Where I Belong
Chapter 28
WHISKEY
ZED
"She told me to speak to you. So here I am. What the fuck am I missing here, Zed?"
"Not here," I say, dragging my sister out of earshot of other guests.
"Well?" she prompts once we're alone.
"Now isn't the time or the place to dive into my life. If you really cared, you'd have asked before now," I snap.
"That's not fair! I always ask what you've been up to. I'm curious as fuck about what you do with your time. Aside from banging my best friends and making her keep your secrets, of course."
"Yeah, well they're my secrets. Just like she'd keep any of yours from me. She's fucking loyal… thank fuck."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing… Look, I'll tell you whatever you want." Her eyes light up. "But not today. Let's just do what we have to do today and then you can interrogate me until your heart's content tomorrow."
"Really?"
"Really," I agree with a sigh. "Now can we drop it?"
"Sure," she sulks. "I'm still pissed at you, though."
"When are you not?"
She slaps me in the chest before I turn to walk away. I almost immediately find the happy couple and Bucky pulls me in for a brotherly hug, not something that happens all that often.
"Congrats, you two. Has it been everything you hoped it would be?"
"Better," Lacey swoons before she's distracted by my sister.
"What the fuck is going on?" Bucky asks, his tone brisk and cool, much like I imagine him to be at work.
"It's nothing."
"It better fucking not be, because if you ruin any part of…"
"Chill. It's not going to happen. I've got it under control."
"When have you ever had anything under control before?"
"I'm more capable than you want to believe," I say, hoping like fuck it's true.
The second I saw Jacey sitting with the daughter of my parents' friends not so long ago instead of his date, I almost lost my shit. Fuck knows why I care. He can do whatever the fuck he wants, and if it hurts Addison, all the better.
Leaving Bucky with his new bride, I walk towards the bar. It's been at least thirty minutes since some alcohol has passed my lips.
"Well, well, well, look who it is," I say, sliding in next to Jacey.
"Zed, man. I had no idea this was your brother's wedding, I swear to you." I look at him and raise a brow. "Or that you and Addie have a…"
"Have a what?" I interrupt, suddenly desperate to hear what she's told him about this whole clusterfuck.
"A… uh… thing going on."
"There's no thing. I fucked her a couple times. That's all. Really, I can't fucking stand her. It's a good thing she's a fucking stellar lay because I wouldn't keep her around otherwise." I don't see his fist coming until it's too late.
"Ow fuck!" My hand comes up to my lip, and it starts swelling almost instantly. "You fucking…" I fly at him, but hands landing on my waist from behind stop me.
"What the fuck did you just promise me, bro?" Bucky growls in my ear. "Sort your shit out or fucking leave."
I take a deep breath, holding eye contact with Jacey, letting him know he'd be on the floor by now if I had my way.
"We good?" Bucky asks and hesitantly releases me.
"Whiskey. Make it very large," I bark at the waiter when he appears from nowhere in front of me.
"Coming right up, Sir."
I can feel Jacey staring daggers into me, but I refuse to look at him until I've had a drink. Or Four. I'm too sober to deal with this shit right now.
"I had no idea she even worked for you until today. She wasn't in last weekend."
"No, she was too busy at Lacey's bachelorette party it seems. I should have put two and two together that night. But you said there were like, for parties that night, so I just didn't think…"
"Why would you? Did you see her there?" he asks with a wince.
"You mean, did I see you grinding your naked ass in her face? Then yeah, I fucking did."
"Sorry, man. It's just my job."
"Really? Because it seems like it got you an invite here."
"I met her before that night, actually. That night just gave me the chance to ask her out again."
"You were with her Tuesday night." I don't ask it like a question. I already know the answer. "It couldn't have been a very good date."
"What makes you say that?"
I down my drink and lean over. "Because she ended the night with my dick inside her." If he was shocked, he doesn't show it. It doesn't mean I still don't look smug as shit, though.
I push my glass towards the bartender, gesturing for another, and stand.
"You don't stand a chance with her, so if you feel like continuing things, then I strongly suggest you stop. You won't win."
"And you will?"
"Nah. I don't want her." Even before the words have left my lips they feel like a lie, but it still doesn't stop me, and it won't stop me from showing her just how angry I am with what she's done wither. "But I sure as shit don't want you having her."
With that, I pick up my new drink and walk away. Sadly, the second I do, she walks into the room.
She's fucking beautiful, and I hate that I've come to know her well enough to know she's on the verge of a breakdown. She clearly stood up for me with Bree, seeing as she's since come to me for the answers she wants. But even knowing both of those things, as our stare holds I can't help but need to show her exactly how angry I am with her.
