Under My Skin (Shady Falls Series Book 2)

by Shelly Davis

  Mia had dragged a reluctant and arguing Toni to the dance floor with the help of Monique. I had no idea how Monique and Mia had suddenly become friendly, but they ganged up on Toni and got her on the dance floor. They danced around the floor while Pink’s Raise your Glass poured from the speakers. I found myself mesmerized. Toni was relaxed and happy, Monique was great, but Mia was so much more. She was extraordinary. Gorgeous and striking, Mia commanded attention as she moved her body, her glass in one hand and her other hand forming devil ears, pretending to head bang through the song. The three women hopped around and sang with gusto. It was hilarious to watch.

  Mia stood her ground when it was time to leave the track. She didn’t give Grant any room to complain. For that, I was proud of her; maybe my brazen beauty was still hidden beneath the timid girl she had become.

  “She certainly is good for Toni,” Julius said from next to me. “I’ve never seen Toni so relaxed and having so much fun. And Monique’s great too.”

  “Yeah, Mia always could bring that out of Toni,” I said not taking my eyes off her for even a moment. “Moni’s the most outgoing woman I’ve ever met. No way Toni could be backward with her.”

  I quietly watched as the song changed to The Killers’ Mr. Brightside. The three women started jumping up and down, spinning around, and singing. Smiling to myself, I relaxed, enjoying the view. I loved seeing this side of Mia again. Next to me, Julius elbowed my arm. He gestured to the other man sitting at our table.

  Grant sat there flirting with a beautiful, young blonde waitress. She couldn’t have been much more than eighteen or nineteen. The waitress was definitely showing Grant interest in return. Where I couldn’t take my eyes off of Mia, he wasn’t paying her any attention at all.

  “Play along,” I leaned in and whispered to Julius, gesturing toward Grant and the waitress. Julius smirked and nodded. I wanted to get this asshole to show himself. If Mia didn’t already realize what kind of prick he was, I wanted to show her. The waitress obviously had a liking for Grant, so I was going to get him to act.

  “Hey sweetheart, why don’t you come over here and sit with us.” I called out to the young waitress who was leaned over giving Grant an eyeful. I tapped my knee, making a show of where I wanted her to sit.

  Not responding, Grant snapped his eyes toward me, he obviously had his sights set on the blonde, and he wasn’t happy that I seemed to show interest.

  “Might need to take that up to my room for the night,” I pushed, whispering loudly to Julius.

  “Please,” Jules continued. “She’s too young. A girl that young don’t want some old washout like you. Now a vigorous racecar driver ...” Jules trailed off, taunting me, trying to draw Grant into the conversation. “She’s jailbait and she sure as hell wouldn’t sleep with someone five or six years older than her.”

  “I can,” Grant piped up.

  “Bullshit.” I said. I wanted to challenge him, draw him out. I hoped he would finally show who he truly was so Mia could walk away for good.

  “I’ve gone out with hotter girls than her,” Grant insisted.

  Julius snickered, “Yeah right, sure you have. What the hell would you want with a girl that young? Those young ones are too immature.”

  “There’s a reason I spend so much time in the city. Those young ones are looking for a well-established man to take care of them. They’re easy and don’t expect much ...”

  Cutting him off, I said, “Except gifts and money. If they’re lookin’ for someone to take care of ‘em, they want somethin’ for fuckin’ you.”

  Now I was getting pissed. Why would he try to push a relationship with Mia if he was screwing around with other women?

  “What about Mia?” Julius asked.

  “She doesn’t need to know anything. She insists we’re not together anyway. I can do what I want. Maybe if you got a job where your woman isn’t with you all the time, you could get chicks like that too. Besides, Mia isn’t giving it up, I gotta get off somewhere.”

  Starting to lift out of my chair, all I wanted to do was snatch this motherfucker up so I could throw him out and be done with his sorry ass. Julius grabbed my arm, pulling me back down. “Wait,” he insisted as Mia, Monique, and Toni returned, giggling.

  I sat back, fisting my hands in my lap. I so badly wanted to knock him around a bit. Maybe jar something in his big head. Breathing deeply, I tried to control my anger. I wanted to smash something, but I wouldn’t let anyone see me lose control.

