Breaking Lacy (Nick & Lacy Book 1) Read online

  “Sorry I took off on you,” I said, taking a swig of my beer.

  “It’s alright. Kara and I were just at a party down the hall. Barry took care of us.”

  “Good for you.”

  “Not really. He sucks in bed. But Kara and I had each other, and he had fun watching, so it wasn’t a total wash.”

  “Sounds like a win-win for everyone. Hey, you coming home this weekend?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Come on over here when you get in town. I have a proposition for you.”

  “So mysterious. Give me a hint?”

  “Kevin.”

  “Ooh, fun! I’ll be there. Love ya,” she said, before we hung up.

  “Yup. Later.”

  Alright, Fate. I’ve done my part. Now you do yours.

  Lacy

  As usual, Kevin’s eyes lit up when we got home from school and he saw Claire’s car in the driveway. I knew she liked to flirt with Kevin, and I suspected he never discouraged her. Claire was with Nick though, and Nick was the most wonderful guy in the world next to Kevin. He cared for me as if I were his little sister, and he would never let the games Claire and Kevin played go unchecked if he thought there was a chance they might hurt me.

  Still, it never failed to rouse my insecurity when she was home with Nick and I knew Kevin would be seeing her. Claire always turned heads with her blonde-haired beauty and a figure that could grace centerfolds. All the red-blooded men in Claryville stopped to take notice when Claire was around. She had a reputation for being promiscuous and openly flirted with my boyfriend—I would be crazy not to feel a little threatened.

  Kevin and I both got out of his car and were on our way up my back-porch steps when we heard my mother’s sultry laughter, even over the brash music blaring from Nick’s cracked bedroom window.

  “We can’t. Lacy will be home any minute,” we heard momma say, her voice muffled through the door. Kevin and I both stared at each other in wide-eyed incredulity for a moment before we peered through the window in the door.

  My father stood behind my mother with one hand up the front of her shirt, and the other tucked down inside her skirt. His head bowed into her neck, by her ear, and suddenly she burst out laughing. “No, we can’t do it right here, right now.”

  “Just a quickie to tide us over until tonight,” daddy pleaded, doing something unseen beneath her skirt that made momma tilt her head back and moan.

  Kevin leaned over my shoulder to whisper, “They’re about to get it on in the kitchen.” Then he snickered. “Think about that during dinner tonight.”

  I stifled a giggle and elbowed his ribs, then grabbed his arm to pull him back down the porch and over to the oak tree in the middle of my yard. As soon as we knew we were out of earshot, we both doubled over laughing.

  “Oh. My. God! I can’t believe we just caught my parents making out,” I said through my laughter.

  “You should’ve seen the look on your face when your dad said ‘quickie.’”

  “Ewww!” I slapped his arm, cringing. “That’s so gross. I can’t go inside now without them knowing I saw.”

  “Oh, just go in and tell ’em to get a room,” said Kevin, his laughter finally coming under control. “Who knew your parents, of all people, could give Nick’s old porn stash a run for his money.” I shot him a scowl, and his face reddened. “I only looked once.”

  “Yeah right. No wonder you’re so horny all the time.”

  Kevin slid his arm around my waist to pull me close against him. He kissed the side of my head and nodded toward my house. “We’ll be that way too, I bet. We’re the only two people in the world who love each other as much as your mom and dad do. They’re still hot for each other at their age, so just imagine how we’re going to be.”

  He started to kiss me, but a vision of my parents in the kitchen flashed in my mind, and my snicker cut him off.

  “Yup, that image is still a little too fresh,” he agreed.

  “Okay, it’s too cold out here for this. I’m gonna have to break up the amateur porn stars.”

  “Come help me with my chores and give ’em a few minutes,” he suggested.

  “I can’t. I need to talk to daddy about something important before the Cary’s come over later. Go on and hurry up with your chores, and then come back over when you’re done because I need to talk to you too.”

  “Cool.” Kevin gave me a quick peck on the lips and left.

  I started toward the house again. My parents must have seen or heard our arrival, for they had already fixed their clothes and smoothed out their hair by the time I opened the door.

