by Hadley Quinn
“It is. Doyle is his nephew. And he’s a total lurker,” she added with a funny face.
She then laughed, but Jay didn’t know whether or not to drill her with more questions. She was already to the lounge chair slipping into her sundress, so Jay grabbed his shirt and followed suit. Melanie slid her feet into a pair of sandals and pulled a brush out of her bag to run through her hair.
“Are you going to work on your car tonight?” she asked.
He was just standing there watching her for some reason like a total dipshit. Why the fuck couldn’t he just let things go like Melanie did? She obviously had no problem with what they’d just done in the pool house.
“Uh, yeah,” he nodded. “I’ve got a few things to do before Teague comes over in the morning to help me put the engine in.”
She dropped the brush into her bag and hoisted it onto her shoulder. “Have you talked to Beck lately?” she asked carefully, seeming to know it was still a sore subject. And because it was still such a sore subject, Jay didn’t even want to talk about it.
But he casually shook his head no and answered, “Nah. I guess when he catches Jess fucking another guy maybe then he’ll believe me. Until then, I might have to change careers and start charging women for that,” he joked, pointing to the pool house.
Melanie partially raised an eyebrow as she gathered his meaning. “Being a gigolo?”
He forced a smile as he headed for the gate and said, “See ya, Mel.”
“Bye,” she smiled as she gave him a wave.
***
Melanie slowly sat down on the lounge chair. She was glad it was there beneath her because her legs were about to give out as she watched Jay disappear. Although a pool house quickie wasn’t exactly how she pictured her first time with him, she hadn’t regretted a single second of it. She’d wanted him so bad and told him so, and Jay wasn’t the type to give a shit about any kind of repercussions that could come with it.
She knew that about him. She knew it.
But what the hell made her think she would be anything different for him? Jay McCallan was a playboy that didn’t give a damn about what it was like for anyone he was with. Melanie knew this from the day she met him—Camryn had even warned her about him—and even though she had tried to keep from feeling anything for him, Melanie was realizing it had become pretty damn impossible.
Jay had her so crazy for him, her life was becoming a jumbled mess.
With a sigh, Melanie wiped the tear that had escaped and grabbed her things. It was her own doing; she’d broken her own heart because she’d followed that instead of her brain, and she had no one else to blame. She wanted to blame Jay—she really, really did—but it wasn’t his doing. She’d been the one pursuing him, knowing that she’d end up with nothing. And now she had to keep on pretending that one more physical encounter with him hadn’t just broken her in two.
Once again it was back to acting as if nothing was different between them…
Chapter Sixteen
“Holy fucking shit!” Jay laughed out loud from behind the wheel of the Boss 429. Just hearing the engine rumble to life for the first time sent chills through him and an excitement that he just couldn’t pretend to hide.
Teague was standing to the side of the car with his hands on his head, obviously just as stoked as Jay was to hear it start for the first time. He finally laughed out loud and yelled, “Yeah, baby! What a beautiful sound!”
“I just might jiz in my pants right now,” Jay replied, leaning his head against the steering wheel for a moment. He took a deep breath before he put the brake on and climbed out of the car. Teague gave him a fist bump right away and the two of them stood there like two proud fucking parents.
After an entire minute of nothing but engine rumble, Teague said, “Okay, let’s take her out.”
They climbed in quickly and Jay backed out of his shop. Just the feeling of being in the Mustang while it moved was amazing. When he paused out on the road, he looked at Teague and said, “Another fucking check on my bucket list, man.”
“You’re moving right along, bro,” Teague grinned at him. “Let ‘er rip!”
He knew Teague didn’t mean literally open her up right away, but the excitement for that moment was still present. Jay put the car in gear and pulled forward, both of them now silent. There were no words to be spoken at the time, and Teague just sat back while Jay drove. They listened to only the sounds and feel of the car, evaluating it closely for any problems. When Jay did make it to the highway fifteen minutes later, he was so full of giddy excitement it was absolutely unreal.
