Red Flags
Page 20
“Those are not the specifics I was looking for Jason, and you know it.” I managed to get out in between sobs. “Do you want her? You sound like you miss her.”
“Of course I don’t want her. Cara, I want to be with you, I just wish that you would trust me. I’m sorry about Stacey, but I can’t make her go away.” He continued rubbing my head, soothing the growing tension that had filled my skull. We sat for a while – me crying in his arms, and my sobbing finally subsided. I sat up and looked at him, through tear stained eyes.
“So this gala where we saw all of those pictures, what is it?” I already knew the answer, thanks to Jacob, but I wanted to see if Jason could be truthful with anything – even something so miniscule.
“It’s something my parents do every year for charity. It’s in another few weeks.” He stopped, and looked at me. “Would you like to go?” I stared at him -- flabbergasted, not sure if I should answer excitedly, or remain calm. “I want to take you to Heath, introduce you to my parents.” I nodded my head in approval, failing to hold back my giddy grin.
“What about Jacob?” I asked, because I knew Jason was no fan of Jacob and he still lived in Heath.
“I can avoid my brother for a day or two. I really want to take you to this.”
I threw my arms around him and started kissing him passionately. All it took was for us to fight about his ex for him to open up to me. He laid me down on the bed and began to undress me, and I lay completely at his disposal.
<>
I awoke up to an empty bed. As I moved, my body felt like I had been through excruciating Crossfit training sessions. What Jason did to me last night, I would venture to say the Crossfit workout could take some lessons from him. I moved slowly, throwing on a t-shirt and some shorts. I almost panicked when the thought that I had missed morning workouts invaded my mind, but I quickly remembered that because of playoff pairings, we had the day off. I stepped out of my room to the warm aroma of coffee, bacon and eggs, and pancakes. Jason was manning the kitchen while Hunter and Chelsea were setting the table. I had to shake my head to take in this scene; Jason and Chelsea in the same vicinity and not killing each other, especially after last night. I’ll take what I can get. Jason walked over to me, and kissed me softly on the lips.
“Morning gorgeous…” There was that word again; the word I swore didn’t fit me in the least bit. I smiled and made my way to the table to join Chelsea and Hunter, giving them polite smiles. Jason brought the food to the table and we all dug in. Chelsea made eye contact with me and gave me a sly smirk.
“Surprised you’re walking this morning,” and I immediately turned to Jason who was basking in the glory of Chelsea’s shameless ego stroking. I looked down at my food, shoving more in, hoping she would drop the subject. To my horror, she started making sex faces and moaning obscene things that I was sure had never left my mouth.
“Ah... ahhh… oh-my-fucking-God-Jason…. Fuck me harder Jason… beat it Jason… slam it Jason…” I seemed to be the only person at the table not in the least bit entertained by Chelsea’s show.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, Hunter – quiet Hunter, chimed in.
“How bad you want it? Tell me… yeah… fuck yeah…” his voice was low and husky, and he too had thrown in the disgusting sex faces. Jason was leaning back in his chair, clapping his hands, laughing hysterically. On the other hand, I was mortified and sitting there praying that the table would swallow me up and never let me out.
“Hey, I have to know how she wants it done. Gotta know I’m pleasin’ ma girl,” Jason arrogantly spit out, grinning at me. I finished my food, and pulled Chelsea into my bedroom, shutting the door behind me.
“Ewww… I still smell remnants of sex in here,” she shrieked, holding her nose. I shoved her shoulder and she let go. I leaned up against my desk, arms folded across my chest, trying my hardest to look angry, but failing miserably.
“What the hell was that Chels?” She smiled, and ran her fingers through her long hair.
“Ok, it doesn’t smell like sex, that plug-in is amazing in here…” she grinned, but immediately moved on to the topic that I really wanted to address. “Cara, I have to try and stay on an even keel with Jason. He was pissed that I was spying on him via Stacey, so I need to show him that I like him,” she rolled her eyes, and her game plan became evident to me.
“Chels, I don’t want you to hate Jason. I would love for you two to be able to get along -- and for it to be real…” She held up her hand to stop me.
“Um, I liked him, when I first met him, but the more I see, he is a control freak, and he has some skeletons in that closet of his. Until he uncovers that shit, I have my guard up with him. Plus, I think you might be better off with Chase anyway,” and her eyes lit up as she said Chase’s name.
“I don’t want Chase like that.”
“Wasn’t always like that.”
“Well, it’s different now. And, besides, I can’t go back down that route and you know it.” I gave Chelsea a warning eye that she all but ignored.
“Too bad, Chase has grown into quite the looker, and he’s totally into you.”
“He’s a friend Chels, that’s it.” I turned away from her, and then my original topic of conversation popped back into my head. I bit my index finger nail as I turned back to her. “Did Jason say anything to you about the paper?” She looked at me, crossing her arms over her chest and she took a seat in my desk chair. Reading her body language I could tell that they had words, but must have straightened things out.
“He did ask why I was so interested in knowing about her.”
“AND?” I shouted, unable to contain my anxiety.
