The Wrong Bed (2 page)

As she sat back in the leather seats of the limo, she wondered at how she found herself in this position. She had moved to New York with dreams like everyone else, she had wanted to be a board game designer. People always laughed when she told them of her plans. They thought she was going to say model or actress, like every other halfway decent girl who moved to the City. But no, she wanted to create board games. She’d been in the City for 3 years now and was no closer to her dream but she was getting there.
She had to, for John.
She bit her lip as she thought about her childhood with John; all the board games they had played.  She had to create something to honor his memory. She shook her shoulders to stop herself from tearing up. She couldn’t cry, not here. Not in front of them. They wouldn’t understand.

“So, what’s the plan for the weekend?” She turned to David and smiled, trying to stop the tears from
flowing. Now was not the time to ponder on the past.

“I figure we can do whatever you want sweetness.” He stared at her as he sat back admiring what he saw. Louise was one of those unassuming beauties. She had shoulder-length black hair, brown eyes and the sweetest smile that most people had ever seen. She also didn’t realize how captivating she was; there was an air of loneliness around her that drew people in and made them want to embrace her.

“Yes Louise. WE can do whatever you want.” Ben interrupted his brother and glared at him. “I was thinking we could go to the beach and maybe go to a museum.”

“Oh.” Louise saw David
mouthing,
“boring” and had to stop herself from laughing.
“Sounds like a plan Ben.” She shook her head at Ben as he pretended to be falling asleep.

“So have you ever been to the Hamptons before Louise?” Ben sat forward and spoke with his face close to hers. She shivered at the closeness of him.

“No, never.” As she spoke she watched his lips, pinker than a boy deserved to have.

“Then I will hav
e to make sure that Ben and I show
you the best time ever then.” He grinned at her and she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face.

“That would be great.” She sat back and smiled to herself and closed her eyes as they continued the drive to the Hamptons. She drifted to sleep as she thought about herself and David sneaking to the bathroom to have a quick kiss.

Chapter 2

“Louise wake up. We’re here.” Ben shook her shoulder and she looked to see where David was as she woke up. She was disappointed to see that he was no longer in the limo.
She got out of the car and gasped. In front of her was the biggest house she had ever seen in her life. In fact, she felt that she was actually standing in front of a mansion. All of a sudden she remembered her fear of feeling out of place. She didn’t belong in this world of giant white houses and limo’s and Rolls
Royce’s
.

“Come on Louise. I want to introduce you to Mummy and Daddy.”

“Uh ok.” She walked behind him slowly, fully conscious of her cheap Levi jeans, white t-shirt and flip-flops. A butler was standing at the door as they walked into the marble hallway. It was the grandest house she had ever seen. There was a giant staircase in the middle of the foyer and Louise watched as a petite blond lady came down the stairs in a flowy white dress.

“This reminds of Tara.” Louise beamed at Ben. “It’s amazing.”

“Tara?” Ben looked at her in confusion.

“You know…” Louise was interrupted.

“Dear brother, Tara was the name of the house and plantation that Scarlett O’Hara lived in in the great book ‘Gone With The Wind’.” A deep voice came from behind Louise and she spun around. The man was tall
and dark. He had a glint in his eyes that made him look dangerous.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you mam. I’m Rhett Butler.” He took her hand and kissed it and then bowed.

“Uh, I’m Louise.” She mumbled the words unsure of what to say.

“That I already knew.” He laughed at his own words. “Ben, good to see you.”

“Richard.” Ben smiled thinly and nodded his head. So that is Richard, Louise thought. She was surprised. He didn’t have the same coloring or features of Ben or David. They were as light as he was dark. She could see why Ben resented his brother. There was a confidence and aura to Richard that Ben would never have. Richard exuded power and finesse and was a virile man. Ben on the other hand was weak. Where one was a lion, the other was a rabbit.

Richard turned back to face Louise. “I can call you Scarlett if you want?” He grinned at her and she felt a shiver run through her body.

“I don’t think so Rhett.” She looked him in the eyes as she spoke and she saw them gleam with respect. She had a feeling that not many people dared to tease Richard Beekman back.

“Ben, dear, how good to have you home.” The older blond lady kissed Ben. “Is this your friend?” She turned to Louise and smiled. “Hello, I’m Susannah Beekman. Ben’s mother.”

“Nice to meet you Mrs. Beekman.”
Louise was surprised that Ben’s mom seemed so genuine and down to earth. She had expected to be met with narrowed eyes and suspicion.

“Please call me Susie.”

“Thank you.” Louise smiled at the woman and marveled at how beautiful she was. She had to be in her 50’s at least but everything about her seemed polished and young. In contrast Louise felt dowdy and old. Oh the pains of being poor!

“Shall I show you to your room Louise?”

“Yes please Susie.” Louise followed the older lady up the staircase and looked back at the brothers talking. David had joined them and they stood there in a sea of handsome and rich men. She caught David’s eye and he grinned at her. She smiled back and him and as she turned her face to continue up the stairs, she saw Richard staring at her intensely. Her heart quickened as she worried that he had seen her and David exchange that glance.

