Out of My League, Part 2
By Sharon Cummin
Copyright © 2017 Sharon Cummin
All Rights Reserved
Warning: This story contains explicit sexual content that is not intended for those under the age of 18. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious and the age of 18 and older. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 1
Cassie
“I'm so damn happy to hear you say that,” Jeff said. “I'm at a hotel not far from your brother's house. Can you come right now?”
“Oh, you're here?” I asked.
“I am,” he said. “I need to see you. I want you home with me, Cassie. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get you there.”
“What about her?” I asked.
“She's gone,” he said. “We're done. It's you that needs to be there with me. I'll text you the address of the hotel. Come right now.”
Then he was gone. He'd hung up that quickly. Less than a minute later my phone dinged. He'd sent the address and room number. Should I go, I wondered? He'd said she was gone. He'd said that I was the one he needed there. His voice was soft and sweet like it had always been before. Maybe he realized what a huge mistake he'd made. He was my husband and had been for years. He'd loved me before. Maybe he still did. He could have made a mistake. I'd had a dream about another man. That wasn't any better. I hadn't done it while we were living together, but I had done it. We had three kids together, so I needed to at least hear him out. How bad could it really be?
I was still in the sweats and t-shirt I'd been in from the night before, so I got up to get dressed. There was no way I was letting Jeff see me like that. He wouldn't be happy if I did. I pulled on a nice pair of jeans and a sweater. If I'd worn anything other than that, Sammie would have been all over me, and there was no way she needed to know where I was going. I tried to cover up the redness from my crying with makeup. He was really there, I thought. He'd come for me. That said something, right? Maybe he'd planned a whole loving, romantic scene where he'd get down on his knees and beg me to come home. I felt a tiny bit of excitement as I slipped my shoes on and grabbed my purse, phone, and keys.
On my way down the stairs and into the living room, I made sure not to make eye contact. If Sammie thought for one second I was meeting with Jeff, she'd definitely have something to say, and I'd never get through that door.
“I'll be back in a bit,” I said, loud enough for James, who was sitting closest, to hear me. “I need some air.”
“Cassie,” he called out, but I kept going.
I typed the address into the screen on my Escalade and headed down the driveway. The closer I got, the more nervous I became. What would he say? What would he expect? Was he really the same man I fell in love with years ago? I thought back to that day in my class. He stood there tall, sexy, and so confident. I knew right away that I was going to win him over. Win him over, I thought. Then I thought about Sammie and James and things they'd both said. Even Parker had said something about it making sense that I wasn't out playing with the kids. Is that what I did? Had I won Jeff over, or had I fallen for him. Did I love him? He was my husband and the father of my children. Of course I loved him. Was I in love with him? I missed him when he wasn't there, and I liked being around him when he was.
The voice that filled the air pulled me from my thoughts and let me know that I was at my destination. I hadn't even been paying attention to where I was going. When I pulled into the lot of the hotel, I was surprised. There was a much nicer one just a mile down the road. Why hadn't he stayed there? If he was planning to woo me, that would have been the hotel to do it at. I parked and headed inside. When I stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for his floor, my stomach felt like it had tied itself into a giant knot. That was the moment that made me realize how relaxed I'd actually felt at James and Sammie's house. I gave myself a little pep talk, reminding me exactly how I needed to act when Jeff opened the door. The last time I'd seen him, I was someone I'd never been before. That was the only time I'd ever spoken to him negatively or in such a loud tone. Just thinking about it made me laugh. Since I'd moved in with James and Sammie, I'd caught myself using bad language and raising my voice, especially the three times I'd met Parker. That man was enough to have me being someone I'd never been in my life.
The door opened, and the numbers on the wall in front of me had me turning to the right. The walk down the hall was long and something I definitely wasn't used to. Anytime I'd stayed in a hotel with Jeff, he'd always gotten a room on the top floor. It didn't matter if we were spending time alone, which hadn't happened in a very long time, or if we were at a business meeting. We always stayed in style.
When I finally reached the room number he'd given me, I knocked on the door. I heard the click and the door opened a crack, but that was it. When I pushed it open all the way and looked inside, there were no flowers, and there was definitely no grand gesture of love.
“You coming in?” I heard him ask, as he walked a few steps in the other direction before turning around and coming right back.
Jeff wasn't wearing his normal suit or dress pants. He was wearing jeans. It was definitely a rare sight and honestly not one that I minded a bit.
“Did you drive down this morning?” I asked, as I walked into the room.
“No,” he said, as he came even closer. “I came last night.”
“What if I'd gone to Michigan?” I asked. “James and Sammie were there.”
“They were,” he said, as he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, “but you weren't.”