  With incredibly measured movements, I loosened my fist enough to grab my glass and down my bourbon. I gestured for the waitress to bring me another.

  Monique sat across from me and eyeballed me curiously. She knew when I was pissed and trying to control myself. She tilted her head slightly, asking her silent question, but I didn’t respond.

  “That was so much fun,” Toni said, breathless.

  “Durin’ your off season, we’re goin’ out and havin’ some fun,” Mia told her, plopping into the seat between Grant and Julius. “You gonna come out with us, Monique?” she asked. I was shocked that she asked Monique to go dancing with them. Did Mia actually make friends with Moni?

  Monique agreed with a smile. “Sounds fun, I’m in.”

  Mia’s grin spread across her face, she downed her drink and relaxed.

  “Sounds fun,” Toni smiled.

  The hot waitress brought my drink back, leaning over the table at the perfect angle for everyone to see all that she had. She was definitely trying to get someone’s attention.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled, not sparing her a single glance. I definitely wasn’t into jailbait.

  “Come-on. Let’s go to my hotel, babe.” Grant grabbed Mia’s hand and tried pulling her into him, but she yanked away and glared.

  “I ain’t goin’ anywhere with you. You’re drunk. Just get a room here.”

  “I’m leaving, Mia. If you aren’t coming with me to take care of things, I’ll find someone else willing. Hell, that waitress has been eyeing me all night. I’ll take her with me.” His words were slurred, but his ultimatum was loud and clear.

  Mia sat there and shook her head. Her eyes narrowed and her face fell flat. A slight scowl appeared, but then was instantly gone, like she’d decided she didn’t actually care. “Are you seriously threatenin’ to take someone else to your hotel with you?”

  “I’ve sat here all day watching you with your friends. I can’t stomach being around these people anymore.” Finishing off his drink, he stood.

  “No one asked you to come here, Grant. You invited yourself and I just dealt with you. Why did you insist on coming here?”

  Ignoring her question, he tried to grab her hand. “Well, you owe me, Mia.” He took her elbow and tried to pull her up with him, but she didn’t move.

  Mia’s mouth gaped and her face reddened with anger and embarrassment. She looked both hurt and annoyed. And when I started to stand to defend her against this arrogant cocksucker, Toni stopped me.

  “She’s gotta stand on her own, Jake,” Toni whispered. “She’s gotta make this decision herself.”

  Mia stood, almost like she was resigning herself to him. It pissed me off, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that if she went with him she wasn’t my Mia anymore. My Mia, the audacious girl she had once been, would be gone for good.

  Then she changed. She stood straighter, shoulders back and head held high. Gone was the weak girl I’d seen lately. Gone was the timid girl she was the last two years of high school. Standing in front of us all was the brazen and fearless girl I had once loved. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Her voice raised above the music. “Who the hell do you think you’re talkin’ to?”

  “Mia,” he started, but she instantly stopped him.

  “Shut-up, Grant. You treat me like shit, you act like you own me, and then you wonder why I keep sayin’ we ain’t together. Well we ain’t. So I guess you can go screw your waitress or whoever you want. From now on stay the hell away from me.” She looked so confide
nt and brave, but I knew Mia, she wasn’t. From across the table I could see how stiff she stood and how her hands hung at her sides, trembling. She was trying so hard to stand up for herself, but her confidence was wavering.

  Stunned, Grant stood there and stared at her. Then a sly smirk crossed his face. “You don’t mean that,” he said, moving closer to her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into him. “Look at you, you’re trembling like a leaf. You’re scared of losing me. You’re just trying to look brave in front of your friends. Well, screw them. We’re leaving.”

  “I ain’t scared, I’m pissed, and I ain’t leavin’ with you.”

  She tried pulling away from him, but he wouldn’t let her go. His grip on her arm was so tight, her skin turned red. There would probably be a bruise there tomorrow. This time when I stood, no one stopped me. In a flash I was around the table and had Grant by the throat. “Get you’re fuckin’ hands off of her,” I said through gritted teeth. My low, rumbling voice sounded foreign, even to me.

