Ryan's POV
"This feels oddly familiar," I state, squeezing the nozzle of the skinny whipped cream bottle onto a plump strawberry from the fruit bowl in the living room, compliments of the couple's package.
After our brief 'walk' on the beach, Alex and I made it back to our suite. A shower, and a blowjob later, we wandered into bed. She's still naked, the only thing shielding her body is the white comforter that sits just above the swells of her breasts.
I'm right beside her, feeding her fruit, and reminiscing on the first time I was introduced to the berry-whipped cream combo at my parent's cabin.
"Very," she replies. A bit of whipped cream dribbles down my thumb, as she bites into the berry. She chews silently, and then licks the remaining whipped cream off my thumb in a way that makes me want to lick the rest off her. "I remember the cabin." She says, after swallowing.
"I'd hope so. We have some fond memories there."
"Very fond ones." She grins, before opening her mouth.
I repeat the berry to whipped cream process. Alex bites into it. The scarlet juice drips down, staining her beautiful pink lips and then suddenly I'm kissing her again. Kissing her like it'll save my life. I've never been the biggest fan of strawberries, but they're suddenly my favorite fruit as her flavored mouth melts into mine.
It doesn't take long for me to want her again. My hands desperately claw on the white blanket that surrounds her body, eager to get it out of the way.
I like sex. I've always liked sex, but with Alex it's something entirely different. I wouldn't even begin to know how to explain it. From the moment we met, she's held some inexplicable hold over me.
And when I say the moment we met, I really mean it. I remember the exact second I saw Alex.
I'd been hearing Adrienne talk about getting a new assistant for some time. She told me she found someone, and that I couldn't use her spare office anymore. I didn't believe her. Adrienne hadn't hired a new employee in years. I thought she was bullshitting. Turns out I was wrong.
One day, as I was getting some work done, a girl stumbled into the office. At first, I was alarmed by the sound of someone opening the door other than me. That's what initially grabbed my attention.
And then I saw her.
She had wide eyes, and looked around the room in astonishment. It was evident that she wasn't from New York, but that's not what had my focus.
She was beautiful.
The city is full of good looking women, but none of them took my breath away. Not like her.
She looked gorgeous. I remembered her office skirt, and the way her legs looked underneath it. Her long, straightened hair and smile that stole every breath from my lungs.
The same smile that faded once she laid eyes on me.
It was only for a second. I only watched her for a second, because that's all it took for this strange feeling to consume me. A good kind of strange. I'd been single for a healthy amount of time at that point—completely unamused by the women around me. I was confused why I felt that way...why a girl I didn't even know lit a fuse inside of me that I was unaware existed. It puzzled me. And amused me. And slightly scared me, so much, that the words that flew out of my mouth next were ones of a complete dickhead.
I told her I didn't like an audience while I worked. That's not a lie, however it defied my true desires at that moment. I didn't want her to leave. I wanted her to stay. Stay in that office. Stay with me.
Very alarming to feel this way about a stranger. And when I finally gained the courage to look at her again, I found her grimacing at me.
Her narrowed eyes and pointed glare made me feel alive.
Yes, I still acted like a dick. But even though our first encounter was sour, I knew there was something about Alexandra Monet that I could not see myself without.
It's why I lingered around the atelier...why I suddenly took an interest in attending Adrienne's events.
Why I took her to Wilky's.
Even in my favorite place to be alone, I wanted to be with her.
Everything that happened between us after that just confirmed what I already knew.
I was hers.
I am hers.
And now I am going to fuck her brains out.
Alex takes my sensitive length into her palms, and strokes me gently. At this point, the sheet is on the ground, and I'm turning her on her stomach.
I grip her ass cheek with one hand, and use the other to position myself behind her.
As my tip meets the slickness of her entrance , a loud banging at the door startles us. We scramble off each other. Alex ejects herself from the bed, and wraps herself in the sheet previously on the ground.
We look at each other with hesitation, unsure what to do next.
"It's just me, guys." A familiar male voice states from the other side. One I recognize well, because of the irritation it provokes from me.
