Chapter 21
Sutton
Wow. What a view to wake up to.
I sat up in bed for a better look, stretching my arms over my head.
The morning sun cast a warm, golden glow over the green grass, and beyond that, the ocean stretched out endlessly in the distance.
Unlike last night when the waves were crashing, the morning brought peaceful lapping and breaks that melted into the sand.
The beautiful view would have been much better, though, if the spot next to me were occupied.
Jagger was nowhere to be found, and the sheets were cold where the imprint of his body remained.
I took another moment to appreciate the breathtaking panorama outside before dragging myself from bed, wrapping a sheet around my achy body, and going in search of the man who’d made it that way.
Jagger was sitting out back on the deck with a cup of coffee, staring at the ocean. The doors were wide open, and a light breeze blew around some papers on the living room table, secured in place by a laptop. I padded over and leaned against the door. “Good morning.”
He turned but didn’t smile. “Morning.”
“How long have you been up?”
He shrugged. “A few hours.”
“What time is it?” I looked around the living room behind me. “I have no idea what I did with my phone.”
“Almost eight.” He paused and met my eyes. “You should probably go. Your family will be worried.”
The statement and his chilly attitude felt like a punch in the gut. “Oh. Okay.”
He turned back and resumed staring at the ocean, not even offering me a cup of coffee before he booted me to the curb.
Feeling fifty pounds heavier as I trudged up the stairs, I went back up to the bedroom and got myself dressed.
I, at least, needed a pit stop in the bathroom before he kicked me out, and when I caught what I looked like in the mirror, I winced.
My hair screamed just fucked, mascara was smeared under both eyes, and don’t even get me started on the foul taste in my mouth.
I did the best I could to wash up, smoothed down the chaos of my hair, and rummaged through the medicine cabinet to find toothpaste to use with my finger.
A lone brown prescription pill bottle sat on the bottom shelf with a few shaving supplies.
I tried to shut the door and ignore it, but I failed and instead reached in and turned the plastic enough to see the information on the label.
Temazepam. Huh. I only knew it was to treat insomnia because it was one of the drugs the doctor had offered to prescribe for me when I’d had trouble sleeping after everything happened in college.
I returned downstairs and searched around for my purse. Jagger was still in the same spot, but when he heard the zipper on my bag, he turned and got up. I didn’t want him to see the hurt on my face and wasn’t sure I could hide it, so I buried my face in my phone as he came up to me.
“I’m just checking my messages to see if anyone has noticed I’m MIA at the house, and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
He didn’t respond, so I kept scrolling. I had a million messages from Miles but none from Mom or Edmund, so maybe I’d be lucky and they’d both slept in.
As per usual, my mother wouldn’t likely see the light of day until early afternoon, but Edmund was usually an early bird.
I tossed the phone back into my bag and continued avoiding eye contact.
“Looks like I might be in the clear. Or at least they haven’t called a search party for me as of yet. ”
I chanced a glance up and found Jagger staring at me. Still he said nothing, and it made me feel awkward. “So, uh…I guess I’ll see you at work next week?”
He nodded.
I walked to the door, trying to ignore the horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I hadn’t had many sexual interactions with men who weren’t my boyfriend—or any for that matter.
Maybe this was the norm. Maybe this was the aftermath of a hook-up.
But when Jagger still didn’t speak as I opened the door and stepped outside, I couldn’t help myself.
“Did I do something wrong?” I huffed. “Should I not have fallen asleep here last night?”
Jagger shut his eyes and shook his head. “I’m just busy, and my mind has been elsewhere with work all morning.”
I would’ve bet my last breath that he was full of shit, yet I let him have his lie and forced a smile. “Try to enjoy some of the nice day between all that work.”
Jagger pushed his hands into his pockets and watched me walk to the car. I unlocked it and started to fold in, but then I remembered the pill bottle in the medicine cabinet and stopped. “By the way,” I yelled. “How did you sleep last night?”
Even from fifty feet away I could see the wheels in his head turning. “Solid,” he eventually said. “And you?”
“Good.” I smiled. “I’m glad.”
***
I parked in front of Edmund’s house, rather than pulling into the driveway, so the noisy gravel didn’t announce my arrival.
The front door was unlocked—the way I’d left it last night—and I hoped that was a sign that no one was up yet.
Gently pulling the door shut, I thought I might be in the clear.
Until I found Brendan and Colette sitting on the couch.
I jumped, and my hand flew up to cover my heart. “God, you scared the shit out of me.”
“We wouldn’t have if you weren’t sneaking around.” My stepsister grinned. She popped up from the couch and walked over, hooking her arm with mine. “You dirty rotten stay-out. Tell me all the details.”
Meanwhile, Brendan glared at me. “Where have you been?”
Seriously? My lips twisted in disgust. “None of your business.”
He frowned. “You could at least be courteous and let the people you’re with know you aren’t coming back so they don’t worry.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sorry, Dad.”
Colette waved him off. “Ignore him. He’s just cranky because my dad’s snoring kept him up. But I want all the details. Did you hook up with Jagger? You never came back after driving him home. That house he lives in is the most expensive real estate property in all of Montauk.”