The sound of his car made his skin tingle. All he and Teague could do was grin like total fucking morons at each other as they accelerated north on the 101.
“The timing sounds perfect,” Teague finally said as they entered Ventura.
It did, which is why Jay hadn’t said anything. Just listening to the fact that they got it right in the garage was completely gratifying.
“Time to open her up a little more?” Jay asked him with a big smile.
“Definitely. Let’s head to my house to show Camryn, too. She’ll love seeing it finished.”
“Yeah, so will Mel,” Jay couldn’t help but add as he made a turn to get back onto the highway.
He hadn’t see her for almost a week, and even though they texted each other almost every day, they’d both been pretty busy and had kept it simple. Well, at least that’s what Jay was telling himself. He knew it was a fucked up move on his part to just head out that day at the pool like he had, but she’d seemed indifferent to it and hadn’t brought it up since. Jay had pretty much buried himself with work in his garage as a means to distract himself from it all. No fucking way he was going to let anything interfere with getting his car done.
“Melanie’s not at the house,” Teague answered as Jay hit the gas for the on-ramp.
“She working?” Jay asked haphazardly as he merged onto the highway.
“Uh, no, she’s actually at Jack’s for the weekend.”
Jay nearly missed the next gear but managed to recover as he pressed on the gas harder. She was at Jack’s for the weekend? Doing what? And why the fuck would she stay the weekend with him if they were only friends?
“You may want to watch your speed through here,” Teague warned him. “I already saw one cop on our way north.”
“Yep,” Jay replied, not even caring. She was at Jack’s? Why the hell was she staying with him?
Well it could be worse. If Teague had mentioned Jordan’s name, Jay might have driven his goddamn car off the road.
“I told you man,” Teague said, shaking his head.
Jay glanced at him with confusion. “Told me what?”
Teague stared at him for several seconds. “Uh, you see a few colors behind you that you might want to pull over for?”
Jay had no idea what the hell he was talking about until he looked in the mirror. “Ah, fuck. Seriously?”
“I told you they were out,” Teague shook his head and chuckled. “That’s the same motherfucker that was stalking exit 65. He must’ve switched to southbound.”
Jay downshifted and pulled off the highway. He really hated the wait between a cop pulling you over and approaching the car for the first time, but he and Teague sat in silence. The only thing Jay could think about was what Melanie was doing with Jack at that very moment.
“License and registration,” the officer stated as the approached the driver’s side. He leaned to the side to peer into the open window. “Nice car, but do you know the speed through here?”
“Yeah,” Jay answered honestly, handing over his license as he read the cop’s name. Donaldson. Ahh fuck! What were the odds of that? Jay took a silent breath of air, hoping he could just get the ticket issued and be on his way. “Uh, and we just finished rebuilding this; I don’t have insurance on it yet. Just had to see if it would run first.”
The officer glanced at him again but it seemed like he was holding back a smile. “Looked like it was running j
ust fine.”
“Yes sir, it was,” Jay chuckled. “Damn near perfect, I’d say.”
Again the cop hid another smile but finally glanced down at Jay’s driver’s license. A frown appeared as he eyed both Jay and Teague again, but Jay knew exactly what was coming next.
“Thought you boys looked familiar,” he stated dryly.
“That was, like, six years ago, sir,” Jay told him.
“So it’s ‘sir’ now, huh?” Donaldson chuckled sarcastically. “I think I remember it being ‘stupid motherfucker’ at some point.”
“Oh Jesus,” Teague muttered once he must have realized who had pulled them over.
“Look,” Jays sighed. “I think it’s safe to say that we’re not dumbass teenagers anymore and learned our lesson that night. I apologize for what happened and—”
“No, I don’t really think you know what happened that night,” Donaldson cut in gruffly as he leaned onto the car to look them both over. “You stupid asses damn near lost me my job. Do you know what it’s like to have your reputation pissed on because two little shithead teenagers knew they could hide behind their family name?”
