Knocked on their Asses

Fawn paced the center of the seventh floor of the Witzler Hotel. She tried to keep close to the elevators and the hallway intersection toward the right. That way led to Room 718, where Daisy found herself trapped. Fawn had ventured down that way four times already while fretting about her protégé's safety. She **** herself not to go for another pass, as security might already be wondering about her. Luckily, anyone monitoring the cameras on New Year's Eve probably assumed she was waiting for a man.

What the hell is taking Brandy so damn long? Barrow can't find Daisy. He just can't!

Despite his friendly demeanor and family man persona, Fawn knew the real Congressman Morgan Barrow. She knew of his ruthless ambition and propensity for grudges with an angry intensity. Barrow could wait years until he no longer needed the person who wronged him for payback. Then, once they no longer served a purpose in his political ambitions, the grudgeholder would strike back with a vengeance.

And if Daisy had stumbled on Barrow with one of his lovers, the congressman couldn't let her blab. Not without consequences. The one Achilles heel in Morgan's ambitions came in his uncontrollable thirst for sexual conquests. This lust had gotten out of control enough times that rumors spread in spite of his best efforts to control his image. Several years ago, the cheating chatter intensified to a level where Barrow had to finally address it publicly. Of course, he'd placed the blame on his political rivals and their nameless backers. Trotting out his wife and sons seemed to help garner Morgan sympathy in some quarters. But what helped most was that nobody had physical proof to accompany the rumors of affairs. That's what Daisy might now have.

A fantastic scoop — even when found intentionally — also brought great danger. That's a risk that Fawn couldn't let Daisy expose herself to. The teenager meant too much to her.

When Fawn first returned home from Fountain Beach five and a half years ago. It proved to be a difficult adjustment. The school library appeared organized, but her aging predecessor left behind a mess. Fawn also left behind a relationship that she wasn't sure she regretted abandoning. But issues needed to be fixed. Reconnecting with old friends had helped. This was especially true with Keeley.

The Keadys lived in the same Oakfield Park neighborhood as the Graffs, Whelans, and Fallons. Fawn and Keeley had sparked an almost instant connection. Eight years older than Keeley, Fawn began helping keep an eye on the toddler while Mrs. Keady performed chores around the house. That eventually transitioned into babysitting duties. As an only child, Fawn found a little sister in Keeley. So being around to watch her surrogate sibling experience her final years of high school helped validate Fawn's decision to return home, among other reasons that were equally vital to her.

However, with Keeley replacing Fawn in Fountain Beach for college, the older half of the duo found herself slightly lost. Brandy's nephew would enter high school soon, and while Fawn adored him, Sean wasn't the sort of teenager that Fawn could mentor. However, Finn alerted her to the presence of another junior high student, the same age as Sean. This one had been kicked off her school paper under circumstances that Fawn found suspicious. With Finn vouching for Daisy Kirby, Fawn had Keeley's younger friend, Emily Buttery, arrange for an accidental introduction. Clicking immediately, Fawn took Daisy under her wing.

Fawn hadn't realized it at the time, but Daisy provided the older woman with a student to mentor, filling a hole in her life. Unlike Keeley, Daisy didn't feel like a sister to Fawn; she felt like a friend and protégé. And while her fellow teachers and Lacey Stratton pleaded with the librarian to let them play matchmaker for her, it wasn't when Daisy suggested that she start dating again that it hit home. Although Fawn hadn't found the right guy yet, she silently thanked the teen for getting her back out on the dating scene. And even with Daisy set to graduate, the teen had brought additional students into her life. So next year, Fawn knew she would watch over and shepherd Dexter, Norah, and Odette through their high school years.

But first, Fawn needed to rescue her younger friend.

Staring at her phone, Fawn heard the click of a door opening near Room 718. Startled, the dirty blonde's feet moved before her brain registered why. A very handsome young man with styled, wavy brown hair stormed out of a suite. Heading in his direction, Fawn faked playing with her phone, only briefly glancing up as they passed each other. Then, the school librarian glanced over at the room number the scowling stud had exited.

The hell! Why did Archer Bowe just storm out of Room 716? That's the Laffonts' suite. Was he meeting Olena? Was he meeting the person Olena met? And why did he look pissed?

