Conflicted in Paradise Ch. 03

"I know. You're my—" she began, but he quickly held a finger to her lips to stop her.

"Just a second, sweetheart," he said with a warm smile. "I love you, Amanda. Now and for always. I want you to be mine, forever."

He sank to his right knee, digging around in the velvet bag. A loud gasp went up from all the girls around them, and Amanda's mouth fell open in shock

He pulled the ring out of the cloth bag, marveling at how stunningly beautiful it was. The one he'd chosen for her was a 14K white gold ring on which sat a single, 2 carat, princess-cut diamond, held up by small platinum prongs. The diamond itself was startlingly brilliant and clear, and it was simply a massive size. He held it up towards her, giving her his most goofy, winning smile. "Amanda Linnea O'Sullivan, will you please marry me?" he asked softly.

The question hung in the air for a second. While Amanda tried to find the words to say, a ray of sunshine burst through the fog, drenching the beach in a warm, golden glow. Her hair turned almost incandescent because of it, and the sunlight sparkled in the tears falling down her cheeks.

"Oh my God, Damon," she mouthed as she fell to her knees in front of him, her tears flowing freely. She struggled to speak, taking his outstretched hand between her own and staring at the beautiful ring he was holding up.

He became acutely aware of everyone watching them, especially Kelsey. Tears were streaming down her face, but he knew they were tears of happiness, not of sadness or jealousy. She was gnawing her lip and seemed about ready to explode. Carynne and Stacey weren't in much better shape.

His eyes got wet, and as they met Amanda's, they gazed into each other's souls. Her love for him swarmed over him like a hurricane while he patiently waited for an answer.

She lifted his hand to her forehead, holding it against her face for a second, crying steadily. She brought it back down to her mouth, kissing it softly, then she gave him the most amazing smile he'd ever witnessed. "Yes! Yes, I will marry you!" she laughed through her tears.

He put the ring on her finger with trembling hands, all the while smiling at her. It fit nearly perfectly, and the diamond was even larger than her finger; after looking at her ring for a few seconds, Amanda leaned forward to kiss him. Right as their lips met, Kelsey screamed with joy and jumped right down on top of them, with Carynne and Stacey following a second later.

As he lay at the bottom of the female pile, he kissed the girl who would someday be his wife. "I love you, Amanda."

All she could do was cry and laugh.

*** ***

Damon and Amanda sat side by side in the incredibly luxurious leather seats of the Winterton private plane, holding hands and continuously smiling at each other. Every minute or so, Amanda's eyes would drift down to the ring on her finger, as if she still couldn't believe it was there, and after seeing it again she'd give Damon another kiss.

Across from them, on the other side of the beautiful marble-finish table, Carynne and Kelsey were constantly watching the two of them, their smiles just as big as Amanda's.

"I still can't believe you proposed to her!" Kelsey said, sounding happier than she had in a long time.

"I figured it was about time, right?" Damon replied.

Ryan and Siara, seated in the two seats right behind Damon and Amanda, came to stand beside the table. Siara gave Amanda a gorgeous smile. "Ten months seems about right, yes," she said, surreptitiously casting a glance at Ryan.

He held up his hands as if to ward off her advances, taking care not to spill his scotch. "Hey, we still have a few months to go before we get there. Let's not start thinking about rings yet, okay? I haven't even met your family yet!"

"Mmmm-hmmm," she hummed, her eyes getting a faraway look in them. Nobody had any doubt that she was already picturing their wedding together.

"Now look what you've done!" Ryan said to Damon, nodding in Siara's direction.

Damon just grinned at him. "You can't blame me for that, buddy."

"Alright, I guess not. I'm happy for you guys, though. You really deserve each other. I'm sorry, Amanda, that's far more a compliment to him than it is to you. After all, he gets an absolutely amazing girl like you, and you get this... this hobo."

"Fuck you!" Damon laughed.

"Don't listen to him," Amanda said with a cute smile, leaning in against her fiancé. "I'd rather have you than anyone else."

He rested his head against hers for a moment, then smirked at Ryan. "There. See?"

Ryan merely grinned at him. "Just promise us you'll invite us to the wedding."

"Of course we will," Amanda said happily. "In fact, I want Siara to be one of my bridesmaids."

Siara snapped out of her daydream, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, I'd love to!"

