Claiming Zoey

by J. B. Baker

“Mm, it seems that this part of you totally disagrees.”

  Jesus, Crystal is almost naked except for the tights and garters. Before I know it, she is on her knees unzipping the front of my trousers.

  “Stop this now,” I snarl.

  “Oh, come one, just one little fuck,” she purrs, running her hand along my bursting length.

  “Things have changed; I have a girlfriend now.” Admitting this makes me feel really good despite having this woman attempting to rape me.

  “Good for you. You had your little conquest; now you can return to fucking me.” By now Crystal’s hand holds onto my cock through the fabric of my pants, squeezing.

  “Are you nuts. Get away from me.” I want to push her away, but at the same time, I worry whether I would hurt her. No matter how much Crystal is pissing me off right now, this is not her fault. First, I created this sex-crazed vixen and second, I never told her about Zoey. How the fuck could I? I only realized that I love her until a few moments ago. “Jesus, Crystal…stop, stop…” The protest comes out in throaty wheezes.

  “I can see that you have made yourself right back at home.”

  My eyes snap up and focus in the direction of the venomous voice – the voice I love with all of my heart. No! Please! Why now? I swear I have never seen anyone look more surprised, hurt and heartbroken than Zoey in that very moment.

  “This is not what it looks like,” I say in an attempt to soften the hostile expression on Zoey’s face that I know so well from the party and the hospital. Only this time, she looks as if she is about to kill me.

  “Oh, this is very much what it looks like,” she hisses.

  “Who is this?” asks Crystal, getting to her feet and leaving my open fly for the world to see. “Oh, that’s why you were so hesitant. You wanted to wait for the other girl to get here…she’s really hot.” Crystal walks up to Zoey. “Hi, I’m Crystal. What do ya say we two-time this bad boy until he begs us to stop.”

  Her eyes fill with tears that I know she’s trying to hold at bay with all of her strength. “You people are disgusting. I never want to hear from you again, Noah…ugh…I can’t believe I said that name.” Zoey turns around and storms out of the office. “Your boss is a pig, Glyn,” she says on the way out.

  “What the hell is going on here? Oh, my god…Noah…really, couldn’t you have waited for a few days until you got back to Fall Creek. You fucking broke Zoey’s heart. The girl is crying.”

  “Glyn, this is not what it looks like. Damn, this can’t be happening,” I say, zipping my trousers back up.

  “I am so sorry, Noah. I didn’t realize that you really had a serious girlfriend.” Crystal sits down and starts crying. “All I wanted to do was make you like me.”

  “It’s not your fault, Crystal. I am the asshole here. Let me figure this mess out, and we will have a talk about all this when I can.” I stroke her face and give her my cloth handkerchief with my initials. I am old-school. Granddad always told me, “You gotta have a hanky with ya in case the ladies cry, trust me, boys, it happens a lot with us Jacksons.”

  “Glyn, look after Crystal, will you. I have got to see whether there is still something to salvage with Zoey.”

  He nods at me solemnly. I am grateful that he believes Crystal and I that we really weren’t about to do it. To lose Glyn as well would kill me.

  I run out of my office in the direction of the elevators. I shout at my employees whether they have seen a good-looking redhead walk past. I get into the first lift and press the button for the lobby. It takes like forever until I get there. Like a crazy man I run through the foyer, shouting at the top of my lungs until I am outside the building and on the street.

  I look ahead, to the left and right, but Zoey is nowhere to be seen. “I lost her,” I whisper. I spend another twenty minutes standing on the sidewalk in the autumn cold in just my shirt and trousers. I beg that my habitually curious and forgiving Zoey will come back to at least tell me off. She doesn’t. Reluctantly, I turn and head back to my office.

  “I sent Crystal home with Stacey,” says Glyn when I am back upstairs.

  “Thanks, Glyn. What would I do without you?”

  He smiles at me. “Jesus, you have the Midas touch in business, but when it comes to love, you’re as unlucky as hell.” He waits a moment for me to sit down. “So, what are you going to do now?”