“Hey, that was not our doing,” Jay motioned between him and Teague. He was starting to get pissed off from yet another accusation that he had used his family’s name to his advantage. It was their grandfather that had come down to the police station that night to wreak havoc and push his weight around.
“I remember the mouth on you,” Donaldson smirked at Jay. “That wasn’t ol’ granddaddy’s doing.”
With a sigh, Jay nodded his head. “You’re right, that—”
“And if I remember correctly, you said something about me kissing your ass, right? I told you your shenanigans would catch up to you one day, and you told me that day would never come and I could kiss your ass.”
Jay couldn’t help it. He smiled. No, he laughed. He was such a fucking smartass shit as a seventeen-year-old, but what made him laugh was that not much had changed. Here he was, trying to be respectful to a police officer just so he could drive his car some more, and now all he wanted to do was kick this guy’s ass.
“You think what you did was funny, you little bastard?” Donaldson asked him. “I couldn’t go to work for six months without someone calling me ‘Trojan’ or ‘Magnum.’ You think that shit was just a funny prank?”
“Jay, be smart,” Teague murmured next to him, obviously sensing that he was losing his patience. “Don’t even say a fucking thing.”
Jay remained silent. If the guy would just write him the goddamn ticket, this would be over with.
Finally Donaldson said, “Sit tight, McCallan,” and he left for his patrol car.
“This is such bullshit,” Jay shook his head. “He’s gonna write me up for whatever the fuck he can because of something I did as a teenager.”
“We did as teenagers,” Teague chuckled. “I’ll pay for half of it, man.”
Jay looked at his cousin, who was obviously trying not to bust up laughing. “You dared me to do it, asshole! You should pay for the entire ticket!”
“The entire thing? Oh hell no! I may have dared you, but you’re the idiot that did it! Don’t put this all on me.”
Jay let out a frustrated groan. It was, in fact, his own choice to take Teague up on the stupid dare. He didn’t regret what he did to the cop’s car, which is probably why he felt like he deserved the big fat ticket he was about to get. But to decorate a police car with condoms like he did while Donaldson was inside a coffee shop was fucking priceless.
Well at least it was a memorable night and they had the pictures to prove it…
***
When Jay pulled the Boss into his shop that night, he was totally exhausted. He couldn’t believe how his day could go from amazing to shit in a matter of minutes. And it wasn’t just the whole ticket incident, either. Melanie still hadn’t texted him back and it was bugging the fuck out of him.
Finally he just broke down and ended up calling her. He’d only spoken to her on the phone a couple of times. Normally they just texted, but since she wasn’t responding that way, he’d try a different method.
The call was picked up after only the second ring, but Jay was a little surprised to hear a male’s voice answer. “This is Jack.”
“Jack? Why the fuck are you answering Melanie’s phone?”
“She’s asleep,” he replied. “I only saw that you’ve been texting her so I figured I’d answer so you didn’t worry.”
“You read her damn texts?” Jay knew he was being a dickhead, but he didn’t exactly care.
“No,” Jack sighed. “But her phone is right here on the coffee table and it keeps lighting up with your name on it. Is there something you needed?”
Why the hell is she staying the weekend with you, he wanted to ask. But Jay refused to look like a pathetic, weak ass sap.
“Just seeing how she’s feeling,” he asked, which wasn’t far from the truth. He never asked her often enough, and even though she always said that she was “just fine,” Jay felt like she wasn’t exactly being truthful.
“She was pretty tired tonight, so she went to bed early,” Jack answered him. “I think Jordan’s move has really stressed her out but she won’t talk about it. I was kind of hoping you’d give me some insight on it, if you don’t mind. I know we don’t know each other well, but I care about Melanie. She keeps me in the dark thinking she’s relieving me of a burden, but to be honest, it only makes me worry more. Could you tell me what’s going on?”