The brother of the groom himself.
"Alex?" My girlfriend questions, taking a sigh of relief.
"Yeah." He replies. "Is now a bad time?"
I open my mouth to tell him to go to hell, but my girl speaks first.
"Um, now is fine. Give us a second," Alexandra says, as her frantic hands reach for her underwear. I also dress myself, while I watch her throw on a random pair of shorts, and white spaghetti straps over her braless chest.
She runs a hand through her messy curls, as though trying to hide what we were doing prior. When she's done, she opens the door.
I follow her, curious as to what Alexander could possibly need from us right now.
Of course, he's standing by the doorframe, invasive and oblivious as ever.
"Hey." He smiles halfheartedly. He doesn't look at me, only at Alex. Neither of us have seen him since the cabin...where he accused me of harming my girlfriend, and then idiotically professed his feelings to her.
"Hi." Is all she replies. Her nipples are hard. I can tell he's trying his hardest not to look at them.
There's an awkward moment of silence before he finally acknowledges me.
"It's good to see you Ryan."
"We saw each other at dinner." My response is brief. "Is there something we can help you with?"
"Right." He nods. "I'm making rounds to everyone's villa. Maggie told me to give these out," he hands me two neon green wristbands. "They're for the resort. All inclusive."
"Thank you." My Alex tells him. I stay silent, baffled that he came all this way to interrupt us for some fucking wristbands.
Another round of silence creeps on us again.
"Is that all?" I ask, once his eyes slowly trail toward my girlfriend's chest.
I was having a good night. I'd hate to have to bury this man. In the spirit of charity, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and the opportunity to walk away.
"Yeah. That's all." He shrugs. "See you guys tomorrow." And then he walks away.
No speech. No dramatic confessions, or heinous accusations.
Now that I think about it, he's been on his best behavior all night. Something I'm hesitant to trust.
I also don't care to think about it right now though. The only thing on my mind is finishing what my girlfriend and I started.
The moment we shut the door, I grab Alex and throw her on the bed to resume where we left off.
I hover over her, supporting my weight with my arms. She grabs my face, and allows our lips to mesh together violently. My hands travel underneath her thin top. When I go to take it off, there's another knock at the door.
We both groan.
"I'm gonna fucking kill him."
I mean it too. Alexander had balls to knock on our door once. Twice is a level of audacity that I simply can't accept.
I lift myself from the bed, and stalk towards the door angrily. I pull the knob so hard, it almost comes undone.
I inhale, mouth open ready to spit harsh words, until my eyes land on the source of the knocking.
I blink a couple times to make sure I'm seeing clearly.
It's not Alexander, but now, something in me desperately wishes it was.
"Jenna?"
Before me is my ex girlfriend who I have not seen in months. I'm still questioning whether this is real or not. Whether the hot sun is causing me to hallucinate.
I'm pretty sure this is real though, because upon saying that, Alex joins me by the door and we both stare at her in confusion.
"Hi Ryan." She says timidly. "May I come in?"
I can't bring myself to reply. Jenna is the last person I ever expected to see tonight. That may just be stupid on my part. It makes total sense that Maggie would invite Jenna to her wedding. They've always shared a sister-like bond. Even after we broke up the first time, Maggie made it clear that she loved Jenna and would not stop speaking to her just because we weren't together anymore. Adrienne also.
The women in my family have always taken a strong liking to Jen. Something I knew I'd have to deal with.
Something I'm fucking unprepared to deal with right now. I feel Alex tense beside me. I don't even want to know what's going through her head.
Jen and I are having what seems to be some kind of staring contest, both of us letting our eyes register the sight of the other after what feels like ages.
In reality, it hasn't been that long. Her hair is longer, a little past her shoulders, but that's the only real difference. Other than that, she's still the Jen I remember. With the same rosy cheeks, and the same floral perfume from when we were in college.
"Uh, sure." I sputter, allowing her space to enter. She steps slowly into our spacious villa, looks around, and then finally, at Alex.
