by Reana Malori
“Fine. Where’s your husband?” He did not want to be ambushed by Austin as soon as he walked through the door.
“Now I know something’s wrong. He’s at work, but he plans to get off early today. So if you want to see your godson, you’d better get here quickly.” She hung up and he was met with silence again.
“What the hell is it with women hanging up on me today?” he asked to the empty space.
Raising his voice slightly, he activated his truck’s Bluetooth feature. Might as well get this shit over now.
“Jack’s Phone,” he called out, waiting for the device to recognize his voice. Once the screen was ready, he took a deep sigh and then plunged ahead. “Call Delaney.”
The phone connected to Austin’s phone. After three rings, he was about to hang up when the phone was answered. “Yeah? What’s up, Pittman?”
“I’m going to see my godson.” He opened the call without any other greeting. He was still pissed as shit at Austin.
“Okay. Who’s stopping you?” Austin countered. Sounded like he was still pissed, too.
“Are you gonna be a dick forever?” he asked.
“I might. If you don’t get your head out of your ass,” his best friend countered. “So did Kara call you?”
“Yeah,” he said with a deep laugh. “All your pissing and moaning around the house must have tipped her off. Ass never could keep a secret.”
“Yeah, well, it’s because you tried to mess up my pretty face. She’s been mad at you all weekend. You sure you want to go over there?” Austin asked, the laughter at Jack’s expense coming through loud and clear.
“Well, it’s all for a good cause. Little David wants what he wants, and today it happens to be his Uncle Jax. Plus, I need to do something with my afternoon. I almost lost my shit at Lisa’s job,” he admitted.
“Oh yeah?” Austin responded. “At her job, huh? You, uh, want to talk about it?”
“Nah, I just need a distraction. Even if that means I have to see your ugly-ass mug. What time are you getting home? Kara said you’ll be off early. Want me to pick up some beer?” he asked. It was starting to feel like they were back to their old selves. If Austin could pretend to ignore the elephant in the room, then so could Jack.
“No, we have plenty. Just get on over to the house. I want to make sure Kara has a chance to yell at you before I get home,” Austin said with a laugh.
“That’s fucked up, man. Wait…you didn’t tell her—”
Austin responded with a bark of laughter. “Hell no.”
Pausing for a second, he decided to ask anyway. “Why not?”
“I’m not that stupid and I happen to like sleeping peacefully at night.”
Jackson laughed in understanding. “A’ight, man. Let me get on over there.”
“So, are we gonna talk about what happened at Lisa’s job and why you were so pissed?”
“Maybe another time. I think I’m just coming to terms with some things,” Jack responded.
“A’ight man. Fair enough. I’ll catch up with you when I get home. And when Kara fusses at you, just take it,” Austin warned.
“Yeah, I know. Don’t I always. I think that woman lives to bust my balls.” Jackson sighed in acceptance of the inevitable as they hung up the phone.
It took him another fifteen minutes to get to Austin’s home. The entire time he was thinking about Lisa and the events of the day.
What the hell had happened to turn things so crazy?
He’d almost ripped the head off some dude he didn’t even know, followed by Lisa’s challenging him and claiming she wouldn’t be home tonight. His mind whirled with the possibilities. No, there was no way she wouldn’t be home. Where the hell would she go?
Pulling up to the house, he turned off the engine and took a few deep breaths. Grabbing his phone, he sent off a text message to Lisa.
Jackson: Hey. I’m stopping by Austin’s.
It took about thirty seconds for her message to come through.
Lisa: I thought you had a meeting.
Oh, fuck. That’s right, he did tell her that.
Jackson: It got moved. I thought it was time I come see David.
Lisa: Okay. Have fun.
Should he ask? Fuck it. He was asking.
Jackson: Will you be home tonight?
Lisa: Not sure. I’ll let you know.
What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Gritting his teeth, he was tempted to turn the truck on and drive right back to her office.
Jackson: Quit playing with me, Lisa. We need to talk.
Nothing. No answer. No response.
Just as he was about to put the key in the ignition, he saw the front door open. David was in his momma’s arms, waving at him. Oh well. He was here now, so might as well enjoy the time with two of his favorite people.
Damn, why’d he have to be so nice sometimes?
Laughing to himself, he realized that was a damn joke. He was the furthest thing from nice and everybody around him knew it. But once Austin married Kara and David came into this world, they became his family.
The one thing he never did was let down family.
CHAPTER FIVE
Lisa walked through her front door and exhaled.
Today had been a long fucking day. After the surprise visit from her old friend Daniel, followed by Jackson’s sudden arrival, she’d used up her allotted dose of give-a-shit for the day.
Dropping her belongings as she walked through the house, she didn’t have enough energy to care about where things fell. Later, she would go through and put everything in its rightful place. Right now, she needed a pair of comfortable pajamas, a tank top, and some warm, fuzzy socks.
Although she’d told Jackson she wouldn’t’ be home tonight, she couldn’t find a good enough reason to do anything else but drive straight to her house after work.
He’d spent the entire day at Austin and Kara’s house, which she knew because Kara had texted her about it. Several times. She made her friend promise not to let him know that Lisa would be at home tonight. With any luck, she’d be able to eat dinner and go upstairs within the hour.
