Chapter 60: Chapter 25: Control

Jamie

Jack!

Why was he here? He was at this bar at the same time as I was. Surely it wasn’t a coincidence. It couldn’t be a coincidence! I wondered if he had been following me.

It made me feel on edge, the fact that he was standing in front of me and I would have to talk to him. I really thought I knew him, but I was wrong.

He broke into my house. He had a recording of me naked. I should be angry, not scared.

“It’s weird seeing you here, Jamie. I’m just out celebrating with some friends from work. I got that promotion I was after.”

~He’s acting like we’re okay, and nothing ever happened, like he didn’t record me naked in his apartment. Fucking ass!~

“Good for you,” I replied sarcastically and turned for the door. What friends was he talking about? I didn’t see anyone with him.

“Jamie, wait!” He grabbed my arm, and I yanked it from his grasp and turned to look at him. “You and I have a lot to talk about. I have to explain myself. I know that.”

I glared at him, wanting so desperately to use my fists before using my words.

“Explain what? How you had cameras in your apartment, recording everything we did that night. I can’t believe you did that to me after everything.”

“I don’t know what to say. I didn’t want to hurt you, Jamie.”

“Really? Because that’s exactly what you did. I thought I could trust you. I did trust you. But everything between us was a lie. Just like you.” I turned around to walk away again.

“Don’t walk away from me.”

His tone was agitated, and he grabbed my arm for a second time. Out of instinct I turned around and slapped him in the face.

I didn’t intend to do it, even though I wanted to. It was an automatic reaction. He grabbed me again, and I wanted more than anything to be away from him.

Jack’s cheek was now red, and at first, he looked surprised by what I’d done. Then he just looked pissed.

People outside the bar were looking at us. I’d caused a scene that I didn’t want. I hated having eyes on me. What was going to happen now? I wondered if he was going to hit me back or just walk away.

~Walk away, I hope!~

“I’m just trying to explain, and you won’t let me do it. What the fuck is your problem?” he asked and moved closer.

I wanted to be brave, to stand my ground and give Jack a piece of my mind. But right then, I was a little scared of him because of his body language and the way he was talking to me.

“Hey, buddy,” a taller man interfered, standing between us. “Why don’t you leave the girl alone, okay?”

“What’s it to do with you? We’re just having a conversation.” Jack replied. “Just back off and mind your business.”

“It doesn’t look like she wants to have a conversation with you. So why don’t you back off now? Or me and my friends here will deal with you.”

His friends stood behind him, watching the situation unfold.

Jack looked at me and shook his head. “Fine, I’m going. Perhaps we can have this conversation another time.”

He turned around and left, but it didn’t ease my mind completely. I was worried about him coming back.

I would rather not have had this conversation with him at all. All I wanted from Jack were those recordings of me, but I doubted I’d be lucky enough to get my hands on those again.

“He was reluctant to leave,” the tall guy said and then looked at me. “Are you okay?”

“Sure, I’m fine. Thank you for doing that. You didn’t have to.” I smiled, hiding how embarrassed I truly was.

It’s nice to know that there are some decent guys out there that will stick up for a woman in need.

“That’s okay. I had to intrude. I didn’t think he would back off otherwise. That was one good smack you gave him.” He chuckled. “Is your hand okay?”

I looked at my palm, which was red and stinging. “It’s fine, just a little sore. Definitely worth it.”

He took my hand and looked at it. “I think you’ll live. Maybe ice it with a cold beer. I would like to get you one if you’ll let me. I think you deserve it…”

He hung on the last word waiting for me to introduce myself.

“Jamie. Actually, I—” I heard someone clearing their throat beside us, and I looked that way.

I pulled my hand away from him quickly. “Mason, what are you doing here?”

The others moved past us and into the bar. Brent looked like the night had taken its toll on him already. Too much drinking too quick, I assumed.

And Ethan didn’t look happy, but I guess who could really blame him? A couple of other family members and friends of Brent’s followed behind him.

“Ethan got a call from his girlfriend. It sounded like all hell was breaking loose.” He looked between us both. “So, what’s going on here then?”

