Chapter 8

I wake up.

I'm so confused. My head aches and I'm in my bathtub.

The water is running and I'm completely naked. I don't hesitate to hop out of the tub and run to my phone. I look at the time. It's 11am on a Friday. How the fuck is that possible?

There is no way in hell that I was asleep for that long. I also see all these missed text messages. All the text messages are from Storm. There are 10 of them. All 10 are asking where I am at and why I didn't show up for the cabin trip. I can't believe I completely missed my opportunity to go.

I reach for my phone and call him.

"Hello."

"Demarco? Man...where you been? I've been trying to get in contact with you all day."

How do you explain to someone that you saw the image of his dead girlfriend in the mirror, hit your head and woke up the next day not remembering how you ended up naked in a tub. I don't get it and it's a little scary to say the least.

"You're probably over me," I tell him on phone, "I must have forgotten the day..."

"Well we're at the cabin now. You still coming right?"

He still wanted me to come? Even after he thought that I stood him up? I'm a little confused by it but at the same time a smile spreads across his face.

"I'd love to come."

"Good I'll have a car out in front of your apartment to pick you up in an hour."

~

The drive to the cabin is a long one. It takes some hours to get there. Sure enough Storm sends an actual car to get me and drive me several hours out of the city to the cabin. I've never really been to some place like this. The woods are beautiful. They outline the sky. The whole time I'm just wondering about seeing Lady in that mirror. It was weird. I wonder if the drugs cause some sort of hallucinations as a side effect. Maybe I should slow down on using them. Malachi wasn't around anymore to ask about them.

The cabin is just what I would think for a guy a like Storm. It is huge and really legit. We pull up to log cabin that sits on the side of a mountain. It seems secluded past a long wood trail.

I don't even have to touch my bags. The driver takes my bags in.

I walk up the trail towards the house and then it hits me. I'm not Lady. I'm Demarco. Lady would have no trouble fitting in with these people. Demarco was a whole different story. That becomes increasingly clear when Savannah opens the door as I approach.

"Hey?"

"Are you lost?" she asks.

It's barely the afternoon and the girl has a full face of makeup on. The face Savannah gives me right now is priceless to say the least. She wouldn't have looked at Lady like this. A part of me wished I would have arrived as Lady just to see the look on her face when she finds out that Lady was invited. Instead it's Demarco and she is underwhelmed to say the least.

"I was invited."

She looks me up and down, "Why?"

"Savannah, do you mind?" a voice asks from the living room, "That's my guest."

It's clearly Storm. As I walk in I believe they are barbecuing. Miles is barbecuing with Ivory standing next to him from the patio. They both look at me and start talking rather quickly, looking annoyed. They are probably trashing me immediately.

At the bar, I see Gunner and Ebony. It looks like they are drinking some alcohol waiting for the food to get done. Gunner starts laughing uncontrollably seeing me. Ebony punches him in the arm for it. I wonder what is so fucking funny.

"This weekend is already full of surprises," Gunner says.

I don't know what he means when he says that. What ever he is referring to seems to cause Storm to give him the most bitter look I've seen him give to anyone...ever. Storm usually has that haunting handsomeness. Now he just looks pissed. Still he manages to shake it off and approach me with that fucking groundbreaking stare and smile.

"You made it," Storm says.

His voice sounds like sex. That's the only way to describe it. It's like someone rehearsed this perfect pitch mixing masculinity, chocolate, silk and a orgasm. I just want to hear him speak all day. I smile like a fucking little girl. I want to lose myself to it but then I see Gunner watching. The level of awkwardness is something that I've never felt before. I want to find the nearest fucking bed and bury myself underneath it. I feel like a clown at that moment especially when Tempest walks down the steps of the log cabin. Her eyes settle on me. She looks at me. Then she looks at her brother. Then she looks back at me. The others seemed annoyed, curious and even entertained but the face that Tempest has on seems to blow all the others out of the water. She is disgusted. I've never been able to read a face as easy as I'm reading hers right now.

"Are you fucking joking?" Tempest asks.

She's pissed. She looks at her brother hard and then jets back up the steps in the most dramatic way I've ever seen. This causes Gunner to break out into more laughter.

"Tempest!" Storm says, before turning to me, "Fuck. Demarco um...just...chill out for a minute. I'll be back in a minute."

"Wait...Storm wait..."

It's too late. Storm leaves me downstairs to chase after his sister upstairs. I almost want to run after him. I shouldn't be mad. I shouldn't be acting so shocked and surprised because after all that was his sister. Still I'm horrified. I'm scared.

