The Other Wesley Ch. 06

XAVI

I can't freaking believe my eyes.

Seventeen hours on a plane, more than three hours ditched at that airport, and an additional two being driven around on a deadly motorcycle only to find Ryan naked with his dick inside Delancy? The woman he claims he wants to help? From the partner who has an STD? It sounds beyond ridiculous now that I'm actually looking at it.

Ryan doesn't even look sorry. He's practically sporting a frown as he moves to pull on his jeans. His bare ass faces us for a fraction of a second before he covers up.

"Xavi, sorry you had to see this..."

"Sorry?" I cut him off, unable to stop the trembling in my voice. "You ditched me at the airport so you could fuck this woman who is getting married in two days? The one who practically..." I'm cut short as Delancy throws her head of brunette hair back in laughter. She doesn't even look embarrassed; she just points a manicured finger at me while pulling the sheet over her chest.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you want him to fuck you instead."

"Don't do that," Ryan snaps at her.

"Why not? Just look at him. He's literally following you around like a dog on a leash because he has no life of his own. He's miserable and he wants to control you because nobody wants him. We're not children and we can do whatever the fuck we want."

"Oh, but you're very much acting like a child to me now," I say. "What's the deal here, Ryan? You're gonna sleep with her behind her fiancé's back? Even on the night of their honeymoon?"

Delancy laughs like a maniac, flashing her expensive engagement ring which only makes my blood boil.

"Delancy's leaving Robb," Ryan says, looking confident.

"No, I'm not. Why would you ever think that?" Delancy frowns.

"We just made love."

"Doesn't mean I should call off my wedding."

"That's exactly what it means! Lancy, baby, please."

"Are you serious right now? The wedding is happening, Ryan. Greyson, talk some sense into your brother."

The hope on Ryan's beautiful face drains instantly. I watch with bile in my throat as tears gather under his eyes. It makes me sad for him. I never want to see him hurt like this, but he keeps putting himself through this same situation. God, when will he ever learn?

"I think it's time you leave," I spit at the witch ruining my friend's life.

She has the audacity to smile. "And if I don't?"

"Then I'll kick you out myself! You enjoy dangling yourself in front of him, knowing he's too much of a great guy to see what a manipulative witch you are!"

She rolls her eyes. "Jeez, you're so annoying. Has anyone ever told you that? Even Ryan here talks about how much of a pain in his a-hole you are."

"Shut your mouth!" I snarl, moving toward her. "And get the hell out!"

"Baby, I don't think you understand what's going on here, so let me make it clear to you. Ryan invited me over, got that? Geez, maybe if you had a life, you'd be chilling with some girl out there rather than acting like a body double."

My vision is already blurry and I can't help myself. I want to slap her. "Maybe if you didn't have an STD from sleeping with men three decades your senior, I wouldn't be so worried about my friend!"

"What?" she yells.

"Really, man?" Ryan groans and facepalms. I gulp, guilt crashing into me. He didn't want me to say that.

Before I can retort, I feel a hot sting on the side of my cheek. I stare at the manicured hand withdrawing from my face and my vision blurs. I try to steady myself just as a strong hand lands on my shoulder, pulling me back.

Greyson. I'd completely forgotten he was even there.

His arms wrap around my waist like steel bands, pulling me against his chest and away from my target.

"Let go of me, bro," I say.

"Yes, let go of him so he can explain whether I got the STD from his father!" Delancy shrieks from her position near the bed.

"I'm not your bro, Xavi, and sorry, I can't let go of you," Greyson says against my ear, ignoring my struggles.

"If you don't let me go this instant, I'll punch you."

"Let it go, pretty boy. Let them be."

I'm practically seething. Now is not the time for stupid nicknames. "And why the hell should I let them be?"

"Because they need to sort things out between themselves like two adults, and you being in their business isn't exactly helping matters. They need privacy."

I want to argue. I want to punch him, but he has a point in a way. So, I let him pull me away... just because I can't fight against his iron hold and stupid show of masculinity.

I can hear Ryan's voice from behind me, soft and painfully broken as he pleads with that witch not to leave. The sound makes me want to vomit.

By the time we reach the living room, I feel like I've been set on fire from the inside out. I shrug from his hold and fall down on the nearest couch, exhausted and fuming. And ouch, my cheek.

Greyson sits on the couch in front of me, manspreading like a fucking bear.

"For a guy, you really are dramatic, you know that?" he says. "And you were making it embarrassingly obvious, too."

"Making what obvious?"

"That you're in love with Ryan."

My heart flies out of my chest. "I'm not in love with him," I say.

"Oh, yes you are," he replies lazily. "In fact, I take it back. What I said about Ryan not knowing you love dicks? He totally knows. Trust me, dude. He knows you're in love with him."