  Momma was mixing up a batch of their usual Friday night martinis for when the Cary’s showed up later, a tradition that had been upheld for as long as I could remember. “Hello, baby,” she said, attempting to sound casual, but her flaming cheeks gave her away.

  Embarrassed, I mumbled a greeting and quickly excused myself.

  In spite of his window only being open barely a crack, I could hear Claire moaning slightly over the loud music blaring from Nick’s bedroom directly across the way from mine. I dropped my backpack by the door and fell back onto the bed. Kicking off my shoes, I closed my eyes with a sigh. Luckily, the Claire Sex Show stopped soon thereafter, along with the abrasive music. An inadvertent nap had me in its clutches when daddy knocked on my door a few minutes later.

  “Lacy, can I come in?”

  “Yes, Daddy,” I said, sitting up and pulling my ponytail loose.

  “How was school today,” he asked, taking a few steps into my room. As always, his tall, sturdy frame looked awkward amidst the clutter of everything pink, frilly, and feminine in my room.

  “Not too bad. The usual.”

  “How is the new song coming along?”

  I curled my legs up under me to give daddy room to sit beside me. “I finished the piano score last week. Just need to finish up the lyrics. I think this is going to be my best piece yet,” I said, trying to figure out a way to turn this conversation towards the trip to New York.

  Daddy gave my hand a loving squeeze imbued with confidence and pride. His hazel eyes sparkled beneath the few stray locks of dark hair spilling down over his forehead. “You always say each new work is your ‘best one yet.’ I’m sure this one will be wonderful.”

  I lay my head against his shoulder. His five o’clock shadow scratched my cheek, and I pulled away with a giggle. “I love you, Daddy.”

  He kissed my forehead. “I love you too, bird,” he said, using the nickname that Kevin’s father, Andy Martin, had given me when I was a child because he thought I fluttered about singing like a bird.

  “Daddy,” I started carefully, “did Momma talk to you?”

  His smile faded into an apologetic frown. “Sorry, honey. I’ve got too much going on at work. I can’t take time off to go with you, and I won’t allow you going alone.”

  “Daddy, please,” I started.

  “Honey, I-”

  A knock on my door interrupted him.

  “What?” I snapped, with a sulky pout that made daddy scowl.

  Kevin came in, and when he saw daddy with me, he stopped short just over the threshold. “Oh! Sorry. Hey, Jerry.”

  “How are you, Kevin?”

  “Not bad.”

  Daddy kissed my forehead before rising to leave. He passed Kevin on his way toward the door. “See if you can cheer her up for me, will ya?”

  “What’s wrong?” Kevin asked, looking back and forth from me to daddy.

  Before I could pipe up and stop him, daddy answered, “She’s upset about the trip to New York.”

  Daddy left. Kevin stared back at me, suspicion and accusation furrowing his brow. When he didn’t move from his spot beside the door, I steeled myself for the ensuing fight.

  “What the hell’s going on?”

  “I was going to tell you,” I said, standing and approaching him.

  “When?”

  “Right now,” I said, taking his hands in entreat
y.

  “How long have you known and didn’t tell me?”

  I closed my eyes and sighed with defeat. “A couple of weeks. Since recital.”

  His face reddened. Kevin jerked his hands free and backed away, glaring at me as though I were a filthy beggar instead of his fiancé. “I can’t believe you!”

  “Kevin, it doesn’t matter now because Daddy said I couldn’t go anyway.”

  “And what if he’d said yes?”

  “I would’ve told you. I was going to tell you, Kevin, I swear!”

  Kevin brushed past me and raked his fingers through his hair, swearing under his breath before he turned back to me again. “You’ve been lying to me for weeks. You expect me to believe you now? When was this trip supposed to happen?”

  I took a deep breath and lowered my head, unable to look him in the eye. It was bad enough that I hadn’t told him sooner, but it was about to look as though I hadn’t planned to tell him at all.

  “I was going to leave Sunday evening and come back Tuesday morning.”

