Clarise's face darkened as she folded her arms across her chest. Her mind went back to her telephone conversation with Will the last time he was in Melbourne. He was cold and impersonal to her then. When he mentioned he was going to the birthday party of Rob's girlfriend's sister, she was hurt especially after he described the birthday girl as outgoing and very attractive. Jealousy sprouted within her and she glared at Will with remembered hurt in her eyes.
He frowned as he put an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him as he continued to speak with Andrea. "When do you leave Sydney, Andrea?"
She tried to push him away but he just held her tighter.
"I leave next Saturday," Andrea answered.
"I'll check my diary, but I'm really very busy this week."
"Oh, come on, Will. I'm sure you'll have time for coffee. I can even go to you if you give me the address. I can take a taxi. That will save you some time."
"I'll have to get back to you, Andrea."
"Okay, but make sure you clear some time on your diary for me, Will Matthews! You owe me," Andrea reminded him with a laugh.
Will cringed. "Yes, I know. I'll see you for coffee sometime this week. I'll bring my girlfriend with me."
When Will finished the call, Clarise freed herself from his embrace and strode wordlessly to the shower.
"Baby …" Will called to her.
She was mad - and hurt - although rationally she didn't have a good reason to be. That was in the past. Will had since proven to her many times over how much he loved her. But she just couldn't stand the thought that he may have slept with another woman even though at the time they were only in a casual relationship.
Will caught her arm and she stilled.
"Did you sleep with that Antoinette woman?" She shut her eyes as she waited for him to respond. She was scared of the answer but she needed to know.
Will turned her around to face him. "Look at me," he commanded gruffly, tilting her chin with his finger. She opened her eyes to look into Will's intense gaze.
"No, I didn't." His forceful delivery released the tension in her body and made her knees go weak with relief. She leaned against him and he put his arms around her.
"Clarise, there has never been any other woman since I first laid my eyes on you." He caressed her cheek with a thumb. "And there will never be anyone else for me but you," he added softly, sincerity pouring out of him. "Baby, you know how much I love you, don't you?"
"Yes. I do," she responded with misty eyes. "Sorry. Overreaction. I just get silly over you sometimes."
Will chuckled and squeezed her tighter. "As long as you love me," he said huskily.
"I love you, Will."
As she melted in Will's arms, she gave herself a mental reminder to check up on Jessa later.
~~~~~~~
"So how was last night, Jess?" Clarise tried to sound nonchalant, wanting to hide her worry from her friend.
"Good, then disappointing, then sweet, then disappointing."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it was good to see Rob again, then something urgent came up that we didn't even get to have dessert, then he kissed me near the lifts," Jessa said with a dreamy sigh, "then I left and I'm still frustrated. I should have slept with him on the first date, Clarise. I could be replaying my sexy night with a gorgeous guy in my head rather than frustrating on what could have been."
She laughed, her worry easing. Jessa did seem to only want the sexual experience with Rob and nothing more. "You'll live," she teased.
"Seriously, Clarise, I now know what it's like to be seriously turned on by a man's looks. But how do I cope with this … sexual frustration? How do you handle it when Will's not around?"
She blushed as she thought about how she and Will dealt with their need for each other when they were apart and how super hot they got when they were back together. She avoided Jessa's question with one of her own. "How did you cope with it before you met Rob, Jess?"
"Well, I really didn't have to deal with anything as intense as this before. I can honestly say he's the first man I've truly, seriously lusted after."
"So what happens next?"
"I don't know. He said he's coming back here soon. I guess I'll just have to wait."
She decided to play devil's advocate and test her friend. "What if he doesn't come back for months? Or if he did come back soon, what if his sexual energy has already been spent elsewhere and … he's not as eager for you?" She hated herself as soon as the words came out but she felt Jessa needed to hear it.
"Ouch," Jessa answered quietly after a long pause. "But you're right. Rob's into casual sex and it wouldn't be hard for a guy like him to find someone else to play with. Maybe I should go to Melbourne and get him out of my system before his attraction for me dies down."
"Jessa! Are you serious?"
"That or go find a gorgeous Sydney man to have a one-night-stand with."
"Wow, do you hear what's coming out of your mouth, Miss Allen?" she said in a tone that was full of wonder.
"It's this damned sexual frustration! I tell you what though, Clarise. If someone like Rob could want to have sex with me, then I'm sure someone else as equally good-looking could as well."
Jessa told her about the dimpled guy she bumped into earlier in the day who called her beautiful.
"See? What do we keep telling you, Jess. There are all these men who notice you and think you're very attractive. The only reason you don't notice them is because you refuse to believe they could be attracted to you. Not all men just rack up to girls and say they're beautiful or they're interested, you know. A good number of them start out with giving hints, trying to gauge your level of interest. But most of the time, you ignore them because you just wouldn't believe they were coming on to you."
Jessa was quiet for a long moment. "Really, Clarise?"
"Yes! Remember Paul at that expo we went to three months ago? He was cute."
"Oh, come on. He wasn't interested in me, was he? He just met me then. He couldn't have been wanting to go out with me."
