In The Spur of Heath (The Spur Series Book 1) (28 page)

“Yes…I remember. I asked you a question and you answered with a question. You were like ‘Trini?’.” I joked.

“Yes, yes. Don’t laugh at me. I was in awe. Not every day a Trini comes to Dillcaster. And you were so beautiful, you radiated to me. You were so snarky and I loved it about you. The way you rolled your eyes at those girls who were gawking at me – hilarious.”

“Aye, those girls were being ridiculous.”

“No shame.” He laughed and his smile faded, his ayes narrowed. “I feel like I can’t wait any longer, Reese. I want you. I want you with me. I’m tired of this.”

“I feel the same, Jake. I don’t know why I said yes. So stupid of me. Now I’m just going to crush him even more. I never wanted to be this person.” Tears welled up in my eyes. “You must think I’m an awful, selfish bitch.” I scoffed.

“I was with Kin, you are far from any of that. I put you in a shitty situation. Had I been honest, this wouldn’t have happened. I can’t blame you.” He rubbed his thumb against my cheek.

“Every time I want to do it, it’s like I shut down. My hearts starts pounding and I – I don’t know.”

“As soon as I deal with Kin, you have to deal with Andrews.” He said solemnly. “We could get married and have babies.” He smirked.

“We would have some gorgeous ass babies, wouldn’t we?” I replied playfully.

“Damn right.”

My weekend was over and it was back to the reality of my unfortunate love triangle. Sven dropped me home and I tried to make the place look as though I was in fact there all weekend. Even going far as washing my clothes, ensuring that I or my clothes smelt nothing like Jake.

When Heath came home, I was watching a movie on the TV, eating a pint of Haagen-Dazs ice-cream. “Pieces.” His eyes lit up when he came through the door. He plopped down on the sofa beside me and hugged me tightly. “I missed you.” He kissed me on the cheek.

“I missed you, too.” I smiled. “How was it?”

“We got the ‘okay’ from a client and I have a huge ad campaign to put together. God, you have no idea how much I missed you.” He squeezed me harder. “I almost came home early.”

“Really?” I swallowed hard.

“How was your weekend, what you do?” He opened his mouth and I stuffed a spoonful of ice-cream inside.

“Nothing much, really. I completed that article for your dad, sent it over to him and here I am. Being a couch potato.”

“Sounds riveting.” He exaggerated.

“It is quite riveting.” I smiled. I loved this about us. That kick-back best friend type-thing we had going. 

“Oh, I almost forgot.” He raised his hip off the sofa and pulled something out of his front pocket. “For you madam.” He playfully presented a silver necklace with my name engraved on it.

“What?” I gasped. “It’s just like…”

“The one you had – I know. Got it remade for you.”

“Thank you, Heath.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed tightly
. I hate myself.

“No bother, Pieces. By the way, I was wondering, how would you like to officially meet my entire family?”

“Your entire family? Meaning in Australia?” I raised a brow.
His entire family! Oh fucking hell!

“Yes. I was thinking about going for the summer. That’s as long as they aren’t planning any trips. I hope that’s alright with you.”

“Yes of course, Heath.”

Sigh, I keep digging myself in a deeper pit. How hard is it to say no? No, I can’t marry you Heath and No, I can’t meet your family – not under false pretences anyway. Maybe I should write him a letter. I mean, I am a great writer and tend to express myself better through written words. But nope, I kept nodding my head with the best fake smile I could muster. Reese, you stupid cunt!

Every day was more of the same – more secret rendezvous with Jake and me, trying not to be too distant from Heath in the process, all while refraining from intimacy. It was hard because I didn’t want suspicions to arise.

Heath was sitting at the breakfast bar with his laptop, busy designing something on Adobe Illustrator. I came down the stairs to see him hard at work, his eyes peeled to the screen as he worked. “Hey.” I greeted him.

“Oh, hey babe.” He glimpsed me briefly before turning his attention to the screen.

I kissed him on the cheek and sat beside him. He was clad in an armless jersey and cargo shorts. I admired his shoulders as they moved. “Working on the campaign?” I asked breaking myself from my daze.

“Yep, final touches. I have to go back to San Fran this weekend.”

“Oh.” I scowled. Inside I was dancing with delight. Another weekend with Jake – yes! “I’m sorry that I’ve been brushing you off lately.”

