24. Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Four
Riverview Jamie
S itting in the bar with a few of her coworkers, Jamie feels like she can finally breathe after the week she’s had. Her days have been taken up by a big client they just acquired, and her nights are spent learning just how amazing sex can be with a big, possessive man.
Remembering the rules, she tried calling Undertaker before leaving work, and then she sent a text to tell him she would be at the bar with a few coworkers. She followed it up with how relieved she was to be done with the data migration that’s kept her awake at night.
Something her boss says makes everyone laugh, and she forces a giggle, too, pretending like she’s paying attention. Instead, she can’t stop thinking about Undertaker, and a chill flows through her. It’s just past nine, and she knows she needs to get going soon.
Looking up, she sees him watching her from outside the dive bar in Riverview. It’s as though she materialized him by thought alone, but the look on his face shows he’s anything but happy.
What in the Christian Grey is going on right now?
If the stalking wasn’t bad enough, Undertaker’s expression darkens when they lock eyes, and her stomach flops. He’s more than unhappy. He’s pissed.
“Excuse me,” Jamie says and hops off the chair.
She wears a skirt and heels, something she never had the confidence to wear in public until she met Undertaker. He makes her feel beautiful, and she wants to impress him. That whole saying about a lady in the streets and whatnot.
“Hey,” Jamie says, leading him away from the large windows and around to the darker alley.
If he’s going to yell at her, it’s probably better not to draw attention from everyone inside the bar. Especially her coworkers. How would she explain this? And they’d probably call the cops.
The sun has already set, and Undertaker just shakes his head in the dim glow from a far-off streetlight. His jaw clenches as he says, “You said you’d be home by nine.”
At least he’s not yelling.
“I said I’d be home around nine. I was just getting ready to leave when you showed up.”
“And you never said two of your coworkers were men.”
He closes the gap between them, and she presses her back against the brick wall, suddenly feeling like a caged animal.
While she knows he’d never hurt her, she can’t help feeling intimidated.
“I’ve told you who my coworkers are. I talk about them all the time.
You have nothing to worry about. My boss is happily married with four kids. ”
“What are the rules, Jamie?”
Holy shit, I forgot how literal the rules were. “You have to know where I am at. At all times.”
“And?”
“And you have to approve of the people I spend my time with. I thought we established that work was the one area of exception because I can’t—”
“During working hours. Not after work. Not drinking with coworkers at a bar outside of Griffin’s Beach.”
She swallows. “My career can’t advance if I don’t network.
I need to prove I’m a team player. How would it look if I told them I couldn’t join them for the celebration because my boyfriend won’t let me?
I mean, come on, Undertaker. The company’s paying for my food and beverages. Who’s going to turn that down?”
Staring at the wall instead of her, the anger radiates from him. He almost vibrates, and she kicks herself for underestimating how he’d respond to this.
“Undertaker—”
“You broke the rules, Jamie. I don’t have many, but you broke damn near all of them tonight.”
Swallowing, she looks at the ground. She agreed, and she didn’t clarify. This is on her. “I’m sorry.”
“This is what I’ve been talking about. This is what I need in order to be with someone like we are. You told me you were okay with it, but it didn’t take long to break every one of the rules. I have to know— Are you still okay with this?”
Am I? I didn’t realize I was giving him full control of my life when I agreed to be with him the way he needs. “I don’t know. It’s a little different in reality. This is a lot, Undertaker. Mostly because I didn’t anticipate this type of reaction.”
“What did you think was going to happen?” he shouts.
What had she thought? “I don’t know, but I clearly misunderstood how literal and all-encompassing the rules were. I’m sorry, but I’m not sure how I feel because you’re acting like you just caught me cheating or something. Which I’d never do.”
“To me, breaking the rules is the same as cheating. To me, it feels the same because it’s a betrayal. A broken promise,” Undertaker says. “I’ll have your stuff moved back to your father’s house by morning.”
“Look at me,” Jamie says.
When he finally does, she sees the pain. The unmistakable pain. “What?”
“You’re mad at me.”
“Yes.”
“This is a lot to take in. Because I’m not certain how I feel right now, in this moment, you’re going to ship me back to my dad’s house?”
“You knew what you were getting into, Jamie. I was very clear, and I don’t sugarcoat anything. I’ve always been transparent with what I need. You’re the one who pushed for this.”
She blinks and the ache starts in her chest, threatening to choke her. “ I pushed? You didn’t want this? Want me?”
“Of course, I wanted this! But I have given you ample opportunity to walk away knowing how I am. You knew the rules, and you still fucking broke them.”
Holding her hands up, she tries to take a calming breath to slow her racing heart. He’s breaking up with her because she stayed out a little later than she thought at happy hour and drank with two men in a group of ten?
“I didn’t fully understand what you meant, but I do now. I don’t really understand why, though. Why you don’t trust me.”
“Because it’s the way I am,” he says with a shrug and steps backwards. “I told you this, Jamie. Just like I told you this wasn’t as sexy as it sounds. I’m an obsessive and possessive asshole, and you said you were okay with everything.”
He’s right. He told her exactly what the expectations were, and she broke his rules. But is she okay with these rules? To give control of her life to someone else like she’s a child? “You’re right. You did.”
“You didn’t think I meant it.”
“No, I knew you did. I just thought you’d realize you could trust me enough that one happy hour to celebrate a tough job after many sleepless nights wouldn’t end with you breaking up with me.”
