Chapter 8 #2
“I’ve been here, baby. I’m nothing if I’m not a gentleman, but know that I want to fuck the lining out of your thick ass right here on this table. The only thing stopping me is the fact that someone in here might recognize me as their child’s pediatrician.”
I scoffed. “Thank goodness for that.”
“That’s the only thing saving you.”
“You were always good with kids. It tracks that you became a pediatrician.”
“Yeah. My dad tried to force us all into orthopedics, but as long as I’m a surgeon, he’s good with it. How is your son anyway?” Jase asked, looking up from his meal.
“Why?”
“Damn, I can’t ask about your son?”
“This isn’t about my son. This is about apologizing for being a man whore.”
“You already knew I was though.”
“You’re right. How could I forget?”
“Not JoJo though. That’s what you’re angry about. You expected better from him.”
“In hindsight, I don’t know why. You two are one in the same.”
“That’s a lie. You don’t even believe that shit.”
“You made me a believer.”
“Whatever, Harper. Don’t try to change the subject.
You’re good at that. As I was saying, I have a youth basketball team that I coach every other weekend.
They’re learning the fundamentals and having a good time, but we play scrimmage games against other teams. It’s just a way to learn team sports, how to follow rules, and get in a little exercise. ”
“My son has actually been begging to get on a team. I was going to let my brother Harry find something for him. As soon as we got here, I started having so many issues with his behavior that I took the idea off the table.”
“Blowing off a little steam on the court might be good for him. I’m sure the divorce was hard on him. I know how my parents’ divorce affected me, and I was at least twice his age.”
“It’s probably too late to sign up. We’ll think about it for next year.”
“I’m the coach. I say when it’s too late.”
“I’ll think about it, Jase.”
“OK, fine.”
I was grateful that he didn’t push the issue and even more pleasantly surprised that we had a fairly seamless dinner.
It helped that I drank the better part of a bottle of wine, but whatever it took to make it happen was good with me.
To know that he and Jordy’s relationship had been strained since our breakup brought some unidentifiable feelings to the surface.
One of the main feelings I recognized was guilt though. Why did I feel guilty when I was the one who had been cheated on and made a fool of? I had the right to be hurt. I had the right to run and protect myself from ever falling victim to their wiles and charm again.
Back then, I felt like leaving and never seeing the twins again was the right thing to do. I was in so much pain the last thing I wanted to do was live in the humiliation of our actions over and over again. So, I ran. I put as much distance between us as I could.
Now as I sat across from Jase, looking into his apologetic eyes, I wondered if I had made the right decision.
Yes, I was hurt, and I felt like if I let them, they would have convinced me that I was overreacting.
Until that night, I would have trusted Jordy and Jase with my life.
After the betrayal, I felt that I couldn’t even trust them with my time.
My divorce had thrust me right back into a world that I vowed I would never return to.
Hearing Jase mention how hard he took his parents’ divorce reminded me of the things Jordy revealed to me about how he handled the situation.
I could only imagine what my poor baby was going through right now.
I hated to think of how our divorce would impact him in the long run.
More than anything, I wanted to raise a well-adjusted young man. That was why this move had to work.
“You ready?” Jase asked, looking up as he tucked a few bills into the folder the girl left on the table.
“Sure.” I nodded before finishing the remnants of my wine.
“Shall we?”
Jase stood and extended his hand to help me up. I slipped my hand into his and stood to my full height. It irritated me that a surge of energy shot through my hand and wrapped around my body as his arm snaked around my waist. I took a deep breath to combat the urge to shiver.
“I agreed to be cordial. Don’t push it,” I said, giving him a sharp side-eye.
“Simmer down, tiger. I’m on my best behavior.”
“You better be.”
Jase kept his hand on the small of my back as he ushered me out of the restaurant.
I almost didn’t mind having Jase’s hand on me because after multiple glasses of wine, I needed a little help walking in my heels.
When we made it to the car, Jase kissed my cheek before opening the door and helping me to slide in.
I picked that moment to finally check my phone.
Cameron was spending the weekend with my brother.
He loved spending time with his cousins, but I knew to keep my ears peeled in case he decided that he wanted to come home.
More than half the time, he wanted to come home when it was time for bed.
That was the reason I didn’t like letting him go to sleepovers.