The stares increase as soon as Demarco leaves. I'm not surprised when it's Gunner who makes his way over to me. He is smiling but not in a friendly way. He is the last person I want to see her. I hadn't really thought about this trip. I hadn't thought about the fact that I'd be around Gunner and Tempest. I was so hype that Storm invited me that I forgot who else was coming.

"Hey you," he says.

I can hardly look him in his face. This guy was the guy who was treating me as his "charity fuck". He stands in front of me thinking he is some nice guy but I can look right past that and see the asshole underneath.

"Hi..." I respond looking at the carpet.

"I been meaning to talk to you. Glad you showed up."

"About?"

"I need you to come back into my studio when we get back to ATL," he tells me, "I need you to look at my new pieces and give your input."

Right. So he can take all the credit for the editing like he did before. So he can use me and throw me away like he did before.

"You know...I'm kind of busy lately," I tell him.

I try to make it sound nice but it comes out a little blunt. It must be my tone. I can tell he's surprised because his eyes open up wide in the weirdest way ever.

"Fuck you mean?" He asks.

"Excuse me?"

"You don't got shit else to do," he tells me, "Why are you acting like you don't want to help me?"

He's offended. The weird smile he had on his face is replaced by something a lot more aggressive.

"Sorry man," I explain to him, "I should probably get my bags to my room."

I start to walk away but I feel him grab me. He grabs me in the weirdest way pulling me hard towards him. His hand is on my wrist and he pulls me in close. I try to pull away but he is making sure I don't go anywhere.

When he is real close he whispers to me, "You help me with my clothes I'll give you some more dick. I know that's what you want."

Gunner licks his lips immediately in this weird ass fucking way. I don't get it.

The next moment though I realize that we are interrupted. It's Ebony. She walks over surprisingly and gets in between us. I watch as Gunner lets go of my wrist as soon as Ebony gets close.

"He bothering you?" Ebony asks me.

I'm surprised she cares.

"Ebony can you stop being nosy for once in your life? I was just welcoming the nigga to the cabin," Gunner tells me shaking his head, "Ain't that right, Demarco?"

I look over at Gunner. I don't want to make a big deal out of it.

"That's right."

Ebony might not believe me because she grabs me by my hand as though rescuing me, "Come on Demarco. I'll show you your room."

Ebony leads me away. I don't look back but I can almost feel Gunner's eyes. He's watching me. It's this sinking feeling of someone just staring at you as you walk away. It's almost haunting and for some reason I get this real unsettling feeling...

Ebony takes me to the other side of the log cabin. She has this sweet smile on her face. The twins are pretty. They've always been pretty to me. She doesn't have any makeup on now. Without makeup I think she and Ivory would be even prettier than Savannah and Tempest. She has this natural beauty about her. She looks a little exotic like a Chanel Iman or maybe even Zendaya.

"This place is amazing. It has a gourmet kitchen, a home theater, hot tubs, pool tables, Jacuzzi, fitness center..." Ebony is telling me as we get up the steps.

I try to put on a smile. It doesn't go well. I know Ebony is being nice. She's probably being a lot nicer than the others have been to me. At the same time I can't stop realizing how fucking beautiful she is. It's almost like some guy designed her in a lab or something. It's intimidating.

My voice breaks as I reply to her, "Wow."

I sound awkward and stupid. She realizes it.

"You shouldn't let people get under your skin," she tells me.

"He didn't get under my skin," I explain to her.

I'm lying. He did. I know I'm not good at my lie either. I'm still shivering a little bit from remembering how Gunner treated me in the past. I hate this feeling. As Demarco I may be physically stronger than Lady. Physical wasn't the problem. It was something else.

"People around here will intimidate you if you let them," Ebony explains to me, "You belong here. Storm invited you right?"

"Yeah."

"Then you belong here. Here is your room. When you're done, come down. And you want some advice? Smile a little bit; and not that awkward smile you gave when you walked in. Genuinely smile. Let people know that they don't get under your skin and they may stop trying."

With that she leaves giving me a welcoming smile.

I sit in the room after Ebony leaves me. The room is big. It's nice. It's intimidating. Everything about this place is fucking intimidating. I'm a basic ass dude. I didn't have any money. Why did I deserve to be in a place like this?

I go to the mirror after putting down my bag.

Demarco stares back.

