by E. L. Todd
“Max, I will do as I promised. I just…”I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’ve never felt this way about someone before. I feel like she’s already mine…just not officially.”
“I don’t know what to say. I told you to stay away from my sister.”
“And you should have known how impossible that would be.”
Ophelia
As the days passed, so did my sadness. What was the point in being upset over someone else’s actions? Our relationship had been falling apart for a while, and I made the right decision when I decided to end it.
And I should have stuck to my guns.
Instead, I gave him another chance when I knew in my heart I shouldn’t have. I kept living in the past, remembering the good times we had and what a great man he was. But those times were long gone.
Now I paid the price for my foolishness.
But Jett made it much better. He spent time with me when I knew he had better things to do. He went with me to the gym and took me out for ice cream. We were attached at the hip like close friends.
When I wasn’t with him, I wish I were. I felt bad I was hogging Jett so much. I apologized to my brother countess times but he didn’t seem to care. Their relationship was odd. Sometimes it seemed like they were into each other, but a lot of the time, they seemed almost indifferent.
I was thinking about the lava cake we made at Jett’s apartment the night before when my assistant spoke over the intercom. “Cameron is here to see you.”
My blood suddenly turned cold. He’d been blowing up my phone constantly, and I never listened to all the voicemails he left. His pathetic apologies and explanations meant nothing to me. “Send him away.”
“I don’t think I…sir, you can’t go in there!”
I knew he was barging in my office whether I wanted him to or not. My workday was almost over anyway so I decided to clock out a few minutes early. I snatched my purse and phone then walked around the desk.
Cameron walked inside, his face slightly pink from old bruises and cuts. “Listen to me.” He held up his hand like that would stop me.
I held my phone just the way Jett taught me, so I could hit him right in the nose with the butt of it. “Get out of my way.”
“Just give me a chance to explain what happened.”
“I saw you sticking your tongue down her throat,” I snapped. “There’s nothing left to explain.”
“No, it’s not like that.”
I rolled my eyes because his excuses were more pathetic than I thought they would be. “Go to hell.” I walked out of my office and took the stairs. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible and attract the least amount of attention. Cameron was close behind me the entire time but he didn’t cause a scene.
Once I was out of the building, I turned left and headed to Crunch Fitness like I did every day after work. Jett was usually there early. As soon as I saw him I knew I would feel better about this creep riding my ass.
“Ophelia!” He jogged to catch up to me. “Just listen to me for five minutes, okay?”
“No.” I kept walking, acting like he didn’t exist.
“I’m going to keep harassing you until you give me a few minutes. So, keep running or stop and give me your attention.”
I couldn’t argue with his logic. If I gave him what he wanted, he might leave me alone. I stopped then put my hand on my hip, giving him the nastiest glare all the popular chicks in high school taught me. “You got two minutes—go.”
“When we were first together, everything was great. I was happy and you were happy. Then we both started working more and we just drifted apart. That’s when I met Elena—”
“I don’t care what her name is.”
He kept going. “Things just happened, and before I knew it…we were in a relationship.”
At least he was being honest. I was surprised he offered that.
“That was why you and I drifted apart. That was my fault. What I did was wrong and I shouldn’t have made that mistake. You’re an amazing girl and I was just stupid. When you dumped me, I realized what I lost. So…I ended it with her so I could be with you.” He gave me a hopeful look. “And only you.”
That’s what he wanted to say? “So…since you tried breaking it off when we got together I’m supposed to be impressed by that?”
“I know I made a stupid mistake and I learned from it.”
“I caught you making out with her!”
“I was breaking up with her,” he argued. “And you and I weren’t together anyway.”
That just made my head explode. “Excuse me?”
He cringed like he knew the mistake he made.
“Oh…” I clutched my heart with emotion. “How sweet. I can’t believe you did that for me, baby.” Then I gave him another glare before I walked off.
“Wait.” He grabbed me by the wrist, and this time he used all his force to keep me still. “I want another chance—a real one.”
I kicked him in the groin but he blocked it. “Your two minutes are up, asshole.”
“I said I was sorry. It won’t happen again.”
I got in his face. “Even if I believed you, which I don’t, I don’t want you anymore.” I tried to twist away from his grasp.
“Because you’re in love with a gay man?”
My eyes widened in offense. “What if I am?” I don’t know what possessed me to say that but it came out.
“You call me a cheater but you’ve been running around with pretty boy all over town.”
“But I wasn’t sleeping with him.” I tried to push him off. “Now let me go.”
“No. I’m not done talking to you.” He squeezed me harder and pulled me to his chest.
I tried to kick him again but he kept blocking his testicles. “You fucking dick!”
“Let her go.” His commanding voice made me stop fighting. It moved down my spine and made me feel scared but safe at the same time.
Cameron loosened his hold when he realized he had company.
Jett stood a few feet away, his arms hanging by his sides. Threat was in his eyes, and he looked a little crazy. “Let her go or I’ll make you.”
