“Hey, Harper. Who’s this asshole?”
I tried to sound friendly, but it came out as more of a growl. Her face flushed and she glanced over at the dickhead. Yep. She was caught. He was looking between the two of us with confusion and I almost started laughing because it was becoming clear to him that she was screwing us both over.
“Am I missing something, Harper? Who is this guy? You never mentioned you were seeing someone.” The douchebag had hatred in his eyes when he looked at me, but he held back.
“This is-” I cut her off before she could finish.
“Jack. I was seeing her, but it looks like she’s just as much a slut as she was the first day we met.”
Okay. That was a little harsh, but come on. Moving on to the next guy without so much as a word to the one she was seeing? Slut.
Harper stood abruptly and took my hand dragging me to the door. I glanced over to the table where my friend’s were to see disappointment on all their faces, but they were glaring at me. Yeah, I was being a dick. I called her out in front of the whole bar and that wasn’t cool, but I was pissed. As soon as we were out the door, Harper whirled on me.
“What the hell was that? I’m a slut now? How dare you say that shit to me. I thought we had something happening between us, but trust me, that is so over now.”
“I thought we had something too, but you’re in there rubbing up against that prick and you haven’t even bothered to contact me all week. Is that why you said you were tired the other night? Didn’t want to sleep with me because you were already moving on to someone else?”
My eyes drilled into her with accusation. She didn’t even try to look sorry. She looked pissed at me and I couldn’t figure out why she would be pissed at me when she was the two timing slut.
“Is everything okay here?” A petite brunette walked up and laid a hand on Harper’s shoulder.
“Everything’s fine, Anna. Luke is inside waiting. Congratulations on the engagement, but I can’t stay. Have a good night,” she said with a hug. Then she turned around and headed to her car. I watched her walk away and only felt slightly better that I had gotten that off my chest, but then I started replaying her words to her friend in my head.
Did she just say....?
I glanced over to where Harper had been sitting and saw Anna kissing the guy. Oh fuck. I was such a dip shit. Harper was here to celebrate with her friend and I had called her a slut and accused her of cheating on me. I ran my hands down the back of my neck and cursed myself for being such an asshole.
“Uh, dude, what happened?” Ryan asked.
“I’m a fucking idiot, that’s what happened. I need to find a way to make this up to Harper”.
“Good luck with that. You just called her a slut in front of the whole bar. You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t cut off your balls the next time she sees you,” Logan replied as he took a swig of his beer.
“I need to take care of this now. I really fucked up. Shit!”
I banged the table with my fists and stood. I walked out the door and headed to my truck. We hadn’t been dating long, so the odds of her taking me back weren’t good. Even if I apologized, that wouldn’t change the fact that I had called her out in front of a crowd of people without talking to her first. The only excuse I had was that I was exhausted and wasn’t thinking straight, and I was pretty sure that wouldn’t fly with her. I headed over to Harper’s place and tried the buzzer, but she didn’t answer. I continued to ring it for five minutes with no response. I tried calling her, but she kept sending me to voicemail. The only thing left for me to do was send her a few texts to apologize and hope she reads them.
Please call me back.
I am such a fucking idiot.
Please let me explain.
When she didn’t respond to any of them after five minutes, I sent one last text to her.
If you think you can ever forgive me, please call. Give me a chance to explain and make things right.
I got back in my truck and sat there for a half hour more hoping she would respond. She never did, so I started up my truck and went home. I waited a week and heard nothing from Harper. She stopped by the shop several times when I had been gone to check on her bill. Every time she was told a different story. The last time, Sal told her to contact me directly, but she absolutely refused. Her refusal to speak to me was the final nail in my coffin. I went from being depressed to being downright angry. I was an ass to everyone I came across. I had something really good with her and I blew it. She was a funny, down to earth girl and the sex was amazing with her. How often do you meet someone that you connect with right away? I prayed that she would eventually forgive me, but I didn’t hold out hope.
The guys came over the following Saturday night for poker. It had been two weeks since I had last spoken to her and it was becoming clear that I would never hear from her again. I pulled into my driveway at six and started to get set up for the game. I wasn’t in the mood to play poker, but the distraction would help. When the guys all got here, we ordered pizza and I passed around the beer.
“Have you heard from Harper?” Logan asked.
Shit. I was hoping for just one night where I didn’t have to think about her.
“Gee, don’t beat around the bush. Let’s get right down to it.”
“Someone’s got to, man. You look like shit and you’re not gonna fix it by moping around. Man the fuck up and get your girl back,” Cole replied as he took a swig of beer. Everyone stared at Cole for a minute. “What? We were all thinking it. I just said it.”
“And what exactly am I supposed to say that fixes calling her a slut?”
“Dude, I’m not a fucking girl. I don’t have the first clue, but sitting around here moping isn’t gonna do a damn thing.” He paused as everyone looked around for someone to speak words of wisdom. “Alright, poker night cancelled. Let’s sit down and devise a plan for getting Harper back. Logan, you take notes. Ryan, get more beer. Sean, find out her friend, Anna’s, number. Sebastian, start doing backgrounds on candidates for an office manager. Jack, sit your ass in the chair. Let’s get this shit worked out boys.”
