You Don't Know Me: A Stand-Alone New Adult Romance Read online

  “We’re ready for takeoff, sir,” he says to Jack, though we’re all looking at him. Then he locks eyes with me with a curt tip of his head, the top of his pilot’s cap briefly becoming visible. Behind him, his co-pilot’s back is to us as he pushes a zillion little buttons and nobs.

  There’s no way they know how to work all of those things.

  That terrifying thought launches into my brain. Suddenly, I’m positive we’re all going to go down in flames. My hands clutch the armrests and I sit very straight.

  “Great. Let’s go,” Jack says casually, as if we’re not about to die a horrible death. He glances to me and knits his eyebrows. “What’s up with you?”

  “Nothing. I’m fine. What? Don’t I look fine?”

  “No. But that’s normal.”

  “Shut up, Jack,” I mutter, buckling my seatbelt too tightly. It’s got a silver, fuzzy cozy on it, and I look at it, and then to Sean, feeling the fire boil in my blood again. “Why does the pilot talk to Jack over you? Is it because Jack might punch him if he doesn’t get the respect he thinks he deserves… but doesn’t?”

  Sean’s eyes don’t even twitch. He just watches me.

  Jenna buckles herself in, mumbling, “Rue, you’re really enjoying stirring things up tonight.”

  I ignore her, still staring at Sean. He inhales deeply, like answering this question is the last thing he wants to do. “Jack hired him. He sees him more as the boss.”

  “Well, that’s a joke,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  “You know what’s a joke?” Jack growls, downing his whiskey and setting it on the round table near his right leg.

  Sean puts up his hands, but it’s Alec who speaks up first. “Okay. That’s enough. You guys are acting like kids.”

  “They’re acting like brother and sister,” Sean says, evenly.

  Both Jack and I snort at the same time, and glare at each other.

  I cut my chin cockeyed and raise my eyebrows. “I guess I’m just thinking about the pilot and the driver and the waiter all having to do what the great Jack says, and that makes you…” I point at him. “…think that I have to do as you say, too. I’ve been living on my own for a long time. And yet here I am, carted back to the West Coast as though you’re my keeper!” I lean forward, my eyes holding his as I slide in the knife. “All because you wanna run home to Momma.”

  His jaw clenches and his lips tighten. Sean drops both feet squarely on the floor, glancing to his brother for the eruption that’s about to come. Alec sighs and gets out of his chair, walking to the bar, the tense air too much for him. Jack and I are in yet another staring contest and I’m not letting the asshole win. His eyes glint green fury and after a moment of deciding how he’s going to make me pay, he pushes a button on his chair.

  The pilot’s voice sounds through the intercom. “Yes, Mr. Stone?”

  “Change of plans. We’re going to Ibiza.”

  “What?!” Sean exclaims, grabbing the gray armrests.

  I blink, surprised and wondering why this would be Jack’s penance.

  Jenna asks, “Where is that? I forgot.”

  Alec answers, twisting the cap on the bottle of Bookers and placing it back in its place, “It’s an island off the coast of Barcelona.”

  The smile in his voice pulls my focus to his face and I meet his eyes with an excited look. From behind Sean and Jack’s back, he winks at me.

  Jenna looks as excited as she did when we both got picked to dance in the Usher video. “Holy shit,” she mumbles. “Oh my God.”

  I laugh and sit back in the seat, shaking my head. Spain? I’ve never been to Spain! I’ve never been to Europe at all.

  “Jack, you really want to do this?” Sean’s leaning over to him.

  Jack cuts his eyes to his brother and answers, “We’ve got the gas for the trip all ready to go. Do you have somewhere better to be?”

  From the look in his eyes, he doesn’t. But for some reason, he’s not happy about the plan. Sean turns and asks my best friend, like maybe she’ll tip the scales, “Jenna, do you have anywhere you need to be?”

  Jenna blinks like someone just threw something in her face. She laughs, unlocking her chair and swiveling around in a circle. “Um, YEAH!!! I need to be in Ibiza!!”

