What Money Can't Buy

"Hey lovely," Rose said coyly, even blushing. I'm not sure I had ever seen her so shy- she was clearly smitten. "I'm sorry I left you... I just got so mad! I couldn't hold my tongue."
"You don't ever need to apologize- you were right. I should have stood up to them with you. Fuck them. Anyway, I we've left now. Introduce us to your friend and we can find something else to do," the stranger said.

"Right, of course, sorry!" Rose said, less calm and collected than usual. "This is my older sister, Francesca. Fran, this is Cheryl..." Rose tapered off, smiling, blushing and grabbing her hand.

"It's great to meet you, Cheryl. Thanks for leaving with us." I said, smiling and giving Cheryl a hug.

Cheryl hugged me back tightly, then pulled away. "I already feel like I've known you forever, darling Francesca," she said with a big smile.

"Please, call me Fran," I replied back.

Cheryl beamed at me and said, "This is my crew!" turning towards the group behind her. "This is Frank, Jessie, Peggy and Riggs," she said as I waved at and shook hands with them one by one. "And of course, off in the corner, busy in his own world. Reginald dear, could you come meet our new friend?" Cheryl said to the man standing a meter or so away from the group with his back turned, typing on his mobile.

He turned toward us, and the light from a streetlamp illuminated his face. He was average height, but still towered over me. He had broad shoulders and a small waist encased in a tuxedo that highlighted them. He had shaggy dark hair and bright blue eyes, and a slightly crooked nose that would suggest an injury at some point. He was stunning, and after a few seconds of staring I already felt heat growing between my legs, which I desperately wanted to ignore. As breath-taking as he was, I couldn't have cared less deep down. Because I knew who he was the minute Cheryl said is name- Reginald Hagadone, grandson of the man that ruined our family.

My smile fell and I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah, I know who you are," I said coolly, "My sister and I are from Saltburn-by-the-Sea".

"Oh, nice. Good to meet you," he replied, putting his hand out to shake mine. I begrudgingly complied. Although everyone from Saltburn-by-the-Sea knew who Reginald was and what he looked like, it was doubtful he knew any of us. He went to school with us until grade two, and I remember him being an annoying pig even then. The Hagadones sent him off to boarding school after that, but he still managed to make his way into our local paper with all of his many "accomplishments". Not surprising since his father owned the paper. I couldn't believe Rose didn't warn me he was here. Then again, I guess there was no real opportunity.

I turned back to my sister, who was all eyes for Cheryl. "Sis, I'm knackered- I think I'll just head home, but you should go out" I said. She looked at me pleadingly.

"Oh Fran, you can't go home yet!" Cheryl whined at me, reminding me so much of Rose that I was taken aback. "We were talking on our way out of the party. We want to get those mother fuckers back for their shit, and we need your help. Please?" she begged.

"I don't know..." I said wearily.

"Fran, you can't back out until we hear the plan!" Rose stated, grabbing my arm and holding me in place. She gave me a glare that said it all- don't ruin this for me by being a wet blanket. I begrudgingly nodded.

"Okay, so, here is what Riggs was thinking," Cheryl began, "what's a party without food and drink?"

Apparently, Reginald's money and some sneaking around was all we needed. He went back into the party and bribed a few cater waiters for their uniforms and van and offered them the night off. He agreed we would meet them with the van in an hour. The uniforms fit Riggs and Frank, so they split up- Frank gathered as much food as possible from the kitchen and Riggs snuck the booze from behind the bar while the bartenders were distracted by a flirtatious Peggy and Jessie. Since we had been kicked out of the party and Cheryl was recognizable from her show with Rose, Rose, Cheryl and I, as well as the leftover Reginald, were tasked with distracting the security at the service entrance, where the others would load the van. As it turned out, it was easy to distract the three guards in the back- all it took was another make-out session between Cheryl and Rose. Reginald and I were responsible for bringing the van around and driving the goods to our meeting spot in Hyde Park.

Reginald came out of the party and met the three of us in the alley behind the hotel near the service entrance. "You ladies ready?" he asked, spinning the van keys around his finger- he looked confident and sexy as hell. Cheryl and Rose agreed with gleeful nods and jumps, but I stood strong, shook my head and crossed my arms.