A legendary lothario of Honey Hollow High, Archer graduated only a month before Fawn accepted the school librarian position and returned home. Even off at college, stories about Archer's antics were still being retold around the school's halls. And if anyone doubted the veracity of those tales, they need only check past posts from Nosy Nectar. Archer racked up gossip like no other Fighting Bee before him. Nosy Nectar appeared almost obsessed with him during his senior year. Something that Fawn knew by keeping an eye on the gossip site while living in Fountain Beach.

Before Fawn could mull the new development over, her phone buzzed with an incoming call.

"What's taking so long?"

"Is that any way to greet your best friend?" Brandy challenged.

"Oh, is Wrenn with you?"

"Fuck off. I sent Barney to the car for a better prop. So we had to wait for him," Brandy explained. "We're on our way up now. Just passed the fifth floor. Give your girl the heads up."

"I'm positioned near the stairwell for her escape. We'll rendezvous down in our room," Fawn responded. Then, she hung up to type the message.

"Go time."

Daisy read the message and nodded. Moving as carefully as possible, the intrepid journalist eased the closet door open more. That action brought ragged breathing and slapping flesh sounds to her ears, noises she didn't want to hear.

Needing to time this just right, Daisy waited for the bump to sound at the door to the suite. When it came, the teenager crawled out of the closet. Keeping low, she dashed forward, pushing down on the door handle to open it. However, instead of exiting the suite, Daisy continued moving until she entered the bathroom.

Immediately, the suite's door burst open as a room service cart barreled inside. Pushing it was a young man dressed in a hotel waiter uniform.

"Room service!" he yelled.

A shriek and a bang sounded from the sitting room farther inside.

"Get out!" Barrow bellowed.

A naked woman, covering her private parts with her hands, rushed toward the short hallway that led to the suite's two bedrooms. Unfortunately for her, the waiter had continued pushing the room service cart into the suite until it slammed against the edge of the wall, cutting off her escape. Shrieking again, the woman skidded to a halt. Falling backward, her bottom barely touched the floor before she started scrambling back into the sitting room.

"I didn't order room service! Get out!" the elected official roared.

Suddenly, a second young man appeared next to the hotel waiter. His appearance had less to do with the woman's screams turning into wails and more to do with the large object in his hand, which began to produce bright flashes that filled the suite's entertaining area. And while his illicit lover dashed to hide her body behind an armchair, Morgan Barrow struggled to stand after falling over the coffee table.

Reaching for any object to regain his dignity at the moment, Barrow grabbed a throw pillow off the coach. Once he covered his groin, the local congressman turned to face the intruder, who used his old-fashioned camera with a large extended bulb to snap evidence of his affair.

"Son of a bitch! I'll fucking kill you! Do you know who I am?"

Seeking to show that he meant what he said, Morgan lunged forward, his free hand cocked in a fist. However, the appearance of a gorgeous woman startled him out of his rage momentarily. The shapely blonde used her long legs to stride into the room and in front of the photographer.

"Why do you think we're here, you imbecile?" the golden blonde challenged.

Motioning to the photographer that his job was complete, the beautiful woman showed no concern as she marched right up to the irate man. Barrow couldn't know it, but her move helped block his possible view of a blonde teenager scrambling out of the bathroom and exiting the suite. Down the hallway by an open door to a stairway, Fawn motioned for Daisy and Barney to hurry toward her.

"Hello, Morgan. Remember me?" the beautiful blonde asked.

"Wha--Who are you? Why are you here?" the politician demanded, regaining his composure. Unlike with Barney, Barrow wasn't about to punch the woman. Instead, his brain worked like crazy to decipher her identity. Foremost in his mind might be the possibility that he'd fucked her years earlier.

"Here's a hint. I threatened to sew your asshole shut if you were an asshole to my sister. Oh, I was about seven when you came to pick her up for the only date you had with her," the female intruder revealed. Then, turning toward the woman cowering behind the chair, she clucked her tongue in distaste.

"Date? Threat...Bridget...You...Your Bridget's sister? Bridget Fallon?!" Morgan exclaimed as he recalled the long-ago unusual threat from a first-grader.

