For the next two hours, I tried not to stare at the clock. People came and went from the bar, but my excitement remained steady all day. Only twenty more minutes until I could bust free and fling myself back into Matt’s arms.
The phone at the bar rang, and I picked it up. “Hello, JJ’s,” I said, grabbing a pad of paper to jot down what I assumed would be a to-go order.
“Hey, Jo, it’s Hanson.”
“What up, Hanson?”
“Hey, my wife got a flat tire in Sturgeon Bay. Would you mind staying a couple hours late so I can run down and save her?”
“Of course,” I said. Though I was happy to help, it meant a couple more hours away from Matt. But Hanson always had my back, so I didn’t mind a couple more hours of suffering so I could have his.
“You are a lifesaver. Running to her rescue like a knight in shining armor is good for major marriage bonus points.”
Laughing, I nodded though he couldn’t see. “Damn straight, Hanson. Go save your girl.”
“I’ll see you in a couple hours.”
We hung up, and I put the pen back down and picked up my phone, shooting Matt a text.
Me: Going to be a couple hours late. Need to cover for Hanson. Should be done by eight at the latest.
He texted back right away.
Matt: You’re killing me, Smalls. I’m dying over here. I miss you.
Me: I miss you, too. Where should I meet you? Home? Out?
Matt: I’m going to need all the drinks to numb the agony of waiting for you to get off. I’ll go to Stabbur and sit at the bar. Alone. Pouting. Sad. Devastated. Distraught.
Laughing, I shook my head.
Me: Quit being an ass. You’ll be fine.
Matt: Yeah, drinks will help. Maybe. Probably not :(
Me: Ass.
Matt: LOL. Kidding. Text when you’re done. I’ll save you a stool. We can have a drink then go to dinner.
I sent back a kiss emoji and set down my phone. Just two more hours. I could make it.
The door opened, and I heard the irritating sounds of high-pitched girly squeals flooding into the bar.
“Isn’t it the cutest?” a shrill voice asked, eliciting oohs and aahs.
“It is! Darling!” another voice said.
“See, I told you girls we had to come here. And the margaritas are the best!” the original voice said.
Wait.
I knew that voice.
The hair on the back of my neck rose as a snake of rage slithered down my spine.
Spinning around, I lowered my head while I searched the group of girls for the owner of that voice I never wanted to hear again. When I saw her step through the group of six over-dressed girls, my eyes narrowed into slits.
Red hair fell off her shoulders in soft waves. Red hair I wanted to grab and pull while I dragged her back outside. Pink lips pulled into a grin when she saw me. Pink lips I wanted to pummel with my fist. Her ivory skin was unmarked by so much as a blemish, and I wondered what it would look like swollen and covered in the bruises I’d like to paint it with.
“Oh. My. God!” she screeched when she saw me. “Jo! What are you doing here?”
“Fucking, Nikki,” I snarled under my breath, clenching my fists. What the hell is she doing here?
“You guys!” she waved in her friends. “This is my friend, Jo! We totally grew up together. I told you it was the smallest world up here. Didn’t I tell you?”
“Hi, Jo!” they mirrored, their sugar-sweet tones almost giving me a toothache.
Ugh. It was like Nikki had cloned herself in some apocalyptic plan to overrun the world with an army of shallow, pretentious, shitty people.
“I just can’t believe you’re working here!” She climbed into a stool, and her minions followed suit, stretching the length of the bar. Just a minute ago I’d have been thrilled for the bodies, but now I would have killed for every stool to be empty. “I didn’t know you left the Blue Ox. I mean, I didn’t go back there this weekend because, well, you know.” She faked an oopsie face and dissolved into giggles. “Figured Jake wouldn’t want to see me.”
“He’s not the only one,” I growled through clenched teeth.
“Oh, Jo! You’re so funny.” Her cackle made me crave the delightful melody of fingernails on a chalkboard.
“What are you doing here, Nikki.” Stiffening my jaw, I leveled her with a glare.
“Oh, you know. Me and the girl squad needed to get out of Chicago for a little getaway. I told them about Door County, and they just had to come. Didn’t you girls?”