I can feel my throat closing in. No, that can't be possible. Ryan doesn't know. He would have cut me off a long time ago, not kept me as close as he has now, practically trusting me with everything.

"What are you talking about? Did he say something?"

Greyson shrugs, looking at me with eyes that seem to strip me naked.

"He doesn't have to. We just met today and I knew instantly. Besides, you have a very transparent face."

I stand and begin pacing. I can feel my stomach growling, a constant reminder that I haven't eaten anything since my arrival. The room suddenly feels too small, the air too thin.

"Well, you're wrong about whatever you think you know. I'm not in love with your brother."

"Yeah, right."

"I'm not, Greyson."

"Whatever floats your boat, pretty boy."

"Stop calling me that!"

He grins, his pierced tongue sticking out to wet his bottom lip. "What? Pretty boy?"

I move to haul a vase at him but stop short as a door slams shut from above, nearly shaking the house to its foundations. I look up just in time to see Delancy running down the stairs toward the front door.

Behind her is a half-naked Ryan, chasing after her like the idiot he is.

He runs after her, slamming the door shut behind him.

I move to follow them, but a hand grabs my wrist.

"What the hell is your problem with me?" I hiss, twisting to face him.

"I don't want you doing something stupid in my mother's house."

"I'm trying to help my friend because I care about him. You obviously don't care about yours, or you'd be calling Robb to let him know his fiancée is cheating on him."

Greyson snorts. "You think Robb doesn't know? He's a rich old man, but he's not stupid. How do you think he got her from your dear bestie in the first place?"

My mouth falls open, then closes again. I'm beginning to think that witch is using some kind of juju on these men because what in the hell? Men are such idiots. Including me.

I gasp as he suddenly stands up and drags me toward the window. One hand holds me firmly by the waist, a vice grip that makes it impossible to move. I can feel every inch of his uncomfortably hard body pressed against mine. The heat. His scent. They all wrap around me, making it impossible to think clearly. Or maybe it's just my fatigue and the sudden headache from being without my glasses for too long.

It's an odd sensation, and I don't like it. I'm painfully aware of him, like he's everywhere at once.

I try to focus on the scene beyond the glass. I squint just as my eyes adjust to see Ryan and Delancy by the glowing pool, arguing. Ryan's hands are clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with frustration. Delancy, on the other hand, looks as calm as the snake she is, her arms folded. I can't hear what they're saying, but it's obviously the same thing all over again. Ryan begging like a fool and the witch twirling him around her fingers.

"If you want to watch them," Greyson breathes close to my ear, "you can get a better view from here. I don't suppose you need your glasses for this, do you? This way, you won't interfere in their business. We can even gossip about them if you want. Now tell me, what do you think they're arguing about right now?"

Glasses? How did he know I used glasses?

I try not to notice how ticklish his breath is, how it raises goosebumps along my neck.

"Probably about how she's leaving him for good, and good riddance," I say.

"That's where you're wrong. What you don't understand is that she'll never leave him, and he'll never leave her. They're practically soulmates. Crazily toxic ones, but that's how it's always going to be."

He sounds tired somehow, like he's seen this play out a dozen times before. Well, unlike him, I won't give up on my best friend.

"Just so you know," I say, "she's marrying someone else. Your soulmate theory isn't exactly fact."

He chuckles against my ear, his stubble grazing my skin. "You think the wedding will actually happen?"

"Of course it will."

"It won't."

I scoff, turning to face him within the narrow space of his hold. "What do you mean by that? Are you going to sabotage it?"

"I don't have to. It's just the way they are. You'll see. They break up, they make up. It's their little cycle."

"You're deranged, Greyson. You're seriously hoping your brother's heart gets broken again?"

"Nothing would make me more happier than to see Delancy back with my foolish brother." He says it so casually I want to punch that smugness right off his face.

"Robb's a good man. He doesn't deserve to be used."

"Oh? So it's your own brother who deserves to be constantly humiliated by that witch?"

He looks at me then, his deep blue eyes so intense I feel a chill down my spine. "What do you want me to say to that, pretty boy?"

"Easy. I want you to act like you care, even if it's just once."

"You think I don't care?" he asks.

"You obviously don't. You only care about yourself and that stupid bike of yours. If you actually cared, you'd have driven that witch out of this house yourself."

He's looking at me as if I'm crazy. "And why in God's name would I do that?"

"Because he's your brother!" I deadpan.

"He's not a baby, Xavi. He's a twenty eight year old man who's in love."

I practically laugh at this. This dude is unbelievable. "Love? You call that love? Are you blind? That witch is using him. You've never been in love before, so you obviously don't know what it looks like."

"Tell me, what does it look like then, Xavi?" My breath stills as he leans into me, his lips almost touching mine. "Is it the same as the feelings you have for Ryan? Because that looks really miserable right as of now."