I wanted so badly to look at Brendan and say, “Yep, the very rich, very gorgeous, very well-hung man fucked my brains out, and, oh by the way, his dick is twice the size of yours.” But I didn’t want to compromise Edmund’s relationship with the boss. So instead, I shook my head.
“A friend from work invited me to go out in the Hamptons at the last minute. It was late by the time we got in, so I crashed on her couch.”
Brendan’s eyes narrowed. “Her? Edmund said all the other interns are men.”
“I didn’t say it was an intern.” I shook my head. “And why am I answering you? I can do whatever I want.”
Colette grinned. “I hope whatever you want was hot.”
Shouldn’t these newlyweds still be in bed? I looked over her shoulder at the hall that led to the bedrooms. “Is anyone else up? Edmund or my mom? Patrice?”
Colette shook her head. “Your secret is safe with us.”
I was relieved not to have to tell more lies, especially since I’d pulled that one out of my ass, and Edmund probably knew everyone at the Apex office, so it wouldn’t be hard for him to catch me.
But I would’ve felt even better without these two around right now.
I mustered as much of a smile as I had in me and lifted my chin to Colette. “I’m going to go shower.”
A few minutes later, warm water sluiced over my shoulders, helping to ease the tension in my neck.
I closed my eyes and let it work its magic, but it was impossible not to think of last night as my imagination wandered—Jagger desperate and needy, the erotic growl he’d let out when he came down my throat.
The way he’d demanded control, and I’d eagerly ceded it to him.
My breathing grew labored. But then, the polar opposite behavior in the bedroom—something he said he never did.
Jagger was warm and giving, soft and thoughtful, providing me a first time I would never, ever forget.
Though it seemed he wanted to forget it already this morning.
That last thought shook me from my lust-filled haze, and I finished washing up. As I exited the shower, my cell rang. Miles was FaceTiming me. It was not even eight thirty here, so it was only five thirty on the West Coast.
I wrapped a towel around me and tucked it in at the corner before answering.
“Hey,” I said. “Are you just getting home or up super early?”
Thumping bass in the background answered my question. Neither. He was still at the club.
“What a house!” he yelled.
I laughed. “Wow. That noise is coming from a house party? It sounds more like you’re at a club.”
“I was referring to the mansion on the bluff. Why haven’t you called me yet to give me the details of you and bossman doing it? I’m desperate to know what kind of kinky shit he’s into.”
My jaw dropped open. “Back up. How did you know I was at a house on a bluff?”
“Find My Friends.” He shrugged. “I stalk you every day, cookie. You were there last night and up until twenty minutes ago. I’ve been dying for you to get back to Edmund’s place.”
“But how did you know it was Jagger’s house?”
“Oh. Find My Friends gives the address. I Google-imaged it to make sure you were safe, and then when I saw the house, I went down a rabbit hole and looked up the owner. Did you know it’s the most expensive property ever sold in all of Montauk?”
I stared incredulously at my best friend. Meanwhile, he thought nothing strange of his behavior and kept on going.
“Spill the tea, girl. Did you dust off the cobwebs and open the bat cave? I left a Chappell Roan dance marathon to come outside and hear the deets.”
I shook my head, wondering when the boundaries of our friendship had disappeared. Then again, I felt like I might burst if I didn’t tell someone about last night. So I leaned close to the camera with a cat-that-swallowed-the-canary smile and lowered my voice. “It was amazing.”
Miles screamed so loud, I wouldn’t be surprised if he woke up the rest of the house I was in. I laughed. “Shhh... People are still sleeping here.”
For the next fifteen minutes, I gave him some of the details from last night, concentrating more on the boldness of my actions, which I was proud of, than the details of our intimacy.
Miles would often come home and give me the blow by blow of his hook-ups—sometimes literally—yet it felt wrong to do that with what happened between Jagger and me, at least the intimate and beautiful part in the bedroom.
While Miles and I chatted, I brushed out my wet hair and rubbed lotion into my legs. My hands stopped on my calf when I noticed something missing.
“Oh no. I lost my anklet.”
“The gold one with the little star you always wear?”
I went into the bathroom to check the shower floor and the area rug where I’d dried off. “I know I had it on when we were on the boat yesterday. I remember seeing it when I put sunscreen on my legs.”
“Maybe you lost it in the covers, getting dirty with Big Zaddy.”
I sighed. “That’s possible. I probably shouldn’t be wearing it anymore anyway since Brendan gave it to me. But I really loved it. It’s so simple and petite.”
“Cookie, if I didn’t wear jewelry from my exes, I wouldn’t wear any at all. And don’t even get me started on the clothes I borrow from my hook-ups and never give back. I go on a dating frenzy with men my size when my wardrobe needs replenishing.”
I chuckled. “I gotta go. The train back to the City takes something like three-and-a-half hours, and I need to get groceries and do laundry when I get home. So I’m going to need an early start.”
“Ugh. That sounds dreadful. I vote you go back to the mansion under the guise of looking for your anklet and bone the boss all day.”
“I’m pretty sure last night was a one-time deal.”
“You always underestimate yourself, cookie. You’re addicting. Trust me, I know. I’m already counting the days until I come back to visit you. And I didn’t even take your virginity. That man is not going to be able to stop himself from coming around for a lot more than seconds.”