The Price of Love (A Price Novel Book 1) (20 page)

“During his last mission in Afghanistan, the whole family of the shah of Iran was killed. Kids, women, dogs, everything. It was bad, but a successful mission in the eyes of the US government. Brandon was injured and sent home with a medal. Which he thinks is worthless. He saved two of his friends, and they gave him a medal for that. They were his friends — he didn’t need a medal for that. Everyone else in his platoon died.

“Anyway, this mission was hush-hush because the brother of this shah wanted everyone involved with the murder of his family dead.

“Then, there’s this nosy reporter from New York, named Emma Pierce, who gets wind of the story and tracks Brandon down. She wants to interview him about the mission and about saving his fellow soldiers.

“At first, he tries to tell her she has the wrong guy, even though she has a picture of him. He blows that off as a coincidence. But she won’t go away. So, he’s living there in Saba with his girlfriend and is happy leaving it all behind. But this reporter is relentless. She forces him into situations where he has to talk to her, and eventually they become friends, and he starts to trust her.

“But this shah has been having her followed to lead him to Brandon. Brandon finds out his cover is blown when he comes home to find his girlfriend murdered in their bed. So, now he knows he can’t stay there and thinks he has to protect Emma. Now they are both on the run.

“They go back to Washington, expecting to get help, but the government acts like they have no idea what Brandon’s talking about and like this shah had nothing to do with them.

“Brandon realizes he’s on his own, and he and Emma go back to Iran to kill the brother of this shah. That’s it in a nutshell. I love it. Do you?”

“So, it’s an action–love story kind of thing?” I asked.

“Well, kinda, yeah.”

I didn’t say anything. Slayde having to kiss other girls for work had never crossed my mind before now. I had just
thought
I had to worry before. This was going to suck.

“You’re being quiet. What’s the matter? Aren’t you excited?” he asked.

“Of course I am,” I said. I obviously wasn’t very convincing.

“You don’t sound like it. Don’t you want me here all the time?”

“You know I do.”

“Well, then what’s bothering you?” he asked.

“Who said anything is bothering me? I’m totally excited for you.” I smiled and kissed him.

“Emily Arden Simms, I know you better than that. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Nothing, really, I just think it’s going to suck having to watch you kiss other girls. Even if it is just on television,” I admitted. I could tell I was blushing.

He started laughing. “Somebody is jealous. I love it, but really, it’s no big deal, baby. It’s not real. It won’t mean anything.”

“You’re saying it didn’t bother you to know I kissed Eric?”

“That’s totally different,” he said and sat up in the bed.

“How so? That kiss didn’t mean anything,” I argued.

“It obviously did to him.”

“Well, you aren’t dating him. You’re dating me, and it didn’t mean anything to me,” I said. He looked annoyed. “You don’t like it very much, do you?”

“No, I guess not. What am I supposed to do?” he asked.

“I guess you’re just going to have to kiss other girls and live with the consequences.” I got up and went into the bathroom.

“What does that mean?” He followed me.

I turned around and put my hand on his chest. “Do you mind? I love you, but a little privacy would be nice.” He reluctantly walked out, but he was waiting right outside the door to finish the discussion.

“What did you mean by that? What are the consequences? I don’t want to kiss other girls, but I don’t see how I could have a successful acting career if I put that in my contract. I don’t want this to be a problem.” I could tell this upset him. He was pacing around the room, chewing on the inside of his cheek like he always did when he was nervous about something.

“How about we just cross that bridge when we get there? Let’s not let it ruin our time together,” I said.

“I can’t enjoy myself if I think you might break up with me in a few months.”

“Who said anything about breaking up? I just said it bothered me, and you asked. I didn’t start this, remember?”

“I need to know if it’s a deal breaker. I won’t even go to the audition if it could cause problems for our relationship.” I couldn’t believe it. There was no way I was going to be the reason he didn’t follow his dreams. No matter how much I hated it.

“Are you serious? You would sabotage your career to be with me?”

“Absolutely, and wouldn’t think twice about it. What difference does it make how successful I am if you aren’t there to share it with me?”

I laughed. “I’m sure we’ll figure it out. I would never ask you to do that.” I pulled him to me and kissed him.