  Grant released his hold, he shoved his hands into my chest, but I had the momentum. I slammed him back into the wall and held him there. “Don’t touch her again, understand me?” I snarled, bearing down on him.

  “Jake,” Mia whimpered. I looked over at her waiting to see something, anything to tell me that she wasn’t going to stop me. “He ain’t worth it, Jake. Just let him go. Let him leave. He has no business here anymore.”

  Slamming my fist into wall next to his head, I released him. Grant crumpled, leaning against the wall for support. Turning to Mia, I waited to see what she would do. She gave me a gentle smile, and turned to the group.

  “I’m goin’ to bed,” she said quietly, her voice shaking just a bit.

  “Come-on,” Toni said standing. “We’re havin’ a sleepover like we used to when we were kids.” Toni turned to Monique. “You comin’, Moni? We’ll watch some movies and relax.”

  “Absolutely.”

  Mia’s posture relaxed. She nodded and smiled wider. “That sounds like fun.”

  “This isn’t finished, Mia,” Grant threatened, his voice strained like he was trying to control himself. This guy was a loose cannon. He could be a real threat down the road.

  I stood nearby and glared down on him. He needed to know that I wouldn’t let him do anything to hurt her.

  “Yes it is, Grant. I’m sorry I even let things go this long.” She paused and stepped toward him. Grant stood straight and looked down at her. “Please,” she said quietly. “Please just leave me alone.”

  “Mia,” he started but she put her hand up, stopping him from continuing.

  Mia didn’t say another word, but just turned to Toni and Moni and the three women left.

  Grant stood silently, eyes wide and mouth agape. He leaned into wall and watched Mia walk away, his whole body slumping in on itself. I snapped my fingers in his face, to get his attention. “You won’t call or contact her again, you got me?” I rasped. “If I see you near her, the next time my fist flies, it won’t be the wall that gets dented.” He snapped his head toward the wall to see the hole in the plaster. His body stiffened and he appeared worried. A satisfied feeling passed through me. “Stay in Charlotte,” I said, “there ain’t nothin’ in Mooresville for you anymore.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mia

  “So what happened with Grant?” Jen asked at school on Tuesday morning.

  “I’m done with him,” I explained. “He got possessive, grabbin’ my arm and tryin’ to push me around.” I paused for a moment. “I shoulda listened to you.”

  “How’d you get him to stop?” she asked.

  “He grabbed me and tried to force me to leave with him.” We hadn’t talked about Jake at all since that night I saw him at Uncle Bobby’s. “Jake pulled him off me.”

  “Good. Maybe you and Jake can stop playing whatever game you’ve been playing.”

  “What are you talkin’ about?”

  “Nothing. Just that it’s obvious that man feels something for you, that’s all.”

  “What happened between you and Jake?”

  Jen looked down at her shoes, a bit of pink shown on her cheeks. She sighed, “Nothing happened, Mia. He wasn’t interested in me.”

  “That’s not true. I saw him dancin’ with you. He seemed extremely interested.”

  “Maybe he was for a moment, but as soon as he knew you were there and you were sick, that was it. He wanted nothing to do with me. He walked me to my car, told me he wouldn’t sleep with one of your friends, and he left.” She paused and looked at me, almost sad. “That man’s crazy about you.”

  Relief flooded me. Jake had refused Jen’s advances? Then he came straight to Uncle Bobby’s, telling me that he hadn’t gone home with anyone else either. That knowledge made me happier than I wanted to admit.

  Suddenly my conversation with Emma that night flashed in my memory. She had also claimed that Jake felt something for me. Then there was Monique and her insistence that Jake still wanted me. And of course Toni had insisted Jake could still love me if I gave him half the chance. Before we fell asleep for the night in Miami, Toni told Monique all about what happened when we were kids. Then they proceeded to gang up on me and insisted that I needed to talk to him.

  “He’s just a good guy, that’s all. It doesn’t surprise me that he refused to sleep with you once he found out we’re friends. That doesn’t mean he feels anythin’ for me though.”

  She shook her head and rolled her eyes at me.

  “What are you ladies talkin’ about?” Steve asked, walking into the room and sitting down on his seat.

