“I thought you said you didn’t call me,” he shot back as he stood.
Discreetly, I checked his surroundings while he was distracted, wondering if it was his bed he was rising from and if he’d slept alone.
“Nothing to say?” he asked as he entered another room. I could see him much better once he flicked on a light. I saw a shower in the background and realized too late that he was in the bathroom. Jamie’s eyes were closed so he couldn’t see my reaction as he relieved himself.
When he was done, he shook himself, flushed the toilet, and propped the phone before washing his hands.
“Are you going to say something?” he asked as he splashed water on his face. He looked hungover, which meant he’d definitely been partying last night. Envy speared through me as I wondered what it would be like to have that freedom.
“Would there be a point?”
“Not if more lies come spilling out of that pretty mouth.”
A flush crept up my skin, warming my neck and cheeks, but luckily, Jamie was to occupied drying his face to see. By the time he’d tossed the towel away, I’d returned to normal. Mostly.
His gaze fell on the phone, and he licked his lips before looking away and grabbing something off camera. A few seconds later, I watched him lather his lower face with shaving cream.
“You know, you could save time and just pluck those baby hairs,” I teased, forgetting myself and what we’d become.
He paused, and I didn’t miss the surprise in Jamie’s eyes or the way his lips twitched. “Is that what you did to your mustache this morning? You missed a spot.”
My jaw fell before I covered my mouth, glaring at him over my hands. He didn’t miss a beat as he lifted the razor and started shaving away the shadow covering his jaw and chin. I was mesmerized more than I should have been watching him go through his morning routine. It felt intimate, and I couldn’t help wishing I could be there with him doing the honor.
Suddenly, I was thankful he was preoccupied. I was afraid of what he would see if he looked at me at that moment. It would only take a glance for Jamie to know everything I was feeling.
Of course, he had to go and ruin the moment.
“So spit it out,” he demanded when he finished shaving and tossed the razor aside. “Thank me for the dress.”
“I didn’t call to thank you. I called to tell you that I’ll be returning it to you… in ashes.”
I wanted to punch the screen when he smirked. And then he spoke, choosing each word with care. “No, you won’t, Bette.”
This should be good. “And why not?”
“Because I’ll tell your father that your fiancé is cheating on you with his stepsister.”
It was all I could do not to shoot up from the bed. I had to settle for gripping my sheets instead and being grateful that he couldn’t see. “He won’t believe you.”
Perking an eyebrow, he held my gaze. “Even if I have proof?”
I didn’t even want to think about what kind of proof he had. Or how he got it in the first place. “Why would you do something like that? Ever would be pissed.”
“Ever is in love with Four, and he’s just dying for the world to know it.” Finally, he looked at his phone screen, and our gazes locked. “I’m curious, though, why you aren’t upset. I just told you the guy you’re going to marry is in love with someone else.”
“That’s your opinion.”
“It’s a fact, but I’ll play. Even if he isn’t in love with her, he’s fucking her, and that’s not just speculation. I’ve heard them. Caught them in the act a couple of times, too. Of course, they don’t know about the second time.” He winked before his luscious lips spread, and I almost returned his grin. Realizing I was supposed to play the part of a scorned fiancée, I looked away, feigning anger and denial. “I can tell you what position they did it in if you like.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“It was doggy style,” he blurted anyway because he was Jameson freaking Buchanan. He wiped the last of the lather away with a hand towel before gazing down at the screen again. “So, how do you want to do this?”
“Do… what?”
“Get him back for cheating on you. Get even.”
“Let me guess… I should sleep with you?” He blinked a few times before shaking his head as if recovering from a blow. “Something wrong?”
“It’s déjà-fucking-vu. Why does everyone assume my answer to everything is sex?”
“I don’t know,” I said while gazing at my nails so that he couldn’t see what the truth did to me. “Maybe because you’ve slept with half the town?”
He didn’t blink. “That’s on you.”
I stared at him in disbelief before finally finding my voice. “You’re blaming me? You’re actually blaming me for you being a whore?”
“Yeah, and I’ll fuck every girl in this goddamn town, including the ugly ones, if it will get your attention.”
“Jamie… you can’t—that’s ridiculous.” I was breathless when I should have been anything but flattered. I wasn’t… not really, but what was I supposed to say to that?
Jamie shrugged as he poked at a pimple on his chin, and I believed him. He really didn’t give a damn.
“Stop that,” I snapped, earning his frown.
“No can do, kitten. I’ve got needs, too.”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “I mean the pimple. Stop messing with it, or it will scar.”
“I’m already scarred, Bee, and the ones you left behind are never going away.” He held my gaze as he popped the pimple, and I cringed. I watched as he brushed his teeth, and even after he was done, neither of us spoke. I had a feeling we were both afraid because we always seemed to end up at each other’s throats when we talked. The silence wasn’t awkward, however. I was content to chew on my bottom lip as I watched him move around his room. Eventually, he picked up a hardwood guitar, sat down at his desk, propped the phone up, and began lazily strumming the guitar. I wondered if Jamie’s father ever got the chance to finish teaching him before he died. Jameson definitely knew a thing or two but he was no Jimi Hendrix.
“You still write?” he casually asked after the silence had stretched too long. I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach.
“Write?”
“I didn’t take you for a parrot,” he said as he shoved a cigarette between his pretty lips. “You know what the fuck I mean.”
I rolled my eyes when he started to light up. “Do you really need to do that now?” I hated that he smoked. “You just woke up.”
“Usually, I beat my dick, but I was trying to be considerate, virgin.”
“You don’t know that I’m a virgin,” I shot back and immediately realized the epic mistake I made when he scoffed and looked away, nostrils flaring. He stopped playing and set the guitar down. I already missed the sound.
“Right.”
“I didn’t mean—We haven’t—”
“I don’t give a fuck who breaks you in as long as I get a turn,” he spat.
So many emotions, none of them good, roiled in my gut until I felt physically sick. “I have to go,” I rushed to say before I hung up. I barely made it to the bathroom before I hurled up my guts. I was surprised at the force of my reaction. Jamie had been crude before, but he’d never been quite so callous.