by Eva LeNoir
"I thought you were out on the yacht?" she asked, leaning and giving him a light peck on the lips.
First of all, if I hadn't seen my girlfriend, and she looked like Jaidyn, I wouldn't be getting a peck on the fucking lips. She'd already be bent over the nearest workstation screaming God's name at the top of her lungs.
Calvin the cockless kook.
"We were just," she faltered, not quite sure how she wanted to describe the bubble we'd just built for ourselves while I branded my nickname for her on her hardhat for everyone to see.
"Just going to see Robert for lunch," I helped, because I was generous like that.
"Right. Um, Calvin, this is, um, Marlon Brooks?"
Did she just introduce me with a question mark?
Oh no, baby bird, that's not how I play.
Sticking my arm out, I offered Calvin my hand like a white flag. When we shook, I measured his cock by squeezing his hand and judging by tightening of his jaw, my dick was longer than his and I was okay with that.
"Marlon is taking care of us," she said, her head turning towards me, a soft smile adorning her angelic face, "I mean, of Dad," she corrected and I wanted to reassure her that I would take really good care of her.
But first, she'd need to drop the idiot like a hot pan.
"Come on, let's go see old Robert," he said, placing one arm around her shoulders and taking her hard hat off with his other hand.
I let them walk ahead of me in the direction of where Robert was sitting in the shade.
I was a patient man and Jaidyn a smart woman. I could wait this out until she saw she was better than this dude.
On our way, I sized him up. He was tall but I still had a couple of inches on him. He wasn't skinny but he wasn't buff either. I could totally take him in a rumble, although fighting wasn't in my DNA. I was more of a Bob Marley than a Rage Against the Machine.
But for Jaidyn?
I'd go full on Five Finger Death Punch on him.
Shaking my head at his choice of clothing in an area where jeans and construction hats were a required, I daydreamed that he'd get a concussion and go home to his mother.
Okay, I needed to stop being an asshole. Jaidyn wasn’t into cockfighters. She needed an intelligent, caring man to support her.
And fuck her like an animal. I could, definitely, do that.
"Well, well, Calvin. I see you decided to join us, today," I heard Robert saying without making a single move to shake his hand. I supposed he could use his illness to his advantage.
I smirked at that and when I raised my eyes to look at the man, he winked at me.
Oh, Robert has game.
I got your back, old man.
For the next thirty minutes, Calvin told us all about his weeklong adventure out on the Senator's yacht, not once asking how Robert was feeling.
"You should have seen this place, Jaidyn, you would have loved it," he told her, and I just couldn't help myself.
"Oh, why is that?"
Everyone fell quiet, like they'd forgotten about me. Except I was like that sweet swell hiding behind the wave you think you want. It looks like it's going to tube out but there I am, behind it, making sure it flats out so I can give the surfers a nice rolling tube.
"Ah, well, it was luxurious," he started, then leaned in to kiss her, "just like her."
"I'm right here, you don't have to talk about me in the third person," she said tightly.
If I thought I hated her changing personalities when she was with her father, putting on her motherly face, I loathed her mask around Calvin.
It was clear she was his trophy girlfriend. Except Jaidyn wasn't a trophy, she was a queen and I wanted to play the role of her king.
"Marlon, have you told Calvin, here, that you'll be accompanying us throughout our travels this year," Robert was, definitely, on Team Brooks and I would have to buy some exceptional whiskey for that smooth move.
Calvin's face turned a pasty white as I witnessed the blood drain from his sun-soaked face, a tan he obviously honed on that damn yacht.
"No, actually. I didn't think it was important," I said with a smirk, "just doing my job."
Now, here's the thing...
Women oftentimes think men are clueless in diverse departments but there was one thing we understood at the very core of our genes, testosterone threats.
My presence was a threat to Calvin, and he could feel it. I was inside his circle and he did not like that idea one bit.
