“It’s Jenna,” he says, looking over at me. “You want to get it? What do you think Chris would say to her? Since he’s your new soulmate and all,” he says sarcastically. I can’t believe he’s really jealous.
When I make no move to answer the phone, he swipes it from the counter and answers with a curt, “What’s up, Jenna?”
“No, it’s not Chris. It’s Cal. I was going to be calling you soon anyway. Just thought you should know Chris fucked Lauren last night,” he says matter-of-factly.
“Really, Cal?!” I shout at him. I can’t believe he just said that! Well actually I can believe it, but oh my God!
“Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. The pussy grew a dick—a scientific anomaly.” He winks at me.
“Hang up the phone,” I say tightly, walking over to him. He backs away from me.
“I didn’t have anything to do with it. It was all him, trust me,” he continues, dodging my attempt to snatch the phone away from him. “If it makes you feel any better. I plan on fucking him right out of her memory,” he says with a wink.
“You are such an asshole!” I shout at him. Jenna’s not one of my favorite people. She’s actually my least favorite person but she deserves to hear about Chris's absence a helluva lot better than that.
“I’m the asshole?” he laughs boisterously.
“I’m not the one who screwed her fiancé,” he chuckles.
“Do you hear yourself?” I say angrily. “You’re mad at me because I slept with you? I let you touch me, your hands, and your lips. You don’t trust me because of that?” I laugh hysterically and his face hardens.
“I don’t trust you because you turned on me!”
“Turned on you?” I ask in disbelief.
“You weren’t supposed to give up on us, remember?” he says bitterly. “You told me you’d never look at me like I was the villain,” he continues, walking towards me.
“I’ve never looked at you like that!”
“How do you think you’re looking at me right now?”
The quietness is eerie. For a second, I see vulnerability in his eyes. This man hides behind his arrogance, his cockiness, and hard façade. I have to remind myself this unbreakable man I’ve come to think of as Cal, isn’t right. He has a mental illness. He is broken, more broken than I’ve ever been and it’s entirely possible that he, in fact, sees what I did as a legitimate act of betrayal. I let out a sigh and lean on counter nearby.
“Are we going to be able to get past this? Are you going to hate me forever and never trust me again? Is this it for us?” I ask him sincerely.
He looks away from me. “I’m going to go get some groceries. Maybe you can make use of some of those cooking lessons you’ve been taking,” he says before walking out the door. How much does he remember? Is it everything? How does he know all and Chris knows nothing except what Cal wants him to?
Chapter 5
April 30, 2008
I don’t go on dates.
I haven’t had to since I’ve been here. I like to have fun. I like things to be easy and I usually like my girls the same way—easy. I can see through most girls, but this ones different. I’m not sure if I like it or not but I guess I do because I’m here with her. It’s the first time I’ve been around a girl that doesn’t look like she dressed up for me—that she tried at least. She’s still gorgeous; I don’t think she wouldn’t be if she tried. I haven’t been around a girl in a long time who didn’t have on a skirt that barely covered her ass, with tits on high alert. Even dressed how she is, she’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. In the club, she looked different. There, she was playing dress up. This, I think, is the girl behind the mask. Or maybe I’m wrong. I’m pretty good at reading people but I read her wrong when I first saw her.
Something about her scares me. She seems innocent, breakable, and that terrifies the fuck out of me. I’m used to dealing with girls that have already been fucked up so it’s not on me. I hope I’m not fucking myself in this. I’m just going to make up for throwing her into the disaster I put her smack in the middle of. That’s it. She’ll feel better, I’ll feel better, and we can both move on. If only she didn’t look at me with those wide hazel eyes and that innocent smile. Fuck, I hope she’s not a virgin. Nah, she can’t be. I couldn’t see that douchebag she was with waiting on a virgin.
“Where are we going, Cal,” she asks nervously as we make our way to the bridge. I try to cover the wide smile growing on my face. Getting her on the back of my bike was difficult. When I tell her what we’re doing here, she might freak the hell out. I stop and turn to face her and take her hands. Her eyes widen and I ignore how my heart speeds up. She lets out a little sigh. I force my eyes away from her lips.They’re perfect and begging me to kiss them.
“How open-minded are you?” I ask her, closing the distance between us.
She looks at me skeptically. “You’re not taking me to a giant wilderness orgy are you?” she jokes. Huh, she’s funny.
“The next best thing,” I say with a laugh and she bites her thumb. I hope she stops doing stuff like that. It’s so damn sexy and I’m not going to sleep with her.
Fuck, I am going to sleep with her.
“We’re going bungee-jumping,” I tell her reluctantly and her eyes widen.
“What?!” she says, snatching her hands from me. “No. No, I can’t.” She shakes her head,..
“Yes, you can,” I say, taking her hand again.
“Are you one of those people—uh, what do you call them?—adrenaline junkies?” She starts to laugh, holding her head in her hand.
“Something like that but it’s not bad. After you do it, you’ll feel like a different person,” I promise her.
She looks at me skeptically then past me. “This, this doesn’t look like an authorized site. Are we supposed to be doing this here?” she says nervously.
“Okay, so it’s not exactly authorized, but Jake here, is the man. I’ve jumped with him a dozen times. You won’t die. I promise you,” I say, trying to contain my laugh at the horrified look on her face. She lets out a deep sigh, and turns away from me.
She’ not going to do it. Maybe bungee-jumping was a little too much but dinner and a movie? That’s boring as hell.
I walk closer to her and I hear her breath hitch. It’s a turn on like nothing else. “Afraid of trying something new?” I ask her as her eyes find mine and she looks into them like she’s trying to see what’s behind them. It’s unnerving and a thrilling rush all at once.
“Okay, let’s do it,” she says, walking past me towards Jake.
“Really?” I ask, surprised.
“I didn’t ride an hour on the back of that death machine to sit and watch you have all the fun,” she says, nudging me.
There’s more to this girl than I thought.
“Only thing is, I get to go first,” she says nervously.
“You’re kind of a boss aren’t you, Lauren?”