~What’s going on here?~

How could I tell him what had just happened without him totally losing his mind? If Mason knew that Jack showed up here, I knew he wouldn’t like it one bit.

And this guy that he’d caught me basically holding hands with… I was sure he would read too much into it.

“I was just helping this damsel in distress.” The tall guy chuckled.

I was sure he didn’t even realize that he was aggravating my new, very overprotective boyfriend.

If he was my boyfriend. We hadn’t actually talked about that.

I looked at him and smiled nervously. “Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it…”

“Colin. You’re welcome, Jamie” He looked between the both of us, probably trying to figure out if Mason was my boyfriend or not.

“I’ll get back to my friends then. Let me know if you want that drink.” He winked at me, making the situation worse, and then walked back to his friends.

“Well, that’s just great, isn’t it?” Mason released a sigh, showing that he was dissatisfied. “You told me there would be no guys, and I show up to find one hitting on you and buying you drinks.”

“He didn’t buy me drinks. He just offered.” ~Ugh. Well, that didn’t make things any better.~ “It’s not what it looks like. Can we just go inside? Carmen might need my help with Ethan.”

He followed me inside toward the bar. The guys were getting their next round of shots and already getting rowdy and making a scene.

Carmen and Ethan were sitting at the bar, most likely chatting about what happened with Steph. I was just glad they could sort it out among themselves without dragging me into it.

“Do you want a drink?” I asked Mason, and he shook his head in reply.

I hadn’t drunk much. I was trying to be a good friend and take care of Carmen.

~After everything that’s happened tonight, though, I think I need it.~

“So, what’s going on? What happened tonight?”

~He’s not going to like this. I know he’s not.~

“Um, well, after Steph and Carmen had their argument, I went outside for some fresh air, and I kind of bumped into Jack.”

“Jack?” Mason’s expression changed to a scowl. “What do you mean you kind of bumped into him. What happened?”

“Well, nothing really. Jack said he wanted to explain himself, and I didn’t want to listen. He got pretty pissy about it. That guy you saw me standing with got him to back off and leave.”

I picked up my margarita glass and had a drink.

“You mean the guy that was hitting on you!” He sat on his stool, looking tense, his right leg rocking up and down.

“I wonder if Jack followed you here. I don’t want you going out alone from now on, Jamie.”

I rolled my eyes. “Come on, Mason. Don’t be ridiculous. It’s my life we’re talking about. I have my job. I have Penelope. I can’t just make sure someone is by my side at all times.”

“It’s not ridiculous! This guy broke into your home. It’s not a coincidence that he showed up here tonight. Can’t you just do what I ask of you?”

“But—”

“Stop being so goddamn stubborn for once in your life!” he interrupted.

He was angry with me now, just like I was at him for trying to take control just like he always did. He was acting so out of line, and I wasn’t happy about it.

“Fine!” I picked up my drink and walked past him. I noticed Carmen and Brent making out at the other end of the bar. I guess this meant no strip club for us tonight.

Boy, was I wrong!

What a weird situation I found myself in. The thought of going to a strip club never appealed to me in the first place, but being there with my new boyfriend and the guys didn’t appeal to me either.

Instead of the men that we thought we were going to see semi-naked, it was women. ~Like the guys would’ve come otherwise.~

I’m pretty sure Carmen wanted to make Brent happy, so she acted like this was okay. Looking at her face, the way she was vying for his attention, it was clearly not okay with her.

After our little disagreement at the bar, Mason and I hadn’t really talked. He asked me to go home with him instead of continuing on with the night, but I told him no.

I couldn’t go home until Carmen did. That’s just the bachelorette party rule.

“What’s up with you and him?” Ethan asked and looked in Mason’s direction.

He was sitting at the table with the others, looking very uncomfortable, which was a surprise to me. I thought he liked this scene.

“Nothing. Everything is fine.” I smiled lightly, but Ethan was having none of it.

I sighed. “Jack showed up at the bar tonight, and Mason isn’t happy about it. We’re only a couple of days in, and he’s trying to control my life.”

