She looked at me. “Why are you bringing me to my brother’s? I don’t want to go there. I want to go home. I just want to go home and go to sleep.” Then, her face dropped. “Do you not want me at your house?”
“What? Of course I do. I just thought you might want to be at Aaron’s, especially if…if he’s coming to town to see you and all.”
She turned and looked out the window. “I would rather stay with you, and I don’t care that he’s coming to town.”
“Okay,” I said as I pulled out of Aaron’s driveway and headed home.
The short drive to my house was a silent one. When we got to the house, I got out, and by the time I got around to the passenger side, Jessie had already gotten out of the truck. She was making her way to the front door.
We walked in, and I set my keys on the table. I took my wallet and phone out and set them down as well.
She looked at me and smiled. “Will you lie down with me? Please?”
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t. What if Trey comes to town and talks her into leaving with him? I’ll be alone…again.
“I, um…I have a ton of work I need to catch up on, and then there’s this party we’re planning, so I need to take care of some things for that.”
Her smile faded as she nodded her head. “Of course. I understand.” Then, she turned and headed for my bedroom.
Two hours later, and I was still sitting at my desk…with nothing done. I got up and walked outside and down to the barn. I walked up to the stall where the new filly was. I smiled as I looked at her name on the door—Jessie Girl.
I turned and sat down on a hay bale, and then I put my head in my hands. I’d never felt so torn in my life. Does she love him? Her eyes had told me that she didn’t, but she had feelings for him. That much I could see in her eyes.
“What are you doing out here?”
I looked up and saw Gunner standing there, leaning up against the barn door.
“Thinking.”
I’d forgotten Gunner had mentioned that he was going to come by and pick up a horse today.
He slowly nodded and started walking toward me. “About what?”
“If I’m doing the right thing,” I said as I watched him take a seat across from me.
He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Talk to me, Scott.”
I let a small laugh come out as I shook my head. “He had the fucking nerve to call me and tell me he’s coming here…to fight for her. That motherfucker. She’s pregnant with my child, and he thinks he’s going to take her from me.”
“What are you planning on doing?” Gunner asked.
I looked over at him. “I’m going to let her make the decision on her own. I’m not going to force her into anything…even if it kills me in the end. I won’t hurt her again…ever.”
“She loves you. You have to know that.”
“I do,” I said as my voice cracked.
“Don’t just give up on her, Scott. Don’t push her away again by thinking that what you’re doing is helping her because it might end up hurting her. She needs to know that you will fight for her and your child. Don’t let this prick just come walking in here, so he can try to convince her what happened on the island is worth walking away from the love of her life. From what Ellie and Heather told me, Jessie is scared to death that you’ll walk away from her again. She is filled with guilt about what she did with this character. Don’t let her think, even for a minute, that you’re pushing her away. Because she just might find her way back into this guy’s arms.” Gunner raised his eyebrow.
I stood up and thought about how sad she’d looked when we pulled up to Aaron’s and then when I didn’t go lay down with her. She’d looked almost…devastated.
“Where is she now?” Gunner asked.
“Sleeping.” I thought about how she must have felt as she walked back to the bedroom alone. I turned and looked at Gunner.
He stood up. “When will he be here?”
“Not sure. I’m assuming he’s on his way.”
Gunner walked up to me and put his hands on my shoulders as he looked me in the eyes. “Go to her, Scott, right now. Don’t even let that fucker put a single doubt in her mind. Ellie truly believes that Jessie only cares for Trey as a friend. Don’t push her away.”
I thought about Jessie telling me about the day Trey had touched her…kissed her body in places where only I should be kissing. I felt the anger build up inside me, but then I remembered her telling him to stop, telling him she loved me and how it’d felt wrong. She thought I’d cheated, and she hadn’t given up on our love.
I won’t give up on our love either.
“Sorry, Gun…but I have to leave you to fend for yourself.” I turned and walked away from Gunner.
I started to make my way back up to the house. I found myself jogging, and then I burst into a full-on run. I ran up the back steps and into the house. I stopped and took a minute or two to catch my breath. That was when I heard Jessie talking to someone. I slowly walked down the hall that led to my room and stopped to listen.
“I’m not really sure why you felt the need to come here, Trey. No…there is nothing to talk about. I care about you, I won’t deny that, but only as a friend. At first, I was confused because that day…that day, I think a part of you captured my heart, but it was for all the wrong reasons. I wanted you to make me forget about the pain and hurt I was feeling. We weren’t going to make love, Trey. We were going to fuck the hurt away.”
I closed my eyes as I listened to her talk about that day. I balled my hands into fists, and I wanted to hit the wall.
“I love him…from the very beginning, I told you that I loved him. I never gave you any reason to think I didn’t love him. Yes, I know. Okay.”
Fuck! What are they talking about?
“Meet me at Willow Creek Café at seven thirty. That gives me thirty minutes to meet you. I need to let Scott know. Yes, I will.”
She’s going to meet him? I leaned my head up against the wall and tried to take deep breaths. Why is she going to meet him?
“Yes, that’s the place. Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can find Scott and let him know. See you in a few.”
