“Yeah, I told her,” he says with a smirk.
Huh. He’s told her and she’s still wanting to sleep with him. Damn.
“Tell her how many?”
“No. Just told her there were a lot.” His face is so smug, I really want to pound on it for an hour or two.
I look at El in disbelief. She’s crossed her arms over her chest and is glaring at me now. At me. That fucking glare should be aimed at the bitch-ass motherfucker standing to her side. What the hell?
“And here you are,” I say to her.
“Yeah, here we are,” she snaps and grabs Eddington’s bicep with both hands.
“Huh,” I huff and nod slowly taking it all in. This has got to be a joke. Or I’m asleep and dreaming or some shit because this is totally unreal right now.
“So, you’re leaving now, right?” Eddington hints with another fucking smirk.
“Yeah, I guess I am.” I go and grab my coat off the couch then turn and look at El again as I put it on wondering what the fuck’s going on. They move out of my way when I walk to the door, and as I open it, I turn and look at her. “Might wanna check your fridge before you get started. Might need the protein.” I start to walk out.
And then my fucking mind returns.
I turn and look at El. “This is it?”
She frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, this is it? You sayin’ we’re done?”
“Well, I, uh, I mean, I saw the pictures. And you just all but confessed.”
I narrow my eyes at Eddington now who’s suddenly not looking so smug anymore. “Pictures?”
She glances up at him then pulls her hands from his arm as she sees the look on his face, and she frowns again. “Well, Austin showed me pictures of you at a club…”
And here we go again. More pictures. Christ. I’d gone out Friday night with the whole team thinking it’d be a good bonding experience because I hadn’t gotten to hang out too much with any of them yet.
“Yeah. Went out with the team,” I explain.
“But the college girls. You even agreed,” she says.
Now I’m confused. “Don’t know what you’re sayin’, El.”
She lets out a breath. “You just said there were college girls… a lot…”
“Yeah, there were.”
She throws up her hands. “So what’s the problem, Jag?” she snaps.
I shake my head slowly as I look at her trying to understand what’s causing our lack of communication and then it occurs to me that she thinks I went out with these girls. “What’d he tell you, El?” I say nodding toward Eddington.
She crosses her arms over her chest now, which makes her cleavage look amazing. But she wore the dress for him and that makes me want to annihilate the bastard.
“He said that you’d gone out with a lot of the, uh, college girls in town,” she informs me.
I look at her for a second then ask, raising my eyebrow, “I answer the phone when you called?”
“Well, yeah,” she replies.
“You call him when we were gone?” She nods. Fuck. I take a breath and let it out. “He answer?”
“Yeah. Well, sometimes. He didn’t always answer, but he usually called the next…” She frowns again as if the light bulb has gone on in her head and she looks up at Eddington.
“What?” he asks. “That doesn’t mean anything. I was asleep sometimes when you called.”
“One time a woman answered and you said she was your sister,” she replies.
“It was!” he retorts.
“And a different time another woman answered and you said it was the maid…” She continues looking at him, and I’m hoping she’s not buying into his bullshit. Then she turns and looks at me guiltily. “I did it again, didn’t I?”
The corners of my mouth twitch because she’s so fucking cute standing there as it dawns on her that I’ve been set up (again) and she’s jumped to conclusions (again). I mean, I’m of course a little pissed, but watching her “Holy shit” moment overrides my anger and, really, I’m just glad she sees the whole picture.
She walks toward me, grasping my forearms and looking up at me says, “Oh, God, Jag, I’m so sorry,” the regret clear on her face. She turns and looks at Eddington. “You lied.”
“Oh, lighten up,” he hurls at her. “It was just a few girls. A man’s got needs,” he says as if that makes what he’s done perfectly okay.
“Leave,” she now tells him.
He takes a step toward her and I’m there in an instant, using my arm to push her behind me. “She said leave.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are, anyway?” he snarls at me now. “I’m so much better than you!” he yells.
I stand looking at him just wanting him to get the fuck out. Oh, and not giving a shit about his opinion.
