Dedicated to:@minlittleprince
Thank you for all the support on my books buddy! :D
"She may be chaos sipping madness from a cup of disaster, but damn, she makes it look good."
~ Jonny Ox
Carlton's POV
Mornings at the Price Villa seemed like waking from a dream, to an even more alluring dream.
The vacant and quite a spacious modern kitchen was eerily, yet serenely silent. Light rays streamed through the windows, the clinking of my spoon, as I stirred my morning coffee, echoed in sync with the birds frolicking the Villa's enormous, green gardens.
A few hushed noises finally emanated from outside, so I followed to see what was going on. Taking a sip from my morning coffee, I opened the porch window of the kitchen to step out into the fresh green grass, barefoot.
And then I choked on the coffee when I saw what I was hearing. There was a carpet laid on the grass. On it, Dylan and Avery were having a small picnic while they ate each other's faces.
They must've have heard me when I attempted to stumble back inside the house.
"Hey!" Avery called out.
Dylan looked away as if he didn't see me at all. Well.
Avery, however, got up and walked towards me, ushering me into a corner. When we were out of his sight, she whispered, concern anointing her makeup-less features, "There's something you need to know."
"Well, there's a lot I need to know," I smirked, "Like my reason for existing."
"Shut up Carl, I'm serious."
Comically, I raised an eyebrow as I acknowledged her actually looking concerned for something in her life; other than how to exploit our sex scandal.
She said hurriedly, "I...might or might not have told Dylan about us."
I choked on my coffee again.
But this time it was different.
This time it hurt.
I began coughing violently and gagging. "You what?!"
She jumped as I slammed the coffee mug on the kitchen table, causing most of it to spill. "You had one job! One fucking job! And that was to not let him know-"
"Yeah well, while you and Damien were away, we all played this game of roasting Carlton Hargrave! And I joked about how you got drunk really quickly and did the nasty and Dylan was like, what the fuck?!"
"First of all, it takes a lot for me to get drunk! Second of all, why the frick would you say that?!"
"He's not mad at me though."
"That's because I'm his best friend and he expects me to tell him everything!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Oh my God..." I covered my face in my hands, my skin heating up with embarrassment, "This is why he was calling me a liar all along! Fuck me!"
"Already did. Thrice."
I lifted my head to give her the dirtiest look I could possibly pull. Am I joke to her? "Just...shut up."
I sauntered out of the kitchen, feeling all kinds of weird. Now I would never be able to show him my face again. Ever. I should just go and die now.
But unfortunately, I had this whole conference with that unearthly duo — Ray and Ace, on how to take down a billionaire mastermind.
So my death would have to wait.
The game room door swung open because I kicked it open. And I kicked it close after I got in too, a little louder so Avery could hear it and feel bad about herself.
Inside the game room, Ray and Ace were in the middle of a game of pool. Breanna was watching them.
They stopped when they saw me though.
We exchanged an awkward silence, masked by the rolling of a billiard ball across the pool table. All of them probably wanted to ask me something but remained quiet. Thank God. Except, I would answer if Bree asked it.
"Apologies," I sighed, "Let's begin."
Ace's spidey senses triggered and I knew what he was going to ask before he even opened his mouth. "Where's Damien?"
"He won't be joining us anymore."
He gasped and others widened their eyes in dismay.
"Why not?!" He whined, "That's not good! I'll go talk to him."
Ace left the game room and I didn't stop him. He could try all he wanted but I didn't suppose Damien would ever want to interact with me ever again.
The silence was haunting the air again, this time between Ray and Breanna and me. It was as if one could touch the noiseless hostility in the room, so hushed and yet so revolting.
I wasn't sure what it was that I hated about Ray so much. I got the girl in the end, or at least I was in the process of it. We both knew I would. He had no chance in front of me and how much I contributed to her happiness.
I had nothing against him and yet, every time he walked in, a cold jolt of fury ran through my body.
Time was slow to pass, as it usually did when we hate something.
Ace barged into the door, followed by Damien Price and then Dylan Summer.
Ace was smiling widely, having achieved something I didn't think he would. "Dylan will be joining us too!"
A sudden draft of anxiety washed over me, resulting in an outburst. "No way!"
"Shut the fuck up, Carlton," Dylan sneered at me with vehement anger, "You don't tell me what to do!"
I was taken aback. No way. No darned way Dylan was joining us! He was too naive, too simple-minded.
