Under My Skin (Shady Falls Series Book 2) (5 page)

              Jake looked from the principal, to Gary, then to me. His eyes locked with mine and I silently begged him to not say anything. I didn’t want to deal with what would come with a sexual harassment charge. I just wanted to get the hell away from everyone, lock myself in my room, and not deal with it. It was always easier to just ignore the problem instead of dealing with the problem.

              Jake narrowed his eyes, as if asking if I was sure. I shook my head subtly, pleading for his silence with my eyes.

              Shaking his head, Jake looked pissed. “He fell, Mr. Lloyd,” he said. “He was talkin’ to Mia and tripped over her pompom.”

              My stomach churned as Mr. Lloyd eyed me questioningly. I assumed Jake was going to avert the attention from me. I thought he’d do what I wanted and pretend nothing happened between Gary and me. How could he betray me?

              Fidgeting under the scrutiny, I looked down to find my uniform was disheveled. I looked like I had just rolled out of bed … or like I had just been manhandled. I smoothed my hands down my skirt, adjusting it so it wasn’t twisted. Then I ran my fingers through my hair to make sure it wasn’t sticking out all over the place. 

              “Miss Slone, anything to add?” Mr. Lloyd stared at me questioningly. I shook my head no, but didn’t say anything, I couldn’t. Hurt and anger were beginning to rise in my chest. I narrowed my eyes, trying to show just how pissed I was. He could’ve said anything, why had he let Lloyd know I was somehow involved, I didn’t understand. Mr. Lloyd wasn’t stupid, he’d figure it out and then I’d have to deal with more questions. Didn’t Jake understand I didn’t want to deal with anything else?

             
How could he? I didn’t tell him anything.

“Get to class,” Mr. Lloyd huffed as he turned to look at the rest of the group. He turned and stormed off, probably to go look at the security cameras to see if he could figure out exactly what had transpired. Now he knew I was somehow involved, he’d certainly try to get a clear shot of the incident. If Jake had just lied for me, maybe Mr. Lloyd would’ve just dropped it.

With the drama pretty much played out, the rest of our classmates made haste to their next classes. The halls cleared quickly, leaving Jake, Cade, Gary, and I alone.

Jake and Gary stood only a foot away from each other, glaring and looking like they were going to go at it again.

Jake stepped forward and stared down at Gary. “Stay the fuck away from Mia, you got me?”

Gary’s wicked smirk widened as he looked between Jake and me. “I’ll stay away from her, but I can’t guarantee she’ll stay away from me.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Did he think I’d ever want him? He was nothing but trouble and we all knew it. But Gary didn’t say another word, just turned on his heel and sauntered down the hall to his class. He didn’t seem to care that his shirt was ripped and there was blood on his face.

Jake walked across the hall toward me. He was much calmer as he looked at me with questions behind his blue eyes. Somewhere inside I knew I owed him an explanation for ignoring him all weekend. I also knew he didn’t deserve my wrath, not really. He was trying to help me. But I didn’t want help, I wanted to be pissed. I wanted to rage, and scream, and cry. I wanted to make someone else hurt like I hurt. I wanted to be pissed at the world. Somewhere deep inside I knew my anger wasn’t his fault. I was pissed at my parents, I was pissed at Gary, but Jake didn’t do anything wrong. Not really. But I didn’t care about what I knew deep inside. I just wanted to be pissed at him. I wanted to be angry that he couldn’t just cover for me. If he truly loved me, he would’ve kept me out of it. He couldn’t possibly love me like he said he did. There was no way.

“Are you okay?” Jake asked quietly, approaching me slowly.

“I’m fine, Jake.” My tone was short and my annoyance was evident in my tone. “Why couldn’t you just tell Lloyd nothin’ happened? Why did you have to tell him I was involved? Why the hell couldn’t you just leave me out of it?”

Shocked by my irritation, Jake stared at me, moving back a step or two. His expression changed from hurt, to frustration, to resentment, then to sadness. He didn’t understand what my problem was. How could he?