His mouth came down on mine, and he kissed me. Without a second thought, I opened for him. His tongue moved into my mouth and around mine as it always did. It was almost as if it was automated and he wasn't even controlling it. It had been months since he'd kissed me at all, so that was something, but it was the first time I'd ever noticed that there was no feeling behind it. I put my hands up against his chest and pushed, as I took a step back from him. How could a stranger in a dream kiss me better than my own husband? When I touched him, I felt nothing. There was no shiver, no zing, no anything. My eyes went to his hair and noticed how perfectly combed it was. Then I pictured it the way it was that day. The day I'd found her in my house, in my robe, with him calling her baby.
“Kiss me like you kissed her,” I said.
He stepped forward, grabbed the back of my neck in exactly the same way he had before, and kissed me exactly as he had just moments before. He was so full of shit. My hands moved up his back and into his hair. I gripped it tight and kissed him hard. Then I quickly pulled away. Not only had a stranger kissed me better in that dream, but I'd kissed that stranger better as well. Had it always been that way with Jeff, I wondered? How had I never noticed it before? Maybe it had been better and we'd lost it.
“Do you love me?” I blurted out.
“What?” he asked. “Of course I do. You're my wife. You're the mother of my children. I'm here, aren't I? I came to you.”
> “Are you in love with me, Jeff?” I asked.
“What?” he asked. “Where is all of this coming from, Cassie? If I didn't love you, would I have driven here? You know I don't like Pennsylvania.”
“So your answer is no then,” I said, feeling done with the conversation already.
The whole hope for him to profess his love for me was gone.
“Stop being so ridiculous,” he said, his voice taking on a bit of a harsh tone. “What do you want from me? I work my ass off and have always given you everything you've ever wanted. We have a huge house. You even have your dream house on the lake.”
“That sure bit me in the ass,” I said.
“You need to watch your mouth,” he warned. “My wife doesn't talk like she has a mouth full of shit.”
“My husband doesn't fuck other women,” I hissed. “Why are you here if you don't love me?”
“I already said I love you. She's not there anymore. It's over,” he said, as he threw his hands up and walked away. “I want you home. What's it going to take?”
“You think you would have put in a bit more effort to convince me, don't you think?” I asked, as I motioned around the room. “This is the room you get when you ask me to come back home.”
“This is what you're getting used to, isn't it?” he asked with a smirk.
“You are such an asshole,” I snapped out without thinking.
He turned on me faster than I could react. Then he stepped forward, and for the first time in our marriage, I feared him. His hand came up and landed on my cheek.
“Do not ever do that again,” he warned.
My hand went to my cheek, and my finger moved over the spot he'd just connected with.
“Who are you?” I whispered. “You've never done anything like that before.”
“Really?” he snapped. “I've never had a reason before. Look at you. You're wearing jeans and sneakers. You stepped up to me in front of my assistant and our nanny. Do you hear your mouth? You sound like a damn sailor. Never once have you spoken to me the way you just did. Maybe Sammie can get away with that shit, but my wife will not.”
“My husband,” I began, but he cut me off.
“Do not finish that sentence. I already told you that it's over. Get over it. Maybe you should have been home being my wife, taking care of me. Instead, you fucking got pregnant a third time. I still don't get why you needed another damn house.”
“You were the one that sent me there and wouldn't bring me back,” I snapped out. “You were also the one that got me pregnant a third time. Those are our children you're talking about. Besides, you were with her even before I got pregnant with the baby. Explain that shit.”
“I got with her as soon as you took off for your new house the first time,” he snapped.
“What?” I gasped, as tears began filling my eyes faster than I could fight them back.
“Yep,” he said, with a shitty grin on his face. “You weren't there. Did you honestly think I was going to wait for the weekends? She wasn't so bad either.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. “You said she's gone. Why point something like that out to me?”
“You need to know who's in control, Cassie,” he said sternly, as he stepped forward toward me. When he spoke again, his tone was like nothing I'd ever heard him use before. “You'd better think about things. I want you home. People are starting to ask questions. It looks good for me and the business if I make my marriage work. I've given you more than enough time to come to your senses. You will come home, or you will lose everything. I've worked damn hard. There is no way I'll let you make me look bad. Do you understand me? You're my wife. You will be right by my side, where you belong. If you aren't, you'll be sorry.”
“Do not threaten me, Jeff,” I snapped, as I grabbed the door and quickly opened it.
His hand came out of nowhere and grabbed tight on my arm, so damn tight that I knew it was going to leave a mark.
“It's not a threat,” he hissed. “It's a fucking promise.”
I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened even more.
“How did you know James and Sammie were there without me yesterday?” I asked, just realizing what he'd said right after I'd gotten there.
“I sat outside the house,” he said. “They showed up, but you didn't. Believe me, I was ready. Maybe you knew. Is that why you didn't go?”
He was going to make a scene in front of my whole family. I'd stayed away so my parents didn't see what my life was turning into. Not once had I thought he would go there. What if I hadn't agreed to meet with him? Would he have shown up at James and Sammie's house?