Demarco. Not Lady. Not this beautiful girl who would have any man fall to their knees. The person that stares back is a guy who isn't all the cute. My nose is a little too big. My eyes are a little too beady. My skin doesn't illuminate. My hair is way too coarse. I'm too short. There are so many things I realize about myself that I don't like and that I want to change. Maybe Ebony has a point. Maybe I'm too down on myself but I can't help it. After seeing how people reacted to Lady I knew that there was something different out there. There was something real.

Pretty people got ahead in life easily. Everything was handed to them. It wasn't same for average people. It never was...

I head out of the room. As I walk past I hear talking. I don't mean to stop but then I hear my name. Demarco. I walk past the room the voices are coming from. I notice that it's Storm and Tempest. They forgot to close the room door completely.

"You are doing this shit on purpose," Tempest says, "You invited Demarco just to piss me off."

"Not everything is about you," Storm says, "I don't even know why you got a problem with him to be honest with you."

"He reminds me of my past."

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"You want me to invite your childhood girlfriend around?" Tempest asks him.

"Who gives a fuck? He's gay now," Storm responds, "And he's a good dude. Initially me getting to know him was all about Malachi but now it's not. He's my friend now. So you don't got to talk to him. You don't got to smile in his face. But as long as I'm around you will respect him Tempest. Period."

Tempest seems surprised, "Wow...why the fuck do you care about him? Please don't tell me you got something to tell me."

She is no where near as surprised as me. Storm is putting her in her place and I love every moment of it.

"What? Don't get disrespectful."

"I'm not disrespecting you. But with him...I don't know."

"You will respect him. Say you will respect him. Or I'll put you on blast, Tempest. I'll embarrass you in front of everyone. You know I know your little secret."

Secret?

Almost immediately Tempest gets serious. I wonder if it had something to do with Lady's death. Or maybe even something to do with Malachi's death. All of a sudden I'm just immediately scared. There is a silence that fills the room.

"I'll respect him," Tempest says shutting it down immediately.

~

I head back downstairs. Tempest and Storm still haven't come downstairs but the others don't seem to give a fuck. They are already at the dining room table at the guest house.

It's still awkward but luckily the food kind of distracts me from having to talk to these people. It's also good that Miles seems like a talker. He is talking about his business deals and all this money he is making. The others seem to be thoroughly impressed by his bragging. They are listening to the guy like he is preaching the bible or something. All except Gunner. Gunner is staring at me from across the dining room table. It makes me a little uncomfortable. He's decided to sit directly across from me.

I look away. His eyes glare at me.

Then I feel it.

I feel his leg climbing up my thigh. He has no shoes on. Within a matter of seconds it gets higher and higher. It reaches my dick. He rubs it. Strokes it with his feet. I cough a little bit shocked he is doing this underneath the table with everyone there.

"You OK?" a voice says.

It's Storm. He's come to the table. He looks down at me. He smiles. I feel a lot more comfortable with him around. Gunner immediately removes his foot and looks a little annoyed that Storm shows up for some reason. Then there is Tempest who doesn't even look my way. She walks to the other side of the table and takes a seat next to Savannah and Ivory.

"I'm fine," I respond.

"Glad you could make it," Storm says, "You missed horseback riding yesterday..."

"He missed more than horseback riding yesterday," Gunner laughs.

"What?" I ask.

Storm shakes his head, "Nothing. Ignore him."

There is an awkward silence.

"Ok this is weird," Savannah says, "I'm pouring shots."

I'm a little confused by what Gunner meant. I've even more confused about this awkward silence. Something had happened yesterday and the group seems to still be recovering from it. Savannah walks to the bar and pours shots for everyone. She puts the shots down at that moment. I look over at it. They look like they have been drinking for a while...especially Savannah. I look at the brown liquor and my stomach turns a little bit uncomfortably.

"I actually don't do shots," I admit.

"You do now," Savannah says.

Her sidekick Ivory laughs. Savannah pushes the shot towards me. It's impossible for the girl not to be a bitch. I watch surprisingly as Storm leans into me. He puts one arm over my chair and grabs his shot with the other arm.

"C`mon, I'll do it with you," Storm promises me.

He gives me this smile. One of those smiles that makes you sink and shit. He picks up his shot and stares me in my eyes. He isn't breaking the stare. It makes me comfortable. It's actually making me more confident. I pick up my shot. We don't look at the shots. Storm and I just look at one another. We clap our shot glasses together. It's tequila.

It's so bitter. My face turns almost immediately. I feel sick.