When Jake finally found his voice, I could feel his hurt and anger through his tone.

“Why the hell would you just let that asshole touch you and get away with it? He was gonna hurt you or worse.” He paused for a moment and stared at me. He let down his guard just a bit and I felt the full volume of his melancholy through his reddened cobalt eyes. “Look, I know you can take care of yourself, I was just tryin’ to help. After all …”

I wanted to hug him and get lost in his love, but I knew it wasn’t real. There’s no such thing as love. His declaration of love was just the byproduct of our having sex. There was no way in hell I was letting him think he owned me just because we had sex.

“We had sex, Jake. It didn’t mean anything.”

His eyes widened and he stared at me in disbelief. When a lone tear escaped the corner of his eye, my heart melted. I suddenly wondered if he did feel something for me. Could he love me? Could he have truly meant what he said? Was I wrong?

Without another word, Jake turned away from me, and never looked at me the same way again. 

Present Day

I walked out onto the dance floor to a smiling Jen. “Yay, Mia. This is Ben and James,” she said, gesturing to the men surrounding her. “You coming to dance with us?”

I shook my head. “No, Jen. I’m gonna bolt. I need to get home.” Memories of Jake played in my head over and over while I talked to her. “I’m not feelin’ well. I’ll see you at work Monday.”

Jen looked annoyed, but she nodded. I just wasn’t like her. I could date and have sex, but I couldn’t just go out and let myself relax enough to meet someone. I envied her confidence. Maybe if I could just let it all go, I could finally find love instead of living in the past.

***

“Mia, please talk to me.” Grant begged over the message on my voicemail. When I got home on Saturday night, I went cyber-stalking and found the pictures Jen had told me about. Pictures of him doing body shots off girls. Of people dry-humping on a dance floor in what seemed to be a private party. I wasn’t a prude, I didn’t have a problem with strip clubs or things of that nature, but these pictures were beyond the normal visit to a strip club. Besides, he was supposed to be with his sick mother. I despised liars and I wasn’t about to deal with his lying. So I did what any normal passive-aggressive person would do. I left a snarky comment on one of the pictures and tagged Grant in the comment. It was cowardly and low, but I didn’t care. By the time I’d changed my mind and went to delete the message, it was too late. My phone rang almost instantly.  He called repeatedly, leaving messages begging me to talk to him.

Continuing with my surly responses, I decided to respond to his pursuit in a text.

Me:
Grant, stop calling and texting. Go be with the women in the picture. It’s not a big deal.

A long hour wait had me fuming by the time he answered. After he called six times in one hour begging me to answer, it took him an hour to respond? Obviously he wasn’t too worried.

Grant:
Don’t do this, Mia. It was nothing. Just me and my friends blowing off some steam. Maybe if you weren’t so detached, I’d have been there with you instead.

Me:
You told me your mother was sick, which I now know to be a lie. I called the hospital. I was going to send flowers, but they said she had never been admitted.

              Almost immediately after I pressed send, my phone vibrated in my hand. Grant’s name flashed across the screen. I should’ve known he’d call. I wasn’t sure I wanted to answer. I was pissed that he lied. Shouldn’t I have been hurt? Shouldn’t I have cared more about the pictures and his betrayal than the lie? There was no stab of pain when I looked at those pictures. No feeling of loss or sadness when those pictures scrolled across my screen. Nope, I was just pissed.
I should feel something, shouldn’t I?

“What do you want, Grant?” I sighed, answering the ringing. I just wanted to be left alone. The drama was irritating and totally pointless, yet I continued this pointless pursuit.

“I’m sorry, Mia. I swear, I didn’t mean to lie.”

The snort that came out of me was almost comical. I couldn’t help it though. I expected him to deny lying, I didn’t expect him to say he didn’t mean to. “How do you mistakenly tell someone your mother is sick then go out and get drunk with your buddies? It ain’t like I woulda cared, Grant. You ain’t some child who needs to lie. I can’t deal with liars.”