"Good!" Amanda said, taking Siara's hand and squeezing it. Kelsey and Carynne quickly showed their own excitement at the prospect of sharing bridesmaid duties with their wonderful new friend.

Ryan raised his eyebrows at Damon questioningly.

"No way," Damon snorted. "If I let you anywhere near her wedding ring, you'll probably forget to lock it down again, and it'll just drift away."

"Oh, for fuck's sake! I made a mistake, okay!" Ryan laughed.

"You can sing at the reception, though."

"I will, if your sister sings at it too."

They both looked at Kelsey, and she blushed slightly. "We'll see. I'm gonna be busy enough as it is at this wedding, being both the Maid of Honor and the groom's sister!"

"What does you being the groom's sister have to do with anything?" Carynne asked curiously.

"Have you seen the way he dresses?" Kelsey asked scathingly. "It'll take me hours to get him to look presentable for the ceremony!"

Carynne threw a quick glance at Damon, then she burst out laughing.

"Hey!" Damon said, faking being hurt. "I'll get you for that, Kel!"

Kelsey just grinned at him, throwing him an air-kiss, and the whole group laughed.

"I hope Stacey's not in too much trouble," Carynne said after a few moments, glancing at the front of the plane.

"Yeah, me too," Kelsey said sadly, a sentiment that was echoed by everyone.

After they'd sailed the yacht back to Nassau, they were met by Stacey's bodyguards as soon as they arrived back at their villas. To say that the four men had been unhappy was putting it extremely mildly. They had ordered Stacey to pack up her stuff as she was being escorted directly home, by order of her father, who was absolutely furious at her for ditching her bodyguards for two days.

When Stacey had objected that their scheduled flight didn't leave until the next day, David had calmly informed her that one of the Winterton private planes had flown to Nassau to come collect her. It would take her straight home.

She'd spent the next hour wheedling, threatening and cajoling David to let her friends come too, something which he finally agreed to just so that he could get her moving. Then he had to submit to another hour of more begging before he finally agreed to let Ryan and Siara come to, and to divert the plane to L.A. to drop the two of them off before flying on to Oregon.

The prospect of their vacation being cut short by a day didn't exactly please anyone, but their misgivings were laid to rest when they saw the Gulfstream G550 waiting for them at the airport. Though Stacey and her friends had flown to the Bahamas in First Class, the luxury on board the private aircraft was at an entirely different level. Any final lingering doubts had been swept away by the incredible five course dinner that had been served by the aircraft's very friendly and professional staff, a mere hour after takeoff.

Shortly after dinner, Stacey had been called away to a small video-conference room near the front of the plane, to take a call from her father. She'd been gone for nearly twenty minutes, and every now and then they could hear Stacey yelling, even through the soundproofed walls.

The friends made some small talk, until Ryan eventually tapped Damon on the shoulder. Damon gave him a curious look.

"Can I talk to you for a second? In private, I mean?" Ryan asked.

"Sure, I guess," Damon said. He gave Amanda another kiss, told her he'd be right back, then he got up and followed his buddy. As soon as he'd left, Siara took his seat, and the girls all started ooh'ing and aah'ing over Amanda's ring again. They put their heads together and began to talk in low, conspiratorial whispers, with loud giggles thrown in from time to time.

Ryan led Damon to the rear of the plane, nodding politely at the two stewardesses who quickly moved towards the front to give the two guys some privacy.

"So what's up?" Damon asked. He helped himself to a can of Coke from the small fridge at the back of the plane.

"First, I want to ask you if you can talk to your sister for me."

"I'm not getting you a date, man."

Ryan grinned. "Nothing like that. I just want her to sing in my band."

"Hey, if she really doesn't want to..."

"I know, I know, but please believe me when I say that she has an amazing voice. She is absolutely top-level talent."

"Really?" Damon said in surprise, glancing back at the table with the four girls at it.

"Yes," Ryan said seriously. "It's up to her if she wants to do anything with it, of course, but she could do very well if she decided to start taking it seriously."

"Wow..." Damon sighed. "I knew she sang well, but I never knew she was that good."

"She really is, trust me."

Damon nodded. "Okay, I'll talk with her. Why do you care so much, though?"

Ryan shrugged and gave him a wry grin. "Honestly? Because having her sing in my band would catapult us to a new level."

"Well, at least you're honest," Damon chuckled.

"Yeah. Which also brings me to my second point."

"What's that? You want to be my best man? I already have someone in mind for that, I'm sorry."

