Love You Now (Book Two: Love Hurts Duet)

by M. Robinson

  Harley’s sense of fashion didn’t get better, it got worse. Making me chuckle at the thought. There was no telling our daughter that, though. She absolutely adored the fact that her momma designed and made all her clothes. She’d sit in her workshop I had built for her right outside our house, behind our Olympic size pool. Closest to the water on our oceanfront property.

  In Bailey’s eyes, her mother was the world’s best fashion designer. The two of them were connected at the hip. Constantly, unintentionally kneeing me in the balls, causing her to fall into a fit of giggles every time she did.

  Harley and Bailey were my entire world, and I spent the last three and a half years trying to prove that to them. My daughter knew it, my wife, on the other hand, refused to acknowledge it. No matter what I did, how hard I tried, there was no getting through her thick Jameson skull.

  Harley hadn’t just built a wall when it came to me, to us. She built a whole fuckin’ fortress. Never once allowing me behind enemy lines she’d installed.

  The good.

  The bad.

  The ugly.

  I took it all.

  ’Cuz at the end of the day, Harley and Bailey were mine to have and to hold.

  Although her dress was hideous, it didn’t stop me from admiring the beauty that was Mrs. Pierce. She was so goddamn breathtaking. A vision I couldn’t take my eyes off of. The Gremlin turned into the most gorgeous woman I’d ever laid eyes on.

  Overnight she grew into her own skin, which still smelled like everything I ever wanted. To this day, anytime I came in contact with vanilla or cherry scent, I couldn’t help but get hard.

  Fuckin’ Harley.

  There was something about the way she just stood there, looking out at the ocean with her long brown hair blowing in the light breeze that took the air out of my lungs and made my heart skip a beat. The sight of her only made me want her even more, if that were even possible.

  I prayed.

  Hungered.

  Needed her as if she was my last breath.

  She was a dream I never wanted to wake up from. A fantasy I wished was my reality. A woman I fucked my fist to almost every night.

  Despite what she thought, or what I allowed her to think, I hadn’t been with anyone since her. The panties she’d find in my luggage weren’t from groupies I was fuckin’. They were my teammates lays, not mine.

  Was it stupid to make her think I was fuckin’ around? Probably.

  But it was the only way I could get her attention. The only way I knew she still cared. I’d be lying through my teeth if I said her fury didn’t give me the satisfaction she wouldn’t permit her body to surrender to me.

  I couldn’t have her pussy, so I took her anger instead.

  Seeing her pissed and riled up over me being with other women came close to the feeling of having her come down my cock.

  I never said I wasn’t an asshole.

  It was who I was, it was in my blood...

  My core.

  My very being.

  I shook off the thoughts, and my feet moved on their own accord. Walking toward her, closing the emotional and physical distance between us. It took everything in me not to hold her in my arms again. Unable to control the internal battle that surfaced in the forefront of my mind. Hurricane force winds with tornado warnings.

  From my mind to my heart, to every goddamn bone in my body.

  She owned me.

  I was hers.

  The only time she let me hold her was when we were around our families.

  Did I take advantage of the situation? You bet your fuckin’ ass I did.

  When I was a few feet away from her, she peered down to the sand. Feeling my looming presence towering behind her.

  Her breath hitched, but she didn’t turn around.

  She didn’t move.

  It was like she was barely even breathing.

  “I didn’t think you’d follow me out here.”

  “Harley, I’d follow you into the pits of Hell if I had to.”

  Taking a deep, solid breath, she asked, “How do we always end up under this goddamn pier? And somehow we always keep comin’ back for more?”

  I cleared my throat, feeling her question deep into my stomach. She may have been physically standing right in front of me, but her mind, her soul was back to the last time we stood in this very spot.

  Exactly how we were now.

  “So much has happened since then. I wish you would realize that.”

  “It’s not that easy ... so much happened under this pier.”

  “Gremlin, things are only hard ’cuz you’re making them that way.”

