The Heartbreaker

by Claire Contreras

  “Right. I’m definitely paying for it.” She picks up her coffee. “I have to get to class, so if that’s enough rules for you, then it’s enough for me.”

  “What about parties?”

  “What about them?” She stands up with her mug and heads to the hall.

  “Are we allowed to have parties?”

  “Do you want to have a party?” She turns to face me.

  “Do you?”

  “I mean . . . ” She bites her lip for a second. “I know you guys love to throw parties, so I guess it’s fine.”

  She means my brothers and me. Mitch and me specifically. Maverick just got here, so even though he’s attended some of our parties, he hasn’t had the pleasure of throwing one. It’s something Mitch and I have been looking forward to—the three of us throwing a party together before Mitch decides whether or not he’s going pro this year or next.

  “We can throw like a housewarming party,” Jo says after a moment.

  “I guess.” I chuckle. A housewarming party. Who is this girl?

  “How many people?” She tugs her bottom lip into her mouth. I take a breath and focus on her eyes.

  “I don’t know. Do you want there to be a limit?”

  “I don’t want the place getting trashed or a fire to start and Lauren to sue us,” she says. “When would this party take place?”

  “Tonight?”

  “I work tonight.” She bites her lip. “But I’m totally okay with you having a party without me.”

  “It’s our housewarming,” I say, trying to fight a laugh. She looks at me, looks away, looks at me again. The fact that she’s nervous definitely shouldn’t be making me hard, right? Fuck I should have not kicked Jessa out last night. She didn’t want to leave even after the interruption.

  “Maybe next week?” she asks.

  “Next week works. Friday?”

  “Maybe?” She starts walking away, but idles by the threshold of the kitchen.

  “Let’s just play it by ear,” I suggest. That seems to be the best solution for this right now.

  “Perfect.” That earns me a smile from her before she disappears down the hall.

  I try my absolute hardest to not picture her naked the entire time the water is running in the shower, but I can’t seem to stop the visual of walking into her room last night and her sitting there in nothing but her underwear. Fuck. How many times have I jerked off to her face and the idea of her body on mine? How many women have I fucked with the same visual? Too many. I take a deep breath and remind myself I can never go down that road again.

  Chapter Nine

  Jo

  “How’s that car treating you?” Donovan asks when I walk into the kitchen.

  “It’s so crazy.” I walk over and stand across the counter he’s currently working on, plating a meal. “It drove me all the way here.”

  “All the way here, you say?” He raises an eyebrow. “Who knew a car that doesn’t cost six figures could do that.”

  “Funny, Donovan.” I walk away as the rest of the kitchen staff laughs at his joke, and set my purse down in the break room, grabbing the black waist apron my uncle set in the cubby assigned to me and tying it around myself.

  I wait until I walk out of the kitchen before picking up my hair into a high ponytail. I haven’t straightened it in weeks, so the curls are bouncier and tighter than usual, but I do my best to smooth the top and bottom as I secure it. I take a breath before pushing the door that leads to the bar and smile when I see Marissa already there serving drinks. Marissa is a few years older than me but she’s been working here since she was in high school, which feels like an eternity to me. I heard she tried to quit once and Uncle Adrian gave her a raise and offered to pay for her school. Obviously, she couldn’t refuse that offer.

  “Hey.” She tucks her dark, straight hair behind her ears and glances over at me with a smile. “I was so happy to hear that you were joining us. Not happy about the reason, of course, but happy you’re here.”

  “Thanks.” I return her smile. “I think you’re the first person to offer a bit of sympathy for what happened.”

  “I mean . . . ” She tops off the beer she’s pouring and turns to me. “I don’t feel bad for you for working here, but it’s gotta suck to crash that car.”

  “You have no idea.” I sigh, then smile. “But I am glad to be here. It’s long overdue.”

  “We’ll split the first fifteen tables,” she says, glancing up. I follow her gaze. “Patrick is handling the rest.”

  “Sounds good to me.” I pick up the pad and pen in front of me and walk around the bar, heading to table one.