That was fine with me, I liked the competition. In fact, we were two surfers on the same strip of water and Jaidyn was our A-frame; the perfect wave.
"And why do you need to go with them? Are you their chauffeur or something?" Calvin snickered like a spoiled brat who didn’t want to share his toys.
"Why no, Marlon is the founder and CEO of The Dream List Foundation.
"The CEO, huh?" the douche asked, a sly smirk etched on his face, "slumming it like the workers?"
"Calvin!" that coming from my jaybird.
"It's okay, Jaidyn, I don't mind," I started because I was about to be the bigger man and that was exactly what Jaidyn liked, "I'm going back to our duties, I'll see you later."
With a relaxed grin, I stood up and nodded to Robert, "Don't work too hard, Robert, and make sure you stay hydrated," I said, a discreet wink thrown his way. Turning to the Ken doll, I offered my hand, which he refused to take, and said, "Nice to meet you, Kevin."
By the chuckle coming from Robert, there was no mistaking my faux error.
"Calvin," the douche corrected, but I was already turning my back and strutting all the way to the house.
It didn't matter that she was his girlfriend, I was about to spend the next few months showing her how she deserved to be treated.
Chapter 13
Jaidyn
The summer went by in a flash. Between the packing for the globetrotter lifestyle, my father’s care, and Calvin’s omnipresence, I barely had a minute to breathe. Ever since the run-in between him and Marlon, he’d made sure to stay firmly by my side.
It was evident he felt somehow threatened by Marlon’s presence that day at Habitat for Humanity. I could understand, of course. Our moment seemed inappropriately intimate but, in my defense, it felt liberating to be able to laugh and flirt knowing my dad was safe and close by, enjoying his time helping those less fortunate. Marlon just made me feel like I could throw my head back and enjoy the silly things in life without having to worry about things like, the inevitable death of my father.
After Calvin had left, that day, I had gone back to the house with my newly baptised hard hat and a profound desire to let loose. I’d had more fun doing hard labor for two weeks than I had the entire year. It was glorious.
“What are you doing, over there?” I heard Calvin from the other end of the couch where he was massaging my feet. He was sitting in his board shorts and a salmon short-sleeved button down, as he often dressed during the summer months. He liked to surf but it was more about showing off than properly mastering the waves. In any case, from what Marlon had told me, San Diego in the summer wasn’t as prone to regular good waves as Huntington beach. I didn’t know any of this, surfing had never been on my radar.
“Just going over the final draft of the itinerary I got today,” I told him, my eyes glued to the page, reading over the details and making sure all potential catastrophes were covered. I had no choice in this whole world-wonderer charade, but I’d be damned if I didn’t control every step along the way.
“I don’t like it, Jaidyn. What if this guy is a fucking psycho?” I didn’t even react, I’d heard these attacks all summer long, tuning him out was becoming entirely too easy.
“I’m serious, Jai,” he suddenly stood, dropping my feet unceremoniously, and started pacing. “I’d go with you if I could. You know that, right?”
“Calvin, we’ve been through this all summer. It’s fine, he’s harmless and I’ll be more occupied taking care of Dad than any of these ridiculous adventures,” I p
lacated. He was being a child and I was a whine-fest away from telling him to grow up and get out.
Of course, I wouldn’t.
He was worried and I respected that. He’d been so attentive these past two months, taking me out when the nurse was here for Dad or staying here with me when I couldn’t do anything but watch television or movies in the theater.
If anything, we’d grown a little closer. This would be our last year of separation, with me travelling and him in Washington DC. It worked for us. We were too invested in our lives and goals to be clingy.
Not this summer, though, and I was sure it had everything to do with his need to mark his territory, make me remember that we were still a power couple. The fact he needed to remind me all of this was almost insulting.
“I swear to God, if he makes a move on you, I will kill him,” he spat, his pacing over and his glare intent on me. “Would you at least look at me when we’re having this conversation?”