  She rapidly spun around, facing me. “Me?” She scowled, holding her hand over her chest. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to pretend we’re one big happy family in front of our loved ones?”

  I shrugged, placing my hands in the pockets of my slacks. “I guess I stopped pretending a long time ago.”

  “You don’t love me, Jackson.”

  “You know what I don’t love, Harley? When you put your own narrative on how I feel about you.”

  “I’m a trophy to you. It’s all I’ve ever been.”

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it.”

  “I don’t know anythin’ anymore. All I do know is when you maul me in front of everyone, it only reminds me of all the times you did it when we were kids. You think I belong to you, not ’cuz you love me. It’s ’cuz you think you own me.”

  “You’re my wife. I do own you.”

  “Ugh! I’m your fake wife!”

  I got right in her face. “Keep your voice down. Gremlin...” I warned in the tone that both pissed her off and turned her on.

  “Just give me what I want.”

  “If I did that then I’d be on my knees right now with your pussy in my mouth, making you scream my fuckin’ name. Except, I wouldn’t fuck you under the pier, I’d do it right on top for everyone to see what I’ve always known. You. Belong. To. Me.”

  “How romantic.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “We haven’t had sex in years, and the first place you want to take me is out in public?”

  “Maybe you think we haven’t had sex in years, but I fuck my fist to you every night in my mind.”

  She jerked back, never expecting me to admit that.

  “I’m not leaving you. We are in this together. It’s our job to show Bailey the kind of love she deserves, just like our parents did with us.”

  “Now that’s bullshit. You have this vision in your head of what we are, and it’s not reality. When will you see that?”

  “Oh, trust me, sweetheart, I know where you stand. You make that perfectly fuckin’ clear at every turn, but I also know what we have between us. What we’ve had since we were kids. The only person standing in our is you.”

  “That’s not true.”

  I stepped back away from her and spoke with conviction, “You keep talking about the ghosts of our pasts, but it’s you who needs to bury them.”

  With that, I turned and left, leaving my bleeding heart in her hands. Even though, she was the one gripping the life out of it.

  Out of me.

  Chapter 11

  <>Harley<>

  Then: Seventeen-years-old

  My father roared, “Mia, she ain’t goin’!” Blockin’ the front door all Creed Jameson-like.

  “But, Daddy!” I stomped my foot with Teddy layin’ right beside me. “Momma already said I could go!”

  “Mia! Where the hell are you?!”

  “That’s right, Pops, you show ’em who’s boss,” Luke chimed in, standin’ next to him with his arms crossed over his chest. Mirrorin’ my father’s stance and demeanor to a T.

  “Shut up, baby brother! Ain’t no one talkin’ to you!”

  Teddy barked, up on all fours, agreein’ with me. I swear he was the world’s largest Wheaten Terrier. Weighin’ in at a whoppin’ seventy pounds when his breed was only supposed to be the max, forty-five pounds.

  Not to ment
ion, he hated men. In fact, he couldn’t stand them, much to my daddy’s approval. Except of course for Jackson, Teddy loved him. Since the first time he ever laid eyes on him, he decided they were best friends.

  It was actually really annoyin’.

  “Don’t matter, big sis,” Luke broke out, pullin’ me away from my thoughts. “You ain’t goin’.”

  I glared at him. “Momma! Can you please come talk some sense into your husband and son, before I beat Luke’s face in!”

  “Oh my goodness, what is all the commotion about?”

  Snappin’ around, I faced her. “Daddy won’t let me leave, and Shiloh is already on her way to come get me.”

  Her gaze shifted over to her husband. “Creed ... we talked about this.”

  “Pippin, we didn’t talk ’bout shit, ’cuz there was nothin’ to talk about. I told you both no.”

  “Daddy! That ain’t fair! All my friends are goin’ up to the Smoky Mountains for spring break! We already got our cabin! Besides, I’ll have Teddy with me. You know he won’t let anyone near me. Especially guys.”

