Chapter 52: Chapter 17: I Want Her and Only Her.

Mason

The Mercer deal was falling through just like I knew it would, which meant that I was left to pick up the pieces.

~This is the type of shit that happens when I leave someone else in charge of the business. They fuck it up! If I have to take a flight to fucking Chicago, I’ll make sure Eoin is coming too.~

My father didn’t show Eoin the ropes when it came to business, at least not well enough in my book. I’ll show him what it takes to run this company—to run ~my~ company.

I knocked on his door and waited impatiently. It was early on a Saturday morning, a day off for us both, but if I had to drag him out of his bed, I would.

The door opened, and he looked surprised to see me. “Mason. What’s up?”

“The Mercer deal is falling through.”

He opened the door wider, and I walked into his apartment.

“I can’t believe this. Everything was fine after the meeting.” Eoin walked across the room behind me and started to clear up the beer bottles on the living room coffee table.

“Well, it’s not fine now.” I sighed. “We need to get to Chicago to fix this.”

I was looking around his apartment when I noticed a pair of women’s high heels on the floor by the sofa. Obviously, I’d interrupted something.

~I wonder who he was with?~ He’d never been one to talk about his sex life.

“Both of us. Okay. When do we leave?” he asked.

I looked down at my designer watch. “Fifty-six minutes. So, if I were you, I’d get a move on. I’ll come back and pick you up in thirty.”

“All right, I guess I better go pack.”

I left Eoin’s apartment and was walking toward the elevator when my phone rang. It was Brent’s name on the screen.

~I wonder what he wants now?~

“Mason, you’re coming out tonight, right? It’s opening night at that new bar. I think it’s called the Fox!”

“I can’t tonight. Eoin and I have to take a flight to Chicago for business in less than an hour.” I looked down at my watch again. He’d better hurry, and so should I.

“Chicago…” He paused. “How about we make this a guys’ trip? You two do business, and we can drink afterward.

“We can stay the weekend and make it a pre-bachelor party before my actual bachelor party.”

He was convincing. I dreaded the work trip, and I’m sure Eoin did too, now that I was making him go. Brent wanted to tag along. I guess as long as he doesn’t get in the way of my work, then why not?

“Come on, man. What do you think? Honestly, I could do with some space. All this wedding crap is driving me insane. Carmen is being a diva, and I…”

He trailed on. I stopped listening once I saw her walk down the hallways toward the elevator. I wondered if my eyes were deceiving me.

What the fuck was Jamie doing walking out of Eoin’s apartment?

“Pack for the weekend. I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes.” I hung up the phone before he could even reply.

Jamie locked eyes with me, and she had that embarrassed look on her face, knowing she had been caught. Caught doing what though? What the hell were those two doing together?

“Jamie. Surprised to see you here. What the fuck is going on?” I was trying not to be a prick, but that side of me came out anyway. The jealous side.

“I can explain.”

“Explain it in my car. I’m parked downstairs.” I pressed the button for the elevator, all the while trying to remain calm.

~She’s not going to talk to me if I’m aggressive.~

We were sitting on opposite sides of the car, neither of us saying a word. I was trying to find the words—the right words—to ask her what the hell was going on.

“So, I can explain…”

“Please do,” I replied. “Explain to me why you were leaving Eoin’s apartment dressed in what I assume are last night’s clothes.”

“I was out last night with Jack and his friends, and Jack got drunk, so I put him in a cab to go home.

“Eoin was passing by when he saw me, so he offered me a ride home. We had a drink, and I fell asleep on his sofa.”

“You fell asleep.” I sighed and turned from looking out the window. “You were in my cousin’s apartment late at night drinking, and you accidentally fell asleep. That’s believable, Jamie.”

“Are you jealous right now?”

“Of course, I’m fucking jealous.” I glared at her.

“Did you sleep with him? And I want the truth.”

“Of course I didn’t sleep with him. I fell asleep like I told you already. I can’t believe you would even ask me that. Ask Eoin if you don’t believe me.”

“I plan to.” I looked out my window, and she looked out hers. There was tension in the air between us. Sexual tension too. There’d been a lot of that.

“Can I take you home?” I asked. I didn’t have time to have this conversation with her ten times over.

“Please.”

She remained silent the entire drive home. Jamie had gotten better at giving me the silent treatment. I sometimes wondered if she liked me jealous and angry.

I pulled up into her driveway, and we both sat in silence, a silence that I had enough of. “So, you’re still seeing that guy? The doctor?”

“Yes.” She paused. “He’s good for me, Mason.”