“I’ll get the nail polish,” Logan smirked. He got several funny looks.
“What? Are we not doing each others nails at this sleepover?”
CHAPTER NINE
Harper
I had been miserable the past two weeks. How had I been so wrong about Jack? He seemed to genuinely care about me, but then he didn’t call me for a week. He stopped by, but he was gone in the morning without saying goodbye or leaving a note. I knew he was busy so I gave him space. When I didn’t hear from him over the weekend, I decided to make other plans. Anna was back from her grandma’s and she brought great news. Luke had finally proposed. I had known Luke since we were kids and he was like an older brother to me. He didn’t take too kindly to Jack calling me a slut, but he always tried to not interfere.
I had introduced Anna to Luke a few years ago and they had hit it off right away, but they were both trying to settle into their careers and wanted to be stable before getting married. They had been talking about getting married for over a year now, so it was inevitable, but I was over the moon when she told me. We were supposed to get together that night and have a celebratory drink. Anna was running a few minutes behind, so I sat and talked with Luke, telling him how happy I was for him. I had never considered that I would run into Jack or that he would automatically assume that I was cheating on him.
Then again, we had never discussed being exclusive, so even if I had been hitting on Luke, he couldn’t be upset. What hurt the most was that he had called me a slut without even letting me explain. I had never been promiscuous. I always waited an appropriate amount of time to sleep with any guy. With him it was different. There was an energy between us. I didn’t feel guilty about sleeping with him so fast because it all felt so right. It really hurt to have that thrown in my face.
He had tried to get ahold of me later th
at night, but I didn’t want any excuses. If he would go off on me for something like that without talking to me, how did I know he wouldn’t respond that way in the future? The fact was that I couldn’t trust him. No matter how intense the attraction, I needed to feel safe and secure and I didn’t feel that with him anymore.
I decided the next day that I needed to cut all ties to him. I drove past his shop and stopped in when his truck was gone. I tried to pay the bill, but the man, Sal, said that the computer was down and to come back another time. The next time I stopped in, Sal told me that the computer wouldn’t pull up my file and they had already shredded the paper copy. The third time I showed up, I demanded to speak with someone else, but Sal told me there was no one else that could run the computer. I waited for him to pull up my receipt and he made up an excuse that the parts were listed at the wrong price and he couldn’t give me a bill. He gave me a card with Jack’s name and number and told me not to stop in again unless I talked to Jack first. Unbelievable! I just wanted to pay a bill! There was no way I was contacting Jack. If he wanted me pay for my car repairs, he would have to send me a bill.
I needed a distraction from my loneliness, so I threw myself into finishing my book. The editor had sent back my book with changes that needed to be made. I made the changes and checked one last time for anything that needed an edit, then I sent off the book to the publisher. I had a few ideas swirling around in my head for a new book and started making notes on what I wanted the book to be about and background on the characters, I couldn’t figure out how the book would end. I was a romance author and frankly, after what I just went through with Jack, I was having a hard time finding inspiration. Most of my thoughts revolved around a woman falling for a man and then wanting to take a hunting knife to his balls. Not very romantic. Or a couple that goes skydiving and the woman pushes him out of the plane...without a parachute. I came up with the idea for a young couple in love and then the man gets a disease and suffers a slow, painful death. The more I thought about it, I decided that one might be offensive to people that actually are suffering from a slow moving disease and thought I would steer clear of anything to do with disease. Except maybe Ebola. Hmmmm. Interesting idea. Just something to keep in mind.
Shelley had let me know that they needed to hire another waitress at the restaurant part time. I insisted that I could take on the extra hours because I was between books and I could use the extra income. For the past week, I had been working a shift and a half every night. When I got home, I was exhausted, but it helped me sleep. I was so depressed when I was home because all I did was think about Jack. I had to leave the apartment to write, otherwise I sank into a funk. My appetite had vanished and most days I could barely stomach crackers. I had lost at least five pounds in the last two weeks. My cheeks looked sunken in and I had dark circles under my eyes. I got a few hours of sleep every night, but I always woke up early because my brain couldn’t shut down. I was a wreck.
By the end of the third week post-Jack, everyone seemed to be worrying about me. Shelley had asked me to slow down and told me if I didn’t start eating and getting sleep over the next week, she would take away the extra shifts I had been given. Anna stopped by most days with an excuse of needing help with wedding planning. She never had a whole lot to work out. She always seemed to know what she wanted already and only wanted confirmation from me. The last time Anna stopped by, I told her to save it all for one visit next week or I wouldn’t be helping her anymore. I didn’t need to be babied, I just needed some time to get over it.
Anna called Wednesday and made plans for the two of us to go out Friday night. No excuses. Anna said she really needed the break and I needed to clear my head. I was all dressed up in a tight, red dress with my hair and makeup done. Sadly, the clothes didn’t fit as well as they used to, but it would have to do for tonight. I ran downstairs and met Anna and we were off to our destination. Anna said she would drive because I needed to drink more than she did. We started heading out of town and Anna told me we were going to a country line dancing club in the country. I wasn’t really dressed for it, but I was more concerned about drinking tonight than dancing. Halfway there, I realized this route looked very familiar.