  I look up with determination in my eyes. I built up a multimillion Dollar business from scratch, I never gave up, and I am not about to now. “Patch me through to my granddad after that I need to speak with my brother. And when I am done with my family put me through to NBC. After that, we have some serious work to do.”

  “Sure thing, boss,” says Glyn with a huge grin on his face.

  CHAPTER 16: ZOEY

  I have never felt worse in my life. It’s been four days since I returned from New York. I haven’t been to work since and I even brushed James Jackson off when he came round to talk to me. I have nightmares. All I dream about is that Crystal woman on her knees and about to give him a blowjob. I wake up at night screaming and crying.

  If this is what heartbreak is like, I never want to fall in love again. The pain is unbearable. Not to mention the crying. I do that twenty-four seven.

  It has gotten so bad that I blame myself for the rift. I ask myself whether I should have sucked him off when we were intimate with one another. For me, our lovemaking had it all, but maybe something had been lacking for Noah. I don’t know anything anymore. It’s all just too confusing. The only thing that is clear is the pain I feel inside. It’s like a hot poker being twisted in my gut the whole day and night long.

  Kaylee and Savannah try their best, but there is nothing they can really do. Love hurts, and that sucks. One evening they tried to get me drunk. I couldn’t get a drop of liquor down my throat. Another day, they attempted to take me on this long walk. All I did was break down and cry after about ten paces. I love them to bits for their efforts, but I think the only way is for me to work this through and hopefully forget all about Noah Jackson.

  I haven’t even set foot in my studio above the garage. To go to the place where Noah and I made passionate love would rip my heart out. I currently sleep in my old bedroom in the main house. I always loved my parents but there is one thing I really learned during the past days, and that is that to have a mother and father is the greatest thing in the world. I don’t know what I would do without them.

  I am sitting with mom and dad in the living room. We are watching the TV. Occasionally, I cast glances at my mom. She looks like both Kaylee, and I mixed together, although now, she has streaks of grey in her blonde hair. Dad is completely bald and has a moustache we all tease him about because it is a relatively new addition to his appearance. He is tall, and a small paunch protrudes form his front, betraying his love of food and Fall Creek draft.

  There’s an erratic knock on the door that never ceases. “I’ll get it,” I say.

  “Are you sure you’re up for it, kiddo?” asks my dad.

  I smile at him. It’s the first evening I feel a little better. “I can’t hide from the world forever, dad.”

  “No, I guess not.”

  I walk to the front door. Who are these idiots banging on the door non-stop? The noise is starting to piss me off. I grab the door handle, ready to give the person pounding on the door a piece of my mind.

  “You gotta switch to NBC!”

  “Yeah, after you got to turn on the radio.

  “No, let’s do both all at once.”

  “What is going on?” I ask both Savannah and Kaylee who rush past me without another word.

  “Something weird about my brother. I was not able to understand a word of their screeching all the way over here. You better go have a look what they are up to,” says Hunter with his two gorgeous daughters in tow.

  Before I turn, I scan my brother-in-law closely. “You know exactly what’s going on don’t you?” He grins at me. “I know he’s your brother but how can you be on his sid
e?”

  “Because what happened was all some big misunderstanding.”

  “And you know this how?” I ask, getting slightly irritated that he would blatantly believe his brother above me. How dare he; Hunter wasn’t there, and I was.

  “Because he told both grandpa and me about what happened.” Hunter shrugs. “My brother may have made mistakes in his life, but he never lies.”

  “Yeah, Uncle Noah never lies,” says Megan, coming to Noah’s defense.

  “I think he likes you, auntie Zoey,” says Felicity.

  I stroke the girls’ cheeks and storm in the direction of the living room. When I get there, I hear my song playing very loudly in the background. “What’s going on?”

  “Your song is on TV, and it’s playing on all the national radio networks,” yells Savannah.

  “Yeah, and Noah is shamelessly promoting you on the Tonight Show on NBC,” adds Kaylee.

  “But how…I don’t get it?”My eyes focus on the big screen in our house. And there he is looking as handsome as ever in a perfectly tailored suit – my Noah. Immediately, I let myself be dragged away by the cadence of his voice that is so far away and yet so near and right in my heart.

