Under My Skin (Shady Falls Series Book 2) (11 page)

              “Jenny’ll be fine. Trust me. That guy doesn’t stand a chance. Hell, no man stands a chance when Jenny’s interested.”

              So not what I wanted to hear. It was bad enough Jen was over there now talking to the man I wanted. Jake had turned his stool toward her. He started to scan her body as she talked, smiling at whatever quirky thing she had to say. Jen was good at this game and she played to win every time. Maybe Grant was right, maybe Jake didn’t stand a chance. I snapped around and looked at him.

              “Please tell me you weren’t one of her conquests.”

              He looked embarrassed. “Oh yeah, I was. It was back in college. She was persistent and she’s very beautiful. Besides, we were kind of friends.”

              “Ugh,” I moaned, rolling my eyes and shaking my head. The dull thud of my head hitting the table could barely be heard over the boom of the base. I rocked my head back and forth on the table; I didn’t want to deal with this today.

              He didn’t offer any apologies or excuses, he just stood there like it should’ve been obvious. “You didn’t think you were the only woman who wanted my attention, did you?” he asked.

              The question both pissed me off and made me question why I still talked to him. He always made sure I knew I wasn’t the only woman in the world.

              In one dance, Jake had made me feel like I was the only woman he ever saw, Grant made me feel like I was the last woman he’d ever look at. How could these two men make me feel so different?

              Jen’s earsplitting laugh made my head snap up. It was a loud and over-the-top laugh she only used when she was trying to get attention. A glance toward the bar brought the vision of Jen getting closer and closer to Jake as they talked. He smiled and seemed interested in their conversation and Jen was definitely smitten with the handsome blonde man.
My handsome blonde man.
The notion leapt into my consciousness before I could stop it. Jake was definitely
not
mine, I had to stop that thinking.

              “Let’s dance,” Grant said, taking my hand and pulling me up. He wasn’t giving me a choice.

              I didn’t want to be there anymore and I definitely didn’t want to dance. I was annoyed when Jen and Jake seemed to have hit it off. It hurt knowing I couldn’t have him. How could I screw something up when I was too young to know what I was doing? How could I have known he was the one? I was too young. We were too young.

              Grant stood straight, his five foot eight, slightly overweight frame towered over me. He was nerdy in a David Arquette sort of way. He obviously spent little time working out or doing any physical activity. Hell even when he came to the gym with me, he never seemed to exercise.

              His eyes were a honey brown and his mousy hair was unkempt. He was different than the men I usually dated. But he acted like he was better than other people, he was condescending, rude and he tended to say things to make others angry. I was so focused on needing something different I just continued to deal with his shit.
I can’t find one damn thing I like about Grant.

              He practically dragged me to the dance floor, his longer legs not allowing me to keep up. I almost tripped and fell over other people twice until he stopped in the middle of the floor.

              I had no reaction to his touch. I felt nothing when he was around, except for a deep feeling of loss and sadness. Definitely not what it was supposed to feel like. He wasn’t supposed to make me miserable, but every time I was with him, all I felt was misery.

              Damn-it! I didn’t need an all-encompassing natural magnetism. I didn’t need attraction and excitement. I liked comfortable and calm. Who needed physical enticement?
Who the hell am I kidding?

              Maybe the spark wasn’t there now, but it could come. I just needed to put in more effort. Maybe it just took time. It didn’t take time with Jake, my thoughts practically screamed.

              As I danced and tried to convince myself that I didn’t need attraction, my world just about crashed around me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jen and Jake take to the dance floor. Instantly Jen was wrapped around him. She was practically screwing him right in front of everyone.

              Over the past fifteen minutes, the floor filled significantly. There were bodies bumping and grinding all over the place and Jen and Jake were front and center of it all. She was all over him, her ass rubbing and grinding into his groin. His hands held her hips, riding out her movements, but he didn’t explore. No doubt their explorations would continue somewhere else later. The thought made me sick. My stomach churned, bile rose in my throat. I needed to get the hell out of there. I couldn’t do this. I could ignore it if it wasn’t thrust in my face. But this … this was unacceptable. Impossible … Heartbreaking … Jenny had to know this would kill me. How couldn’t she know?

             
Because I didn’t tell her.

              Pulling out of Grant’s arms and pushing through the crowd, I moved back to my table, grabbed my sweater and Jen’s keys. I was leaving. I didn’t care. All I could see was her all over him and I couldn’t take it. Bile rose in my throat again. I was gonna puke.

              “Mia, where’re you going?” Grant came up behind me. He took my arm and yanked me around. My head spun with the quick movement and I yanked my arm away from him and turned to leave.

              “I don’t feel well, Grant. I need to go home.”

              “You want me to take you?” He suddenly softened just a bit. He had his kind moments, but the lies and fakeness outweighed his random flashes of kindness.

              “Would you mind?” I held the keys out to him. “Can you take these to Jen and let her know you’re takin’ me home? I’m gonna go stand by the door and wait. I need fresh air.”

              He rolled his eyes like he was annoyed that I asked him to do something for me. But he agreed without complaining outright. “Sure, I’ll be right back.”

              I didn’t stay to watch his interaction with Jen and Jake. My attention was only on the door and getting the hell outta there before I either ripped her eyes out or I puked and cried in the middle of the damn dance floor. That would certainly get Jake’s attention. Ugh! Why couldn’t I just either talk to him or get over him?

              When Grant came back over to me, he seemed a little too happy to be leaving. His smile promised things I had no interest in exploring. Did he honestly think something was going to happen if I was ill? He couldn’t possibly be this stupid and horny.