“That scholarship at South Carolina was mine! And then your sorry ass stepped in and took it away from me!”
I frown at him now. What the fuck’s he talking about?
He continues his rant. “Had to go to Clemson! Clemson!” he snorts and the crazed look on his face makes me push El back even farther. “And we got beat by you every year!” he says with a huff.
“Think it’s time you left now,” I state, still not giving a shit about anything this strange motherfucker has to say.
“My dad could buy SC! But when I got passed over by them because of you,” he glares at me, “he told me I was on my own. My whole family went there! We have a fucking legacy there! And you killed that for me! So I had to make you pay!”
This is just getting too weird now. What the hell?
“Um, Austin, you probably should—” El begins and he cuts her off.
“Shut the fuck up, you stupid bitch! Already wasted too much fucking time on you!”
And I’m done. “Watch your goddamned mouth,” I hiss as I grab his arm to throw his ass out of here.
He jerks it away and starts laughing maniacally. “Was gonna take your girl, Jensen. You took my dream, so I had to make you pay. Except she was so caught up in you, crying and whining about you all the time; didn’t get to fuck her good and ruin everything for you like you did for me!”
Holy shit. Is he serious? What the fuck’s wrong with people? First Alessandra and her crazy-assed bullshit and now psychotic Eddington. Jesus.
He continues. “But the stupid cunt wouldn’t give it up.”
And I land my left fist into his nose which immediately starts gushing blood and it feels awesome when I see it. I know. It’s a guy thing.
“You broke my fucking nose!” he screams cupping his hands over his face. Then he comes at me getting me in a bear hug and knocks me to the floor and now it’s on.
I hear El scream Stop! but there’s no stopping us. This has been long overdue for me. But let me tell you, it’s tough fighting using just one arm to hit, still I somehow managed it. Eddington isn’t as smart, using his right arm, but that’s okay. I could care less about his career, and if that means taking the two hits to my left cheek when he pinned me for a moment, then so be it. But right after he nails me, I roll us to where I have him pinned to the floor then I do some more damage to the right side of his face. He somehow gets away and jumps up, his fists up, ready for more.
“C’mon, Jensen. Gonna fight for your slut’s honor or what?” he grins which looks particularly creepy with the blood on his teeth.
I fly into him knocking him into the wall, immediately landing two hits to his ribs. His loud Umph! on both hits is so satisfying I want to howl at the moon or some shit, but the next thing I know, I’m being jerked away from him by two police officers. Another two have grabbed him and now he’s screaming that he wants to press charges. Fucking pussy.
As I’m handcuffed, I look around for El and see her standing by her dining table holding her cell phone, her eyes huge, tears threatening to fall. “I’m sorry,” she mouths and I grin at her, which makes her eyes go even bigger.
God, that was just what I needed. It felt
so good to hit that asshole.
The officers lead Eddington out and he’s still cussing up a storm, screaming out that I stole his scholarship, that I stole his legacy. Fucking lunatic. When I’m taken outside, El follows.
“Jag! I’m sorry! I didn’t know what to do!” she hollers, her face full of remorse, the tears now falling down her cheeks.
“Baby, it’s okay,” I answer. “Call Ross. Tell him to come bail my ass out. Get my key from him and wait for me at my condo.” I grin at her again and she shakes her head with a small, confused smile as she wipes her tears away.
“Okay,” she replies. I see her making the call and she stays outside watching until I’m driven away then I see her run back inside.
“So, what started all this, Jensen?” one of the cops in front asks.
Not surprised he knows me. I can’t wait to see the fucking sports headlines tomorrow. “Guy’s a douche bag. Tried moving in on my girl. Had to put him in his place,” I reply.
He nods as if that’s a good enough explanation, and to a man, it so totally is. He understands just like any other guy would. Sometimes you’ve got to fight for what’s yours.
I call Ross from the payphone in the holding cell I’ve been taken to. I don’t know where Eddington is, but it’s a good thing they didn’t put us together so I don’t have to bother with finishing shit and knocking him the fuck out. “Call Hoffman for me, will you?” I tell Ross.
