Page 102 of Worth Every Moment
“Fine. Just the one,” Marie concedes. “Is his dick pierced?”
Panic floods my body.I don’t know.I’ve never seen Seb’s dick. But everyone is looking at me apart from Kate, who’s reclining on a treatment bed as her face mask dries.
“We’re supposed to be relaxing,” Kate murmurs. “Talking about whether my future brother-in-law’s dick is pierced or not is not relaxing.”
Marie leans in towards me. “Make it quick, then. Pierced or not? Yes or no?”
Come on Erica. Say you won’t share. Say it’s private. Say—“Yes. It’s pierced.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Why? Why, why, why?
“Ooh. Juicy.” Marie clenches a fist and pumps it the tiniest bit. “What kind?”
“That’s too many questions,” Aries says again.
I have no idea what Marie means.What kind of pierced dicks can guys have?Where do they even pierce them? Must be painful. Just the thought makes me wince.
“Oh, come on,” Marie urges. “Prince Albert or Jacob’s ladder?”
“You do not have to answer that,” Elly squeals, flapping her hand at me. She’s Kate’s oldest friend from school, a music artist with wild blonde hair that cascades down her back. I know her a little better than the others because she’s a singer and has done a couple of shows with Amy, but we’re still not close. She’s sweet though, and I like her. She’s dating Jack Lansen, Kate’s brother. She’s the one he was picking all the orange Smarties out of the tubes for on the plane. She points a finger at Marie. “No more cocktails for you.”
Marie snorts and repeats her question.
Jacob or Albert? What do either of those even mean?Anxiety has me scratching at the palm of my hand. I’m going to rub it raw.Marie is staring at me so intently, I think she can tell I’m lying, but she won’t let up and is too tipsy to care that I’m uncomfortable. I’m going to kill Seb when he gets back. I shouldn’t even be here, and because of this crazy fake dating scheme, here I am hanging out with all of them like I’m one of the inner circle. Well, Seb can deal with the consequences.
“Jacob or Albert,” Marie whispers at me as though she’s sharing the world’s dirtiest secret.
Prince Albert, like Queen Victoria’s husband? Did they get their dicks pierced back then? Jacob sounds like someone fromthe bible. That’s probably a better option. A holy dick piercing that’s a stairway right to heaven.Sounds good to me.
“Jacob’s ladder,” I confirm before I can think too hard about what I’m committing to.
There’s a collective gasp.
Marie lets out a cackle that sounds like a bird’s caw. “I knew it. The dirty fiend. You can see it on his face.” She sighs. “God, I bet it feels amazing. Does it feel amazing? Vaginal orgasms all night long.”
“Stop it,” Elly interjects, sitting up from the treatment bed she’s lying on and glaring at Marie before focusing on me. “You don’t have to tell anyone anything.”
“It’s part of the game. Don’t be such a killjoy,” Marie hisses, swirling the dregs of her margarita in the glass.
Elly folds her arms over her chest, lying back like a vampire settling into a coffin so the beauty therapist can massage her eyebrows. “Jack would kill me if I started sharing stories about his dick.”
This makes me feel incredibly guilty, but a retching sound from Kate distracts me. “If you start talking about my brother’s penis,I’llkill you.”
Everyone laughs at this and, thankfully, we move on to the next person’s turn in truth or dare.
Soon there’s a disturbance further down the beach, and I notice a yacht anchored further out at sea. Seb and the others aren’t due back until tomorrow, so it can’t be them, although at the idea of Seb returning, my heart does a little leap. I thought he might climb into bed with me last night, even if it was only to snuggle, but he didn’t. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, but he seemed a little cold, and I don’t like how we left it last night.
Out at sea, a smaller boat is making its way from the yacht to the jetty, where five members of staff are lined up in their uniform, ready to greet the newcomers. I squint, trying to makeout who’s arrived, but I can’t see. It’s Kate who suddenly curses and bolts upright. “Shit. It’s Nico’s dad.”
Pinpricks assault my skin. I’ve never met old Mr Hawkston, but I still remember Seb’s first comment about him the first night we properly met.A raging narcissist.Seb doesn’t talk much about his parents, and I don’t think it was a happy home to grow up in. Kate hops off the treatment table, roughly wiping at her face mask with a damp flannel she grabs from the therapist. “I gotta go greet him,” she says, chucking the flannel aside and tying her damp hair up in a ponytail.
For some reason, we all follow her down to the beach.
As we approach, I can make out an elderly gentleman with white hair stepping off the boat. He must be Seb’s dad. Behind him is a slightly younger blonde woman with expensive hair, who must be Mrs Hawkston. She’s elegant, wearing a floor length white dress with long sleeves, which looks almost like a bridal gown. With them is another man, perhaps in his fifties, and a girl who is either his daughter or a young wife. She’s blonde too, pretty, and emanating an appealing sort of confidence as she stands bolt upright and looks around.
The four of them proceed up the jetty surrounded by staff, two of whom are definitely bodyguards. Tall, well-built men in all black, who stand either side of the newcomers. I’d put money on it that there are guns strapped beneath their jackets.
“Who are those people with the Hawkstons?” Elly hisses.
