We started walkin’ the detective to the door, when she suddenly stopped and turned around, lookin’ out over the living room where the incident had occurred. “Was there somethin’ else, ma’am?” I asked politely.
“Yes, unfortunately y’all are going to have to clean up the mess yourselves. I do have the number for a guy who specializes in these sorts of things. He does an amazing job, and by the time he’s done, you won’t even know anything happened here.”
Before the detective could finish speakin’, Tanya was politely cuttin’ her off. “That would be amazing. We would love his number please.” She glanced at me from the corner of her eye, but I wasn’t sure what she was tryin’ to say to me.
“Here’s his card. He’s a bit pricey, but well worth it. Any way, I hope you both get some rest tonight knowing that you helped rid this world of a sick and disgusted human being. I’m not supposed to say this, but if I were in your shoes…I would’ve done the same.”
The detective said the last little bit slow enough that even I could barely hear her, but I did, and I was utterly shocked. The rest of the crime scene unit left with the detective, and within ten minutes, you would’ve never known that anyone had been here at all. Oh yeah, except for the whole blood stained carpet thing. There was that. I let out a loud sigh of relief as I plopped myself down on Tanya’s couch. As much as I wanted to be as happy about the situation as she was, I just couldn’t find it in myself to be happy about any of it. Not only did I just witness my brother’s ex girlfriend kill a man, but now I was marryin’ her, and for all the wrong reasons. This most definitely was not how I imagined me gettin’ married. What the hell did I just get myself into?
Chapter 3
Joey
Flashbacks from that day flooded my memory as I continued to make my way back to Tanya’s house. I seriously wish that I could just fall in love with her and everything would be awesome, but unfortunately, someone else had reemerged in my life and was quickly diverting my attention away from Tanya. Tanya noticed at first, but then she came to the realization that neither one of us really loved each other, so she was trying to be somewhat okay with it.
When we showed up at Glenn and Cami’s, I never meant to take away from her big day, but I had to make a scene. I had to make sure that everyone knew that we were married now, and just how madly in love with one another we were, or were pretendin’ to be. I knew there would be some instant backlash, and a little bit of annoyance, but I never expected my brother to go all Hulk on me. But that’s what I was questioning now. Why did Glenn care so much? He was deliriously happy with Cami now, so why in the world would he care if Tanya were with me now?
I glanced over at Tanya who was now on the phone with her mom, tellin’ her all about our accident, and how she was okay, but severely shaken up. I felt bad, truly I did, but man she sure had a way of makin’ a tiny thing into a huge thing. Since we had gotten home, I had checked my phone at least a dozen times, just waitin’ for someone to call and ream my ass over the phone because they didn’t get to do it the right way in person. But lucky for me, there was nothin’ but silence. I was relieved, but I was also completely confused. The way Glenn was prattling on about how I barely know her and whatever else, you would think that he would call and finish me off. Glenn loved playin’ big brother far too much to just let this one go.
A few minutes later, my phone vibrated to signal that I had a new text message. In all honestly, I didn’t even want to check who it was, but somethin’ inside of me told me to. I reached across the kitchen counter for my phone, and the minute I saw whose name illuminated my screen, I wanted to jump for joy. I quickly slid my finger across the screen, and brought the text message to life. It was short and sweet, but more than enough for me to want to respond. We hadn’t spoke in what felt like forever, okay it had technically only been about five days, but with her, everything felt like forever.
I re-read the text one last time before responding.
Hey you, just wanted to say hi.
Like I said, short and sweet, but heartfelt all at once. Man, I was startin’ to sound like a chick.
Well Hi right back at ya. How are you?
I wanted to ask her if she missed me, if she was thinkin’ about me just as much as I had been thinkin’ about her, but I didn’t. I had to play it cool, and I most definitely needed to play it cool around Tanya. If she found out about her, she would most likely try to kill her. She may have said she was okay with it, but I knew better. A few seconds later another text came through.
I honestly didn’t think you’d answer back.
I’m good, I guess. Miss talkin’ to you though.