  “So, this new song you are promoting – tell us something about the artist, Noah? She must be something if you as the CEO of Butterbeat Records stand behind her,” asks Jimmy Fallon, the host.

  “Well, she is, Jimmy. Zoey Brooks is just about one of the most talented women I have ever come across during my career. I know her jam is not what I usually promote, but when I hear this song, I had to have it.”

  I swallow deeply. “But she is not only an artist for you…is she Noah?” asks Jimmy.

  “No…Zoey is the woman I love. I guess I knew that before I truly met her. This magical song told me who she was and when I finally laid eyes on her, I knew that she was the woman I would spend the rest of my life with…I just took longer than most guys to admit that to myself and her.” Noah gets to his knees. “Zoey Brooks, I am sorry for what you saw in New York. I was ending something with my flight attendant, and it got out of hand – please forgive me.”

  The audience starts clapping and shouting for Zoey to forgive him.

  “Wow, beware of the flight attendant,” says Jimmy Fallon, inviting even more applause and many laughs.

  “That is so romantic,” says Savannah.

  “You got to forgive him now…nothing really happened Zoey,” says Kaylee. “He wouldn’t lie on national television.”

  “Give Zoey some space will you. The poor thing can hardly breathe,” intervenes my dad.

  I smile at him warmly. Finally, I focus my attention on Hunter. “You say he never did anything with the flight attendant in his office?” I give him my fiercest no bullshit stare.

  “Noah says no, and I believe him. It’s enough for grandpa and me, and so it should be enough for you. Give the guy a break,” he says.

  A smile appears on my face. “One thing, Hunter. How the hell did Noah get his hands on my song?”

  Hunter chuckles. “A strongly worded letter from Glyn to DJ Zac was all it took in order to get a copy.”

  The entire room bursts out laughing. I feel the weight of the world slide off my shoulders. I should have known. Noah would never have done that to me. However, I learned another thing. Now that he’s my boyfriend, I must allow nothing to surprise me when it comes to a woman’s persistence in getting what she wants. Damn, that Crystal tried everything. A man has to have balls of steel to resist that.

  The smile on my face grows even bigger. My Noah must really love me. I know that from now on my life will be magical.

  CHAPTER 17: NOAH

  I storm into the hospital reception area. I got the call from Hunter that granddad is in a critical condition this morning. It’s the day after my TV appearance on the Tonight Show. After all that happened with Zoey, this is the worst news ever.

  Glyn arranged for the jet to take me to Burlington International Airport the very next instant. A limousine was waiting for me on the tarmac the moment I arrived.

  “How is he,” I yell, the second I step into granddad’s room.

  “Not good. It’s gotten worse,” says Hunter. His eyes are red with sadness.

  “This can’t be happening,” I say, stepping forward and taking my grandfather’s hand in mine. I look at my grandfather’s haggard and sallow face. He looks as if life has already left him. How the hell did he put on such a brave show while I was with him a few days ago? Something goes click in my mind. Damn, he told me back at the house that his illness was terminal. He carried it around with him for far longer than we ever knew.

  “He had cancer for far longer than he let us believe,” says Zoey, confirming my thoughts.

  My gaze shifts from my grandfather’s face to hers. I look into her blue eyes that remind me of the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Zoey’s mere presence gives me the strength I know that I will need in order to survive the coming hours. She looks beautiful despite her puffy eyes from all of the crying.

  I get to my feet and take two large steps until I have the woman I love in my arms. “I love you, Zoey. I am so sorry for what happened. I hope you believe me?” Judging by the way she holds me back, she does forgive me. My tummy does a flip.

  “I do, Noah. It just broke my heart to witness it, even if it wasn’t what I saw. My mind and shattered heart did the rest. I was lost until your little performance on TV and of course the intervention of your loving and loyal brother.”

  I smash my lips against hers. We kiss as if it would be our last time. When I break away, I slap my brother on the back. “Thanks, bro.” I know I shouldn’t feel happy but I do, and it is all thanks to the man lying on his deathbed. He orchestrated everything from the reunion with my brother and the beautiful Zoey. I love that man with all of my heart. I just wish I had not stayed away for so long.

