Roped In (Strings Book 2)

by J. C. Hayden

  When Jack finally pulled out of me, he pulled back onto his knees and stared between my legs. I knew what he was looking at because I could feel it trickling out of me. He’d come so much both times that I knew that even hours from now, I’d still feel it there. It wasn’t just a first for him if that’s what he’d meant earlier, but it was for me as well. I’d never had sex without a condom. Ever. But somehow, sharing that with Jack felt like the most natural thing in the world. It felt like we were always supposed to have this moment with each other.

  Jack climbed off the bed and went into the guest bathroom. I heard the faucet running and then he came out with a wet rag. I could see he’d already wiped himself off, so when he climbed back onto the bed, his attention was all on me. He cleaned me carefully, his eyes on me the entire time.

  After he tossed the rag on the floor, we both moved and slid under the covers. I felt boneless and relaxed, and we just stared at each other in silence for a long time. After a while, he put his arm around my waist to pull me closer, and he leaned back so I could lay against his chest. I was exhausted after our love making, but I wanted to stay in this moment forever. Feel him swirl his fingers on my bare back, feel his warm skin under mine, bask in the afterglow.

  When sleep finally started to win out, I let it wash over me. I closed my eyes and burrowed even further into his chest. I thought I heard him say something, but I couldn’t understand it as I let sleep claim me.

  Chapter 21

  Icould hear the faint sound of voices.

  I turned over in bed and checked my phone and saw that it was just after three in the afternoon. Jack and I had gotten back to the house around eleven, so I had slept almost three hours. I also had texts from Catrina and Isaac, but I didn’t check them just then. I felt so relaxed and at peace, and I didn’t want to think about the real world. I smiled into my pillow remembering the morning with Jack. We’d never made love like that before. With that kind of depth and fervor. I wanted to keep basking in it. I wanted to have him again.

  I turned back over to cuddle next to him only to find that he wasn’t there. When I came out of sleep a bit more, I recognized his voice on the other side of the door and realized he was talking to my mom.

  The events of early that morning came rushing back. The hurt. The anger. But then I remembered Jack, and it all immediately fell away. I wanted to hear what they were talking about, but I wasn’t quite ready to deal with that yet. Instead I grabbed my phone.

  Hope Vermont is amazing! Text me or call me and tell me all about it whenever you can.

  I texted Catrina back.

  Hi.

  Omg, hiiiiii. Tell me everything. How’s Jack? Getting along with Monica?

  He’s amazing. Okay, I know you’re going to call me as soon as you read this, but I can’t talk! He might hear. But I have to tell you… I’m officially his girlfriend.

  TALIA!!!!!!!!!!!! Omg, you cannot do that to me. You can’t tell me the biggest news of our fucking lives and expect me not to want to call you and find out everything omg omg omg I’m so happy for you I love you I love Jack I love this ahhhhh

  I giggled when my best friend’s text came through. Her excitement and joy and love was contagious.

  I swear I will tell you about everything when we get back. Also… you’ll never guess who came to my mom’s diner this morning.

  Who??

  Kenny.

  Kenny, your dad Kenny??? Oh god, Talia. Did you see him? Did you talk to him?

  Saw him, barely talked to him. Basically told him to fuck off and then went for a drive with Jack.

  I’m so glad Jack is there with you. Wish I could be there to tell that asshole to go to hell.

  My eyes burned, and I loved Catrina so much in that moment. I loved how much she wanted to protect me even when I resisted it.

  Thanks, Cat. How’s trimester one treating you?

  Still miserable. I can’t stop puking. Brody is stressed, but I keep telling him to get over it. This is normal. Trimester 2 is coming next week so hopefully things get better. Ugh. No one tells you how much pregnancy sucks ass.

  Right? I hope you feel better soon. Let’s hang out when I get back in town. I’ll call you Friday, okay? Love you.

  Love you most. Say hi to Jack and Monica.

  I smiled as I went to look at Isaac’s text next, but the smile immediately slid off my face.

