Twisted Tides (Forged Hearts #2)

Chapter Seven

JAMESON

“Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye

I went home feeling worse than when I left for the club. My spirits were lifted at the prospect of a good night to get my mind off things with Emma and Eduardo. I guess I achieved that because I had a good time and my mind is no longer fixated on my previous dilemma.

Except now it’s onto something—or rather someone—else.

I realize the girl I want to see again is gone, and I may never see her again. She’s fucked-up, and I’m just as fucked because I didn’t want to let her go, but she makes that choice for me. She wouldn’t even let me really touch her, and I wonder if there’s a specific reason why she doesn’t allow comfort or touch from her partner. Except that I am not her partner. I am nothing to her.

That’s precisely what I felt after we left the room. I asked Eve if she wanted to go to the bar. She looked at me and said she needed to go to the bathroom. I knew from the look in her eye that she wasn’t coming back, but still, I nodded and went to the bar to order myself a drink and a bourbon for her, hoping I was wrong.

Fifteen minutes passed, and I sat, staring in the direction she’d left in. Just as she rounded the corner, I stood there watching her. She paused, looking back, and smiled at me. It was a smile that said good to have known you. Maybe even held some regret.

Still, I waited. I finished her drink and left an hour later without knowing who that girl was or if I would ever see her again. It’s unbelievable how, just a few hours ago, I was upset that Emma was with Eduardo. Although I didn’t feel the connection I had with Eve, that raw chemistry I thought only existed in movies, I still felt this longing to protect Emma. I cared for her in a way that I can’t explain. I was drawn to her, but I felt nothing that night at the beach on Padre Island during spring break when we kissed.

The kiss I had with Eve was brutal in every aspect it could be. The punishing ease with which she kissed me and took what she wanted from me was unapologetically damning to my psyche. She owned me. The brutal way she sucked my cock was the best head I have ever received, and the way she licked me all over and pulled my balls while doing it, placing each one in her mouth and kissing the area in between made me see stars.

I rub my aching cock as I remember how good it felt. How good she felt. The worst was the way she brutally dismissed me after. I thought she might change her mind when she turned around, hoping and praying to a god that wouldn’t deliver. I was wrong.

I finally fall into a restless sleep, dreaming of being pulled beneath the water and carried under by punishing emerald-colored twisting tides.

Waking up to my alarm going off the following day, I hit the snooze button several times before finally rolling out of bed. I flip the light on in the bathroom almost on auto-pilot with my mundane morning routine. I turn the water on to shower, I brush my teeth at the sink as the steam lingers in the small space. I rub the condensation off the mirror and drop my toothbrush into the sink.

“What the fuck,” I mumble through a mouth full of toothpaste. I move my head from side to side and see the bite marks on my neck and shoulders as I turn left and right to get a better visual of the damage that little vixen inflicted.

I hang my head back, staring at the ceiling as celestial visions of the night pass in a flurry of moving pictures. Snapshots flick through of her riding my face while I remained restrained, the way she went down on me, and the way she left me there as if it was just another night at the sex club.

I guess that’s all it was to her, and I need to put it out of my mind, move on, and start dating—no more random hookups.

I see how happy my buddy Dax is with his woman Liv, and I want the same. He wouldn’t have dared turn down a boy’s night out, but now that he is in a committed relationship, he won’t even chance it. He almost lost Liv but was given a second chance. If I ever get a second chance with Eve, I won’t hesitate to hold on and fight for it tooth and nail.

Arriving at work, I try to concentrate on my tasks with a renewed purpose. The day passes surprisingly fast, and by the time I know it, it’s lunchtime—my favorite part of the day because it means my work day is half over. Now, what the fuck do I eat for lunch?

My finger rests on my forehead as I scroll through my phone in search of some nourishment. Just as I decide to grab a sandwich for lunch, Eric pops his head in my office.

“Hey. I was in the area and thought maybe you’d like to grab some lunch with me?”

