The rest of the night goes by pretty slow, considering how busy it got. They say that before you die your life flashes before your eyes. Well, my relationship must be about to die because I start to think about the last eight months.
*****
I had just graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in business. It was that night, after my graduation, when Jax told me about his new job offer. I could tell something was bothering him, he had been acting strange all night. Not necessarily different, per se, but quiet.
We had just pulled up to my apartment so we could change for a graduation party with some of my classmates. As soon as we walked in, he turned me around and put his hands on my shoulders. I remember looking over his features thinking how handsome he was with his blonde hair, chocolate brown eyes and light complexion.
“Sam...”
I tensed. He never called me Sam unless he had to tell me something I wouldn’t like. I could see he was anxious, nervous.
“I got a job offer today. No, wait. That’s wrong. More like a promotion,” he continued as he pushed a stray piece of hair out of my face.
“That’s fantastic, honey.” I smiled at him brightly, still trying to figure out why his face has a sad look on it when he just told me he got a promotion. When did a promotion become a bad thing?
“You know I love you more than anything, baby.”
My smile falls off my face. My heart begins to race, and panic starts to set in.
“I can’t pass this up. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. They picked me out of four other guys to do this job.” His sad brown eyes bore into mine as he ran his hand over his cropped blonde hair.
“You’re scaring me, Jax.” My voice was shaky, and my palms were sweaty.
He took a couple of breaths while looking into my eyes. “It’s in St. Louis. I have to be there by mid-June.”
“You already accepted the job?” I couldn’t keep the hurt out of my voice. He hadn’t even bothered to talk with me about it first. Of course, I would have told him to take it. I would never hold him back when it comes to his career, but he should have spoken with me about it before agreeing. He had just moved in with me, for Pete’s sake. We were supposed to do things as a team, as a couple.
“Yeah.” He released my shoulders and stood up straight, rubbing a hand over his chin. He looked nervous all of a sudden. “I want you to come with me, Sam. We won’t be there for more than a year. You can get a part time job if you want, or hell, you don’t have to work at all. You can just live off the money from your dad. Plus, you’ve worked so hard these past several years to get your degree. You can just take a year off and just enjoy it. I’ve thought about it all day. Please, baby. Say you’ll go with me. I can’t be without you. I love you so much.” He placed both hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes, waiting for me to answer.
I couldn’t keep the tears from building, burning my eyes. He didn’t want to go without me. “Yes, of course I will go with you.” He pulled me up into a big hug, his lips covering mine. “I love you.” He kissed me, then pulled me toward our bedroom. “I love you, too,” I breathed as we laid down on our bed, thinking it wouldn’t hurt to show up at the club a little late.
*****
I pull myself out of that memory, remembering how much love he once had for me. That was just over two months ago. Now I feel like I’m in an imaginary relationship; always texting and calling an imaginary boyfriend who never responds. He never makes time for me, or even pays attention to me when we happen to be in the same room together. The only time I ever see him is when we’re in bed, but he’s always asleep.
I guess I was wrong when I thought that love could last. I don’t know why I ever thought it would anyway. I come from a broken home, child of divorced parents; I should know these things don’t work out.
I catch sight of Micah walking into Larry’s. He’s tall, just over six feet, with hair so dark that it sometimes looks black. His eyes are dark blue, shockingly blue, against his olive skin, and he has the body of an athlete. Not only is he good looking, but he is a really nice guy which is kind of a rarity these days.
“Hi, Micah.” I finish wiping down a table and turn around to walk behind the bar.
“Hey, Sam.” He waves as he goes behind the bar to hug Holly.
I pull out my phone once again. It’s now 2:15 AM and I have one text message.
Jax: 12:09 AM Be home late. Going to Slade’s house party after the bar.
The infamous Slade Long. Town playboy, and Micah’s brother. He goes through women like I drink water...quickly. A different girl every night. I’ve heard he’s hot, but a real jackass. I once asked a girl why she slept with him if he was such a jackass. She just laughed at me.
