“Captain here got his rocks off.” I swore through my teeth and sat down, thankful people had started arriving so he couldn’t say anything else.
“No plans so far. I know that Jaxon has a game tomorrow morning, and I’m hoping I can go to that,” I say, looking out my window as the plane takes off. I usually make his weekend games when they are early enough. “I’m picking him up at practice tonight when we get in.” I look at my watch. “Then I’m going to take him out to eat.”
“You going to go out after the game?” Ralph asks, and I just look at him. “You never know, she can be going back to see if you show up.” I shake my head.
“It’s better this way,” I tell him, feeling the pit that I have in my stomach. The plane lands twenty minutes later than scheduled, and I run to my SUV, tossing the bag in the back seat to make my way over to the arena. The parking lot’s full when I get there, and I see that I’m late.
I walk into the arena and look around the lobby. Glancing at my watch, I see I’m ten minutes late. Fucking traffic. I spot a couple of parents from their team. “Hey, guys,” I say, walking past them and going up the back stairs to where the restaurant is.
I look around, my eyes scanning the room, and then I see her. My heart starts to speed up in my chest, and it feels like it’s going to pound out of my chest. What is she doing here? Right now, I couldn't care less because she’s here. She’s breathtaking and beautiful and so much more than what I remembered. Her hair is still loose, and I wonder if it’s as silky as I remember. I wonder if she’s thought about me. I wonder if she regrets walking out on me. I have so many questions, but the only thing I know is that now that she’s in front of me, I’m not going to waste time.
I watch her as she hands my son a slush and smiles at him. I walk to her, and she must feel eyes on her because she looks up, and for the first time in my life, my heart stops. Literally, the world could crumble around us, and I’d be okay with her there with me. Her eyes go big when she sees me, and I smile as I make my way to her. I see her mouth my name, and I can hear it in my head.
“Daddy,” Jaxon says when he spots me, and her mouth opens now in shock, her eyes flying to me and then back to Jaxon. “That’s my dad,” he tells her, and she has no words. She just nods at him.
“He plays hockey.” I hear Caleb say, and I stop in front of them. The smell of her brings back every memory from that night. And I mean every memory plays in my head on fast-forward.
“Hey, buddy,” I say, bending down and kissing Jaxon’s head. “I missed you.” I look back up at Evelyn, who just blinks. “Hi,” I say softly. “I’m Manning, Jaxon’s dad,” I say to her, holding out my hand.
“I-I’m,” she says, stuttering now and not sure how to act. “I’m Evelyn. Caleb’s aunt,” she tells me, sticking out her hand, and when I shake her hand, the heat feeds my soul. The touch makes my body come alive, and I want nothing more than to bend and kiss her hello. I want to wrap my arms around her, bring her to my chest, and just hold her there.
“It’s great to meet you,” I say, our hands still in each other’s hand. I’m not ready to let her go just yet. Maybe I’m afraid that this is a dream, and when I let her go, I’ll open my eyes, and it will be over.
“Can we go play in the arcade?” Jaxon asks, and I’m about to say yes to get them to leave us. I’ll give them all the tokens in the world to just leave us alone. But instead of savoring in the moment of seeing her again, my eyes see the one person I don’t want to see.
“Evelyn,” I say her name, dropping her hand. I want to say so many things before it happens. My heart pounds in my chest, my palms getting sticky, and my neck starts to tingle.
It happens like a freight train crash. The one you slow down to look at, and I suddenly feel like I’m floating out of my body. “Hey there, you two.” I hear her voice, and I don’t have time to do anything when I see her in front of me, and she kisses me on the lips.
“Welcome home, baby. Missed you,” she almost purrs out, and I think I’m going to be sick. The burning in my stomach moves up to my throat. “Sorry I’m late. Did you just get here?” she asks with a smile, bending to kiss Jaxon’s head. “Someone needs a shower,” she says and finally looks at Evelyn, who stands there with her mouth hanging open. I see her eyes going from me to Murielle and then back to me again.