With a big sigh, I closed my eyes to give myself a second to breathe.
Placing the printed-out email on my lap, I turned into a sitting position and raised my head so I could give him my undivided attention.
“I’m listening,” I said, calmly.
“What are you going to do if he makes a move on you, Jai?” I really did not want to think about that. The chemistry was too potent to ignore so I would have to stay as platonic with Marlon, as possible. Instead of answering his question, I did a classic answer with another question.
“Why do you feel so threatened by Marlon? I don’t get it.”
“Marlon,” he mimicked, his face contorting into a scowl, “even his name is ridiculous. And I’m not threatened, I’m afraid for you.”
Is that right?
“Well, let me ease your mind, Calvin,” I said, rising from my seat on the couch and walking up to him with a sexy sway of my hips, my eyes trained on him. “I can take care of myself,” I said in a sultry, let’s-have-sex-so-you-drop-the-subject voice.
Just as he was about to wrap his arms around my waist and kiss me silly, I heard the monitor crackle, followed by my father’s voice asking me to bring him some water.
“Are you kidding me, right now?” Calvin muttered and although I could appreciate his frustration, I didn’t like his attitude one bit. Although we had spent a lot of time together, intimacy had been difficult with my father so close.
“Calvin!” I whispered-yelled.
“Seriously, Jai. He’s been cockblocking me all summer.”
And that was the last straw.
I was an understanding girlfriend, but that was an attitude I wasn’t willing to accept.
“Time to go home, Calvin,” I told him, walking away and not bothering to show him the door.
“Fuck, Jai. Come on, baby. I’m just…I’m hard as fuck right now. Can’t you just bring him some water and come back down. It’ll be a quickie, I promise.”
Biting my tongue to avoid telling him that most times with him were, indeed, quickies, I just went up the stairs with my middle finger trailing behind me.
“Classy. Nice. Did you learn that from the help?”
The muttered fuck that escaped his mouth told me he’d known that was way over the line.
“Calvin, I swear to God, if you don’t leave right now, you won’t have to worry about a quickie with me ever again.”
“Goddamn it, I’ll call you later,” he threw over his shoulder before opening the door and walking out. “Don’t bother!” I yelled out just as the door slammed shut.
What worried me most, wasn’t our fight. Calvin was entitled, arrogant and living the life of the one percent. He wasn’t a bad person, per se, he was just raised to think this way. I just wished that in the five years with me he would have done better. Been better. No, what worried me most was that I felt mostly relief when I found myself alone. But now wasn’t the time to analyse those feelings.
On the second floor, I reached Dad’s bedroom suite and went straight to his walk-in closet where we had installed a mini kitchen for his immediate needs. A small fridge, a sink and some bottled water for those days where getting up was too much. They were still rare but sometimes, after his naps he would be up for an hour and then his leg would start bouncing up and down from his fatigue or his restlessness.
“Hey, how are you feeling? Did the nap help?” I asked him as I took a glass and filled it with cool water.
“I’ve been up for an hour reading the email Marlon sent us.”
I stopped my movements and really looked at him from the closet.
He looked good, alert, his trembling at a minimum.
“Clearly, you could have poured your own glass of water,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest and raising an eyebrow.
“I missed you. Wanted to see you,” he shrugged, but the tiniest smile at the corner of his mouth belied his good intentions.
“Dad.”
“Fine, I knew he’d fuck up at one point. Did you hear what he said about the help?” Dad said, his head shaking in disbelief, “You should have dumped his ass years ago.”
“Daddy!”
“Just giving you my two cents, baby girl,” he took the covers off his legs and swung around to a sitting position, his eyes holding a gleam I hadn’t seen in so long.
“Are you ready for the big adventure in…” he looked at the clock on his phone and grinned, “four days?”
“You mean, the stressful globetrotting where I’ll have to keep monitoring you constantly?” I asked, my tone dripping with sarcasm and my arms still crossed since Dad was, it would seem, trying to revert to his teenage attitude.
