Chapter 26 Jonathan
Jonathan
I’m not exactly sure why I get up so early.
Probably because I’m still blissed out from one of the best nights of my life.
I roll out of bed practically high on endorphins and make a beeline for the main lodge to grab AJ and me, both coffees and croissants.
I go completely overboard at the condiment station; one of every jam flavor, three kinds of butter, honey I’m not even sure she likes.
But I want it to be a thing. A cute gesture.
A “Hey, I care about you so much I’m willing to fight off anyone for the last cherry preserve” kind of thing.
Is it too much? Perhaps. I’m still figuring her out.
What makes her laugh. How she takes her coffee; it’s strong with two creams and two sugars.
Whether she’s a raspberry jam girl or a ride-or-die grape gal.
She’s been in my life for years, but this feels new.
Like something that was always there, just waiting for the right moment to show up.
When I get back to the cabin, high on caffeine and optimism, I start setting up the breakfast spread.
That’s when Manny calls, freaking out. He says someone told him they saw AJ and me making out at the dance club and then we never showed up to karaoke.
He’s certain I’m lying to him, that I’ve caught feelings.
And yeah, he’s not wrong. But I can’t tell him that. Not yet. So I lie. Just to shut him up.
Once we hang up, I go back to laying out the food, start fluffing the croissants like it’s a Michelin-star brunch and peek into the bedroom. It’s empty.
I check the bathroom next. Also empty. No spunky, beautiful, golden-haired girl brushing her teeth or stealing my hoodie. I blink. Her phone’s gone, too. Which rules out kidnapping… unless someone abducted her and graciously let her grab her iPhone on the way out. Still, it’s weird.
I text her and get no response. We’re all supposed to meet at the lake today for some relaxed team-building thing; sunscreen, paddle boards, awkward icebreakers, the works.
Maybe she went ahead without me. But something feels off.
Instead of heading straight there, I decide to walk the retreat and see if I can find her. Something in my gut says I need to.
And boy, do I find the hell out of her. There she is, sucking face with none other than Marcus. Mr. Ex-Fiancé. Mr. Steal-Your-Girl. What an absolute asshole. And her? I don’t even want to think a bad word about her, but if she could read my mind right now… she’d burst into flames.
But she can’t. Because she doesn’t even know I’m here. Just standing. Watching her kiss Marcus. Watching her eyes flutter shut like she’s enjoying it. His hands are cupped around her face. The exact same spot my hands held last night, not even twelve hours ago.
Damn. AJ gets around, doesn’t she? I feel like the world’s biggest idiot. I really thought what we had was different. I thought it was maybe real. I don’t usually feel used by women, probably because I’m the one who usually does the using but right now? I feel played and I hate it.
The heat bubbling in my chest is nuclear.
I want to throw something. Anything. But all that’s around me are pinecones and broken bark, like a passive-aggressive nature display.
So not too helpful. I consider throwing my phone.
Why the hell would I shatter a thousand-dollar device just because AJ decided to tongue-wrestle her ex after riding me into next week?
We shared something sexy and passionate last night, multiple times and in the middle of it, right when my heart was hanging out there like a fool on a ledge, I told her I was falling for her.
She looked me in the eyes and said it back too.
Was she drunk? Was she just acting? Was she thinking about him the whole time? What the actual hell is going on?
Before I do anything stupid or fireable, for that matter, I walk away. I leave them there, mid-make-out, like two horny teenagers who don’t give a damn who sees them.
I find Manny outside his cabin and within seconds, I convince him to skip the lake and get drunk with me instead. Not exactly a tough sell, this is Manny we’re talking about but he does ask where AJ is.
“She’s busy. Off doing some girl stuff with the other women,” I lie, as casually as I can. Because if I told him the truth, that I found her playing tonsil hockey with her ex, he’d just shrug and say, “So? Who cares?” And he’d be right. I shouldn’t care. I don’t care.
I down a shot to prove it. Then another, just for good measure. But the thing about lying to yourself is that it only works until your phone buzzes and you’re reminded all over again why you’re sitting at a bar guzzling shots.
It’s AJ.
Heading to the lake.
I stare at the message for a second too long before slamming my phone face-down on the glossed stained bar.
I’m not answering. She doesn’t get a reply.
