All In: Paying His Way (Gambling With Love)

by Lane Hart

  “Jordan doesn’t want to hear all this!” Lauren says in exasperation.

  “Jordan wants to hear anything that will take his mind off this shit,” I reply, using the third person.

  “Fine, but I just…I can’t be in here,” she says before walking off down the hall.

  “She okay?” I ask Caleb once I hear the bedroom door shut.

  “Oh yeah. She thinks I’m still pissed, but I love her too much to be angry,” he explains. “Anyway, so my buddy Tyler met Lauren at the scene of her wreck one morning and asked her to meet him that night at the pool hall. He was late, and I met Lauren, without knowing she was waiting for him. We hooked up. Then she and Tyler hooked up while you and I were at basic training. I didn’t find out until I got home and saw them in bed together.”

  “Holy shit!” I exclaim in surprise.

  “Yeah, it sucked,” he replies with a bark of laughter. “I was so pissed, mostly at Tyler because we had been best friends for years. I trusted him. We got into a fist fight. He thought he had won the girl, end of story.”

  “Apparently not?” I ask.

  Caleb shakes his head. “I couldn’t walk away from her, even knowing she had been with my best friend and was still with him. After all that shit, I still wanted to be with her. So fucking much that I convinced Tyler to let her date us both and then choose…”

  “And she chose you, of course.”

  “She did. But it wasn’t easy, and it took some time for her to make her decision. Seeing her with him…we were roommates, so they were right across the hall in the spare room you’re staying in. Some nights I wanted to kill him, my best fucking friend since we were kids. But even during all that I loved her, and I couldn’t just give up on her.”

  “But she eventually picked you.”

  “It wasn’t pretty,” he says with a laugh. “It took me and Tyler years to be friends again, even after he started dating the woman he’s married to and has kids with. I couldn’t let go of the anger and hurt he caused as quickly as I could forgive her. Eventually I did forgive both Lauren and Tyler, because I love them, and I can’t imagine my life without either of them, especially Lauren.”

  “Wow,” I mutter, not sure I could be as forgiving.

  “And now I know that there’s nothing she can do that I wouldn’t forgive, but I also know that she loves me and wouldn’t do anything to hurt me, at least not intentionally.”

  “So the moral of the story is, if you love someone, they can trample all over your heart, without any consequences?”

  “Sure, there are consequences, but there’s no problem that you can’t work through,” he says. “The fact that you’re here, in a different city from her, makes me think that you didn’t trust yourself to stay in town with her last night, even as angry as you were.”

  “I’m worried about her, but I can’t…there’s no way I can forgive her for lying to me, and then having me call my brother a liar and piece of shit when he hadn’t done anything to deserve it. I don’t know when I’ll even be able to apologize to him.”

  “He’ll forgive you, I’m sure. And that worry you have for her probably isn’t gonna go away.”

  “Probably not,” I admit with a sigh, rubbing my hand over the back of my neck.

  “Let me ask you this, if you had seen her that first day, and she hadn’t told you it was Jason’s baby, and you started to see her, none of this would matter, right?”

  “Yeah, if she had been honest with me, I wouldn’t give a shit who the father is.”

  “So the only problem is she lied?” he asks.

  “Yes.”

  “Have you asked her why she lied?”

  “No. I mean, isn’t it obvious?” I reply to which he raises a dark eyebrow. “For money.”

  “Money?” he repeats.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “And didn’t you say she refused anytime you tried to give her money?”

  “Well, yeah. I assumed that was part of her act,” I explain.

  “Really?” he asks. “Is that what you really think?”

  I close my eyes and sigh, trying to think back to the times I paid for things, bought something for her or Camden. Maggie seemed…embarrassed but happy to have me do it. She always said she would pay me back. She wanted to get a job, and I told her I wanted her to stay home.

  “Okay, no, she wasn’t after money,” I admit.

  “Then why lie to you?” he asks.

  “Because she knew I would stick around and pick up Jason’s slack? I dunno.”