  Chapter Thirty

  Sean

  The D.J.’s remix of I’m So Fancy has the whole club losing its mind. A lot of women are topless, as usual. So are the men, including our crew, but Rue and Jenna’s mini-dresses preclude them from joining in. It’s just as well. I don’t want to see my sister’s boobs. I don’t want to see women’s breasts at all, actually. They’re fine; they just do nothing for me. The thought slips out of my mind as quickly as it came in so I can dance with the others, letting the energy of the place take me away.

  Space Ibiza has been heralded as the top club in the world. We’ve come here at least a hundred times. Great lightshow. Lots of gyrating bodies. Sweat dripping. Booze pouring. Pills popped. Cocaine being snorted right out in the open. But we gave that up years ago after one of our friends overdosed and died at one of our house parties, so when it comes Rue’s way just before midnight, and Jack encourages her to take it, I knock it out of the guy’s hand, powder flying, and take a punch to the jaw for my trouble. Two hundred dollar bills wagged in his face later to pay for the lost dust, and we’re thick as thieves. But still I have to turn down another offer for a line. “No man. I’m good. Thanks.”

  “Suit yourself,” he mutters, eyeing me suspiciously as he leaves us, moving through the crowd to offer his gift to any takers. Jack exits with a gleam in his eye, and I watch him until I can’t see him anymore, wondering if he’s going to give it a rest and have some fun. I’m getting really sick of this thing he and Rue have going on. I know it’s not her fault who she is, where she came from, and what she’s been given, but if she would just stop rising to his bait, maybe he’d stop throwing it at her.

  Ah, forget it, I tell myself, dancing and laughing with the others. I wish as I’ve wished so many times in my life that I could do what the people around me are doing. There’s a guy to my right I have to avoid looking at. He’s been doing everything in his power to get my attention for a couple hours now. I don’t want our crew to catch me looking longer than I should. And not as long as I want to. Everyone around us who isn’t dancing, is making out. Guys on girls. Guys on guys. Girls on Girls. Switching partners with the switching songs as the D.J. spins whatever makes the room shake the most.

  It’s torture.

  It’s always torture for me here. That’s why I didn’t want to come. I want to join the free. I want to go to that guy and grab him by the back of his head and plant a kiss on him in front of the whole room. It fucking kills me. But there is no privacy in my world. I can’t trust people to keep quiet were I ever to take the chance to satiate my needs in private. Celibacy is the worst way to live. It’s unnatural. We’re not meant to never touch another body, never get close to someone–so close that for at least a little while, you become one. I’ve never been in love. And I’m still a virgin.

  A fact Jack and Alec must never know.

  The music fades in the middle of a beat, and the room reacts with annoyed confusion until we hear Jack yell loudly across the room, “WHO WANTS A DRINK?” Alec, Rue, Jenna and I, all look behind us to see Jack on the bar– in jeans, no shoes, no shirt–cupping his hands around his grin as he yells, “DRINKS ARE ON ME!!”

  A thousand people go ballistic. I laugh hard, from deep in my belly, throwing my head back. I yell over the music as the volume rises again, “Looks like you finally had a good impact on him!”

  She shakes her head, saying with feeling, “No, he just didn’t want to be one-upped. Has he ever bought a room drinks before?”

  I shake my head and yell, “No! Never! We heard about what you did after we arrived in New York, and I have to admit, I was a little jealous I wasn’t there to see it! Or that I never thought of doing it myself!”

  She laughs, happy for the prai
se. “Sean?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry for my tantrum. I was being a jerk. I want you to know, I’m having a great time. Thank you.”

  I grab her and give her a hug. She squeezes me tightly and kisses my shoulder. Jenna and Alec are pleased and as we continue dancing in our little circle of four, Rue’s energy lightens enormously. Pure joy emanates from her as she dances, her body moving like it’s made of water. You have to watch them, her and her friend. The songs shift and without even looking at each other, they shift with them, always in sync as though they choreographed it.

  After awhile, Jack rejoins us, eyeing them. “Hey,” he says to me. “Did you see that?”

