promised, leering, like a predator offering candy to an unsuspecting child.

“No, that’s okay,” Jason said, trying to force a change ofsubject. “It’s fine. She probably wouldn’t like me. Don’t think I’m her type.”

“Dude, Sarah doesn’t have a type,” Alex said. “She’ll screw anybody.”

Still struggling to catch his breath, Jason curled his fingers into fists.

He hadn’t thought thatanybodyincluded Alex.

CHAPTER 66

Fifteen Years Ago

1:33 a.m.

Jason

Mia insisted that Sarah would be fine, but Jason didn’t think so.

Sarah had looked like she was stumbling, maybe dizzy for some reason. Despite the fact that he hated the bitch because she’d screwed Alex, Jason still cared about Sarah. He still wanted to be with her. He still secretly loved her and wanted to build a life with her and knew he could be her dream man, the way she was his dream girl, if she would just give him a fucking chance.

Moments ago, he’d found Alex and Mia, after taking almost half an hour to get himself together and gather the courage to return to the party after he’d seen Alex and Sarah having sex. Jason found it difficult to look at Alexand focused on a group of girls, dressed in skimpy outfits, dancing in a circle, their moves carnal and provocative, like a seductive mating call.

That was when he’d seen Grace and Sarah, who seemed to have trouble walking. Grace was leading Sarah upstairs. Worried, Jason pointed out to Alex and Mia that something seemed to be wrong with Sarah. Not surprisingly, Alex didn’t seem to care. But Mia’s apathy was odd, though Jason figured it might be due to inebriation.

His apprehension growing, Jason said, “I’m going to go get another shot.”

“Actually, you’re not,” Alex said, clamping his hand around the back of Jason’s neck.

Jason frowned. “I’m not?”

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