Jerk! Jerk! Jerk!
Asshole.
How dare he?
Granted, I had made the first move. But I didn’t force him – he was being equally responsive. Then why his sudden change of heart? I had felt his want against my stomach. And yet he chose to leave. He hurt my pride on so many levels, I can’t even explain it. Not to mention, my head was still filled with desire.
I was still in need.
I pulled down the straps of my dress and lay down in a more comfortable position. I picked up a pillow and moved against it, my fingers playing with my entrance while my head tried to reject any images of Henry Hathaway that flashed in my mind.
Bastard.
There was no way I was forgiving him. Ever.
I’m not sure when I passed out, but when I woke up again I had a mild headache. I wasn’t very drunk, but I assumed it was the mental exhaustion that got me. I covered myself with sheets and breathed into the darkness of the room.
At least I was satisfied.
I didn’t want to get up or change. I didn’t even want to look at myself. I was feeling miserable. My mind told me I had no reason to, there wasn’t any chance where I had behaved out of line. But I couldn’t help the disgusting feeling that spread within me. It made my head hurt harder.
I hadn’t considered one fact. What if Henry Hathaway had a girlfriend? Peter said he didn’t, but what if he hadn’t told Peter either?
What if it was her thought that had stopped him?
If it was true, it put me in the wrong. The fault was mine. But somehow, even this didn’t make me feel guilty. I just felt… sad. And disappointed. In everything.
Sighing, I turned around and pulled the covers over my head.
Fine. It was all fine.
I didn’t care. It was not like I was ever going to see him again.
Even if I had wanted to, he had made it impossible for me now.
Quiet!
I didn’t want to.
I could have cried again. It isn’t always that I’m attracted to a man more than just physically. Mostly, all I feel is desire. But Henry isn’t all hotness and muscles… he is kind. Tonight, he treated me like a lady without a shred of fear. I haven’t come across a man like that before and been attracted to him at the same time.
Damn it. Damn it.
If he had a girl, she was a lucky woman.
I turned around in unrest only to realize that my back hurt. I groaned, holding my neck to lessen the pain. It was then that another thought struck me.
My pendant was gone.
I felt around my neck again and rose up in a hurry. It killed my back, but I searched the bed and then the entire room. Wait. I always have it on.
Then why the heck could I not find it?
An acute fear instilled in me. I’ve had that pendant since I was very young. It’s this chain made out of silver, and I have a ring woven into it. It’s my most prized possession. I always have it around my neck, come hell or high water.
I didn’t want to disrupt the security personnel, but I started to search around my house by myself. Hours must have passed because by the time I had revisited all the rooms of my house and was ready to search the garden outside, the sun was already up.
I groaned when I stepped out.
It didn’t look like I had dropped it here.
Then it had to be at the bar. Or in that restroom, to be more precise.
I held my head. This had to be the worst day of my life. I was in the middle of my garden, half drunk, shabbily dressed and still not clean from the pleasure I had given myself last night. I had lost my one precious possession, and the danger was that I might have to ask the one man who had refused to touch me, about it.
I flopped on the grass. My heart dropped to the bottom of my ass. I realized I was royally fucked.
I lay down in the middle of the garden like that and dozed off because Markian found me there. I was too tired to get up or think or breathe. I didn’t know how many minutes or hours had passed again. But I knew I must have looked like a nightmare because even Mark seemed shocked.
That doesn’t happen usually. I already have surprised the heck out of him in the past ten years, so he isn’t shocked by the way I dress anymore. It seems I have broken another record this time around though.
“Anna. Anna, are you alright?”
Yeah. Just tired.
“Anna, talk to me.”
“Anna.”
“Anna.”
Ugh. I finally spoke out loud, “I’m okay.”
Mark’s worried face washed with some relief, “Then why are you lying here? Is everything alright? Are you hurt? Anna?”
I really shouldn’t be worrying him. But he is such a busybody.
Against all my better judgement and all my wishes, I got up. I was still in the stupid black dress and it hurt me physically to look at it. My back was still aching I realized and my mind was stuck on the pendant. I wanted to be left alone.
“Anna?”
Apparently, that was too much to ask for. Some people are just clueless at reading moods, right?
“Yes, Mark. I’ll wash up and meet you for breakfast. Wait… is it breakfast time? Or already lunch?”
“Still an hour for breakfast, honey. But, there’s something…”
“Yeah?” Let’s get it over with. Did he want details about the asshole I was set up with? I hadn’t had time to come up with an explanation that wouldn’t hurt him or the company. Or did he want to know how last night was?
Because God knows that went well.
I tried to calm down. It isn’t his fault, I told myself. Don’t take it out on him. Relax.
“Someone’s waiting for you in the hall. So maybe take the back door. You’re not…” he trailed off.
Presentable right now, yes.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“I – I’m not happy about this… but I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what happened yesterday, but I want an explanation Anna. When you’re in your right mind. I want to know.”
He confused me. I raised my brows, “What? Who is it dad?”