Clearly I didn’t understand her reasoning.
Slade’s best friend, Josh, was in here just last week. He seems like a pretty nice guy. I overheard him saying that Slade has been out of town for a few weeks, and Holly has mentioned that Slade goes out and parties all the time, but I’ve never seen him here at Larry’s.
"Hey, Micah. Jax says he's at Slade's place, but I thought I heard he was out of town?" Slade is a hot shot attorney at the young age of twenty nine. Actually, Slade and Micah are both criminal defense attorneys. They work for their dad who owns the biggest law firm in St. Louis.
“He just came in this morning. He has been out of town for a few weeks but came in for Dad’s birthday today. He has to head back to San Francisco tomorrow.” He tries to keep a hold on Holly as she pulls out of his embrace to continue her cleaning.
“Then why aren’t you at his party right now?” I ask, tilting my head to one side. From what I understand, Micah and Slade are close.
Micah looks over at Holly with a smile, then back at me. “His parties get a little too wild for me.”
Well, that’s just great! I mean, really, what was I supposed to think Jax was out doing? Hanging out at a prayer meeting or something? Of course he’s up to no good at some crazy party. Probably hanging all over some chick. For all I know, it’s like a party Hef throws at the Playboy Mansion!
With a sigh, I turn around and go back to cleaning. I start to gather all the empty beer bottles and wipe off a few other tables while Micah helps Holly clean behind the bar. Once I’m finished, I try calling Jax’s phone...again.
Straight to voice mail.
I stand there in the middle of the bar. Has he been ignoring me all this time tonight? What else could it be? Maybe his phone died.
Maybe I’m an idiot.
*****
It’s now just past 4:00 AM and the bar is finally spotless. We’ve been sitting down at a table for a while, catching up, and I’ve tried calling Jax three more times. Still straight to voicemail. I’m starting to get really worried, and yes, really pissed.
“Hey, Micah. I’m starting to worry about Jax. What if he decided to come home, but got in an accident?” He gives me an ‘Are you joking?’ look, but I choose to ignore it. “Will you please call Slade and see if he is still there?” I place my chin in my hands and give him my best puppy eyes. It takes me a second to realize he is rattling off a set of numbers.
“Slade’s phone number.” He smiles before he turns his eyes back to Holly as she fills him in on our night at work.
Great! I don’t want to call some guy I don’t know, looking for my boyfriend. But what if Jax is out there hurt somewhere? What if he got too drunk and passed out in his car? What if he was on his way home and ran off the road? I always seem to think the worst, but anything could have happened to him!
I pick up my phone and ask him to repeat Slade’s phone number. Once he does, I get up from our table, grab my purse from behind the bar, and say my goodbyes.
The entire way home I keep going through different scenarios. I find him home in bed safe and sound; I have to go identify his body because of a horrible accident. I finally turn up the radio to drown out my thoughts.
As I pull up to the house, I let ou
t a puff of air when I see our garage is empty. I pull out my cell and look down at the numbers I put in my phone. I don’t know Slade personally. I know his parents, Vivian and Mark. I’ve been to their house a few times with Micah and Holly. How did Jax even become friends with him?
I lie down on the bed and push send.
CHAPTER TWO
SLADE
I stumble backwards as Jessica, I think, pushes me through my bedroom door. I close my door with my foot as I pull my shirt up and over my head while she unbuttons my jeans, pulling them down my legs. I kick off my shoes and reach up to pull her shirt over her head, revealing a nude satin bra that I can already tell makes her tits look bigger than they actually are. She reaches back and unfastens it, before throwing it into the pile of clothes on the floor.
“These need to come off,” she says playfully as she reaches for my boxers and slides them down my legs.
“As do yours.” I step up to her and start pulling her panties down her legs. I toss them on top of our pile that we have made before I turn back to face her.
“Slade,” she squeals as I push her onto my bed.
