CHELS: That sounds great. I’ll see you at 8. I can leave Tasha at the studio while we eat.
I shook my head at the mention of her bringing her cat to work and made a mental note to pick up a few cat things in case Tasha needed to sleep over at my place. Something told me Chelsea wasn’t going to leave that kitten unattended too often at first.
ME: Looking forward to it.
CHELS: You didn’t steal my panties, did you?
ME: You need to get past this paranoia. What would I do with your panties?
CHELS: Make a sling shot?
ME: I’ve outgrown slingshots.
I had been thinking about my special project involving her panties, and I was pretty sure I’d come up with the right knot. I definitely planned to test my theory soon.
Chapter Twenty-One
Chelsea
Since my last client meeting ended a little early, I decided to load a few things into my car before Luke arrived so I wouldn’t have to worry about it later. I’d brought my second favorite camera in with me, and I’d need it and a few props for the maternity shoot I had scheduled the next day. I was going to be working away from the studio most of the day, so I had already double checked to make sure our voicemail was updated.
“Hi, Chelsea.”
I was leaning over to put things in the car when Jason’s voice made me freeze. I hadn’t seen him in months, not since his arrest for assaulting me and violating the terms of the restraining order. I’d hoped to never see him again. That was a foolish thing to hope for, and I should have expected him to show up eventually. Based on the stale beer smell of his breath and his slurred voice, I knew he was drunk, which was always bad news with Jason. In general, he wasn’t violent, even when he was drunk, but I couldn’t count on that after our last encounter.
When I stood, Jason was right behind me, crowding me against my car. “What do you want, Jason?”
“You,” came his hoarse reply. When I turned, I was met with bloodshot eyes that were brimming with tears. “I miss you so fucking much, Chelsea. I know I screwed up the last time I saw you. Hurting you was wrong, but you just make me crazy. Why do you do this to me?”
I snorted. This was typical Jason, blaming others for his mistakes. “I see. So, it’s my fault you attacked me?”
“It wasn’t like that,” Jason whined.
“It was exactly like that,” I insisted, hoping Luke would show up soon. While I wasn’t exactly helpless, Jason was bigger than me, and he’d already proven he was willing to hurt me. The last time I’d seen him, he’d pushed me against a wall and choked me.
“I love you,” he added, reaching out to stroke my cheek.
Not wanting his hands on me, I quickly ducked under his arm, thankful for his sluggish movements and slow reaction time.
Rather than looking angry, Jason looked amused. “Oh, I see how it is. You wanna wrestle like we used to. You wanna play.”
“No,” I said sternly, backing away from him. “If you don’t leave, I’m going to call the police and have you arrested. You can’t come near me. A judge already told you that.”
Jason was starting to look angry, so I was glad when I saw the headlights of a car turning into the lot. It was probably Luke.
“Why do you have to be such a bitch?” Jason snarled, before stumbling clumsily toward me.
“What’s going on here?” Luke asked as he climbed out of his car and stalked toward us. While his voice was calm, I could hear the underlying current of anger. Luke was pissed at Jason. He’d never liked him, and it had to be obvious Jason was trying to intimidate me.
“I’m talking to my wife,” Jason told Luke.
Before I could correct Jason on the status of our marriage again, Luke spoke. “No, you’re talking to my girlfriend.”
“No!” Jason shouted in a hoarse voice filled with more pain than anger this time. While I knew Jason was only coming after me because he hated to lose, Jason was the type of person who started to believe his own lies after a time. He believed he loved me. “I love her. She can’t be gone.”
“How many times do I have to tell you it’s over?” I demanded.
“You need to stay the fuck away from her,” Luke growled. “I’m still pissed that I didn’t get to break your jaw the last time you fucked with Chelsea.”
“Whatever,” Jason slurred and staggered toward his car.
“Fuck,” Luke growled. “I can’t let his drunk ass drive home. Do you know where he lives?”
I nodded. “He never moved after our divorce.”
“I’m going to drive him home,” Luke finally said. “If I call him a cab, I get the impression he won’t go home. I don’t want him getting behind the wheel of his car and killing someone.”
I let out a frustrated breath. “Damn Jason for ruining our dinner plans.”
Luke chuckled at my reaction. “How about if we try this again tomorrow?”
“I’d like that,” I replied, surprised how things didn’t feel weird when Luke was with me. Maybe I just needed to spend more time around Luke. That was a thought I’d never expected to have.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Luke
Of all the ways I’d expected my evening to end, driving Jason Edgewood’s whining, drunken ass home had not been on my list of possibilities. When he’d first gotten into my car, I’d been hoping he wouldn’t pass out and force me to carry him into his house. It hadn’t taken long for me to change my view on that. I’d gladly carry him inside for some peace and quiet.
“I just don’t understand why she won’t give me another chance,” Jason lamented. “I gave her everything. She wouldn’t even have that business if it weren’t for me. And how does she repay me for my kindness? She leaves me and gets a restraining order against me like I’m some kind of criminal.”
“You are a criminal, dickhead,” I snapped.