He finally let me go, loosening his grip on my wrist.
“Smart choice.” Jett grabbed me and pulled me behind him. Then he dropped his gym bag and approached Cameron with the obvious intent to kick his ass. “No one touches my girl and gets away with it.” Quicker than I could see, he jabbed him in the nose then the jaw. Cameron was on the pavement, wiping the blood away.
I didn’t defend Cameron this time. He deserved it.
“I guess my friends didn’t teach you a lesson.” He rolled up his sleeves.
Cameron scrambled to his feet then took off at a dead run.
Jett stood there and watched him go. “Pussy.” His shoulders were tense, and he breathed hard like he might decide to chase after him. When he made up his mind to stay put, he turned back to me. “Are you alright?” His hand snaked around my waist like it belonged there.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
He grabbed his bag and walked with me. “Want to skip the gym today?”
“Sure.”
“A drink?”
A glass of scotch sounded nice right now. “Please.”
We walked into the closest bar, the one I happened to catch Cameron in, and then sat in a booth. Jett got the drinks then sat down again. Like we were in a western, he slid the glass to me across the table. “Bottoms up.”
I took a drink but I could only manage that—a drink.
“So, what happened?” He tilted his glass and the ice cubes slid around.
“He came to my office and said he wanted to explain what happened.”
“I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.” His eyes held his anger, and his body held his rage.
“I said the same thing. But he wouldn’t leave my office so I left instead. Of course, he followed me. I gave him two minutes to explain himself. Actually, what he said was pretty funny…”
“Which was?” He leaned over the table while he listened to me.
“That he was cheating on me but he stopped so he could give this relationship a real chance. Apparently, I’m marriage material and she’s not.” I made a sympathetic look with my face. “Isn’t that the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard?”
He laughed as he took a drink. “They should have put that plot in Titanic.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m hurt about everything but I’m also angry. I just feel stupid.”
“Like I said, you shouldn’t feel that way.”
“Too late.” I drank the rest of my glass and felt the burn all the way down my throat. “I’m going to get another.”
“Whoa…hold on.” He held me in my seat with just his eyes. “It’s the middle of the day and alcohol won’t solve your problems. One is enough.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “You’re no fun.”
“I’m responsible. And I take care of you.”
“Still boring,” I teased.
“Hey, I’m a very adventurous guy. But I’m also a protective one.”
“You don’t say?” I snatched his drink and downed it.
His lips twitched in an involuntary smirk. “I’ll let that go since you’re cute.”
“You’ll let that go because you know I could take you.”
“Only because I would let you,” he said. “You want to do something tonight?”
“Like what?” I spent most of my time with Jett. He was starting to feel like home. I’d neglected all my other friends since he came into my life. And my brother didn’t care but it was probably because he knew I was going through a hard time.
“A paint club.”
I cocked an eyebrow.
“It’s where you drink and play drums while paint gets all over you.”
“Sounds like a big mess.”
“It’ll be fun,” he said. “It’ll get your mind off of it.”
“Sure,” I said. “I’ll do anything with you because you’re the only person I want to do anything with.”
His teasing smirk disappeared, and his eyes softened in emotion. “The feeling is mutual.”
***
My friends found out about Cameron and I through the grapevine. What grapevine? I wasn’t sure. But they knew. And naturally, they wanted to go out and hear the tale. But they picked a loud bar full of people dancing and having a great time. It was hard to hear myself speak.
“Then I caught them together at a bar,” I finished.
Denise looked like she wanted to snap someone’s neck—anyone’s neck. “That sleazebag. He didn’t deserve you to begin with, and then he treats you like that…” She shook her head in disgust. “Terrible.”
“Yeah.” I went onto my fourth drink and felt the buzz shift into something deeper.
“You slapped him good, right?” Jasmine asked.
“As hard as I could. But Jett took care of him—a few times, actually.”
“Jett?” Denise asked.
“He’s my friend,” I said. “Actually, he’s my brother’s boyfriend.” It was still weird to think about. I was closer to Jett than I was to my own brother. We did everything together, even slept together.
“Gay men are the best,” Jasmine said. “Truly.”
“Yeah, and he’s so damn hot.” I blurted that out when I shouldn’t because I was drunk. “Why do gay men have to be so fine? He’s like the hottest guy I’ve ever seen.”
Denise raised an eyebrow. “Are you crushing on your brother’s man?”
“No,” I said immediately. “Of course not. But he is really hot. You should see him.”
“I don’t want to be tempted,” Jasmine said. “If I can’t have him, then why torture myself?”
I could say the same thing.
“You’re getting laid tonight,” Denise said. “By a fine guy who knows what he’s doing.”
I wasn’t interested in hooking up with a random stranger. I’d rather sleep with Jett and listen to him cheer me up. I never participated in the hook up culture even before Cameron came along. “I’m okay.”
“Come on,” Jasmine said. “At least talk to a cute guy.”