  Hey. Hope you’re enjoying your vacay. We need to talk about Chuck. It’s getting bad.

  Okay. Shit. I get back Friday. Wanna meet up before the show Saturday and talk?

  He didn’t reply right away, so I put my phone back down on the end table next to the bed and tried not to panic. If Isaac thought Chuck was getting bad, it was probably a nightmare. Chuck had been struggling with his substance abuse issues for almost as long as I’d known him. But it had never gotten in the way of the band, and he was talented as hell so we always let it slide. If it was getting to the point where it was going to interfere, then Isaac was right. We needed to have a conversation and fast.

  I sighed as I turned to sit up in bed. I could hear my mom and Jack still talking, and I wrapped the blanket from the bed around me before I tiptoed over and pressed my ear to the door.

  “…she doing?”

  “She’s okay,” I heard Jack say. “She was better after we went for a drive, but I’m sure she’s still upset.” He sounded hesitant in all of his words, like he wanted to please my mom but also didn’t want to betray my confidence. He was right, though. I was way better now—Jack obviously wasn’t going to tell my mother that he fucked the stress right out of me, but he was right that after our morning together, I felt okay. I was still pissed at my mom and at Kenny, but the ache in my gut had disappeared.

  “Did she tell you about him?”

  “A little.” That was all Jack said, and I was grateful for him. God, I lo—

  Wait. Fuck. No. No no no. I didn’t… I couldn’t… We’d only just started speaking again two months ago. He had only been officially my boyfriend for two days. No. I didn’t… I couldn’t even think the word. I liked him. A lot. A helluva lot. That was it.

  “She doesn’t hate me, does she?” My mom’s voice sounded so small and sad. I almost walked out of the room right then, but instead I rushed back into the bed and laid the cover out over me without even hearing Jack’s response.

  I wasn’t ready to deal with this right now. I just wanted to think about my week with Jack. About our day on the lake and the way he’d made love to me this morning. So ferocious, so profound. And I wanted to think about the fact that I could still feel his release inside me.

  Damn, that was sexy. I shifted in the bed, feeling it shift around inside me and then I moved over so I was on his side. I could smell him in the sheets, and I inhaled deeply.

  A few minutes later, I heard the front door open and close. Then light drifted into the room before it became dark again, and a second later the bed was dipping as I felt a warm, hard body at my back.

  Jack kissed my neck and cuddled into me. He’d gotten dressed again, and when I felt his clothed body against my naked back, I wished it was his skin against mine.

  I pulled his arms tighter around me, and he moved even closer.

  “Hi,” I said quietly.

  “Hi.” His breath was hot on my neck, and I turned my head so I could find his mouth. When we broke the kiss, Jack shifted me so I was on my back and he was on his side next to me.

  “Your mom asked how you were,” he told me.

  “What did you say?”

  “Didn’t really know what to say, but I told her you seemed okay.” He searched my face with his eyes. “Are you? Okay, I mean?”

  I nodded. “Better when you’re here.”

  He gave me one of his soft, private smiles before he kissed me again.

  “You should talk to her,” he said when he pulled back.

  I sighed. “I know.”

  “She went back over to the diner,” he said. “She just came to chec
k on you.”

  I looked at Jack. “Do you think I should just let it go?”

  “I don’t know, baby,” he said, his quiet tone echoing mine. “I think you should each say your piece, and then you decide what you want to do from there.”

  “Have I told you how glad I am that you’re here?”

  I could get so used to putting that delighted look on his face. “You have. But I will love hearing it every time you say it.”

  He ran his fingers through my hair. “You okay?” his voice was raspy and quieter. “I went a little rough earlier.”

  I shifted in the bed and licked my lips when I saw the heated look on his face when I moved. “I’m awesome. It was incredible. You were incredible.”

  “You better go talk to your mom before I decide not to let you leave this bed.”