“Where are we going?”
“To that new club I was telling you about. It’s about another ten minutes away.”
I sighed. “Would it happen to be anywhere near Jack’s house?”
“Listen, Harper. I know that you think you’re handling this breakup well, but you really aren’t.”
“I’m doing just fine.”
“Really? Then why are you wearing two different shoes? The other day when I came over, you had Cheetos stuck in your hair and drool on your face.”
“I had just woken up,” I said indignantly.
“It was two o’clock in the afternoon! You’ve lost at least ten pounds and let’s face it honey, your boobs are not the place for you to lose weight.” I stared at my friend in shock. “Your boobs were perfect and now they’re small. They’re called fun bags for a reason.”
Who was this person? What happened to sweet Anna? It didn’t feel very good to be told you looked like shit. I thought we were in for a fun night, but instead I was being ambushed about my appearance and forced to see the one man I never wanted to lay eyes on again.
“Can you drive me back home, please?”
“Sorry, honey. I can’t watch you do this to yourself anymore. You and Jack are gonna have it out and end it properly or get back together, but either way, I am getting my friend back.”
We pulled up outside Jack’s cabin and he was standing there waiting for me. This was all one big setup and I had fallen for it. I glared at Anna as the car came to a stop.
“If you need a ride home, call me in the morning, but not before eight. You two need a while to hash it out and I won’t be coming before then.”
She shooed me out the door and I reluctantly stepped out of the vehicle. I didn’t have much of a choice. I supposed that I could have sat there, but right now, I wasn’t sure whose company I would rather be in. She pulled out with a cloud of dust trailing behind her. I stood there staring at the retreating car, vowing that I would not forgive her for a very long time. At least a week. Maybe I’d even pick out a hideous dress for her wedding and drink myself silly, giving her the most embarrassing maid of honor speech. I smirked at my evil plan when I heard Jack behind me. I immediately wanted to punch him.
“Harper. You coming in or staying out here with the coyotes?”
I stomped up to the house and shoved past him, making sure to shove my shoulder into him. If he wanted me here, fine, but I wasn’t playing nice. I took off my shoes and made my way over to the fridge. If we were gonna have it out, I was gonna need liquor. I whirled around and started my inquiry.
“So how did you manage to get Anna on your side? Did you tell her about how you called me a slut and accused me of cheating on you with her fiancé?”
I glared at Jack. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and he glanced away. I could see that he wasn’t doing so well either. His hair hadn’t been cut and he had quite a beard growing. His clothes were wrinkled and he looked like he hadn’t slept much either. Good. At least this wasn’t easy on him.
“I said some pretty shitty things to you the last time I saw you. There’s no excuse for what I did and I know saying sorry isn’t enough. I talked with Anna at the beginning of the week and explained to her what happened. She told me if I wanted you back, there had to be changes.”
He looked back at me and I felt his eyes bore into my soul. It was intense and if he kept staring at me like that, I might lose my nerve and fall into his arms. I squared my shoulders and stood taller, refusing to give in to him.
“I’m not used to being held responsible by someone else in my life. I always come home when I want and I don’t think much about contacting other people when I’m busy. I know that was part of the problem. I wasn’t there and even though we were new, th
at’s when I have to be present the most if I want this to work.”
“Jack, there is no us to get to work. We’re done.”
He continued on like I hadn’t just told him we were over.
“I hired an office manager at the garage. Now I can spend my days working in the garage and not on office shit that’s backing up. This last week, we’ve been out every night at six. I know that we’re both busy, me with the garage and you with writing, but I am making the effort to be more available.”
“That’s really sweet, but not what the main problem is. You’re an asshole and I don’t want to be with you.”
“I know. I’m…overprotective and domineering. I like things to go my way and I don’t like to be second guessed. That became pretty clear the first day we met. I overreacted when I saw you with that guy. I didn’t stop to think that he was a friend because I just assumed you didn’t want me since I hadn’t heard from you. I hurt you and made you feel like you were trash, when you are the furthest thing from that. The guys knew it right then that I had made a huge mistake. I just couldn’t see past my jealousy.”
He looked down for a minute and I just stood there unsure of what to say. He sounded so sincere, but I wasn’t sure I could give in. He was saying this now, but would his jealousy always take over? I didn’t want to be second guessed all the time. When he looked back up, I could see in his eyes how much he wanted me back. His eyes were fierce and he spoke with such determination that I was inclined to believe every word he said.
“I promise that if you give me another chance, I will never hurt you that way again. I can’t promise I won’t fuck up because I am a guy after all. I’m sure I’ll say something to piss you off. I promise to treat you with the respect you deserve. I promise to always give you the benefit of the doubt. Most of all, I promise to give you the love you deserve because I know I was falling before we broke up.”
Jack (For The Love Of A Good Woman Book 1) Page 7