Love You Now (Book Two: Love Hurts Duet)

by M. Robinson

  “Kettle meet pot.” She signaled with her hands. “Now that’s a double standard if I’ve ever heard one. You can fuck anythin’ that walks, and I can’t?”

  “Say the word, Harley, and I’ll fuck the bitch right out of you. Is it that time of the month, honey? ’Cuz we both know I don’t mind using the backdoor.”

  I gasped with wide eyes. My blood suddenly boilin’ to the point of searin’ pain.

  “I. Hate. You.”

  “You should remember that the next time you run my credit card.”

  “I don’t need your money.”

  “Really? ’Cuz you sure as shit don’t mind spending it.”

  “I’m hopin’ it will finally get you to sign the papers.”

  “I’m not signing shit. Bailey is mine, and we’re staying a family for her.”

  “I would never keep Bailey from you.”

  “Don’t try me, Gremlin. You more than anyone knows how big of an asshole I can be. You said it yourself—I’m Jackson Pierce, I can do no wrong. I’m sure the courts will see it that way too.”

  My heart dropped to the ground. “Are you threatenin’ to take Bailey away from me if I divorce you?”

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep us a family. You want me, baby? Then say it, and I’ll never let another groupie ride my dick again.”

  “Ugh! The fact that you think that was even remotely romantic to say to me just reminds me how much I fuckin’ hate you.”

  “Says the woman who announced to our loved ones we were getting married.”

  “I didn’t think we would actually get married, jackass. You do remember our weddin’, right? Seein’ as you planned it behind my back with the women in our families. Bullshittin’ them to think you were fiancé of the year. Sayin’ you didn’t want me stressin’, plannin’ a weddin’ when I was pregnant.”

  He cunningly smiled, still fuckin’ proud of that.

  “You showed up, didn’t you?”

  “What choice did you give me? I didn’t even know where I was goin’ when Aunt Skyler picked me up! I walked into a church filled with our family and friends, Jackson! God’s gonna punish us ’cuz we lied in our vows!”

  “Shhh ... keep your voice down. Bailey is gonna hear you. And God is the least of my concerns right now. Besides, I wasn’t lying in my vows.”

  “Yet, you were the first one to break them.”

  He scoffed out a chuckle. “I can’t break what was never there. It’s not like I still don’t try with you, Gremlin. I’m constantly chasing you around this house, but you keep running faster and faster away from me.”

  “I can’t forgive you for what you did.”

  “Jesus Christ, we’re back to that?”

  “It’s so easy for you. Everythin’ is so easy for you.”

  “Right? ’Cuz dealing with your bullshit is so fuckin’ pleasant. You think you’re the only person who has to bite their tongue around here? I’ve put up with a lot of shit, Harley, and it’s all been for you and our baby girl. She will grow up in a happy, loving home, with both parents.”

  “You don’t want this. I know you’re as tired of it as I am.”

  “You’re right, I am. I’m tired of this.” He gestured in between us. “The bullshit. I’m barely home ’cuz of my football schedule, providing for my family. For you. When I am here, you’re at my fuckin’ throat. Thank God Bailey is still little enough not to realize her mother hates me. We’re not together around our families enough for them to know something isn’t right. You wanna keep living like this? It’s on you. But don’t for one fuckin’ second say I don’t want this. ’Cuz this.” He gestured in between us again.

  “Is all I’ve ever wanted.”

  Chapter 5

  <>Harley<>

  Then: Fifteen-years-old

  I walked through the double doors of our high school early Monday mornin’. Silently prayin’ I wouldn’t see Jackson and his lyin’ Rudolph face. Knowin’ his ass was almost tardy every mornin’. His only savin’ grace was he was quarterback and had all the staff eatin’ out of the palm of his hand.

  So fuckin’ annoyin’.

  “There’s the little cockblocker now,” I heard Willow mutter to her squad of brainless cheerleaders, loud enough for me to hear.

  Bite your tongue, Harley. Just bite your tongue.

  “She just stood there and watched us fucking. She’s so obsessed with him. Can you say stalk much?”