She wondered why she even cared about Jackson right now. He’d shown his ass at her office for no reason at all. Maybe he was pissed because Daniel had been there and kissed her cheek, but it meant nothing.
Sure, he’d asked her to dinner, but she’d shot him down. Well, sorta, kinda…but not really. But still, Jackson had no idea about the conversation. Truth be told, if he hadn’t been so damn full of himself, he would have realized that Daniel was just an old friend.
If only he’d stayed around so they could eat the lunch he’d brought her.
Maybe this was her moment to break free and cut ties with him. He didn’t want her for himself, but he didn’t want anyone else to have her, either. What kind of life was that? No woman wanted to be trapped in this purgatory. Not that she was looking for a husband, two kids, and a dog. No, that life wasn’t for her. That was Kara all day and night.
As for herself, she had no need for that. After watching her father wither away into a shell of his former self after her mother passed away, she never wanted to experience that kind of pain. Ever. If that meant she was the perpetual girlfriend, so be it.
Sighing deeply, she cursed herself for the coward she was. Finally admitting the truth—that she didn’t live to create that homemaker’s dream—she also didn’t want to live her life as a booty call. Maybe it would be better if she just let this thing with Jackson go. After almost two years, maybe their relationship had run its course. He wanted her to be at his beck-and-call, and she wanted him to respect her role in his life. It seemed so easy.
Then why the hell was it becoming so difficult?
Two hours later, she sat in her queen-sized bed with a pint of ice cream watching a show about a group of men voluntarily going to haunted locations.
What the hell was wrong with them? Crazy-ass men. That just made no sense whatsoever. No sane person would do this vol
untarily, without being forced at gunpoint. Just as they were yelling about something, asking each other if they all heard a noise that she was positive didn’t really exist, her phone buzzed, indicating a text had come through.
Reaching over to lift it, she saw that it was from Jackson. Fuck, she didn’t want to fight with him tonight.
Jackson: We need to talk.
Setting her pint of ice cream down, she decided to answer.
Lisa: No, we don’t. I know you’re only here for a short time, but maybe we need a break.
Jackson: Like hell we do. I gave you all night. I let Kara talk my ear off and David use me like a jungle gym. You owe me.
Lisa: Not tonight.
Jackson: I know you’re home. Open up.
Lisa: No. Wait, where are you?
Her phone started ringing seconds after she sent that last text. Determined not to give in, she answered, “No, Jackson. Go home.”
“I’ll kick this damn door down. Open up, Lisa” he growled. “I’m not leaving.”
Would he really? No. He wouldn’t dare. “I told you that I don’t want to see you tonight.”
“Why are you doing this to me, baby?” His soft question came through the phone.
“Hold up. Are you drunk?” she screeched. How in the hell had he driven over here when he was drunk? “Did you drive here?”
“I wasn’t drunk when I left Austin’s, but I had a bottle of single malt in the truck that I wanted to share with you. But when I got here, I decided to take a sip. One sip turned into half the bottle,” he slurred.
“Jackson, how long have you been sitting outside?” she asked.
“Don’t call me that. She called me that. Not you. You’re different.” His tone was both defensive and brooding.
Well, just what the fuck did he mean by that little snippet of truth. His ex-girlfriend? Damn, what the fuck was she even doing messing around with Jackson? The man had never even taken her out in public for a date. This was some bullshit.
“Jackson, how long have you been outside?” she asked again.
“About an hour,” he said sheepishly.
Jesus. He was killing her. Maybe she was a glutton for punishment.
“Come on, Lisa. Let me in, baby.” His tone was probably meant to be sweet, but came out slurred and sad. “I’m gonna get inside one way or the other. Either you let me in or I’ll kick the door down,” he pronounced.
“Jackson, why should I? You were an ass today,” she countered.
As she spoke, she was unfolding her body and climbing down from her bed. They both knew she would open the door for him. In the two years since they’d began seeing each other, she’d never refused him.
Halting at the edge of her bed, her feet rested on the floor as she listened to Jackson continue talking. Not sure what had gotten into him lately, she hesitated for a moment. She was somewhat nervous about why Jackson was here so late, and drunk.
Maybe she should call Austin.
Once the thought entered her head, she dismissed it just as quickly. He was behaving out of character, but this was still her Jackson. Rising from the bed, she took a deep breath and made her way downstairs to the front door.
“Just open the damn door, Lisa,” he barked as he hung up on her.
Pulling the phone away from her ear, she stared at it for a second. “Asshole. I should leave his ass out on the porch to freeze,” she murmured while unlocking the door. She swung it wide and there he was, leaning up against the door frame as if it were just a normal day.
She shivered at the look of lust and anger on his face. If he weren’t so damn fine, she wouldn’t give him the time of day. Thinking about the things he did to her body with his lips and cock made her sigh in defeat. Something about this man could make a woman lose her mind.
She was still pissed at him, though, and he would know it. “Well, get in the damn house, Jackson,” she snapped, swinging the door wider to allow him to enter.
