While I was buckling up my seat belt, I watched as Jake ran round the corner and hearing him call to her did nothing for my mindset. When he spotted she was crying, I watched him take her face in his hands and wipe her tears away with a gentle thumb movement. It was blindingly obvious that they cared for each other and it didn’t make any sense that she’d messed around with me when she could have had him all along. The connection was intense, much too intense to sit and watch any longer.
I shouldn’t have been as angry as I was. I’d told her that we were through and I was supposed to be the one who got what he wanted. I shook my head, trying to shake away what I’d seen and calm myself down, because no matter how much I knew I shouldn’t want her, I still did. The thought of someone else having her when I knew we couldn’t be together and the fact that she could find someone else so easily fucking annoyed me beyond belief.
Tommy Sevens
The next few days I was like a bear with a sore head. It didn’t matter what I was doing, I did it in a bad mood that I couldn’t shake off. I tried to spend time with Carly, but even she was avoiding me. I knew I had to snap the fuck out of it and quick. Things could not go on like this. I didn’t sleep well, mostly because I had visions of Jake touching Lacey or Jake kissing Lacey or, when I was at my most angry, Jake sliding in between her spread legs and doing the things I wanted to do. I could still remember every vivid detail of doing those things myself, and how she fit my body like bric-a-brac. He was a fucking player and had been around even more women than I had. There was no way he understood the gift he’d got his hands on. The awful thought that I’d been played crossed my mind often. I wondered whether she saw me as the older experienced guy who could teach her things and remove her innocence so she was geared up to operate at his level.
I’d spent days taking my shit out on my drivers and Tara in the office until finally she snapped and told me I was taking a night off. In her words, ‘if you’re this shitty here, things must be a real joy for Carly at home.’ When she’d had enough of putting up with me, she grabbed her purse to leave, declaring I was going out that night and she was coming over to sit with her grand-baby. I wasn’t really keen on leaving them alone without me in the house, so I thanked her and asked for a compromise. Could Carly spend the night at hers? I figured it was safer than putting both of them in a situation where Maisie might turn up and create hell again, or even worse, the bikers.
Tara was fine with that and after I’d dropped Carly off, I went home, showered and then made a late dash over to Purps for a few drinks. I thought about calling my buddies, but I knew I wasn’t good company and decided tonight would be the last night I was allowed to be in a constant state of grumpiness over Lacey. I’d be that guy at the bar alone, drinking a woman out of my system, reminding myself that there were other fish in the sea, and then start tomorrow afresh.
After a few drinks, I felt a huge hand clasp my shoulder, causing me to stumble with the rhythm of up, down and swallow beer motion I had going on. Turning around, I was greeted by a smiling Chris Hales.
“You tool, I nearly covered myself in beer,” I complained.
“Drinking alone or are you expecting company?”
“Alone.”
I waited as Chris took a stool next to me and signaled for the attractive woman serving us to deliver him a cold one.
“Well you won’t be alone for long, my friend. It’s a full party night. At least that’s what the women think. I suspect mine will be out long enough for me to get a few shots inside her and then we’ll be heading home, if you know what I mean,” he finished, winking at me.
“Great, coupledom, just what every single guy needs,” I grumbled, taking one huge mouthful of beer to finish the glass off before signaling to the bar tender that I needed another.
As I got stuck into my beer, Oli, Jonas and Sonny appeared. Their path to the bar cleared and the women in the room all seemed to suck in a huge lungful of oxygen. Even all these years after high school and college, these guys could make panties melt at a hundred paces.
“We left the women bitching, drinking and beautifying. I reckon we have around fifteen minutes of peace left,” Sonny confirmed when he realized I was wondering where their other halves were.
They gathered all the beer bottles that had been dumped on the bar beside me as I did my best to ignore them. I didn’t want them to feel obliged to hang around with me only for them to ditch me when the girls arrived. Their conversation was low, but I could still hear it. They were happy, moaning about their work obligations and surprisingly, they didn’t mention their wives. This was guy time.
“That absolute fucking asshole. I should walk over there and make my fist meet his face. Intimately.”
Oli sounded mad and that got my attention. I tried to look over my shoulder to see who had caused his outburst, but couldn’t really see past the shoulders of the rest of them.
“Have you forgotten we were once like that?” Jonas replied, pointing with a beer bottle.
“Oh hell no. I am not standing here and watching him pull this shit.” Oli slammed his beer down at my side and surged forward, only to be held back by Jonas and the others.
“Calm the fuck down.” Jonas glared at him.
“Did you really just tell me to calm down? He does not get to do this to her. She’s been through enough.”
“Leave it be, Ol. It’s not our business,” Chris said, trying to placate him.
I still couldn’t see who they were talking about, but the vibes emanating from Oli were enough to know that whoever this guy was, he was poking an angry bear right.
“Of course it’s my business. He doesn’t get to treat her like this,” Oli spat back and my intrigue got the better of me, which meant I had no other choice but to turn fully around and see who the unlucky bastard was. There was a fair chance he would be leaving with his features rearranged. Following Oli’s piercing line of sight across the dance floor, I finally spotted the target.