  By the time I have turned around to face him, he is looking at me. He beckons with his hand that both Hunter and I step closer. “I love you boys, remember that. Apart from my darling Bethany, you are the best thing that ever happened to me. I may be going to my darling wife soon, but I think I left you two set up in just the way I should’ve from the start.”

  “Yes, granddad,” we both say in imitation of a religious incantation.

  “Good,” he rasps. A bout of coughing follows. It soon dies down, bringing back his feeble voice. “You, Hunter, have the lovely Kaylee. You gave me two beautiful granddaughters who will always remain in my heart.” He squeezes my brother’s hand.

  Gradually, his gaze shifts to me. “You, Noah, have achieved so much. I never really knew about it until Glyn explained it all to me. I am proud of you, kid. You did what you set out to achieve. Now, all you have to do is marry my girl Zoey over there and put some buns in her oven.”

  Everyone in the room laughs. Grandpa coughs again, the fit shaking his entire frame. When he calms down, he continues speaking, “I am happy that you both have sorted out your differences. But please know, Noah, that Kaylee was the right choice for Hunter. I always knew that Zoey was for you, even when she was young. What you felt for Kaylee back then was only an adolescent crush…”

  “Thanks a lot, James – you sure know how to crush a girl,” says Kaylee, inviting more mirth.

  A small smile appears on granddad’s face. “Anyway, you two boys be good to your women, ya hear…”

  “Yes, granddad,” Hunter and I both say. We squeeze his hands some more and say our farewells. Doing so nearly breaks both my brother and me apart. When we are done, we let Zoey and Kaylee say their goodbyes. Glyn who hovered in the background the entire time comes last. Standing by the door, I watch my grandfather take him into his arms and hug him as if he too was one of his grandsons.

  CHAPTER 18: ZOEY

  This day was one of the most trying ones in my whole life. After the farewells, James fell into a sort of sleep that lasted for most of the rest of the afternoon. During that time, we waited patiently for Jam
es Jackson to pass away. And he finally did, peacefully. We all looked at him one more time before leaving, and I swear that I saw a smile on his face.

  The only consolation I have is that he died knowing that he left his house in order. Also, I like to think to myself that the reason for the smile on his face was because he saw Bethany waiting for him by the gates of heaven. James was on his way home.

  Noah hasn’t said a word the entire trip back to Fall Creek. Glyn is not with us. He had to get back to New York. He claimed it was for work. I think that he needed to be with Serge. There is no better place when things get tough or sad than to be with the one person you love most in the world.

  I look over to my special person. Noah is sitting on the passenger seat of my car looking out of the window. We are nearly home, and I look forward to snuggling up close to him. We chose to sleep at mine because going to James Jackson’s would have been too tough today.

  When we get back to the apartment, Noah rushes in. “I need a shower to wash off all of the hospital scent,” he says.

  “Do you want some company?” I ask, half expecting him to refuse flatly.

  He arches an eyebrow. “Yeah, sure.” He holds out his hand. I take it with a smile and let him guide me to my smallish bathroom near my bedroom.

  When we get there, he starts to remove my clothes. He is so tender is makes me melt inside. “Are you sure that you are okay?”

  He nods. “Now that you are in my life, I will always be okay.” He frowns. “Granddad left everything as it should be. I will miss him, but he wouldn’t want us to mourn him with tears. He would want us to mourn him with love and honesty. He wants…”

  “Us and my sister and Hunter to stay together forever like he and your grandma did,” I say, understanding Noah immediately.

  “That’s right. I never saw grandpa crying because of losing his wife. I guess he always believed that today would eventually happen and that he would be with her again.”

  By now, Noah has removed all of my clothes and his also. We step into the bath that also acts as my shower, and he pulls the curtain shut. He turns the knob, and we wait for the water to heat up. In the meantime, he lathers his hands under the gradually warming water with soap. “Do you mind?” he asks, looking at me with a crooked grin.