  “Steve, if a guy passes up a sure thing and uses friendship with another woman as the excuse …”

  “He has a thing for the friend,” Steve said cutting Jen off.

  “He does not,” I insisted.

  “Who’s the guy?” Steve asked.

  “A guy Mia’s been pining for since high school.”

  “Look, both of you need to stop it. He’s barely talked to me in years, only when he has to. He definitely doesn’t want me anymore.”

  “You can deny it all you want, Mia, but I was there. He wanted nothing to do with me once he realized we’re friends.”

  “Jake’s just a good guy, Jen. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Who is this guy?” Steve asked.

  “He …” I started to say, but Jen cut me off. Why were my friends insisting I bring up shit from the past? Either all these people are delusional or I am oblivious.

  “Basically, they slept together, he told her he loved her, and they got into an argument and she told him she didn’t need him.” She turned to me and smiled. “That about sums it up, doesn’t it?”

  Groaning, I nodded. Thinking about Jake made my stomach churn and my heart race. Maybe all the misery was my fault – Self-inflicted unhappiness that’s lasted for years. “Yeah, that’s about it.”

  “So years later he still has no idea why? Mia, no wonder he’s pissed. You gotta tell him. Even if it’s just to clear the air.” Steve said firmly.

  “I don’t know. It was so long ago.” The thought of talking to Jake, of telling him how I was confused after watching my parents’ marriage crash made my stomach churn even more. My head throbbed and my thoughts raced as I imagined that conversation. It would be a nightmare.

  “Yet you’re still suffering every day,” Jen said. “And I’m telling you, he still has feelings for you. At least tell him what happened. Tell him you’re sorry for not clearing the air sooner. But talk to him. It could help.”

  “I don’t know if I can ever be that open with him.”

  Steve stood and walked across to where I was sitting. He stooped down and looked at me straight in the eyes. “Now you listen to me, you need to do this for your own sanity. It doesn’t matter what he thinks or if it fixes anything for him. It’s about you fixin’ things for yourself. Nothin’ more. It will make you feel better if you clear the air.”

  I nodded. “All right,” I
sighed. “Fine. I’ll try to talk to him at some point. But the time has to be right.”

  ***

  “Mia, we need to talk,” Grant’s message said. Hearing his voice made me feel ill. I had hoped the messages were done. At first it was a couple times a day, every day. Then the calls dwindled. I hoped he’d gotten the hint, but apparently he hadn’t.

  Then my mother called.

  “Hello?” I answered smiling. I loved when I had the opportunity to talk to my mom. She was a nurse in Shady Falls and rarely worked normal hours. Being alone, she opted for the night and evening shifts to let her younger co-workers have shifts so they weren’t missing their children.

  “Hi honey, how are things goin?” Her sweet voice sounded so tired.

  “Good actually,” I replied. “School’s great and my students are so sweet.”

  “How about everything else?” She pushed in her non-intrusive way. My mother wasn’t one to ask many questions, but she had her way of finding out what she needed to know.

  “Just cut to the chase, Momma. What do you wanna know?” I laughed out. She didn’t like to pry, but she was always concerned.

  “Fine,” she huffed. “Is there somethin’ goin’ on? I had an interestin’ visit this afternoon.”

  “What are you talkin’ about?”

  “That man, Grant, came to visit me today.”

  I was stunned silent for a moment. She waited patiently while I registered what she just told me. Grant went to visit her? He didn’t even know her. Today’s message was the first in over a week. “Why the hell would he go visit you?! He met you like once!”

  “I don’t know, Mia. He showed up about eleven this mornin’ and stayed until just after noon.”

  “Didn’t you work last night?” I asked. “Did he wake you up?”

  She sighed. “It’s not a big deal. He just wasn’t gettin’ the hint when I told him I needed to sleep, so I went to the bathroom and texted Mike to come over.”

  Snickering, I asked, “Was Mike scary enough?” Mike was Toni’s father. He was six and a half feet tall, big and burly, with a full beard. He looked like the typical older biker with his leather cut and black work boots. Mike could be exceedingly intimidating when he wanted. He was basically like a father to me. After my dad left, he kind of took that place. He and my mother had been friends for years, so it was no surprise she called him.