“You become unreasonably upset all the time,” he claimed. “It was easier to tell you what I thought you’d want to hear so you didn’t feel bad. Why can’t you ever just let things go?”

Now I was ready to explode. “What? You don’t lie about your mother bein’ sick, Grant! You said the woman has a blood clot in her lung. It can be deadly, you asshole.”

“Yeah, I know, Mia. That’s exactly what killed her a couple years ago.”

Stunned. I was stunned. He didn’t even sound upset or remorseful. My blood boiled and my head began to throb. What kind of man uses his dead mother as an excuse to go out and party? My anger was so potent, I truly thought my head was going to explode.

“WHAT?!” I screamed. “You’re tellin’ me your mother’s not even alive anymore? You’re usin’ her as an excuse and she’s dead? You’re a bigger asshole than I ever imagined.”

“Mia, it’s not like that. I was just tryin’ to spare you.”

“Spare me from what? You don’t even make sense. Whatever, I’m done. Don’t …”

“What’s your problem, Mia,” he snapped, cutting me off. “You’re not pissed at me, you’re pissed at yourself because you don’t have any real friends. You’re jealous of your friends’ lives and you’re jealous of me going out without you.”

“No,” I said firmly. I found myself defending myself yet again. “I ain’t jealous of …”

“Okay, Mia,” he said in a sarcastic tone. “You’re too damn sensitive. Nothing ever makes you happy. Nothing is ever good enough for you.”

Completely fed up with this conversation, I didn’t know what to say anymore. Somehow the entire situation turned around on me. How the hell did it go from him lying to me never being happy? What the hell was he trying to do to me?

“Whatever, Grant. Don’t call me anymore.”

Without another word, I hung up.

Chapter Three

Jake

You know those moments in life when you can’t figure out how you found yourself in particular circumstances? When you look around and realize your life has taken control and you have no idea what exactly led to your current situation? Tonight was one of those nights for me. Life seemed to have been on autopilot for a while and I was struggling to catch up.

              Monique sat on my couch next to me, her long, slim fingers skimmed along the skin of my stomach, and moved toward my groin. Her skirt barely covered her ass and showed every inch of her long, dark, shapely legs. She was the picture of beauty and sin with her low-cut sweater which hung off her smooth shoulder, revealing a tantalizing amount of dark-brown skin. Her corkscrew braids spilled over her bare shoulder and down her chest.

              Monique was a good friend; a sweet, intelligent, beautiful woman with an amazing business and a bright future. Self-reliant and self-assured, she knew what she wanted and how to get it and she didn’t rely on anyone to give her anything. Monique didn’t need anyone. She wanted the same things out of life that I wanted; easy and no commitments. That’s exactly what we were for each other, neither of us expected anything more than friendship and casual sex. There were times when we would get together and just hang out. The problem was, tonight wasn’t a night where she just wanted to chill. She wanted more and she was making sure I knew what her intentions were.

              Monique called earlier and said she was coming over so she could bring me fliers about different storefronts that were going on the market in Mooresville. She was persistent, she felt I needed to follow my dreams and stop putting everything off for everyone else. I knew she was right, but I still found it hard to pursue something new when I had a successful business with my brother.

              My dream of owning my own diner or café was something I’d put on the backburner so I could help Toni, so the gym could be successful, and so Cade could finish school. Monique was the only person, other than my mother, who knew what I truly wanted. And just like my mother, she tended to push the issue and piss me off.

              Tonight she was at my house, pushing the issue, but she also pushed her personal agenda. She wanted me to look at storefronts, but she wanted to get laid too.

              “What’s goin’ on with you lately, Jake?” she asked sweetly, cuddling into my side as she slid her hand up my leg and to my abdomen. Her small breasts and tight stomach pressed into my arm.

              I had no idea what she was talking about. We made no promises to one another, however we did typically have a standing ‘date’ night every week. For the past several weeks, we hadn’t seen each other and I hadn’t been with anyone other than the blonde for more than a month.

