The Bad Boys of Eden (92 page)

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.

“Alexandra, your mom is coming this weekend too. She says your father will be home from his tour. Let’s surprise them and get you a bracelet.” Without waiting for a reply, Mom strutted out into the hall.

Lex and I stood in the doorway watching her march down the spiral stairs to the main floor. Her black, wavy hair bounced. So did her breasts.

“How is your mother’s jewelry any different than my candy or your board game?” Lex asked. “Countess Irma is a nut.”

“So is Birdie,” I snapped back.

“Irma is insane, like mental institution mad.”

“Leon!” A voice from another room, another place, shouted.

Not wanting this conversation to end, I asked, “What do you mean mental institution?”

Our childhood talk was over. I heard voices calling me again…

In the sand, I sat up, feeling the warm cushiness of a cotton beach towel beneath me.

Leon grabbed the one thrown at him.

“Taddy. Leon. We’ve been looking everywhere,” Vive cried out. She was in her bathing suit.

Fabian stood next to her for only a second then tackled Leon in a hug. They wrestled on the sand like two boys.

“And here I thought you’d died.” Vive knelt beside me.

“We think alike.” I hugged her, tight. She smelled of soap. I wanted to smell like soap. We cried for a while. I told her about the hunk of metal, the swim, the dolphins, pretty much everything except but the sex. That could wait till later.

“Our flight landed not too far from here, on water. Everyone is safe and sound.”

“How’s Blake?”

“His hair is burned on one side. He’ll probably have a scar, but he’ll live.” Vive dried her eyes and said, “Lex is, of course, beside herself with worry.”

Cinching the towel around me, I got to my feet. Then I saw them, kissing.

Leon and Fabian.

WTF.

“Huh…” Confusion overcame me. I stared at Leon.

Tongues touching, his hands massaged Fabian’s ass.

I’m not talking about the French way men kiss one another on each cheek. Nope. They were Frenching. Like almost face-fucking one another.

“Knock it off you two!” Vive eyed them. “It’s bad enough there’s a hot man shortage in this world, I don’t need you two rubbing my face in it.”

“Eh? When? What? How did I not know?” My voice rose in surprise.

“Fabian told us last night. We all had a little coming-to-Jesus moment when we got to our rooms. Naturally that was after the Eden police came and we filled out reports. The airline officials soon followed—”

“What did Fabian tell you?” I didn’t want the details of their check-in. Vive would be telling this airplane crash story for many years to come. I needed to know more about Fabian. “What’s his relationship to Leon?”

“That their lovers, of course.”

Shock flying through me, I screamed. “No!” I couldn’t help it.

“Why are you getting upset?” Vive asked, as Leon came over.

“Taddy, we need to talk. I—”

“Ha! I have nothing to say to you, Leon Lartique.” I poked my finger at his broad chest, the one I had licked earlier. “Thank you for the last twenty-four hours. I can handle it from here.” I turned so fast I thought I’d trip.

“What the fug is up with you, girlie?” Vive stood between us, ruining my opportunity for a dramatic exit.

“I need a shower. Can you please take me to your room?”

Vive nodded and said in their direction, “Leon, I’ll catch you sexy boys, later. Oh and thank you for bringing Taddy back alive and in one piece.”

Concern creased Leon’s forehead. I could care less how he felt. Regret soured in my empty stomach. Never mind that I’d given up my Lady V. I had unprotected sex in the Atlantic Ocean and under a tree with a dude who had a boyfriend.

I wasn’t just fucked, I was screwed.

Part Three

So Screwed!

“Whether you’re lusting or in love, crave boys or girls, desire monogamy or openness, sex for the first time can be a beautiful, scary, and an unforgettable experience. Why? Because it only happens once! For my VBF her Atlantic Ocean sexscape wasn’t the beginning to an end. No, boo. Leon Lartigue had opened Taddy’s mind with fresh thoughts and desires. And if you know anything about Taddy, she’s a diva in the making!” — Blake Morgan III, husband hunter, future father, and undecided college major.