“He take calls at home? On a Sunday night?”
“That’s what I pay him the big bucks for,” I answer.
“Damn. Should’ve been a lawyer,” he says with a chuckle.
Three hours later, I’m picking my things up from the front desk in the precinct.
“Didn’t have time to bake you a cake with a file in it,” Ross says with a snicker as we walk out. I look over at him with a raised eyebrow, which sobers him some. “So, how’s it feel bein’ thrown in the slammer?”
“Good. And I’d do it again a million times over. Fucker needed to be shut down.”
“What happened?” he asks after we get in his car.
“Take me to my car at El’s, would ya?” I ask then continue. “At camp, he was all over the local girls, fucking them, snorting shit up his nose. Then tried telling El I was the one doing it.”
He looks over at me. “That’s fucked up. She believe him?”
“There for a while she did, but she finally clued in.”
“Good.”
“Yeah. Thought we were gonna be back to square one again. Thank God that didn’t happen this time,” I say with a sigh.
“Yeah,” he agrees and looks at me again. “You’ve got a shiner coming up, man. What was the damage to him?”
“Right side of his face should be pretty messed up. Ribs should be sore in the morning. Really don’t give a shit. Just want him out of her life.”
“This should do it.” He laughs.
“I hope.”
We arrive at El’s apartment and her car’s still there, which makes me frown. “Told her to go to my place.”
“She wouldn’t take the key from me. Said she’d talk to you when you got back,” he informs me.
“Okay. Thanks, man,” I say, patting Ross on the shoulder before I get out of his car.
He rolls his window down as I walk to El’s door. “Forgot. Hoffman said to call him in the morning.”
I turn and nod then he drives off and I walk up and knock on El’s door. When she answers, upon seeing me she starts crying again. “Jag, your eye!” she says through her tears.
I come inside and wrap my arms around her, holding her close. “Hey, it’s okay, babe.”
She buries her face against my chest, wrapping her arms around my waist. “I’m a dumbass,” she sobs.
My body shakes with my laughing. “Babe.”
She pulls back and looks at me then starts crying harder. “I-I am, J-Jag. I’m th-the dum-dumbest person ev-ever.”
I pull her back against me. “No, you’re not. That title goes to me.” I kiss the top of her head. “I’ve finally figured it all out. Finally get what you’ve been trying to tell me. I’m the dumbass here. I’m so sorry, El.”
She cries in my arms for a minute more, then stops for a second and says, “Wh-what?” She pulls back and looks up at me. “What did you say?”
I shake my head as I say to her, “I thought I understood what you needed from me. Now I get it. I really get it.” She looks at me a little skeptically, which I can’t blame her for doing. We’ve been down this road before. I hold her face in my hands so I can look her in the eyes, wiping her tears away with my thumbs and admit what a fool I’ve been. “I’m an idiot. I wasn’t there for you. I should’ve been the one protecting you, not the one adding to all of it. God, everything with Alessandra and Dirk? How can you ever forgive me? I failed you.”
She lets out a sob and it’s heartbreaking. Jesus. All I’ve put her through. I don’t know how she’s even letting me breathe the same damned air she does.
I continue. “When the commercials started, when I found out what they really were, how much the first one hurt you, I should’ve ended it there. But I was so into my fucking self. Into my career. Thought I had to do the stupid things to prove something, show you they were nothing. I could do them and we’d be okay.”
The look of hurt on her face kills.
I keep going. “Then there was Dirk. God, El, why I couldn’t see it, the shit he was doing, baffles me. When he said you couldn’t go to that fucking party, set things up to look like Alessandra and I were together, I should’ve walked away, but I bought into all the bullshit, and there’s nothing I can say now to make it better. I’ve ruined everything. I’m so sorry, baby.”
I lean down and press my lips to her forehead, holding them there. We stay that way for several seconds before she pulls back, looking up at me. “I think things would’ve been okay had we not allowed a flaming bitch or a psychotic asshole into the picture.”