“Earnest Hathaway’s –”
My heart went cold. I stilled in place and my feet refused to move. I couldn’t hear my father’s voice anymore.
Oh, no.
Henry… Why was he here?
“I’m worried about you, sweetheart.”
Bang on, dad. Bang on.
Now I am worried about me too.
Chapter 9
Henry
I returned home feeling the most defeated I ever have. It wasn’t this bad even when I lost my first moot in law school. At least I hadn’t pretended to be one person and acted the complete opposite. This was a first. Everything with Anna seems to be like a first.
It still didn’t change the fact that I was so fucking turned on, it hurt.
I had relieved myself in the bathroom, but I was growing back. It didn’t help that Anna’s scent was still all over my body. I lay back in my bed, my heart beating rapidly as memories of her swarmed my mind.
What was wrong with me?
You’re attracted to her, that’s what.
I tried to remember her crude self, the one I had met two nights before. What were the cons of liking Anna Reeves? For starters, she beat up people. Two, what had she said? Scrawny ones like you always run. She had called me scrawny, a rich ass heir, she was ill mannered, headstrong from what I had observed, not very mindful of her appearance in general and she absolutely didn’t seem to care what others thought of her.
Isn’t that a good thing?
If she wasn’t the way she was, could I have dared to let her go while she was still in my arms?
I’m must be an ass. An ass through and through.
My head throbbed even though I hadn’t drunk. I don’t fall for people I don’t know. Every time I’ve dated, my partner was a woman I knew. This should not be happening!
The one time I try and hook up for fun, I fall for
her?
I’m insane!
“Oh stop it. You’ll kill yourself.”
I rose up to see Peter help himself into my room. We share an apartment and divide the rent so we don’t go broke by ourselves at the end of the month. I shrugged.
I had earlier called him when Anna had left and asked him to find out if she had reached her home safely. Peter was still at the restaurant, eating by himself back then – after Cain Matthews was gone while I was busy enjoying myself upstairs.
“I’m not doing anything,” I protested.
“It’s written all over your face. What’s this about Reeves?”
I didn’t want to talk about it. I sighed, “What about her?”
“Dude.” Pete slammed his ass on my bed pretty hard when he sat down. He totally destroyed the covers. I hate it when my bedsheet has wrinkles.
“You had me follow the woman in the middle of the night,” he said in exasperation, “Don’t what about her me. You like her, don’t you?”
I swallowed. My heart jumped at the words and I wanted to punch my gut down.
“I don’t know her.”
“You’d like her if you did. Everyone does.”
“What?”
“Anna Reeves. She’s pretty popular, you know. Not the kind of popular where everybody wants to go out with her. She’s not that type. But she was almost everybody’s friend.”
I rolled my eyes, “You’re talking from your orphanage days?”
“I’ve known her forever. She’s the closest thing I have to a childhood buddy ever since Kate and I broke up.”
I raised my brows. Would I have to compete over my best friend with this woman now? Or worse, would I have to compete for her with Pete? He seemed pretty fascinated with her from what I could tell.
“You have a girlfriend, Pete.”
“And she has met Anna.” Peter laughed at that. I was flabbergasted. That was a lot of new information to have about someone who lives with me every second of every day. A pang of jealousy rose in me.
Peter hadn’t introduced his girl to me until five months of them being together.
“When did you introduce her to Anna?”
“She introduced us.”
He had got to be fucking kidding me.
I rose up from my bed and sat up straight.
“Peter Brown,” I said, furious now, “Have you been cheating on me? Do you have another best friend?”
I meant it. I was angry. Why hadn’t I heard any of this before?
Peter rolled his eyes at me and that pissed me off. He brushed me away, “Come on man. It’s the same thing as you not talking about your family. It’s complicated.”
“Did you just call Anna Reeves your family?”
“Yes – her and twenty other kids I grew up with. Calm down. Anna got into a lot of trouble because of a misunderstanding. It was chance we met again, and I am glad we did. She’s a great girl.”
I think I got it then.
Peter and I are tight, but there’s things I don’t talk about to him. It’s not that I can’t tell him – it’s just that some things are that personal. You can’t tell anyone about them. You don’t want to.
It’s me being as rich ass heir that I don’t want to talk about. For Pete it could the emotional bond he has with the people he grew up with.
I think I got it. So I let it go.
“Fine,” I shrugged, “But… Anna. Man, how can I be attracted to her? I don’t know her! This hasn’t happened before.”
Pete took in a deep breath, “Isn’t it good? It’s different so it should feel exciting.”
“But, I mean, she’s really not my type.”
“Just tell me something. What’s the real deal here?”
“What do you mean?”
“You like her. Ask her out. What’s all this fuss about?”
“I – I don’t know.”
“She’s just different. Not a criminal that you’re being this cautious. Did you guys fight by any chance?”
It’s worse.
Pete read the expression on my face. “How bad is it?” he asked.
“Very.”
He took in another deep breath, “Sort it out man. And tell me if you need something. I’ll tell you the details about Cain Matthew’s case tomorrow.”
“Cain Matthew’s case?”