I knew exactly how she felt. Every minute that I didn’t get to talk to her was torture. And to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t even sure if we would be able to go back to the way things were before all of this drama started, but man if there was even a .1% chance, you bet your ass I’d be takin’ it.
I heard Tanya start to say her good-byes to her mom, and I quickly typed out a text back before Tanya had a chance to catch me.
I’ve gotta go, but I’ll text again soon. Miss you.
I quickly hit send, and then erased the entire conversation from my phone before shovin’ it into my front pocket of my jeans right as Tanya came struttin’ into the kitchen to join me.
“How’s your mom doin’?” I didn’t really care to be honest, but I couldn’t let her know that.
“She’s doin’ okay. Just worried about her little girl is all. So, should we talk about what happened at your brother’s house?” She bent forward against the counter, and took my balled up fists into her small dainty hands.
“Not really much to talk about, is there?” I pulled back from her, and made my way over to the fridge to pretend to look for somethin’ to eat.
“Of course there’s stuff to talk about.” She replied in a hushed tone, and I knew she was tryin’ to get on my good side.
I closed the fridge, and made my way over to her. My large six foot and some odd inches frame dwarfed her tiny five foot five frame, and I could all of a sudden feel her nervousness bouncin’ off of me. Was she scared that I would hurt her? “Look love, you knew what this (I pointed between me and her) was when I agreed to marry you, right?” She simply nodded in agreement, so I continued. “I’ve got plans love, a future that I have been buildin’ since I was big enough to throw a football. And to be quite honest, this whole thing is puttin’ a wrench in all of that. I’m not blamin’ you, but I can’t put what I’ve been fightin’ for my whole life on the back burner because one night you decided to do somethin’ completely stupid.”
Tanya pulled back from me, and I could see the tears beginnin’ to well up in her eyes. I reached out for her, to pull her towards me for comfort, but she just pulled away. “I think I’m going to head to bed now. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Tanya, wait.” But it was too late, she had already made her way up the small flight of stairs that led to her bedroom. Man, I really messed this one up. I let out a loud sigh as I threw myself onto the couch, aka my bed. As much as I wanted to be there for her to comfort her, and let her know that everythin’ was goin’ to be okay, I just couldn’t. The truth was, she brought this all on herself, and it wasn’t my job to fix it for her.
I woke up the next mornin’ to complete silence. It was almost deafening. I sat straight up on the couch and let out a loud obnoxious yawn as I stretched my arms high above my head. I was surprised at how well I had slept, and now I was ready to take on whatever this day may hand me, head on. Part of me wanted to check on Tanya, just to make sure she was okay, but if she wasn’t up yet, I didn’t want to be the one who woke her, especially when I wasn’t sure which version of her I was gonna get. So instead, I made my way into the kitchen and made myself some coffee.
The mouth waterin’ aroma tickled each one of my senses as I sat in my favorite chair out on Tanya’s back porch. The sun had just barely begun risin’, and it was like lookin’ at a pos
tcard as its rays broke through the early mornin’ clouds. I took a sip of my favorite beverage in the world, and then sat back to take in all the beauty that surrounded me. Sure the summers were excruciatin’ but the beauty of this state was what kept me here. I wasn’t quite sure I could ever see myself livin’ anywhere else.
I glanced at the clock on my cell phone, realizing that it was just barely seven in the mornin’ and that I could relax a little bit because I technically still had plenty of time to get all of my shit together before headin’ out to camp. I was just about to get up and get myself a second cup of coffee, when my phone chirped. I picked up my phone in hopes that it would be someone other than my brother, but those hopes were shattered the second I saw Glenn’s name pop up on the screen.
Jo, we need to talk. Please call me ASAP.
As much as I didn’t want to text him back, let alone talk to him, I also knew that if I didn’t do it now, things would get ugly. I mean, he is my brother after all, so maybe we could work this out somehow.
Why don’t you just come by?
Five minutes later I got a text back.
I can’t go to her house. Let’s meet up at Rose’s Diner.