"FUCK!"

It's embarrassing how loud I am. I'm actually surprised when a few of the others find it funny. I'm not sure if they are laughing with me or at me but it definitely seems to break the awkward mood.

"This helps," Storm says.

He's all smiles as he puts some salt on his hand and picks up a piece of lime.

I stare at it feeling the burn in my throat.

"What's that for?" I ask.

"You're supposed to lick it," Ebony tells me laughing, "And then put the lime in your mouth."

Ivory rolls her eyes, "Who raised this kid?"

Her and Savannah laugh. Tempest rolls her eyes. I'm not sure if she's doing it to them or to me. She seems annoyed with everyone. I look at Storm. It seems kind of gay but fuck it. I reach over and lick the salt off of Storm's hand and bite the lime he is holding in his hand. Storm seems surprised by it and the others have broken out into full blown laughter at me in that moment. The only one who doesn't laugh is Tempest. She just squints at me as though wanting to say something so bad but holding her tongue.

"What?" I ask.

"That was my salt. I was just showing you how to do it," Storm says.

Oh fuck. I had just licked this dude's hand thinking that was some sort of ritual or some shit. My face gets red. Not normal red either. It gets beat red. It had to be the gayest thing ever to lick salt off another guy's hand.

"Oh shit," I state, "I thought..."

"It's all good. Stop being so uptight," Storm says, "It was funny if anything."

I'm even more surprised when Savannah looks at me and pours another shot, "Another..."

"Naw I'm good."

"Another," she demands.

"I was thinking we could all go to the Jacuzzi after this," Ebony says, "Let's get Demarco drunk first though. He has to catch up to us."

Not a good idea. Not a good idea. I just keep thinking about seeing Storm's muscular body next to my stomach. The guy had a six pack and I barely passed.

"Good idea," Storm says, "Right Demarco?"

I can already feel how embarrassed I am. Between Storm and Gunner I definitely wanted to keep my fucking shirt on for as long as possible. I was hoping maybe Miles had a little bit of a gut. That would save me. Except no one cared if Miles had a gut because he had more money than probably anyone else in this cabin.

I didn't want to get drunk. I didn't want to go to the hot tub.

There was only one problem. I couldn't say no to Storm.

"Sure," I respond, "I'll go ahead and get my trunks."

~

I'm standing in my room. I don't even have trunks. I throw on some shorts. They are a little too tight but I guess they could pass for swimming trunks. I'm in the mirror staring at my reflection. I know the others are probably waiting for me but I just feel uncomfortable. Storm had the body of a Greek god or some shit and here I was looking just normal. I didn't have a six pack. I didn't have pecs that I could make bounce at will like Storm. I didn't have these big ass arms that looked like guns. I had a little pudge. I had acne on my back. I wasn't comfortable.

"That ass..." a voice says.

I turn not realizing that someone has walked into the room. It's Gunner. I had thought I had locked my door but I guess not. Gunner is standing right behind me. I'm a little confused especially when he crosses the room quickly towards me.

"Um. Thanks I guess," I respond, "Is everyone in the tub already?"

I'm trying to be nice because it's awkward as fuck him just barging in my room like this.

"Yeah but I saw you looking at me over the table," he stated, "Figured you was trying to get me to come up here for a lil' bit of fun first."

The fuck was he talking about?

"Gunner you're tripping, I was not staring at you."

If anything I was staring at Storm. As soon as Storm had come to the table I had stopped paying attention to Gunner all together. I had almost forgotten he was even in the room. It's a little funny that this guy was that conceited. Don't get me wrong. Gunner looked good. Even now he doesn't have a shirt on and I'm blown away by his physique. He is toned as hell. As far as sex he was probably the sexiest guy that I had sex with. The only problem with Gunner is that he seemed to know it. There was no humility. Plus he happened to be friends with the sexiest and most down to earth dude I had ever met in my life. As long as Storm was alive Gunner would never hold a comparison to him.

"Yo what's your problem?" he asks me.

He's dead serious. He seems offended.

"What?"

"You trying to play hard to get acting like you don't want this dick. What is that about?"

"Maybe I don't want your dick," I respond, "Excuse me..."

I start walking away. Gunner is a little annoying now. He sounds desperate but he's trying to make me seem like I'm the one whose desperate. As I walk away I feel Gunner grab me by wrist...YET AGAIN. This guy loved to be in control clearly. He twists my wrists hard. He twists it so hard that I squirm in pain a little bit.