  “You have fun?”

  “It was pretty cool, yeah. This is Sophia.” He’s towing a topless, blonde Australian girl who’s got a beautiful body. I glance down to admire her long skirt just as she smiles at Jenna.

  Jenna’s eyebrows rise as Sophia saunters over and touches her hair, sliding a lock behind Jenna’s ear, standing really close to her. We’re all watching, and Jenna cuts her eyes to Rue who shrugs that she doesn’t know what’s going on. The Aussie smiles and leans in with her tongue sticking out a little. Jenna stares at it a second, then takes it between her teeth, and they kiss. Jack chuckles at Rue’s face, watching her act like it’s not a big deal even though it’s clearly shocking the hell out of her.

  “What’s the matter, Rue? Afraid of a little girl on girl?” Jack calls over. Her eyes flash, and she laces her fingers into the blonde’s hair. Sophia releases Jenna and looks at Rue with a sexy smile. Rue cuts her eyes to Jack and kisses the girl full on, nice and slow and long. Alec gets a fierce look in his eyes like he might yank them apart. He meets my look of warning and turns to walk away.

  Sophia responds eagerly to Rue’s kiss, slipping her hands around my sister’s back. Jenna turns her back on them, dancing normally like nothing is happening out of the ordinary. This interests me. I’m wondering if she’s hiding what I’m hiding. Acting like she doesn’t care. From Rue’s nervous reaction to the Aussie’s fumbling with her zipper, trying to pull her dress down and make her topless, too, I know Rue’s never kissed a girl before. Or maybe she’s just nervous because it’s in front of us. But Rue looks to her friend for help, and gets no eye contact. I look over at Jack and realize what’s going on.

  “Alright. Alright.” Alec storms in and angrily pulls them apart, the muscles of his arms tightening, sweat glistening on his chest in such a way that it’s hard not to look at.

  “Alec, stop it!” Rue says, and jerks her arm out of his grip. He glares at her, spins on his heel and takes off. She stares after him like she’s going to follow him, but stops herself when she sees Jack’s face. She doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing she’s upset. Smiling at him like everything is fine, she keeps dancing, saying, “This place is a blast.” Nervous laughter. “But I need another drink.”

  She looks over to find Jenna and Sophia kissing again, my suspicions confirmed. I jerk my head toward the bar.

  “We need to let it die down after Jack bought the round.” She looks over and realizes what I already know: it’s slammed with no signs of slowing until everyone’s got a fresh glass. Also what I know? That Jack brought that Aussie over here on purpose, and Rue played right into his hand. This round, he won. Hands down.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Rue

  The few hours I passed out on the plane, weren’t nearly enough, then we checked in here at Aguas de Ibiza, the most gorgeous hotel I’ve ever been in. We ate breakfast around the pool, took a short nap, ate a quick meal, and then off to that club. Up until Alec left, it was so much fun, but the last couple hours have been brutal. Now I am exhausted. I face plant onto the bed. I didn’t even have the energy to ooh and ahh at the pretty room. I just made a beeline for the bed. Problem is, so did Jenna and that girl. They’re kissing and moaning next to me, and all I want to do is sleep.

  “Jenna!!” I cry, voice muffled by the top of the cream-colored duvet cover. “Why didn’t we get separate rooms?! Or at least two beds? Fucking Jack.” Teaches me not to pay attention, but when we walked into hotel reception yesterday morning, I was too in awe that I was in Spain to think Jack wouldn’t give us a room with two beds. Who thinks of stuff like that until it’s too late? And aside from the Hyatt we booked in New York, I’ve never in my life reserved a room in a hotel.

  She comes up for air, her voice low and sexy, as Sophia burrows under the covers. “Sorry, Rue.”

  “Alec never came back. He hates me now.” Sophia mumbles something from down below. “What’d she say?”

  “She said, Who’s Alec? He doesn’t hate you. He likes you too much, seems like. Do you want to go... get another room?”

  With effort I pick up my head. “What? Why me?”