Say like 20 minutes?
My phone chirped again.
Sounds good, see you then.
I downed my second cup of coffee, and then headed to the bathroom to jump in the shower. I was just about to jump in when I heard faint voices comin’ from Tanya’s room. I wrapped a towel around my waist, and silently tiptoed towards her bedroom door. I could barely hear what was bein’ said or who she was talkin’ to, so I moved in closer, just prayin’ to god that she didn’t catch me. Once my ear was pressed firmly against her door, I could finally hear what was bein’ said.
“But I thought you were falling madly in love with him?” The girl’s voice didn’t sound familiar, and I couldn’t help but wonder who the hell she was.
“Oh please, Joey Green?” I pulled my ear back in shock with how disgusted she sounded by the idea. “That is all just for show.”
“Yeah but eventually you’re going to have to tell him the truth, Tanya. Does he even know?”
Know what, know what? What don’t I know? As much as I wanted to barge through that door and find out what all she has been lyin’ about, I also needed to not overreact and jump the gun, hopin’ that she would continue to tell the truth to the girl she was talkin’ to.
“Oh my god, no he doesn’t, and it needs to stay that way. Got it?”
“Yeah, yeah I got it.”
“I just need him to think I’m in love with him for now. I need this marriage to work to my advantage. I need to get closer to Glenn, and –“
I cringed as my foot moved on the squeaky floorboard beneath my feet, and I flew back into the bathroom, turnin’ on the hot water and jumpin’ in like I had been there the entire time. Although the water that was supposed to be hot was actually cold, and I had to cover my mouth in order to not screech like a little girl as it hit my warm skin. I quickly started latherin’ shampoo into my overly thick head of hair when I heard the bathroom door creak open. I stood there hummin’ a tune and washin’ my hair, just waitin’ for her to say somethin’.
“Babe?”
Yes you lyin’ filthy piece of trash. Of course that’s not what I said out loud. “Yeah love?”
“I didn’t know you were awake yet. How’d you sleep?”
I pulled the curtain back just a titch as shampoo began to run down my face. “Like a rock. How about you?” I could see that lookin’ at me made her visibly uncomfortable, and I liked it. It was like a humane type of torture, because I knew deep down that this whole lie thing that she was speakin’ about with her girlfriend would tear her up inside the nicer I was to her.
“I…I slept, okay?” The dumbfounded look on her face was all I needed to see to know I had her right where I wanted her.
“Was that a question, or did you sleep okay?” I laughed. “You’re too cute. Hey, so I have to go and run some errands this mornin’, but I wanted to know if you’d like to go on a date with me later, before I have to take off for camp?” I could see the gears in her mind turnin’ with confusion.
“I guess so, yeah.”
“That’s it, you guess so? Wow, way to make a man feel loved, Tanya.” I joked as I winked at her and pulled the curtain back in place. She let out an achin’ moan, and I knew that I succeeded at gettin’ under her skin. It was all the confirmation I needed to know my little plan would work.
“I mean..I…You know I would love to go out with you. But, I just…I kind of thought that maybe you weren’t going to go to camp after everything.”
Her thought process baffled me. Did she honestly think that I would give up on my future because we got into a faux marriage? This girl was seriously delusional. “Why wouldn’t I go?” I shouted through the curtain as I continued to wash up.
“I don’t know. I mean, we didn’t even go on a honeymoon or celebrate with your family.”
“Well I don’t think my family would be too inclined to celebrate a marriage they don’t quite agree with, do you? And as far as a honeymoon goes, this is all a sham, why would we waste the money on a honeymoon when we’re not honeymoonin’?” I turned the water off and reached for my towel that I left right outside the shower, and pulled it tightly around my waist. The water was still glistenin’ on my upper torso, and I knew just how to get her all flustered and forget all about this stupid idea of a honeymoon.