  When I dared glance up at him, the hurt and betrayal in his eyes was minuscule compared to the overshadowing fury. I reached out to touch his arm, but he flinched away as though I were a leper.

  “Kevin, I’m sorry, but you knew this would happen eventually.”

  “I never expected you to lie to me about it!” he yelled. “We’re supposed to be getting married, Lacy. How the hell are we gonna do that when you go behind my back and do shit like this, huh?”

  “How are we going to get married when you don’t support me on something that’s this important to me? You knew this was coming and that I planned to do it with or without you, Kevin. Just because you don’t want this opportunity for me, am I supposed to not want it for myself?”

  “You’re supposed to want us and the plans we’ve made!”

  “You’re supposed to love me more than this!”

  “You lied!” he yelled.

  “You left me no choice!” I screamed right back.

  We both stared at each other, nostrils flaring. The veins of his throat popped taut underneath fury-flushed skin. My heart broke. As much as I knew this would be Kevin’s reaction, deep down, the part of me that loved him more than decency should have allowed hoped he would relent once the reality of my future hit him in the face.

  “This is really going to happen for you then?” he asked in a steady voice, showing his attempt to bring the situation under control.

  The music from Nick’s room across the way came back on again, and we both turned vacant stares toward the window for a few moments. Claire’s faint moaning chimed in, and I closed my eyes in despair. How unfair that anyone else in the world should be happy when Kevin and I weren’t.

  “Yes,” I said honestly, wiping my eyes before the pooling tears could fall. “The question is whether I’m going to do it alone, or with my best friend and man I want to marry by my side.”

  He stared at the floor, the muscle in his jaw working hard and fast. His lip trembled, and I knew he was fighting tears the same as I. “I’m not going to be your groupie. I’m not going to watch our lives turn to shit when you start selling out.”

  I took a step back from the impact of his words. I knew he would be upset, but I never expected him to throw all our hopes and dreams away!

  I slid my arms around his waist, holding on for dear life, fearing if I let go, if he left now, we would be over. “Kevin, please. Let’s just talk about this. Really talk like I’ve been trying to for months. We’ll come up with a solution. You know us. We could find a way to make this work without it coming to-”

  I couldn’t even say it. The thought didn’t want to take form, much less the words.

  “I need to go,” he said, pushing me away. “I’m done talking about it.” Before I could protest, he swiveled around and left.

  Nick

  Claire and I lay in my bed, trying to catch our breaths and waiting for our pounding heartbeats to slow after round two. My temples throbbed from the loud heavy metal song that Claire liked to use for mood music. I lay there with my hands behind my head, staring at the ceiling, wishing she would leave so I could shower her remnants away, but knew I couldn’t send her away just yet.

  Kevin was on his way over.

  He’d knock on my door any minute now, and if he didn’t, I’d find an excuse to get him in here. Kevin in the same room with a horny and naked Claire, who now had my green light to do whatever she wished? He was a goner. He just didn’t know it yet.

  I nodded toward my stereo. “Can we turn that shit off now? It’s giving me a headache.”

  Claire stood up just as Kevin, predictable as ever, knocked on my door. She shot me an excited grin and mouthed, “Showtime!”

  “Enter,” I hollered, after slipping on my jeans.

  “Nick-” Kevin came in and stopped short when he saw Claire. His gaze wandered over her from head to toe as she shamelessly sauntered across the room to turn off the stereo and grab a pack of cigarettes from her purse.

  All right, she was supposed to tease him, not give him a heart attack, I decided. I reached over the side of the bed to grab my discarded shirt and threw it at her. She smiled, lazily exaggerating the movements of sliding her arms into the sleeves. Little brother blushed, dared one last peek before it was too late, and then started to leave.

  “Hey, Kev,” said Claire, as she brought the smoking paraphernalia over to the bed and sat back down. “You can stay.”

  She patted a spot at the end of the bed beside her, sitting in such a way that he had a clear shot of her goods. Kevin tore his gaze from Claire’s crotch when I lit my smoke and asked, “What’s up, little bro?”

  Kevin took Claire up on the offer to join us. “Lacy,” he said, as he sat down.