I laugh. “Sure. I was just scrolling through for some delivery, but I’ll go with you. What were you thinking?” I try to sway his choice to what I wanted to eat before he got here. “Maybe a smoked meats sandwich or something like that?”

He snaps his fingers. “Oh, yeah. How about Schwartz’s deli?”

I pretend to think about it, but hell yeah that’s exactly where I wanted to go. “I could go for that.” I downplay my excitement before grabbing my wallet and following Eric out of the office.

We grab lunch from my favorite deli that boasts the best Montréal smoked meats sandwiches, but instead of sitting at my desk, I am sitting with my friend. I was scrolling through social media and pulling up my newly downloaded dating app.

Eric takes a huge bite of his sandwich. “What are you doing?” he asks through a mouthful of food.

“Here goes nothing.” I upload a picture that Eric took of me at the beach on spring break last year.

I take a bite of my sandwich and watch as the picture uploads to my profile. I toss my phone toward him and he takes a look.

He whistles. “Nice, man. It’s about time.”

I nod in agreement. “It is.” I retrieve my phone, hitting the silence button, pocketing it before we head back to the office.

The day has finally come to an end, time to clock out for the day. As I shut my computer down for the night. I am looking around for my phone, remembering that I had silenced it and threw it in the drawer so I wouldn’t get distracted. Reaching into the drawer to grab it so I can head out for the night, I see I have a message from the guys in our group text, so I click on it as I head for the elevators.

Eric and Theo

Hey! Meet us at the usual spot. Happy hour.

“Perfect,” I say aloud. I quickly type out a response.

Jameson

Sure. I’ll be there soon.

I pack up my shit and head out with a purpose. I’m not going to fixate on something I can’t have. I will have some drinks with my friends and get out of this funk I’ve been in. I repeat this mantra all the way to our favorite sports bar, which is already packed.

I look around for where Theo and Eric usually sit and immediately spot them. Theo is waving his hand for me to come over, and I sidestep several people to get there. I immediately spot Simone, the waitress infatuated with Dax, and duck out of her line of sight.

The guys stand from their seats and give me a clasp-side hug as we sit, and I flag down the waitress for a beer, pointing at what they are having. She nods and goes back to the bar.

“Where’s Dax?” I ask the guys, looking around as if he will magically appear. They laugh, and Theo rolls his eyes.

“Pfft. We texted him, too, but he’s not coming out.”

I look at him, confused. “Late night at work in the OR?” I glance around, seeing the waitress taking another order.

“Nope,” Theo replies coolly. “He has plans with Liv.”

Eric laughs into his beer. “I can’t say I blame him. If I had a woman that hot, I’d stay home, too.”

I nod in agreement. “And then there were three, huh.”

“Yep,” Eric says. “Just wait. I’m going to find myself one of those book girls.” He says this as if he knows something we don’t.

“Huh?” Theo looks at him quizzically. “Book girls?”

“You know, one of those women who reads smutty books,” Eric attempts to clarify. “I’ve always been drawn to the sexy librarian vibe.”

Before I can comment, the waitress approaches our table with my beer, ending any further questioning about book girls. As I take a long swig, something catches my eye, and I cough on my beer.

“Hey, woah,” Eric states. “Are you alright there, Jameson?”

I shake my head and hit my chest, trying to say I am okay, but I aspirated a bunch of hazy IPA, so it’s a garbled mess. Finally, I sputter, “Yep, just went down the wrong pipe, that's all.”

Theo smacks me on the back.

I look around to find her, but she isn’t there. Great, now I am seeing Eve when she is, in fact, not here. I only saw her with a mask on, but those eyes were so vibrant, I’d know her anywhere if I looked into them. Wouldn’t I? I have got to get it together. I rub a hand down my face and stand.

The guys look up at me.

“Bro, are you leaving?” Theo asks.