He paused and turned to me. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not pressuring you into anything. When you’re ready – I’m here, okay? I know things been a bit rough for you.” His hand clasped the side of my face. “I love you.”

“I know you do.” I half-smiled. I just stared at him as he refocused his attention to his laptop. He was so clueless about what was really going on. He knew something was wrong with me, he didn’t know what. And out of respect for me, he didn’t pry. He was so understanding and sweet. I felt like a big shit for my betrayal. He didn’t deserve it – at all.

Heath eventually left for San Francisco and I returned to Jake’s. I was a free woman this weekend but I was beginning to get tired of the run around.

Jake and I were eating breakfast at the breakfast bar. He was quiet. Didn’t say much although he had told me he would give me an update on Kin, it seemed as though he was avoiding the topic.

“So, what’s the deal with Kin?” I asked in a more annoyed tone than intended. I was beginning to lose my patience holding out and it was almost three weeks since her accident.

Everything was beginning to aggravate me. I was tired of the façade and the rendezvous and the secrets!
The fucking secrets!
They were eating me alive. Pretending to be happy. Pretending to be someone I wasn’t with Heath. Hurting him. Betraying him. I couldn’t take it anymore!

“There’s a problem. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” He placed his fork on the table mat with a very apologetic scowl.

“What do you mean a problem, Jake? Are you wasting my time? I want to know what the deal is! I’m not breaking up with Heath if Kin isn’t taken care of, but at the same time, it’s not fair to have him in a doormat position either and it’s tearing me apart! I want to fucking fix this!” I slammed my fist down.

“Joey hasn’t heard anything about Kin, neither have I. Her family hasn’t contacted me and the doctors won’t tell me anything. She’s basically a ghost.” Jake bent his head.

“So wait, are you telling me she’s missing, or is she out?” I asked completely worried.

“I don’t know, Reese. But this isn’t good, for either of us. I don’t know what to make of it. I got Sven to get some of his guys to protect you, from afar. Joey is on alert and so is Kai. Just be very vigilant, okay?” He informed me. “I upped my security system here and got Granger and his team keeping tabs on things. Granger knows a P.I., so I’ll put that in place as well. It’ll be okay.”

“What the fuck!” I panicked. “Like if this crazy mother fucker actually is out and aware of us, she’ll kill me? Wouldn’t she?”

“I would never let her hurt you. If she ever tried Reese, I swear to God I’d kill her myself and won’t give a damn about the consequences. He assured me.

“Okay.” I nodded, still feeling displeased, but not wanting to continue the discussion. I was livid. This is insane!

After breakfast, we decided to go for a swim in the pool. I changed into my bikini and headed out onto the deck. Jake was dressed in his swimming trunks, mixing a drink for us both behind the bar. I sat on the sectional, overlooking the pool as he did. The water so calm and sparkly.

“Psst.” He catcalled. I watched him at the corner of my eyes with a smirk on my face.

“What do you want?” I deadpanned.

“I want you to bring your sexy ass over here and take a drink with me.” He raised his brows playfully. I pouted my lips, my eyes narrowing on him.

“Fine.” I bolted out of my seat and modelled up to him. We sat on the stools in front of the bar and he handed me a martini glass with an electric blue liquid in it. “Cheers.” His brow arched and he smiled. I noticed his cute sharp incisor that protruded.

“That’s so stinking cute.” I blurted and he looked at me quizzically.

“What?”

“Your incisor. It’s just so cute. It enhances your smile.”

“Really. I don’t think I have the best teeth in the world.” He grimaced and took a sip of his drink.

“Are you kidding me? They perfectly imperfect.”

“You’re a weirdo, you know that right. Has anyone ever told you that?” His brow arched again.

“It sounds more of a compliment coming from you though.” I joked. I gulped down my drink and pulled Jake into me. As he leaned in for a kiss, I held onto his face and licked the length of it and he squirmed. “Argh, Reese.” He laughed and I hopped off the stool. I ran towards the pool, laughing hysterically and he took off behind me. “I’m so gonna get you back.”

I ran over the lawn, towards the edge of the pool and cannon balled straight into it. Jake came in behind me, creating a big splash. I was laughing uncontrollably, trying to evade him, dashing water into his face, but he was faster than I. He dipped underwater and grabbed me by the waist, pulling me towards him and resurfaced, his face inches from mine. “Gotcha.” He grinned and licked my face. “Argh!” I screamed, laughing loudly.