"See what I mean?" she said. "I watched you ignore his subtle signals. He would have believed you weren't interested as opposed to simply being blissfully ignorant of his attraction to you."
"Okay, then. Maybe I'm starting to believe you. But it's not like I could just easily get a date with a handsome man like him."
"As if Rob and that dimpled guy from this morning weren't proof enough. But okay, just wait and we'll come up with ways for you to be out on dates with decent, good-looking guys."
Clarise was excited that her friend was starting to come out of her shell more. She had been hiding under it, putting on a mask of indifference and professionalism. That served Jessa well in her career for she was truly brilliant at what she did. But she knew the loneliness Jessa felt from thinking she was unattractive when it was simply a belief from her childhood that totally skewed her perception. At least they could be thankful to Rob for helping them with a JAB of his own by asking Jessa out.
When she finished her conversation with Jessa, she was straight on the phone to Faye. They were determined to help Jessa go out there and have some fun. She'd held herself back too much. And if she dated more, they had no doubt she'd find herself a man who would just hold on to her and never let her go. In the end, that was what they wanted for her. They knew deep down it was what Jessa was looking for.
~~~~~~~
Rob smiled with satisfaction and relief as the second of the big Sydney contracts he was chasing also came through, signed and dated. Now he could fully plan and prepare for a short-term stay in Sydney as he personally attended to these new clients.
He missed the city he grew up in and was looking forward to living there for four months. The good thing was he didn't need an office space there. He could work from the serviced apartment he would be staying at and any support he needed could be catered for electronically by his Melbourne staff.
His thoughts turned to Jessa and his body started r
eacting. He had considered flying to Sydney for the weekend just to see her. He almost arranged it until he realised how crazy that was. How could he disrupt his schedule and fly to another state just for some casual sex? Crazy. He'd be back there in three weeks anyway. By then, his attraction to her should have diminished that he wouldn't be contemplating any more idiotic actions for a one-night-stand or two.
His phone rang. "Will."
"Hey, Rob, how's it going?"
"Good, good. You?"
"Alright. Guess who I had coffee with today?"
"Who?"
"Your ex."
Oh, shit. He'd forgotten all about Andrea being in Sydney. "Did she call you?"
"Yes. She's a very insistent woman. Wouldn't let me get away with not having coffee with her."
"What did she want from you?"
"Nothing much from me. She just asked me about places she could go to and told me how she was enjoying Bondi and the new people she met on the beach. She did talk a lot about you, though."
"What about?"
"Oh, she was more like reminiscing on your good times together. She wants you back, you know."
Rob snorted and shook his head then suddenly sat up straight on his chair as he remembered something. "Did Clarise know you saw Andrea?"
"Yes, of course," Will replied. "That's why I made sure we were done in less than an hour. Clarise was supposed to go with me but she couldn't fit it in her schedule."
"Did you tell her Andrea wanted me back?"
"Yeah, I told her what Andrea and I talked about. She wasn't happy to learn about Antoinette being all crazy about me. I wanted to reassure her we didn't talk about Antoinette."
He chuckled. "You are so under your girlfriend's thumb, Matthews!"
"Am not."
"Are, too! Anyway, what I want to know is does Clarise have any plans on warning Jessa off me?"
Will was silent for a beat. "No, not really."
"Not really?"
"Well, she hasn't mentioned anything about protecting Jessa from you, if that's what you mean. Although the girls have plans in place so Jessa can meet new guys."
"What?"
"I don't think it's particularly so she doesn't see you again. It's more like they want Jessa to meet a potential boyfriend so they're helping her find dates. They all know you're not boyfriend material."
Rob's head started to throb as the unwanted image of Jessa dating other guys popped in his imagination. No! "How exactly are they helping her find dates?"
"I heard Clarise on the phone encouraging her to go to this speed dating thing they found for her tomorrow night."
"Tomorrow night? Is she going?" he asked in a strangled voice.
"I don't know. You sound funny. What's wrong?"
"Fuck if I know." He exhaled harshly. "I'm so goddamn attracted to Jessa I can't think straight. I don't want her going out with other men but I also don't want to be in a relationship with her. Man, I have a serious need to get laid."
"So fucking get laid then, Rob. But don't mess with my girlfriend's best friend."
Rob looked out his office window and ran a hand over his face. "I can't seem to get off with anyone else."
"What?" The shock in Will's voice was evident. "You mean, 'Sex God' Rob has performance problems?" Will started to laugh. Evidently, the thought of him not being able to perform in bed was just too funny.
"Shut up! It's not like that."
Will laughed harder.
"Matthews, shut up and listen to me. I haven't taken any woman to bed lately, that's what. I just haven't tried. I want Jessa and I'm waiting to have her first before … I move on to the next one." He shook his head at the stupidity of his logic. "Shit, that's crazy."
Will had calmed down. "So what are you going to do?"
"Go pick up tonight and get laid," he growled. "So I better finish up here and have an early start to my hunt."
"Okay, then. Good luck."