"It's Dr. Bridget Tarver these days, but I know you only care about the size of a woman's measurements and bank account compared to other details," Brandy commented. "Oh, my name is Brandy, and I'm also Seamus Fallon's daughter, in case you forgot. You know, the private detective. I guess you never expected me to follow in my dad's footsteps, did you?"

Later, downstairs in her hotel room, Brandy would share a laugh at retelling how Barrow's head seemed to swivel around as it shook from side to side. Fully discombobulated, Morgan struggled to speak.

"F-Foot--de-detect...n-no, no, NO!"

Ignoring Barrow for a moment, Brandy walked several steps over toward his lover. Kneeling down, she crafted a sinister expression on her face.

"Hello, Lucy. Aren't you a hypocritical bitch? Geez, this turned into a double-stroke of fortune for me and my client. Here you are still badmouthing my sister behind her back with your bullshit allegation from over twenty years ago. Get this straight, you cheating slut; Bridget never fucked your boyfriend. Got that?"

The woman once known as Lucy Golightly nodded hesitantly.

"I asked if you got that?" Brandy hissed through gritted teeth.

"I-I got it," Lucy agreed weakly.

"Good! And once you're done cleaning Mucky Morgan off you, I expect you to personally and publicly apologize to Bridget down in the ballroom. Do you understand, slut?"

"Yes."

"Client? Who the hell hired you, Fallon?!" Barrow challenged, storming menacingly over toward Brandy.

"I wouldn't if I were you," the waiter said, picking up a large steak knife from the room service cart.

"Oh, that's not necessary. Mr. Family Man here isn't going to get violent, are you, Morg?" Brandy inquired. Then, patting his cheek, she started walking toward the waiter. "Not when there is a whole hotel full of the press. And let's not mention that he's been caught fucking Judson Jinkerson's wife. I don't think Bragging Barrow will be boasting about this conquest to any of his friends soon, will you? I mean, how bad will it look if people found out that their family values hero is banging Judge Jinkerson's loving wife? A popular, well-respected judge like him has many friends around town. Friends that vote."

"P-Please! You can't tell my husband! Please!" Lucy begged.

"What do you want? Money?" the congressman questioned.

"Oh, I guess you don't need brains to get elected these days, do you? I don't want anything. My client does. However, as I'm only here to collect evidence, you'll have to wait for him, her, or them to contact you," Brandy replied, loving how rattled Barrow looked. Then, nodding at Nate, she added, "Let's go."

With Nate backing the room service cart up, Brandy disappeared from sight, only to pop her head back around the corner for a moment.

"Whoops! I almost forgot. Happy New Year!"

"Me? How would I know how to get Sean under control?" Lacey responded with her own questions.

"Well, somebody better know. This is getting embarrassing," Whitney complained. She watched as Quilla stood up, shaking her head at Sean's lack of interest.

After noticing Sean's timid attitude, Marcie decided to shut London up. So the blonde tennis player walked over, turned her back to Sean, and lowered herself onto his lap. That feeling of safety around Sean only served to frustrate Whitney more.

"Whit, maybe you'd better calm down. You're not supposed to be stressing yourself out over nothing," Lacey said, responding to her co-BFF's loud growl.

"Over nothing? This isn't nothing. I have a plan for him."

"Plan? What plan? You better not screw up my plan for Sean," Lacey warned.

"Your plan? Ha! Your plan crashed and burned back at the pond," Whitney shot back.

"Hey, that's not my fault! I only learned about Sean's crush on Rammy a few days ago. How was I supposed to know that she didn't know his correct name?"

"Well, if you're such a matchmaking wonder, you should've recognized the signs way before this week. I mean, he is your family friend," Whitney remarked sarcastically. "Instead, the poor guy got left heartbroken."

"That's why I'm searching for a new girl for him! I already have enough pressure on me. So I don't need you throwing every girl in school at him literally," Lacey said, pointing to where Marcie slowly rocked back and forth on Sean's lap. "I need to find the perfect girl. One he wants to be with."

"Oh, Sean's going to be with plenty of girls by the time my plan is finished. He's going to be so busy fucking them that he'll never have the time to think about Rammy," Whitney declared.

"Eww! That's gross, Whit. It's also not what Sean wants. He's a romantic, not a Romeo."