He never spent the night; he just liked the fun parts.
I couldn’t blame him. I preferred to sleep at home too.
The car door opened at the very moment that my phone buzzed in my hand.
Jase:
I’m sorry, Harp. You two need to talk. I’ll blow your back out later, baby. Goodnight.
What did he mean? I looked up, snapping my head in his direction to ask him what his text meant and immediately shook my head. I reached for the door handle so that I could get out of the car, but Jordy grabbed my hand to stop me.
“Jordy, what the hell do y’all have going on? I’m not playing this game tonight.”
“Who’s playing, love?” he asked, hitting the button to start the car.
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Jordy. Where’s Jase?”
“We agreed that we would talk after you listened to what he had to say,” he said, pulling out of the parking spot as if I hadn’t said a word.
“I didn’t agree to a damn thing. I hope you’re taking me home.”
“Did he show you a good time?” he asked, licking his lips as he glanced over at me.
I sneered. “Were you not sitting there watching half the time?”
He chuckled in response to my question before putting his attention back on the road. “I’m sure he already told you how beautiful you look tonight, but it bears repeating.”
“JoJo, take me home.” I huffed.
“Did you want to fuck him, Harper? Is my presence interrupting something?”
“Jordy, save all these mind games and take me home.”
“I want to show you something.”
“No thank you.”
“Hmph.” The grunt coming from under his breath wasn’t reassuring. I knew there was no reasoning with him, so I slammed my back against the seat and put my eyes on the road. Somebody had to because the smug asshole driving this car was staring at me.
“You didn’t answer my question, Harper.”
“I didn’t know I was required to.”
His laugh infuriated me. My frustration only grew when we turned on a road that didn’t lead to my house.
“I don’t know where you think you’re taking me. I know you know how to get to my house, and this isn’t the way.”
“Your evening isn’t over until you have dessert, Harper.”
“I hope you don’t think you’re dessert.”
“I don’t, but my dessert of preference is sitting right next to me, about to burst into flames.”
“It’s crazy that you think you still have such a profound effect on me.”
“I’ve been called worse than crazy. I’m medicated now though.”
“I didn’t call you crazy. I said it was crazy. This, whatever you’re doing is crazy. I like how you orchestrated this whole thing to get me tipsy and lower my defenses before you took me to the woods to kill me or breed with me or whatever you have planned.”
“Hm, if you don’t want me to break my promise, don’t tempt me with a good time. I mean I did say I wanted your guard down before I talked to you, but you know the last thing I want to do is take advantage of you.”
“I don’t know anything, actually.”
“Yes, you do. You want to pretend that you think I’m some monster, but I know you trust me. You’ve always had a mean right hook. You could have busted me in my shit and hopped out of my car drunk or sober if you wanted to. You chose to stay, and I’m glad you did.”
“Well, I hope you don’t expect me to act excited to have been kidnapped.”
“You don’t have to be excited. I just want you open.”
I knew he meant mentally, but thoughts of just how open he had me in the past toyed with my memory bank.
The dark intensity in his eyes when he watched me with Jase nearly set my skin on fire.
I remembered how he would watch from a distance, brooding as Jase flirted and kissed all over me until I was dripping wet, then snatch me up and fuck me into a daze.
We had this dynamic where Jase ignited the fire inside me, then JoJo would tend to it with loving care while I basked in the warmth of both of them. Back then, it worked.
“Jase should have taken me home where he got me from.”
“He has to be up at four in the morning for a surgery. I told him I would continue the night for him.”
“If he had a surgery, he shouldn’t have agreed to come.”
“When an opportunity arises, it’s best to seize it. Who knows when the opportunity would present itself again.”
“We’ve been in the woods for a while. Where are you taking me, Jordy?” I asked as we turned onto a gravely path.
“You don’t remember this place?” he asked, turning to me with a coy grin.
“Should I?”
I squinted as his car rolled to a stop in front of a gazebo covered with string lights. There were burgundy cushions covering the floor, surrounding something I couldn’t see yet.
“Isn’t this your grandparent’s house?” I asked him.
“They downsized to an apartment at an assisted living facility in Florida. Since they already planned to leave me and Jase the house, they decided to give it to us early. I moved back to live in it after I did some remodeling. I made sure they restored the gazebo.”