Raymond stepped between us, placing a hand on my shoulder, "Calm down, Carl. There's a good chance they already know who we are. They, however, don't know Dylan at all. We might need him."
I couldn't let him be a part of this! Forget being a trivial part!
"But-" I was cut off by Raymond's strong gaze, asking me to dissolve the situation. He nodded at me, indicating I should trust him, and I did.
We parted ways, taking far ends of the room. I held my intense stare on Damien, Dylan, and Ace, suddenly looking like they had been friends forever.
A warm sensation caressed the skin of my palm. I looked behind and Breanna smiled softly at me, slightly touching my hands as if to soothe me. Immediately, the feeling of emptiness vanished.
If she was here for me, that's all I needed anyway.
"Let us begin," Ray announced finally as he strolled around the pool table, "And when I begin, I don't wanna be interrupted until I say so."
Okay.
Lead the way, sire. I will overtake you in this expedition soon enough.
"So, Augustus Bancroft. What do we know about him?" He stared at the group, in all seriousness. "He's is an industrial tycoon. His business in investment services has a market value of over seventy billion dollars. Other than that, he also owns a couple of newspaper companies."
Ace whispered slowly to Damien, "Holy shit." But due to the quietness in the room, we all heard it.
Scoff.
Ray continued, "He's a dangerous man. His crimes? Numerous. Killing innocents to cover his traces, scamming investors off millions. He's also been paying off witnesses to his dirty work. I got my hands on the bank transactions. I have all the proof we need. Here's what we're going to do to expose him."
After sympathetically looking at Breanna and earning her approving nod, he proceeded to set up a whiteboard and drew a messy sketch of some assembly hall.
For the next whole hour, after bragging about how meticulously he extracted the proof, he explained the basis of the plan. And by the way, it sounded ridiculous. Not that I expected it to be good anyway.
"That sounds impossible," Dylan said, his eyes widened by everything going on.
Ace chimed in, "It's not. We've been through worse."
Yeah, like that time you guys ambushed Scar's lair to rescue me. That's the only thing I like you for.
Ray nodded. "If we execute this perfectly we might even get out of this unnoticed. Augustus however, won't, because there are hundreds of people in that room who are way more powerful than him. They won't let him escape."
"Sounds perfect to me!" Ace seemed to be the only enthusiastic person in the room.
Everyone's faces were down, into deep thought about our upcoming fates.
Damien attempted to soothe us. "And even if we do get caught, it's not a problem because we did nothing wrong. In fact, we should be rewarded."
"There's just one problem," Ray interrupted, putting all our hopes down again, "The seats to the conference are all reserved and I don't know how we'll get in."
Oh wow. Bravo, Raymond! You don't even know how we'll make it inside the conference and you already made an entire plan about what to do next?! That's some very poor planning, right there!
So of course, I had to provide my expert support in order for this to work. I asked, "So this conference is going to be attended by hundreds of industry experts and business officials?"
"Yep. Even some Google employees are going to be there. So this thing is big."
I placed my finger on my lips, thinking deep and hard. "And you're sure my Father won't be there?"
"I'm sure." Ray looked at me earnestly, hoping I could help him out. "I checked the seats."
"I know a way." Confidently, I fisted my hand, placing it on my thigh. Everybody's stare was fixated on me. "Phil, give me my phone."
Phil leaned in. "The personal, Sir?"
"No, the work one." I took the "work" phone from him and unlocked it, not answering their fretful gazes.
"What're you doing?" Raymond asked.
I smirked, without looking up. "Nice of you to ask. Have some faith, Ray."
I began typing a text message and sent it to someone I never knew I'd ask for help.
"Let's meet up," the text said.
After that, the plan seemed quite plausible so everybody dispersed for a break.
It was now in my hands to make this work. I had set up a meeting tomorrow with someone very important. If I succeeded, we'd be able to move forward.
I always ended up being a trivial part of everything.
I was the second last one to leave to room but was stopped in my tracks.
Damien called after me, after a long time. He had a pool stick in his hands and he ushered towards the pool table. "Join me?"
I've always been the one to dissolve dramas, so I agreed. I removed the longest pool stick from the rack, standing opposite to him.
As I examined the carvings on the wooden weapon, Damien was the one to speak first. "Listen. I'm sorry. I don't want to ruin our plan just because I said a little too much last night.
I glared at him disconcertingly. "I'm disappointed that you dragged Dylan into this."
He looked down, embarrassment anointed on his face.
"You didn't tell anybody about your sexuality?" I asked, straight away, "Not even your parents or Avery?"