“You were tracking my phone when I left that day,” I said more to myself than to him. “Had you done it before then?”
“Come on, Cassie,” he said with a slight shake of his head. “Do you think I've gotten where I am without paying attention? I always knew where you were. There was no way I was ever going to give you a chance to embarrass me.”
“What happened that morning then?” I asked sarcastically and instantly felt his nails bite into my skin.
“I guess I let my dick get in the way,” he said. “Don't worry, that will never happen again.”
“This isn't how you get someone back, Jeff,” I said, as I looked into his eyes.
“Stop being a child about things,” he said. “You like the things I can provide for you, and I want my wife where she belongs. The quicker you come back, the easier it will be on both of us. I have a huge business dinner coming up in two weeks, and I need you there with me. If you're not there, it will be over, and you will lose everything. I will get it all. When I say all, I mean it. I will keep everything that means anything to you, even the kids. You can't stay with your brother forever, Cassie. What are you going to do with yourself? I'm not sure you'll be able to meet another man that will put up with your shit and pay your way. I can give you that. All you have to do is come home.”
“Ugh,” I barked out, as I pulled my arm toward me hard to try and break his hold on me.
He let go, and I flew back into the hallway.
“Two weeks,” he said with a smile, just before letting the door go and walking away.
Chapter 2
Cassie
I cried the whole drive back to the house. It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense anymore. When he'd called, he seemed like his old self again. His voice was soft and sweet. Then I showed up at the hotel, and the first time I mentioned her, he acted as if I was being unreasonable. I was being way more reasonable than I should have been. You don't sleep with another woman and move her into your house while your wife is at your vacation home with your two children and newborn baby. How could I have been so stupid, I wondered? I sat in the driveway, for what seemed like forever, waiting for the tears to stop. There had to have been signs. Was it really more than a year, or was he just trying to hurt me? Jeff had never put his hands on me or spoken the way he just had, not ever before. What was going on with him? Where had my husband gone, the one that I married? Could he really take the kids away from me? I could see him fighting for anything and everything that cost money. He was the one that earned it. He'd pointed that out already. The kids were another story. Not once since I left had he asked about them. From the sound of it, he was going to fight for them, but he was only going to do it to hurt me. Would they really give them to him? What would he do once he got them? He'd just have Susan raise them, I thought.
I got out of my vehicle and started toward the front door. Two weeks, that was how long he'd given me. Not because he really wanted me back, but because he had a business meeting he needed me there for. He'd said he loved me, but when I asked if he was in love with me, he never answered the question. I wasn't in love with him either. If I had been before walking into that hotel room, I definitely wasn't anymore. He'd raised his hand to me. The spot on my face that he smacked still stung. It was more out of embarrassment and hurt than pain, but it felt awful. When he grabbed my arm, I'
d felt more scared than ever before in my life. Love doesn't do that. There was absolutely no love left in that room by the time I left.
As soon as I opened the front door, I heard laughing coming from inside. The loudest of it all was coming from my little girl. Did I want her around a man that could raise his hand to his wife, the one he was supposed to protect? The answer was no. It wasn't okay, and I would never let her think it was. I just had to figure out what I was going to do. The look on his face as the door closed told me he thought he'd won. Jeff was sure I was coming home, but there was no way that was happening. He gave me two weeks, so I knew I had that long before I'd hear from him again.
I stood wondering if I should mention meeting with Jeff but decided against it. Sammie would be pissed that I'd gone, and James would ask a bunch of questions I honestly didn't know how to answer. They'd taken us in. That was more than enough. It was my problem to deal with, and I needed some time to do that. Even though Jeff had acted the way he had, I still wasn't sure he wasn't just calling my bluff. He thought he was scaring me with what he was saying, and honestly, he was, but I wasn't going to let him know that.
I dried my tears the best I could and rounded the corner into the living room. James was on the ground with three kids on top of him. Sammie was asleep on the couch, and the two babies were asleep in the small crib that was off to the side.
“Cassie,” I heard him say, just before one of the kids tickled him.
“I'm sorry,” was all I said before picking the baby up and heading up the stairs.
Once he was situated for bed, I changed back into sweats and crawled under my covers, making sure my phone was on the nightstand.
“What has happened to my life?” I whispered.
When I closed my eyes, I was still thinking about Jeff. He didn't want to look bad. That was why he'd wanted me back. How could the man that treated me so well have turned into the man I'd seen earlier? He wasn't a bad guy. He never had been that I knew of. Maybe he was and I'd been too blind to see it. I looked over at the phone and a creepy feeling went through me. He'd been keeping track of me through it. He'd been controlling everything. I grabbed the phone and quickly shut it off before putting it back down. When I finally drifted off to sleep, I was exhausted and hoping it was all just a bad dream.
Out of My League, Part 2 Page 1