Stars Landing [Book 3]

Chapter 2 - Plotting Revenge

"It was hard to keep Rhea home when I first told her," Tegan said. "I swear she would be in jail right now if I hadn't tied her down. I'm not exaggerating either, I literally had to tie her down to a chair, and make sure she didn't do anything stupid."

"I'm so sorry, Tegan," Sera hugged her again. "Boys are the worst. They cane be the absolute fucking worst people alive, but you deserve to be treated like a queen. It's his loss and he is going to regret it once he realizes he lost a precious gem."

"I don't think he will," Tegan wiped her tears. "He said he didn't want to sleep with me but got greedy. He told me to punch him if it would make me feel better. I wish I did but I was in shock. I couldn't move. I just kept thinking about how he made me believe that he actually liked me. He said he knew I wouldn't be able to play it cool and not let my feelings get involved."

"The fuck does he know?" Sera grumbled. "This guy doesn't get to make up rules and bullshit his way through your life. His idea of liking someone is nailing and bailing? He's the one that can't handle it. He's the one that should be suffering, not you. I bet you he's the one who is catching feelings right now but isn't man enough to admit it."

"Kerry put things into perspective for me," Tegan sighed. "And gave me an idea, a really crazy idea that I'm not sure I can follow through with."

There was a short pause. Sera rubbed her friend's shoulder and encouraged her to continue the story. "What idea did you come up with?"

"Kerry said I should move on and prove to him that he's not worth my time," the words came slowly to her. "But I think the only way to pay him for what he did to me is to give him a taste of his own medicine. Starting with having a second nightstand."

Sera was shocked. "You want to sleep with him again?"

"You can't tell Rhea about this!" Tegan pleaded. "I'm afraid if she finds out, she will be disappointed in me."

"So you're not debating over it," Sera concluded. "You're going to get revenge by sleeping with him again? Then what? Are you going to be friends with benefits until he does something else to hurt you? I'm sorry Tegan, but I don't know if this is such a good idea. It's not going to be good for your heart."

"That's why I want to do it!" Tegan retorted. "I'm not weak, fragile or delicate. I want to show him what happens when he underestimates us."

"So your plan is to make him fall for you," Sera concluded.

Tegan shrugged. "If that's what it takes to make him feel what I feel."

"Have you thought about this? I mean really thought about it?" Sera wanted to make sure Tegan knew what path she was going down. There was no coming back from this. She could let things be and get over the asshole, let time heal all her wounds, or she could risk hurting her own heart. What if she couldn't detach herself from that scumbag? What if she ended up liking him more? What if she just kept falling deeper and deeper into the hole?

"I want to try," Tegan said anxiously. "If I sleep with him again and feel like I can't let my feelings go then I'll stop. I'll cut him off and step back."

Sera wanted to be supportive but she also wanted to be realistic. "If you already decided to do this then I can't change your mind," she said. "But I'm going to use my better judgment and keep an eye on you. If I feel like you're the one that is getting hurt instead of him, I'm going to pull you out of it. Fair?"

Tegan nodded. "Fair."

Sera nodded as she went to drink more tea. "He better pray I never run into him or the first thing I'm going to do is punch a hole in his face."

"Thanks, Sera," Tegan smiled.

"Always, but you should tell Rhea," Sera advised. "If she finds out some other way, she'll be upset that you didn't think to trust her."

Tegan shook her head. "I can't tell her," she said. "You don't know how well everyone is connected through Christian. He's Warren's best friend and Red's manager."

Sera's jaw drew to the floor. "I'm sorry, he's what?"

"Oh," Tegan bit her lip. "I didn't tell you that he's Red's manager? Sorry. Yeah, the three of them are really close friends."

"Okay," Sera drawled. "How the hell did you guys get involved with these guys in the first place? I know you said that meeting Christian was by chance because of the yogurt stand but this is ridiculous? Does Red Jensen know that you're interested in his friend or that Rhea is dating his producer?"

Tegan shook her head. "Red is a little oblivious to things," she informed. "I don't know if it's my place to tell you this but Rhea had a huge crush on Red."

"Uh, I know. I was there."

"No, not like a celebrity crush," Tegan smiled. "Like a real one. I'll let her tell you the details about it but she ran into him at her studio and things kind of fell apart. She met Warren on the train randomly and didn't find out until much later that he was Red's producer. He was supposed to help her date Red but fell for her instead."

This was too much information to process at once. "Hold on! Hold on!" Sera rubbed her forehead. "You're saying Rhea almost dated an international pop star?"

Tegan nodded. "It got a bit messy when Warren started falling for Rhea. I'm pretty sure they even kissed at Red's apartment at one point. Red has no idea Warren and Rhea are officially dating. They just went to his place to tell him."

"Is Rhea an idiot?" Sera was appalled. "Why the hell would she pick the producer instead of Red? Did she lose all her goddamn common sense? You don't date the junior associate at a law firm, you date the guy who made partner!"

"Rhea and Warren deserve each other," Tegan laughed. "Plus Red was giving her mixed signals. He said he liked her but didn't want to be irrational because there was another girl involved. I honestly don't think he has a right to be mad at them for being together. They've been through a lot over the last two months."

"Who the hell is this other girl?" Sera asked bitterly.

"Misha Lodge," Tegan replied. "Some model."

"Of course she's a model," Sera rolled her eyes. "Tell me why all the hot men in the world folly over models? They're flawed too. Man, stuff like this really pisses me off. Rhea was so close to being semi-famous."

"Sera!" Tegan nudged her. "That's awful."

Sera shrugged. "I'm just saying."

"So how come Harry didn't come with you?" Tegan asked, changing the subject. Sera didn't know what to do now that the ball was in her court. It wasn't really her place to go talking about Rhea's family problems.

"Yeah, something came up."

"How are Rhea's folks doing?" Tegan asked. "Do you see them often?"

Sera wished her friend wouldn't delve too much. Rhea's parents were all well and fine except for the fact that their daughter had run away to a city without telling anyone. Again, these were just things Sera heard from Harry. It wasn't her place to gossip about her friend's personal life.

"They're good," Sera kept the conversation casual. "What are your plans for the day? Rhea is off confessing to Red Jensen somewhere. What are you up to besides plotting revenge?"

"I have to go grocery shopping," Tegan sulked.