I want to tell her it’s not what it seems, and it’s just a farce. I want to tell her I’ve spent the past week thinking about only her. I want to tell her that I want another night. I want anything she will give me. But the universe has other plans for me right now. I feel Murielle slip her arm into mine, something she usually does when I’m talking to a female she doesn’t know. “Hey,” she says to Evelyn. “I’m Murielle.” She smiles at Evelyn, holding out her hand. “Jaxon’s mom.”
Chapter 12
Evelyn
“I’m Murielle.” She puts out her hand. “Jaxon’s mom.” I stand here shocked, to say the least. My heart beats so hard in my chest that I think everyone will be able to hear it. Heat rises all the way to my neck, and I feel like I’m going to faint. I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience. I feel like the earth is crumbling under my feet. This can’t be happening to me. This can’t be true. It can’t be. But then I look up and see him, his eyes, and I know. Everything we did was a lie. Everything I felt was a lie, and everything he said was a lie.
In a matter of three minutes, everything came crashing down. Everything I built up was destroyed. I felt eyes on me as soon as I handed Jaxon his slush. Looking up, I thought it was a figment of my imagination. I thought that it was my mind playing tricks on me. It couldn’t be.
But as he walked closer to me, it finally sank in that this was real. He was real, and he was in front of me. He was wearing black jeans and a white shirt with a black jacket. He was even hotter than he was in the club. But not hotter than he was naked.
I’m sure the expression on his face mimicked mine. He was in just as much shock to see me, and when he stuck his hand out and I touched him, my body suddenly woke up, remembering his touch as it waited for more. I wanted to look up at him and for him to look down and kiss me. I wanted him to put one hand around my waist and bring me close to him. I wanted to tell him I was sorry about taking off on him without saying good-bye. I wanted to tell him I’ve been thinking about the blue-eyed stranger all week. I wanted to tell him all that, and then everything changed. Just as fast as the overwhelming feeling I had of seeing him, came the devastating blow that he wasn’t all that I built up in my head.
I stood there speechless as she kissed his lips, the same lips I felt every night in my dreams. I stood there as she wrapped her arm around his, and I couldn’t help notice the way she clung to him with her big diamond rock on her finger. My head was spinning as I took all of it in.
He had a wife. He has a wife.
I slept with a married man. I slept with someone’s husband.
The thoughts made me want to throw up, but I pushed it down. I would not give him the satisfaction of making a fool out of me twice.
“Hi.” I forced myself to smile. “I’m Evelyn, Caleb’s aunt.” I shake her bony hand, taking a minute to look at her. She is taller than me, her breasts are definitely fake, her lips injected, and not one frown line around her eyes or her forehead. She is lean, and you can tell she works out and not just like I pretended to but for real. Her black eyes are perfectly styled; she is perfectly put together.
“Oh, you’re Tim’s sister,” Murielle says, letting go of my hand. I pull my nephew to me, and I want to get the fuck out of here.
“I am,” I say to her, then look down to blink away the tears threatening to escape.
“Veronica was talking about how excited they all were that you were finally moving back home.” The whole time she talks, she doesn’t let go of Manning.
“Yes, I’m very happy to be back home.” I look down at my nephew who thankfully doesn’t seem to notice anything is wrong with me.
“Are y
ou ready to go, buddy? Your mom and dad are waiting for us.” He nods his head at me. “I hope it’s okay I bought Jaxon a slush.” I look at them or better yet at her, avoiding the blue eyes that I want to forget.
“More than okay,” Manning says, and I make the mistake of looking at him. My chest feels like it’s shattering right down the middle, but then the anger slowly builds up in me. “Thank you so much for staying with him.”
I just nod at him, not sure I can say anything, I swallow down the lump in my throat. “Say good-bye.”
“Bye, Jaxon,” Caleb says and then looks at me. “Can Jaxon come to the movies with us tomorrow?” I stand here, not sure what to do or say. It’s one thing to know he’s married and to know that I know who he is and to see him. It’s a whole other ball game to try to be friends with this asshole.
