Page 74 of Girl Like Me

“Her family is dangerous, Levi.”

“Liss, those people are no threat to us. We have nothing to do with their business and never will. I thought you made a truce with Jarva.”

Liss sighs. “I did, he saved your life and he made it clear I owed him a favour. But if he breaks the law…”

I can’t listen to this anymore and make my presence known. I don’t let them know I heard what they were saying. It’s not my fault though, I can’t help who my family is. “Do we know how long until the food will be ready?”

“They said about an hour.”

I nod and turn around to leave, but Levi grabs my hand and pulls me back to turn around. I face him and Lissa moves around us, heading back into the main room. I understand her concern. I would probably feel the same way if I was her, but I can’t deny that it doesn’t hurt.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper to him, feeling tears well in my eyes. “I never meant to cause issues with you and her.”

“She will be fine. I’m a big boy now and she knows that.”

We hug and stand in comfortable silence holding each other until Carson finds us.

“Come on, it's time for gifts,'' he laughs.

We all gather in the living room and exchange presents. We had asked them to not go crazy but they clearly didn’t listen. Carson says we'll be back eventually and can have all of this stuff waiting for us when we come home.

The rest of the day is filled with easy conversation, a lot of food and I couldn’t be happier. At some point even Lissa and Jarva started talking and I wonder if they will ever find mutual ground and get along at family functions. She knows who he is and he knows who she is, but today he's just my uncle celebrating Christmas with his family and she's just an aunt who loves her nephew.

By the end of the night everyone is exhausted after a fun filled day and leaves to go home. It’s finally just me and my guys, but it’s time for us to have a talk and clear the air. I need to know how they each feel and my therapist said communication is the only way this would work between us all.

Our talk the other night went well, everyone agreed that they're happy for whatever happens behind closed doors and that we don’t all need a play by play of the events. Kissing, hugging and hand holding is fine in front of each other. I want to start exploring with each of the guys but I’m still worried that someone will feel left out.

Today is our third day here at Sunset Havoc. Rory is in his riding gear and he has been practising his stunts with the other riders. I’m nervous for him, being asked to be here is a huge deal for him, even if he won’t admit it.

The event organisers have started to set up roping off the beach. This section of the beach is privately owned, I never knew that someone could own part of the beach but apparently they can. It's a stretch of sand and water that is right next to the bridge that leads to Briar Bay. My family has a beach house over there for when we go on holidays. This side of the bridge is off a small town called Sunset Haven. Most of the people who live here are not from families of money, they either work across the bridge or they run small businesses here for tourists who visit on their way over to the island. They occasionally get the rich university kids who come here to party with the locals.

The huge metal balls for Rory's stunts have been set up on the grass area and I find a spot to sit and people watch. I have my VIP lanyard and a wristband that says I'm over eighteen. Minors are not allowed to party here, but Milo secretly gave all of the guys their Christmas gifts where no one else could see. They all have new IDs that say they’re twenty-one. The guys tried to refuse, but Milo made a good point that we wouldn’t be able to do a lot of things unless we were a few years older, especially when we make a stop in the US. Our IDs came with new passports, birth certificates, and the works. He told us that we only live once and while this is slightly illegal, we didn’t have to abuse it. So our real documentation is at Rory's, stored in his safe.

Mercer celebrated his eighteen birthday yesterday. He didn’t want to make a fuss, so we had a nice dinner as a group and Mercer and I went for a walk along the beach and spent the night together. I was so damn nervous about everything but he made it super special. My birthday is tomorrow and I can’t wait to spend it with the guys.

The DJ starts to play music and a huge crowd is lined up, it is so long I can’t see where it ends. Maximus decided to come much to our surprise. He has ear plugs in so that it isn’t extra loud and has found a secluded spot to stand and watch everyone. We've all made sure he knows to message one of us if he needs to leave and Levi will take him back to his room.

Rocky runs up the beach wet with a smile plastered on his face and Mercer is chasing him. Levi and Maximus appear to be walking along the shore watching what's going down. Rocky runs towards me, slides along the sand and plops down beside me.

“Hide me,” he says ducking behind me.

“I think it’s too late,” I chuckle. “He saw you.”

We both laugh as Mercer storms over and his hands fall to his hips. “I’m sorry,” Rocky laughs.

“You threw jellyfish shit at me.” Mercer exclaims in disgust as a tremor wracks his body.

I snort because come on, that’s really funny. Rocky doubles over laughing as Mercer sits beside me on the sand. People are everywhere crowding the beach now and the music thumps through the air. Levi and Maximus finally find their way over to us and we all sit around waiting for Rory to start doing his thing.

Once the sun has fully set and the party is in full swing, giant flames burst into the air and motorcycles rev their engines. I spot Rory straight away, recognising his gear as a guy opens the door to the metal cage. He takes off, slinging sand everywhere, and rides up a small ramp to enter the cage. I watch in awe as he starts slow, riding around in a circle, before he changes directions. When he has decent momentum another rider enters the cage joining him. They do tricks around each other and a light show starts, illuminating them adding to the awe of the performance. The crowd goes wild and dances to the music blaring around the beach. Mercer pulls me into his arms and I lean back to enjoy the show.

Whoever runs this party has out done themselves. The party is wild yet controlled.

Close to midnight I’m curled in Levi’s arms and Maximus is lying down with his head in my lap whilst I run my fingers through his hair. The night is warm and humid, not uncommon for this time of year, the salty sea breeze making it tolerable. Maximus taps my leg and points; I have to strain to see what he is looking at. Someone is swimming past the barriers set up. We all turn to watch while we wait for the countdown, even Rory has come to wait with us now that he has changed out of his gear.

Once the person gets close to the shore, we can finally see that it’s a girl. She stands wearing nothing but a very small string bikini with a smile that takes over her face.

A guy walks closer to her and Rory tells me that he’s one of the organisers. He stands with his hands on his hips as she gets closer. She taunts him, swaying from side to side.

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