Not after sneaking out of our cabin like nothing happened, after telling me she was falling for me and then running straight to her ex to mouth-maul him like that was her real happy ending.
So yeah, screw her. And screw cherry jam. I hope she hates cherry jam.
Manny orders another round and I slap him on the back. “My man.”
He grins. “I got you, bro.”
Tanya and Elaine won’t stop texting him, asking where we are and when we’re showing up to the lake. Manny flashes his screen at me.
Tanya: AJ is here without Jonathan. Are you guys off getting drunk?
He laughs. “I think Tanya likes me,” he says, smirking.
I shake my head. “Nice. She’s not bad. Talker. But cute.”
“Yeah… she’s no Abby, though,” Manny says, like he’s fishing for a reaction.
I drop my head and spin my empty shot glass in slow circles. “Man,” I mutter. “AJ’s just like every other woman out there. She’s nothing special.”
Manny exhales through his nose. “Damn. I thought you guys were actually becoming friends.”
I pause, my throat becoming dry. “We were. Until I saw her making out with Marcus this morning.” I slap my palm against the bar. “Now she’s just back to being the dumb girl who’ll fall for anything. And I don’t befriend dumb girls,” I add flatly.
Manny blinks, then laughs under his breath. “Okay… whatever you say, man.” He claps me on the back again. “Still can’t believe she’s back with Marcus. Welp, there goes my shot. No man stands a chance against a soulmate ex-fiancé.”
I groan and rub the bridge of my nose. He’s right. You don’t compete with that kind of history. Not when it’s written in rings and vows and broken promises.
I signal the bartender for another shot. If I can’t have AJ, I can at least drink her out of my system. Even if I know damn well it won’t work.
We knock back our third… maybe fourth shot. I’ve lost count. Manny convinces me to go to the lake and I figure what the hell. Why should I be the one hiding? She’s the one who should be ashamed. She’s the one who screwed things up.
We head down to the lake and the vibe is exactly what you’d expect: grilling, loud music, red solo cups everywhere, a couple drinking games already in progress. It’s fun, chaotic, laid-back in that summer-camp-for-adults kind of way.
Tanya runs up to Manny and practically drags him toward the group.
He shoots me a grin over his shoulder like this is the best day of his life.
I hang back, scanning the crowd. Looking for her.
Looking for them. And then I see her. She should be wearing a scarlet letter across her chest. Instead, she’s wearing a barely-there bikini with some useless little crochet wrap that doesn’t cover a damn thing.
Her thighs. Her stomach. Her perfect, ridiculous, bouncing breasts.
It’s the same body I kissed every inch of last night.
The same body I held all night, thinking maybe I’d found the person I wanted to share more than just a one-night stand with.
Man, what a joke. What a complete, delusional, pathetic joke.
AJ marches over with her arms crossed taut like she’s ready for battle. What’s her problem? Did she catch me making out with my ex? Oh right, she didn’t. Because I’m not the one filled with evil betrayal.
“Hey,” she says, lowering her sunglasses just enough for me to see those sharp, furious eyes. She looks pissed.
“What’s up?” I ask, doing my best impression of someone who couldn’t care less.
“Been drinking?” she asks.
“Yup,” I quip back.
She shakes her head like I’m some disappointment of a man. “Cool,” she mutters. “Well, enjoy your time.” Then she turns and walks away.
She’s really trying to ice me out now, after I caught her lip-locked with her ex.
“Wow,” I say loudly, making sure she hears it.
She stops and turns around. Her glare hits me before her feet do.
“What is that supposed to mean?” she fires back.
I wave a hand dismissively. “Nothing. Guess you don’t need me anymore.”
She scoffs. “That’s rich coming from you, the user.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “User? Yeah, okay.”
She rolls her eyes, turns again and storms off like I just ruined her day.
User? What the fuck is she talking about? And why is she so furious with me when she’s the one playing kissy-face with her ex-fiancé? I shake my head, unsure if I’m too buzzed to keep up… or if she’s just flat-out lost her mind.
I wander back over to Tanya and Manny. Manny hands me a beer and I take it without a word. I don’t usually drink beer, it tastes like carbonated regret but I want to feel numb, so it’ll have to do.
Hours pass at the lake and none of them feel remotely fun. Not for me and from the looks of it, not for AJ either.