"I don't care what Sean wants. I know what's better for him."

"Oh, that's an awesome way to treat the guy who saved your life. Don't let him do what he wants," Lacey replied, growing slightly heated. "As if you know what's right for him."

"Damn right it is. And I'm not being selfish. Bridget is fully behind my plan," Whitney revealed, practically gloating.

"Aunt Bridget would never...Fine! I guess she would," Lacey corrected. Feeling boxed out, the petite matchmaker didn't like it one bit. This isn't a fight where I'm going to lay down and lose. I'll find Sean his new Ramsey.

"Oh, c'mon, Tarver! I fucking knew I shouldn't have started these lap dances right after I blew him."

"What?!" Lacey, Kaitlin, and Caterina all exclaimed simultaneously. Of course, they'd heard of the possibility from Kizzy, but knowing for sure, shocked them.

"Where in the world..."

"In Uncle Dalton's office. It got good too as Sage, Aubrey, and Becky walked in and ended up watching," Whitney recounted to Lacey. Then, turning toward the other two cheerleaders, the captain barked an order. "Cat, get out there and fix this."

"Hell, no. I have a reputation to protect. And if you drained Tarver, he ain't getting back up anytime soon," Caterina rejected the order. "He's like a fucking corpse."

"Cat!" Kaitlin admonished.

"Oh, shit! Sorry, Whitney, I didn't mean to--"

"Whatever. It's fine. Katie can go--"

"I have a boyfriend!" Kaitlin interrupted.

"Who? Palmer? What you have with him is not a healthy relationship," Whitney commented.

"Oh, as if you know what it's like to be in a healthy relationship," Kaitlin spat back.

"Besides, Palmer isn't here. Which is fucking great because none of us want to hear about him tonight."

"He didn't get a ticket but is coming soon."

"Why? Please no," Whitney whined.

"Palmer is bringing Kieran with him," Kaitlin revealed, nudging her head in Rory's direction.

"Oh! Well, I guess that's alright then, for Rory's sake. But you need to finally dump Palmer's ass. And there is no better place than here and tonight," Whitney stated.

"I'll agree to that," Cat added.

"What the hell, Cat?!"

Whitney ignored the two bickering friends. Instead, she scanned the surrounding crowd for girls who might get Sean's libido running again. Then, sighing, the queen bee turned toward her friend.

"Where's Lana at? I know she could jumpstart a corpse," Whitney remarked, using Cat's earlier description.

"No idea. I haven't seen her since we left Mom and Dad."

"What about her friends? One of them could work magic on Sean," Whitney said, mulling over the options. "How about the stripper?"

"Kiki? She probably wouldn't, out of respect for Peyton," Lacey replied.

"Fuck! What about Poppy?"

"Whoa, you are getting ****. You can barely be civil to Poppy with your crap about her having the Wynwick stench on her."

"At this point, I'd let Stephanie grind on Sean," Whitney declared. "Shit, if I need to start begging former cheerleaders like Molly and Yanet, I'm going to slit my wrists."

"Children, there is no need to be so overdramatic. I got this," a voice sounded behind Whitney and Lacey.

The two cheerleaders watched as a leggy, raven-haired young woman sauntered around them, heading for Sean. They watched as the slinky, dark-haired beauty added an extra sway, making her toned ass pop under her two-piece evening gown. Although Whitney had a high slit on one side of her dress, she felt sure that this newcomer's slit went even higher.

"Who the hell is that?" the blonde cheer captain questioned.

"Ariana Lago," Lacey stated.

"Who?"

"She's Addison Craft's stepdaughter."

"Who's that?"

"Addison went to school with my mom. You know her. She was around when we were little before she moved away," Lacey explained.

"I don't remember her at all."

"That's probably because Addison wasn't a cheerleader," Lacey remarked.

"Whatever. I think we need to go get Lana."

"No, we don't. Ariana will do what you want. Trust me."

"I prefer Lana. She's a known quantity. Always down to tease and/or fuck," Whitney stated.

"I am not in the mood to fuck anyone!" Lana declared. "I want to beat the shit out of someone."

"Shit, this is worse than we thought," Kiki remarked, earning concerned nods from the younger four college coeds.

"Crap," Peyton muttered.