“How am I a criminal?” he demanded indignantly.
It was then that I realized what I hated most about Jason. He was a narcissistic prick who felt the world should fall at his feet. Jason Edgewood lived in his own little world where his shit didn’t stink and everyone else was wrong. In short, he reminded me of my father.
“There is no reasoning with you,” I grumbled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he whined. “I’m an extremely reasonable person. You know what? I don’t need advice from a man who would steal another man’s wife.”
“You don’t want my advice, and I’m assuming you don’t want me to pull over, kick your sorry ass, and leave you on the side of the road, so I suggest you shut the fuck up,” I warned. The realization that Jason was so much like my father had me angry for reasons having nothing to do with Jason. I’d punched my own father recently for insulting my stepmom. The asshole had actually believed, after being gone for a decade, he could come home and Brook would welcome him with open arms. He still had no clue why she’d turned down his offer.
Chelsea’s situation was different, and I didn’t know all the details, but the one thing Jason had in common with my father was his belief that he was some prize catch. The dumbass didn’t seem to realize Chelsea was too good for him.
Thankfully, Jason fell silent for the remainder of the trip because I didn’t think my self-control would last much longer around him.
“What about my car?” Jason finally asked when I got him to his front door.
“You can take a cab over there and pick it up tomorrow,” I told him. “Just so you know, Ty will be there all week to make sure you don’t fuck with Chelsea again.”
Jason made his way into his house, muttering about how everyone was always picking on him, and all I could think about was how pissed I was at the little fucker for messing up my evening and forcing me to listen to him bitch.
When my phone rang on the way back to my car, I answered it without looking at who was calling, assuming it was Chelsea.
“Hello,” I said, stopping beside my car.
“Hey there, Luke,” my assh
ole dad greeted me, because apparently, my evening hadn’t already been fucked up enough.
“What do you want?” I demanded. “I just had to deal with another whiny little bitch, so I’m in no mood to deal with you.”
“I forgave you for that outburst at the house,” my dad began indignantly. “You were upset, but you’ve had time to get yourself under control. I’m your father, and I will be treated with respect.”
“Why don’t you hold your breath until that happens?” I suggested.
“I am serious, Luke.” He sounded much less confident all of a sudden. “You owe me a lot.”
“You’re right,” I agreed.
“Damn straight, I’m right.” My agreement quickly had my dad back to sounding self-righteous.
“Brook did a great job of raising me, and I owe you for marrying her and then leaving. I’d hate to think what my life would have been like had you stuck around the whole time,” I added.
The silence on the other end of the line lasted so long, I was about ready to hang up when my dad finally spoke again. “I see you’re still taking Brook’s side.”
“Yup,” was all I said.
“This divorce is not going through,” he spat out.
“It’ll go through no matter what you do,” I told him. “I’m sure your attorney has already told you that. If you keep fucking with Brook, she may decide to take everything she should get in this divorce.”
“I supported her for over a decade,” my dad argued.
“Why are you calling me?” I asked, wondering why I hadn’t changed my number as soon as my dad had gotten it.
“I wanted to see if you’d talk some sense into Brook,” he replied with a huff. “Since you won’t do that, then I guess I’ll just go ahead with delaying the next court appearance.”
“Why are you doing this?” I simply couldn’t figure out what he had to gain. At most, he could delay the divorce, and I couldn’t find any reason for him doing that. “Don’t give me some bullshit line about loving her. We both know you don’t.”
“I need a wife,” my dad replied as if it were obvious to everyone. “I’m already married to Brook. So, there’s no reason to change that.”
“You are fucking clueless,” I muttered before ending the call.
When my phone immediately started buzzing again, I practically growled until I saw it was Chelsea calling.
“Hey, Chels.”
“Hey,” she replied. “I just wanted to call and thank you for dealing with Jason.”
“I’m glad to do it for you,” I replied honestly. “Jason was a pain in the ass and whined most of the trip, but it’s better than risking him driving like that.”
“So, what’s bothering you,” she asked.
I hesitated because I wasn’t used to talking about things related to my dad. While I talked to Brook about them some, there was still a lot I held back. I’m not good at sharing.
“Nothing’s bothering me,” I assured her.
“I see,” she replied, and it was the way she said it that made me realize she was not at all happy with my answer.
“Chels, everything really is fine. I’m just in a mood,” I explained.
“About Jason?” she asked.
I hesitated again.
“That’s fine,” she assured me with a slight edge to her voice. “You don’t have to tell me what’s going on.”
“We agreed to date yesterday,” I reminded her.
“Are you going somewhere with this?” she asked.
I slid into the car and put the call on speaker so I could drive while we argued since something told me that’s exactly what was about to happen. Apparently, I couldn’t go one day without pissing her off.
“My point is that I may not always want to talk about my feelings,” I stated. “I’m not used to talking about how I feel, and sometimes, I just need to work through it alone. I’m trying to be more open with you, but you pushing me to talk isn’t going to help.”
