14. Damage Control
Groaning, I roll over and reach out for my phone to turn off the screeching coming from it. Blinking one eye open, I glance at the time and groan again. I need to get up before Natalie or Nick show up at my doorstep; there are already multiple missed calls from both.
After I take a quick shower and dress for the day, I stop short at the two people I’m trying to avoid sitting in my kitchen. Natalie and Nick watch me with mischievous eyes as I glare at them and make myself a cup of coffee.
“The point of getting a separate house was to avoid unwanted visitors,” I say while grabbing a donut from the box sitting on the counter.
“You’re lucky it was still available after I begged that chick and offered double the deposit if she booted the other applicant,” Natalie says, sticking her tongue out and Nick chuckles into his coffee.
“Why are you guys here so early? We still have a few hours before we planned to meet up,” I ask hesitantly, ignoring the slight hoarseness in my voice.
“What happened to your neck?” Nick asks.
I move immediately to cover it, knowing the marks must have darkened overnight.
“Nothing,” I mumble.
They exchange a glance then press closer, deciding to drop it.
“So is it true?” Natalie asks.
“Is what true?”
She smiles widely. “Did you fuck Oliver in front of his wife and then smear his cum into Jared’s face?”
I choke on the food, coughing and spitting it out in the sink as Nick cackles.
“Oh my god. Is that what they’re saying?”
Nick nods. “That’s what Brittany was screaming after you left last night.”
Closing my eyes tightly, I rub at the ache in my chest and lean against the counter. Sighing, I glance back at them. “Oliver and I… in private,” I state, biting my lip, “but I may have put my messy panties in Jared’s pocket.”
“Messy as in?” Nick pushes further, bouncing on his toes.
“As in I used them to wipe myself up after we were done.” I flush, hiding my face.
They both start laughing so hard, that they curl over holding their stomachs and I scowl at them.
“Stop,” I say, “if you guys already knew without me telling you, then that means everyone knows.” I grimace at what the rumor mill will be spinning in our circle.
“Oh, they most definitely know,” Natalie muses, as she wipes the tears from her eyes. “I mean he deserves it. Everyone could read between the lines on Amber’s pregnancy announcement and your broken engagement.”
“Yeah, but I am going to be the one put on the chopping block for fucking his brother,” I roll my eyes.
“How did that even happen? Oliver wasn’t on the list, right?” Nick asks.
I shake my head. “Of course he wasn’t, and he just happened. I can’t even explain how we went from arguing to him pounding me so hard I still feel him now.” Shifting my legs, I need to take some Motrin to ease the soreness in a few spots on my body.
“You fucking bitch,” Nick narrows his eyes. “I just need to find one man like that, please.”
Natalie frowns. “Arguing? That doesn’t sound like Oliver.”
Shame bubbles under my skin and I tense my jaw. “I might have said or insinuated a few things. And apparently, he has a secret temper. Who knew?” I shrug and push away from the counter, wanting to steer the conversation away from Oliver. “Anyway, anyone up for some shopping?”
“No, I want some more details on how sweet little Oliver gave it to you so har— OW!” I hear Natalie smack Nick across the head and I try to hide my smile. He glares at her. “What? He wasn’t on the list. That means no video.”
She gives him an exhausted look. “Do you really want to see your sister having sex?”
Nick sniffs, not looking at either of us as he mumbles, “I wouldn’t be looking at her.”
“Actually, you might be able to catch it on the security cameras. We were on the east patio,” I mutter out loud, mostly to myself.
There’s a tense silence for a few seconds before Natalie and I scramble behind Nick as he pulls out his phone.
“I can’t believe Eric still gives you access to these,” I say as my brother logs into the security app for our parent’s house.
Nick shrugs. “Even if he didn’t, I’m sure I could hack it.”
He flicks through the cameras until he finds the one pointed right at the patio. My traitorous pussy clenches at the sight of the table.
“What time you think?” Nicks asks.
I shrug. “Start at eight and fast forward from there.”
“I can not believe I’m about to watch my best friend have sex with her brother-in-law. This isn’t on my bucket list,” Natalie says.
Something twists in my stomach, not liking how she phrased that. Even knowing that he wasn’t in a perfect marriage, he is still married. The small amount of coffee and food I ate are making me nauseous.
“Oh my god. I fucked my brother-in-law. My married brother-in-law,” I say, stepping back and clutching my stomach. My chest falls faster, and the floor seems to raise. Natalie grabs my arm, leaning me against the counter.
