Almost Easy (Sinister Ascent Book 1)

by Brittany Clark

  “Jessica, Zane beat some ass, but it wasn’t the ass of the man who was fucking Chloe,” Blaze answered before turning to me.

  “Then whose ass did he beat?”

  I bit the inside of my cheek so I didn’t blurt out that it was my ass he used to beat. “Let’s stop talking about this please. I’m not with the guy anymore so it doesn’t matter. I’m with Blaze, and we aren’t a little secret,”

  “I asked before and was ignored, so I will ask again. Can we drop this conversation?”

  “Why is this conversation upsetting you so much?” Jessica questioned causing Zane to hesitate when he realized he was making too big of a deal out of this.

  “Because, Chloe is my friend and I don’t want to bring up painful memories for her,”

  “If that were the case then we wouldn’t be having this dinner together,” Blaze murmured from beside me quiet enough for Jessica not to hear, but by the way Zane’s eyes flashed I knew that he did.

  “Just drop the fucking conversation!” Zane exploded

  Jessica closed her mouth stopping her next response when she noticed that Zane didn’t want to talk about this. Followed by a very awkward silence. God I fucking hoped that we didn’t have any more of these painful dinners together. Honestly I missed the alone time I was having with Blaze. I wasn’t developing feelings for him, he was just my safe place right now. The friend that I could confide in like I used to do with Zane. Luckily the awkwardness that fell upon us was broken when Zane and Jessica’s food was delivered. Only for it to come back tenfold when Zane offered to share his plate because he wanted some of Jessica’s food.

  “I don’t like duck Zane, I don’t want some of yours,”

  Blaze shot me a look then winked at me which of course caused me to blush. It was just another shot at Zane. Blaze and I shared things so easily. Which was blatantly obvious since we were picking off each other’s plate at that very moment. This highlighted the fact that Zane and his own wife couldn’t share things. It had become abundantly clear that Zane and his wife did not have a lot of things in common, while he and I used to share everything. Zane and I had everything in common, from what we ate, drank, and liked to watch. A frown tore over his lips, those perfect thin lips that I loved to kiss. Right before the pain flashed in his eyes. I wasn’t oblivious to the pain that Zane was feeling.

  It was a pain that I was all too aware of. However it didn’t fill me with satisfaction. It made me hurt for the man I loved. I wanted this night to be over. I had lost my appetite and wanted nothing more than get the hell out of there. Like always, Blaze was able to sense my mood. He raised his hand signaling for the check and handed over his credit card. After he left a tip I was ready to bolt for the door. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could take all of this. I could see the door, and was almost free when Jessica spoke up behind me.

  “I want to have a barbeque tomorrow. We usually have a get together as soon as the guys end their tour, but with the hassle of the wedding we didn’t get to this time. Well anyways, could you guys come?”

  Blaze turned to me and rolled his eyes causing me to bury my face into his chest to stop my laughter. “Sure we can come. Need us to bring anything?”

  “Zane is barbequing, he already bought everything. Just bring yourselves,”

  “Will do. See you guys tomorrow,” I said before grabbing Blaze’s hand to tug him out of the restaurant. This night needed to end before we got invited to all the national holidays, and the fucking small ones as well.

  “Have a nice night,” Zane growled before turning to his plate to pick at his food. “I miss you,”

  I wasn’t sure that I really heard what he had whispered. ‘I miss you,’ didn’t sound like something he would say. Although even if it was, he was too little too late.

  9

  CHLOE

  The next day came all too soon for me, and before I knew it Blaze, Cage, Axel and I were pulling into Zane’s driveway. I didn’t want to come to this, but Blaze had told me that he thought this was Zane’s way of making up for the weirdness of the night before so he had agreed to it. Personally I thought that this was all Jessica’s doing. Especially since she was the one that had invited us to this thing, Zane had not mentioned it. I also had reservations about showing up at Zane’s house. Blaze quickly put a stop to my worries by telling me that he would be there for me the entire time.

