I carry him to the Jungle Jim in the TV room and he gets busy playing with all the different toys. I’m about to turn on the TV when the phone rings and when I look at the screen its Sebastian. For a minute I think of ignoring it but then I pick up. “Hi, Sebastian.”
“Daniel!” Sebastian says. “Why’ve you been ignoring me? I’ve done nothing.”
“I know, but I just…needed some time alone.”
“You live with Carmen and her kid. How do you manage any alone time?”
“Fine. I wanted space from all of you, is that what you wanted to hear?”
“At least it’s the truth.”
“Yeah well, no one seems to give a rat’s ass about the truth anymore.”
“Daniel, maybe if you just talked to Holden—”
“Sebastian,” I say. “People believe what they want to believe. If Holden thinks I could do such a thing, that Jamie could do such a thing then I’m truly sorry for him.”
“Are you in touch with Jamie?”
“I could answer that,” I say. “Or you could just form your own conclusions. That’s what everyone else seems to be doing.”
“I don’t believe that either of you did it,” Sebastian says. “Teague and Mia are of the same opinion. So, I hate to be the one to say it, Daniel but for a guy who hates others jumping to conclusions about him, you’re sure quick about jumping to fucking conclusions yourself!”
“Did you call so you could annoy me, Sebastian?”
“You don’t want to talk to Holden, that’s fine. I get it. But why won’t you talk to us? Maybe we can figure a way out of this!”
“Sebastian, I appreciate your reaching out to me, but I really can’t. Thanks for calling.” I hang up so I don’t have to think about it again.
But no matter how much I try to focus my attention on Josh I can’t get all of that stuff out of my head. Someone’s clearly messing with us. Targeting us and I don’t know why, how fucked up is that? It makes me feel helpless.
And Jamie.
She has no part in this.
The last time this sort of thing happened she tried to give herself some dangerous abortion. This is even worse than before. And there’s no Holden to help her or to be there for her. She probably has no one to talk to about all this and I’m not doing her any favors. Sebastian’s right. Why should I punish people who didn’t have a hand in this for what happened? Holden is doing the same thing, and I hate him for it. I don’t want Jamie to hate me but more than that, I don’t want her to be alone in what just might be the worst period in her life.
The Bad Idea
TEAGUE
“Okay,” Mia says, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Tell me again why you’re refusing to have sex with me?”
&
nbsp; I almost roll my eyes but I don’t because honestly, I cannot take my eyes off her. I don’t know if it’s the recent ‘no-sex’ rule that my trainer said I had to follow or if she always has that effect on me, but looking at her in those spaghetti straps, is killing me. It’s almost as if the dress is mocking me because in a normal situation, this is the kind of dress that would end up ripped and in a trashcan after I was done with it.
I walk over to the mirror and try to ignore that stupid fucking dress but it won’t leave me alone and I can still see it as Mia comes toward me. “Mia,” I say. “I have a heavy training session tonight. I have to…you know…keep my strength if you know what I mean.”
Mia comes right over and kisses my bare shoulder. “Mia. You’re not listening.”
This time her arms come around my chest and she places her head on my back. “I’m a naughty girl baby,” she says, kissing my back as she talks. “I think you need to punish me. Show me who’s boss.” With that her hands are inside my boxers and she tugs and yanks, her hands are going all over my shaft but I stand my ground.
“You can do what you want,” I say. “But you’re not getting anything.”
“Are you sure, baby?” She croons and breaks away from me and I turn to see what she’s up to now—and bad move, Teague. One side of the spaghetti strap is lowered, baring her breast and her one hand lifts the dress so I can see she’s not wearing anything underneath. She casually starts fingering herself. Her face has that look—the look of pleasure and need that she knows drives me insane. “Come on baby,” Mia says. “I know you want to rip this dress off me. I know you want to punish me for being bad.”
Fuck it.