I stop to listen as I’m straddling her. Did I just hear a phone ring?
“Slade,” she pants.
“Shh,” I say, trying to listen.
“Why are you shushing me?” she demands as she leans up and grabs my dick. Rational thought leaves my mind, and I lean down and kiss her as I place myself between her legs. “I’m not the quiet type,” she breathes as she pulls her lips from mine.
I faintly hear that noise again. I stop moving and hover over her as I try to listen.
“I want you Sla—”
I place my hand over her mouth. “Shut up,” I whisper, leaning down to her. “I hear something.”
She pushes my hand away. “What are you talking about?” she hisses.
I climb off of her to find the source of the ringing noise. I’m pretty sure it’s my cell, and I would normally let it ring, but it may be my brother, Micah. He was really quiet and seemed worried about something at Dad’s birthday dinner. When I’d asked him if something was wrong, he’d told me he was just tired and wanted to go home and take a nap. He was planning on going up to Larry’s around the time that Holly was getting of work. Maybe he needs to talk about something. Who else would be calling me at this hour?
“Slade!” Jessica barks. “What in the hell are you doing? Just let it ring,” she demands as I fumble through my dark room, trying to find our pile of clothes because my cell phone is in my jean pocket.
“Shut the fuck up for two seconds!” I demand as I find my way to my bedroom door and reach our clothes.
“Unbelievable,” she mutters to herself.
Ignoring her, I finally dig it out of my jean pocket and look at the number on the screen. It’s a number that I don’t recognize, but that’s nothing uncommon.
“Who is it?” Jessica asks, sitting up. “It better be important.”
I turn to face her, using my phone as a light. “Shut up, or fucking leave.” I point to the bedroom door. It didn’t matter who the fuck it is, I am going to answer it.
She huffs and plops down on the bed.
“Hello?” I snap, pissed off at Jessica.
“Hi. I’m, uh, looking for Slade.” The sweetest sounding voice that I have ever heard comes from the other end of the line. My body instantly reacts, making my already hard cock jerk.
“That’s him…me. I mean, this is he.” Fuck, what’s wrong with me? I clear my throat since I can’t seem to speak properly, and continue to stand in the dark, waiting to hear what she has to say.
“Hi, Slade. My name is Samantha Hall. I’m so sorry to be calling you this late…early. Your brother, Micah, said you could help me.”
Fuck.
I don’t reply, but I don’t hang up. I wait for her to continue as she takes in a deep breath.
“I’m looking for my boyfriend, Jackson Reynolds. He sent me a text earlier saying he was heading to your party after the bar, but I’ve tried calling him several times with no answer. It’s been hours since I last heard from him, and I’m worried that maybe he left to come home, but something has happened to him.”
She spoke quickly, like she was nervous. To be honest, once I heard the word boyfriend I stopped listening. I don’t want to get involved in that shit. Especially after what had happened earlier tonight between the dumb blonde and her wannabe biker boyfriend.
But…
I do feel sorry for her. She actually sounds worried about him. The least I could do is help her. She knows Micah, and he obviously thinks enough of her to give her my number. After a little thought, and because Jessica has pissed me off, I decide to help her, although I don’t know how much help I will be. I don’t remember a Jake.
“Slade, come back to bed. I want you,” whines Jessica. She attempts to get my attention as she rolls around under my sheets.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean… I didn’t think….well, I’m sorry for bothering you. Thank you anyway.”
“No, you’re fine, Samantha.” I turn to Jessica and just stare at her. How many times do I have to tell her to shut the fuck up? She makes a not so lady-like noise then pulls the covers over her head.
“No, I shouldn’t have called this late and bothered you.”
“No, no. Really, it’s okay.” I have no idea why, but I do not want to hang up. I’m more interested in the girl on the other end of my phone than Jessica.
“Are you sure? I can just try his phone again,” she says quietly.