  There were times where I thought that what we were doing was okay. Blaze was a good guy, and I knew that he was just trying to help me. Other times I had horrible guilt where I thought that what we were doing was wrong. It didn’t bother Blaze to constantly remind me that what we were doing wasn’t wrong. What did bother him was that I still felt bad about hurting Zane. Blaze would tell me that it was about damn time that Zane was shown a hint of the pain that I had endured at his hands. But I had a big heart. One that beat for Zane, and I couldn’t hurt someone that I loved.

  “Ready for this?” Blaze asked linking his fingers with mine as we walked up to Zane’s door and rang the bell.

  “I don’t have a choice now,” I teased earning a dimpled smile from Blaze, at the same time that Zane opened the door.

  It wasn’t planned by us to always look so happy with each other at the same time that Zane saw us. But it definitely was working in our favor. However it was made damn clear to both of us at that moment that for the first time in a long time Blaze and I were both genuinely happy. When this was all over we both knew that our friendship would be closer than ever.

  “Hey guys. Did you bring your suits?” Zane asked masking his hurt. Something that I was able to see since I was used to doing it.

  “You know it. Is the food done?” Cage asked pushing past Zane to get into his house.

  “Almost, I had it marinating up until an hour ago,” Zane responded as he moved aside so that the rest of us could get inside.

  Making small talk was just plain stupid. Trying to pretend like everything was normal when there was a huge fucking elephant in the room that no one was talking about.

  “What are you cooking?” Blaze asked taking a big whiff. He was usually the one who grilled at these get-togethers because he was better at it then the rest of us.

  “Ribs, dogs and burgers,” Zane answered

  “Why all the food?” Axel asked even though he knew that they would happily eat it all.

  “Chloe doesn’t eat pork so she wouldn’t touch ribs, and she hates hot dogs, so I had to make hamburgers as well,” Zane responded not taking into account that he had went to more trouble than was necessary for me.

  “I didn’t know you didn’t like ribs,” Blaze said taking a seat outback before he pulled me down in his lap.

  “Yeah, I don’t like the taste or texture of pork,”

  “There is obviously a lot that you two need to learn about each other,” Zane said with a smirk on his face.

  “Hopefully I get her for as many years as you had her to learn all of it,” Blaze shot back causing Zane’s eyes to spit fire.

  “You won’t be with her for that long,” Zane hissed

  “We’ll see,”

  Zane was about to shoot out a retort when Jessica walked out of the house to join us. I saw him snap his mouth shut but his eyes never lost that fire burning within. He draped an arm over her when she went to stand at his side and it was my turn to look away. There were times where I wondered if it would ever get easier for me to see them together. Hell I would settle for it not feeling like I was being lit on fire from the inside.

  “Is the food done Zane?” Jessica asked from his side.

  “Yeah, do we want to eat first and then swim? Or vice versa?”

  “Eat first, if not the food will grow cold,” I answered for everyone before jumping off of Blaze’s lap to make a plate.

  I packed on ribs earning a frown from Zane. He knew that I wouldn’t eat them, but the plate wasn’t for me and he would know that soon enough. I added chips and potato salad then brought the plate over to Blaze and put th
e plate down in front of him. As I leaned down I pressed my lips to his before straightening and going back to make my own plate. Blaze sent me a huge smile before he winked at me. I could tell that he hadn’t expected me to do that, damn what type of women had these men been dating?

  “Thanks babe,” He called out causing me to blush when everyone looked at me. I quickly went to the grill to make my own plate.

  I appreciated all the trouble Zane had gone to in order to feed me what he knew I would actually eat. He really was a sweet guy when he wanted to be. That was one of the reasons we were such great friends, and it was the main reason I fell in love with him. Zane had the ability to treat me better than he had ever treated anyone in his life. We all knew this, and it was one of the reasons that Blaze thought his plan was going to work.

