Better Than Heaven (The Bachelor Brothers Book 1)

  Better Than Heaven

  The Bachelor Brothers series, #1

  Honey Holloway

  Copyright © 2021 Honey Holloway

  All rights reserved.

  To the love of my life. I’d be lost without you.

  Chapter One

  Oliver

  At some point when you join university, you discover that making it to a nine am lecture is near impossible. Not because students don’t own alarm clocks; this morning, I’ve pressed snooze at least five times, waking up a little more angry each time the alarm rings. And it’s not because we don’t care that our money’s going down the drain, either. Deciding to go to university is like deciding to use all your life’s savings on an epic night out. It feels good before you do it and during, and then afterward, it makes you feel like you’ve made a terrible mistake. So yeah, we care that we’re watching our money being drained from our bank accounts, but we still don’t make it to nine am lectures. Why?

  Because we’re all lazy as fuck.

  At least, that’s the way it is for the Creative Writing students who have made it all the way to the third year of our course. We’re all fully aware that going into lectures is a waste of our time. Not one of us can stand to hear another poem by a crappy contemporary poet when we could be dreaming in bed and letting our imaginations do the teaching. I groan as the alarm goes off again, signaling that this is our final chance to make it to class on time.

  “Turn it off,” Violet moans, her hair sticking to her lip and her eyes screwed closed. “I’m getting up.”

  “Are you hell!” I say, slapping at the snooze button once more.

  “Our grades will start to slip…”

  “You haven’t created a bad piece of coursework since the lecturer got your piece mixed with Brian’s. You could’ve aced this course when you were three. Just close your eyes and go back to sleep…”

  She throws the covers off her body dramatically, and my eyes are drawn to her naked body. We’ve seen each other naked a thousand times during our casual sex agreement, but I’ve never really taken the time to look at her, somehow. Our encounters always happen in the darkness at night when we’re filled with booze and confidence. She stretches her arms above her head and her small breasts seem to disappear into her chest. Her slim body is all protruding bones and acres of dark skin. Her bobbed black hair and honey eyes draw my attention as she blinks the sleep from her eyes and runs her fingers through her hair like a comb. She’s gorgeous, of course. Any man would be lucky to wake up next to her. But to me, she’s just my best friend. Sometimes, when I take the time to look at her like this in the morning, I wonder why we do it. It’s never complicated things between us so far, but it’s like an addiction...it’s only hard when you try and stop.

  “You know, you shouldn’t be so sure of yourself. You know half of this course is about kissing the tutor’s asses,” she mumbles bitterly. “Just because you’re a class favorite when you bother to show up, it doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way. If you don’t start going to the lectures and seminars, you’ll fall behind.”

  “Then stop taking me out to town every Tuesday night…”

  Violet rolls her eyes and I laugh at her, grabbing her waist and pulling her back into bed. Now that we’re sober, touching her naked skin feels more forbidden, but I want her to stay. I’m in the mood for more of what we had last night. My hand ventures between her legs and I tease her clitoris with a grin. Her body relaxes in my arms and she closes her eyes, letting out a soft gasp. She’s already wet.

  “You know you want to stay,” I murmur playfully in her ear. “We don’t need to be anywhere. The world is putty in our hands, Violet.”

  She tuts at me, but she doesn’t even open her eyes, enjoying the feeling of me touching her between her legs. “You have the privilege of that opinion, Oliver. You’re a rich foreign student. You came here with nothing to lose…”

  I want to laugh at that comment. She doesn’t have a clue how much it really took to get me here. But I decide instead of arguing to finish her sentence.

  “...and we have nothing to gain if this course is anything to go by....come on, Violet. You know it’s a waste of our time.” I clamber on top of her, my hand still between her legs. She finally looks up at me, a small smile playing on her lips. I tease her mercilessly with my fingers and she gasps as I work up a rhythm. She never lasts long when I’m touching her.