Like bobble-head dolls tethered together by a pole, their heads lifted up and down in unison. Paired with their matching blonde hair and overdone makeup, I began to wonder if they were clones and I was seeing double... or triple... or whatever the hell they called six-vision. Though Nikki sported the same designer clothes and exaggerated make-up, she at least rocked a different hair color. And once again the flash of red begged me to grab it and yank her to the floor and drag her right out the door.
“So, we blew out of the city, rented a condo in Sister Bay, and we’re here for the whole week. So good to be home. I missed you guys!”
Nikki had always been selfish, trapped in her own narcissistic world where nothing mattered but her. But this complete and utter lack of understanding of how much we hated her was enough to make me wonder if Matt really had kissed me senseless. I mean, I was seeing in septuplet vision. Maybe I’d hallucinated Nikki into being. I shook my head and looked again. Nope. She still sat on one of my bar stools like a delusional whore with her whore posse, thinking I could actually be friends with the likes of her.
Friends after she’d cheated on Jake. Friends after she’d slept with... Matt.
My Matt.
The visual flashed into my mind and I closed my eyes against it. It was bad enough picturing Matt with Nikki when we he and I were just friends, but now, after having spent all night in bed with him, the visual amplified to unbearable levels.
And with it, so did my rage.
It ripped open the wound I’d just managed to close, and it made the pain that much more excruciating. My hands trembled as anger coursed through me.
Anger at her.
Anger at Matt.
No. I struggled to stop the spiral. Matt had earned his forgiveness. My anger toward him was gone and it needed to stay gone.
It had to. I loved him.
But the anger inside me needed to go somewhere, and a redhead sitting at the bar made a perfect target.
I stomped my foot like the bull staring at the red cape. Salivating. Snorting.
Charging.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I spat.
Nikki sat back, the whites of her eyes flashing for a moment before she rolled them and sighed. “Oh, Jo. You aren’t still pissy with me, are you? That was so last year.”
She turned to her friends. “Jo is best friends with...” she covered her mouth and whispered his name, “Jake. My ex.”
“Oh!” The mirrored, and vacant eyes all turned back to me at once.
Fucking creepy.
“How is Jake? Is he still puttering around Baileys Harbor?” she smiled, and I wondered why I couldn’t see fangs in place of her perfect white smile.
My eyes narrowed into slits, unable to tolerate her haughty expression. “Don’t you dare ask about Jake.”
“Oh, come on. It was an accident. Is he all better? I did feel pretty bad.” She faked a grimace, and I glanced at her hair again. One quick sweep of my hands and I could yank her over this bar and start working on those bruises I kept envisioning.
“Jake is better than ever if you must know. He’s engaged now.”
“Is that so? To who?” she scoffed.
I smiled.
No.
I gloated with my mouth.
Leaning forward on the bar, I tipped my head. “Didn’t you hear? I figured you would have. Have you girls ever heard of Cassandra Davenport?” I asked, knowing this group of wannabe f
ashionistas probably worshiped the ground she walked on. The queen of high society, Cassandra Davenport’s former lifestyle probably remained the stuff of envy for a vapid bunch of automatons like this crew.
“Oh my God, yes!” one of the clones answered, and the rest excitedly shook their heads. “We love her! I saw her at a club in Chicago once!”
Leaning forward a little closer into Nikki’s space, I let my gloating grin grow like ivy up a trellis. “Well, it turns out you cheating on Jake was the best fucking thing that ever happened to him. You see, right after we ran you out of town, Jake met someone. Cassandra Davenport, or Cassie as we call her. And now they’re engaged. Engaged! Isn’t that the best news ever!” I stopped gloating only long enough to clap my hands together a few times.
If she wasn’t wearing so much makeup, I know I would have seen the color drain from her face. Instead all I got were blinking eyes and a slack jaw.
“Shut up!” one of the clones shouted. “Cassandra Davenport lives up here? Oh my God! Can we meet her?”