  Their girly ass laughs echoed through the hall.

  “I’m going to tell Jackson to get a restraining order or something against her. The girl obviously needs help. I mean, look at how she dresses. Gawd, she’s such a mess.”

  Sticks and stones ... sticks and stones...

  “Who cares about her, Willow.” The blonde smacked her gum. “Obviously, Jackson doesn’t, and you shouldn’t either.”

  It took everything inside me to walk away, but I did. Knowin’ it would just get back to him, and the last thing I wanted was for Jackson to think I cared about him and his dumbass twat girlfriend.

  I went straight to my locker, grabbin’ my books for first period, about to haul ass to class.

  When I felt someone come up behind me, I turned, boomin’, “Jackson—”

  “You would think it was Jackson,” Willow spewed with her arms crossed over her chest, pushin’ her boobs up to her neck. Her hip cocked, ready to go to battle.

  With me.

  “Willow,” I coaxed in a soft tone. “I’m a Jameson. I advise you to get the hell out of my face, before I make you.”

  She smiled, archin’ an eyebrow. “Did you actually think Jackson was saving himself for you? Oh God, Harley...” She cackled. “He can’t stand you.”

  “The feelin’ is very much mutual, Malibu Barbie. You probably wouldn’t have realized that, though, considerin’ you’re still standin’ in my face. I guess you are as dumb as you look.”

  She eyed me up and down, stoppin’ her bitchy glare right at my chest. “I can see why Jackson makes fun of you all the time. We laugh our asses off at your no sense of style and your uh...” Her eyes snapped to mine, gesturin’ toward my chest. “Little girl body.”

  “Funny, he hasn’t mentioned you at all,” I played it off like what she just said didn’t hurt me. When in fact, it did.

  A lot.

  He made fun of me with her?

  “Well.” I shrugged. “I’m not insecure enough to get fake ones. Daddy’s graduation present, right?”

  “You stupid bitch, these are mine.”

  “I guess you could say that, especially since you did pay for them.”

  “Gremlin,” she mocked. “Stay away from my guy. Or next time you see me, I won’t be so nice.”

  “Nice isn’t exactly what I would label this particular conversation, but whatever. Besides, I’m not the one you should be sayin’ this to. Jackson just used you to get his dick wet but ran after me. Remember?”

  She narrowed her gaze at me, steppin’ back. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “That was a warnin’? I thought you were bein’ nice?” I smirked, cockin’ my head to the side.

  She shook her head, scoffin’ out, “At the end of the day, I have something you never will.”

  “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

  “Jackson.”

  I swallowed hard, feelin’ her words cut deep within my skin as I watched her leave. Pretendin’ like what she just said wasn’t the truth, I turned back around about to shut my locker.

  Except, I came face to face with the asshole himself.

  “Think you can blow me off like that, Gremlin?”

  His sharp tone makin’ me jump outta my skin. For the first time, his name for me hurt in ways it never had before.

  I didn’t say a word, not one word. I had nothin’ left to say to him.

  Nothin’.

  Instead, I quickly snapped out of this magnetic pull he had on me. With a hard slam of my locker door, I walked away from him without so much as a second glan
ce in his direction.

  You see, over the years what my memaw once said to me proved to be true. Jackson hated bein’ ignored. I could stand there and yell at him until I was blue in the face, and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference. It’d go in one ear and come out the other.

  He had to have control...

  With himself.

  In life.

  And especially, over me.

  “Gremlin,” he strained in my ear, walkin’ close beside me. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing? Come on, give me some fuckin’ credit ... I invented this game.”

  I didn’t pay him any mind, didn’t even bat my lashes at his pretty boy face. To me, he didn’t exist. He burned that bridge this weekend when he lied to me before fuckin’ Willow under the pier. Probably for the hundredth time.

  If he thought things were going to stay the same between us, he was in for a rude awakenin’. Not that it would stop him.

  Nothin’ ever did.

  I walked faster, and he grabbed my arm. “For fuck sake, can you just let me explain?”