I finished my drink and moved onto a fifth. Like the alcohol suddenly had its affect, I drifted into a haze and felt the lack of inhibitions. I was so angry with myself for letting Cameron fool me, and I hated him for hurting me. I just wanted to drift away for the night and not rely on my brother’s ridiculously hot boyfriend to make me feel better. The thought made me realize just how strange my life had become. “Okay. What the hell?”
Denise clapped her hands in excitement. “That’s my girl.”
***
Denise and Jasmine found guys to entertain them for the night, and a decent looking blonde guy came my way. He smiled and had charming things to say, but I was so drunk I could have been talking to a manly girl and wouldn’t have known the difference.
My head was starting to pound from drinking too much but he kept buying me more rounds. “You’re in fashion?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m an assistant chief editor.”
“Pretty cool,” he said. He pushed the drink closer to me. “That doesn’t surprise me. You have good taste in clothes.”
I couldn’t remember what I was wearing. A black dress? I looked down and it still didn’t register.
He leaned close to me, close enough for a kiss. “Want to head to my place?”
He was cute but I wasn’t interested in sleeping with him. I never put out on the first day anyway, especially with a random dude. “No, I have to get up early tomorrow…” What was tomorrow anyway? Tuesday?
“Come on.” His hand moved to my thigh. “My bed is really comfortable. You can sleep over.”
I decided to hit the bathroom. I thought I might throw up. I should have drunk water along the way like a smart person. “I need to…pee…” I got out of the chair and wobbled a little bit.
“Whoa, there.” He grabbed me and steadied me. “You can use the bathroom at my place.”
“No, I’d rather just go here…” I pushed through the crowd and felt him right behind me. When I got to the bathroom he grabbed me and pushed me against the wall.
“You trying to run away from me?” There was a teasing note to his voice but he also seemed serious.
“No, I just…”
His lips sought my neck and began to kiss me. His hands move to my boobs and he groped them in public.
I needed to get away from this guy. I shoved him off but I was weak.
“Loosen up,” he said. “Are you always this uptight?”
I managed to move past him and enter the bathroom. But I was wobbling and barely in charge of my faculties. I was Bambi in heels. I was too weak to make it to a stall so I leaned against the wall then slid to the floor. Girls checked their make up in the mirror and washed their hands. They all ignored me.
I knew the guy would come in here for me eventually if I didn’t come out. There was no window for me to crawl out. Luckily, I have my clutch so I opened it and searched for my phone. Everything was blurry and my hands were shaking. I managed to find Jett’s name and hit send.
Jett
I was looking over a folder for a new client when Ophelia called me. Her name flashed on the screen, and like always, my heart hammered in my chest. She wasn’t my girlfriend, she had no idea I was straight, and she had no idea I was head-over-heels for her, but it felt like she was mine. I swiped my thumb across the screen then answered the call with a smile. “Missed me?” I made my voice sound as arrogant as possible.
“Jett?” Her voice sounded unusually high-pitched and weak. Loud sounds were in the background, people talking and distant music. And she sounded sick, like she was about to throw up in a toilet.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” My heart sped up, and not in a good way, and I suddenly felt faint.
“Please come get me…” She breathed hard like she was in pain.
I was on my feet instantly. �
�Where are you?”
“I don’t know…” She sounded scared. “I’m in a bar and there’s this guy outside. Shit, I’m so drunk. I can barely see.”
What guy? She was wasted? Now I was terrified. “What bar?”
“I can’t remember…”
I was walking out the door and grabbing my keys. “Think, baby. Come on. I’ll search every bar in Manhattan but give me something to work with. What stores are around it? What street is it on?”
“Uh…”
I wanted to scream. I had to get there before this creep got to her. “THINK!”
“Our gym is just down the road.” Her voice sounded muffled, like she was moving.
“Okay.” That gave me something to work with. I kept her on the phone as I jogged down the street. “Give me something else. What does the name of the bar start with? An A? An R?”
“Uh…” She said a few incoherent words.
“Concentrate,” I reminded her. The idea of some asshole touching her was making my temples hurt.
“Riso’s…Rizo’s…Ricos…”
“Rizzo’s?” I felt triumphant for figuring it out.
“Yes!” Her voice didn’t sound weak for the first time.
I would be able to run faster without her on the phone. “I’m going to hang up. Stay in the bathroom. Do not walk out of there. You understand me?”
She sounded far away. “Yes.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes. Just hold on.”
“Okay.”
I hung up without saying goodbye then took off at a sprint.
***
I cut in front of the line and pulled out all the cash I had. “Look, my girlfriend is drunk off her ass in there and some guy is about to snatch her. Let me pass.” I pulled out two hundred and eighty five dollars. “Please let me in.”
The guy eyed the angry people standing behind me then discreetly took the money. Then he unclipped the rope and let me pass.
“Thank you!” I clapped him on the shoulder as I ran. Once I was inside, the lights were low and the floor was crowded. I pushed through people until I could spot the bathrooms. There were two different sets. I didn’t have time to pick the wrong one.