They squealed in unison, but I didn’t let the assault to my ears break the stare I had with Nikki. Nope. I was enjoying watching the horror dancing in her eyes.
“Yep. She lives here with him.” Her confident facade dissolved completely, and I marched in through the opening. “I’d say he upgraded, wouldn’t you, Nikki?”
“Seriously! Can we get her autograph?” One girl asked, but I ignored her.
“Thank you, Nikki. Thank you so much for being a trashy, self-centered whore. You cheating on Jake was the greatest gift you could have given him. Now he can be happy. Like really fucking happy. And rich! So filthy, fucking rich he could buy a jet if he wanted one. Wait... they already have one. So, thank you.”
My unveiled insult finally shook her from her shock. “I— I’m happy for him.” Lifting her chin, I watched her struggle to regain her composure. “Really I am.” A fake smile lifted her lips, and she shifted in her stool. “And Matt? Do you two still hang out?”
Hearing his name roll off her tongue was like dumping kerosene onto a wildfire. Heat coursed through my veins like lava, and I was sure it funneled out my eyes in the form of laser beams. Clenching my fist, I pressed into her space.
“If you ever so much as breath his name again, I will come over this bar and finish what I should have done last year. Now take your Stepford friends and get your ass the hell out of my bar. And don’t you ever fucking come back.”
Nikki rocked back in her stool, but this time she didn’t try to deflect my anger and play it off as a simple misunderstanding. This time she knew I meant it.
Because I did.
“Come on, girls. Let’s go.” Keeping as far out of my reach as she could, she slid off her stool and hurried out the door.
My hands shook as I struggled to quiet my breathing. While I watched the girls rush down the street, I forced my feet to stay planted and not take off after her like they were begging to do.
“Damn...” Sheena whistled, and I turned to see her standing at the corner of the bar. “Remind me not to get on your bad side!”
The lighthearted remark and the smile on her face calmed me down. “Sorry. I hate that chick.”
“I kinda came to that conclusion when you called her, what was it? Oh yes. A trashy, self-centered whore. Nice.”
Laughter shook my shoulders and helped slough off the tension Nikki’s sudden appearance had created. “Yeah. I really hate that chick.”
“I’m sure she deserves it. But again... I’m staying on your good side.” Sheena sucked the air through her teeth and disappeared around the corner.
While I wiped the bar and tried to let the last of my fury fade away, visions of her wrapped in Matt’s arms kept popping in my mind like a Whack-a-Mole game. Just when I shoved one image out of my head, another popped back in. And with each vision, a little more of my rage returned.
Rage, or was it fear?
Fear he still wanted her. Fear he’d hurt me. Fear he’d abandon me.
Just like my father.
That familiar voice whispered in my ear, goading me, telling me to run, begging me to pull the ripcord and float far away, guaranteeing me a soft landing.
I knew that voice well. It had controlled my relationships for a long time, and Matt was always the other voice on my shoulder reminding me to be brave. Reminding me that not every man was a liar and a cheater like my father.
But Matt is a cheater.
The image of him between Nikki’s legs sent my stomach tumbling, and I braced against it again. He may not have cheated on anyone, but he’d cheated with someone. With Jake’s someone. I felt my grip slipping while I tried to hold on tight to the memories of how happy I was in his arms. How safe he made me feel. How safe he’d always made me feel.
It’s over, Jo. He’s forgiven, I reminded myself over and over again. Each time hoping I would believe it.
He loves you now. Remember that.
One thing I knew for sure, Matt wasn’t my father. When my father had left, it had been Matt who’d been there for me. He’d always been there for me, without fail. And as hard as it was for me to trust, if there was one man on this planet that deserved the honor, it was Matt.
Instead of picturing him with his tongue down Nikki’s throat, I tried to flood my mind with images of his tongue in my mouth instead. And his hands on my body. And the sound of his voice whispering “I love you” into my ear over and over again.
Finally, I started to see past the hurt she’d brought with her, and my excitement to see him tonight grew.
The voice in my head warning me to bail quieted down, and I felt my rage and fear quieting along with it.
