His Ever After (Love Square) (16 page)

The evening went something like this…

When I found Jacob at the bar, he was well on his way to drowning his sorrows with alcohol. Perfect timing. I walked up to his table, thankful that he was alone, and asked if I could join him. Once he agreed, we ordered drinks from the waiter.

At first all he did was stare into his glass. I’ve noticed over the last few months, that he has a tendency to do that when he’s deep in thought. I needed him to interact with me if this was going to work though. Plus my curiosity was at an all-time high wanting to know all the gritty details about his affair, so I asked him what was on his mind.

Rather than respond, he shrugged like an insolent child. I felt myself getting annoyed, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go down. I took a deep breath to compose myself and said, “You really look like you need someone to talk to. I’m here and willing to listen.”

He looked up at me with sad eyes and proceeded to spill his guts. “The woman I’ve been seeing doesn’t feel the same way about me as I do about her. It’s a big, fucking mess. Are you sure you want to hear this?”

“Of course. What makes you think she doesn’t feel the same?” I leaned on my arm, looking interested in his sad story.

“It’s complicated. She’s married.” He picked up his glass and took a drink. “See, we were together way back when and for whatever reason we lost touch after high school. I ran into her at the beginning of the year and her marriage was having troubles. One thing led to another and we’ve been seeing each other for the last four months. I want more from her, but she won’t commit to leaving her fuckwad husband.”

“What makes you think she was ever going to leave him?” I was dying to know. It’s my experience that the cheater rarely leaves their significant other. Just ask Kara. She knows all about that.

“It’s not like she ever came out and said it, but things were going too well with us for her to not. She met my sister, we started spending more and more time together. If it wasn’t for the fact that she goes home to him every night, you’d never know we weren’t in a conventional relationship.”

I couldn’t believe how deeply he seemed to feel for her. You could feel his hurt radiating off him. I felt like slapping him in the face and saying, “She’s married, you fool! What’s wrong with me? I’m sitting right in front of you and I’m available!”

“I think you need to focus on the fact that she does go home to him. If she really loved you, she wouldn’t be able to do that. Unless she fears for her safety. We see that all the time while on the job. Women afraid that if they don’t toe the line, they’ll be beaten. Is that the case with your girl?” I leaned forward and place my hand on his arm, testing the waters.

“No. Of course not. I’d never let that happen.” He gave me a dirty look for suggesting such a thing and proceeded to finish his drink before signaling the waiter for another.

I looked down at my hand, feeling triumphant that he was letting it stay there. Take that Samantha. I’m the one comforting him, not you!

“Then maybe you should consider easing back on your contact with her. You’re obviously in deep with this woman. If it’s meant to be, she’ll realize that she feels the same way and will come back to you.” I put my hand on his thigh – his very hard, yummy thigh – to show him my support.

We continued to talk about how low he was feeling. It was so easy to subtly suggest that he step back from her. That he gives her a chance to come to her senses on her own. What I’m really doing is putting distance between them so that Aiden can repair his marriage.

The more we talked about his predicament, the more he drank. It was plain to see that he was inebriated. If I hadn’t been on a mission, I probably wouldn’t have taken advantage of him. But I did what I had to do. Before long my hand was practically on his dick. I chanced a glance down at his lap and saw that he was now at least half-mast and I felt victorious. I
knew
he was still attracted to me.

Throwing all my cards on the table, I decided to go in for the kill. I stroked his growing bulge slowly and leaned into his ear. Wetting my lips, my tongue barely grazed his lobe before I whispered, “I can make you forget all about her. Come upstairs with me and let me show you, baby.”

He didn’t answer right away. He just sat there while I continued touching him. I was starting to get nervous about playing my hand too soon. But I needn’t worry because he stood up, threw a few bills on the table and grabbed my hand to lead me upstairs.

Once we were in the elevator, he pushed me up against the wall and started kissing me. There was no slow build into the heat. It was an immediate explosion of passion. His need was palpable, and it was all for me. When the elevator doors opened, we stumbled out into the hallway, our tongues tangling and our hands pushing at clothing. We eventually made it into my room, and it got really wild and out of control at that point. Neither of us could get naked fast enough.