“I love you, A, and don’t you ever forget that.”

*****

There was a party at a friend’s house that night that Josh and Karen were going to. I wasn’t sure it would be such a great idea for Slayde and me to go, since we could run into Eric, and that would be uncomfortable for everyone. But against my better judgment, Slayde talked me into going. Sometimes I think he missed not doing the normal college thing, and when he visited me, he could be at least somewhat involved in a small aspect of academic life.

We met up with Karen and Josh in the lobby of the dorm and all walked to the party together, since it was just a few blocks off campus. When we got there, I looked around and didn’t see Eric. A girl walked up with a tray of multicolored Jell-O shots. Slayde smiled at me. “Here, baby, have some Jell-O shots. They will calm your nerves.”

“My nerves?”

“Yes, your nerves. I know the only reason you were hesitant about coming was because you were scared we might run into Eric. Don’t worry; I will be on my best behavior as long as he is. I promise.” He smiled and gave me a little kiss.

We each took one of the shots. Karen and Josh went and got us some punch, and we walked out into the backyard. Tons of people were there. I was glad of that; I hoped it would make it easier to keep Eric and Slayde away from each other.

“What is this?” Slayde asked, lifting his cup.

“Tastes like jungle juice. It’s a combination of Kool-Aid, canned fruit, and cheap vodka. It should make for a hell of a hangover tomorrow,” Josh said.

“Yay, something to look forward to,” Slayde said, and we all laughed.

We were actually having a good time. Slayde got along with my friends really well. That always made things easier. Brady had never hung out with my friends. Everything we did had to be with his friends or we didn’t do it. He was an ass, and of course my friends hated him. I would prefer a boyfriend everyone loved to a jerk any day.

“Hey, Josh!” I heard a scream across the crowd, and I instantly recognized the voice as Eric’s.
Great.
I had the worst luck ever. Jostling through the crowd, Eric said, “Hey, asshole, thanks for waiting on me,” to Josh. He was already drunk. He obviously hadn’t seen Slayde yet, because he still looked happy.

“Sorry, dude, you took too long,” Josh said.

Eric’s good mood didn’t last long. Glancing over at Slayde, he said, “No, you left me on purpose because your new best bud is back.”

I could tell Slayde was getting pissed — he always narrowed his eyes a little when he was angry — but he kept his promise. He didn’t say anything, but he and Eric didn’t break eye contact with each other. It was like they were having a stare-down, and whoever won got to keep me. It looked like things were about to get ugly.

Karen must have noticed, because she said, “Eric, we’re here to have a good time. If you’re going to make an ass of yourself, then go somewhere else.” And surprisingly, he did just that. I saw him out of the corner of my eye several times, but he stayed away from us.

We eventually went back to my dorm room and continued our own little party. A few other people from down the hall joined us. We were having a blast playing Milly’s favorite drinking game, and it made me miss her so much.

We were all about to break up the party and go to bed when Eric showed up. He was bombed. “So, you leave me, and then you don’t invite me to your party. Some kind of friends you are. I guess I know whose side you’re on.”

I said, “Eric, there are no sides here, so don’t put anybody in that position. This is about you acting like a ch — ”

He interrupted me. “Whatever, Arden, and you are so damn mature. It wasn’t just a few days ago I was carrying your drunk ass up those stairs.” He was yelling at me and pointing in my face. Glancing over, I knew Slayde was about to break his promise. His fists were clenched, and his jaw was locked tight. “Had he not shown up, who knows where we would be right now?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, and I think you need to leave,” I said. I could see that Slayde was about to explode. His stare was set on Eric, and I could see his chest rising and falling faster as he breathed more heavily.

“I’m tired of you telling me to leave,” he said. “I’m not leaving, and you can’t make me.”

“Yes, you are leaving,” Slayde said as he walked across the room toward Eric. His voice was way calmer than I thought it would be. He had to be making a conscious effort to try and calm down, but I knew that wasn’t going to last.

Eric smiled; that was apparently just what he wanted. “Really, pretty boy, are you going to make me?”
Oh yeah, that’s going to be the fuse that lights that bomb.
I felt my stomach tighten up.