“Calm it down Cara. You know, better than most, that I can hold my shit when it comes to Jason. I told him I'm your best friend and anything that concerns you concerns me. If you’re happy, then I’m happy.” Her lips perked into a snooty little pout, but at that moment, I smiled, because I knew for a fact that Chelsea said every bit of that to Jason and meant it as well.
<>
The meeting was relatively quick, with our coach informing us that we would be leaving to go to Las Vegas to face Las Vegas University in the first round of the playoffs. We had only played them one other time and we lost to them in an early season tournament. I tried to figure out if Jason was going to be excited or incensed by our departure to Vegas for four days.
I pushed the thought aside and giddily made my way back up to the apartment with Chelsea in tow. She was going on and on about how she planned to sneak out and run the town with Hunter; and all I could do was shake my head and laugh, because while it sounded ridiculous, it was very much like something that Chelsea would do.
We burst into the apartment to find Hunter and Jason watching a Padres game. Chelsea came bulldozing her way through the door and shouted at the top of her lungs, “we’re off to Vegas boys.” She looked more like a cheerleader than a softball player by the way that she was jumping up and down. The guys looked to us, and then back to each other. Chelsea grabbed Hunter by the hand and pulled him back to her bedroom, while mumbling something about helping her pick out her best Vegas outfits. Jason followed me into my room and I was once again unsure of his ever changing mood.
“When do ya’ll leave?” He asked, under hooded eyes.
I ran my tongue over my top row of teeth, “tomorrow,” I answered, unsure why I was so fearful of his reaction. He ran his hand over his mouth and replied, “well, I guess I better go and pack.”
“Huh?” I asked stupidly.
“Well, if you’re going to Vegas, I need to be there to support you, so I need to get home and pack.” I breathed a sigh of relief and my heart swelled; I was no longer apprehensive about the trip. I really had no room to be anyway because it was a sports trip, but I was worried that Jason would find some reason to freak out about it. Classes came to mind, and while mine were cleared, Jason’s were not.
“What about your classes? Finals are coming up.”
My phone call with my dad was brief. He already knew about us going to Vegas thanks to Mila. She had already called Ryan, and since he was with my parents, he filled them in. As silly and juvenile as it was, it bothered me that the information was coming from her and not me. Mila and I had made up, but there was still a bit of lingering resentment there where she was concerned. I tried to push her out of my mind and continued packing everything I needed for our four days.
The trip was really for business, but the University usually allotted time for “team bonding”, as they called it. I was almost sure Chelsea would use that as time to sneak off somewhere. I threw in a couple of short skirts, and halter tops – just in case.
We stayed up all night, with Chelsea planning our trip around practice and game times. Her parents and my parents were carpooling together, and Hunter and Jason were carpooling as well. I tried to talk him out of taking the Raptor, but he said he wanted to bring me home, so he would need the space for my bags, and the Shelby wouldn’t allow for it.
The team was flying and as the University buses dropped us off at San Diego International Airport, everyone was riled up with excitement. We had had plenty of practice to prepare, and were just anxious to get there.
The flight was rather short, maybe an hour total flying time. The task of gathering all of the gear, getting team vans, and loading everyone in was a completely different story. Who would have thought that trying to split 15 girls and gear into three vans would be such a fiasco? Chelsea started barking orders, Mila was engrossed in her phone, and I was just annoyed. I hopped into the first van and sat with my headphones on, trying to drown out the unnecessary commotion. When we were finally ready to go, the vans headed out on the 15 South towards LVU. I decided to text Jason to let him know that we had made it, and was on our way to the hotel. Chelsea shoved Mila, who was sitting in the row in front of us, because she was laughing loudly at the text messages coming through on her phone.
Once we arrived at our hotel, we unloaded our personal belongings and lugged them up to our assigned rooms. Chelsea, Mila, another team member, Kate, and I were all assigned to one room. Unloading my things into the drawers, my phone finally buzzed, only it wasn’t Jason, it was Chase. He just wanted to wish me and the rest and of the team good luck, and said sorry he couldn’t be there to watch us. That was sweet of him, but not who I was hoping to hear from. I shot him a quick thank you, and then pulled Chelsea over to my side of the bed.
“Have you heard from Hunter?”
“Yea. He says they’re at Primm, and that Jason is driving like a bat out of hell trying to get to you.” She laughed, but my I didn’t reciprocate.
My phone buzzed again, and this time, it was Jason.
Jason Bradley
*I love you too!*
All of the color drained from my face, and Chelsea stopped laughing, and snatched the phone from my hands. She read the text, not understanding the concern on my face,
“What’s wrong with you Cara? All he said was I love you too.” She shoved the phone back into my hands.
“I never texted him I love you.”
Kate and Mila turned to see what was going on with us. I motioned for Chelsea to follow me outside, and caught Mila and Kate eyeing us suspiciously. We walked down the hall and Chelsea let go of her frustrations.
“I try so fucking hard Cara, but I just don’t like him. I don’t trust him.”
“I know,” is all I could muster because I didn’t have anything else to say.
“Who the fuck was that meant for if it wasn’t meant for you? If he sent that to that Stacey bitch, I swear to God Cara, I can’t be held responsible for what I say to him.”