  I’m wiping down table five when I see him walk in. My heart plummets. I gather the cloth and spray and bolt to the back of the bar.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “My ex is here and I just can’t.” I must be showing my emotions in my expression, because Marissa shoots me a sympathetic look and looks toward the dining area.

  “Tall, blond, Ken look-alike?”

  “Yes.” I shut my eyes, heart still hammering. If he’s here with Crystal I will lose my shit. I just know it. And I can’t afford to lose my shit.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Marissa says. My eyes pop open. “I’ll make sure Patrick serves him. It’ll be fine.”

  “Thank you so much,” I breathe. “I just can’t do this right now.”

  “Hey, I get it.” She looks toward the restaurant again. “We have new people at table five. You take care of those and Patrick will worry about your ex’s table.”

  I take a second to compose myself, taking a deep breath and keeping my head high as I walk toward table five. Knowing Lawrence is here will not trip me up right now. He doesn’t deserve to have that kind of power over me. I’m so focused on getting to table five that I don’t actually see who’s sitting there until I’m already in front of Jagger and his friend. That’s when my heart starts working overtime. As I meet his eyes, it’s impossible not to replay what I saw last night. Impossible to unsee his perfect abs or the veins in his arm as he flexed to grab the woman on top of him. That’s the thought that puts a sour taste in my mouth and reminds me who I’m dealing with. Jagger Cruz. Womanizer. Player. Heartbreaker. My new roommate. The person I absolutely cannot see in that light. We were friends once, before we went and messed that up by hooking up. Maybe we can get back there. Maybe, but doubtful, because for some inexplicable reason, I feel things I shouldn’t when I’m around him. Instead of looking at him, I focus on his friend, who’s incredibly handsome, with silky, dark skin and long dreads that normally don’t do it for me, but on this guy, they work.

  “Hi.” I smile. “My name’s Jo and I’ll be taking your order today. Have you had a chance to look at the menu?”

  “How’s the cacciatore?” the guy asks.

  “Really good. I’m partial to the lasagna.” I wink and lower my voice as if I’m letting him in on a secret, even though it’s announced on the menu. “It’s the owner’s mother-in-law’s recipe and it’s legit.”

  “I’ll have the lasagna then.” He smiles, handing over the menu. I jot it down after plucking it from his hand and look at Jagger.

  “I’ll have the same.” He hands me his menu.

  “Do you want anything else to drink besides water?”

  “Water is fine.” Jagger picks up his glass and takes a long sip through his straw until it’s obvious he needs a refill. So obnoxious. Such a Jagger thing to do. I resist the urge to roll my eyes or comment on it as I take it from the table when he sets it down.

  “What do you have on tap? Anything local?” the friend asks.

  “I can check for you.” I glance at the bar briefly, but can’t make out the labels on the handles from where I stand. “I’m new. Sorry.”

  “No worries. Take your time.” His smile is warm as he gives me a once-over. I walk away and head back to the kitchen.

  “Two lasagnas,” I call out, tearing the paper from the pad and setting it on the queue for the
m.

  I turn around and refill the glass with water before making my way back to their table, but before I can reach it, Lawrence walks up to me and blocks my path.

  I freeze, meeting his clear blue eyes. “I’m working.”

  “We need to talk.”

  “We don’t and even if we did, we can’t talk while I’m working,” I whisper-shout. “If you really wanted to talk, you would have called.”

  “Apologies shouldn’t be said over the phone.”

  “I don’t want another apology.” I glare at him. “Leave it alone.”

  “I can’t leave it alone.” He lowers his voice and his head is closer to mine. My heart stops beating.

  “If you kiss me I will throw this all over you and punch you and if I get fired you’re going to have to pay me a lot of money.”

  “Fine. I’ll wait.” He steps back.

  I swallow and continue moving, setting Jagger’s water down on the table. I don’t miss the pissed-off expression on his face before I turn away and move onto one of my other tables. There’s something to be said about adrenaline and the way it pushes you out of your comfort zone because it propels me to move around the restaurant faster than I ever have.