I chuckle. “Yeah.”
She rests her head against my shoulder again as we hold each other and I hear her say quietly, “I forgive you, Jag.”
I take a deep breath and let it out then rest my cheek on the top of her head, letting what she said wash over me. I’ve wronged her so much, yet she’s forgiving me.
God, I love her.
Chapter 17
El
I’m a huge mix of emotions as I hold onto Jag. Jeez. How many ways could tonight go wrong?
Well, let’s see. First of all, I was going to sleep with a psycho. Second, Jag got arrested. And third, I wasted this absolutely cute dress and my new shoes on a freakin’ weirdo. Nice, Ellen.
But the best part of the night is now. Jag says he finally understands what I’ve been trying to get him to see forever. This last year and a half has been ridiculous, what with me moving to LA then moving back after we broke up, then making up only to break up again, and now it’s taken Jag seeing me with someone else to wake him the heck up. If he’s really seen the light, all I can say is halle-frickin-lujah!
And of course I forgive him. How could I not? I love him.
But I’m kind of screwed up now, minus the “kind of.” That’s to say I’m totally screwed up, if you didn’t quite catch that. Yep. I’m a jumbled mess of emotions and suddenly I’m tired and just exasperated with everything.
Jag pulls back and looks at me. “You okay?”
Hm. Where to begin. I huff out a laugh. “Am I okay? Well…” His eyes crinkle in the corners and sparkle down at me as he muffles a snicker, his lips tipping up a little. I take a breath and let it out then begin. “Let’s see. I believed a deranged dimwit of an underwear model instead of you, I let my insecurities break us up, I almost slept with a psychopath.” I stop here because his eyes turn navy, which I know means he’s either turned on or angry. And I’m gonna go with angry right about now. The air in the room gets heavy and I know I said the wrong thing. “Uh…”
“Hate to say anything, but, Jesu
s. I can’t believe you were gonna fuck him tonight.” He closes his eyes to get a grip, I suppose, and I see the sides of his jaws popping as he clenches his teeth trying not to yell at me. When he opens his eyes, he pins me with them again and I see they’ve gotten even darker. Hoo boy. He’s really pissed. “It’s just you and me from here on out. Don’t need you thinking so hard and going off on a tangent. Got it?”
I wrinkle my brow because I’m not quite following. “What?” I whisper in confusion.
He moves his hands to hold me by my upper arms and says, “No one else gets to have you, El. No one,” he says the last part emphatically. “And when you start thinking about things too hard, that’s when you start believing they’re true and you stop seeing what’s right in front of you. Tangent.”
Well, that’s not very nice. I frown at him and say, “It’s not like I wanted to believe you were cheating on me, Jag. And it’s not like I knew Austin was a bad guy. Jeez. Not like I one day up and decided, ‘Hey, I think I’ll take a walk on the wacko side and believe these lunatics!’” My voice gets louder as I go along. “And you can’t tell me what to do!”
“Not sayin’ you chose to believe them, baby, but I can see the wheels turning in your head sometimes, and I know I’m getting ready to catch shit because you start convincing yourself that what they’re saying is true.” He now smiles down at me and I don’t know why this is making me so mad. Maybe because he’s right?
I pull my arms from his hands as I step away. “You cannot see the wheels in my head!”
“Cogs?” he asks with a grin.
“Jag!” I snap and cross my arms over my chest. “This isn’t funny!”
He steps toward me still grinning. “It is.”
I frown up at him because, damn it, I’m an intelligent woman. Even though I know he’s right about what he’s said, I’m more mad at myself for believing other people over him. “It’s not,” I murmur as I look at the floor.
“Babe,” he says putting his hands on my upper arms again.
I look up at him still frowning and sigh. “You’re right. But I don’t do it on purpose!”
“I know you don’t. Look, I’m not saying any of this is your fault. I’m the idiot who let it all happen. It’s all on me, okay? Just asking you to come to me first before drawing conclusions. Yeah?”
Finally Us (True Love) Page 11