Later that night, Jake and I were fast asleep on the sofa in his living room. We both fell asleep while watching a movie and Jake awoke to see the TV glaring at us. He reached for the remote and switched it off. He then got up from under my hold and scooped me up, carrying me upstairs into the bedroom. He laid me on the bed and covered me with a blanket. As he was about to get into bed, his phone buzzed. A Jamaican area code came up on the Caller ID. He grabbed the phone from the bedside table and walked briskly towards the balcony and answered the call, anticipating the response. “Hello?” 

“Jacob.” Kin’s voice answered, sounding very faint.

“Kin?” He replied frantically.

“Oh baby, I miss you.” She sniffed. “Are you okay?”

“Me? Kin, are you okay? I was making arrangements for you to come back but you went off the grid.” He replied in faux-concern.

“It’s mammy who tek me to another hospital that har friend recommend. She didn’t wan’ fi upset you. So she say. My ribs broken, and it difficult to walk. But I okay. I just want to come back home to you.” She explained breathlessly.

“I’d like nothing more, baby.” He responded and spun around at the sound of me coming towards him. He signalled me to be quiet. “It’s Kin.” He mouthed at me and I gasped. “Love you, too.” He responded with a clenched jaw and then hung up. He sighed and bent his head. He then screamed out in anger and punched the wall, making me jump in fright. I bent my head, tears pooling in my eyes. “Can’t fucking believe this bitch isn’t dead!” He growled.

“The devil isn’t easily killed, and now we’re back to square one, ‘cause when she returns you’re not gonna do a damn thing about it!” I said in the calmest coldest tone.

“Reese, that’s not true.”

“Yes it fucking is. ‘Cause one, you’re too fucking soft – and I love that about you but not right now, not towards that bitch – and two, her family. You’re afraid her family comes after you. This mother cunt is gonna break us, she has already begun and she isn’t even back yet!” I shouted, getting louder and louder

“Reese, her family would come after you, too. You know that, right? I could never live with myself if that ever happened. Ever. Fuck that. There is a better way to get this done without incriminating myself. I just need to put the proper things in place for it to happen.”

“And how long is this gonna take, huh? A couple weeks, months, a year?! You must be one of those dreamers. I’m not waiting that long Jake, I’m not! I have Heath expecting me to be his wife soon and I can’t hold out much longer.”

“Well then break up with him.” He said in a cold tone.

“Yeah, break up with him, right? So, I must be alone, with nowhere to live, lose my best friend in the process while I can’t even speak to you without the fear of being killed? Fuck that, and fuck you! I’m leaving!” I stormed back into the bedroom and started packing my things.

“Reese?” Jake sighed, sounding exhausted, trying to pull me away from my packing. I kept yanking my arm away from his hold.

“No, fuck this, Jake. This is too much. I’m done!”

“Reese, please?” Jake implored.

“No!” I screamed and he froze. “I’m not going back to being your number two. I’m done.” I stomped down the stairs and out the door with my bag in tow, leaving Jake bewildered and heartbroken at the door.

I jumped into my car and drove off, never looking back as tears spilled down my cheeks. Was I being too dramatic or was I well within my right to act the way I did? One thing’s for sure - I felt completely and utterly shitty. He kept trying to call my phone but I blocked his number.

This wasn’t fair. The odds were definitely against Jake and me ever being together and it was exhausting having to constantly battle these obstacles just to be in a relationship. Things were simpler with Heath, and I decided to let Jake Cavanaugh go – once and for all! After all, I was already engaged to Heath, maybe this was a sign to let Jake go. And I did, at least I tried.

I decided to change my entire mind set and begin to think about being with Heath and being happy. I was happy with him, it’s just… Jake Cavanaugh was in the picture and haunted that happiness. But I decided – no more! Time to let Jake Cavanaugh go – once and for all!

Heath finally returned home and I greeted him at the door, hugging him tightly. “I’m so sorry.” I whispered as I buried my head into the groove of his neck.

“For what?” He watched down at me quizzically.

“For being a shitty girlfriend.” I replied, my tears spilling uncontrollably.

“Reese, you’re not a shitty girlfriend.” He replied, placing his bag on the floor and properly embracing me. He smoothed the back of my hair and kissed my forehead. I looked up into his apprehensive green eyes. How did I forget how much I loved those eyes? A quiet happiness crept over me and the corners of my mouth quirked up.