  I’m taking the trash out before leaving when Lawrence catches up to me again. I groan, wishing I’d let Patrick do it, like he said he would. That way, I would’ve already been safely in my car and driving away. Instead, I feel like I’m being emotionally attacked.

  “Are you free now?” he asks, hands in his pockets.

  I wish I could say I didn’t miss him, but that would be a lie. After three years of feeling his arms around me, I can’t really deny it, and it makes me feel even more insecure because why should I miss someone who hurt me the way he did? He cheated on me, who knows how many times, before I finally caught him with a person I thought was my friend.

  “What do you want? Why are you even here?”

  “I came to apologize.”

  “Now?” I shake my head. “How am I even supposed to take you seriously?”

  “It took that long for me to realize how badly I’d fucked up.”

  “Yeah.” I let out a laugh. “Okay.”

  “I’m sorry I hurt you.” He walks forward. “Just . . . give me another chance. I’ll make this right.”

  “What about Crystal?” I cross my arms.

  “What about her? Who cares? That’s old news.” His eyes search mine. “It’s over.”

  “Why’d you do it?” I hate the way my voice breaks.

  “I don’t know.” He runs a hand through his blond waves. “I’m an idiot. I guess I let myself get caught up in the fact that I haven’t been with anyone else since we got here and college is supposed to be this wild experience and . . . ” He shrugs. “I’m the starting quarterback, babe. Do you know how many women throw themselves at me?”

  “But you couldn’t ignore my friend.” My voice wavers. “I thought she was a friend.”

  “She was never your friend.” His expression turns serious. “She was hitting on me the entire time you were friends.”

  My chest squeezes. “Is knowing that supposed to make me feel better?”

  “No.” He raises a hand and sets it on my shoulder. I pull away, putting distance between us. “I’m sorry. I just want to say I’m sorry and I want to try this again.”

  “No.”

  “Think about it. Are you going to the barbecue tomorrow?”

  “Are you insane?” My voice is nearly a shriek.

  The only reason I ever went to those Duke barbecues was because we were together, otherwise I wouldn’t have been caught dead at a Duke function. As it is, my parents low-key judged me for choosing to go to those barbecues and not theirs since I’m a UNC student, they’re UNC alumni, and my mother is a current employee, so you can say their hate for Duke goes deep in the already bad rivalry.

  “Come on, Jo. Don’t be like that.”

  “You cheated on me, Lawrence. You hurt me. I’m not giving you another shot. There’s literally no way.”

  “None of this would have happened if you’d moved in with me.”

  “Now you’re blaming me?” I laugh, even though I’m shaking. “That’s rich.”

  “If you had moved in with me, she wouldn’t have been able to entrap me the way she did.”

  “Entrap you.” I shake my head and look away. “Wow.”

  “Just . . . let’s put it behind us.”

  “I’m going to put it behind us but I’m not getting back together with you.” I meet his eyes so he sees how serious I am. “There’s no way in hell I’d ever date an athlete again. Ever.”

  He shakes his head, sighing heavily. “Just think about it. Please.”

  “Fuck you, Lawrence.” I walk away quickly.

  “Just think about it. Tell me you’ll think about it.” He catches my arm just as I’m reaching my car.

  “Maybe you should have treated her right to begin with.” Jagger’s voice snaps our attention in that direction.

  He’s standing there with his friend beside him and they look menacing to say the least, Jagger with his jaw twitching and his body in a fighting stance and his friend, with the kind smile, is no longer smiling and is pretty freaking huge. It must be one of his teammates, which makes sense. The few times I’ve caught glimpses of Jagger through the years he’s either been surrounded by women, his teammates, or his brothers.

  “Why don’t you mind your own fucking business?” Lawrence lets go of my arm. “This is between me and Josephine.”

  “And me now since I don’t know how to mind my own business.” Jagger cocks his head, a lazy smile forming on his face. “Besides, my roommate’s business is my business.”

  “Roommate?” Lawrence looks between Jagger and me before settling on me. “Is he serious?”

  I swallow and nod. If I wanted to piss Lawrence off to begin with, I would have told him I was rooming with a guy. If I wanted to really piss him off, I would have said that guy was Jagger. I didn’t bring it up because I’m not that petty and I just want this over. The last thing I need is to rehash frenemies and poke old wounds.