Ryan shook his head. "No. It's eh..." he hesitated, swallowing a few times to clear his throat.

"What?"

"... I know about you and Kelsey."

"Me and Kelsey what?" Damon said, playing dumb even as fear raced through him.

Ryan sighed. "Damon, come on. You know what I'm talking about."

Damon closed his eyes, biting back an angry remark; he wasn't angry at Ryan, but rather at himself for not being more careful. He finally gave Ryan a level stare. "Okay, and?"

Ryan shook his head. "And nothing. I mean, I understand why you guys keep it a secret, obviously, and... I just wanted to let you know."

Damon was quiet for a little bit. "Eh... alright? Sorry, I'm just a little surprised. I'm kind of wondering why you'd tell me then?"

"Because I figure it's the kind of thing where you two want to know who all knows?"

"Yeah, it sorta is, actually. Does Siara know?"

"I don't think she does, no, and she won't learn from me. Trust me."

"Okay. Thanks, Ryan."

"No problem. I just... I feel better having told you, to be honest."

"Does it, like, freak you out or anything?"

Ryan thought it over for a moment. "You know, I think it's sort of weird, but at the same time, no, I guess it doesn't. Don't kill me, but your sister is genuinely the most amazing, most beautiful girl I have ever met in my entire life."

Damon nodded knowingly. "She is."

"So it's really not hard to see why... you know what I mean?"

"Uh-huh."

"Do the girls know about you two? Amanda has to, right?"

"Yeah, she does."

"Carynne and Stacey too?"

"Yeah."

"I figured," Ryan said, then he laughed. "You know, you are one lucky son of a bitch."

Damon grinned proudly. "Yes, I know. You're not the first to tell me that."

"Goddamn. Thanks for letting me share some of them, man. This has been the most amazing vacation of my entire life!"

Damon shrugged. "Not my decision. They do what they want to do. I don't have any say in who they mess around with."

"You do with Amanda, right?"

"Well, yeah. I do with her, of course."

"What about Kelsey?"

Damon gave him another long, level gaze. "If you're gonna tell me you want to fuck my sister, we're—"

"No! I have Siara!" Ryan quickly shook his head. "I don't wanna... well... shit! I mean, I'm a guy. You can't tell me there's a single guy in the entire world who's met her who doesn't think about that? I mean, she's beyond ridiculously hot!"

"Yeah, she is. So you are thinking about it?"

"No, all I'm saying is... I was just curious," Ryan said quickly.

"You're a fucking lousy liar, you know that?" Damon said, shaking his head.

Ryan shrugged as if to say he couldn't help it, and Damon punched him in the gut, hard.

Ryan saw it coming, of course, but he deliberately didn't block the blow. "Ow, fuck!" he groaned as he doubled over, sinking to his knees to catch his breath. He had to admit Damon threw a good punch.

The crew of the airplane, as well as the girls, all looked at the guys in consternation. Damon quickly held up his hands. "We're just joking around! Guys being guys!"

The girls all simultaneously shook their heads in a startlingly similar fashion, then they went back to whatever it was they were discussing. Probably what kind of dresses they want to wear for the wedding, Damon thought with a smile.

He turned his attention back to Ryan, who was still wheezing for air.

"That's for saying you want to fuck my sister, you shitbag!" Damon said.

"I know, I know," Ryan groaned. "I deserve it."

"Yeah. Asshole!"

"Got anything else?"

"... Fucknut!"

"You swear like a twelve year old girl."

Damon laughed as he helped Ryan back to his feet. "So how did you find out? It was the beach, I take it?"

Ryan nodded. "That confirmed it for me, yeah. I thought at first you and Amanda were just having some fun, but her voice didn't sound right. Then you got up, and I saw Amanda lying just off to the side while you were... eh... well, you know, while you and whomever were going at it. And I knew it wasn't Carynne or Stacey either, because they were lying on the other side of you. That really only left one option."

"Yeah. I told her it wasn't gonna fly."

"I'd had my suspicions before, though."

"Really?" Damon asked, surprised.

"Uh-huh. You two were always just a little too close, and I overheard some of the things you talked about. It made me wonder what was going on. Then Kelsey sang 'Listen to your Heart' in the club, all the while looking directly at you and Amanda."

"Well, now you know. Please just keep it a secret, okay? Kel and I have enough trouble dealing with this from day to day without others interfering in it."