Jake Griggs, of all people, was on the dance floor making moves on some random piece of ass.
If Oli thought he was finding it an effort to leave him be then two seconds in my shoes and inside my head would have pushed him over the edge. My anger flipped from zero to nuclear in an instant and I could feel all the rage I’d been mentally throwing his way over the last couple of days coming to a head. I sauntered over as casually as I could to join the line of guys keeping Oli from making his move in Jake’s direction. I watched as the guy bumped his junk up into the ass of some girl who seemed to be enjoying it as much as he was.
How the fuck did Jake ever think he was going to get away with fucking around on Lacey in full view of the town? Talk about shitting on your own doorstoop… He needed his face breaking for that alone.
“Oli, do not get involved,” Jonas warned, standing in front of him with his hand on his chest. It was one thing to take up for his cheating shit of a baby brother, but to warn Oli away from the situation was something else. It was beyond infuriating that this guy had managed to get his hands on Lacey and the pure gift that was her, only for him to do this. I could feel my hands forming into fists and knew I only needed the slightest excuse to march over there and make him bleed. He at least deserved that—a fucked up face he would need to explain to her when she next saw him.
“Why the fuck are you getting involved?” I snapped at Jonas. “If he’s big enough to commit the crime, he should be big enough to take the punishment like a man.”
“You do not want to be involved in this,” he barked back at me with a warning flicker in his eyes. It was a look he directed at me often and I was so pissed off that I would have loved to take a swing at him in the moment.
Oli stepped closer to Jonas and looked his best friend in the eye.
“Please don’t ask me to step away from this and do not ask me to let this slide. He may be your brother, but that fucking piece of dirt knocked her up and then left her to bleed out. We nearly fucking lost her.”
; The words I heard muddled in my head. There was no way they were talking about Lacey because if they were… no. I felt my mouth dry up and my head start to hurt.
“She could have died. He took advantage of Lacey and she nearly paid the ultimate price, and now, he’s here, getting ready to poke his dick in something else. I can’t stand by and let that happen. His actions have consequences and he needs to feel them, and if I have to do it then so be it.”
Fucking hell.
No matter how much my head was pounding or my heart was beating double time, I couldn’t stop the words from bashing my insides like a sledge hammer. Hearing that Lacey had been pregnant was shock enough, but to hear that she’d nearly died… How in the ever loving fuck did I not know this?
“Right. That’s fucking it!” Oli shouted, shoving Jonas to one side and storming in the direction of the dance floor. By now, Jake had managed to hook his fingers discreetly under the girl’s very short skirt and was making progress towards her pussy. If all hell hadn’t been breaking loose around me, I might have been impressed by his blatant actions. I mean, after all, he was about to make contact with her pussy in the middle of a packed fucking dance floor.
Me, though, I was still unable to move. I was still so shocked by what I’d learned. I was desperate for more information, just a little bit, because I knew in my heart of hearts that Jake wasn’t responsible… I was.
The other guys all rushed after him. Unfortunately, Jonas didn’t beat Oli to the cavorting couple. Oli grabbed hold of Jake and dragged him off the girl.
“You piece of fucking shit, I should kill you.” Jake was manhandled away from the dance floor by the scruff of his neck, leaving the drunken, scantily clad tart on her own, before being dragged back to where I was still stood, rooted to the spot.
“You’ve got some fucking nerve. Mind explaining what you think you’re doing?”
Jake said nothing in reply. He just looked at Jonas for support.
“Come on. I’m waiting for an answer! You can’t give me one, can you?” Oli was fuming and Jake just continued to take it.
He stood there breathing heavily, looking like he was about to explode.
“Look, what happens with Lacey and me is between us,” he finally answered and that simple statement seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Oli reached around Jonas and landed a punch square on Jake’s nose. I watched as his head flew back, followed by his shoulders, and like a toppling building, he hit the floor. Jonas rushed to his brother’s aid and Chris stood in the way of Oli to keep him from going in for a second stab.
I felt like I was having some kind of out of body experience. All this shit was kicking off around me and it had to be my fault. I wanted to convince myself that she’d been sleeping around, but that wasn’t in Lacey’s repertoire. She was straight cut, so the baby she’d lost had to have been mine. I knew we’d been silly and not protected ourselves during some of the times we’d been together, so it just had to be my baby. While I was busy pondering that thought, Jake scrambled to his feet and as he was about to run back and take a swing at Oli, Lottie appeared in the middle of the melee.
“What the fuck is going on?” she screamed at her husband. Dolly immediately rushed to help Jonas calm Jake, who had to be feeling the right hook to his face if the mark he was sporting was anything to go by.
Things were bad at that moment, really bad, and if I thought things couldn’t possibly have reached new depths, I was wrong.
They plummeted like a brick to the bottom of a lake.
The shoes.
I recognized them immediately. They’d given me one of the biggest boners of my life after all. If they hadn’t been toed off and kicked up my stairwell, I would have fucked Lacey wearing them. In fact, it had been on my list of things to do before the night took a sour turn.
Lottie was now wearing those fucking hooker heeled shoes.