“Oh, Mom, can I?” Jaxon asks, and I look down at the boy who I now see looks just like his father. Why didn’t I see it before?
“We have the hockey game tomorrow night,” she tells him, and his shoulders go down.
“That’s okay.” I look at Jaxon. “How about we do it another time?” He smiles at me, and if I didn’t hurt before, I hurt now. What if he found out I slept with his father? What if she found out? My nephew could be dragged into this. My brother, oh shit. “It was nice meeting you.” I look at Murielle and grab Caleb’s hand, walking toward the stairs we came up. He grabs his hockey bag, and I hold his slush.
“Do you want me to carry the bag for you?” I ask. He just shakes his head, and I lean down to kiss his head as we walk down the stairs.
A tear escapes, and I wipe it away as fast as I can. With my head down, I walk out of the arena, making sure to get him in the car as fast as I can. I pull out of the parking lot with my chest hammering and my hands sweaty. Should I tell Tim and Veronica? Should I tell them how I slept with a married man?
And not just any old married man. No, that would be too easy. No, I slept with one of Caleb’s friend’s father. Oh my god. I put my hand on my forehead as I make my way over to Tim and Veronica’s.
I swallow down all my hurt I feel when I pull into their driveway. I get out of the car, opening the back door for Caleb, who jumps out. I grab his bag for him and walk to the front door that is now open with Veronica coming out.
“Thank you so much,” she says after she kisses Caleb hello, and he runs into the house.
“Of course,” I say, and she reaches for the hockey bag. “It was fun.”
“Do you want to come in? We just ordered Chinese,” she tells me, and I shake my head.
“I’ve had a long week,” I say, not lying. “I’m going to go soak in my tub.”
“That sounds divine,” she says, and I nod at her and walk back to my car. “I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch,” I say, and she nods at me.
“Do you want to come to the hockey game with us?” she asks, and the burning in my stomach comes back.
“Maybe some other time. I have a couple of boxes left to unpack.” I lie to her this time. Everything that I had was unpacked this week. I did it to keep my mind from thinking about Manning. She holds up her hand and waves at me as I drive away.
Only when I’m away from the house do the tears come. Instead of the memories from Saturday coming at me, it’s the face of his son. It’s the look of his wife smiling and being duped to who her husband really is.
“I’ve never had a one-night stand.” I hear his voice in my head. “I’ve never done this. Never wanted to,” he whispered to me while he slid into me over and over again. “Until you.” I close my eyes, and my stomach roils.
“Liar!” I shout in the car as I make my way home. Walking in, I don’t even bother turning on the lights. Instead, I walk to the fridge and open it, grabbing the white wine I keep in there. I take the cork out and just drink it straight from the bottle. I close my eyes as the cold liquid makes it down to my stomach.
“Holy shit,” I say, taking another gulp. “Holy fucking shit.” I take another swig, this time kicking off my shoes. Putting my hands on the counter, I drop my head. “Married.” I shake my head, trying to erase him from my mind. I head back to my bedroom, walking straight to the bathroom and starting a bath.
Putting the wine bottle on the white marble counter, I light the candles around the bath. I undress and grab the bottle, then slip into the tub. Holding my legs to my chest, I finally let the tears come. I slept with a married man. The thought replays in my head as I drink the wine.
My whole life, I would hear stories about my friends' families going through divorce, and there was always the main theme. One cheated on the other. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Fuck, I was cheated on, so I know how it feels to be deceived. I know what it feels to be hurt, to be lied to, to be the one left in the dark.
I wipe away the tears, getting out of the tub when the water turns ice cold. I slip on the plush white robe and walk to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I look to see what I can whip together.
My phone rings, and I look at the clock to see it’s almost nine thirty. I walk to the front door, picking up my Gucci purse and opening it as the ringing stops.