  Blaze was convinced that Zane wanted me and had deeper feelings for me. I wasn’t convinced. The only thing he wanted from me was my body. Hell he had even told me that all I was, was a good fuck. That’s something that the others hadn’t heard about. If I had it my way they would never know about it. Out of everything Zane had ever said, that was the one that hurt me the most. If Zane had ever had feelings for me, he would have never been able to hurt me like that.

  ZANE

  “Can you make me a plate?” My wife asked as I walked over to make my own. I put my head down but began to make her plate anyway as she called out what she wanted.

  “Now I’m even more appreciative of you making my plate,” I heard Blaze whisper to Chloe which caused me to grit my teeth.

  I didn’t want to have this fucking barbeque in the first place. Now I had to sit at my house and watch the woman I love fawn all over some other guy, while my wife treated me like a slave in front of them. Plus it was exhausting to mask my hurt all the time. Now I understood how hard it must have been for Chloe to keep a mask on her face all the time. It was just one more damn strike against me. What I wanted was for everyone to leave so I could let the mask fall and I could relax.

  It was also a pain in the ass to fight myself. All I wanted to do was grab Chloe into my arms toss her over my shoulder and run away with her. Since that wasn’t an option at the moment I was doing nothing but torturing myself. I wanted her back, and in order to do that I needed to spend some alone time with her. I couldn’t very well talk about what we shared in front of her new boyfriend and my wife. My next plan was to figure out a way to get her alone.

  I was picking at my food thinking about everything that had been said in the hour that everyone was here. Blaze was making it clear that he wanted to be with Chloe for the long haul. That would not do, there was no way that I would let them get married. Hell would freeze over before I let that happen. The only man that Chloe would ever vow herself to was going to be me. Now all I had to do was figure out how to make that happen. My mind was so far away that I hadn’t realized when everyone started getting up to get ready for the pool. I did realize when Blaze tossed a bikini clad Chloe over his shoulder then jumped into the pool with her.

  I growled but reigned in my temper. I could not make a scene with my wife at my side. She was still blissfully unaware of everything that was going on and I wanted to keep it that way. I heard the laughter and shouting from the pool as everyone started acting like teenagers. Fun that I couldn’t wait to get involved with. I pulled my shirt over my head smiling when I saw Chloe’s head snap in my direction. Her eyes darted over my chest and I knew what she was thinking. Chloe had always liked my chest, whenever she had the chance she would run her hands all over me. Something that I loved having her do. She usually did it when she was on top of me, riding me hard. The only thing that we never got to do was have her mark me with her nails.

  I could tell that she wanted to dig her nails deep into my skin as she ground her hips into mine, while I was buried so deep inside of her that we didn’t know where I ended and she began. Fuck, now I was hard. Before anyone could notice me I jumped into the pool. The water cooled me down instantly and had my dick shrinking in my swim shorts. I felt arms wrap around behind me and closed my eyes smiling. I knew that when I turned to look it wouldn’t be Chloe holding me. But with my eyes closed and her laughter ringing out around me, I could pretend that it was. So when I opened my eyes and saw Blaze holding Chloe in the corner of the pool there was a sharp pain in my chest.

  That should be me. I should be the one holding her in my pool as she laughed in my ear. The day had definitely gone from bad to worse in a matter of minutes and I was not in the mood to swim anymore. I shook off Jessica and swam to the edge of the pool to pull myself out. I made it back to the table, lit a cigarette and ignored everyone around me. Or I tried to, Chloe was real damn hard to ignore. From my angle at the table I had the perfect view of her in her tiny suit as she gracefully swam in the pool. Blaze had let her go a few minutes before and I was real fucking happy about that. Fuck, I wanted this day to be over. When it was, there was no way in hell I was having a get together at my house again. Seeing Chloe in the arms of another man had a dark shadow coming over me.