Her eyes drop to my lip and concern flickers through them, but it's not enough to make her ask about it.
My grip on the glass tightens, and my cock swells with the need to drive into her hard and fast. To feel her body tremble beneath mine.
My jaw grinds and the muscle in my neck pulses with every thump of my heart. I hope she can see how close to the fucking edge I am right now.
"Come on, let's dance," a familiar deep voice says behind me before Addison lifts her hand and slips it into Jacey's. The fucker has the audacity to wink at me before he pulls what's mine to the dancefloor.
I tell myself to walk away, to find a dark corner where I can hide and get shitfaced, but my legs don't comply and I'm forced to stand and watch as he pulls her body into his and together they start moving to the music.
If he's trying to get a rise out of me, then he's going to be bitterly disappointed. I have every intention of showing Addison who she belongs to, but I also have every intention of doing it when we're in private, where she has no one to come to her rescue.
I'm eventually distracted when some fucker I don't recognize calls my name and starts gushing about what a beautiful day it's been and asking when it's my turn.
I just about manage to hold in the 'fuck off' that's right on the tip of my tongue.
No sooner has whoever the fuck he is disappears than another couple turns to me. They give me the 'wow, haven't you grown' speech that I really don't fucking need. Apparently, the last time they saw me I was seven. I manage to refrain from pointing out that it shouldn't fucking shock them that I've grown over the last twenty fucking years.
As the night passes, so do the people who insist on sparking up a conversation with me. I start to think it's a game. They must be able to see that I'm balancing a dine line between sanity and losing my shit, but still they insist on asking me the same bullshit questions again and again.
The only good thing about the many, many, nosy visitors I get is that they pay attention to what I'm drinking and almost always arrive with a glass. It does help with my quest to drink today out of my system.
There's a break in people as Bucky and Lacey take to the dancefloor for their first dance and I take the opportunity to visit the empty bar and convince the guy to just give me the fucking bottle.
I forgo the clean glass he tries to give me and take the bottle outside. I am done with this.
The loud bass of the music soon starts thumping through the wall, making me even surer that I made the right decision to escape. I see a couple of others who venture out to smoke, but mostly they're guys wanting a little peace as well so no one really says much as I continue to drink from my bottle.
When I eventually head back inside, the bottle is long empty, my legs are a little unsteady, and it seems that the party has come to an end. There's a whispered little voice in the back of my head that tells me I'll be in deep shit with my parents for blowing off the rest of the party and not saying goodbye to everyone, but why would anyone care? It's not my fucking wedding.
Spotting my sister propping up the bar, I head over.
"Where is she?" I slur, slamming my hand down on the bar and making her jump.
She looks over, her eyes running down the length of me. "Fucking hell, Zed. You're wasted."
"I think I have every right to be after what that bitch has done."
Bree's chest puffs out as if she's about to defend her, but at the last minute, she must remember all the lies and keeps her mouth shut. "I'm not telling you."
"What the fuck is wrong with you? She fucking lied to you."
"That doesn't mean I'm going to feed her to you, asshole."
"What will it cost me?" Now that the thought of being inside her hotel room and being able to get my hands on her has filled my mind, I won't stop until it's happening.
She considers my question for a few seconds. "Tell me where you met her."
"She works for me. She came to me for a job and one of my dumb ass employees thought it was a good idea to hire her."
"She works for you? What the fuck, Zed?"
"Surprise, Pipsqueak. I'm not just a fucking dumbass who pisses his trust fund away. I'm a fucking businessman, and a fucking good one at that. Now tell me where the fuck she is."
Bree looks at me like she's suddenly seeing an entirely different person. "You… have employees?"
"Where the fuck is she?" I ask again, ignoring her question.
"R-room five-oh-four…"
I turn, but her voice stops me.
"I might not like her very much right now, but my warning still stands. You hurt her and I'll hurt you."
I salute her before walking away and directly into the open elevator.
My heart pounds faster and faster the closer I get. It's been hours since I've had her alone, and even longer since we've been in private. I've got plenty I want to say to her, but I feel that on this occasion actions might speak louder.
I'm not the kind of guy people lie to and are able to get away with it. I haven't got where I have by allowing people to walk over me. Especially pussy cats like Addison. She's chosen the wrong man to go into battle with, and she's about to discover what a fucking mistake she's made crossing me.
I lift my hand to her door and something inside me settles. This ends now, Addie Cat.