I clicked my tongue off the roof of my mouth. “That guy is not good for you. Stop fooling yourself. You’re only with him because you still don’t trust me.”

“I don’t trust you. I can’t trust you. The last time I was stupid enough to do that, you left me.” She turned her head. “You left me after I told you I loved you.”

Loved. Past tense because it was in the past, and she couldn’t allow herself to love me again.

“I could tell you I’m sorry until I’m blue in the face, but at the end of the day, you’ll still be stubborn. Stubbornness is what’s keeping us apart.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Mason. I need time. I can’t rush into this with you.”

“We’ve wasted enough time.” I sighed at the very thought of the time we’d wasted, the years we’d been apart. I’m not a very patient man, especially when it comes to her.

“I have a flight to Chicago in thirty minutes. Let’s talk about this when I get back.”

“How long will you be gone?” she asked.

“Two days, maybe three. I’ll let you know.”

I sat in my seat, looking straight ahead. I knew how I was being with her now, avoiding looking at her because this didn’t play out the way I wanted it to.

~Nothing ever does! I want her. Only her! I’m willing to wait, of course, but it’s not fucking easy. I’m in this situation because I fucked up, and this is just the price I pay.~

We were on the private plane to Chicago, up in the air for about an hour or so.

Although it was still early in the day, we were enjoying ourselves with some drinks. Brent was enjoying his flirt with the air hostess more than anything else.

Obviously, Brent wasn’t a man who was capable of staying faithful, not now or when he was married to Carmen. But it had nothing to do with me.

I could never see myself taking that step. It’s a huge deal being married to someone. I didn’t know if that would ever be me.

Brent stood up from his seat. “I’ll be back in a few. I just need to use the restroom.”

He wasn’t going to the restroom alone, and we knew it. A couple of years back, that was me. I was the one sleeping with women during a flight. Screwing around with women left, right, and center.

It wasn’t me anymore.

I poured rum into my glass again and passed the bottle Eoin’s way.

“No more for me. I don’t want to show up to see Mr. Mercer when I’m pissed drunk.”

“You can’t handle your drinks like I can.”

“Well, we both know I’ve never been that big on drinking, at least not the hard stuff like you. It comes with the job, I guess.” His phone lit up, and he picked it up and started tapping away.

“Someone important?” I asked.

“No one. Just a notification.” Eoin slipped his phone back into his pocket. “So we should probably rest before we touch down soon.”

“No, I’m good.” I drank from my glass. “So I know Jamie slept in your apartment last night. I caught her leaving earlier after I did.”

“Yeah… um, she did. I know I should’ve told you. It’s just a little awkward. Jamie fell asleep on my couch after a few drinks. I’m sure she’s told you everything.”

“I didn’t give her much choice.” I released a steady exhalation. “I can’t believe she’s still seeing that guy. Fucking Doctor Jack! What the fuck does she see in him?”

“Honestly, I think she feels safe with him. Jack didn’t break her heart like you did, even though it wasn’t what you intended.

“I think Jamie understands that deep down, but it doesn’t make it any less painful.”

“She told me that she didn’t trust me. Maybe she never will.” I filled up my glass again. “I can’t give up on her. I won’t!”

“I know you might not want to hear this, but you need to give her some space. You pushing her to trust you again isn’t going to make the situation any better. Give her time.”

Again with time. Eoin and Jamie had probably talked about our situation all night long. ~It seems to me like she’d rather have a conversation with everyone but me these days.~

I just wanted to put it all behind us and move on…together!

“I think I’ll have that lie down after all.” I stood from my chair and walked toward the back of the plane. I didn’t want to have this conversation with him—or anyone for that matter.

The door to the bathroom was ajar, and I noticed Brent balls deep into the air hostess. I shook my head at the sight of it.

It wasn’t any of my business who he was fucking, but it was obvious that man would never be a faithful one.

I walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind me. I was planning on doing some work, but at this point, I was too fucked up to care.

Instead, I lay down on the bed and slipped my hand into my trousers. I touched myself while I thought of her, her luscious lips that I remember moving up and down my cock all those years ago.

Her perky tits were just the right size and shape. I remember moving my hands down her curves as she lay on the bed in front of me.

Licking between her breasts caused me so much pleasure that she didn’t understand. She had no idea how much she turned me on just by the very sight of her.

I pulled harder on my cock, remembering those times I bent her over and came at her from behind. The way her breasts moved in rhythm with my thrusts, the way they pressed up against the shower door.

Her moans of pure ecstasy, her groaning my name over and over.

She used to tell me that she had never been with anyone like me before, but she never knew that I had never been with anyone like her before either.