  “She lied because she wanted you to stick around, when no one else ever has. That bitch,” he says teasingly. “And you wanted to stick around for her, not just because she was a financial obligation?”

  “Yeah. I wanted to be with her and Camden.”

  “Then what the fuck is your problem?” he asks. “You’re obviously miserable and moping around. Talk to her and try to work through this.”

  “It’s not that easy,” I tell him. At least not yet. Could I eventually forgive her?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Maggie

  The next two days are quiet as Camden and I hunker down in the hotel room. I only leave to grab a sandwich each day from the deli across the street since it’s cheaper than room service. On Monday morning, I put Camden in his car seat and carry him down to the office to use the computer, searching for job openings in the area or in Greensboro. Finding several for waitresses, I write down the addresses and phone numbers, before sending an email with my short resume to them.

  Monday night I get the first text message from Jordan since he kicked me out. One word – “Why?”

  It takes me forever to decide how to respond. Finally, I send back, “I know you’ll never believe me, but Jason is the ONLY man I was with. Camden has to be his, there’s just no other option.”

  There’s no response from him, but on Tuesday he sends a text telling me he found me an apartment, and it will be ready on Friday. I text back to tell him he doesn’t have to do that, that I’ve applied to several jobs. His reply is that the apartment is cheaper than the hotel. Fair enough.

  All week I get on the hotel computer and search frantically for jobs, knowing I’ll have to go to the library to use the internet once we check out since I intend to give Jordan his phone back. By Friday morning I have all of our things packed up and ready to go, waiting on who I assume will be Addison and Jake again. So imagine my surprise when I open the door and see Jordan.

  “Hey,” I say, barely above a whisper, and he repeats the greeting.

  Standing in front of me with a clenched jaw and narrowed eyes, he looks better than I remembered, his Wildcats tee stretched over his wide chest and jeans, showing off his impressive height. My mouth is surely hanging open, and it’s hard to believe since it seemed like a lifetime ago, but there were a few nights that I was lucky enough to sleep with him. I was lucky enough to be held in those strong arms and fall asleep with the sound of his heart beating against my ear, feeling safe and happy because he loved me.

  I blink away tears as I step to the side to let him in. He goes straight for Camden, who’s in his swing. Picking him up and placing him on his shoulder, he speaks quietly to my son, and it’s almost my undoing.

  “Ready?” Jordan asks without meeting my eyes as he fastens Camden into his car seat.

  “Yeah,” I reply, my voice shaky when I grab my purse and as much of our bags as I can handle.

  “Give me the keys, and after I come back for the rest, I’ll check out,” Jordan says.

  I offer him the two plastic cards, and that’s when he finally looks at me. His eyes wander down the length of my dress, one of my old ones that I can finally squeeze into again, before they come back up to mine. “You look good,” he says, surprising me, and making my jaw fall open.

  “Y-you too,” I stutter. And just like that, the moment ends. Jordan carries Camden out of the room, and I follow behind him to the elevator for a silent trip to the parking lot. There’s no sign o
f his truck though. He walks with purpose toward a blue, compact car, a Honda with four doors, opening the back to fasten in Camden’s seat to a base that’s already installed.

  “New car?” I ask him after he pops the trunk for me to fill it.

  “Nope. It’s yours.”

  “Mine?” I exclaim. He bought me a car? As angry as he is, he bought me a car? “No, Jordan. I can’t accept this. I need to give you the phone back, too.”

  “Maggie, you need the phone and a way to get around,” he says with his hands on his hips.

  “I’m looking for a job…”

  “And how will you get to interviews? Walk, carrying Camden?” he asks, before looking away. “Just use the car for however long you need.”

  I bite my trembling lip so that I can finally say the words without my voice shaking. “Thank you.”

  “Wait here,” he says before striding off, back inside.

  While he’s gone, I slip into the passenger seat and look around the interior in awe. Everything looks new, making me wonder just how much he paid for this car. Whatever it was is too much. My car that was stolen I bought for five hundred dollars, paying a hundred a month until I could pay the entire price. It didn’t run all that great, but it got me around. This…this is so much nicer than anything I could ever imagine having.