  After a quick shower, I got dressed in a Klein sweatshirt and jeans before walking over to the diner. When I spotted my mom, she was chatting with a customer at a table in the corner. She looked up when the bell tinkled.

  “Welcome to Mon—hola, mija,” she said when she saw it was me. She looked nervous but happy to see me. She filled up the customer’s coffee mug and walked over to stand behind the counter as I took a seat at one of the round, swiveling chairs.

  “Estás enojado?”

  “I’m not angry, Ma,” I replied. She pulled out a glass and set it in front of me. She turned to the refrigerator that was under the counter and pulled out a gallon of chocolate milk. She’d done this even when I was little. We always kept chocolate milk in the house because my mom believed all problems could be solved with a glass of chocolate milk.

  “I’m sorry it blindsided you today,” she said as I took a drink of my milk. “We really are just friends, though. I’ve known him for almost thirty years, and he’s your dad. But I set that boundary with him years ago. We haven’t had a relationship since before you went to college.” The unspoken part of that was, since before the day you went to his work. Before the day that had almost broken me.

  “I just don’t trust him.”

  “I know.”

  “And I don’t want him to hurt you.”

  The tears stung my eyes before I could stop them. My mom leaned on her elbows on the counter and grabbed both of my hands.

  “He doesn’t have that power anymore,” she said so only I could hear. “Over either of us.”

  I nodded quickly and took another drink just to occupy myself with something else.

  “I should have told you I was still in touch with him,” my mom said.

  “No.” I shook my head. “You were right. It would have just made me stress more than I need to. You can take care of yourself.”

  “Talia.” She squeezed both of my hands again. “I love that you want to protect me. We take care of each other. We always have, yes?” I nodded, and she brought her hand up to cup my face. “El amor de mi vida. Siempre.”

  I stood up from my chair and hugged my mom over the counter, and she held me back tightly. It was something she’d always said to me. When I was younger and I would ask her why she didn’t date, she would always just smile at me and say in Spanish, “Why do I need a man? You are the love of my life. Always.”

  My mom had the cook, Enrique, make me an omelet with grits and a short stack of pancakes. When I told her I didn’t need the calories, she just rolled her eyes and put syrup in front of me.

  Her and I were talking just as the door tinkled again, and when she looked up, my mother’s face reddened. For a second, I thought Kenny had come in again, but when I looked over my shoulder, I saw a big, hunky forty-something lumberjack making eyes at my mother.

  “Hey, Monica.” The man sauntered up to the counter and sat in a stool two down from mine, and I looked between him and my mother as they interacted. He had blonde hair that matched his blonde beard, and he was wearing jeans, work boots, and a big flannel coat that he shrugged off and put on the counter next to him, only to reveal a massive upper body that was almost bursting through his white t-shirt.

  “Hi, Matthew,” my mom said. She was trying to act extremely casual, but I knew something was off. “Coffee?”

  “Decaf,” he said. “Caffeine’s bad for the heart, you know.” He glanced over at my mug and then up at me and did a double take. “This has got to be Talia!”

  He knows me?

  If possible, my mom got even redder.

  “This is her,” my mom told Matthew.

  “Well, I’ll be.” He had a thick New England accent and a big white grin that he flashed as he scooted over to sit next to me.

  “I’m Matt,” he said, holding a hand out. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

  I looked at my mom, who was studiously looking away, and then back at him. I shook his hand.

  “Well, I have heard nothing about you, Matthew. How do you know my mom? You a regular here?”

  Matt laughed boisterously. “Sure am,” he said. “Been coming here almost every night for years. My wife died five years back, and I’m hopeless in a kitchen. If it weren’t for your mom, I’d likely starve to death.”

  “Yeah, she’s a good cook, for sure.” I could feel my mom’s eyes on both of us, but I ignored her.

  “That, and she’s the most beautiful woman from here to Georgia.”

  I almost spit out the milk I’d been drinking. I gaped at my mom, who looked like she was about to pass out.