  “Miss Dawson!” I shouted across the hall. “I need to ask you about our paper that’s due this week!”

  “This ain’t over,” he cautioned, lettin’ go of my arm like I knew he would.

  For the rest of the mornin’, I avoided him like he was the plague. But even that didn’t stop what I had to go through because of him.

  “Oh my God! I can’t believe he scored with the hottest girl in our school!”

  “Jackson and Willow are the hottest couple ever!”

  “He fucked her in public. Probably wanting to stake his claim!”

  “I bet he’s going to ask her to be his girlfriend.”

  “I heard they fucked for hours!”

  It was everywhere...

  Jackson this, Jackson that.

  If I heard about him fuckin’ Willow one more time, I was gonna scream my head off.

  Every corner of our school was filled with his bullshit.

  When it came to Jackson, I was used to hearin’ rumors about him, them, every girl that ever laid eyes on him. It never bothered me before, but knowin’ these rumors were true now hurt my heart in ways I hadn’t expected.

  He lied to me, he fuckin’ lied to me.

  Why?

  It made no sense, he owed me nothin’.

  I never had a problem with Willow until today. She never even looked in my direction.

  Did she honestly think I wanted to catch them screwin’?

  “You alright?” Cash questioned, turnin’ my attention back to him while we ate lunch in the courtyard.

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I replied, actin’ nonchalant about the situation when I was anythin’ but that.

  It consumed me.

  They consumed me.

  Or was it Jackson?

  Shiloh chimed in, sittin’ down on the grass with us, “Can someone please just announce on the intercom how Jackson slept with Willow already. I’m so tired of hearing it from everyone’s mouths today. I swear if another person tells me this, I’m going to announce it myself. Why is it such a big deal anyway? She’s not even that pretty.”

  “You don’t think she’s pretty?” I blurted without thinkin’.

  She shrugged. “I mean she’s okay if you’re into that sort of look.”

  “And what look is that?”

  “Slutty.”

  I laughed, eyein’ Cash who was starin’ at me as if he could see right through me.

  “Since when do you care if Willow’s pretty?” he asked, genuinely intrigued.

  “I saw her naked, and perfect seems to be the only word that comes to mind.”

  “So you were there? You did see them?” he pried, catchin’ me off guard.

  “Umm ... yeah. I mean, kind of. I guess.”

  “Eww.” Shiloh jerked back. “It is true? I thought people were making that up. Why were you there? And why am I hearing this news from everyone else and not you?”

  “There’s nothin’ to tell.”

  “You caught Jackson doing the deed with Queen Bee and you think there’s nothing to tell?”

  “Shiloh—”

  “Do you not trust me?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Then why didn’t you tell me?”

  I had to think quick on my feet. “It was an accident. I walked down to the beach to get some air, and I found them.”

  “Harley, the pier was far away from the hotel,” Cash spoke, only lookin’ at me. “You walked that much on accident?”

  “What’s with the fifty questions? Why are you guys actin’ all butt hurt?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because we never keep secrets from each other,” Shiloh affirmed, makin’ me feel like shit.

  “It wasn’t a secret. There was nothin’ to tell.”

  “So he didn’t chase after you?” she added.

  I bit my lower lip.

  “Harley!” she exclaimed, with offense written all over her face.

  “Shiloh, it’s not that big of a deal.”

  “How do you figure? Jackson leaves the girl he’s banging to chase after you. You don’t think that’s big enough of a deal to tell your best friends? What did he say to you?”

  “Nothin’. I mean, not anythin’ that mattered. Why are you guys lookin’ at me like that?”

  Golden boy chose that moment to involve himself, diggin’ me into the hole a little deeper. Jackson intervened, “Gremlin, why you lying to your best friends?”

  I glared at him, threatenin’ the asshole with my intense, beady eyes.

  Keep your mouth shut if you know what’s good for you.

  “I think the more important question is, why did you leave your girlfriend—”

  Jackson cut off Cash, “She’s not my girlfriend.”

  She’s not?

  “It’s none of your fuckin’ business, McGraw.”