  “Stay here instead...enjoy the moment,” I whisper. I lean in to kiss her gently, and it feels a little strange. I’m not used to being so present while we’re getting it on. I’m usually a little drunk and not really thinking too hard about what we’re doing. But Violet grabs the back of my neck to pull me in close and I know she’s into it. We’re not going anywhere.

  She pushes herself against my fingers, forcing them inside her. She’s always been good at telling me what she wants. I use my thumb to touch her clitoris and kiss her neck as I penetrate her with my fingers. I can feel the rise and fall of her chest as she lies beneath me and I feel her satisfied breathing on my neck. This is what we’re so used to, and yet it always feels good. I like being with her and not having any strings attached. It’s the closest to perfection I’ve ever found in a sexual relationship.

  I can’t help feeling aroused. It’s always strange being so sexually attracted to the girl I call my best friend, and yet nothing could stop me right now. I pick up the pace and Violet moans quietly. We’ve mastered the art of being quiet so that my flatmates don’t hear.

  “You can go now if you want. I won’t stop you,” I tease her. She laughs, pinching my cheek playfully.

  “Yeah, right. It’s just getting good…”

  “Only just?” I ask her. I trail my lips down her chest to take her nipple in my mouth. Her laughter turns to the sound of her pleasure.

  “You can do better than that…” she breathes, though I can tell she’s completely at my mercy. I push my fingers deeper inside her and she doesn’t bother playing around any longer. She wants what she always wants...a sweet release.

  I can hear that she’s about to finish and I seal the ending with a quick kiss. She moans against my lips, bucking against my hand one last time. I grin as she reaches out to touch my erect cock, which has been left unattended in our session. With her arousal still on my fingers, I know she’s ready for at least another round...maybe even more. She strokes my member lazily and then she grins at me and pulls away.

  “What are you doing?” I complain.

  “Going to class,” she says brightly, wriggling out from underneath me and standing to get dressed. I stare at her in shock, laughing out loud involuntarily.

  “Are you serious? You’re just going to leave me hanging like that?”

  “It’s not my fault you started something I don’t have time to finish....besides...I got mine,” she says with an innocent smile. She finishes hastily dressing and blows a kiss in my direction. “See you at the writing circle later...if you can be bothered to get out of bed.”

  “You’re the worst.”

  “And you’re the best. Later.”

  I laugh, shaking my head to myself before burying my face back in my pillow. Even though I wish she’d come back and finish the job for me, I’m not mad at her for leaving at all. This is why Violet and I get on so well. We never expect too much of each other. We always know where our boundaries lie. And we both agreed, right from the start, that things would never become awkward between us. After all, no one is claiming we’ll ever get together. No one in our friendship circle is insisting that they see some unspoken chemistry between us and that we’re going to be the couple of the cent
ury. We’re fine as we are, and neither of us has some hidden desire to take it to another level.

  Now that I’m alone, I’m completely tempted to go back to sleep, but the moment I shared with Violet has woken me up somewhat. I reach for my laptop, which I abandoned on the floor last night after watching a film with Violet turned into sex. I’m going to force myself to put pen to paper - or fingers to keys - and write something good today.

  I’m groggy and tired, but as much as I refuse to go to a lecture right now, I may as well use this time usefully. I’m lazy, but I’m not unmotivated. I want to succeed in this course, especially since my brother, Caleb, paid for me to come over here. He’s always been concerned that my laziness will lead me to a dark pit of depression eventually when I give up on my dreams and start allowing my bad habits to take over. I disagree, but I’m thankful in so many ways that he pushed me to come here from overseas. Sure, this course is killing my passion for writing with each lecture I attend, and sure, it’s not the sort of university course that will land me a job right away. But I’ve found happiness here. I’ve found friends for life. I’ve found independence.

  And most importantly, I’ve found an escape from the dark spiral life in California was taking me down.