  Trying to appear disinterested, I took a deep inhale from my cigarette while situating my pillow so I could sit propped up against the headboard. “What about Lace?”

  Claire and I heard most of their fight and, of course, I already knew what started it, but I feigned ignorance as he recounted the events of the past fifteen minutes.

  When he finished, Claire mesmerized Kevin with a French-inhale before saying, “If she’s gonna be a selfish little bitch about it, I say screw her.”

  “She won’t let him,” I said with a snort.

  Kevin plucked my cigarette away and took a drag himself. “Screw you, Nick.”

  I grew serious and sat up straighter. “All right, Kev. Here’s my take on it. Why are you so against this anyway? Why are you so set on holding her back?”

  He looked uncomfortable about having to voice his insecurities but finally opened up. “What if she makes it big the way Grace did and then it all gets to her? What if she gets into the drinking and drugs? And the men, the parties, the groupies, the…”

  Now if I were half the brother I should be, I would have stopped Kevin’s absurdity right there. Kevin knew Lacy better than that. I knew her better than that, and I wasn’t even the one dating her. Nevertheless, for my own sake, I put loyalty on the shelf and let him think the worst.

  “You make a sound point. Ya never know with girls.” I shot a pointed smirk in Claire’s direction, and she stuck her tongue out at me. “Then again, you might just be paranoid.”

  “Afraid of some real competition?” Claire piped in.

  “Maybe I can trust Lacy, but how do I know I can trust the people she’d be working with? She’s innocent and impressionable. She doesn’t even see Mark for what he wants, and he’s probably not half as slick as some of those guys she’d be dealing with.”

  Mark Cary’s father and Lacy’s father were close friends and business partners in Claryville’s only accounting firm. Their two families went back almost as far as ours. Kevin, Mark, and Lacy had grown up as good friends too until Kevin got it stuck in his head that Mark had eyes for Lacy. Mark was indeed a player, but whether the threat over Lacy was real or imagined on Kevin’s part, I couldn’t say.

  Claire took anoth
er long drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke out in Kevin’s face before laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think you have to worry about ‘Madame Prude,’” she said, with a thick roll of her tongue. “As long as you two been a thing, if she ain’t let you in her pants yet, I doubt she’s gonna let anyone else do the honors.”

  “God, Claire, ya gotta be so crude?”

  “Well, it’s true, Nick.” When I stood up to finish dressing, she turned to Kevin and whispered, “She ain’t nothin’ but a tease.”

  “No, to be a tease she’d have to actually let me do something,” he whined.

  Claire laughed. Since Claire wore my shirt, I found a fresh one from the closet. “Lace is a good girl. You should be glad for that.” I shot another pointed glance toward Claire and added, “Not many of ’em out there.”

  Claire’s lips curled into a lewd grin as she sprawled out seductively over the void I just left on the bed, positioning herself closer to Kevin. She circled her finger over the denim covering his knee and flipped her long, platinum-blonde hair over her shoulder. She grinned up at him with a come-hither look in her brown eyes as she slowly inched her fingers up his thigh. Claire hadn’t buttoned my shirt, and Kevin’s gaze rested on one of her exposed breasts.

  It wasn’t my brother’s fault that my girlfriend was a slut. Kevin was seventeen and in the full force of his sexual, teenage prime. I couldn’t blame him for getting off on the games Claire liked to play with him. He needed stimulation from someone, and he was right about one thing—he wasn’t getting it from Lacy.

  Fortunately for me, his hormones were playing right into my hand. I knew how much he lusted after Claire, and vice versa, which was what I counted on today. I let Kevin sit there on my bed enjoying my half-naked girlfriend. The fact that he was taking advantage of Claire’s fondling and exhibitionism only hardened my conviction that he didn’t deserve Lacy.

  “I still think you’re paranoid, man.” I gave him a playful elbow nudge to the ribs when I sat down on the bed beside him and started pulling on my socks and boots. “Besides, she ain’t gonna stray. Not when she has one the Martin Brother Studs keeping her satisfied.”