  “You’re the king of the school, everything you do is everyone’s business. Just take a look around,” Shiloh stated.

  He did.

  Instantly noticin’ all eyes were on him, waitin’ to see what happened next.

  No longer wantin’ to play this game I unexpectedly found myself in, I opened the front pocket of my backpack, pullin’ out my Jackson Blockers while standin’. I couldn’t remember the last time I put these on, and by the expression on Jackson’s face, he didn’t either.

  Steppin’ toward me, he whispered in my ear, “How long you gonna keep this going? You know you miss me, Harley.”

  With a stone-cold look, I moved around him. Leavin’ three stunned faces in my wake as I walked through the crowd of stares with my head held high. Although, quickly dreadin’ my last class of the day.

  Literature.

  With him.

  Between Jackson and my best friends now bein’ upset with me, it was like God was turnin’ tricks on me. It was one thing after another, and the day was far from over.

  Why didn’t I tell Shiloh and Cash? I told them everythin’. Always.

  To make matters worse, you’d think the dickwad would have caught a clue. Oh, but not Jackson Pierce.

  One note.

  Three notes.

  Six notes later...

  I knocked them all to the floor with my elbow without readin’ them, feelin’ his fury each and every time I did. He didn’t bother foldin’ the last note he tossed on my desk from behind me. Fully aware this was the only way I’d read his chicken scratch.

  I’ll get my way, Gremlin. Even if I have to hold you down to the ground to get you to listen. We both know how much you love it when I’m on top of you.

  “Ugh!”

  I turned to face him, holdin’ the note in my hand, unable to hold back any longer. I let him feel my wrath without so much as sayin’ a word.

  He was leanin’ back in his chair with his arms folded over his chest, sportin’ a smug ass grin on his face. An expression that made me want to knock his teeth out.

  “What, baby girl? Wha
t do you gotta say?” he arrogantly countered, baitin’ me.

  I didn’t hesitate, rippin’ the note into a dozen tiny pieces, sprinkin’ the scraps of paper on his desk before throwin’ the last few in his face.

  “Harley...” he rasped in an annoyed tone that had my core lock up.

  Suddenly, the bell rang and I jumped out of my seat. Hurryin’ out of class. Hopin’ like hell he wouldn’t catch up to me because if he did, he’d get a swift knee in the balls.

  Rushin’ out of school, I darted toward the bike racks and hopped on my pink beach cruiser. Pedalin’ as quickly as I could out of the parkin’ lot. I was finally able to breathe out a heavy sigh of relief when the buildin’ was out of sight.

  My moment of peace didn’t last long, though. Seconds later, I overheard his loud as shit Chevy diesel truck pullin’ up beside me.

  He ordered, “Get in!”

  Chapter 6

  <>Harley<>

  The nerve of this dumbass.

  His antics were neverendin’.

  Not payin’ him any mind, I turned the music up higher through my headphones. Pedalin’ faster. Wishin’ I had a superpower to get away from him quicker. Never did I want him out of my sight, more than I did in that moment.

  “Gremlin! Quit being a pain in my fuckin’ ass, and get in the truck!”

  I didn’t think twice about it, cuttin’ the corner into Old Milly’s backyard with her dogs goin’ ape shit on me.

  “Harley! You gotta be shittin’ me! You’re gonna get yourself bit being a fuckin’ brat!”

  I’d rather get bit than hear anythin’ you gotta say.

  The shithead caught up to me in the back alley as I shot out onto the main road, causin’ a car to swerve to avoid hittin’ me.

  Honkin’ his horn at me, the driver yelled, “Watch where you’re going!”

  I pedaled faster with Jackson right on my tail, shoutin’, “You got a death wish, Gremlin?!”

  I growled, pissed he was still keepin’ up with me. Weavin’ right then left, I sped through town traffic. Tryin’ everythin’ in my power to lose the stubborn bastard.

  “Harley Jameson! Don’t you fuckin’ dare!” he seethed, knowin’ exactly what I was about to do when we came upon the train tracks.