The Window Seat (badLuckbrides #1)

Chapter 8

Simon

Seeing Kathlyn in a wedding dress just made it all that much more painful. It made it finally set in for me that this is, real.

This is really happening and I'd have to watch it, front and center.

I'd have to stand behind James and look at her and the beautiful smile that she wore when she was in love. The smile I missed so much, it hurt when I got a glimpse of it at the dinner. This whole thing has been so fucking depressing, but there's literally nothing I can do.

I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't.

I leave and I stand the chance of ruining not only one friendship, but two.

I've just left the elevator and stepped foot onto the fifteenth floor. Leave it to James to book us all on the same floor of a luxury hotel like this one. Kathlyn has no idea who she's marrying and it's so painstakingly obvious. She looks so surprised whenever he shows his over-privilege, almost like she didn't know he'd grown up his whole life with money and that this traveling thing was a hobby and not the root of all his finances.

I'm shuffling through my wallet for my room key when I hear a, "Hi, Simon." The sinister tone from behind me makes me standstill. I really don't want to deal with this right now. Well, with her.

"Simon." She giggles and I finally turn around. Beth's standing in her doorway, which is coincidentally right across from mine. She's in nothing but a black satin robe, looking like something in a Victoria's Secret ad.

Beth was a cute girl, she had pretty, dark hair that was thick and waved at the ends. She always looked like she'd come from the salon, probably because she did, and she had a natural, toned body from years of tennis lessons in the private court that James and I spent many of our sixteen year old drunken nights on. But Beth was a bitch and I just wasn't into that.

"Hey." I return to looking for my keycard. Quicker.

"My door's already open." I watch her tilt her head in a sultry way. In an attempt at being seductive, way. I'm still wound up from earlier, Kathlyn pouting at me in a thousand different wedding dresses is still in my head and every time I close my eyes I see her face. She's beautiful, and way sexier than I remember her being. It'd been so long since I'd had a woman in bed, her simple cleavage in a couple of those dresses had me crossing my legs at the bridal shop like I was sixteen again.

"That's alright. Long day tomorrow."

She steps out, her hand slithering over the door frame as she loosens her robe, exposing the crest between her breasts. "Simon." Hers just didn't do anything for me. Not even a twitch under my pants. And Beth was hot, so it was weird that she was half naked in this hallway and I wasn't turned on at all.

I don't let my eyes linger on her. Despite how obviously attractive she is, she was still James's annoying little sister and that was the biggest turn off of all. Meanwhile, I still can't find my keycard. My wallet is a mess—I need to remember to stop applying for credit cards—but it clearly isn't in there.

"I know your secret," I hear her say. "You and Kat."

I turn back to face her again. The words sparked my interest. "Stay the hell out of it."

She drops her chin. "James doesn't know, does he?"

I stare down at the end of the hall. Of course he didn't. I couldn't tell him his fiancée was once supposed to be my fiancée. That she delivered our stillborn son months before they met.

"Ugh, you're such a shit best friend, but you were always a good fuck. Come in," she continues, stepping away from the open door to grab my hand.

"Seriously, Beth I'm not interested. I actually couldn't be more disinterested. You're James's sister, his baby sister and—"

"Please. We're only a year difference, but I'd be happy to show you I've grown up quite a bit. Come on, I've been dying to see what you're packing these days."

"How'd you find out." I scowl at her, ignoring her attempt at pressing our bodies together.

"A little contraption called Facebook." She breathes into my neck after standing up on her toes. Her hands feather over the length of my chest. "When I heard you were coming out, I wanted to check and see that you didn't have a girlfriend and as you can imagine I got quite the surprise." I cringe as she starts kissing my neck.

"I don't even use it," I mumble to myself. I hadn't used facebook since...Well, since Kathlyn left.

"Well it doesn't just vanish because you aren't logged in. You might want to delete it before James finds time to search you up and sees the cute lil' gallery of you and Kat-travels before the fame and fortune."

"Fuck, man."

She grins as she grabs a hold of the front of my shirt. "So, show me what I've been missing all these years, Simon. Fuck me."

I turn my head as she glides her hand over my cheek. Damnit, she was like a fly buzzing in my ear. And then she slid her other hand over my groin and gently cupped my flaccid dick in her palm. Literally nothing was going on down there.

"No. I need to go. I have things to do, Beth."

"Show me, or I'll tell my brother." Her brows raise at me and she steps back. "Actually, let me rephrase. Fuck me or I'll tell him."

"You wouldn't ruin this for your big brother."

She giggles. "Oh, I wouldn't?"

She would. She was such an entitled brat, she'd fuck over her own elderly grandparents if it benefitted her.

"Simon. I don't like Kathlyn for James, and even more than that, I really don't like her for you, so I'd be happy to spill. But I'd be even happier just swallowing your cock to keep quiet." She rolls her tongue between her lips, getting them wet and I realize what it is that's turning me off. She's way too, eager. It's almost disgusting.

I roll my eyes. "As tempting as that is—" It isn't.

The elevator doors slide open and women's voices liven up hallway, which make me push Beth through her door and shut it after us. Evelyn and Ashlyn were also staying on this floor and that's the last thing I needed. For them to report back to Kathlyn what they think they saw me doing with James's sister.

"Good choice. Your secret is safe." Beth bats her eyes at me, pulling me toward the bedroom with both hands. Christ, am I really doing this?

"Beth," I warn, but she doesn't listen. Instead she pushes me down on the mattress and straddles me. I'm teetering the line between reluctant and giving up and cooperating. She wouldn't hesitate to tell and I didn't need this getting out. Not now at least.

"Beth, seriously." I shove her over so that she's laying back on her elbows, staring at me with her scowl.

"Why? Do you have a girlfriend or something?"

"No."

"Then?"

"You're James's baby sister."

"Funny how that didn't seem to stop you before."

It was only a couple of times. I barely even remember it. Besides, she was just as pushy then as she is now, I practically gave in just to get her to stop.

"Beth."

And then she smiles like she's figured something out. "If you don't fuck me right now, Simon, I'll tell him you did."

I scoff, narrowing my eyes at her.

"And I'll tell him all about you and Kathlyn, too," she adds.

"What the fuck," I mumble. Still just as evil and manipulative as I remember her being.

She stares me down with that self righteous smirk until I sit back. She crawls to me, swooping down toward my ear. "Good boy. Don't worry, it's not like you won't enjoy this."

I left about twenty minutes later. Like I said, it'd been a while. Around eight months, actually. I hadn't dated anyone since the time me and Kathlyn took a two month break, and after we finally broke-up I just wasn't interested in having a steady thing. I hadn't been interested in anyone like that.

Beth is about as pleasant as jock itch, but she gives decent head so I'll give her that. I just hope I don't have to keep this up for too long.