I was fucked. I mean royally fucked. I just didn’t know at the time how bad it was going to get.
WHEN THE WEEKEND rolled around, I thought I was finally in the clear. I’d avoided being alone all week at the office. Christina had pouted like a little girl at first, but as the days went by, she seemed to accept that I meant it when I said it was over. It had to be.
Now, here I was trying to tie my bowtie as I slipped into my Armani tux. “You’ve come a long way Ty,” I murmured as I shifted my shoulders, slipping into the jacket. I never would have pictured myself here a few years ago. My childhood had been spent climbing trees in the cherry orchard and helping my dad in his hardware store. When my oldest brother Trevor had joined the sheriff’s office, we all thought he’d be the one making something of himself. My parent’s died before they really saw me rise to my full potential. Taylor, my other brother, took over the family business and has been raising his son alone. Well, alone until his old girlfriend breezed into town. Now the two of them are like one person. They spend every minute together. Some people might think I’m jealous, but I’m not. Taylor and Morgan spent the better part of their lives apart. They were meant for each other, but her dick of a father made sure that they didn’t get their happily ever after. If her grandmother hadn’t left her everything in her will, I doubt they ever would have seen the light. Last I heard, they were happy in Cherryville, the town where I grew up.
“Not bad at all,” I whistled under my breath before shoving my wallet into my pocket, and making my way downstairs. A car was picking me up, and I still needed to go get Jessi. She’d called me earlier thanking me for the new dress that I apparently spent way too much money on, but she insisted that she could wear it to a formal she was attending later in the winter. I was just thankful that she said yes. I knew Chrissi would be there, and me showing up with Jessi was just the nail I needed to seal that proverbial door shut permanently.
“Hey,” she called as she climbed in the back beside me. We’d just stopped in front of her building, and I was busy glancing at my phone rather than where we were.
“Hi,” I mumbled before looking up at her. “Wow,” I gasped as she crossed her legs and let out a giggle.
“You like?” she smirked. “Gav said you’d like it.”
“Wow,” I muttered again. “Jess, I mean, wow,” I was tongue tied. I’d never seen her like this. She looked smokin’ in the dress she’d picked, and if I didn’t know she was Gavin’s sister, I’d probably be trying to convince her to come home with me tonight.
The dress fit her like glove. One shoulder was bare, exposing her tanned skin, and the other was covered in a delicate black lace. The entire dress was made up of this same material, but only the section from her tits to right below her butt was lined with something. The rest of the dress showed her skin through the material. It went to her ankles, and on one side, a slit went most of the way up her thigh. Her blonde hair was piled in a mess of curls on top of her head, and she had highlighted her features with just a touch of makeup.
“You are going to get me in so much trouble tonight,” I muttered as the driver pulled away from the curb.
“Why’s that?” She tipped her head as she turned in my direction. Her bare knee brushed mine as she folded her hands in her lap.
“You look like a man’s walking wet dream, and I’m going to spend the evening fighting off all the yahoos I work with.” I shook my head at her. “Has this always been under all the sweats and soccer gear?” I mused.
“I’ve always been a girl, Ty.” She rolled her eyes. “I just don’t do the designer dresses and makeup thing. I do know how to fix myself up though.”
“That’s the truth,” I muttered as the car came to a stop. The driver glanced back at me with a questioning look.
“What time would you like me back?”
“Midnight works.” I nodded as I opened the door. “I’ll call if I need you sooner.”
“Have a good evening Sir, Miss,” he nodded as we climbed out.
“It’ll be fine.” Jessica leaned into my ear as I held my elbow out for her. “Just point her out, and I’ll turn on the charm.” She continued to cuddle into me as we made our way inside, playing the perfect date to a T.
As the hours ticked by, Christina was nowhere to be found. She’d been known to be late to these functions, and her father never seemed to mind, but I was just waiting for her to make the appearance that I knew was coming. “Is that her?” Jessi leaned into me as I reached for two glasses of wine from the server that was circulating through the room. My head snapped up as my eyes connected with Chrissi’s.