  Teddy barked again. I swear my dog was a genius.

  “Except for the one he should be keepin’ away from you,” Luke mumbled under his breath.

  “This is so unfair! I’ll be eighteen in less than half a year!”

  “I don’t give a shit if you were turnin’ forty in less than half a year. You ain’t goin’.”

  “Daddy, what have I ever done for you not to trust me?”

  “Baby girl, I trust you. It’s those cocksuckers you call friends I don’t trust.”

  “Cash ain’t even goin’. He’s got a gig.”

  “Cash is the least of my worries, Harley.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Creed...” Momma intervened in her tone that meant business. “Harley gets almost straight A’s, she’s in all honor classes, she’s a good girl. I trust her to make the right decisions for a few days on her own.”

  I nodded, so they could understand how true that was.

  “And she’s right, she’s almost eighteen. She’ll be a high school senior in the fall. She might be going away for college—”

  “The fuck she is. She can go to the university up the road.”

  “Oh my God.” I frowned. “Are you expectin’ me to live at home too?”

  When the expression on his face didn’t change in the least, I knew my answer.

  “Daddy ... what are you gonna do when I get married? Huh? Are we gonna live here under your roof?”

  “Baby girl, the day you brin’ a little shit home is the day I try out my new rifle.”

  “Creed Jameson!” Momma reprimanded. “You are acting exactly like my daddy did when I was her age. And you remember what happened then, right?”

  “Mia, don’t try me. I remember clear as day what happened at that time. Which is why she ain’t goin’.”

  “This is absolutely ridiculous! I’ve been lookin’ forward to this trip all year. Why are you tryin’ to ruin my life?”

  “’Cuz you look exactly like your momma, and I know what I was thinkin’ when I looked at her at your age.”

  She beamed, blushin’.

  “Momma ... come on, stay on my side. Don’t let him trick you with his flirtin’.”

  “Harley, let me handle your father.”

  “What exactly do you think you’re handlin’, Pippin? ’Cuz last time I checked I was the man in this house, not you.”

  Luke grinned, and I resisted the urge to kick him in the nuts. As much as they bumped heads, he admired the hell out of the barbarian who was our father.

  My mother didn’t pay him any mind, fully aware of the man she married. Instead, she coaxed, “Creed, a word. Outside. Now.” Turnin’ her back to us, she spun on her heels and made her way toward the door, knowin’ he’d follow like a little lost puppy.

  Daddy pushed off the door, noddin’ to Luke to stand guard while he was gone. Makin’ me roll my eyes at both of them.

  Men.

  “You might as well go unpack, ’cuz your ass ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

  “Why is it that I’m always on your side and you’re never on mine?”

  “’Cuz you’re a girl, and we gotta protect you from those motherfuckers out there.”

  “Ugh! That was the most sexist response I’ve ever heard, Luke Jameson! I can take care of myself, better than any boy ever could.” Referrin’ to him.

  “I don’t see any boys standin’ here, Harley.”

  I rolled my eyes again.

  “Is Jackson goin’?”

  “What does he have to do with anythin’?”

  “Everythin’.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  “It makes every bit of sense, which is why we ain’t lettin’ you go.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me,” he snidely remarked, lacin’ his thumbs through the loops of his jeans all cocky-like. “We’ve seen how close you two have become lately.”

  “By close, you mean prankin’ each other? ’Cuz that’s always been our dynamic since the beginnin’ of time.”

  We hated each other ... or did we?

  After that night on the bed of Trigger’s truck, a lot changed between us, but a lot stayed the same too. We went back to prankin’ one another like always, just in a less cruel way. More considerate of each other, if that made any sense.

  At least it did in my head.

  On one hand, Jackson was still very much a bully. On the other, he could be the sweetest boy when no one was lookin’.

  Includin’ me.