              “Nothin’s goin’ on. Just workin’. What’s goin’ on with you?”

              “Well, you’ve cancelled our date night for the past month. You haven’t called or anything.” She seemed almost sad. I hoped she wasn’t expecting more from this situation suddenly, I’d hate to lose her over misunderstandings and miscommunications.

              “I’ve just been busy, and so have you. What are you actually wantin’ to know?” I narrowed my eyes and tried to read her facial expression. I needed to know now if she was looking for more than our friends-with-benefits arrangement.

              She slid her manicured fingers across my bare stomach and down toward the waistband of my shorts. My body loved her hands on me. My muscles jumped and hummed with each slide of her hand, my skin came alive at her touch, but my head just wasn’t into it. I considered what I needed to get accomplished at the gym this week. I reflected on what, or more specifically who, made me flee to Viva Lounge and drove me to drink too much and sleep with the blonde.

              As if she could read my mind, Monique stopped her movements. She pressed her hand into my chest, leaned up, and looked me dead in the eye. “Look, don’t get your panties in a twist, Jake. I ain’t lookin’ for more than hangin’ out, but we’re friends and I’ve barely talked to you lately. I don’t care about anything else, but I’d like to know if there’s a problem.”

              Pulling my arm from between us, I wrapped it around her, hugging her tight.  “There ain’t a problem, Monique. I’ve just been feelin’ disconnected lately. You know I love you. I haven’t called because I haven’t been myself. I wouldn’t use you that way, you know that, right?”

              She nodded, looked up, and gave me a small smile. Then her expression changed, as if she just figured something out. “It’s Mia, ain’t it?” she asked, shocking me.

              “What? No. It has nothin’ to do with Mia.”

              “Bull-shit. You’re different since she moved here. You’re distracted. If she’s who you want, I’m happy for you.”

              Monique was one of the kindest women I’d ever met. When she said she wanted me to be happy, she meant it. She didn’t care with whom I found happiness, she just wanted her friends to have everything they ever wanted. Hence the storefront brochures currently sitting on my coffee table.

              “You don’t have to worry about me,” I said with a smile. “You and Toni are the only women I want in my life.”

              “I wish you’d let someone else in,” Monique said, a serious expression on her pretty face. “I love spendin’ time with you, but you need somethin’ real in your life. I want you to be happy.”

              “I’m happy, Moni. I am. But thanks.” I paused then smiled, the serious conversation needed to stop. “Wanna show me these pamphlets?”

              Monique stayed for a while longer. We talked about the different brochures she brought, and discussed the pros and cons for each. Once it was all said and done, we had a plan and made a date to take a look at a couple of them. I knew it was just a pipe dream, but if it made her feel better to help me, then I’d let her.

              When it was time to go, I walked her out to her car. The cold, November breeze blew through the trees around my property, kicking up the multicolored leaves.

              I opened her car door and held it open as she walked around me. Reaching up, she kissed my cheek and smiled.

              “What’s that for?” I asked.

              “You’re a good guy, Jake Hanson.”

              I pulled her in for a hug before she climbed into her car. She rolled down her window and smiled, “I’ll see you next week.”

              “Yeah. Text me when you get home.”

              “I’m a big girl, Jake.”

              I leaned down and looked into her dark brown eyes. “People are assholes, Monique. Text me.”

              “I will,” she said before putting the car in gear and pulling away. Her taillights disappear down my long, dark driveway.

              I stood there in the chilled October evening and looked up, staring at the clear night sky. The timing between Mia returning and the cancelling of my weekly dates with Monique seemed to coincide. I just wasn’t about to admit it to anyone else.

***

“Okay,” Monique said, hesitantly. “I saved my favorite for last. Just make a right here and pull over by the curb.”

              Following her directions, I maneuvered my Jeep to the curb. I was exhausted. We’d been driving around Mooresville most of the day looking at buildings she thought I’d like. Monique had tried to make it fun and exciting, but I was stressing the hell out. Someday I wanted to have my own restaurant, but I was convinced it wasn’t a good time. We had so much going on at the gym; Cade was almost finished with school, the training area for pit crews was coming together, and our client list just kept growing. Every success was partnered with additional tension.