“Yes,” I whispered under my breath. Her dark hair was pulled to one side as she stood there dressed in a sexy white dress. She stared at me. Her eyes trailing over my body, starting at the top of my head and pausing when she saw the way my hand was wrapped around Jessi’s waist. Her eyes narrowed as a warning began to flare in them. Her face reddened before she spun and began striding right toward the one person I didn’t want her talking to… her father.
“Relax,” Jessi murmured as she leaned closer. “I think she got the idea,” she giggled as she sipped her wine. “Let’s find our table.”
I spent the next hour walking around the ballroom introducing Jessi to my coworkers and, finally, my boss. He seemed pleased and didn’t suspect anything. He even seemed surprised when Christina interrupted us in the middle of our conversation. She glared at Jessica, but remained polite. When we were seated at our table, I couldn’t help but notice that Christina and her father were occupying the two seats to my left. It was a nightmare. Jessi on my right and Chrissi on my left.
“Who’s she?” Christina leaned in next to me and pretended to fix the napkin in her lap.
“My date,” I growled between clenched teeth.
“Not for long,” she smirked as her right hand slowly slid into my lap. She smiled sweetly as she turned on the charm for the other guests at our table. Her fingers remained stationary for the first few seconds, but then they slowly began to dance up and down my thigh.
I swallowed thickly as I tried to brush her away without causing a scene, but she wasn’t having it. “Don’t you think?” She turned toward me, trying to bring me into her conversation, and I had no idea what she was even talking about. I hadn’t heard a thing. All I knew was that I needed to get her to stop touching me, or I was going to be stuck here for quite some time.
“I’m sorry, what?” I shook my head and swallowed.
“I was saying that the Harrison case should be an easy one for you with all the late hours you’ve been putting in lately,” she smirked. She knew exactly what she was doing. All those late hours had been spent with her. I wasn’t working; I was getting her off on every piece of furniture I had in my office.
“Sure,” I nodded slowly as I watched a smirk appear on her face.
“Daddy says that you’re rising to the top faster than he’s ever seen anyone do in the firm.” Her eyes twinkled as she watched the other men at the table hang on her every word. I think some of them felt like they had too since she was the boss’s daughter.
“We’ll see,” I mumbled as I began to pick at the salad that was placed in front of me. Jessi smiled and leaned closer so no one could hear her as she whispered, “She doesn’t give up, does she?”
“No!” I hissed as I tried again unsuccessfully to remove Chrissi’s hand from my leg. My dick was throbbing at this point, and I knew that I was going to have a killer case of blue balls if I didn’t escape this torture.
“You know I could relieve this for you,” Chrissi whispered in my ear as her hand slid from my thigh to between my legs. She squeezed me and giggled lightly when I groaned. My eyes flew to where her father was deep in conversation with another associate before sweat began to bead across my forehead. “Relax,” she cooed as she stroked me through my pants. He’s lost to the company now. I could dance naked on the table and he wouldn’t notice,” she purred. “Why don’t you leave your
friend here, and follow me to the bathroom so we can take care of this.” Her hand released me as she excused herself from the table and walked away.
“It’s not working, is it?” Jessi grumbled from beside me.
“What’s not?” I gulped as I tried to calm the raging boner I had going on at the moment.
“Me. I’m not helping,” she hissed. “I know the look, Ty. I know when you want something, and despite the fact that you know its wrong, you want her.” She pointed in the direction that Christina had walked in as she tsked with her teeth.
“She’s like a fucking siren,” I groaned. “I can’t tell her no. No matter how hard I try to stay away, she knows my buttons, Jess,” I growled as I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, willing my dick to cooperate and go back to normal. I don’t know how Christina thought I was going to get up and follow her in room full of people with a tent in my pants. She was crazy that was for sure.