"You know I don't need luck with picking up chicks."
"I mean good luck in getting it up." Will was laughing again.
"Fuck off," he barked good-naturedly.
~~~~~~~
Will sat back in his chair, rubbing his chin. His amusement had died down and he thought about what Rob had confessed.
'I can't seem to get off with anyone else.'
He understood what that meant. He wouldn't be able to get off with anyone else either, wouldn't even be able to get his dick hard if it wasn't Clarise he was with. But the only reason that was the case was because he didn't want to be with anyone else. He was in love with Clarise.
Holy shit. Rob in love? With Jessa?
He resolved to get to the bottom of this.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jessa stood nervously outside the speed dating venue, half hoping she didn't have to go in. What if no one picked her tonight? There were at least fourteen other single girls there for the single guys to choose from. But her friends seemed pretty sure she would have at least one date after this.
She wasn't really keen to be matched up with anyone at the moment. It was just the thought of Rob possibly spending his sexual energy on some other woman in Melbourne that made her agree to go. She wasn't going to wallow and wait for him.
"It's not fair that you're all going to have a nice dinner together and I'll be by myself in there," she complained to Clarise and Faye.
The two women, along with Will, Victor and Evan were going out to dinner together at the restaurant directly downstairs from the venue while they wait for her to finish.
"Oh, I'm sure you'd have just as much fun in there as we would out here," Faye consoled her. "In fact, you'll have more fun than Clarise and Victor since they wouldn't be able to openly check out all the single guys that'll be prowling around here tonight."
"You shouldn't have teased Will," Clarise said with a smile.
"Your boyfriend's just too possessive, Clarise," Faye countered. "Just because I said we'll be helping Jess check out single men doesn't mean you'll let yourself get picked up by one of them."
"Well, I kind of like it that he wants to be here and let everyone know I'm his," Clarise responded with a contented sigh. "Anyway, has Steve called to say if he would be able to join us tonight? I'm sure he'd want to keep an eye on you, too."
"No. He's definitely not coming." There was a hard edge to Faye's voice that was noticed by her friends.
"Is everything alright?" Clarise asked.
Faye shrugged. "He's just been really busy with work lately. We've hardly had any time together in the last three weeks and now he has to go back to Adelaide again for another week. Apparently their turnover there has increased by more than fifty percent ever since Steve has been overseeing that branch so his boss loves sending him there."
"Oh," Jessa cried, putting a hand on Faye's arm. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. And don't you turn the tables on me. This night's about you, not me! Anyway, here come Victor and Evan."
Jessa and Clarise exchanged concerned looks before turning to their approaching buddies.
They exchanged kisses with the two men just as a lady with a clipboard came out of the room, ready to usher in the speed dating participants.
Well-dressed men and women who were milling around earlier started queuing for the entrance. Some of them were very pleasing to the eye.
Victor turned to Evan. "So would you have been jealous if I didn't invite you to join us to dinner?
"Last time I looked this wasn't a gay speed dating event. But I would have been mad if I missed out on having dinner with the hunky Will Matthews."
Victor gave him a mock pout.
Evan chuckled. "Where's Will anyway?"
"He's on his way. You can ogle him, but no touch, okay?" Clarise teased Evan then turned to Jessa. "Time to go in, Jess. Remember to have fun. Just enjoy the experience."
"Okay. Wish me luck!"
As Jessa entered the venue, she couldn't help but hope that tonight would be a good night for mee
ting a potential boyfriend. She resolutely pushed away the picture of Rob that flashed in her mind, reminding herself he was not in the market for relationships.
~~~~~~~
"Hmm, I don't know. I'm not sure about him either," Jessa said indecisively and chuckled as Clarise and Victor rolled their eyes. They were having lunch in her office, going over her match results from last night's speed date which were emailed to her not too long ago. To her surprise, four out of the five men she selected also chose her so she ended up with four potential dates.
"If you're not sure about any one of these men, why did you choose them?" Clarise asked.
She shrugged. "I know you guys are going to hassle me if I didn't pick anyone so I chose five guys who I thought were nice enough."
"So if they were good enough last night, what makes them not good enough today?" Victor queried as he bit into his sandwich with gusto.
"I don't know. I just can't remember what they look like, I guess."
"Well, you really only talked to them for about six minutes or so. It's no wonder you don't remember what they look like. Why don't you just date all of them and do your culling process after you've been out with them at least once? You said they were all nice enough," Clarise suggested.
She thought for a second. "Yeah, I guess I can do that."
"Woohoo!" Victor raised a fist in the air in triumph. "Our Jess is gonna have fun dating four different men!"
Their laughter rang in the room just as Jessa's phone did.
"Hi" she greeted the caller.
Clarise and Victor ate their lunch quietly as they listened to her side of the conversation.
"I'm good, thanks. You? … Oh, really? … Um, yeah, that would be great … Tonight? Victor invited me to have dinner at his mum's place. His mum loves cooking for other people … Are you sure? … Okay, then … Bye."
Heart Robber (Lifestyle by Design Book 2) Page 5