I didn’t want to pull the ripcord this time. This time, with Matt, I wanted to free fall. To throw away all my fears and trust he would catch me before I hit the ground. This time I wanted to trust that Matt would be my safe landing.
I took a deep breath and exhaled the rest of my anxiety. In two hours I’d see him again, and I knew the moment I was back in his arms, I’d be okay again. Tonight was about us. Me and Matt. And to hell if Nikki’s appearance was going to put a damper on our first date... a night I’d spent my whole life dreaming about.
Too stubborn to let her win, I forced the last vision of them out of my head. Glancing at the clock, I went back to counting the minutes until I got to see him again.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MATT
“Another?” DJ, the bartender at Stabbur, asked.
I glanced at my cellphone. Jo should be off any minute.
“Sure, and can I get a Malmo Mule for Jo?”
“You got it.” DJ smiled and hurried off.
After a day in the summer heat sweating up a storm while I worked on our cabin, I welcomed the cool breeze blowing off the lake across the street. One of my favorite things about moving to Sister Bay were all the open-air bars and restaurants, and Stabbur Beer Garden was no exception. The outdoor bar across from the Sister Bay beach, and right next to Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant, provided the perfect place to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. Living in Wisconsin meant spending large chunks of the year trapped indoors hiding from the cold weather. So, when summer hit, I spent as much time outside as I could. Stabbur was the perfect place to unwind tonight, enjoying the beautiful weather and good cocktails that helped to ease the ache of missing Jo.
And the nerves about our first date.
I’m going on a date with Jo.
It felt surreal. Too good to be true. I mean, I’d spent all morning testing ways to ensure I really was awake, and this wasn’t a super vivid dream, but I still wasn’t convinced yet. Between hearing Jo say “I love you, too”, and getting a job offer all in one day, I began to wonder if I’d hit my head working on the cabin yesterday and maybe I was stuck in a coma in the hospital in a perpetual dream I may never wake up from.
Not that I’d want to.
If being in a coma meant an imagined and realistic life with Jo at my side, then I’d t
ake a coma any day.
“Here you go,” DJ said, dropping off our two drinks.
This coma even came with drinks.
“Put it on your tab?” he asked.
Damn it. I still had to pay for drinks in my coma. “That would be awesome.”
Another customer flagged him away, and I put Jo’s drink in front of the stool next to mine. The bar was filling up, and I’d promised to save her a seat. If there was one thing I intended to do from this day forward, it was to never let her down. Never give her a single reason to doubt me like I knew she eventually would. I’d give her no ammo to blow apart this relationship and bolt off like she’d done with every other guy in the past.
Fear gripped me when I envisioned her “pulling a Jo” as I used to call it. The minute things got serious, she searched for an out. For any excuse to bail. And for Jo and me, we’d hit serious in less than twelve hours. A record time for my gun-shy girl. Hell, a record time for me. Normally it took her months to inch her way deeper and deeper into a relationship. Months to even refer to a man as a boyfriend. And it was always then when she’d slam on the breaks and bail.
Like clockwork.
While I’d always been there to catch her when she’d whipped open the emergency exit and leapt out, I had always secretly been thrilled she was single again. It was torture seeing her with someone else. But now, this time, I was the man driving the relationship train and my stomach twisted in knots thinking it may be our train she would derail next.
She won’t, I thought, trying to calm the anxiety rising with the thought of losing her.
She won’t because this time it’s us. This time it’s different.
I would give her no excuse. No reason to question my commitment to her. Not one slip-up to shake her trust in me. And that meant even something as small as keeping my promise to save her a stool.
“Is this seat taken?” a woman asked.
“It is. Sorry,” I answered, guarding that stool with my life.
Not one reason.
While I sipped on my old fashioned, I checked my phone again.
Any minute now.
“Hey, dude!” Aaron said, and I turned to see him standing behind me. “I didn’t know you were going out tonight!” He hopped into the stool, and I opened my mouth to protest, but then closed it. It would be easier to save a stool if I had a body sitting in it for the next few minutes.
The Other Room (Door Peninsula Passions Book 2) Page 17