"Hi Alex." She smiles.
"Jenna."
Because I know Alex, and because I know Jen, I'm hyper aware of the tension and discomfort in the room. It's present in both of their body language.
"My flight got in late, that's why I wasn't at dinner. I don't mean to interrupt you two, but I need to talk to you Ryan."
Christ.
Five words you never want to hear from your ex, while the love of your life is in the room. Suddenly my mind starts to race.
I know she can't be pregnant. She doesn't look pregnant...and we didn't even have sex.
"Okay. Sure." I say, though extremely unprepared to have any sort of conversation with her.
"I'll give you two some privacy." Alex says quietly, leaving us alone in the villa. She really didn't have to, but I was too stunned to stop her.
Still...I'm shocked that this is even real.
I haven't seen Jenna in months, now suddenly we're alone on a resort in Aruba.
"So..." I stare at the ceiling, hoping this whole thing will be over soon. "How've you been Jen?"
"Fine." She's brief. "I'm not here to catch up, Ryan." There's a sense of irritation in her voice. "I want to know why Magnolia thinks that we're still together."
"Wait, what?"
"Yeah." She nods. "Did you not tell her that we broke up before thanksgiving?"
I freeze.
Fuck.
Jenna coming back to New York, us getting back together, and then breaking up again all happened so fast. Maggie and Adrienne both knew that we got back together, and I'm now realizing my failure to mention that we also broke up.
I assumed they would've put two and two together, seeing as she went back to Arizona, but judging by what Jenna tells me, it looks like they have not.
"Do they not know you're dating Alex?" She raises an eyebrow.
"They don't." I swallow. "And they can't. Not yet, at least. Please tell me you didn't say anything."
"I didn't." She shakes her head. "I wanted to talk to you first. Maggie mentioned something about you and I in a couples suite, and...handcuffs? It was then I realized that she didn't know we broke up."
Well, that's somewhat of a relief.
"Thank you."
"You didn't let me finish..." Jen continued."I'm not going to lie for you, Ryan." She crosses her arms over her chest. "Maggie is my friend, and it's also very unfair of you to put me in this situation."
That's code for: you left me for another woman and I still hate you for it.
A dick move, I know, but in all fairness...she left me first. All I did was move on.
"I know..." Trust me, I know. "But Adrienne doesn't know about Alex and I yet. We're waiting for the right time to tell her, and now just isn't that time." I say. "Plus, this week isn't about you and I, or even Alex and I. It's about Maggie."
If I ruined Maggie's wedding with my personal drama, she'd murder me, and throw my body into the Caribbean Sea. I can't risk that, and I also can't risk Alex and I being outed.
Even though I want nothing more than for everyone to know about us, Alex deserves to come clean at her own pace. It's neither mine or Jenna's place to interfere.
Jen sighs, and relents.
"Fine." She agrees. "Not because I care about Alex's wishes, or even yours. Only because Maggie deserves her dream wedding."
"Thank you. I agree."
"That's pretty much all I had to say." Jenna states, and I believe her. This short conversation has made one thing abundantly clear; Jen doesn't give a damn about me anymore. A cause worthy of celebration, I'm sure.
Physically, she looks the same, but there's something different about her. Something I can't put my finger on.
She seems lighter. Happier, in a radiant way that reminds me of how she was before her mom passed.
"You look good, Jen." I say sincerely. "I hope you've been good."
She smiles.
"Thank you. So do you."
I was expecting to feel some kind of animosity between us, but surprisingly there is none. No heaviness either. Just two people who once loved each other deeply, and have moved on and made peace with it.
"Being in love looks good on you. She looks good on you." Jenna commends me on her way out. "I'll see you tomorrow, Russo."
I wear half a grin.
"Later, Jen."
A/N
So....👀👀👀 Looks like we have another fake relationship to worry about.
Who do you think will be a more problematic fake spouse...Jen or Alexander?
Jen seems to be rooting for Ryan and Alex tho.
Genuinely, you think?
Guess we'll find out
Sorry about any mistakes! I will edit this chapter later