He pulled away from the door and walked into the house, his long stride confident and sure. His behavior in no way reflected a man who’d just showed up out of the blue, after being a complete ass to her earlier that day. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but able to stay upright.
“Are you alone?” he asked with a side glance.
“Of course I’m alone. Why would you ask me something like that? Do you think I’d have invited you in if I had someone else here?” she asked sarcastically.
“Well, you never know. After seeing you all hugged up on that man earlier, I had to ask,” he mumbled as he kicked off his shoes and peeled off his jacket. “I’m not letting you go into the arms of another man, Lisa.”
“Why not? You’re not staking a claim,” she challenged.
“Do I need to?” he countered. “Haven’t you been mine this entire time? Has there ever been a question about who you belonged to? Who I belonged to?” he challenged.
Walking over to her, he wrapped his arms around her and grabbed her under her ass. “This belongs to me.”
Jerking free, she started walking up the stairs. “I belong to no man,” she called back over her shoulder.
Lisa knew Jackson would follow her. There was no way he’d let her walk away with the last word.
She wasn’t having this conversation with him tonight. For one thing, he was drunk. For another thing, well…she didn’t feel like it.
Now she’d missed out on what happened on her show. Good thing she could rewind it and replay.
“Lisa!” she heard Jackson calling out, followed by his heavy footsteps on her stairs.
Making it back to her room, she climbed onto her bed and picked up the remote control. Within seconds, the bane of her existence stood at her door.
Staggering, unsteady on his feet, and pissed as hell.
“If you’re sleeping up here, you’d better understand that’s all you’re doing. Sleeping.” Hands on her hips, she was not going to give in to the lure of the imposing, but very sexy man standing at her door.
“I can sleep beside you and not have sex, Lisa,” he slurred.
“You sure about that?” she asked. “Seems like the one thing we’re good at is sex. Have we ever done anything besides sex?”
“You don’t like my sex?” he asked with a pout.
Wow. Really? Okay, something was definitely off with him tonight.
“I never said that. I simply stated there won’t be any sex happening tonight. Whether you like it or not.” Pressing the button to take the show off pause, she rewound it to the spot where she’d left off and turned her attention back to the episode.
“Are you going to ignore me all night?” he asked.
“No. I’m not ignoring you. You know where the shower is and I think there are some shorts and a few T-shirts in the drawer.”
Over the months, he would leave a small item here and there. After a while, she stopped trying to return them to him and just cleared out a drawer for him to use.
“You saying I stink?” he asked with a smile as he made his way over to the dresser. Weaving on his feet, he started opening and closing drawers, unsure of where his things were.
Normally, she would get up and help him, but tonight she was feeling extra petty. Making an effort to ignore him, she continued watching her show, not responding to his grunts and sounds as he went from top to bottom, left to right, searching for anything that looked familiar.
“Shit. Did you have to put it all the way at the bottom?” he grumbled. “You could have just told me that.”
“Jackson, don’t come in here with your shit tonight,” she snapped.
“Why do you keep calling me Jackson? I told you I don’t like that name, Lisa,” he stated after pulling out a few things from the drawer.
“No, you told me that I can’t call you that name because of some other woman. Not the same thing.”
Okay, so maybe she was hurt. Some other woman had a hold over him that surpassed hers. So much so that she couldn’t even call him by the same
name. That shit wasn’t right.
“Yes, it is the same thing. I don’t like that name because she called me Jackson. I want you to call me Jack. I like that better. Anyway, I shouldn’t have to explain myself to you,” he huffed as he turned and walked away toward the bathroom to take his shower.
Lisa’s mouth fell open in shock. If nothing else told her how he felt about her, those last words did.
She didn’t give a fuck who the other woman was, but if he thought he would be sleeping with her again, he’d damn well better change his tune. Didn’t have to explain anything to her? Really? After all that bullshit talk this weekend and at her office today, this was his response.
More and more, she began to think that maybe this was their downfall. She’d never asked him for more than he was willing to give. Not once. But at this point, what they were doing was no longer enough.
If another woman had a stronger hold of him than she did, maybe it was time for Lisa to bow out and let him go.
CHAPTER SIX
Jackson climbed out of the shower with a clearer head.
What the fuck was going on with him?
He just showed up at her house drunk, yammering on about how she can’t call him Jackson because of another woman? Standing in front of the mirror, he looked at his reflection and snarled.
“You’re one stupid motherfucker.” Disgust dripped from each word.
Not surprisingly, his reflection didn’t respond. Maybe if he was drunker, it would have.
“Don’t fuck this up, Pittman. You get your ass out there and explain yourself to your woman,” he lectured the image gazing back at him.
Throwing the towel on the floor, he exited the bathroom and looked over at the bed. She hadn’t left, which was a good thing.
Then again, this was her bedroom, in her house. If anyone was leaving, it would be him. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
“Lisa—” he began, but she cut him off.
“No. Not tonight. I have so many questions and you’re much too drunk to think about your answers. I’ve had enough of you putting your foot in your mouth when it comes to what’s going on with you. You can sleep here tonight, but come the morning, either we deal with what’s happening to us, or you leave. You leave and you don’t come back until you’re ready to talk,” she finished.