"Quit playing wit' me," he tells me.

"What the fuck are you talking about man? Let go of my arm."

He doesn't let go of my arm. Matter of fact he pushes me up against the wall. I can tell Gunner is getting hard as fuck. He's getting turned on by this. He pulls his dick out of his trunks. Gunner starts kissing me on the mouth. His tongue keeps forcing it's way down my throat. He is grabbing at me, pulling at my dick, my ass and wrestling me down.

His voice starts moaning. I can feel his precum up against my stomach as he grinds up against my abdomen.

"I want to fuck the shit out of you. I can't stop thinking about that ass since I was up in there," he is telling me.

"YO get the fuck off!" I keep saying.

I push him hard off me. I push him so hard that he falls to the ground. Maybe he thought I was some pushover or something. Did this guy really think he was about to force himself on me that easily? He falls to the ground but immediately gets back up.

"Yo what the fuck?" he says.

With that he punches me. Dead in my face. I'm shocked when his fist hits the side of my face. I slam my head up against the wall.

That's when I hear footsteps. They are loud footsteps. They run into the room. There is a few thumps. I'm a little confused but then I notice that Storm has run into the room. Storm has tackled Gunner to the ground and is yoking him up. They are definitely more evenly matched as far as weight and size but Gunner isn't fighting back. Gunner puts his hands up.

"Yo chill. I was just playing with him."

"No you wasn't. I heard him tell you to stop from the hallway," Storm says, "Lying ass."

"Stop what?"

"I know you're gay," Storm says, "I've always known and so does Tempest. You lucky my sister wanted to keep your secret and use you for your popularity. But try that shit with my friend again and I'm telling EVERYONE what you really get into..."

There is silence. I'm shocked. Storm knew about Gunner? Not only did Storm know about Gunner but it seemed that so did Tempest.

Was it that serious for her to stay with a guy she knew was gay just because of his job? I'm beyond confused.

Gunner raises his hands, "Yo. I'm done. I promise."

"You're done for real. Get the fuck out."

"Wait you kicking me out?" Gunner asks, "For this fucking dude? Especially after we been friends for years?"

"Hell yeah I am," he states, "Get your shit and go. Leave now and I'll tell people you had an emergency somewhere."

Gunner gets up. He looks over at me but Storm steps in front of his way blocking his view of me. Gunner seems pissed. He wasn't expecting Storm to take my side with this. Hell I wasn't expecting Storm to take my side either. It didn't matter though. It had already happened.

Gunner shakes his head, "You just want him for yourself. She was right about you. She was fucking right."

What was Gunner talking about?

"Please don't make me beat your ass right now," Storm says, "Walk away."

Gunner turns and leaves at that moment.

When Gunner leaves Storm helps me up. I don't know why I do it but I just hug him. I hug him tightly. I can see that it embarrasses him a little but I can't help it. Storm is just a real ass person. Even though he is probably uncomfortable with me hugging him he doesn't push me away or anything. Storm lets me hug him.

Then he does something weird. Storm hugs me back. He puts his arms around me and squeezes me back. We stand in that room holding each other. One minute. Two minutes. Five minutes have passed where we are just silently holding each other. I listen to Storm breathing. I feel his chest lifting and falling. His head is pressed up against mine.

I'm actually the one who initiates the end of the hug. I clear my throat and take a step back. I don't want to end the hug but I'm getting a little turned on by it. My dick is hardening and I need to end the hug before he notices.

"Sorry about that," I tell him.

Storm smirks, "Nothing to apologize for."

"What did Gunner mean when he said what he said?" I ask.

"He thinks I have some secret gay attraction to you like he does," Storm explains shaking his head.

"That's ridiculous."

"I know right," Storm responds shaking his head, "Worst thing is he isn't the only one who feels that way. Someone put that idea in his head yesterday."

"Is that why everyone was so awkward earlier?"

"Yeah. A lot of drama happened yesterday. Someone accused me in front of everyone of being gay and being in love with you..."

That's what Gunner was talking about.

"Was it Tempest...Savannah?"

"No. Actually it was someone who I didn't invite yesterday. Lady showed up yesterday..."

What?

"That's impossible," I state.

I hadn't taken a pill yesterday. I had...I had just passed out.

Fuck. I had passed out!

What happened when I passed out? Could she have taken over?

"I know right. How did she even know we were having a get together?" he asks, "But sure enough she showed up and she was pissed..."

To read the next chapter in advance go to www.crushedcrown.com