  “She’s my favorite girl, your ma,” he said. Then he smiled at my mom like she hung the moon, and I texted Jack to get his ass over to the diner and help me grill this hot older dude who was apparently my mom’s boyfriend.

  ◆◆◆

  “I’ll just drop this off here for you. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  The couple smiled at me as I dropped off their check. They were my last table of the night and then I would close up and wait for Jack to come pick me up and take me back to his place for the night.

  It had been a crazy week or so since I’d come back from Vermont. Isaac and I had a talk with Chuck, who decided to leave the band so he could focus on his sobriety. We’d gone with him and his family to drop him off at rehab, and I’d hugged him tightly and told him how proud I was of him. Isaac and I started frantically searching for Chuck’s replacement after that but had absolutely no luck, and I was just trying not to panic about that.

  The past week and a half with Jack had been like a dream. I was either with him at his place or he was at mine. We spent the entire day texting or talking on the phone. He would often leave work to either come have lunch with me or at Gia’s if I was working. On Saturday after we got back, Isaac and I had to cancel our show since Chuck decided to quit Flora and Fauna, and Jack had taken me to dinner with Catrina, Brody, Callum and Carver instead, and had treated all of us.

  Yep, that’s my man, I wanted to say when they all looked at him in awe.

  Catrina and I had a lunch date so I could tell her everything about Vermont, and she told me we would have to have a girls’ night soon to celebrate me no longer being an idiot.

  I had a wonderful best friend.

  Last night, I’d had the evening off, and Jack had taken me to see Catrina’s La Bohème performance. He got us box seats, and I’d blown him in his car on the way back as a thank you. The way he moaned and shook showed me I wasn’t the only one who was thankful. Catrina would be done with the show by the end of the week, and she was beyond excited to be able to kick up her feet and relax for the rest of her pregnancy.

  I was happy. Happy in this perfect, amazing way that I couldn’t even properly explain.

  I was cleaning up my tables and doing sidework after my last table left when I heard the door to the restaurant open. Shit, I’d forgotten to lock the door. I rushed around the corner to tell the person we were closed, but when I saw the person who was standing just inside the restaurant I froze.

  “Hello,” she said, an unreadable expression on her face. I couldn’t find it in me to respond, so I just stood there,
gaping like a fish. “Do you remember me?”

  “Yes,” I barely managed.

  “He told you we were engaged?” she asked. “Or you knew?”

  God, she was gorgeous. Even with her long dark hair pulled in a ponytail, hardly any makeup, and just a simple white blouse, black pea coat, and black pencil skirt, she looked like a runway model.

  Rachel, who was the opposite of me in every way imaginable, was standing in Gia’s, her hands folded tightly in front of her as she stood there stiffly, watching me with cold eyes.

  I shook for a moment and then took a deep breath. I wasn’t going to let this woman intimidate me. I had no idea why she was here, and I wasn’t all that interested. I was shocked and caught off guard, but whatever she had to say to me I knew was going to be something I didn’t want to hear. I knew that all it would do is poison me against Jack because I had known women just like her my entire life. I had known people like her, all genders, who felt entitled to someone else and felt like they should have the ultimate say.

  The truth was that Rachel had no power over me or over Jack. He and I had done nothing wrong. They’d broken up months before we got together, and it wasn’t until she realized he’d moved on that she decided to insert herself back in his life.

  “Yes,” I answered finally to both of her questions.

  She regarded me coolly, eyes scaling over my body, and it took every bit of my power not to cross my arms in front of me. I wouldn’t let her think she had any type of effect on me. She didn’t.

  Rachel was silent for so long that I thought she was going to just leave. I started to think this was some twisted game she was playing with herself—get a good look at her ex’s new partner to prove to herself that said partner didn’t hold a candle—that she just needed to see with her own eyes that I would never compare.

  We stood there, me right next to the bar where I’d turned when I’d heard the door open, her standing right in front of the glass door where she’d come in, waiting for the other to strike.

  When she finally spoke, her voice was so icy it could have sliced through my chest cavity if she’d let it.