“As soon as you’re ready, let’s go dance. I’m finished anyway.” She pushed at the salad plate in front of her.
“But the main course hasn’t been served yet,” I widened my eyes for effect.
“They’re putting it out right now,” she pointed across the room where waiters in white jackets were busy bringing out trays covered in domed plates. “Maybe by the time you finish you’ll be in a better state of mind.” She eyed where the table covered my lap.
“Maybe,” I mumbled as I glanced across the room. Christina was still absent from the table, and my breathing was starting to return to normal but good things never seem to last for me lately. “What the fuck is she doing here?” I growled as I felt my pulse rise.
“Who?” Jessica began searching around the room but soon found the person I was talking about. “This night just keeps getting better and better,” she laughed as she covered her mouth with her napkin. Walking across the room and heading right for the two empty chairs at our table was none other than Mia Callahan and her date for the evening. “A blonde, a brunette, and a red head walk into a room…” she giggled again as she turned to stare at me. “What? You have to admit this is too funny.”
“You think it’s funny that you, along with the girl I’m currently sleeping with, and the one I used to are all here… at my table… rubbing elbows with my boss… you think that’s funny?” I swallowed as I placed my elbow on the table and dropped my head into my palm. I hadn’t seen Mia since that day I was walking home with Morgan. She’d caught me watching her dancing on the sidewalk, and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, she still stirred something in me.
“I think it’s funny that you try and pretend she didn’t mean anything,” Jess mumbled as she excused herself from the table. “I’ll be right back.” She nodded as she escaped, leaving me there to sink in the ocean of problems I had surrounding me.
My boss, Henry, motioned to Mia, “So nice you could make it. Tyler, this is Mia Callahan. I invited her, and asked her to sit with us tonight.”
“Nice to meet you,” I gave a tight smile as I nodded in her direction before going back to picking at my salad.
“You, too.” Her voice was soft, and the way the words fell from her lips reminded of those nights we’d spent making love. The way she’d sigh my name as I slid deep into her. The way her eyes would glaze over as the euphoria took over, bathing us in the sensations that we created for one another.
I glanced up at her just in time to see her date kiss her cheek, and that was enough to bring me back to reality. She wasn’t mine anymore. She’d chosen dancing over me. She’d chosen her partner over me. She’d pretty much chosen everything over me. She wasn’t who I’d thought she’d been all those years ago, and seeing her here like this was just the slap across the face I needed. Christina was the best I’d ever get. She was the type of girl I was supposed to be with. Mia was the past. She was my childhood. She was the one who ran through the orchard with me. She was the girl I fell in love with. Now, I was a man, and this man couldn’t be with the woman she’d become. This man didn’t get the angel, he got the devil. I was going to hell. I just knew it, and Chrissi was leading the way.
MOST OF THE night passed in a blur. I ignored Mia as best I could, and concentrated on the conversations of my coworkers. Henry had escaped to an area by the bar, and had been sipping what looked like brandy for most of the night. Christina had spent the evening shooting daggers at me from across the room. I think, when I didn’t follow her to the bathroom earlier, she finally figured out that it wasn’t happening tonight. I was almost certain that she’d try again, but I was hoping that it would somewhere other than here.
“Wanna dance now?” Jessi rose from the table and offered me her hand. “You’ve been brooding here for a while now. Might be nice to show her what she’s missing.” She grinned at me as her eyes darted to where Mia was wrapped in her date’s arms.
“I’m not much for dancing tonight,” I muttered. “I’m not sure if I even remember how.”
“Dancing is not something you forget. I seem to remember you being really good at it back in the day.” Her fingers wrapped around my wrist, and she tugged lightly, causing me to stand.
“Fine,” I conceded. She was right. When Mia and I were in high school, she taught me to dance. We started out in her living room, but then began attending events like this when we moved to New York. I’d hated it, but did it for her. I needed her to remember that. I needed her to see what she’d given up.