Jay was absolutely speechless. He had no fucking clue what Jack was talking about. Jordan’s move? What the hell did that mean?
“First tell me what she told you so I’m not breaking her trust,” Jay told him. “Then maybe I’ll fill you in.”
“She only told me that Jordan was moving closer to L.A. –To be closer to her and the baby. I got the impression that he moved recently, but she keeps telling me it’s nothing to worry about, that they have things worked out, and that she really doesn’t want to talk about it. I have no idea if I really should drop it or push some more.”
Jay realized his jaw was hurting because he was grinding his teeth. He couldn’t believe that Melanie hadn’t told him any of this. He couldn’t decide between hanging up the phone to track down that son of a bitch ex of hers or continue pressing Jack for more information.
He definitely wasn’t going to admit that he didn’t know a damn thing about any of it.
“Well I think if she wants to tell you, she will,” Jay finally said. “I mean what are you really going to do about it if she does tell you?” he inquired. He knew it was a shitty thing to ask, but he really did want to know. Why the fuck was the guy in her life if he wasn’t going to take care of her? Stand up for her? Rip Jordan a new asshole if he needed to?
“It would be nice to know what is going on first,” Jack countered. “That’s how most adults should face a problem, you know? I’m not all about beating the shit out of people and then asking questions later. That’s more your style.”
Oh. Game on.
“That is my style sometimes,” Jay agreed with a smile. “Because usually people need the shit knocked out of them the first time in order to take you seriously. Had I fucking known—”
He stopped himself short. He was about to admit that he didn’t know Jordan had moved closer to Melanie. If he had known… Fuck, there was no telling what kind of trouble he would be in right now.
“Jordan isn’t about talking and working out feelings,” Jay redirected the conversation. “The only thing that gets through to him is someone’s fist.”
“That is not the environment that Melanie needs to be in,” Jack sighed. “And I wish you would stop putting her in that position. I understand you care about her and want to protect her, but think about the baby. Do you really want that kind of physical contention going on when she has a child? Jesus Christ, Jay, stop acting like a goddamn brute and put Melanie first for once.”
A brute? Did the g
uy just use the word brute?
“I do put Melanie first,” Jay growled through the phone. “Why the fuck else would I risk my ass being thrown in jail if it isn’t for her?”
Jack didn’t respond right away, which caused Jay’s question to echo in his own head a few times. But hell, he didn’t need this. Why the hell was he talking to Jack?
“Just tell her I called,” he said and hung up.
He tossed the phone on his bed, and even though it was only nine o’clock, he wanted to crash for the night. Problem was, he was wound up way too tight thinking about Melanie and Jordan and Jack and Melanie… He needed to forget about it all for a night.
Tyse was out with Kellie and some of her friends, and even though Jay felt guilty for not checking in with his sister, he just couldn’t bother with it this time. He tried to keep tabs on everyone, but sometimes it just spun him in fucking circles. At least Camryn was with Kellie tonight too, so that gave him some peace of mind.
Jay headed for the kitchen and opened the pantry door. Tonight called for some hard liquor, and after finding what he was looking for, he headed for his bedroom to get wasted in private.
Chapter Seventeen
“But you’re sure he hasn’t choked on his own vomit or anything, right?” Melanie asked as she headed for the hall.
“I’m sure,” Tyse smiled patiently. “He was just completely and utterly passed out in his room, but definitely breathing. And no vomit.”
She didn’t care if Tyse felt she was being over concerned. Jack told her about his conversation with Jay when she woke up that morning, and then she wasn’t able to get a hold of him when she returned his call. The last thing she wanted to worry about was where Jay was.
When she entered his room, she could literally smell alcohol in the air. There were various bottles on the nightstand and floor, and Jay was sprawled across the bed in just his boxer briefs. He was on his stomach with his face turned sideways, and Melanie felt for his breath against her hand.
