Cocky Jerk

by Rose Harper

  Brad, wearing aviator sunglasses, leaned against the doorjamb, a cocky smirk on his face.

  He was making no move toward me. It was as if he was waiting for me to come to him. It felt like a cold bucket of water had been dashed on me. He takes his index finger, sliding his aviators down to the tip of his nose. His eyes began eating me up. A seductive smile came over his face as his eyes hooded. I began fidgeting under his intense gaze, a warm feeling creeping over me.

  “Well, hello there, Claire Bear. I see you’re still as hot as ever.” His deep, gravelly voice took on a seductive purr.

  My mouth fell open in shock. How dare this fucknut use my nickname? That right had been taken from him when he tossed me out with the trash. I was in so much shock I was frozen in place, the anger ripping me apart from the inside. It has been ten years since I saw him last, but he still thought he could talk to me that way. Yeah, I don’t think so. I could feel my temper boiling, causing a crimson blush to come over me. Brad, not being the wiser, thought I was blushing because of him. In all aspects I was, but it wasn’t from falling under his spell.

  When I got my wits about me, I smiled, taking a step toward him. He beamed a bright, white-toothed smile—a smile that had caused me to go weak in the knees several times over. But not this time; I have another idea in mind. The closer I came to him, the more his eagerness showed. He pulled his sunglasses from his face, holding them teasingly between his teeth. The same teeth that used to nibble my ears and give gentle love bites all across my body.

  He crossed his leg over the other, feigning boredom. Before I knew it, I was within inches of his body, feeling his heat pulse from him in waves. He took the glasses from his lips, hanging them on his shirt. Reaching a hand toward me, I frowned when he ran his finger up the outside of my arm. Looking into his eyes, I saw them brighten with laughter. He was testing me. That son of a bitch. I’ll show him testing me.

  I smiled shyly at him, lowering my head to hide my eyes. When his index finger cupped my chin, bringing my head back up so I could look at him, he leaned in. My opportunity presented itself, balling my fist up, I reared my arm back. His eyes were connected with mine, so he didn’t know what I was doing. Putting all my anger behind the force of my arm, I swung, connecting with his nose. A girly squeal came from his lips as he put his hands up to his face.

  I turned around and my face lit up with joy. I swayed my hips seductively as I made my way into the kitchen. I stopped at the door, looking back. My mother’s face wore a smirk and Henry was rolling with laughter. I giggled. When I caught their attention, I masked my emotion. Taking on a look of horror, I nailed them with terrified eyes.

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Don’t you just hate spiders? The nasty little buggers. He’ll thank me one day.”

  I sat down at the kitchen table, giggling to myself. I heard my mother fawn over Brad as his dad said, “Prick, I told you this would happen.” I almost couldn’t contain my laughter. Damn! It felt good to get back at him for what he did. It wasn’t much, but it made me feel good. Taking a drink from my goblet, I smiled behind the cup when the others joined me at the table. I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw that Brad was giving me the stink eye.

  I set my glass down, shooting my mother an innocent smile. She cocked her head to the side, crossing her arms in front of her. “Kids, now that you have that out of your system, there will not be any more casualties this weekend.”

  We quickly nodded our heads in agreement; our answers made her smile across the table at us. When we were all settled in, my mother began serving everyone. It was something that she always did, even though it had always just been the two of us. I pushed back my chair to get up and help her, but she waved me away. Her face showed contented happiness; it was a joy to watch her interact with Henry.

  From the time the door opened until now he was still complimenting her, kissing her, waiting on her hand and foot. That was when she allowed him to. It was nice to see two people in such love. I thought back to the time that he was married to Brad’s mother. Even then I never saw him this happy. I didn’t know if it was their love overflowing and contaminating me with it, but I felt lighthearted, watching them interact. It was then that I believed everything my mother said on the phone. She was indeed in love with Henry and he was with her.

  I came out of my trance when I felt a hand slide from my knee to my thigh. My mother and the Titan men had been talking about the wedding while I was over here probably looking like a special person, staring off into space. I looked over at Brad, seeing him smiling in a mischievous way. He noticed me looking at him, and glanced back, winking. I shook my leg trying to disengage his hold on me, but it didn’t work. Moving my leg, I tried crossing them, only to have him hold steady and force my legs to stay uncrossed.

  To say that his dominance over my body wasn’t hot would be a lie. It always got my engine revved when a man took charge. But to have Brad be that man just wouldn’t do. I put my fork down on my plate, inconspicuously sliding my hand under the table. I rubbed the back of his hand softly, earning a surprised gasp from him. I was looking at my mother now, seeing that she was lost in conversation with Henry.

  Feeling around for his finger, I grabbed hold. Gripping it tightly when his hand began to slide up my leg getting closer to my panties, I smiled evilly just before bending his finger back farther than was scientifically possible. He stopped mid-sentence and coughed. His eyes began to water furiously, or so it would seem to my mother and Henry.

  “Are you all right, son?” Henry asked, giving him a concerned look.

  He nodded his head in tight, short spurts. “Yeah …I’m just nervous is all.” He visibly shook when he grabbed his goblet, taking a drink.