I look and see that it was from an unknown number. I wonder if it’s one of the clients I met with today. Now is not the time to do this, but they need to know that I’ll be there no matter what. So I call the number back as I walk back to the kitchen.
“Hello?” he says, and I stop walking. “Evelyn,” he says my name, and I am in shock.
The only thing that comes out of my mouth is, “Who gave you this number?” I don’t wait for him to answer because it doesn’t fucking matter who gave him this number. What matters is that he used it. “Don’t call me again,” I say, hanging up, and my heart sinks in my stomach. I put the phone down and then hear it beep.
My heart hammering, I pick up the phone, not sure what to expect. Whatever it is, it’s not what’s there.
Unknown: We can do this the easy way or the hard way.
I laugh. He has some nerve, and then another text comes in.
Unknown: I have no problem calling your brother to ask to see you.
My mouth opens. What the hell is his problem? I’m pissed now, fucking pissed. I dial his number, and I can hear that he’s in the car. “Evelyn,” he says my name in a desperate plea. “Please let me explain.”
“I don’t really know what game you are playing,” I tell him. “But—”
“I’m not playing any game. I just want five minutes of your time, and then I’ll never bother you again.”
“I won’t say anything.” My voice comes out. “It’s not necessary to talk about it. We can forget it ever happened.”
“Not a chance in hell,” he says, and I have no idea what he means. “I can come to you.”
My head is spinning. “I don’t have to come inside. We can talk outside.” His voice goes softer now. “I just need . . .”
“You aren’t going to let this go?” I ask, and I close my eyes when he answers.
“No,” he says.
I think about meeting him in person, and then I imagine if someone catches us, and the thought of that is too much for me to bear. “I’ll send you my address,” I tell him. “You get five minutes. After that, I never want to see you again.”
“Text me your address,” he says, and I hang up, sending him the address. I put the phone down and get a text now.
Unknown: There in fifteen.
Chapter 13
Manning
I toss the phone on the seat next to me as I make my way over to Evelyn’s house.
The last three hours are a blur.
I watched her pretend she didn’t know me, and it killed me just a little inside. I watched her walk away, and the whole time, I wanted to run after her and get her phone number. I wanted to tell her everything. I watched her avoid looking in my direction, and the whole time, I hoped she would if only for a minute. I hoped she saw the truth in my eyes when she looked at me.
“What do you want to do fo
r dinner?” I heard Murielle from beside me. My eyes were still on Evelyn as she walked down the steps with her nephew. I shook her arm off me while I watched Jaxon drink his slush. I side-eyed her because she’s never fucking kissed me on my lips in front of people before.
I looked into her eyes while I wiped her lipstick off my lips. “I’m taking Jaxon out for pizza,” I told her. “Boys’ night,” I said, just so she wouldn’t cause a scene. Of course she looked around to make sure no one had looked over at us.
“Don’t keep him out too late,” she said. “He has a game tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’m aware of his schedule, Murielle,” I said as I grabbed his bag and walked down the stairs with Jaxon. “Were you waiting long with Evelyn?” My stomach sunk each time I said her name. Now even more so.
“Nah,” he said as we walked out of the arena, and I could swear I caught sight of her in a black BMW. When she stopped at the stop sign, I made her out, and I knew it was her for sure.
“She was going to give us money for arcade games,” he said, “but you got here.”
“That was very nice of her.” I opened the door for him, and I wanted to ask him more questions. I wanted to know if he liked her. I wanted to know anything he had to tell me.
I tried to listen to him as he told me about his week, but all I could do was think about Evelyn. When we finally got home, I saw that the trainer’s car was there, and I just shook my head.
We walked in, and Jaxon didn’t even ask for his mother before he made his way to the shower. I sat down in the family room with the lights off and started doing my research on Evelyn now that I knew her full name.
I opened up Safari, and I googled her name.
The biography of her taking over for her father at the firm comes up right away, and I quickly go and search my emails for an email that I got two weeks ago from Tim’s firm.
Only One Night (Only One Series 3) Page 7
