“Yeah. Every day he’s off, he has a different woman in his room, sometimes two.” She gags. “I think Alec asked him to tone it down a bit since the day at the beach, because he’s actually been quiet. But the second he finds out you and Alec are leaving he’s probably going to throw an orgy.” She fake shivers. “He’s definitely proven a dick can’t fall off from overuse.”
Micaela and I both laugh, and Georgia glares. “You wouldn’t be laughing if you had to hear him and the bimbos he’s with every night.”
“Hear who?” Mom asks.
“Chase,” I tell her.
“The women are ridiculous,” Georgia complains. “Oh, Chase, your dick is so big.” She huffs. “If I have to hear one more woman stroke his ego, I’m going to kill myself.”
“Sounds like that’s not the only thing they’re stroking.” Mom snorts.
“Oh my God, Mom!” Georgia shrieks. “No, just no.”
“Good one,” Mila says to my mom, giving her a high five as Micaela and I crack up laughing.
After lunch, we head to the bakery and pick out the cake, then go shopping for my shoes and Georgia’s and Micaela’s dresses. When we’re all completely shopped out, we say goodbye to Micaela, who only came up for the day, and then head home.
Since I’m not sure where Alec and I are going, I pack a couple casual outfits, a bathing suit, and something nice to wear out. Then I find Georgia so we can hang out.
“Up for some O.C.?” I ask from her doorway.
She glances up at me from her laptop, more than likely studying for her last final, and smiles brightly. “Always.” She shuts the lid and sets it on her nightstand, then pats the mattress next to her.
I hop onto the bed and cuddle up next to her, as she clicks the remote, turning on the television. She finds the show she left off on and it starts: Marissa and Ryan are arguing and Seth is begging Summer to give him attention.
We watch in silence for a few minutes, before Georgia lays her head on mine. “I’ve missed you,” she whispers. My throat fills with emotion, and I close my eyes, so tears don’t escape.
“I’ve missed you too.”
We watch one episode after another, until neither of us can keep our eyes open and the program asks us if we want to continue to watch. I should probably go back to my bed, but I’m comfortable in here, with my sister, so instead, when she clicks off the show, I snuggle up next to her and wrap my arms around her.
“Night, Georgia.”
“Night, Lex.”
Strong arms wrap around me from behind, jolting me awake.
“Ow! That’s hurts. Please don’t do this.”
He pulls on my bathing suit bottoms and then his fingers—
“Lex,” Alec prompts, shaking me slightly and knocking me back to the present.
I take a deep breath and roll over, away from Georgia who’s still asleep, and into my fiancé’s safe arms. I bury my face into his chest, inhaling his scent, reminding myself over and over again, he’s who I’m here with. I’m in my sister’s bed, in Alec’s arms. I’m safe.
Alec doesn’t say anything, just holds me tightly, until I lift my face up and make eye contact with him. “I’m ready to get out of here.”
The pained look on his face tells me he wants to ask me what just happened, but he doesn’t. Instead, he nods once. “Okay, let’s go.”
When I climb off the bed and stand upright, a sudden bout of dizziness hits me, making me wobble slightly. Alec notices and clasps onto my forearms. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, I just felt a little lightheaded. I must’ve gotten up too fast.”
He stares at me for several heartbeats and then says, “All right, let’s get you something to eat. You haven’t been eating much lately.”
He’s not wrong. I think I’ve lost an entire clothing size the last few weeks. Between the nightmares and the thoughts while I’m awake, I haven’t had much of an appetite.
Alec grabs my overnight bag and his and throws them into the back of my jeep and then we’re off. He hasn’t mentioned where we’re going, and I haven’t asked. I like that he’s surprising me. Something sweet and fun is just what I need right now.
The drive is done in awkward silence and I pray this isn’t how the next couple days will be. Neither of us knowing what to do or say. Alec not wanting to say the wrong thing, and me having no damn clue what to even say.
We arrive in Santa Barbara and pull up to a beautiful hotel that’s right on the beach. We get out and Alec tells the valet his name.
“Your luggage will be in your room, Mrs. Sterling,” the gentleman says to me. Being called Alec’s last name has me smiling, like a real smile, for the first time in a long time.