“Samantha, I promise, its fine. No worries, but I don’t recall a Jake.” I think back to the evening at the bar. Punching that idiot, meeting Jessica, then inviting everyone to come back to my house for a party. We were only there for a couple of hours.
“Jackson,” she corrects me.
“I don’t recall a Jackson, either.” What is that noise? Snoring! I pull the phone away from my ear to use my screen as a light. Sure enough, Jessica is already passed out under the covers. Just fucking great. I don’t want her staying here. I reach down, pick up my t-shirt from the floor, and start to put it on as Samantha speaks.
“He sometimes goes by Jax.” She sounds hopeful which makes my stomach clench.
I was introduced to a very drunk guy named Jax. I remember him because that’s the guy who was making out with Bridgette Winters, the girl who fucks around just as much as I do. Did they come back to my house?
“Yes, I remember hearing that name. Let me go check to see if he is still here.” I give Jessica one last look. I’ll wake her ass up when I get back so that we can pick up where we left off, then she can leave. I pull on my jeans and quietly leave the room, shutting the door behind me.
“Thank you,” she replies sweetly.
She stays silent as I walk down the long hallway, passing my media room and office. I come up to the kitchen and living room. The living room has bodies of women passed out everywhere with only a few guys, and there are beer bottles and shot glasses scattered throughout.
I walk into the kitchen and see Josh standing behind my big kitchen island. I don’t know if he will be much help, though. His dusty brown hair is hanging in his eyes which are red and puffy from all the alcohol we were drinking earlier. He has that surfer boy look, and girls are always asking him if he is from California, but right now he looks like he’s from the gutter.
I pull the phone away from my ear, and put the phone on mute before I ask him about Jax. I have a feeling no matter where this guy is, he is not alone.
“Have you seen a guy named Jax?”
Before he answers, he takes a shot. How he’s still drinking at this time is beyond me. “Um, the skinny guy with blonde hair?” he slurs as he puts his shot glass down. He squints as if he’s looking at me and seeing double. After all the alcohol he consumed tonight, he probably is.
“I don’t remember what the fuck he looks like. I just know he was with Bridgette at the bar earlier,” I say as I wave my pho
ne in the air with both hands clenched over it.
“Oh yeah,” he growls. He obviously does not like this man. “I saw Bridgette leading him down stairs as soon as they walked in.” He starts to refill the shot glass with a look of disgust on his face.
Shit!
I take the phone off mute and raise it back up to my ear. “Yes, he was here. I was told he passed out in one of my spare rooms. Let me go check real quick,” I say into the phone as I start down the stairs to the lower level.
“Thanks. I’m so sorry to be putting you through all this trouble. I’m just worried about him. He always comes home after going out...”
I hear her yawn. The poor girl sounds exhausted. Maybe she is lying in bed already. Naked. Fuck, what the hell am I thinking? The girl has a boyfriend who I’m trying to find. Maybe I could invite her over now. I mean her boyfriend is here. Wait, that’s a bad idea. If Josh is right, he’s here with another woman. And I already fought with one boyfriend tonight. And this woman doesn’t sound stupid enough to fuck around on her boyfriend while he’s in the same house.
I’ve transformed my basement into a huge game room, consisting of a pool table, a 72” TV mounted on the wall, a dart board hanging on the far wall, and a mini bar in the far right corner. At the back of the room, there used to be an office, but I turned it into an extra bedroom. I prefer to have my office upstairs, right next the master bedroom. When I reach the bedroom, I decide the best point of action is to just knock on the closed door.
No response.
I put my ear up to the door and hear nothing. That’s good, right? Maybe he’s in there passed out alone. I try the door. It’s unlocked.
My thought of him being alone is short lived. As I stand in the doorway, I can see Jax on his back with Bridgette’s right arm draped over his chest. The rest is covered by blankets. Thank, God! I start to think maybe they passed out before they actually fucked, but then my eyes fell to the open condom wrapper on the floor.
The UN Series Complete Box Set Page 2