“Yes, lover boy. We went to the restaurant for the case.”
“We’re taking it?”
“Not like we have a choice. It’s business. Of course we’re taking it.”
I nodded. It was nice to have Pete. While I was busy fawning over a chick, Pete was working. I’m glad he’s by my side.
“Pete?”
“Yeah.”
“Why did Anna ask to see me in the middle of the night? The first time we met.”
He looked struck, but then he laughed at me.
“Honest? I refused because she called me at two. It’s Anna after all. I like her, but I don’t want the shit beaten out of me just because she’s pissed off about something. I suggested you and you agreed as well. As to the why, I don’t know. Maybe she was looking for a ride. Honestly man, I don’t know. It’s Anna. Nobody could know except for her.”
He left. And I was left behind stunned.
See? This was what I was talking about! Who in their right mind would like Anna Reeves? This was why I was afraid of the tender feeling inside me while we were together.
It was for Anna Reeves!
And she is clearly…a thug.
What am I going to do?
And if I thought the rather dramatic night was coming to an end, I was forced to think again. Because guess who called me?
Earnest Hathaway. At three in the morning.
“Dad?” I frowned, not sure why he had called this early. Was everything alright?
“Henry, what’s this? Who are you going out with these days?”
The question surprised me, “What are you talking about?”
“I just checked my email, boy. Markian Reeves writes, and I’ll read it to you verbatim, Hathaway, tell your boy to stay away from my girl. I don’t want him near my house. I don’t want him near my Anna. Next time, I’ll chase him out with the cane I bought for your last birthday. It’d be great if I could whoop his ass with it. It would become truly special then.”
I could not believe my ears. And I could not believe my dad’s next words.
“Henry, have you been seeing Markian’s daughter? Henry, you heard his email right? He bought a cane for my birthday. He got me a gift! He should have sent it to me. That old crank, why tell me through email that he cares?”
Wow. Way to go, dad.
“Dad,” I was tired just listening to him, “Congratulations. Markian seems to care about you. Also, can we not talk about this right now?”
“About what?”
“Anna. Anna Fucking Reeves. Or Markian. I’m hanging up.”
“W-Wait! Henry. Are you really going out with his daughter?”
“No, but I like her! I like her when I shouldn’t, and it’s driving me nuts. So leave me alone dad. Please.”
I hung up.
My stress level rose. I remembered the feel of Anna’s mouth on mine, her scent and her smile. My head could have shredded, so I turned around, switched off my phone and buried myself into my bed. I wasn’t waking up till the end of the world.
Chapter 10
Anna
There have always been no times in my life when I haven’t been ready. That is mostly because I’ve never felt the need to be ready. But when Mark said that Henry was here, I don’t remember feeling more horrible.
So this is what it was like. To not be ready. To feel utterly ugly, underdressed and just… not ready. I gave myself a glance and decided I had to rush to my room and clean up. After what had happened last night, I couldn’t let him see me like this.
If possible, he shouldn’t see me at all.
I saw that Mark was dressed in a three piece suit. I ran to him and ple
aded, “Dad. Please, lend me your coat. Just in case I run into him. I don’t want him to see me like this. Please, please Mark.” I almost pulled off his coat by his lapels. He stared at me like I had gone nuts.
“Anna. But you – you’ve never cared before.”
“About what?”
“About how you look when you meet a guy.”
“Right. Coat, dad. Please.”
He pulled it off and draped it over my shoulders. I gave him a rushed hug and ran to the back door. Please, Henry. Don’t see me. I don’t want to.
Before I could leave though, Mark called me again. I turned around to see him look flabbergasted. His fists were clenched. Was he trembling? I would have run back but he held up a hand to make me stop.
“Anna. I… I want you to know. I’m not going to forgive Hathaway. He was the only friend I made in my life. And it turned out to be a mistake. I’m still not over it. So, please. Don’t make me, sweetheart.”
It made my blood boil. What the fuck had Henry said to Mark?
I remembered our little conversation about our fathers’ histories and how we could get them to meet.
He better not have shown up here at my house with his dad.
Not after how yesterday had ended.
Mark hurried off to the front door, refusing to match my eyes. It hurt me. And the anger in me swelled. Fuck my pride. How dare Henry Fucking Hathaway complicate things for my father?
I took a quick shower to wash the alcohol off my body. I put on a jeans and t-shirt and rushed downstairs. The routine still took me twenty minutes. When I barged into the living room, the argument going on was loud, ridiculous and had no room for a third party.
Also, Henry Hathaway was nowhere to be seen.
The ones yelling their guts out at each other were Mark and Earnest Hathaway.
What the heck was going on?
Had Hathaway really come with his father?
The argument of the fathers in itself was absurd.
I stood in a corner, waiting for a chance to jump in on the conversation. I noticed Earnest Hathaway’s features in the meantime. It was because of his face primarily that I could tell that he was Henry’s old man. Henry Hathaway looked dangerously similar to his father. I could see what a 50-60 year old Henry would look like. From an objective point of view, I think he would be handsome as ever.
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