“Naw, I’m just heading to the bathroom.” I tap the chair and walk off, avoiding the gaze of a group of hospital employees letting loose after work hours a few tables over.

I am almost to the bathroom door when I feel someone staring at me. I look around just as someone grabs my hand. I stop in my tracks and turn to see big brown eyes searching mine.

“Amanda?” I ask. She fucking beams at me, and I just want to crawl away.

“Hey, you remembered.” She twirls her hair around her finger, and I smile back.

“Yeah, of course. How are you?” I’m being polite, but I don’t give a fuck about her. We had sex a while back. Although it wasn’t very memorable, but the mess she left all over my sheets was. She also threw up in my bathroom afterward, claiming lactose intolerance. No one told her to drink sours. That’s her punishment. We weren’t drunk, but we both had a few drinks that night, and I took care of her and drove her home the following day after stopping for a breakfast burrito. This time without cheese. She was so apologetic, and I felt terrible for her then. Now, I just want to get back to my friends and our table, have a few beers before walking out the door, and going home.

“Who are you with?” she asks, looking around.

“Oh, just Theo and Eric. We were leaving soon.” I try to get away, but she steps closer, hugging me and pressing her big tits into my chest.

She lifts herself onto her tiptoes and kisses me on the cheek very close to my mouth. “Maybe we can go out sometime if you want? I was just about to leave myself.” She looks at me hopefully, and I hate to be rude to her.

I decide for a bit of honesty. “Um. Sorry, but I kind of met someone.” I scratch my head and look over to the bathrooms.

“Oh, yeah, sure.” She withdraws from me as if my fake girlfriend will suddenly appear.

“No problem. It was nice seeing you again.”

She looks embarrassed. I want to tell her not to worry about it, but I also don’t want to lead her on any further, so I just step backward, ready to leave. I smile at her. “Same. Take care.”

This time, I make a beeline for the bathroom, and afterward, promptly head back to the table to hang out with my friends.

We try to play some trivia, but soon, they decide to head out, and I am pretty tired after the night before. We ask for the check, and the waitress returns, saying it’s all set.

“What do you mean?” I look at the guys, and they seem as surprised as I am. “Well, who do we have to thank?” I look around and don’t see anyone that is looking our way.

The waitress chuckles. “She didn’t say. She just said to cover the drinks, dropped some cash, and left about a minute ago.”

The guys are already heading to the door, but I can’t shake the feeling I had of being watched all night, and I have to know.

I stop the waitress as she begins to walk away with our glasses and tug her arm momentarily. “Sorry to bother you, but can I ask what she looked like?”

She shrugs and says, “Short, but wearing high-heeled boots, blonde hair, nothing uncommon except for her eyes. They were bright green.” She walks off, and I’m stuck there open-mouthed.

I hear my name called and look around, but I know the waitress said she left. What are the chances she was here? Does she live around here, too?

Theo calls out, “Hey, we’re out of here. Catch you later, bro.”

I nod and walk toward the entrance as he walks out the door. Eric is probably already home. When that guy says he’s out, he doesn’t hesitate. As I walk to my car, the feeling of being watched intensifies. I can’t shake the feeling that I’m not alone. I’m being ridiculous, but God, I just wish I could see her again.

I open the door, throw my keys on the counter, and head to the bathroom, forcing myself to shower even though all I want to do is crash. I’m physically and emotionally drained after meeting this woman. A total mindfuck.

I pull back the crisp sheets of my bed and dive in. I set my alarm and notice there is a message on my dating app. I click on the message and immediately sit up. The picture is of a girl with short blonde hair slicked back. She’s facing away from the camera. She looks like an emo girl with all-black clothes and black combat boots. Even though she is facing away from the camera, I recognize her body. A body I had the privilege of getting acquainted with most intimately. Without a doubt, I know that if she turned around in that picture, her eyes would be mesmerizingly green.

“Fuck.” I take a deep breath and open the message.