  “Wow, Josephine.” Lawrence barks out a laugh. “This is low even for you.”

  “Even for me?” I raise my eyebrows, then scream, “Says the guy who fucked my friend.”

  “Maybe you should leave before I start airing our dirty laundry,” Jagger says.

  “Maybe you should stay the fuck out of it. Or are you pissed because you’re no longer starting?” Lawrence moves forward. “You should be happy about this, Jordan. Now you can take his spot on the field.”

  “Careful, Pretty Boy. Wouldn’t want to fuck up your throwing arm before the season starts,” Jordan says.

  “Okay. Everyone stop.” I step forward and stand between the three of them. I look up at Lawrence. “You need to leave. Now.” I look at Jagger on my other side. “You need to stay out of this.”

  “I’m not staying out of it.” Jagger glares at Lawrence.

  “You’re still pining after her. After all this time.” Lawrence chuckles, shaking his head. “Wow.”

  Jagger steps forward, right into my palm, which I’m holding up and I know won’t do any good if he decides to charge at Lawrence, and from the way his chest is flexing against my hand, I have a feeling he’s really trying hard to rein it in right now.

  “Please leave.” I shut my eyes, heart hammering. This can turn ugly quickly and I don’t want this on my already full conscience. “All of you. Please.”

  Jagger backs away first. My eyes pop open and I see him walking away with Jordan. I let my hands fall at my sides and take a deep breath.

  “See you at home, Jo,” Jagger says with a snicker as he turns around and walks toward a gray car that must be Jordan’s.

  “I can’t believe you moved in with him,” Lawrence says behind me.

  “It’s none of your fucking business who I move in with or what I do. Are we clear on that?” I raise an eyebrow. “Leave me alon
e.” I walk back to my car and drive away before he says another word.

  The entire ride home, I’m shaking so hard that I consider pulling over, but I don’t and amongst everything running through my head are Lawrence’s words. You’re still pining after her. After all this time. What the hell did he mean by that? He can’t possibly think Jagger likes me. Right?

  Chapter Ten

  Jagger

  I didn’t want to come to the barbecue, but my brothers started calling me early this morning and showed up to pick me up and drag me along. What I wanted to do was talk to Jo about last night. I thought I’d have a chance when I got up, but her room was wide open and the house was empty, so I assume she left early this morning. I can’t even text her since I no longer have her number, the result of a decision I made on a drunken night when I decided I couldn’t have it in my phone and not call or text.

  The gate that surrounds the Canó house is open when we get there, so Mitch pulls up and parks along the side, where we have easy access to leave whenever we want. We start walking toward the house and spot Carolina Blue balloons leading to the yard and follow them. I’ve only been to this barbecue once, my freshman year. That year, I was dragged here by my parents. This year, Mitchell used the excuse that he’d be gone most of the fall since he’s going to train with one of the best baseball trainers in the country and take his classes online while he’s gone, which means we won’t be able to hang out as often. I took the bait like an idiot because I love hanging out with my brothers. I especially love hanging out with Mitch, who’s my Irish twin, and therefore, has always been closest to me.

  “Boys!” That’s Rosa Canó’s greeting when she sees us from the other side of their enormous backyard.

  She’s all wide smile and open arms. She has the complete opposite of Josephine’s reaction to me and most things in life, even if they do look like carbon copies of each other, with their olive complexion, dark curls, and beautiful hazel almond-shaped eyes. They have the kind of face that you can’t look away from, beautiful and expressive. Mrs. Canó has a bangin’ body too, not that I’m trying to check her out or anything, but she usually wears dresses that hug her curves and hit just below the knee. Today, she’s wearing khaki pants and a white blouse though. Still, total MILF. Not that I’d ever fuck her. I mean, I hooked up with her daughter for God’s sake. The mother-daughter thing is more of Maverick’s speed, not mine, and definitely not Mitchell’s. She gives each of us a warm hug and firm kiss on the cheek when we reach her, then holds us by the arms and gives us a once-over like a proud mother.