“I’m sorry, Jamie. I really hoped this would work.”
That’s it. Undertaker is leaving her. He’s really leaving her, and as he turns to walk towards his bike, she knows she has to stop him. “Wait!”
“For what?”
His back remains turned to her, but at least he stopped walking away. “Can’t we talk about this?”
“That’s what we just did,” he says, finally turning around. He motions between them to emphasize his point. “You don’t know if you’re okay with this anymore. I’m not capable of bending things, no matter how much I wish I was.”
His back faces her again as he walks towards his bike, and Jamie can’t breathe.
The only person who has cared about her is walking away from her.
Just like that, she’s that same little girl who watched her father drive away as she begged him to stay.
One more person she thought could love her doesn’t want her.
A sob escapes, and she falls to the ground, her head in her hands. Once again, she’s alone. Abandoned. This is why she hates opening herself up to people. It always ends up with her hurt, but she knows the only thing she regrets about being with Undertaker is this moment.
He gave her a glimpse of what it feels like to be important to someone, even for just a brief moment in time. She’ll always cherish it.
“Jamie?” Undertaker’s voice calls, and the worry in his tone makes her cry harder.
She can’t look up. She can’t watch him leaving on his bike. “I’m fine. You can go,” she calls.
The motorcycle doesn’t start and fade away as he drives far, far from her. No, she hears heavy footsteps echo and get louder as they quickly approach her. “Jamie—”
“Please,” she begs, “don’t make me watch you leave. I can’t bear it.”
“Can’t bear it?”
“Everyone always leaves me. I can’t watch you do the same. I know I broke the rules, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It’s all so new to me, and I’m not use to anyone actually caring.”
He crouches in front of her, and she wills him to just leave. To stop this torture and rip the Band-Aid off. “What’s new for you?”
“All of it. I’m not used to giving someone completely control over me—”
“I don’t want to control you. I just need to know where you are and who you’re with as well as when you’ll be home.” She dares peek up at him with the tears rolling down her cheeks as he nods. “Yeah, okay, I hear it.”
“I thought you understood how much I care about you, and this is still uncharted territory for me. One happy hour to celebrate shouldn’t change that.”
His hand reaches out, and she hates the way she melts as his thumb wipes away tears. “Why are you crying?”
“Are you serious?” She pulls away from his touch and glares at him. “You broke up with me. You’re packing up my things and shipping me back to my dad’s house.”
“But I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“I want you. I’m not exactly a big fan of the rules right now, which is why I told you I didn’t know how I felt about them. The last thing I expected was you leaving because I was honest with you.”
Licking his lips, he sighs and stares at the ground. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” she mutters.
“Excuse me?”
Jamie shakes her head. “That wasn’t fair. You have to do what you have to do, and I get it. I don’t like it, but I understand. I just… I can’t watch you leave. That’s all I’ve done my entire life.”
“Jamie—”
“They never turn around,” she says. “It’s why I keep giving my dad another chance. He’s the first one who ever abandoned me, and I just want someone to love me. I learned a long time ago, though, that I can’t make people stay.”
“Jamie—”
“I’ll be fine. I always am. You can go. Just promise me something.”
“What’s that?”
She waits for him to look into her eyes, and she can’t stop the fresh wave of salty tears from falling. “Promise me that you won’t regret our short time together. That you won’t look back on us and think it was a mistake because I won’t. And I don’t think I can handle it if you regret us.”
Pulling her into his arms, he kisses her, taking her by surprise. Some type of platitude is what she expected. Something she could fall back on as she thought about them for the rest of her life. Kissing her was not even in the realm of possibility.
“Wait,” she says, leaning back and gasping for air. “I’m confused. What’s happening?”
“You’re not going anywhere, and neither am I,” Undertaker growls and kisses her again.
She places her hands on his chest and pushes back again. “But—”
“We’ll figure it out. I’ll regret walking away for the rest of my life, and I’m not willing to do that. It’s you and me, baby doll.”
No longer resisting, she lets him claim her lips again. It’s only a matter of minutes before he pulls them up to stand, and she’s confused when he pulls her further into the darkness of the alley. Until he slips his hand down between her legs and rubs her wet panties.
The way he told her it’s just the two of them has her heart bursting.
It’s not possible to feel what she does this soon, but she can’t explain it any other way.
Jamie is completely in love with Undertaker.
And she’ll follow any rule he gives her because losing him, even as briefly as she did, felt like death.
“I can’t wait until we get home,” Undertaker says, unzipping his jeans and pulling himself out. “I’m going to fuck you, baby doll, okay?”
Every night, he makes love to her. He promised to show her the difference one day, and her legs tremble as she nods in anticipation as he turns her to face the building.
He can’t wait until we get home to have me. Maybe he feels the same way I do.
Hiking her skirt up over her ass, he slides her panties to the side and slams inside her with one quick motion. She braces herself on the brick with her hands, and his frenzied pace makes her feel more alive than she’s ever felt before in her life.
He wants me. And needs me. He’s staying.
The idea of someone catching them turns her on a little more, and Jamie feels lightheaded as her orgasm slowly burns. It starts in her core and washes over her until she feels it in her fingertips and toes. Even her scalp tingles.
He holds her tightly against him after he’s found his release, still inside her. “You and me, baby doll,” he whispers. “We’ll figure it out.”
The words are right on the tip of her tongue, but Jamie can’t say them. Instead, she buries them deep inside until the time feels right, and she nods. “You and me.”