Jess Geiger had a mansion in the hills that rivaled Chubby’s place. But this place wasn’t designed to be lived in, it was set up to throw parties.
The main floor was essentially a giant ballroom. The only other rooms on that floor consisted of an eat-in kitchen, a man cave with numerous TVs, and bathrooms you might see in a nice restaurant or nightclub. It made a lot of sense to have multiple toilets and urinals for the crowd of people in attendance.
I could already tell that to survive this party, I needed a drink. We searched for the bar. Once I had a beer, I looked around and saw bad decisions being made all around me. Zak and Ben probably regretted bringing their girlfriends to this type of party. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Halle being here, but I knew I was glad that Lexi hadn’t come. My inner Alpha Male wouldn’t have reacted well if someone had hit on her.
Halle and I walked out back and found where the real party was. They’d strung white lights over the pool area to provide enough ambient light that you weren’t stumbling around. But there wasn’t so much that you couldn’t slip off at the edges of the yard if you needed some privacy. In the dim light, we saw couples taking advantage of the situation.
We walked through to the rear of the backyard and found a seating area that overlooked the valley behind the home. If it had been light enough, we probably would have seen the ocean off in the distance. I loved that they had an open gas fire pit in the middle of the small, isolated setting.
In the background, we heard the music pumping from the house. It made for a comfortable place to sit down in relative quiet and reflect on what had happened today.
Halle sat on the couch next to me, and I put my arm around her. I’d noticed that she’d been talking to the other two girls as we wandered through the gathering. She giggled.
“I think that couple over there is having sex.”
I glanced in the direction she had nodded, and sure enough. Jess’s party didn’t disappoint if you were looking for no-holds-barred wildness. His parties were noted for their orgies. Frankly, I was surprised that more wanton behavior hadn’t broken out.
“You understand that it will only get worse,” I warned.
“The girls and I have been talking …”
Oh, boy.
“And?”
“Isabel knows about my thing for Ben …”
“And?”
“Well, you’re aware of Isabel and Zak’s history.”
“Yes,” I said. “Isabel also has a history with me.”
“What’s your opinion of Bec?”
“I think she’s perfect for Zak and would never want to interfere in what they have,” I said.
“You’re just being difficult,” Halle said and slugged me in the arm.
I understood what she was driving at, but honestly wasn’t interested in swapping partners. It had nothing to do with the level of my interest in Bec. If she were single and we met, I would hit on her without question. The problem I had was with Halle and Ben hooking up.
The two of them had headed down this path already, and I thought Halle had seen reason. Ben would be a mistake for her. Halle was in the unenviable position of being more into him than he was into her. He had all but come out and said that he was for having her on the side but wouldn’t leave Isabel. Halle deserved better than that.
As far as how Zak and Bec’s relationship would be affected … let’s just say that I was surprised that Zak hadn’t ruined it already. I really did like him, but I recognized he had the morals of an alley cat when it came to the opposite sex.
When we had been filming
“If you want to spend time with Ben, go for it. Just don’t pull me into this.”
“Come on. You were willing to do Amelia Coe already tonight. Why won’t you with Bec?” Halle asked.
“You know my rules. I might not always follow them, but I try to, and they’ve served me well. I don’t see the upside of sleeping with Bec,” I explained.
“Will you be mad if I do sleep with Ben?” Halle asked.
I pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.
“No, but that doesn’t mean that as a friend, I wouldn’t advise against it.”
Halle’s face showed her disappointment.
“Look, I’m not trying to be a dick about all this. You know I only want what’s best for you. If you decide you want to have sex with Ben and go into it with your eyes wide open …” I said and trailed off.
“Do you plan to hook up with some random chick instead?”
I pondered that for a moment and came up with a better plan. I sent a text and received a happy-face reply.
“Halle, I’m going to take off. I’ll have Fritz send a car for you,” I said.
“Why don’t you just move to LA to save me from stuff like this?” she asked, half-serious.