Jacob was such an attentive lover, even in his drunken state. He used his hands and mouth on me, like he just couldn’t get enough. I had two orgasms before I was finally able to explore a little myself. I licked and kissed my way down his chest and stomach. When I got to his cock, I took him deep in my mouth and he nearly shot off the bed. His hands tangled in my hair as I worked him over. I loved the taste of him. I loved it so much that I didn’t want to stop. I was disappointed when he pulled me off of him in order to fuck me. That is until his cock was deep inside me.

He started off on top of me. One of my legs was wrapped around his waist while the other was hooked around his thigh. We moved in perfect unison. Just thinking about it now has me getting worked up. The way his muscles moved with each thrust. The way he felt sliding in and out of me. The little twist his hips did that had me quickly on the edge. I could feel my muscles tightening around him. I could feel the wave getting ready to take me under. That’s when he pulled out and flipped me around.

I’ve never been one for getting fucked from behind, but after doing that position with Jacob, I’m definitely a fan. His weight and heat on my back as he pounded into me. His hand underneath me, fondling my breast. It didn’t take long for me to reach the pinnacle of ecstasy in that position. I came so hard that I almost cried with the emotion that overtook me. It was magical. And it was all thanks to Jacob.

Afterward, we both crashed tangled up together. I was on my stomach and he was lying partially on top of me. I think I might have even fallen asleep with a smile on my face.

Of course, all that changed in the morning. I woke up before Jacob and laid there content with the fact that I was in his arms. His head was buried in the hair at the back of my head. I laced my fingers with his around my stomach and replayed the night in my head. That’s when Jacob nuzzled closer and said the most harmful words ever spoken to me, “God, I love you, Sam.”

He might have been dreaming or he might have been awake. Regardless, he said her name. What the fuck! Yes that’s right. What the fuck! How could he possibly be thinking of her after the sex we had last night. It was mind blowing and earth shattering. And it was me he had it with… not her!

After I willed back the tears, I rolled over and saw that he was awake. Once his eyes focused, he looked a little disappointed before he hid it. And didn’t that just kill. It was then that I decided that I needed to up my game. I needed to get her out of his damn brain.

***

Jacob

I don’t know what to think right now. All I know is I’m not sure if I can keep reading this filth. Between the booze and the fucked up words on the page, I’m ready to lose it. Reading Brooke’s words of betrayal makes me want to throw up or hit something alternately. I’m not sure which reaction will win.

I lean forward in my chair and put my forearms on my knees, my hands dangling between my legs holding the bottle of Jack.

How could I have been so stupid not to see what she was doing? That whole time she seemed to really want to be there for me, it was all just a game to her. A means to an end.

And Aiden. That fucker! He manipulated this whole situation. I have half the mind to go find him and beat him to a bloody pulp. He stole Sam away from me. Brooke never would have been an issue if he hadn’t made her one. Sam would have left him, and we would still be together. She loved
me
damn it! She left
him
for
me
! He only won because he played dirty. I need to teach him a fucking lesson.

I attempt to stand with the mission of going after him, but my legs give out. I’m not sure if it is because I’m drunk, or if it’s due to the weight of this whole fucked up mess sitting on my shoulders. So instead, I lift the now half empty bottle of Jack and put it to my lips. Tipping my head back, I slug more liquid than I probably should. My eyes water and my throat burns from holding my cough at bay.

I sit with the open journal on my lap and a bottle of Jack in my hand, staring at the wall trying to process everything. And that’s where I eventually pass out.

***

My neck is stiff. My back is sore, and my head feels like it was hit by a semi-truck. For a brief moment, I struggle to remember the previous day. Once I do, it all comes crashing down on me. I pick myself up out of the chair, stumble into the bathroom and crank the hot water up to full blast. I strip out of my sweatpants and t-shirt before getting in under the spray. Letting the water relieve some of the soreness and tension, I replay everything I’ve learned in Brooke’s journals.