“I guess I am,” Slayde said. Eric got right in Slayde’s face and smiled like a real smart-ass. Slayde punched him right in the face, hard. Eric quickly jumped back up and went at Slayde. Before anybody could stop them, they were beating the crap out of each other, and nobody dared to try and break them up.

This is crazy.
I had had enough. Grabbing a glass of water, I threw it on them. They both froze, and Derrick from down the hall and Josh grabbed Eric and dragged him out of the room.

Everyone else left, and it was just Slayde and me left in my room. I was pissed. I didn’t say anything to him. I just started getting ready for bed.

“Are we staying here?” Slayde asked, sprawling on my bed.

“Well, I don’t think either of us is in any shape to drive. So I guess we are,” I snapped. I grabbed my pajamas from my drawer and went to the bathroom to change, slamming the door behind me.

“I know you’re mad, but I’m not sorry. He’s a jerk, and I took him being disrespectful to you as long as I could,” he shouted after me.

When I came back out, I said, “Oh, so that’s what that was about? Him being disrespectful to me? It had nothing to do with your ego?”

“Well, yeah. What did you want me to do, just stand there and let him keep talking shit?”

“At least now you’re hitting on something closer to the truth, Slayde.” I lay beside him and gave him a dirty look.

“Look, baby, I’m sorry if I ruined your night. That was definitely not my plan. But I have to leave you here, knowing how bad he wants you, and hope that you make the right decisions. I trust you to do that, but I couldn’t let him think I would sit back and let him do and say whatever he wanted. If I had done nothing, his behavior would have only gotten worse.”

I knew where he was coming from and that he was right, but I wasn’t letting him off that easily. “I just wanted you to be the bigger person,” I said.

“I was, but even the bigger person can only take so much shit from somebody before they go from being the bigger person to the bigger pussy.”

“Slayde! Language!” I shouted. I really hated that word.

He laughed. “I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. Ask any other guy what he would have done in my position. I mean, what kind of guy allows some jerk to trash-talk his girlfriend? Not this one!”

I knew he was right, even though I wouldn’t admit it. He started kissing my neck, and I pulled away and looked at him coldly. I got up and walked back into the bathroom to brush my teeth, which I’d forgotten to do before because I was so annoyed.

When I came back in the room, he said, “Come on, Arden. Give me a break,” trying to sound all pitiful. “I guess that means I won’t be getting any tonight.” Sighing, he rolled over onto his back.

I couldn’t help but giggle. Getting into bed, I said, “Why should I be punished for your bad behavior?”

He smiled and picked up where he had left off.

*****

Slayde headed to New York Monday morning, and I headed off to class in a sour mood. A mood that was only made worse knowing my first class was with Eric. But I had a plan: ignore him. No matter what he said or did, I was going to ignore him.

When I walked into class, I realized that was his plan as well, because he wasn’t sitting with Josh and Karen in our little section of the room. No, he was sitting a few rows back with his head in his book. He didn’t even acknowledge that I was in the room — which was fine by me.

The professor was just getting started when I sat down, so I didn’t get a chance to do anything but smile at Karen and Josh.

As soon as lecture was over, Karen asked, “Isn’t Milly coming home today?”

“No, tomorrow,” I said. “You wanna go see her after class?”

“I’ll go during lunch to take her some notes from the other class we have together. She told me she’s been bored at the hospital, and I have plans this afternoon.”

“Oh, well, tell her I will see her tomorrow. I think I am going to study tonight.”

“With Eric?” Josh asked. I looked sharply at him and noticed that he was looking across the room with a huge, stupid grin on his face. And then I saw why. Eric had a nasty black eye. No wonder he was sitting over there. He looked either mad or embarrassed — but either way, I didn’t care. It was his own fault for acting like a jackass.

The next afternoon I could barely contain my excitement. Milly was finally on her way home from the hospital, and I couldn’t wait. I had missed our late-night talks more than anything. When she walked in the door, I ran and squeezed her. She still had a few scrapes and bruises, and I could see that she’d had to fix her hair differently to cover the patch they shaved. But all in all, she looked really good.