Oli might not have noticed if it hadn’t been for two things. Firstly, the simple black dress she was wearing was so plain you had no choice but to take in those shoes. The fucking shoes were the whole damn outfit. And secondly, she stamped her right foot on the ground in a way that no one, including Oli, could avoid.
I saw the furrow of confusion sweep across Oli’s face as he began to unscramble his brain, putting all the equations together until he finally looked at me. Jonas, who had already figured it out, left Jake in a flash and headed my way.
“I asked what was going on?” Lottie screamed again.
“It was Lacey that night, wasn’t it?”
I looked at Oli as he forced the words in my direction, and dug deep to come up with a reply that would calm the moment down, but I couldn’t. He did not deserve to be lied to.
“Oli…”
“What was Lacey?” Lottie asked him, and then the whole gang started to meld together like the tight little unit they were.
“How the fuck did I miss it?” he said, shaking his head. “Jake, you get one chance to answer this question. Was it your baby?”
Everyone looked over at Jake, and I could tell he was about to lie for Lacey until Jonas shouted, “Truth. Now.”
“No.” He shook his head and a look of sadness engulfed him.
I watched as Oli walked over to Jake and offered his apologies. Jake’s expression was downcast because he knew he’d let Lacey down. As soon as their very brief conversation was finished, Oli turned back around, strode in my direction and punched me. It was enough to send me stumbling back a step, but it didn’t put me on the ground. Somewhere deep down I’d been expecting it. I’d known there would be repercussions. Actions have consequences and I knew I deserved it.
“You took advantage of her, you motherfucker. Did you kick her out as soon as you were done with her? Did you even offer to help? Be supportive? Be a fucking father? Maybe Carly was better off all those years.”
I felt the red mist descend. There was no way he was going to get away with saying that shit, angry or not. That was uncalled for. I took one step back and sucker punched him in the gut. When he doubled forwards, I pulled my fist back and aimed for his head. Sonny stepped in at that point and held me back, but Oli was on a roll. He needed to vent his anger as much as I did mine.
I felt his knuckles connect with my cheek bone and knew the bruising would reach my eye socket.
“That’s enough,” Chris shouted. “You’ve thrown your punches. It’s over.”
All of the men made sure Oli was covered. There was no way I could get near him if I tried, and all the women were clucking round Lottie wondering what they’d missed and why they’d walked in on some kind of war.
Jonas quickly pointed them in the direction of the door, giving me a pointed look as he did. His attention was taken up with Dolly so he didn’t notice Jake double back and head in my direction.
“It was you. I trusted you with her that night. Fuck me,” he shouted, shaking his head. “You didn’t catch her in the corner with some bastard. You were that bastard.”
Again, I didn’t deny it. A lot had happened, apparently, and even though I wasn’t aware of the fine details of Lacey’s situation, these people needed someone to take the blame.
“Do you know you destroyed her? I mean, like, she fucking fell for your shit hook, line and sinker. I may be a player but I’m honest about it. There are no expectations when I hook up. If only you’d seen how I found her, Tommy. I have never seen so much blood. It was like she’d been sliced open.” His words were killing me. “I sat in a waiting room, wondering what the fuck was going on and whether she’d even make it back out of surgery. But let me tell you something, you piece of shit. All that blood was nowhere near as terrifying as watching her innocent heart break when I had to watch the doctor tell her she’d lost her baby. I hope that lives with you forever.”
With my own heart breaking, I looked to the floor, searching for some words that would make him feel better. None came, and the next thing I felt was a fist connecting with the side of my head. My eyes swam,
my vision going blurry, and I hit the floor and stayed there. I wanted to get up so he could hit me again. I deserved to be hit again and again and again, but I didn’t have the energy. All I had was an overwhelming sadness and the knowledge that I’d let her down, and no matter how much I wanted to stand up and be counted, I couldn’t. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me for hurting something so precious.
After all, I fucking deserved that and a whole lot more.
* * *
Lacey Talbot
Oli came bounding through the door, closely followed by Lottie. Clearly their night had not gone to plan. I was having some quiet time with a book and a mug of hot chocolate when he appeared in front of me, snatched the book off me and hurled it across the room.
“Tommy Sevens? Really, Lacey?”
Wide-eyed and dumbstruck, I didn’t know how the hell he’d found out, but judging by the bruise appearing on his face, I’d say Tommy knew the cat was out of the bag.
“Have you got anything to say for yourself? I mean, you let me kick Jake’s ass because I assumed he was to blame,” he said, starting to deflate.
“Oli, fucking hell, calm down. You’ll wake Sam and Carter,” Lottie whisper shouted.
The only part of that I heard was that he’d kicked Jake’s ass. “Please tell me you did not do anything to Jake, especially after I asked you not to get involved.”
“Well, when I saw your… whatever the fuck he is touching up some other girl on the dance floor, I figured I would defend your honor and show him that he can’t knock you up and then drop you.”
“Oh God, I told you to leave it alone.” Worry galloped forward. I knew what an honorable man Oli was. He would not have gone easy on Jake. I got up to go and find my phone.
Deserved Page 16