“Right, well, I guess we can’t really blame him for that. Jack was all kinds of bad. The further he is away from you, the better.”

“Of course, I agree with you on that. I don’t want Jack anywhere near me. But it’s the rules that Mason is setting for me. ‘Don’t go out alone,’” I said, putting on his grumpy voice.

“He has control issues.”

Ethan chuckled, finding it amusing.

“But you knew that before you started things up again. That’s kind of the man he is. And with the circumstances you’re in at the moment, he’s just trying to keep you safe.”

“I think you love him more than you love me now.” I joked.

“That’ll never happen. But I’ve gotten to know him a little more tonight, and it turns out he’s a pretty decent guy. I mean, have you even seen him look at any of those girls tonight? Because I haven’t.”

I’d been trying not to look his way, but I had noticed. Mason used to be the type of guy that couldn’t keep his eyes off a woman in a thong. It was a little different now.

“I’ll leave you with that. I’m a single man now. I’m going to enjoy myself tonight!” He threw me a wink and then walked away.

A single man. After tonight, he’d decided that it wasn’t worth continuing the relationship after all. I couldn’t say I was disappointed by that. Ethan deserved better.

I walked to the bar and ordered another cocktail. I couldn’t say that I was enjoying myself. This night had kinda been a huge mess. But Carmen seemed to be enjoying it, so that’s all that mattered.

After everything she had said about Brent tonight, it felt like she was pushing it all to the back of her mind and pretending she’d said nothing at all.

The choice to marry him was hers and no one else’s. I hoped she’d make the right one.

Mason came to stand beside me at the bar and cleared his throat. “We should talk about this. Can I take you home?”

“I can’t go home. I’m the maid of honor. I can’t leave until Carmen does.” I drank most of the contents of my glass.

Of course, I could leave and go home at any time, but I wanted to make sure that Carmen had a good time and got home safe. It was her night. I didn’t want to leave early.

“She just left with Brent,” he replied, and I looked toward our table. The two of them were gone. “I have a car waiting out front. Let’s go home.”

It’s not as if he was really giving me a choice in the matter. It’s not as if I really wanted to stay anyway.

“Okay.” I picked up my drink to bring it with me, and he took it from my hands and set it on the bar.

~Control!~

I walked up the stairs and into my bedroom. He was hot on my tail.

I couldn’t believe it had only been a few days, and we were already arguing. Was that a bad sign? Was there too much going on in our lives, making this thing between us harder?

“You’re angry,” he said as he removed his suit jacket and threw it down on the bed.

“Of course I’m angry. I thought that was pretty obvious.” I kicked off my heels and attempted to undo the zipper of my dress.

When I couldn’t do it, he walked across the room and did it for me.

“I’m angry because you’re trying to control my life.”

“I’m not trying—”

“But you are.” I interrupted. “This is what you do. You need to have control. You don’t like the idea of me being around other men.

“I can deal with that. But when you tell me where I can and can’t go, I can’t live my life that way.”

“Fuck!” he cursed in agitation. “I’m not trying to control anything. I want you safe. Why is that a fucking crime?”

My dress fell to the floor, and I was left standing in my underwear, totally pissed with him.

“Does it matter what I want? Does my opinion matter to you at all? Like, come on. Even before you knew about Jack showing up, you were angry with me because I was talking to a guy.”

“That guy was hitting on you.” Mason undid the buttons of his shirt. “I have a right to be jealous, Jamie. you are the woman I plan on spending my life with.”

The room was quiet, and nothing more was being said. The surprise was written all over my face, and I was sure he noticed.

Earlier today, I’d been unsure if I should even call him my boyfriend, and now he was telling me that I was the woman he wanted to spend his life with!

~This is the Mason Knight way of making a girl feel special.~

He walked toward me, and I was reluctant to look at him. I don’t know why. Maybe the many margaritas I’d had were wearing off now, and I was feeling embarrassed.

Mason trailed his fingers down my arm. “You’re mine, Jamie. I’m trying to make sure that it stays that way.”

“Well, if you really care for me like you say you do, then you’ll rein it in with the rules.” I smirked at him and walked away.