“Next time, I suggest you simply tell me you don’t want to talk about it instead of lying to me,” Chelsea said, sounding a little pissed. “You’ve been plenty open with your feelings all weekend, so I had no reason to suddenly assume you didn’t want to talk.”
“You’re right,” I admitted. “Next time, I’ll try to remember to tell you I don’t want to talk. I can’t make any promises since I’ve had years of practice hiding my feelings. There are probably going to be times when I fuck up like this again. Try to be patient with me.”
“If you want to talk to me about your conversation with your dad, let me know. Otherwise, I promise not to bring it up,” Chelsea assured me, shocking me with her accurate guess about why I was upset.
“How did you know I talked to my dad?” I asked.
“It could have also been your mom,” she admitted. “I just assumed it was your dad since he’s been the recent problem.”
“Yeah, it was my dad, and no, I don’t want to talk about him,” I admitted.
“I’m sorry Jason ruined our dinner,” she told me, and I was grateful she was respecting my need for space. I’d have to call Brook later to let her know my dad was going to try to change the court date again. With any luck, her attorney could do something to stop him.
“Me too,” I agreed. “I was really looking forward to seeing you tonight.”
“Do you want to come over?” she offered.
“Yes, but I need to be up early tomorrow, so I’d better head home,” I replied.
“I just got home, so I’m going to eat my takeout and cuddle with Tasha,” she told me.
“Promise to have naughty dreams about me,” I coaxed.
Chelsea giggled. “I’m beginning to think those are the only dreams I have anymore.”
“That’s because I’m your dream come true,” I stated.
She snorted. “I refuse to feed your oversized ego.”
“Goodnight, Chels,” I murmured.
“Goodnight, Luke,” she replied, before adding, “I miss you.”
The line went dead, and despite how crappy the last thirty minutes of my day had been, I had to smile. Chelsea missed me, and she had naughty dreams about me. Dating was going pretty well, even with the few hiccups we’d had to deal with so far.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chelsea
One thing that was nice about my friends was we all had jobs that allowed us to get together in the middle of the week. We were meeting on a Wednesday since that was the only day we all had available. Delaney had a book releasing next Tuesday, so it had been hard convincing her to go out. Even though she didn’t have much work to do right before a release day, Delaney always stayed home and obsessed about everything that could go wrong with the book. This time, she was worried there would be a glitch in the system that caused her book to be sent out with only the first and last pages. She’d just finished telling us her plans for that possible outcome.
“Has that ever happened?” Brook asked.
“So far, it hasn’t happened to one of my books,” she admitted.
“Has it happened to anyone’s books?” I asked.
“Not that I know of,” Delaney replied. “You think I’m being paranoid, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Brook and I both said in unison.
We were sitting in the bar area of our favorite Mexican restaurant, far from the actual restaurant area because of our history of inappropriate conversations. The only people seated anywhere near us were an elderly couple. The wife, Wanda, was a riot, and her presence always added to our fun. Her hair had been dyed bright pink, and she was wearing lipstick that nearly matched her hair. Her long acrylic nails usually matched her hair, but that evening, she had gone with sparkly black polish. Despite the fact that she apparently had a very wild sex life with her husband, he tended to disapprove of our conversations whenever he happened to overhear one of them. That’s why Wanda always turned his hearing aid down. It occasionally resulted in some misunderstandings, but it usually kept him from
making her angry by saying anything rude to us, or worse, convincing us to stop talking about sex.
I laughed when I heard Wanda mutter something about Delaney needing medication, which brought Delaney’s attention to me.
“How are things going with Luke?” Delaney asked sweetly. “Have you done anything to earn any special rewards yet?”
“I haven’t seen Luke since Monday,” I told her. “We didn’t get to spend any time together then because Jason showed up at the studio acting like an ass.” I’d planned to have dinner with Luke on Tuesday, but I’d ended up taking on a last minute client.
“Jason is such a dick,” Delaney muttered.
“Don’t insult dicks,” Brook scolded.
“Now, you sound like Luke,” I told Brook.
“Do you and Luke talk about dicks a lot?” Delaney asked.
“Don’t answer that,” Brook warned. “You don’t want to hear about my sex life with Ty, and I don’t want to hear about yours with Luke.”
“I may need to start going out with you both separately,” Delaney grumbled. “I want to hear about both your sex lives.”
“Poor Delaney,” I said without an ounce of sympathy.
“So, no rewards?” Delaney asked, looking disappointed. When I didn’t answer, she continued. “I could always suggest some things you could do to get Luke to reward you.”
“I’m not sure I want Luke to reward me,” I lied. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind I wanted Luke to reward me again, but I still wasn’t sharing with Delaney, partly because it was a little embarrassing to talk about, but mostly because I felt it was something Delaney should experience herself considering her fascination.
“If you don’t try letting him reward you, how will you know if you like it?” Delaney asked.
“Enough!” Brook interrupted with a hand up. “While I don’t want exact details about sex between you and Luke, this code you are working at is annoying. Just say you haven’t had sex and you’re not sure you want to.”
Naughty at 30 (Love Without Batteries #2) Page 10