              “If not now, then when?” Monique questioned after my little rant on our way to the last site.

              “I don’t know,” I grumbled. “It’s hard to even think about this when I need to get my shit together for the gym. I have my clients, Cade’s clients, and more comin’ in every goddamned day.”

              “Why don’t you hire some help?” she questioned. Seemed like a reasonable solution, but asking for help would be like admitting I couldn’t handle it, which was totally unacceptable.

              “It’s not so easy, Monique.”

              She sighed. “Yeah, it is. You just don’t wanna do it. Your big ass male ego won’t let you ask for help. It’s time for you to seriously think about this.” She paused for a moment. “Just look, okay? Look at the building and tell me this one isn’t perfect.” She challenged. 

              Looking around, we were in an older part of town where most of the buildings were considered historic landmarks. I loved this end of town, there were a lot of stories and history connected to the buildings.

              We stopped in front of a large, stone building with a huge storefront window. The windows were frosted over, making it impossible to see inside. The outside was a combination of flat stone and brick. It was at the end of one contiguous building housing at least two other businesses. To the side of the building was a patio area, perfect for bistro seating and outdoor dining.

              Monique pulled a set of keys from her pocket and unlocked the main door. When I stepped through the door I stopped in my tracks. The inside was flawless. Spacious, with hardwood floors and dark woodwork all around. A bar sat at one end of the elongated space in front of a door that probably housed the kitchen. The space was perfect.

              “So basically, this business has been run by the same family for about seventy years. The most recent owner died and he didn’t have any immediate next of kin. So far, no one in his extended family wants to take on the business. Instead they’re looking to put it on the market. Everything will be included in the sale if they follow through; furniture, appliances, everything. The entire buildin’, inside and out, was renovated about four years ago, and heatin’ and air conditionin’ were recently upgraded.”

              “What are they thinkin’ about askin’ for it? It’s not gonna be cheap, especially since it’s fully furnished.”

              “Jake, they’ve agreed on a great price, far under current market value.”

              I stared around the room, roaming around the wooden tables and high-back cushioned chairs. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was the perfect space and the price was too good to be true. I wandered into the kitchen and stopped, stunned. All the appliances were stainless steel and completely immaculate. They looked as though they had yet to see a dinner rush of any sort.

              “Jake, this place is perfect for you.” Monique took my hand and turned me to look at her. “You deserve this. The moment I put this on the market officially, it’ll be gone. The price is too good to pass up.”

              “I don’t know, Monique. This is huge.”

              “I know a lot is goin’ on, but here’s what’s happenin’ with this business right now. The owner died about a week ago. The person who is in charge of his estate contacted me and told me no one wanted it. We still have to wait for the will to be read and for the lawyer to determine if the business and everything inside can go up for sale. I’ve been informed this process can take months, especially if anyone contests the will. It’s not a done deal, but if everything goes smoothly it could be yours.             

              “Look, talk to Cade. Talk to Toni, your parents, whoever. You deserve to be happy just as much as they do.”

              I considered her words and knew she was right. It was hard watching my brother and Toni follow their dreams. Cade wanted to become a physical therapist, so he did it. He went out, busted his ass, and was almost there. Toni wanted to work for NASCAR, and she did. She worked for one of the best drivers in racing and managed to let him steal her heart in the process. Hell, even Mia followed her dreams and was a teacher, just like she always wanted to be.

              I tried to convince myself that I was happy with the gym, but the more I took on, the more miserable I became. Maybe it was time to make a change. Maybe this place could be exactly what I needed.

              “Keep me posted,” I said. “I’ll talk to my family.”

              Squealing, Monique jumped and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I knew you’d fall in love with this place,” she exclaimed. “I’m so excited! Let’s go to Viva Lounge and celebrate!”

              Now I just had to get the nerve to talk to my family.