  My mother swooned. “Awe, Claire. Did you hear that? Brad’s nervous.”

  “Brad’s something, all right,” I snickered, letting go of his finger.

  “Darling, don’t be too hard on him,” she stated.

  I heard Brad mumble under his breath something about him being the one that was supposed to be hard. I had been in the process of getting a drink out of my goblet. When he said that, I began choking on the wine my mother was serving. I set my goblet down, a coughing fit taking hold of me. Brad leaned over and began patting me on the back, as if he were concerned for my well-being.

  “Oh, you poor thing. You’re not supposed to breathe when you swallow,” he stated jokingly, but I could tell there was a different meaning underlining his words.

  “I hadn’t noticed,” I stated dryly.

  I went back to ignoring him and finished my dinner. I refused to let this asshole get to me. I will admit when I saw him at the door, he gave me pause. It’d been so long since I’d seen him that the surprise of how great he looked made me speechless. But that had lasted all of two seconds. I immediately saw right through him. Hell, I could still see the outline of where he wore his wedding ring. I remember my mother telling me that he’d been divorced for some years. So why was he still sporting the wedding band tan line?

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  I was majorly confused as to why, but I reminded myself that it was none of my business. He was a big boy, and he could take care of himself. He’s been doing it for the past ten years without my help, he could continue to do it that way. Even though the thought of him being with Cherish Sharp made me gag. She was literally the trashiest person I knew, bar none. I often wondered why he married her in the first place, why he would stoop so low. This was Brad we were talking about. He was never one to settle for just anything.

  His drive was most of the reason he went into business for himself. I remember the talks we had when we were younger, lying under our willow tree in his backyard, just contemplating what the future held for us. At that time the future seemed bright, like nothing could hold us back from reaching our dreams together. Of course, we were young, dumb, and in love. We thought we’d be able to brave any storm together and make it through unscathed. That had been until his mother, of course.

/>   That’s when everything had changed, and the future we dreamed of was shattered. It still confused me how he didn’t know that it wasn’t my body in that picture. I had been flabbergasted for a long time. Out of all the times we had been together, you’d think he knew my body damn well. However, when it all came out, I believe that’s what hurt me the most. That he’d seen so many women’s bodies that he couldn’t decipher that it wasn’t me.

  It wasn’t fair, in a way. Of course, it was my fault taking him back. I should have known that he was going to hurt me again, even if it was out of false pretenses. He still had. Over the years the sting from his rejection has dimmed quite a bit. It was still there, don’t get me wrong, but the hatred I felt for him went away. I couldn’t hate someone that had been tricked, could I? I wanted to. God, did I want to. But it wasn’t fair. We were both so young when that happened. It would be wrong of me to do that to him.

  I sighed. Standing up from the table, I made my way to the cooking area. After putting my things into the drainer, I slumped against the counter. I loved this about our kitchen. If you needed privacy without letting the others know something was wrong, you could sulk in here without them noticing. A wall disconnected the dining area from the cooking area. Privacy was something that I really needed right now, and this was the only way I was going to get it.

  I lay my head back against the cabinet, taking slow deep breaths. Being around him and thinking about what could have been between us was seriously getting to me. I closed my eyes, causing the tears that had gathered there, to slide quietly down my face. I tried so hard to be strong. However, it seemed that he could still get to me. No matter how guarded I have my heart, he could still penetrate it. It wasn’t fair. He was sitting there like nothing was wrong, like he hadn’t broken my heart all those years ago. In all honesty, none of this was fair. I really wanted my mom to be happy, but at what cost?

  My sanity, my heart…or both.

  I knew that I couldn’t stay in here forever. That at any moment someone would come in here and catch me sulking. Wiping my eyes, I took a few calming breaths before walking back into the dining area. When I entered, everyone stopped talking and looked at me. I looked down at my shoes, praying their attention would go back to what they were discussing with each other. My mother’s voice caught my attention.

  “Do you mind getting dessert, dear?” she asked softly.

  Clearing my throat before I took a chance at speaking, I answered her, “Yeah, I’ll go grab it. Does everyone want dessert?”

  They all chorused their yesses, but Brad’s next words caught me a little off guard.

  “I’ll go help her get everything.”

  “That would be lovely, Brad,” she gushed.

  Motherfuck! Could he just leave me alone?

  I turned on my heel, heading to the fridge. After collecting the dessert, I was about to shut the door when I felt him standing close behind me. I took a few steadying breaths before closing the door and started gathering the plates. From his silence, I knew he was thinking about how to start a conversation with me. Well, the best way would be to admit that he was wrong all those years ago and that he was sorry for everything he put me through. But this was Brad Titan, and he never apologized for anything. Ever.

  “Claire,” he mumbled, sadness lacing my name.

  I turned to him, waiting for him to say something else. Putting everything down on the counter, I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at him. He took a few steps closer coming within feet of me. I studied him with my eyes, not really sure what he was getting at. He lifted his hand; I flinched. He lowered his hand with a saddened expression on his face.

  “What do you want, Brad?”

  He shrugged nervously. “I was just trying to wipe off the mascara that was running down your face.”