"Not even them." He began assembling the pool balls into a triangle on the table.
"Why?"
"You know why."
I inhaled, taking my position by the table. "Because you want to maintain the Price family's reputation?"
"You can go first." He ignored my question and gestured toward the white ball on the green table surface.
Positioning myself, I focused on the center of the white ball, aligning it with the other balls upfront. I took a shot, scattering them across the table. One of them went into the net, so I got to play again.
"Nice," Damien smiled, leaning on his pool stick.
I smirked, leaning down to take another shot.
Surprisingly, he spoke up. "Since I was a kid, I've always strived to make my Dad proud. So far I've been successful. I want to be like him and to do that, I need his guidance."
I scored again. "So somehow you're disappointing him by being gay?"
He flinched, either at the fact that I was continuously scoring or about what I said. "You know how this works, Carl! I'm Damien Price. One of the leading young entrepreneurs of the family. I don't have that kind of freedom."
I took another shot, but unfortunately, this time the ball ricocheted away. Damien grinned slightly, ready for his turn.
I told him, "You don't have to be the second name. Be your first name. You're Damien, and being a Price doesn't matter."
He scored this time, quite easily. "Aren't you restricted for being a Hargrave?"
"Does look like I give a shit? I'm Carlton. And unless bringing up my second name will help me, I will always call myself Carlton."
He was impressed and for a moment, his eyes locked with mine. "How do you do it?"
I sighed, "I put myself before others. Arrogant, I know. But that is how shit works in this world. Damien, no one can tell you what you should or should not do."
He simply smiled.
*****
Damien won the game. The rest of the day, we spent perfecting the evidence of Augustus' crimes.
It was a big day for me tomorrow. If I succeed, our little trip to Vegas would be the most beautiful thing ever. At night we gathered by the bonfire again, this time with better connections in the group.
Breanna leaned toward me, whispering that she was sleepy and wanted to go and rest. After she left, I got bored pretty easily so I left too.
Rubbing my eyes to kill the drowsiness, I walked up to my room, yawning. I opened the door to my room, gradually, and found Breanna already fast asleep on my bed.
On my bed.
My heart began to beat loudly again. That bastard. Just couldn't stay still at the thought of her so close to me, could it? It was somersaulting in my chest as I got into the sheets.
Is this what dreams looked like?
Oh right, pillow wall.
Very wretchedly, I set two pillows between us, wishing I didn't have to. But I wanted Breanna and me to last forever. I couldn't rush something I wanted so badly.
She didn't like me staring at her, so I respectfully turned away.
Sleep was an unattainable task. My mind was in chaos that I didn't usually feel. I felt scared, not for myself, but for the people that I loved.
My concern for Breanna was understandable but I was also getting closer to the other relationships in my life. It was really scary.
A few minutes of sleeplessness later, I felt movement behind me.
The pillow wall was falling apart.
Breanna snuggled closer to me, her fingers gripping the fabric of my tee. She pressed her face on my back without hesitation.
And here I was — my eyes bulging out of astonishment. My heart was ramming so fast against my ribs that it felt like it was going come out of my chest.
I loved it. I loved it so much.
It was so cozy and beautiful but I needed to get a hold of myself. I pretended to sleep until I was sure she was asleep then got up very slowly and went out to the balcony.
I lit a cigarette that I had got along with me, gazing up at the stars. A few minutes later, I thought I saw something in the corner of my eye and jumped a little bit.
It was Breanna.
"You scared me." A chuckle left my throat raspily.
She smiled, gripping her nightgown. "Probably not as much as you scare people on a daily basis. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I inhaled the cigarette smoke, feeling relished again after ages. "Haven't smoked in a while."
It was dark out here on the balcony. The winds were fast, threatening to push me away with them.
"Me neither." Her red hair swished with the gust. She looked beautiful, like an angel under the moonlight. As much as I wanted to grab her hair and kiss her senseless, I also wanted to keep talking to her.
"You smoke too?" I took another drag from the spliff and then offered it to her. I didn't think she would accept it, but she did.
"Sometimes." Her hands brushed mine, sending a jolt of electricity down my fingers to certain sensitive spots in my body. "I'm trying to stop the habit though."
She examined the cigarette for while, lost in the smoke that emanated from it and disappeared into the air. I wondered what she was seeing in it.
And then she put it in her mouth.
The thought of her luscious lips wrapping right on the spot where mine were, made me weak in my knees, until I had to bite my lips hard enough; until the pain overpowered the pain between my legs.