  The sunflowers he left in my room every Sunday mornin’ never stopped. He’d still write me letters as well, leavin’ them in my locker for me to find. Sometimes he’d be an asshole and say how awful my outfit was that day. Other times, he’d tell me how good I smelled when he walked past me in the lunch room.

  It varied daily. He kept me on my toes, guessin’ which side of Jackson I’d get on any given day.

  Either way, I found myself lookin’ forward to whatever he had to express. In true Jackson Pierce form, he still pissed me off every chance he got.

  Except, in different ways.

  He was different.

  I was different.

  We had changed.

  I never saw him with Willow after the night on the bed of Trigger’s truck. It was a drastic change, on top of not hearin’ any rumors about him with any other girls at school either. It was like overnight, he stopped lookin’ at anyone other than me.

  We’d study together sometimes, go to the movies, get some lunch. I don’t know, our relationship just grew up.

  We evolved.

  I guess we became ... friends, kinda.

  It was all very confusin’ and had my head constantly spinnin’ with a tornado of thoughts and emotions. He never tried to kiss me, never even tried to hold my hand. Yet still, we were closer than we ever were before. There was this new understandin’ between us.

  Like we could have secrets, but not lies.

  I desperately tried not to think about the fact he was leavin’ Oak Island in a few short weeks. As soon as he graduated, he was movin’ to Tennessee to start football camp with Trigger, along with a couple other players from our school. They would all be attendin’ the university come fall.

  Shiloh was tryin’ to act unbothered by their pendin’ absence as well. After all these years, all this time, Trigger finally won her over. They started datin’ earlier this year. I had no clue how he was able to pull it off, but when she was runnin’ for Junior Class President of our school, he was able to get everyone to vote for her in a conventional way. She won the election by a landslide ’cuz of him.

  When her name blared through the speakers of our school’s intercom system, she didn’t think twice about it. I watched her walk the ten steps over to Trigger, as did everyone else, throwin’ her arms around his neck. Planting a big fat kiss on his lips.

  Her first kiss was in front of our entire s
chool. With none other than the boy who knew she was way out of his league.

  Been datin’ ever since.

  “Harley, are you even listenin’ to me?” Luke interrupted my memories.

  “Yeah, I’m listenin’.”

  “Then why are you still standin’ here?”

  “What do you mean?”

  He nodded behind me.

  It was only then I realized what was happenin’ outside our house. Through the front window, I saw Jackson with his back to me, with my father standin’ in front of him.

  Holdin’ his gun.

  Oh shit!

  <>Jackson<>

  Then: Eighteen years old

  “Boy, do you understand what I’m sayin’?”

  I nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “If somethin’ happens to my baby girl. If you so much as lay one goddamn finger on her pretty little head, I will shove this Glock so far down your throat—”

  “Daddy!” Harley shouted, saving my ass.

  “Creed! Are you serious right now?!” Her mom yelled, rushing back outside with Harley behind her. “Oh my God! I leave you alone for one minute! One minute and you pull this stunt! What is wrong with you?!” She grabbed my arm. “Jackson, baby, I’m so sorry! He doesn’t mean anything—”

  “The fuck I don’t.”

  My eyes widened, swallowing hard.

  “Creed! Enough! You leave this poor boy alone!”

  “Pippin, I’m talkin’ to him man-to-man. Mind your business.”

  To say the last year and a half of my life didn’t fly by would be an understatement. It was as if one morning I woke up and realized I was graduating from high school in a few weeks.

  And now, with her old man standing in front of me holding his gun, I didn’t know if I’d even make it that far.

  “Oh my God, Daddy! Have you lost your mind!” Harley seethed, standing in between us. “Put your gun away. This ain’t the wild west.” Turning around to face me, she asked, “Are you okay? I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m fine.” With the sincerest expression I could muster, I looked into her daddy’s eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to her, sir. You can trust me with her any place, any time ’cuz Harley’s mine.”

  Gremlin jerked back while her mom smiled from ear to ear.