  I dropped my arms, walking over to the mirror next to the back door. He was right; my mascara had run when a few tears escaped my eyes earlier. It was stupid to think that he had come in here to apologize. That somewhere deep down in his heart it truly killed him for the way he treated me all those years ago. When there was no trace left of my running makeup, I turned away from the mirror to face him.

  “There. All gone,” I giggled out.

  He frowned, looking down at the floor, shaking his head back and forth. “You don’t have to play with me, Claire. It wasn’t just your makeup; your eyes are puffy. I would say that it was from crying, but don’t take my word for it.”

  I chuckled. “You're right. I won’t take your word for it,” I quipped.

  I went to grab for the dessert and the plates, but felt Brad’s hand wrap around my wrist before I could. I glared at him, jerking my hand back. That was the third time that he touched me and the third time that he would get punished for it. I wasn’t doing this to be a bitch. Well, mainly it wasn’t. He just needed to get through his thick skull that he revoked the right to touch me all those years ago. If I let him once, it would be easier to give in each time he did it after. That was something that I just couldn’t do.

  “Dammit, Claire. I’m just trying to show that I care, shitfire,” he whisper-yelled at me.

  That broke the camel’s back. At that point, I saw red at his harsh words. I was going to show him that nothing came from being mean. This would so put him back in his place. He thought I wanted him to care. No, I just wanted him to want to apologize. That was it. Walking up to him, I asked the most random question. According to his puzzled expression he had no freaking idea where I was going with this.

  “Brad, I have a question. Do you like scrambled eggs?” I asked, with a secret smile on my face.

  His confusion turned into laughter. A laughter that I would soon put a stop to. “Um … Random question, Claire. But yes, I do like scrambled eggs. You asking for future reference? You know … so you’ll know what to cook me in the morning?” he asked raising his eyebrow in question.

  I shook my head, pressing my upper body into his. I instantly regretted my decision to get so close to him. I could feel the muscle he had under the T-shirt he was wearing. Damn! Momma like. I inwardly chastised myself for such a thought. His arms wrapped around my waist, hugging me closer to him. Even though it felt absolutely perfect to be pressed up against his hard chest, I had to get back to what I was going to do. With a quick jerk motion, I brought my knee right up in his balls.

  I stepped back quickly as he dropped to the ground with a girly scream, holding his groin. Picking up the dessert and plates, I leaned down next to him and snickered.

  “Now you see how I scramble eggs, love. The next time you taunt me, you’ll find out how I peel a sausage.” I stood up and back, watching him roll on the floor.

  As I passed him, he growled low in his throat, jumping up from the floor. I screamed, running the rest of the way back to the table. My heart was beating a million miles a minute as he chased me. It was kind of fun. I laughed, getting back to the side of the table. Safe territory, there was no way for him to retaliate now. At least not without getting reprimanded by our parents. Punishment was so sweet. Henry looked at me with a knowing smile, and Mom looked at me cocking her head to the side, a disapproving frown marring her face.

  Well, what a Debbie Downer. Sheesh!

  “What happened?” she asked dryly, looking between the two of us.

  “He stubbed his toe.” The lie rolled off my tongue with ease. “That was the girly scream you heard.” I giggled.

  Brad glared at me before turning to my mother. “She’s right. Those cabinets are a bitch.”

  Ha. Score three for me, zero for the cocky jerk. Damn, it felt good!

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  After finishing dessert, we went to the family room to get better acquainted. I probably knew these two men better than my mother did, but she had insisted. So like the good little daughter I am, I went with it. We’d been talking for some time; well, most of us had been. Brad mostly just sat there and glared at me over his beer. I thought it was the funniest thing
ever. A couple times I stuck my tongue out at him like an adolescent child. He couldn’t help but chuckle at me. He never could control himself around me.

  I asked the question that had been plaguing me all night. “Henry, how did you not know that Meredith was my mother?”

  He cleared his throat and smiled politely at my mom. “In all honesty, this is the first time I’m seeing the inside of your mother’s house.”

  I was taken aback by what he said. The first time being in the house. That was just crazy. I knew that my mother was a bit overprotective of this place, but damn, I didn’t think she was that bad.

  “No way.”

  He nodded. “Yes way. We’ve been staying at my house. She only comes here three to four times a week to keep the place aired out and clean of cobwebs.”

  I looked at my mother who had a rose color staining her cheeks. “Seriously, Mom? He’s never been here? Did you even tell him about me?”

  She cackled with laughter. “Of course, I told him about you, Gabriella.”

  I was so confused. She just used my middle name. When the answer dawned on me, my eyes widened. “You little snake. You used my middle name this whole time? Wow, Mom … just wow.”

  So that was how she did it. From the look on Henry’s face, he didn’t mind at all that my mother told a big, fat lie. In fact, he never looked happier. Wow, they were a real piece of work. If someone told me a lie like that, even if out of context, I would be pissed. However, the fact that she used my middle name was so far out in left field. I bet Brad had a kick out of my mom referring to me as Gabriella. He used to always pick on me for having a middle name like that. Where I was a petite white girl, that name just screamed Spanish heritage.