I turned and quickly walked to my office where I sat down behind my desk. I felt like I was going to throw up. When Jessie walked in, I stood and walked over to her. I pulled her to me and kissed the living shit out of her. She instantly brought her hands up and pulled on my hair as she let out a sweet, long moan.
God, I love her so much. Please don’t leave me, Jessie. Please.
I was just about to say something to her when she said, “Scott…please make love to me.”
“What? Right now?” I asked, knowing she had to meet the fucker.
She smiled and nodded her head. I reached down and picked her up. I carried her over to my desk where I sat her down on it. She had a skirt on, and the sight of her beautiful legs about drove me mad. I sat down in my chair and placed my hands on her legs. I slowly moved them up toward her panties. She threw her head back and let out a moan.
I hooked my fingers in her panties and whispered, “Lift up, baby.”
She lifted herself off the desk, so I could take off her panties. I set them aside as I stood, and then I started to take off my jeans. She smiled when she saw I had no underwear on. I sat back down in my chair and watched as she licked her lips and made her way onto my lap.
“Fuck…” I whispered as she slowly sank down onto me.
I threw my head back and let out a moan as she ran her tongue along my neck and then up to my ear.
“I love you,” she said as she started to ride me fast and hard.
I grabbed on to her and looked into her eyes. In that moment, I knew what she was doing. She was proving to me how much she loved me and who was number one in her world. She had no idea that I knew she would be late for meeting that fucker, and I didn’t even care at this point. All I knew was that the girl I loved more than life itself was making love to me in my office while whispering o
ver and over how much she loved me.
“Oh god…Scott!” she called out as she held on to the armrest of the chair and leaned back.
I could almost feel her tighten on my dick as she began to come.
“Yes…oh god, yes.” She snapped her head forward and looked into my eyes.
That was when I lost it. “Jessie…” was all I could manage to get out.
She leaned over and began kissing me. I moaned into her mouth while every ounce of my love poured into her body. She rested her forehead against mine as she tried to steady her breathing.
“Baby, I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too,” she said, still trying to catch her breath.
I thought she would get up and move, but she stayed there. I was still inside her, and she let out a small moan as she moved her hips against me.
“I don’t want to leave. I want to stay this way forever,” she whispered against my neck.
I let out a laugh. “It would be kind of hard to deliver a baby with my penis in the way.”
She giggled. “I hate the word penis,” she said as she looked at me and winked.
“Then, maybe we should come up with a list of different words for penis,” I said, raising my eyebrows. That could be a fun evening.
Her smile dropped, and she looked at me with tears building in her eyes. “Scott, I don’t want you to ever again doubt my love for you. My whole heart belongs to you and only you. It always has, and it always will.”
I love her so damn much. “Jessie,” I said softly, “baby, I love you so much. You have no idea how much I love you, and I will fight for you until the day I die.”
She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “You don’t have to fight for me. You already have me,” she said with a smile.
I leaned up and gently kissed her.
She looked into my eyes and said, “I need you to go somewhere with me.”
I nodded. “Okay. Where?”
“I need you to go with me to Willow Creek Café.”
Holy shit. I wasn’t expecting that.
The look on Scott’s face was hard to read. He seemed shocked when I asked him to go with me to the café. I was almost scared to tell him that Trey was in town and would be there. I wasn’t afraid to meet Trey alone at all. Lying in bed earlier, alone in Scott’s room, it had all become so clear to me. I knew I didn’t love Trey, and I was letting the guilt take over my emotions.
“Scott, Trey called the house. He said you were listed. I answered and agreed to meet him at the café.”
Scott sat there, just staring at me.
“Being alone in the bedroom for those few hours, I really had time to think. That day when Trey had…well, when he touched me like he did…”
Scott closed his eyes, and I felt his grip tighten on my hips before he let go.
“That whole night, all I wanted to do was go back to my room and shower. I felt like I had been violated somehow even though I had asked him…to make me forget.”
I saw the tears building in his eyes, and it was killing me, knowing that this conversation was hurting him.
“You don’t feel that way about someone if you love him…or have feelings for him. I know now that it was my guilt that was eating away at me. It was playing with my emotions. Scott, I. Love. You. Only you.”
Scott cleared his throat. “Why did you kiss him good-bye?”
“Guilt. I felt so bad for leaving him. I guess, in a sense, I formed a friendship with him because I knew he was hurting like I was. He knew how it felt to hurt so deeply. Once I started thinking more and more about that night when I’d walked in and seen Chelsea, the more and more I started to try to pull away from Trey…until one day, it just hit me. I needed you. I needed to talk to you, and I had to talk to you right then. I freaked out the night the storm hit because I couldn’t get a hold of you, and I was so afraid. That next morning…when I said good-bye to him…I just didn’t want to break his heart again. Does that make sense? He tried to deepen the kiss, but I pushed him away. I don’t have those feelings for him. I care about him but only as a friend.”
Scott looked into my eyes and then looked away. He stared down at the floor for a good two minutes before he glanced back at me. “Yeah…that makes sense. I get what you’re saying. But why do you need me to go to the café with you? Are you afraid to see him alone? Afraid of what you might feel when you see him?”