"I'm driving, Reginald" I said as confidently as I could, although my voice wavered slightly. "I don't know how much you've had to drink tonight."

His eyebrows rose in shock, then he looked me up and down and a small smile spread across his lips. "Whatever you want, Killer," he said as he tossed the keys to me. I reached out, nearly missing them but snagging the keys on my pinky finger. While I tried to catch them, Reginald took several steps forward until he was standing in front of me, towering above me. We locked eyes for a moment. It felt like hours, but only seconds passed before he leaned down and the smell of pine needles surrounded me. "You can call me Reggie, if you'd like" he whispered in my ear, his hot breath dancing on my neck. As he rose up and away from me, his lips brushed my ear ever so slightly and my insides lit up. He had an effect on me that I could never admit, even to myself- but something about that made it even more powerful. I felt my cheeks redden and goosepimples form on my skin where his breath had been moments ago.

Despite my baser desires, I knew he was a snake, and I was not one to go for the bad-boy type; no matter how sexy they were. "Reginald," I said haughtily, and spun around, whipping him with the end of my ponytail and stomping towards the van that was parked a few feet away.

Before we hopped in, Cheryl reminded me to have Reggie push us into the loading and unloading spot by the service entrance with the van in neutral, so we didn't make any noise and alert the guards. With that, they were off, hand in hand, on a mission to feel each other up and get back at the wankers inside. I backed the van in until we got close to the spot and the guards came into view. I turned the engine off, and Reggie hopped out to push the van into place. I was keeping an eye on the guards when Cheryl and Rose came into view. And they definitely were accomplishing their task- the three guards were pointing and hooting, and it only seemed to spurn the girls on. Cheryl had Rose backed against the far wall of the hotel, her hands running up and down Rose's body. It was hot as hell, despite the fact it was my sister- it must have been more revved up than I thought.

It had been a while since I had gotten off. I was so busy, especially planning for Rose's arrival, that I hadn't made time to pleasure myself. It had been 8 or 9 months since my last boyfriend, and I was a bit afraid of one-night stands, so masturbating had been my only option for a while. I made a mental note not to forget to take care of myself when this god-forsaken night finally ended.

I was fantasizing about lighting some candles and dusting off my trusty vibrator when Reggie jumped back into the passenger seat and snapped me back to reality. "And now we wait," he said before messing with the seat to make it slide back to a more comfortable position. I nodded and continued watching the guards to make sure they didn't notice us. We sat silently for a few moments while Reggie tapped the dash in a rhythmic pattern,

"We can talk while we wait, you know. I don't bite," He started teasingly while I avoided his gaze.

"I'm fine Reginald, thanks. Let's just focus," I said, attempting to end our conversation before it began.

He turned towards me and leaned closer. "I don't think we need to focus that hard, Killer. I think I see smoke" he joked, gesturing to my head. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a smile building on the edges of his plump lips.

His smell was intoxicating, and I was struggling to ignore his charms, which pissed me off. Who was he to "nick-name" me? He was such an entitled brat. I resolved to ignore him. "Fine, my bad. I didn't mean to offend you, miss priss" he said, leaning back into his seat and bringing his hands behind his head.

MISS PRISS? I thought, now beyond angry. I whipped my head towards him. "You didn't. I just have no interest in making conversation right now," I said as coldly as I could manage. We stared at one another, the tension in the van building. He started inching towards me slightly, when the boys rapped on the van's barn doors. We both jumped, the moment vanishing, and Reggie hit the unlock button. Riggs and Frank started loading the loot into the back and Reggie jumped out to help.

When they finished, all three of the jumped back into the van and Reggie started barking directions at me. "No, no, no, you need to make a left here! We are meeting the girls in the northwest corner of..."

"Hyde Park- I know. I'm taking a shortcut to a nearby parking area, I know where I am going," I responded snarkily, glaring at him.

"Sure Killer, but I still think..." he began again, clearly not getting the message.

"I didn't realize people with personal drivers knew the best routes to take," I retorted with as nasty of a comeback as I could think of.