  I swipe the tears from my eyes before trailing my fingers over all the devices on the console. I don’t even know what it all does, but it’s impressive.

  Once Jordan comes back and loads up, we pull out of the lot and head back toward his neighborhood. He drives into a nice apartment complex that’s no more than two blocks away from his house. For some reason that makes me feel safer, knowing he’s close. He’s not completely turning his back on us, even though he obviously hates me.

  Inside the apartment, there’s a couch and television, a small table and chairs beside the kitchen. I’m guessing there’s probably gonna be a bed in the bedroom. I can’t believe he did all this. That he spent so much money.

  “I don’t need all this,” I tell him.

  “Yes, you do,” he replies with his back still to me, sitting the seat with Camden, who’s fast asleep, on the living room floor.

  “No, I don’t want or need these things!” I tell him.

  “Maggie-”

  “I just want you.” I say the words without thinking; but as soon as I hear myself say them, I know that they’re true. And I don’t regret them.

  “I just…I can’t,” he mutters. Swiping a hand over his face, he tosses a ring of keys down and walks out the door. He doesn’t come back.

  …

  Jordan

  I stare at the photo on my phone, another one of Maggie having sex with someone else. The sight of it makes me just as angry as the first time. It’s with barely contained rage that I don’t launch the damn device across the room.

  After talking to Caleb about it, I get the phone number for his friend Tyler, the police officer, and call him up.

  “Hey, Jordan. Another one, huh?” Tyler says in greeting.

  “Yeah. Can I send it to you?” I ask, not happy about another guy seeing Maggie this way, but knowing he’s the only one who might can help figure out who the asshole is.

  “Sure, but I can’t promise anything.”

  “I know. Thanks for trying,” I tell him. “It’s on its way.”

  As soon as we disconnect, I forward both photos to him and then wait, hoping he’ll find something useful.

  …

  The next morning I’m getting ready to leave for work when I notice a new message from Tyler. All he came up with is the origination date for when the photos were taken, July fifth of last year.

  The date is familiar for some reason, and it takes me the drive to work to figure out why.

  Maggie said she was with Jason on the Fourth of July. That’s the day she was so sure Camden was conceived. She said she was drinking at Jason and Josh’s party, the one I attended and remember seeing her at. The timeline fits with when he was born, so was she with Jason that night? But the test said he wasn’t the father. She had to have been with someone else…

  Holy shit!

  I call in to work sick from the parking lot, and then I go to the laboratory and wait thirty minutes until it opens so I can be the first customer inside. Thankfully, it’s even the same receptionist from a few weeks ago when we came in.

  “Hi, can I help you?” the young, attractive redhead asks with a smile.

  “Yes, I hope so. I came in about two and a half weeks ago with my brother and a girl to do a paternity test on her son.”

  “Oh, yeah. I thought you looked familiar,” she says.

  “So, I know the test said he was excluded as the father, but can you tell me if he was almost a match?”

  “Almost a match?” she repeats with raised eyebrows. “I don’t know about that, but let me pull up his results.”

  I wait with a racing heart while she types away on the computer and then reads the screen.

  “Huh,” she says.

  “What?” I ask impatiently.

  “You said you’re the test subject’s brother, right?” she asks.

  “Yeah.”

  “Could you be the father?” she looks up and asks me. “Because there were some markers that lined up, just not all of them.”

  “Son of a bitch!” I exclaim.

  “So, you might be the father?” she asks as I stride toward the door.

  “No, but my brother is,” I mutter before leaving.

  That asshole. They lived together. Their bedrooms were beside each other. We all have similar features, but everyone’s always said they look more alike than any other two of us. Since it’s early, he’s still home, and hopefully I wake his ass up when I pound on the front door.

  “What the fuck do you want?” Josh asks when he opens the door wearing nothing but sweatpants. I grab him around the neck and shove him against the siding on the front of the townhouse.