  I take the day as it comes. I spend the morning writing and then get up at midday to drink copious amounts of coffee and eat some slightly stale toast. It makes my hangover seem a little worse so I head back to bed for a nap. When I wake up, I realize I’ve missed the beginning of my meeting with my writing group and rush out to meet them. No one is surprised that I’m late, and we all joke about the night we spent out at one of Liverpool’s worst clubs. Then we get serious and listen to Violet’s poetry about global warming.

  By the time I get home, I know it’s almost time for my weekly chat with the Bachelor Brothers, as I dubbed us several years ago when we all went our separate ways across the globe. It’s the name of our group chat, mostly because our last name is Bachelor, but also partly because we’re all single as hell. Ezra found himself in a pretty serious relationship for a while, which is completely typical of my crazily romantic older brother even if it ended terribly, so I guess he doesn’t exactly love being referred to as a bachelor. Plus, Tammy has always claimed that she’s pretty offended by the fact that she’s been dubbed as a brother, but she’s also the biggest tomboy I’ve ever met, so I know she secretly appreciates it. Even if once every few weeks she puts herself very close up to the camera and cries “I’m the bachelorette sister!” before she signs off.

  Still, the name between us has stuck, and I’m reluctant to change it. It seems like the only constant between us these days, other than our weekly catch-ups. Now that none of us live together and we’re all out doing our own thing, it’s easy to feel disconnected from them. Once, my siblings were my favorite people in the world, keeping me afloat even when the going got tough. But I guess things have changed a little since our father’s funeral.

  I wait patiently for the others to join the call. Tammy is the first eager beaver to show up. She grins at me with a wave.

  “Good day to you, young whippersnapper,” she says, miming drinking a cup of tea with her pinkie finger in the air. In her mind, the British jokes haven’t gotten old yet, but she couldn’t sound more different from the people I’ve met in Liverpool. Violet was born and bred here, and her husky Scouse accent surprised me so much when I first met her that it took me several weeks to get used to. Still, Tammy’s energy and enthusiasm always make me smile. She’s always been my secret favorite out of the bunch, though I’d never admit that to her. She’d be far too smug.

  “Hey, Tammy. How’re things?”

  She fakes a yawn. “Same old, bro. Mom’s been in a good mood this week, though. She hasn’t shouted at me once.”

  My heart aches a little for Tammy. As the youngest, she’s the only one still living at home. She’s old enough to move out now, but someone’s got to look after Mom. I guess the rest of us got out just in time.

  “Good to hear. Has she been going to therapy?”

  Tammy scoffs. “What do you think?”

  I shake my head to myself. Since the car accident that killed Dad and left Mom with life-changing injuries, she’s been more like Tammy’s child than her mother. Sometimes, the one thing that gets me through is knowing that my third year will soon be over and I can go back to help her out. As much as I don’t want my life to revolve around my mother and the mistake she made, it’s not fair for Tammy to get stuck either. Especially since Caleb refuses to talk to Mom and Ezra has issues of his own to deal with...

  “Alright...and what about you? Are you at least getting out of the house?”

  “Dude, you know it. I go out with my friends every night,” she says proudly. Her face is clearly showing signs of her late-night adventures, too. She looks pale and gaunt despite her smile and her wide eyes. Her short boyish hair falls limply in front of her tired eyes. But I guess Tammy has always been the master of pretending everything is fine. Even if she is spending her nights drinking and her days making sure Mom doesn’t give up on life.

  “Good...and you’re eating enough? Drinking plenty of water?”

  “Woah, dude...just because Mom’s not lecturing me about it, doesn’t mean you need to. I’m fine, Oliver. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “It’s my job as your big brother.”

  “It’s alright...I’ve got three of those. And you’re the most fun of the three, so maybe you should leave the lectures to them…”

  I chuckle, just as I get a notification to say that Ezra is joining the call. Tammy pulls a face.

  “Don’t mention Leo…”

  I put a finger to my lips as a promise. Ezra’s ex-girlfriend is allegedly returning from her travels that broke the two of them apart in the first place, so it’s safe to say he’s going to be in a bad mood. I sigh quickly before Ezra appears. As much as I love them all, it would be nice to see them all smiling.