For as much as I would love to go and kick Aiden’s ass, I need to be smart about this. I need to finish reading and see what else the two of them conspired to do. Only then can I confront him. I don’t want him to have the upper hand. Thinking this through logically and using my training as a detective to guide me, is the best way for me to proceed. It’s a damned good thing I was too drunk to do anything about this last night, or it could have ended in disaster.

Granted I have enough ammunition against Aiden to make Sam run for the hills, but I don’t think it is enough to show her how aggrieved we really are. If I accomplish that, she might be willing to forgive me for my part in this whole sordid affair. If I had kept my dick in my pants, then they might not have been able to ruin our relationship. I let her down with my selfish and stupid decisions. I only hope she can forgive me.

I wish like hell Brooke was still here for me to ask her why the fuck she did this. I know that she struggled with her bipolar disorder, but this isn’t something that a rational and sane person would have done. She had to have been struggling long before she and I got together. I’m not going to fool myself into thinking that just because she conspired to keep Sam and me apart, I shouldn’t still hold guilt over her death. It all goes back to the choice I made to get in bed with her. I might have been tricked into it, but I still continued to do it. And had I never been weak and fucked her in my car to begin with, her obsession might not have been so unhealthy.

This is such a fucked up mess. I can’t believe it’s actually happening to me. I always pitied people who got caught up in crazy, now here I am living and breathing it.

With a fresh cup of coffee in hand, I choose to spend my first day in almost two months sober and sit back down to continue reading Brooke’s story. I have a feeling it’s only going to get worse, and I need my wits about me. Once I have all the details, I’ll calmly and rationally consider my options and devise a plan to move forward.

I don’t get more than a few sentences in when my phone rings. I glance at the screen and see that it’s Emma calling. I hit the ignore button and take a sip of my coffee before turning my attention back to the journal. I’m not ready to talk to anyone about what I’ve learned. The pain is too fresh and the wounds too raw.

My phone rings and I see that it’s Emma again. She’s probably still worried about me and my self-destructive behavior. I hit ignore once more and read another sentence before my phone starts back up. Jesus Christ. Can’t she leave me alone?

I swipe my finger across the screen to answer the call and bark out, “What the hell, Emma. I’m kind of busy!”

“It’s Grace. She fell out of the tree in the side yard and broke her arm. She’s in the hospital and John’s out of town. I’m a fucking wreck, so don’t yell at me! I need you!” Emma cries into the phone.

“I’ll be there in a few hours,” I say before hanging up the phone and rushing to get shoes on. Heading down to the car, I thank God that I’m sober today. Grace needs me.

Chapter Eleven

I made it in record time. The normally four hour drive took me just under three. Is it an abuse of power to speed, knowing I’ll get out of the ticket? Sure. I don’t give a shit though. My little girl needed me. I have been absent from Candace and Grace’s lives for the last couple of months. This just serves as a reminder that I keep hurting the people that I care about across the board.

Now poor Grace is lying in a hospital bed. She’s probably scared out of her mind and in a tremendous amount of pain. And poor Emma. She deals with so much when John is out of town for work. This is piss poor timing for her to have to deal with it all alone. Grace is her baby. Emma might not love her more than Candace, but the two of them have a special bond that can’t be denied.

I pull into a spot in visitor parking and hightail it into the hospital. Emma sent me a text a little while ago telling me where I could find her. I take the elevator up to the third floor and locate the visitor lounge where Emma, Candace and John’s mom, Betty, are. Candace has her head on her grandmother’s shoulder, while Emma paces by the windows.

“Thank God you’re here,” Emma says as she throws herself in my arms. I run my hands along her back and kiss her hair, trying to soothe her.

“What’s happening?” I ask, needing to know what we are up against.

“She was trying to get this damn ball that was stuck in the tree. I told her to wait for John to get home next week, but she decided to take matters into her own hands. I’ll never forget the sounds, Jacob. It was awful. I was in the kitchen with the windows open when it happened. I heard the branch break and her scream. Then I heard the thud of her hitting the ground, followed by the worst cracking sound I’ve ever heard. When I got outside, you could see the bone sticking through her arm. There was blood everywhere. It was truly awful. I can’t get the image out of my head of my poor baby lying there crying and screaming.” Emma shudders in my arms, and I tighten my hold on her.