  “Did you fuck Maggie?” I ask through clenched teeth. His drooping eyelids widen at the mention of her.

  “Well, yeah. I told you I had. Everyone has-”

  I bring my knee up and slam it into his bare stomach, making him grunt in pain.

  “When?” I ask as he doubles over.

  “Years…ago,” he stammers.

  Pulling his head forward, my knee connects with his nose, ending with a crunch and his howl of pain. He deserves every second of it.

  “Try again,” I tell him, my chest heaving with pure rage. I wanna beat the shit out of him for what he did to her. Instead, I try doing something more productive. I walk into the townhouse looking for his phone, finding it on the table beside his bed. Since there’s no password, I pull up his photos, and sure enough, there she is. My Maggie being photographed while he had sex with her. She was drunk and must’ve thought he was Jason. And very likely knowing that, Josh fucked her anyways.

  Heading back downstairs, I grab a handful of paper towels from the kitchen to give to my brother, only so he doesn’t bleed in my truck. Then I haul him up from where he’s still kneeling on the ground and drag him to the passenger side to toss him in. We’ve got two stops to make, and then I have some begging to do.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Maggie

  I startle at the knock on the door since it’s so early in the morning. Quietly, I tiptoe to the peephole and check it, gasping when I see Jordan…and Josh?

  “Maggie, we really need to talk,” Jordan says through the door. He sounds seriously ticked off, like he’s not gonna take no for an answer, so I undo the chain and lock to let them in.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” I ask, looking between Jordan and Josh, who I now see is holding napkins up to his bleeding nose and is only wearing sweatpants, no shirt or shoes, looking like Jordan yanked him out of bed.

  “Tell her!” Jordan yells with a shove to his brother, and then to me says, “Sorry,” apologizing for raising his voice.

  “It’s okay. Camde
n’s awake,” I tell him, nodding to the swing.

  “Good. He can finally meet his father!” Jordan says, grasping Josh by the back of his neck and guiding him through the apartment until he shoves him down on his knees in front of where Camden’s swinging. “Say hello to your son, you stupid piece of shit.”

  “Jordan, what’s going on?” I ask.

  “Tell her, or so help me God, I will beat you to a pulp!” Jordan warns his brother, when he yanks on his hair and turns his head to face me. I’ve never seen Jordan act like this. He looks like an enraged maniac. And Josh, Josh looks like a scared little boy who was just busted by his parents. There may even be tears in his eyes.

  “It was me,” Josh says so softly I barely hear him.

  “Louder!” Jordan orders.

  “It was me,” he says again with his eyes on the carpet. “I fucked you that night, and you thought I was Jason.”

  I cover my mouth when I gasp so hard my lungs hurt, realizing what he’s saying.

  “You?” I ask. “It wasn’t Jason?”

  “The woman at the lab said the DNA test was close, but not all of Camden’s markers matched Jason’s. We’re going back this morning, and getting this dipshit tested, but I already know…,” Jordan says with a shake of his head. “I’m so damn sorry, Maggie.”

  “Oh my God,” I mutter and have to sit down on the edge of the sofa, still unable to process this news. I never thought…how could he?

  “You can be sure that Josh will start paying you child support, but I can help you get an attorney so that you don’t have to give him custody. He…he never had your consent. God, Maggie, he practically raped you,” Jordan says, his voice wavering.

  “She wanted –” Josh starts to say, but one narrowed eye look from Jordan has his mouth quickly shutting.

  “He’s also the one who sent the pictures,” Jordan adds.

  “Pictures?” I ask, and then remember the text message and photo Jordan got that caused so many problems. “Oh, right.”

  “So, can we go ahead over to the lab and get this over with?” Jordan asks.

  “S-sure,” I reply, still unable to believe that Josh would do such a thing to me. Well, actually, thinking about the night of homecoming, I guess it isn’t that much of a stretch. “He drugged me in high school,” I blurt out.