  Ezra’s face is so miserable when he appears that I almost laugh. He’s let his facial hair grow rugged again, and his thick brows are knotted together. He sighs as a greeting.

  “Where’s Caleb?”

  “Nice to see you too, Ez,” Tammy says, rolling her eyes. Ezra shakes his head.

  “Sorry...I’m a little distracted today. Leo’s coming over to pick up her things in a little while…”

  “What? Seriously? It’s been almost a year since you guys ended...what’s keeping her?” I ask. He shrugs.

  “I guess her traveling around Asia had something to do with it,” Ezra mutters. We all fall quiet, not knowing what to say. Caleb, for all his flaws and seriousness, is much better at handling this kind of thing. He’d know what to say to make Ezra feel better. But since he’s not here, we sit in silence, and I start wondering when things got this hard between us guys.

  When Caleb finally shows up, it brings a smile to all of our faces. As much as Caleb is the grump of the family, my eldest sibling is also like the Mother hen of us all. When things went to shit at home, he was already well established in his pharmaceuticals career, and he made sure we were all well looked after. He insisted on paying my tuition fees to stop me from getting into debt. He sends Tammy money to keep her and Mom going, despite the fact that he won’t even speak to Mom. He pays for Ezra to have studio time twice a year to record an EP, even though Ezra always struggles to get something recorded. Basically, Caleb is the selfless one among us. Though I guess it’s easier to be selfless when you’re loaded.

  “Everything okay, Ezra?” Caleb asks right away, stroking his chin on his handsome face. He’s dressed smartly like he’s just come home from work. Then again, he doesn’t often leave the house in anything other than a suit. Tammy catches my eye on the screen.

  “It’s like we’re not even here, Olly…”

  Caleb sighs. “Well, he’s the priority tonight. We spent half an hour last week talking about your night out, Tammy. Have some perspective.”

  I try
to be sympathetic to Ezra. After all, his hopelessly romantic heart is more fragile than most, and Leonora really did a number on him. But it’s just a fresh reminder that as much as we all smile and joke around usually, our family is a bit of a mess.

  If only I could turn back time and stop the crash from ever happening…

  Willow

  Getting up at six feels like a lie in today. As I force my eyes open and turn off my alarm, I switch on the light to wake up my body. My shift at the local cafe starts in an hour, but I only finished my last work shift five hours ago. Still, five hours of sleep is a generous amount for me, so I try to be glad of it and psyche myself up for the day.

  I rush to grab a bagel and take a shower. I take time drying my hair and applying my signature gold eyeliner. I like to make an effort for work. Since I spend my life either on a shift or studying for university, it quickly became evident to me that if I don’t make an effort now, I never will. Besides, it’s nice to look nice.

  But of course, there are obstacles every morning, and the latest one is that my work shirt has shrunk in the wash. I don’t have time to clean and dry my other one, so I guess I’ll have to hope my boss likes crop tops. I pull on my black jeans too, sighing at my midriff on show. My wide hips and belly are on display now, making me feel a little naked, but I’ve never had much shame about my body. The customers will just have to get used to it.

  Downstairs, my terrible neighbors are arguing again. I sigh. They’re the reason I’ve taken to sleeping with headphones on. I thought getting a proper apartment instead of student accommodation would be cheaper and less rowdy, but my tiny studio is surrounded by young couples in dingy conditions going just as crazy as I am. I’d be sympathetic to them if they didn’t keep me up at night so often.

  I check my phone as I’m heading out. I sigh. My freelance employer wants me to do a complete rewrite of the work I submitted. I don’t get paid enough to care, and yet I need this job. I can spend a few extra hours on it or I can fail to pay my rent and end up out on the streets. When I think of it that way, the choice seems much easier. I just wish that for once, someone wouldn’t take advantage of my situation. Maybe if someone put themselves in my shoes for once, they’d see how hard it is to be twenty-one and fighting to be able to pay my own rent.