  Jenna’s eyelashes are heavy, her mouth open with pleasure. She barely manages to say, “What am I going to do, put it on my card? Oh God… Come on!”

  I groan and climb off the bed. “You’re right. You’re right.” Ignoring my discarded heels, I take my blistered bare feet out into the hallway, trudging for the elevator.

  It was just Sean and I on the dance floor after Jack left with some brunette he’d just met. Sean couldn’t be trusted with any questions of where Alec went, so I just danced and drank, and didn’t even notice he’d switched my vodka cranberry to just cranberry until the third one in when I told him they were so good, I couldn’t even taste the alcohol! He confessed. “I know you’re being protective, Sean, but cut it out!”

  That’s when it was time to call it a night.

  Now, waiting for the elevator, I glance down and discover a rip in the seam of my sexy little black dress, one of the many things I bought in New York. “Oh no!” I pull it up and look closer, wondering if it can be fixed, just as the elevator doors open. My head swings up and standing in front of me is Alec with a woman who could be Penelope Cruz’s younger sister draped on his arm.

  As he and I recognize each other, his eyes flicker, but that’s about it. I’m stunned. Jaw slackened. Heart pounding. I drop the hem. Straighten up. The woman smiles an I-just-got-fucked smile, and Alec’s cold eyes look as though they don’t know me. A bleeding chunk of my heart falls off. Sean’s warning I wouldn’t listen to is now wearing a white mini-dress and heels to rival any stripper’s. What. The. Fuck.

  I hate Ibiza.

  The doors start to close. Alec reaches out and stops them. I can’t speak. I just stare at his fingers. Those fingers. Then back to his face. To hers. Back to his. After what seems like an eternity, he asks, “Where’re your brothers?” She lays her head on his shoulder, waiting for my answer.

  My voice is so quiet, I can barely hear myself. “They went to their rooms. I was just going to get a separate room for me, because…um...” I trail off, staring at the sex-beast whose tits are way bigger than mine.

  Alec is all business. “What’s wrong with your room?”

  I whisper over the lump in my throat, “Jenna’s gone girl crazy, that’s what.”

  Alec’s left corner of his mouth tugs up, but his eyes are mean. “You’re not joining them? Seemed like you were headed for a threesome.”

  Stunned, suddenly aware that I caused him to run to this woman, I cry out with my hands flying up, “No! I just kissed her to beat Jack at his game! I was into you! What does it matter now? You’re here with Señorita Sex!”

  In a thick accent, the woman sighs, “Señorita Sex? Really?” To him, she says, “They’re not here. Can I go now?”

  Confused, I watch him nod, and she lets go of him, her eyes dead as she eyeballs me and walks out into the hallway. He pulls me in just before the doors close. With a gasp, I’m yanked onto him. “What is going on?!!” He shuts me up with a kiss. His lips press hard into mine, and even though I’m still confused, I respond, throwing my arms over his shoulders with relief.

  As the doors whoosh open, one floor up, without explanation I’m pulled down the hallw
ay to the last room. Alec glances several times behind us to make sure we’re not followed, and I look back, too, horrified that this is how we have to live. I could say no. I could go downstairs to the lobby and get my own room and clear my head. But I know that’s a feeble plan I will never be able to execute.

  This is where I want to be.

  On the run or no, I want to be with Alec. Seeing him with that woman drove the point home even more. I won’t share him, and I won’t give him up.

  His key opens a Cloud Nine Corner Suite that’s so much better than my room I have to gasp when I see it. The two corner walls are floor-to-ceiling windows. There’s an outdoor patio wrapping around overlooking the water, and gorgeous lounge chairs waiting to be slept in. It’s gorgeous in here, the layout modern yet very relaxing. There’s even a living room area. The bed’s enormous.

  Glancing around, I want to punch Jack for his private joke. He must have snickered his smarmy little ass off when he booked me and Jenna in that dinky little room. Probably knew I would think it was amazing, that I’d never know what I was missing because with where I’m from, I’d be impressed. This whole time he’s known he booked me in the hotel’s worst.