Page 42 of The Cabin-A Reverse Harem Romance
“Chase, I’m sorry I let my guard down with her,” I said.
He didn’t say anything.
I continued, turning over to see him clearly, to gauge what kind of mood he was in. He wasn’t even looking at me.
“I shouldn’t have kissed her,” I added. “I know it’s wrong, we’re not supposed to –”
“You kissed her?” Chase said, a low, deep laugh coming from him. “Christ, Nolan. First Trevor and Sean, and now you too?”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “But I care about her. We all do.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we all have to fuck her,” Chase said. “What would Aaron think right now, huh?”
“I think he’d be grateful we’ve helped his sister,” I said after a moment’s thought. “And that he just wants her to be happy, whatever that looks like.”
Chase didn’t say another word. He sat there, mopey, brooding, and silent. I knew he had feelings for Elise too. Hell, we all did. He’d just managed to keep himself under control better than the rest of us. I rolled over onto my back and closed my eyes. The sound of a door slamming caused them to pop back open again though. Chase was already up and out of his chair, and I was right on his heels.
From the window, we could see Elise standing outside on the porch, hugging herself close for warmth. She was staring at the moon, shivering from the cold. Chase reached for the door knob, but I stopped him.
“Do you really think you should be the one to talk to her right now?”
I wasn’t sure what had happened between the two of them once I’d left, but to judge by the way he was acting, and the way she was standing outside, it obviously hadn’t gone well. Chase nodded and stepped back.
“Talk to her, Nolan,” he said. “But, please, don’t fuck her.”
I rolled my eyes, cursing him under his breath. “I’m not like that, Chase.”
He scoffed but padded off into the living room once more. More pouting and more brooding. As much as I’d like to comfort my best friend, I knew in that moment there was nothing I could say or do to make it better. Instead, I had to focus on Elise, who was currently standing outside in the middle of the snowstorm, freezing her ass off.
When I opened the front door, she turned toward me, and I could make out the tears glistening on her cheeks already. She was shaking, and as soon as she saw me, she rushed toward me. Wrapping my arms around her, I inhaled her scent and kissed the top of her head. Her arms were bare and freezing.
“Let’s get back inside,” I whispered to her. “It’s too cold out here.”
“No, I can’t go back in there,” she said.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because I fucked up, that’s why,” she said, her voice cracking as she began to sob.
Hearing her crying tore me up, and I couldn’t bear it. “No, you didn’t fuck anything up Elise.”
“I did,” she said, staring up at me. “I let my feelings get in the way, I acted selfishly, and now I’ve hurt the people I love most in the world.”
“I don’t think Trevor and Sean are too upset with you,” I said. It was meant to lighten the mood, but the scowl Elise gave me said that it was unappreciated. “Sorry.”
“What happens when they wake up and remember what happened?” she asked. “And Chase – let’s not even talk about what he’s feeling.”
“Chase is just sensitive sometimes,” I said. “He’ll get over it.”
“I don’t want him to get over it, Nolan. I don’t want him hurt at all.”
“Sometimes you can’t go through life without hurting people. It happens Elise,” I said, rubbing her arms to try and generate some warmth.
“Do you think Aaron would be upset at me?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
That was a tough question to answer. No one really knew what Aaron would have wanted for his sister, and in my opinion, it didn’t really matter. This was Elise’s life to live, and she was being open and honest with everyone about everything.
I said the only thing I could think of in that moment. “I believe Aaron cared more about your happiness than your actions, Elise. He knew you were a good person, and he’d trust you to do the right thing for you, no matter what it was.”
She shivered in my arms, and I so badly wanted to take her back inside where it was warm, but she refused to budge. Sometimes, she was just as stubborn as Aaron. “Before Chase stopped us, I –” she stopped before she finished the sentence.
“You, what?” I asked her, tipping her chin upward to look at me.
“I – well, I wanted to be with you, Nolan. I wanted to have sex with you, but I knew that would have been wrong. Three different men in one night? Maybe Brad was right, maybe –”