I smiled and shook my head. “No. I want you there because I love you. I want Trey to see that I have no secrets with you, and I want to do this together. I don’t want to be away from you for another minute.”
The smile that spread across his face caused me to giggle. He reached up and ran his hand along my jawline, and I felt the butterflies in my stomach.
“Are you feeling okay, baby? You don’t want to meet him tomorrow?” Scott asked.
“No. I’d rather just do this now, so he understands once and for all that he was only ever just a friend.”
Scott nodded. “Well then, let’s go.”
I slowly got up, and I instantly missed the warmth of Scott’s body up against mine. I put my panties on while I watched Scott pull up his pants. I wanted him again. I glanced over at the clock, and we were already late for meeting Trey as it was. Scott reached out for my hand, and we walked through the house and out to the truck.
He pulled me closer to him and said, “Love muscle.”
I looked at him, surprised. “Huh?”
Scott smiled that drop-me-to-my-knees smile. “My first suggestion for a word other than penis—love muscle.”
I tossed my head back and laughed. “I’ve got one,” I said.
He held open the truck door and helped me up into his truck.
“Baby maker,” I said as I wiggled my eyebrows up and down.
“Hell yeah, it is!” Scott said with a laugh.
By the time we walked into the café, we were almost an hour late. I looked around for Trey, and my heart sank. He was talking to Chelsea.
Good god. My worst nightmares are coming true all at once.
“Shit,” Scott whispered. He leaned down and said, “What do you want me to do?”
I watched as Trey talked and laughed with Chelsea. A part of me was bothered by seeing him talking to her, but it wasn’t jealousy. It was hate. I had nothing but pure hate for this woman who clearly was going to do everything she could to try to hurt me.
Well, no more. I’m done.
I smiled and looked at Scott. “Nothing. Let’s go say hi.”
I walked up to the table, and the moment Chelsea saw Scott and me, the smile from her face vanished. Trey turned, and his smile vanished just as fast.
I stopped right in front of them. “Chelsea, last time I saw ya, you were riding Bryce pretty good. Whose bed are you hitting tonight? Or are you taking the evening off from whoring?”
Trey choked on his food, and Scott let out a small laugh. Chelsea just glared at me.
I leaned down and put my hands on the table as I got right in her face. “You lost, bitch. I love him, and he loves me. Nothing…and no one,” I said as I turned and looked at Trey, “will ever come between our love—especially now that we’re having a baby.”
Her eyes darted down to my stomach and then back up. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she shut it again.
I stood back up and felt Scott wrap his arms around me. I leaned back into him. I wanted nothing more than to just turn around, leave, go park somewhere, and make out.
Chelsea slowly stood up. She looked down at Trey and smiled as she reached into her purse. She pulled out her business card. “Give me a call sometime, Trey,” she said with a wink. She looked back at Scott and then me and let out a laugh. “Honestly, you two are made for each other. Scott, Bryce was a much better fuck than you.” She leaned closer to me. “Have fun with my sloppy seconds.”
“Oh, we’ve already had fun—in his office, in our new bed, the shower, the kitchen table, the sofa, in both living rooms�
��oh, and I can’t forget the pool table. The only place we still have to hit is”—I turned and looked at Scott with a smile on my face—“his truck.”
His crooked smile instantly made me want to move my hand and touch myself to relieve the aching pulse between my legs. I want him. I want him to show me how much he wants me. I didn’t care if we walked out of here right now and just left Trey sitting with Chelsea.
Chelsea stood there with her mouth hanging open. “I’m out of here.” She pushed past both of us, hitting Scott in the shoulder as she walked by.
I watched her walk out of the café, and then I looked around quickly at everyone staring at us. I smiled and said, “Sorry, y’all.”
I grabbed Scott’s hand, and we both sat down at the table. I smiled at Trey. The sight of him sitting there did nothing to me. I was happy to see him, but other than wishing him the best, he had no effect on me whatsoever.
“Sorry, we’re late,” I said.
Scott reached his hand across the table, and Trey slowly extended his hand. They shook hands quickly.
Trey looked between the two of us. “Um…I assumed you would be coming alone.”
“Why?” I asked.
Trey tilted his head and glared at Scott. He leaned back and put his napkin on the table. “I’m going to guess the reason you’re late is the pool table, perhaps?”
I couldn’t even believe that Trey had just said that. I sat there, stunned.
Scott laughed and said, “Nope, my office.”
I felt my cheeks turning hotter by the second.
Trey snapped his head over and looked at me. “Fine. You want to do this here in front of him, then so be it. So, you’re going to forgive him—just like that? Like nothing ever happened?”
“Nothing did happen, Trey. Did you know that Chelsea was the girl I’d walked in on?” I asked as I looked him straight in the eye.
He shook his head and looked at Scott.
“Well, Scott was over at our friend’s house. He was passed out cold, and Chelsea hatched a little plan. She texted me from Scott’s phone and then got Bryce to sleep with her. It wasn’t ever Scott, just like I thought.”
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