We made our way down to the lobby and stopped in the attached café to grab bottles of water. I looked at my phone, wondering if I should text him back. Chelsea must have read my mind because she snatched it and sent a text back to him.
to Jason Bradley
*Who the hell are you telling you love them to? I never sent that to you.*
A minute went by and my phone buzzed again.
from Jason Bradley
*OMG. You need to calm down. I’m coming to see you. That was my MOM!*
I immediately felt petty. He was allowed to text his mom, since he didn’t see her much. Chelsea on the other hand wasn’t buying his story. She took out her phone and texted Hunter, since he was in the truck with Jason. She quickly got a reply but still wasn’t satisfied.
“Hunter says he doesn’t know who Jason is texting. It’s all by voice, he thought he was texting you.” She ran her fingers through her long hair and rolled her eyes. I didn’t know what to think. I knew he was coming all this way to be here with me, but the text didn’t make sense. Then he said it was his mother, so I resigned myself to just accept it.
We hurried to the meeting room to go over curfew for the night, meeting time in the morning, game time, and pre game procedures. My and Chelsea’s parents had made it and dinner had been planned at a steakhouse not far from the hotel. I wondered about Ryan, but my mom told me that he was coming with the Nakamura’s, since he got off work late.
The meeting ended and we raced back to our rooms. My excitement for Jason to be there had just about diminished. I just wanted to stay focused for our upcoming game, and his latest slip had my attention all but where it should have been.
In the lobby, my parents, the Peters, Hunter, and Jason were all waiting for us. Chelsea hurried to hug her parents, and then buried herself in Hunter. Jason grabbed me in his arms, lifting me off the ground. He kissed me softly, probably because my dad’s eyes were burning through us, and I half-heartedly reciprocated it. We began the short trek to the parking lot, when Jason stopped, threw the keys to Hunter, and held me in front of him. Chelsea walked with a half grin, but kept walking to the truck. Jason turned me to face him, his face stern, and anger brewing under his skin.
“I drove all the way out here to see you and this is what I get?” I looked down, but he caught my chin in his hand and brought my eyes to meet his. I could see anger, and worry in his beautiful brown eyes. “I don’t want anything throwing us off while we’re in Vegas Cara, so knock it off. Your dad was blazin’ my back side when I went to greet you. Do you want to spend the entire time we’re here having to explain shit?” I shook my head, and he took my hand and led me to the truck.
The drive to the steakhouse felt like an eternity due to the enormous amount of tension filling the truck. Jason and I were dealing with our nonsense, Chelsea was boiling inside at Jason, and Hunter was simply trying to enjoy the ride.
Ryan and the Nakamura’s had finally arrived and Mila was floating on cloud nine. Her incessant public displays of affection with Ryan were making me queasy and not wanting to finish my dinner. The table was light hearted, with quick wit, storytelling, and joy filling every inch. My earlier angst with Jason had subsided, but in no way diminished.
We left the steakhouse and drove back to the hotel with plans to meet up at the pool. I slipped into the all-white bikini that Jason had bought for me. Chelsea and I went down to the pool, leaving Mila up in the room. She and Hunter jumped into the pool, while Jason and I dipped into the spa. I could smell whiskey on his breath as he threw himself all over me. His eyes were gleaming with excitement at the sight of seeing me in the bikini, so I figured if he was drunk, and enamored, then now was as good a time as any to pry into his dealings.
“So you love this bikini huh?”
“Love it? Shit, I can’t wait to rip it off of you, I have a mind to do it right here.” His eyes lustful while his voice filled with southern drawl.
I laughed, but pushed his hands back, because in his inebriated state, I
was sure he would try to make good on his promises. He kissed me hard, so hard in fact that our teeth collided and I had to shake him off. He grabbed me -- splashing water, and thrust his hand down into my bottoms, cupping my butt, while circling his tongue all around my mouth. Out of fear of someone seeing us, as well as my dire longing to talk to him, I found the strength to push myself away from him, which only irritated him.
“Damn Cara. You’re such a tease.” He dropped his head under the water, and then came up, wiping the excess water from his face. I decided that I wouldn’t back down and proceeded with my questions.
“Jason, stop. I need to know who you were texting earlier.” Aggravation filled his face, and he took a deep breath.
“I told you, it was my Mom. Mama, mother, mommy, mamaw, how many ways do you want me to say it?” He threw more water over his face.
“I just don’t know if I buy that.” I moved slightly as he moved swiftly in front of me, close enough for me to feel his warm, whiskey filled breath.
“I came to Vegas to be with you. Why do you think I want anyone else?” The flood gates of my mind opened, every thought I had been harboring came boiling to the surface, and I could no longer contain my constant frustrations.
“Well, for starters, you are the most secretive person I know. You leave me, go home, don’t call, come back and expect everything to be fine. I find out about your ex- fuck buddy, girlfriend – whatever she was to you, and then she says you two saw each other while you were home.” He listened, impassively. “She is all over the place with your family, I still have no fucking clue why you went home, and now, you text me with I love you too, even though I never initiated the I love you…” I stopped to catch my breath, yelling was so out of character for me.