              I stole one last glance across the dance floor and what I saw made my heart jump and set my stomach aflutter. Jake stood near Jen, but he was no longer touching or paying attention to the buxom woman. Instead his arms were crossed in front of his chest. His muscles bulged under his sleeves, his hands were clenched, and his eyes were locked on me. For a moment, it was like distance and time were gone and there was nothing between us. It seemed I could almost feel him in spite of the plethora of people and space spanning the distance. I wished he was the one taking me home, instead I felt Grant’s icy hand land on the bare portion of my back as he aggressively pushed me out the door.

              The ride home was quiet. I kept my head in my hands the entire time, feigning a headache, but also trying to hide the tears threatening to fall. Damn, actually seeing Jake with another woman was like a stab to the chest. The pain I felt was almost real.

              “Can I come in?” Grant asked when he pulled behind Bobby’s bar. He couldn’t be serious.

              “I’m sorry, Grant. I think I’m comin’ down with somethin’. I feel sick. Next time?”

              A deep grumble sounded through the silent car. “Whatever,” he growled, annoyance evident in his voice. Like taking me home deserved more than a goodnight. He didn’t say anything for a moment; he just sat there, showing polite indifference. But just under the surface I knew he was pissed, I could see it. I wondered what it would take for him to actually let his anger go. Could he be dangerous? “Feel better. I’ll call you,” he said from the driver’s seat. He didn’t move to get out of the car, nor did he even look like he was even contemplating walking me to the door.

              Once out of the car, he peeled out of the driveway, kicking up gravel, dirt, and dust on his way through the lot. I actually had to duck away from the airborne debris. He was gone before I even opened the door.

Chapter Nine

Jake

“Jen, I’m taking Mia home. She said she isn’t feeling well,” the short, pudgy dude said when he approached me and the hot as hell redhead with whom I was dancing. He handed her a set of keys and a phone.

I hardened my face and glared down at the asshole. I knew he was the same drunk sonofabitch that I pulled Mia away from just weeks ago. Why the hell was she still with this prick? He felt her up on a dance floor, he flirted with anything with two legs and breasts. I didn’t understand her at all.

My eyes scanned the room, looking for the face that haunted my dreams to be standing nearby, but I didn’t see her. I hadn’t realized she was there. Usually if she’s in a room I almost always spotted her, but I didn’t look for her tonight, of course the redhead did occupy my attention for a little while. My gaze drifted toward the door on the other side of the room and glimpsed an unruly mane of long golden brown curls on one of the most perfect little bodies I’d ever seen.

“Is she okay?” the redhead asked, jarring me out of my thoughts. Jen … I might actually remember this one’s name, but it was only because she was Mia’s friend. I had no intention of going home with her before, but now I wasn’t sure I even wanted to dance with her.

“I don’t know. We’d just started to dance and she just stopped. She said she was sick.”

The asshole looked up into my face, eyeing me with a warning look. He straightened his back, attempting to make himself taller than his much smaller stature.
Dude would need fuckin’ stilts.
I snickered to myself. He might know this chick and he might have something going with Mia, but I was a damn good judge of character. This guy was an arrogant prick. Judging by the expensive suit, the watch on his wrist, and his posture, he was also a greedy fucker. He probably used money to get whatever he wanted. This asshole thought he was better than people, better than me. Hell, he probably thought he was better than Mia. Was this what Mia wanted? Money? She was never materialistic. But maybe she’d changed.

I met his eyes and glared. Sliding my hands from the redhead, I crossed my arms across my chest. My muscles bulged under the tight cotton of my sleeves. I worked out because it was my job. I had to look the way I did to set an example, especially if I expected others to follow the exercise plans I prepared for them. Of course my physique worked well for me. It got me my conquests and it put assholes in their place. This cocksucker could think what he wanted about me, but he sure as hell would know he wasn’t shit as far as I was concerned.

Jen took the keys, her voice turning concerned. “Okay, tell her I’ll call her tomorrow morning. Will you be there?”

My fists clenched and my biceps bulged with the restraint it took to stand still. The thought of Mia spending the night with this arrogant douche irritated the shit out of me. How could she be attracted to such a pompous dick-wad?

I snickered to myself. How many shitty names could I come up with for this cocksucker?

“I don’t know. I’ll probably head back to Charlotte tonight. It’ll depend on her.”

Jen nodded. “Tell her I said to feel better.”

The short stub of a man looked at me once again, eyeing me like he had something to say or prove. Maybe he recognized me from that night. He was drunk off his ass, but he might remember. Maybe he recognized me from the gym, but he was usually too busy trying to get in someone’s pants.

What I did know for sure was that he was one of those guys with a little man complex, I could just tell. I never understood why some smaller dudes acted like dicks with something to prove. He gave me one more warning stare before he walked away. The little dude was swallowed up by the mass of people who now clogged the dance floor.

He reappeared next to Mia by the door. The fuckwad placed his hand on the bare portion of Mia’s back and guided her toward the door. Jaw tightened and teeth grinding, I fisted my hands tighter. She glanced back toward us, making eye contact with me for just a moment before disappearing into the night. She looked sad and defeated.
The cocksucker better not have done anything to hurt her, or he’d regret being alive.

“Sorry,” the redhead said. “I made my friend come out with me and called Grant to meet us so she wouldn’t be alone. If it were up to her, she would’ve stayed home by herself tonight.” She paused and smiled. “But enough about other people.” She turned and planted her ripe, plump ass right back into my groin. “I want to dance.” Leaning with her back pressed against my chest, she looked up at me. “Maybe more?” she asked, grinning.