I pulled back the curtain, showin’ off every ounce of muscle I had. Her eyes darted straight to my six pack, then made their way slowly and meticulously up the rest of my body before finally restin’ on my eyes. I could tell by the way she was lickin’ her lips that I had somethin’ that she most definitely wanted. I reached out, pushin’ my fingers back through her hair, cuppin’ the back of her neck, and pulled her as close to my lips as possible without them actually touchin’ one another.
“We can have a honeymoon here.” I smiled against her lips, brushin’ them delicately across hers, and I could feel her body shutter beneath my touch.
She swallowed loudly, and as her eyes fluttered shut she leaned forward tryin’ to push her lips against mine. I have to admit, I was gettin’ turned on, and I knew she could feel my length pushin’ against her belly, but I quickly pulled back, droppin’ my hand to my side, and scooted around her to get to my hairbrush and the mirror. I could feel her shock and irritation radiating off of her, and I had to smile at myself. This was gonna be fun.
Chapter 4
Diem
Not a single day has gone by that I haven’t thought about him, and it was literally killing me not to be with him. I had never met anyone like Joey, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get my mind off of him. We had met by chance when I was living in London, but something about that day had stuck with me.
He was on his senior class trip to Europe, and when I spotted him from across the line at the London Eye, I almost died. He was drop dead gorgeous, and man did he have a body on him. He wasn’t overly muscular like some players I had seen, but he was definitely defined. And his thick head of blonde hair and icy blue eyes pushed me over the edge when he looked in my direction. I’m sure he had hit on a million and one girls that day, but it didn’t matter to me, because the minute he started talking, I knew that none of them mattered.
He was such a gentleman, and the way he spoke made him sound like he was in his twenties and not just eighteen. The conversation had been easy, and everything about that day just felt so right. After our time in the London Eye, he found a way to escape from his class, and we ran off to explore the city. Okay, he let me teach him about the city because I lived there and had explored the city about a million times since my childhood. It was so much fun running around showing him my hometown, and though we had just met that day, it felt as though I had known him my entire life. We laughed, we danced, we hung out with a rugby team at the local pub, and just when I thought our day couldn’t get an
y better, he caught my hand in his and never let go.
I was smitten. Every single thing about this guy had me yearning for more. When the sun began to dip below the horizon, I knew it was almost time for us to say good-bye. Deep down inside I began to panic because I didn’t know when I would get to see this amazing man again, but then his lips pressed gently against mine, and all thought and worry disappeared from my mind. My arms slipped around his neck, pulling him closer to me, and I could feel the spark ignite between us. It was magical, and everything I imagined love would feel like.
When he said good-bye to me that night, I certainly thought it would be the last time I would ever see him, but lucky for me, he snuck out the next three nights he was here. We spent every night doing something new and exciting, and every night we said good-bye my heart broke just a little. Piece by piece he began taking them with him, and I knew that even if we never saw each other again, that he would always hold my heart. On his last night, we made love. It was my first time, and I knew that I would get the lecture from my mother later that my first time should be with someone that I love, and that I’ve known for quite some time, but it was ultimately my choice, and I chose him.
He was gentle and sweet. With every touch, he made me feel like I was the only woman that existed in the world, and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. When I got the phone call from him a couple of months ago telling me all about this girl Tanya, my heart broke. The phone slipped through my fingers, dropping to the ground as I stood there in shock. I was gutted as I shook my head in disbelief, trying to comprehend what he had just told me. How could he tell me every day how much he loves and misses me, but then run off and marry some girl who was in love with his brother? This wasn’t okay, especially given that I had flown all the way from London to a one horse hick town in the middle of nowhere Texas.
When I woke up the next morning, I half expected it all to be a dream, but unfortunately it wasn’t. Now what was I supposed to do? My father was going to kill me. He warned me about chasing after a boy, but I wouldn’t hear it. I knew what was best, and as much as he didn’t want to see his little girl go, he was going to have to deal with it. He trusted me enough to know that even if it turned out that I had made the worst decision of my life that I would somehow find a way to persevere. It was who he raised me to be, but that definitely didn’t make the phone call I knew I had to make, any easier.
This Obsession of Mine (Raine Series #5) Page 2