  I leaned my head back against my seat and closed my eyes. I heard the sliding glass door open, but didn’t look to see who had went inside. I could care less at the moment. So I was pleasantly surprised when ten minutes later I felt a tap on my shoulder and opened my eyes to see Chloe standing there holding a pitcher of margaritas. She set a salted cup in front of me, then took her own seat. This instantly cheered me up. Since we were younger, whenever I had a problem, Chloe would come over to my house and whip up a batch of margaritas for the two of us. We would drink and bitch about everything that was bothering me. Slowly but surely all of my problems would float away. I recognized the gesture that she had just done for me and I shot her a huge smile. It was little gestures like this that made me think that I still stood some type of chance with her.

  “Thanks, Chloe,” I murmured earning a beautiful smile from her.

  Soon everyone was out of the pool and sitting around the table drinking with us. This right here was what I wanted. All of us together like we usually were, with Chloe sitting on my side of the table. It would be better if I could pull her into my lap, but I would accept the small things right now. Because soon I would be making changes.

  “Hey Zane, Chloe needs to go shopping tomorrow for a dress to wear to this charity dinner she has to go to. I was supposed to go with her but I can’t make it. I figured since the two of you have known each other for a long time, and you know her, that you could go with her and help her,” Blaze said earning a huge smile from me.

  “That’s not a problem. I’m sure I can help her find exactly what she needs,”

  Blaze might not have realized it, but he had just helped me achieve my ultimate goal. I was now going to be alone with Chloe. I needed that, I needed to talk to her. There was so much left unsaid between us. So much that I needed to clear up with her. I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but I had to start somewhere. Although why the hell would Blaze let her be alone with me?

  I warned him that she was going to be mine again. So why the hell was he comfortable sending her and I off alone? He knew that she loved me, he also knew that we have slept together a lot. If I was in his place, I wouldn’t let him within two feet of her alone. This led me to believe that he either trusted her. Or that he didn’t see me as competition. That was a big fucking mistake. I was his biggest competition there was. We both wanted the same girl, and since she was mine first, and would always be mine, he would lose in the end. Chloe would not end up with him, she might not end up with me, but it would be over my dead body that my best friend would get her.

  “Chloe, do you mind if I substitute in place of Blaze?” I asked her with happiness written all over my face.

  “Um, I guess not,” She whispered earning a frown from me. Clearly she wasn’t happy about it, but this would further help me with my plan, and that was too good of an opportunity to give up.

  “That sounds like so much fun. I love shopping. Can I come?” J
essica asked clapping her hands like a damn child.

  Fucking hell. How the hell was I supposed to get out of this without bringing her? This was probably going to be the only chance I would have to get her alone, and there was no way I was letting Jessica ruin that.

  “Jess, Chloe isn’t a shopper like you, and I don’t want to be out shopping for hours,”

  “But I want to go,”

  “Look, why don’t the two of you go together, and I will go by myself,” Chloe chimed in. I knew that she was just trying to help me, but she was doing the exact opposite of what I wanted.

  “Because you need help finding something,” Blaze responded, why the hell was he trying to get Chloe and I alone? “I feel bad that I can’t go like I promised, and Zane’s the one that knows you the best,”

  “I don’t want to cause problems between him and Jessica,”

  “You won’t cause a damn problem,” I growled, “Jessica, I told you when we got together that Chloe was my best friend and that I would be spending time with her,”

  “I know that and I don’t have a problem with the two of you going together, I just want to go as well,”

  “Look, how about I take you another day. It will just be you and I,” There was no way in hell I was keeping that promise. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be ending things with Jessica as soon as I could.

  “I guess that’s fine,” She pouted

  “Don’t pout like a child,”

  Her mouth dropped open at the harshness in my tone. I should have felt sorry about that, but the whiny little act she was putting on was driving me insane. How the hell had I not noticed this needy, clingy, child that she was before I married her? I thought that I proposed to her because she was the only one who didn’t annoy the hell out of me. Obviously I was fucking blind to this shit. Now my eyes were open. Wide fucking open and I wasn’t going to let it be too late.

  “Did you just call me a child?” She shrieked in a voice that could have had the dogs howling.