"Can't sleep?" She asked, exhaling after a long hit.
"Yeah." I leaned on the balcony, trying not to stare at her inappropriately.
God, she was making a damn nightgown look so fucking hot.
I tried to change the topic. "I never really cared about anyone, but now I care so much about my friends that it's keeping me up at night."
"That's good." Her arms touched mine as she leaned on the balcony, joining me. She offered me the cigarette. "It's only human."
It was like I could taste her when I took a drag from where her lips had been earlier.
"All I know is that this stress is hindering me." My head fell back as breathed the smoke out. When I went for another one, I spotted something on the back of Breanna's shoulder.
A small tattoo of an angelic creature.
She caught me staring again and smiled, making me blush and look away.
"I like your smile." She said.
I chuckled, giving her the cigarette.
No girl had ever told me that. They had told me they liked my...well...other things.
While she was inhaling, my hands reached her shoulder. My fingers touched the skin on her back lovingly, pushing her dress strap down just a little bit to get a better look at her tattoo.
She liked it by the way her breathing slowed as my fingers glided over the intricate design.
The angelic creature's wings were torn, broken, bloodied and it looked like it was mourning.
I spoke very, very softly, "What does it mean?"
She looked behind, her eyelashes bowing with misery. "Exactly what it looks like."
My heart squeezed in pain as I placed the dress strap back on.
"Do you have any tattoos?"
I took a hit, still trying to get over the heartbreaking artwork on her delicate skin. "I wanted to get some, but I'm a model so I can't."
We were standing so close together, our skins heating up every time they came in contact.
For some reason, Breanna felt it best to turn around and place her hands on my chest. I was afraid she'd feel my crazy heart beating so loudly for her.
Courageous of me, I took myself by surprise when I leaned down and touched our foreheads. She was so small. Way smaller than so many models I had dated. And yet the most captivating woman I had ever laid my sinful eyes on.
"I can't believe you're taking me to Vegas," she whispered, lowering her eyelids, but lifting her head up.
Flirtatiously, I stretched both my arms on Bree's either side and placed my hands on the balcony behind her, trapping her. "I can take you anywhere you want. You just have to say it."
She took a hit from the cigarette, the smoke whirling between our faces before being carried away the wind. "Take me through your mind."
I lifted a confused eyebrow.
She glared straight into my soul. "I want to understand you."
My poor soul...
"Most people get disappointed when they try."
"Most people don't give a second chance. I did. And so far you've only impressed me." Her fingers were tickling my neck, causing my focus to distort all over the place.
I looked away while taking a hit, not knowing what to say.
She gripped my face, touching our foreheads again. Her thumb stroked my lower lip teasingly as she took a hit. My eyes fluttered close.
Either I was high, or it was Breanna, because I was losing my mind in her vanilla scent and her deep blue eyes.
Opening my eyes slightly, my gaze fixated on her lips. I held her by her waist, fingers bunching the thin fabric of her dress.
The smoke that she exhaled, distorted my vision for a while, making me keen for her stare. And then vanished in the cold air again.
She lifted her hand, placing the cigarette between my lips, fingertips brushing my lips tenderly. Her breasts felt soft against my chest. Touching my cheek, she tiptoed to reach my height.
She kissed very, very close to my lips. I moaned softly, shutting my eyes when I felt her lips oh so close to mine.
"Get some sleep, Carlton." She said my name seductively, grazing her fingernail down my jawline. "You have a big day tomorrow."
What?! No! Kiss me!!
She backed away and gave me a bright, satisfied smile. Putting out the cigarette on the balcony, she walked right past me.
I was aching and shaking.
But I controlled myself. I had come too far, way too far and I didn't want to destroy what Breanna and I had established.
It had taken a lot of understandings, arguments and forgivenesses to get where we were now. I was happy with just that, even if that was all I'll be getting.
I went back to bed. The pillow wall was forgotten as we hugged each other to sleep.
Tomorrow was a big day, right. I needed to get us access to the assembly hall where the conference would take place.
This was our only chance.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
YAS we're so far into the story. An enormous thanks to everybody who made it this far!!
For real, I never thought I'd come this far. Shit I didn't even think I'd get like 1K when I first started writing but holy shit look at Always. I'M WEEPING (T.T)
It's so nice to have a community of friends after a long day of studies and hustle ugh. Wattpad is just such a nice place. And I'm so grateful for everything ^^
Thanks a lot everyone!
Love, K.