“Hey, Jen. Take a breath, you’re okay,” she says, running a comforting hand down my back. ”If it helps, he”s technically not your brother-in-law.”
Nick clicks his phone off. “I can delete the footage.”
My eyes water and I nod, not wanting any evidence. If I ever show Jared the tapes, that isn’t one I want to get out.
“I think the biggest problem is to get ahead of Jared,” my brother continues.
I take a big breath and stand straighter, wiping away the drool that leaked out of my lips. “What do you mean?”
“Oh! I see what you mean. He’s going to make Jen the bad guy, the reason they broke up,” Natalie snaps her finger, pointing at Nick.
A laugh bubbles out of my throat. “He wouldn’t dare. You know I have the Holloway team at my back. That would be social suicide.”
They give me a pointed look, as if to remind me why we’re in this position to begin with. I squeeze my eyes shut and count to ten, wondering when my life became so fucked up and out of control. A part of it can be blamed on the route I took, but I don’t care because given the chance, I would fuck them all again.
“I’ll text Oliver about Brittany and then I’ll text Jared,” I say, annoyed that I have to play on the defensive now.
It took two hours to convince Jared to meet me in a public place, and he chose one of my favorite cafes. It’s where we had our first date and I haven’t been eager to return, but I refuse to give him my address.
He’s sitting in our booth, his attention out the window at the traffic on Main Street. I pause at the hostess stand, biting down on my tongue because I don’t want to cry at the sight. It hurts. It hurts so much that I used to love this man and he continues to do things to cause me more pain.
I settle across from him and he sits straighter, moving his hands onto the table and clasping them together. His eyes briefly flicker over the scarf wrapped around my throat, Oliver’s marks hidden underneath.
“Jen, hey,” he says softly, flashing the dimpled half-smile that used to make my stomach flutter.
Jared is an attractive man, and he’s always known that. He flaunted it plenty, and while I never had insecurities about my looks, it still made me feel special that he chose me when we were in high school.
“The more I see your new hair, the more it grows on me. I like it.” He chuckles as if it”s a joke or something.
I cross my arms over my chest. “I didn’t get it for you.”
He licks his lip and shrugs. “I know. I’m just saying.”
“About last night…” I say, and the light in his eyes dulls. I look away, not out of guilt, but because I don’t care to be manipulated by his anger anymore. “I need something from you.”
“What?” he scoffs, the harsh retort making my heart drop. A reminder of the many times I’ve been on the side of his narcissistic comments.
“Bury it,” I say.
His brows knit together and he frowns. “So it’s true? I didn’t imagine it. You fucked my brother.”
I swallow, staring at him with what I hope is a blank expression.
Jared leans back, palming his mouth as his shoulders slump. “You slept with Oliver.”
My eyes prick at the anguish in his voice, and I hate myself for it. I don’t want to believe he is hurt; he doesn’t have a right to be.
“Don’t. Don’t you dare try to act like the fucking victim,” I grit out.
His stare snaps to me, the water gathering in his eyes making my breath catch. My mouth dries, my tongue stinging as we look at one another. Both of us are displaying our misery, and for a moment, I remember the teenager I fell in love with.
I clear my throat, rolling my shoulders. “I know you can bury the rumor. Just do it for all of us.”
“Why?” he spits out. My eyebrows raise.
“Why?” I repeat, astonished. “Because you owe me this. You betrayed me. Pregnant, Jared!”
I sniffle as hot tears roll down my cheeks and blow out a shaky breath to lower my voice. “You took her to our bed, you gave her my ring, and then you knocked her up. And now you fucking ask why? I gave you everything.”
A sob escapes, and I angrily wipe my face. Titling my chin up, I clear my throat again. “The worst part is we were discussing the color of our wedding napkins and potential baby names the night before. And the whole time you were worried about what time you could bring her over in the morning.”
Tears trail down his face as he watches me. I look away from him, blinking out the window that I can’t see anything through.
“You owe me,” I say again. “And your brother doesn’t deserve to be dragged into all this. He would lose his team. You know he would.”
“Okay,” Jared says. The hushed agreement has me glancing back at him.
I nod and move out of the booth. “Thanks.”
He grabs my wrist, and I flinch.
Jared drops his hold. “Wait–”
Pulling my arm away, I shake my head. “There’s nothing left to say.”
“I still love you,” he rushes out.
I close my eyes for a moment, rubbing at my chest. Sighing, I give him a bitter smile. “If that’s how you love someone, then I don’t want it.”