“I forbid it, JaiJai. You are under the strict instructions to have the time of your life before you devote it to med school.”
“You are impossible, you know that?” I asked, rhetorically. Truth was, I’d do anything he wanted because, ultimately, I didn’t want any regrets when his time came.
Chapter 14
Marlon
“You need to calm the fuck down, Brando.”
“Are you sure you have everything?” I asked Emma, my eyes trained on my suitcase and Liberace’s equipment, not that it was all that much.
“I’m not taking him if you’re going to be that pissy mother calling every two hours to make sure her progeniture is still breathing.” I stopped, looked at Emma and smirked.
“Progeniture?” I asked, cocking my head to the side, “Careful, your Stanford is showing.” I ribbed her knowing she hated when I referred to her status.
“It means your kids, the flesh of your flesh, blood of your…”
“I know what it means, I just hadn’t heard your blue-blood speak in a while.” I cut her off.
“Having a photographic memory has nothing to do with money, it’s all about the DNA,” she shrugged, Liberace cuddling on her lap, “But let’s get back to your little freak out, shall we?”
“Shut up, I’m not freaking out. I’ve traveled the world twice over, this is nothing,” I told her truthfully. This wasn’t my first rodeo, but it was the first time I was excited about it.
“If nothing were a freak out mode of nuclear proportions, maybe,” she muttered. “Are you worried I won’t take care of Libs because you know I will. I’ll even take him to the beach house.”
I froze, a grin spreading across my face, but I wasn’t about to show her my suspicions.
With all the coolness of the Tony the Tiger, I asked, my back still turned to her, “Is that right? Who’s taking you?”
“Ethan, he said he’d let me crash in the spare bedroom so I could set up Libs’ space. I know he doesn’t like to sleep alone,” she said, in a voice that sounded too much like a child’s to be acceptable on a woman two years shy of thirty.
“Who? Libs or Ethan?”
Her answer came in, what I guessed was, the form of the remote control against the back of my head.
She had good aim; I’d give her that.
“Ouch! What was that for?” It hurt, but I couldn
’t help laughing anyway.
“You’re an asshole.”
“Why, because I think you’re banging my best friend?” I asked her, putting a pair of dress shoes inside a designer bag and making a knot with the strings.
“I thought I was your best friend, what gives?”
“Don’t change the subject, Emma. Are you fucking Ethan?”
“Did he tell you we were fucking?” She gasped, her eyes a hurricane of anger and vengeance.
“That’s not a denial, I’m hearing.” It didn’t matter, but giving them shit about their sudden desire to hang out was too much fun to ignore.
“I am not fucking that man-whore,” she finally said with impeccable enunciation, “I value my vagina way more than that.”
“All right, I believe you,” I shrugged and looked around the mess I’d created in the living room of my condo. “Have you seen my lucky board shorts?”
I couldn’t leave without them.
“Dude, you need to buy a new pair, those shorts probably have third generation herpes in them.” She said, a disgusted look on her face.
“You’re sick, you know that, right?” I still loved her for it. “They’re clean and in impeccable shape,” I told her, smiling when I spotted them under the dress shirt I decided not to bring.
“Where are you headed first?” she asked, looking up at me.
“Oahu,” I answered, “plane takes off just after nine in the morning, we get there at five p.m. local time.”
“Nice. Gonna bring your board?” she laughed when she added, “fastest way to get into a girl’s wet panties is showing them your moves on the waves, surfer boy.”
I would have glared at her if it hadn’t been a niggling thought running around my brain. I wanted to get her lusty for me but more than that, I wanted to impress her.
I hadn’t truly spoken to Jaidyn since the incident with her boyfriend. Every one of our encounters had been polite and professional with just a little touch of inuendo when only she could hear me. From what I’d gathered, that Calvin douche had been ever present at her home.
Didn’t he have his own fucking rich man’s palace to crash at?