Reggie rolled his eyes while Frank and Riggs jumped on the smack down, "OOOOHH she nailed you bruv!" I heard from the back seat, while Reggie turned around and smacked them both, laughs erupting in the van. As soon as that broke out, I hit the traffic. We sat, unmoving, in a line of vehicles for the next five minutes. Frank and Riggs were both getting antsy and had dipped into the hors d'oeuvres and a bottle of wine each. They were whining about how long it was taking when we all watched my sister and the other three girls crossing the street behind us into Hyde Park. "No way!" Riggs started, "I can't believe they are going to beat us there!"

"Yeah, Fran, seems like you should have listened to the little rich boy after all!" Frank teased, smacking me on the shoulder and sloshing wine around. I gritted my teeth and rolled my eyes.

Reginald leaned towards me, and dragging a stray hair behind my ear, he said quietly, "I wasn't going to say it, but I can't resist." He leaned closer still and whispered, "I told you so." I glared at him and shrugged my shoulder to push his arm away from my face. He moved it down and let it rest on my thigh. His touch was electric, but I was not going to let his cocky attitude slide. I reached down and threw his hand off of me just as traffic started to move.

"Fuck off," I said, "We have no idea how long 'your way' would have taken. Can we just drop it?" I asked, attempting to shut him down.

"Damn, you really need to chill out, Killer," he said, sliding his hand back onto my thigh, "I think I can help you with that, if you'd just give in to what you clearly want." I rolled my eyes yet another time this evening and did what I could show no interest in his proposition while knocking his hand off me. We were finally pulling up to the parking area, so I slid into a spot and avoided his lingering gaze. Riggs and Frank jumped out of the back and headed over to meet the girls, and I reached down to unbuckle my seatbelt. Just as I was clicking the buckle, his hand covered mine and held me in place. I met his eyes to shoot him a warning look, and he leaned forward enough that faces were almost touching. "I'm not sure where this anger comes from. I haven't done anything to you- yet. Just ask and I'll do plenty to you," he said.

"You wish," I scoffed, my face reddening.

"You can resist all you want, but I can see in your eyes what you want," he purred. I tried to respond, but my breath caught in my throat. "Admit it," he whispered, "You want me."

I watched his eyelids lower and knew I needed to make a choice. I turned my face so that my lips were near his ear and ran both of my hands up his body to his chest. Slowly I said, "The only thing I want... is to get the hell away from you," as I forcefully shoved him away from me, jumped from the van and slammed the door, heading towards Rose. He was such a cocky bastard; at least I knew my hate for him was not misplaced. I didn't appreciate being treated like a high-strung virgin who needed to get fucked just to calm down. But, if I were being honest, my pussy was dripping from our encounter. He lit a fire in me, and if he were anyone else- literally anyone else- I would have jumped him right there in that van. I had a seeking suspicion that my night alone wasn't going to be enough- maybe I needed to find someone to share it with. ANYONE but Reginald Hagadone.

A few meters of stomping and I made it to Rose. "You okay, Fran?" she asked, noting my red cheeks and angry face.

"Yeah, I'm good," I said unconvincingly.

"Suuure. Come one, you obviously need a drink," she smiled at me and grabbed my hand, pulling me back towards the van where the Frank and Riggs were assessing our haul. I rolled my eyes but smiled back and allowed her to drag me over. The boys found a large blanket in the back of the van and laid it out about 15 meters into the park under a streetlamp. Jessie, Cheryl and Peggy joined us at the back of the van and helped us organize and put out the food and drink onto the blanket while we settled around it.

Cheryl passed around some plastic cups while Reggie started peeling back the thin metal casing around the cork on a bottle of champagne. "To our new friends," he announced, winking at me as he popped the cork and champagne spewed out of the bottle.

"I want to make a real toast, Reggie," Cheryl said, smiling at Rose. "Living in London my entire life, I have never experienced much bigotry for being LBGTQ+. I was really taken aback tonight, and it was incredible having such a sexy vixen stand up for us like Rose did. And, I may not know either of you very well Fran, but I feel like it was amazing of you to be such an ally for your sister, and for me! So, thank you, and let's have an amazing night!"

I blushed while the rest cheered. Rose walked on hands and knees across the circle to Cheryl and locked her into a deep kiss.

After a minute or so, Jessie broke it up, "Alright, alright, enough love-birds. I'm just excited for an excuse to do something naughty and get to steal such fancy champagne!" she giggled and raised her glass and we all 'clinked' in the center of the circle.

Peggy jumped in, not to be outdone, "The night is far from over, Jessie."