“Here’s your room dear. I hope it is to your liking.” Susie left her alone and Louise marveled at the size of the room. It was bigger then her whole apartment. She sat on the bed and lay back staring at the ceiling. She was happy that she hadn’t been placed in the same room as Ben as that would have been annoying having to fight his hands off. But she sighed at the greater worry that was in her mind. She was very attracted to David and she had a feeling he was interested as well, she wasn’t sure what to do about it though, seeing as she was there with Ben. She closed her eyes to take a quick nap and to get rid of her negative thoughts. She slipped into a deep sleep and smiled as she dreamt of one of the Beekman brother’s kissing her. She rolled around on the bed and sighed with pleasure at the deep kiss that was happening in her mind. Her eyes shot open in the dream and she found herself staring into Richard’s eyes. She immediately jumped
in her dream and woke up as well. She ran her hand over her forehead and sighed.

“Is everything okay?” A deep voice questioned her from the doorway. There was amusement in his tone.

“Yes, I’m fine thanks. Just had a bad dream.” She smiled a weak smile. “I guess I should get ready for dinner.”

“Yes, that would be a good idea.” He smirked at her. “Try not to fall asleep again.” And with that Richard walked back out of the door and Louise groaned. This was going to be a very awkward weekend indeed.

Chapter 3

Louise decided to wear her new white dress from JCREW for dinner. She had gotten it on sale but she felt that it still looked pretty expensive. Well as expensive as she would ever be able to afford.
She brushed her long black hair until it shone like silk and she applied some gold eye shadow to her eyes and applied her bronzer liberally. “What the hell,” she thought as she looked at the rest of her skin tone. So she decided to add self-tanner to her legs and arms as well. She looked in the mirror and smiled. She looked good.  And that gave her the confidence to go downstairs and
deal with all of the Beekman men.

She followed the voices as she walked down the stairs. She was a bit annoyed that Ben hadn’t come to get her in her room to show her where dinner was, but that just gave her more resolve to dump him. She walked into the dining room and took a deep breath as she looked at the sea of blond men. Ben, David, and someone she presumed to be Mr. Beekman all looked like Danish Kings: debonair and dashing. Mrs. Beekman was chatting with two beautiful blonds, who looked like supermodels and
they all looked like something from a celebrity magazine.

“Sickening isn’t it?” A voice whispered next to her and she jumped. She turned and saw Richard next to her.

“Oh hi.” She smiled at him, while wondering how he had the ability to keep sneaking up on her. “Yeah, your family is beautiful.”

“Yes, it seems almost unfair to have so much money and good looks.” Richard studied her face. “How long have you and Ben been dating.”

“Oh, well, we’re not really dating.” She mumbled her words, not really sure how much to say.

“You’re not a paid guest are you?” He looked at her quizzically with a raised eyebrow.

“A paid guest.” She repeated his words until she finally understood what he meant. “No, no. I am not a hooker.” She gasped at him. “I work with Ben at the firm.”

Richard looked at her in surprise. “You’re a lawyer?”

“No.” She bowed her head. “I’m a secretary.” She looked him in the eye. “And a darn good one too.”

“I see.” He smirked. “I didn’t think you were a lawyer. You don’t have the look.”

“What does that mean?” She said annoyed.

“You should know. You work at the firm. What do most of the women lawyers look like to you?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She turned away from him, even though it crossed her mind that he was paying her a compliment.

“Louise, you made it down.” David rushed over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “And may I say mam, you are looking divine.” He spoke in a country accent and she laughed.

“Save the drama for the stage David.” Richard grinned at his brother and they both laughed. Louise saw Ben staring at them from the corner looking displeased. She didn’t understand why he didn’t just come over and talk to them.

“Would you like a drink Louise?” Richard offered.

“Yes please. A Malibu Sprite, if you have it.”

“We have the best stocked bar this side of the Atlantic.” David laughed. “I’ll have a scotch on the rocks big bro.”

Richard walked away to get their drinks and David moved closer to her. “You are the sexiest woman my brother has ever dated, do you know that?”

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” Louise grinned at David and stifled a groan as Ben finally approached them.

“Good Evening Louise.” He nodded formally, his floppy blond hair falling in his face. She wished he would cut his
hair;
he was too old to be looking like a Justin Bieber wannabe
.
“I’d like to introduce you to my dad.” He turned around to call his dad over but the man had already left the room. “I guess he went to finish up some business, I’ll introduce you later.”

“Ok.” She smiled at him, wishing he would just go away.

“So Louise, may I touch your hair? It looks so soft.” David placed his hands on her hair and ran his hands through it. “It’s beautiful.” He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “And long enough to pull on during sex.” He stepped back and grinned at her and she smiled back with a flush on her face.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate David.” Ben looked at his brother in hostility. “You shouldn’t just feel up a woman’s hair, like that.”

“Better than grabbing her tits.” David winked at Louise and she felt a spark run through her. She’d love it if he would grab her tits.

“David!” Ben grabbed Louise’s arm and dragged her across the room. “Don’t b
other listening to him. He’s a belligerent ass.”

She smiled politely and tried to not look back at David. She started daydreaming about having a sexy escapade in the garden with him. He seemed the sort that was down to have some fun. She hadn’t had sex in a year at least and was totally down for sleeping with a hunky actor. Not that she’d ever had a one-night stand before but where had her modesty gotten her?
Nowhere
far and she didn’t want to give up her second virginity to Ben. Not when she could be with his far hotter brother if she played her cards right.