Chapter Six

T.M.I. Moments

Eden Island

Unfrickin’ believable!

Giving the boys my best catwalk possible, I strutted my twice-fucked, unfed, sunburned bum toward the resort.

Too much for me to handle, I pressed my palm against my forehead.

Nope. My head hadn’t exploded. Not yet. One might say in my eighteen years I’d seen and experienced too flippin’ much. Well duh!

I recapped the TMI moments of my life. In chronological order they are…

#1. Living on the Upper West Side in an apartment building where everyone knew my name, and who my parents had swung with. Looking back on it now, the Brillford’s must’ve been the laughingstock of the entire block. No wonder I was sent away.

#2. Having a mother that reeked booze, and I mean twenty-four-seven. At Avon Porter kids would come back from the holidays with a bottle of their mother’s perfume. They told me, smelling the fragrance in their room, especially on their pillows, helped them to not get homesick. I sure as fudge wasn’t going to sniff a flask of bourbon.
Yuk.

#3. Not knowing the identity of my birth-father isn’t that big of deal. But having a man who I loved correction—still love as a father—that wants nothing to do with me, is a living nightmare. I’ve called, written letters, and tried to visit. I’m always sent away. Blood relations and matching DNA shouldn’t define who one’s father is or is not, right? Joseph Graf Brillford will always be a dad to me.

#4. Dropped off at thirteen for boarding school and never picked back up. It’s criminal. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wonder how my parents can sleep at night, throwing me away as if I were a dog. Hell, people in Manhattan treat their pets better.

#5. Sick with mono, those two months were worse than the plane crash. The abdominal pain was torture. All I ever wanted was to have my mom put a cold compress on my back, and sit with me, even if only for an hour.

#6. Juvi! Yup, six months wearing an orange jumper in a room with Lex and Vive would make anyone go cray-cray. (They’d kept Blake in another building.) I don’t regret standing up for Vive, I’d do again. The night her boyfriend, Sanderloo, started gay bashing Blake, and she hit him with a shovel to try and get him to stop, was the worst night of our lives. He’d died right there.

My regret was burying him. We didn’t call the police.

I should have never of told my besties to act as though nothing had happened. I’m the one who suggested we all go on with our studies the next day. Utter selfishness got the worst of me. How? The courts would never approve of my separation hearing from my parents, if they knew I was being tried for murder. Vive’s parents would’ve made her have an abortion when they found out she was pregnant. Blake would’ve been sent to the military academy down the street and tortured some more. Lex’s mother would’ve simply beat the crap outta her.

#7. Alone on my graduation with no one but my friends, and their families, to acknowledge my good grades was beyond craperific. Right? In my cap and gown, there I was the class valedictorian who’d emancipated from my folks the year before. Would I be spending the rest of my adult life with no family to call my own?

#8. Learning that the college fund I’d received as a settlement in my emancipation and lawsuit against my parents, that I’d banked on to set up my life as an adult was empty. Zilch! Not a penny to my name. Sweet Offshore bank accounts Jesus!

The judge had awarded me two million dollars in damages caused by my folks trying to cover up the DNA test, leaving me at Avon Porter, and so on. Image-wise my parents had wanted us to look like a happy family. But who knew they’d take the trust given to me and transfer those funds into some bank account overseas.

#9. Thinking my besties had died. My flight to hell and the plane crash that followed weren’t as bad as allowing myself to believe that my friends were gone. Heck, I thought about them non-stop, except for maybe those seven minutes that I was with Leon, which leads me on to my finale of number ten.

#10. Giving in to temptation and having sex with a beautiful man. A man, I’d wanted since the first day I met him. A man, who might’ve only fucked me because he probably thought we’d die out there.
I know I did
. A man, that loves other men! None of this is bad, not really. In all fairness to Leon, I enjoyed every minute I was in his arms. More power to him if he’s queer. Seriously.