"I will, don't worry."

"Alright."

"Do you love her?"

Damon sighed. "I could say that, yeah, of course I love her, she's my sister. But that's not what you're asking."

"No."

"Yeah, I love her. And I love Amanda too."

Ryan gave him a sympathetic smile. "That can't be easy."

"No, it's not," Damon said somberly. "But I think we can manage."

"I hope so, man."

"Alright, I'm getting tired of talking about this. I'm gonna go back to my girlfriend now."

"You mean your fiancée, right?"

Damon grinned. "Yeah. My fiancée. You know, that sounds kinda cool."

"It does. Congrats, man."

They rejoined the girls, and a few minutes later, Stacey also came back.

"Are you okay, Stacey?" Kelsey asked concernedly.

Stacey shrugged. "I'll be in trouble for awhile. My dad said I'm going to be grounded when I get back."

"For how long?"

"Until college starts, probably."

"What? That's like four weeks!"

"Yeah," Stacey sighed. "I really should have known better than to ditch David, but oh well. What happened on the boat was so worth it!"

Everyone looked at each other, big grins on their faces. They all knew that their boat trip was something they'd remember for the rest of their lives.

"Anyways, I've got stuff to do at home. I need to start packing for college and such, so I'll keep busy."

"Can we still come visit?" Kelsey asked softly. "I'd hate to not be able to see you for a month!"

Stacey nodded. "I think so. And if not, I'll find some way to sneak you into the house. All of you!" she said, giving Damon a wicked grin.

He returned her grin with one of his own. He hadn't actually gotten together with Stacey on their trip at all, but Amanda had, and he knew it'd only be a matter of time before he'd be back in her bed. It was a very pleasant prospect.

"If they catch you sneaking us into the house, you're going to be in even more trouble," Carynne said.

"So? What else can they do to me? I'm already grounded. I guess I might get spanked or something, who knows," Stacey said sarcastically.

"I doubt anyone considers spanking you to be punishment, Stace!" Carynne grinned.

"Sshhh, don't tell!" Stacey smirked.

The entire group of friends laughed happily.

As the plane flew on, the evening overtook them, and everyone made ready to go to sleep. It had been an extremely eventful day, and they were all tired and more than a little buzzed from the drinks they'd had on the plane. Everyone retired to their own set of chairs, which lowered until they were completely flat and made for pretty comfortable beds.

Helping Carynne and his sister prepare their seats, Damon gently touched his sister's shoulder.

"What's up?" Kelsey asked, throwing him one of her ravishing smiles. He returned it with love, again feeling like the luckiest guy on the planet to have her in his life. She really was the most awesome sister a guy had ever had.

"Have you thought about singing in Ryan's band?" he asked softly.

Kelsey sighed. "I don't know. I just don't want to tie myself down with obligations already. We're going to college! Who knows what all we'll get to do?"

He nodded. "I understand. He just wanted me to ask you."

Kelsey looked a few rows over, where Ryan and Siara were just settling down into their makeshift beds. "I know, and he's sweet for trying. I just don't know yet. I think that in a month's time, he'll have forgotten all about me anyways."

Damon gave her a long good-night kiss, then he walked back to his own bed where he lay down with a weary sigh. He took hold of Amanda's hand and kissed it, holding her while she fell asleep. He knew Kelsey was right in that nobody had a clue what all was going to happen to them in college—he hoped it would be a lot more of the fun he'd been having for the past ten months. One thing he was sure of, though, was that Ryan was not going to forget about Kelsey.

With the window shades closed and the interior lights dimmed to their lowest levels, the plane was dark and surprisingly quiet. The hum of the engines was the only sound to penetrate the cabin, and after an hour of fitful sleep Damon found himself just lying there, listening to the monotonous drone.

A minute later Ryan walked by, apparently having gone to the bathroom.

"Hey Ryan?" Damon asked in the darkness.

"Yeah?" Ryan replied.

"When we get to UCLA, what can we expect? I mean, it'll be a lot quieter, right?"

Ryan chuckled softly. "Oh no, man. You haven't seen anything yet. College life is way wilder than this!"

*** ***

The end.

Thanks for reading my story, I hope you've enjoyed it! If you did, please send me some feedback and let me know what you liked (or what you didn't like.)

The story of Kelsey, Amanda, Carynne, Stacey and Damon at UCLA will follow... Soon(tm)!