Frank, with his mouth full of bacon-wrapped shrimp, contributed, "Oh yeah? Robbery, public intoxication- what else did you have in mind?"

"I plan on enjoying the spoils of our debauchery," I said, snagging a mini-hamburger from our pile of food and sipping my champagne.

"I'm down for that," Riggs said, reaching into the pile himself. We all partook, laughing together while Rose and I got to know the group. Frank went to boarding school with Reggie. He was a student of architecture at Queen Mary, and actually seemed like a very intelligent guy, despite his bro-like characteristics. Riggs was the lead guitarist of Sweeping Insensitivity, a band Reggie started, where Peggy played the drums and Jessie played bass. They all worked side jobs in restaurants and retail on the side, apart from Reginald. Cheryl dated Peggy and were friends and roommates. Apparently, this group was inseparable.

I was chatting with Jessie about her job at a fine-dining restaurant while sipping my fourth drink of the night- this time white wine that was pairing amazingly with the haddock appetizer I was enjoying. The cater waiters came and picked up the van half an hour ago, and we were all letting loose. I was feeling slightly inebriated and was having much more fun than I had imagined. Rose came over from her post beside Cheryl and sat down beside me, refilling my glass well above the size of a normal wine glass. "What are you doing?" I asked, pulling my glass away from her reach, "Are you trying to get me drunk?" I smiled and laughed at her.

"Darling, I just want you to loosen up. You're wound up tighter than a drum! And you seem to be having fun! I want it to continue, for your sake" she winked at me. I shoved her arm lovingly and sipped from my glass. "Speaking of continuing our fun, I think it's time that we spice this evening up," she announced.

"More spice than sneaking into a party or robbery?" I asked with a small waiver in my voice.

"Well, maybe nothing strictly illegal, but possibly something taboo and special," Cheryl joined the conversation. "Rose told me why you two snuck into the party- to see the Amelia Murphy piece."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I'm so bugged that we didn't get to see the opening," Rose whined.

"I know baby," Cheryl comforted her. "But I happened to mention it to Reggie, and he said he has a friend that owns a gallery a few blocks from here that is doing a showcase of her work. We can continue the party there, if you're interested," she asked both Rose and I.

"It's nearly midnight- how are we going to get in?" I questioned, not quite seeing the logic.

"My friend owes me, she'll let us in," Reggie answered me.

"Let's get a move on then, you tossers," Riggs announced, pulling at the blanket from underneath us all and forcing us to scramble to our feet, laughing, stumbling and spilling our drinks. We downed the drinks we had left and wandered out of the park, tossing our rubbage in the bin and following Reginald toward the gallery.

We arrived in a few minutes, just as the rainclouds that had been gathering began to drip down on us. Luckily, the owner of the gallery met us at the door and let us in. She met us all and offered to walk us through the showcase. Rose grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly- it had been a long time since I saw her this happy. Cheryl joined us on the tour of the gallery as we walked by three pieces and stopped to discuss one. I noticed a piece in a corner room that drew me in; it reminded me of my mother. I stepped away to get a closer look. When I rounded the corner of the small room, I saw Reggie admiring the same piece. I nodded at him and turned my focus to the art on the wall. The piece was colourful- it had darker, deeper blues and oranges at the base that lightened and swirled as your eyes traveled up it. Up close, it appeared to be a simple mixing of paint, pretty but uninspiring. From farther away, however, one could see the shapes unfold within the swirling colours.

"What do you see?" Reggie asked, pulling me away from the world of the painting that I had been living in.
"Excuse me?" I said, facing him with a confused look on my face.

"Well, when I look at this piece, I see a motherly figure, surrounding her two children in her arms. The dark orange at the base makes me think of fire, of the smoldering of some tragedy that they faced, and the lightness around her arms is like the hope for their future," he professed, gesticulating towards the painting while he spoke.

"I... uhh...," I stumbled, honestly taken aback by his speech. I was drawn to the piece because I saw the same thing. "Yes. Sorry. I agree. But, what really drew me in was the deep blue spot between the two sisters and their mother, like a darkness within their family, and how where she touches them it lightens and fades to gold. She is their strength, I think," I said, finding my voice.

"Sisters?" he questioned, eyeing me curiously and stepping closer.