The worst part about watching him kiss Fabian wasn’t that it made me jealous. It didn’t. Or sick. I wasn’t. Oh no. They turned me the freak on. More than I imagined watching two men would. That shook me to a core I hadn’t thought about since I’d learned my parents were swingers. No thank you!

“Are you cold?” Vive asked.

“No.” I folded my arms over my breasts. The towel kept me warm.

“You’re shaking.” She hugged me close. “Maybe you got Diphtheria from being in the water for so long.”

She always made me laugh. I chuckled. I didn’t want to but I did. “No. My nerves are shot. I’m hungry too.”

Squeezing Vive’s hand, I didn’t want to let her go. Her skin felt dry compared to mine.

We walked from the beach toward the stone castle ahead. Gaelic and feudal in structure the resort was about half a mile from the beach. Stiff and sore from the kicking in the water, I wondered if my legs could manage even another step. “What is this place?”

“Magical paradise,” Vive replied all giddy and pointing to a bronze sign.

“Welcome to Eden, where reality is whatever you want it to be…”

My reality was that I’d been screwed. What I wanted was for this trip to be o-v-e-r. I’m done with modeling. “F” the French, and dagnabbit I wanted my bedazzled Swarovski crystal flip-flops back.

Vive seemed happy though, which was a far cry from the suicidal face she had on the plane. I humored her and asked, “Like Club Med?”

“Kinkier.” Vive selected a pink orchid off the ground and handed it to me.

Succulent smells filled my nostrils causing hunger pains to ache in my empty stomach. The aroma made me ravenous.

“Meaning?”

“Clothing optional, BDSM dungeons, marijuana and LSD are legal here. We can drink too. Daddy should get Farnworth Firewater an account at this place.” Vive was a picture of debauchery.

Oh brother!
My eyes narrowed, noticing the acres of nature. Tropical trees, white sand and green ferns at our feet it was breathtaking. I hated to say it but it was.

“There are fitness and beauty services at the spa. All the food and juices are organic. Eden has something for everyone.” Vive talked faster, perhaps trying to cover up her wishful party aspirations, which she usually camouflaged as her family business.

“Who owns this place?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.

Leon and Fabian hadn’t followed us. They’d gone for a walk near the water. I wondered what they were talking about right now. I tried not to stare, but I couldn’t pull my eyes away, holding one another, two brawny men.

“A gazillionaire named Theodosius Vardalos. They call him the Master. I’ve only seen him once. He checked in on Blake, gave him a jar of face cream for his injury. He promised it would heal him.”

Vardalos…

I took in a shallow breath, thinking about my GBF. Blake’s insecurities about his looks were ten times worse than all three of us girls put together. I hope his injury wasn’t going to leave any scars.

“Take me to Blake.”

“You can stay with him. He has two bedrooms, and this insane marble tub. I’m already unpacked in Lex’s suite.”

Thank heavens I wasn’t sleeping near Vive. She snores loud enough to make the wallpaper peel.

“Why does Theodosius Vardalos sound familiar? Is he from Manhattan? Did he live on the Upper West Side?” I smoothed my hair back. Lordy it’s getting hot out here. I wanted to take off my towel and be naked again. There was something freeing about not wearing a bathing suit yesterday in the water.

“No. Don’t you remember the article that came out on him last year in
Vanity Fair
touting he was next Richard Branson?” Vive loved her gossip magazines. Lex and I refused to read them.

“Ahhh…yes. You tried to get Avon Porter to book our senior trip here.”

“Right! Eden wouldn’t allow minors. But now we’re adults. It’s fate.”

“Fate?”

She nodded with enthusiasm and said, “We need this trip Taddy. Avon Porter, the court trials, juvie, Lex’s mom being a junkie, it’s all been a funky few years. I can’t imagine college being any easier. The universe brought us here.”

“To do what?”

“Heal!”

“I see,” I said, and licked my blistered lips. I didn’t want to argue with her. She hadn’t been excited about anything in a while.