I led Jessi to the dance floor. Soft music was playing, and a few couples had been swaying back and forth all night. There weren’t any professionals other than Mia, at least it appeared that way. The way her body moved was breathtaking. Her date knew exactly how to hold her, and let her take the lead. He knew what he was doing, that much was obvious, but he backed down to her every time she changed directions.
When Jessi paused a few feet away from Mia, I tugged lightly. I didn’t want to be right there. The heat that flushed my face told me that Mia was staring. I didn’t really care if I made her uncomfortable, but Jessi seemed to be on a mission. She’d been there when everything fell apart. She and Gavin had helped me pick up the pieces, and try to put my life back in order. Jess hated Mia for what she did to me, and she was taking the opportunity now to rub it in Mia’s face. “Here’s good,” she grinned as she refused to move.
“Jess,” I sighed.
“What?” She smirked at me as she stepped closer and placed one palm on my shoulder. “You know this is exactly where you want to be.” She leaned in closer, as if she was going to kiss my cheek, but whispered in my ear instead. “It’s working. Trust me.” When she pulled back, her head tipped in the direction of where Mia was. I glanced quickly to the side, and I must admit that when I saw her face, I chuckled a little to myself. It felt kinda good knowing that I was getting to her.
I stopped counting after the third song, but Jess and I stayed on the dance floor most of the night. We didn’t stop until she started complaining about her feet hurting and needing to take a break. I let her go, and began striding to the bar. Without having her as a buffer, I knew I needed to get a few drinks in my system.
“Hi,” came the voice I knew all too well.
“Mia,” I mumbled around the lip of the tumbler I currently had wrapped in my hand. “Did you need something?” I was being a dick, and I knew it, but the hurt she’d inflicted was still fresh. The two-year-old wound was still festering, and the closer she got, the worse it ached.
“Can we talk?” she murmured. I could tell she was hurt by my abrasiveness, but I couldn’t seem to stop the coldness in my responses.
“Didn’t think there was anything left to say,” I shrugged. “You made it perfectly clear two years ago when you walked away that I meant nothing to you.” I turned my glare on her and straightened my stance. I was preparing for a fight, and the alcohol was fueling it. All the hurt and heartbreak that I’d shoved away and covered with meaningless flings was slowly rising to the surface. I’d loved Mia, and she’d told me back
then that she loved me too. She didn’t though. She left the first chance she got. She walked out the door with nothing but an ‘I have to do this’, and she never came back.
“Hey,” Mia mumbled as she walked into our tiny kitchen. This apartment was the size of a shoebox, but it was our shoebox.
“Hey baby,” I grinned. I was excited. I’d just landed a position as Hughes, Langstaff, and Roe. I’d been hoping to get in there ever since I’d interned senior year. It was one of the most prestigious law firms in New York City.
“That’s great.” Her words sounded happy, but her expression didn’t match them. “I need to tell you something,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Can we eat first?” I smiled. “Maybe celebrate a little?” I moved closer and tried to pull her into my arms and kiss her, but she wrapped herself tighter in her own embrace and moved away from me. “What’s wrong?” I bent my knees so I was eye level with her. Mia and I had been together since we were thirteen, and I’d never seen her react like this to me.
“I need to tell you something, and I don’t think you’re going to like it.” She sucked her lip between her teeth and took another step back.
“Why’s that?” I advanced and tried to touch her.
“I’m leaving,” she murmured as she turned toward the door, and that’s when I saw it. She had a bag by the door. I don’t know how I missed it, but she’d managed to pack a bag.
“For how long?” I swallowed. Something inside said this was bad, but my heart didn’t want to believe it. Mia and I loved each other. We’d come to the city together. We’d always told each other that we’d make it work. We’d made it through the tough times. We were adults now. The hard part was supposed to be when we were teenagers or college students.
Beyond the Cherry Trees: The Cook Brothers Series Page 2