“The Master’s staff put us up for free. Joely is Eden’s pilot. She gave us seats on the next charter flight back to Miami.”

“Tell her thank you, but no more flights. I’ll take a boat back to New York.”

“I hear ya girlie. Eden has ferry service. They say it’ll take about eight hours to get to Florida from here.”

We glanced out at the water. The waves weren’t as intimidating as when I was in the middle of it all. Regardless, as nice as this place appeared, I didn’t want to stay.

“What time is that boat?”

“Not for two more days.”

“What?” I panicked. That meant I’d have to spend the next 48 hours avoiding Leon and Fabian. I’ll just stay locked in Blake’s room. I didn’t trust myself around them.

“The ship is on its way back from England. Apparently Eden is all the rage with the Brits.”

“I can see why…” That meant I’d have to spend the next 48 hours avoiding Leon and Fabian. I’ll just stay locked in Blake’s room. I didn’t trust myself around them.

“Joely is nice. She’s been working with the passengers, helping them overcome their anxieties about the crash. That’s how we met.”

“No flights. Not now. I’m sure I’ll fly again, just not this soon.”

Vive stopped walking and grabbed me by my shoulders. The disappointment was obvious. “My VBF who just survived a plane crash doesn’t want to get sushi, book a facial, and sun at the beach?”

“No fish. No sun. Maybe a spa treatment.” My cheeks hurt from being outside for so long. I shook my head and said, “I want cement and noise. Let’s go home to Manhattan.”

“What about the photo shoot for their magazine?” Vive started walking again. I could tell by the spring in her step she wasn’t going to quit. Raised-up by a Swedish mother who advocated socialism, Vive mantra was all for one, one for all. Meaning we pretty much did everything together.

“I can’t go through with another round of pictures. Not again. They can use what they’ve got.”

“Won’t they not pay your fee if you don’t finish the job?” Vive eyed me with care as if I hadn’t thought this through. “Maybe after you eat and rest you’ll change your mind.”

No way.
I’d already been made an idiot by Leon. In a snit, I tied the towel around my breasts tighter and looked back at the beach. They were gone. Leon and his lover were out of sight, now if I could just get them out of my mind, I’d be good. “Can I take you up on that offer to borrow money for school? I’ll pay you back.”

“Including your living expenses?”

Calculating the money in my head, I picked at my lip, and said, “Seventy thousand dollars. Man, that’s a lot of money.”

“Not to us Farnworth’s, that’s lunch.” Vive smiled. “
Claire La Femme
offered you six figures for this editorial…didn’t they?”

“Yup.” I slipped the flower she’d given me behind my ear. Maybe the yummy smell would send nice thoughts by osmosis into my mind about Eden.

“Didn’t you want to start your own business with some of that money?”

“Ah-huh. I did. But right now, I wanna go home.”

“Heard ‘ya the first time girlie.” Vive looked back at the beach, to where my attention had been all along. “Did something happen out in the water with Leon? You don’t seem like yourself.”

“Umm Viveca, I was sucked out of a plane, left in the water for a day swimming with nothing but a life jacket. No, I’m not myself. Not anymore.” Avoiding the conversation, I walked over a drawbridge made of gold. Eden’s castle, like something out of a fairytale, was over the top.

“Hold up.”

I stopped, glancing over the edge. A moat filled with colorful fish swam below.

“You can talk about it, if you want to, I’ll listen.” Her chin rested against my shoulder. I smelt the clean scent on her again as she wrapped her arms around me.

“Promise to refrain from giving me your sassy opinion?” I studied Vive’s face assessing any traces of self-control.
Hmmm
.

“I swear.” She crossed her heart.

I held onto the cast-iron railing, glancing at four fish swimming together, side-by-side. “Out there, I thought about life and death. About what would happen if I’d lost you guys…” I blinked a tear.

“Honey, don’t cry. Your life would go on, without us.”

“No it won’t, and I don’t think it would for you either.”