Fate Interrupted 3 (16 page)

Chapter
Thirty-Two

It was dark when
Evy woke up and she wasn’t sure where she was. As her night vision adjusted,
she saw the faint outline of her TV. She flipped onto her side on the couch,
her stiff back cracking, and saw Tasha’s purple purse sitting on an armchair
across the room. Tasha’s deep breathing in the bedroom down the hall started
bringing it all back until it snowballed into a full on gloom.
The bachelor party, Megan, the fight with Dean.
Megan.

The
ring.

She shut her
eyes and tried to go back to sleep, desperate to escape to another world, but
her cell phone wouldn’t allow it. She had silenced the ringer but it called to
her just the same. Her fingers fumbled for it on the coffee table in the dark.
She hesitated before lighting up the screen, afraid to even look, yet unable to
stop wondering. When she hit the button on the side, she squinted with the
glare and, subsequently, sank further into the darkness spreading inside.

Not a single
call or text from Dean in two days. That was the last straw.

She put the
phone back to sleep and attempted to do the same to herself. Her mind reeled
with invasive thoughts, a smoking train barreling off the tracks. She wondered
what he was doing right now and saw Megan handcuffed to Dean’s bed, wearing
nothing but a devilish grin. Evy shut her eyes tighter and pushed the thought
away only to have it replaced by something much more sinister in design. Dean
stood at the altar with Evy, smiling brightly as he lifted her veil to find
Megan smiling back at him. They kissed and…

Her eyes popped open,
preferring the dark outlines of her living room instead.

She filled her
lungs with a wistful breath and let it out. Her chest fell beneath her work
shirt that smelled like dough and chocolate. This would never end. Not with a
man like Dean Jacobs. No matter how hard one tried, some things just won’t stay
in the past.

Another heavy
breath filled her lungs, lifting her bosom.

Why couldn’t she
have just found an average Joe? Everyone had ex-flames but Dean’s were more
like
ex-wildfires
with burning embers
wherever Evy stepped. She released the pent-up breath, trying to imagine her
fiancé settling with one woman for the long haul.

She turned onto
her back.

The real
question, however, was: Could she afford the gamble? Because only time can
truly tell what makes a man. Her fingers found the arrow necklace around her
neck. It was too big a gamble. She cursed herself for not seeing it earlier but
she saw it now.

“Are you asleep?”
Tasha whispered, startling Evy.

“Yes,” she
answered, pulling the blanket up to her chin.

Tasha moved her
purse to the coffee table and sat down, folding her bare legs beneath her. “I
can’t sleep.”

“Join the club.”

“I know you’ve
got your own problems right now but I feel horrible about something.”

Evy sat up and
pulled her knees up to her chest.
“About what?”

Tasha sighed,
twisting her fingers in the moonlight spilling through a window above the TV.
“I did something bad last night.”

Evy squinted
through the darkness. “Wait, are you naked right now?”

Tasha looked
down at her bare breasts. “Yeah, I always sleep naked.”

“In
my bed?”

“I’ll wash the
sheets.”

Evy let out a
tired breath. “So, what happened?”

Chapter
Thirty-Three

Dean held a new
drink in his hand, quietly surveying the room which had grown busier over the
last hour. He smiled at a tall redhead on her way to the bathroom and she
barely noticed him. He set the drink down and adjusted his shirt. “What is
going on around here?”

“What do you
mean?”

“None of these
girls will even make eye contact with me.”

“Looks like
Shaun
was
right; it’s a nerd’s world now.” Jon jerked
his chin to a table at their eleven o’clock. “Look at that guy with the glasses
over there. He’s got a
hottie
on both sides and dude
looks like Eric Snowden.”

Dean shook his
head in disbelief. “How did this happen?”

Jon picked up
his glass and sank back into his chair. “I don’t know but I don’t like it.”

“This is
bullshit,” Dean grumbled, glancing over his shoulder at two brunettes with legs
for miles sitting at their six. “See that two top behind us?” he said, barely
moving his lips.

Jon casually
craned his neck around.
“Oh, hell yeah.”

“Watch this.”
Dean rolled his chair back into the brown skinned girl with long, wavy hair.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, a startled look pasted to his face. “Are you okay?”

She held her
beer out, looking like he had just run over her puppy. “I’m fine.”

He glanced across
the table at her friend who was watching from behind a veil of concern. His
eyes darted back to the prettier girl. “Are you sure?
Because
I have insurance.”

Her brow folded.

“Maybe we should
exchange numbers just in case.”

She traded a lingering
look with her friend and they broke into laughter, hiding behind their hands.

When Dean
realized she wasn’t planning on turning back around, he rolled the chair to his
table, tail between his legs. “That went well.”

Jon’s face
soured. “The insurance thing always works for you! What the hell is going on
here?”

“I don’t know
why she’s being so picky, I’m not.”

Jon chuckled,
shaking his head. “What a jip.”

Two white guys
wearing skinny jeans and high top Converse ushered over a tray of cheap beers
and tequila shots to the two brunettes and sat down.

“You have got to
be shitting me,” Dean murmured, shading his eyes like the lights were too
bright. “It’s
Bizarro
World.”

Jon glanced at
the guys behind them. “Nice scarves,” he whispered out the corner of his mouth.
“It’s like eighty degrees out.”

“You’re wearing
a coat.”

Jon looked down.
“This is a fashion statement.”

Dean flattened
his lips. “All I know is, I’m not wearing skinny jeans and I don’t care how hip
they get.”

“I want to go
home. I’m scared.”

Dean twisted
around in the chair to face him. “Not until you tell me what happened last
night.”

Jon swigged his
gin and tonic and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “We’ll seriously
leave if I tell you?”

“We will leave.”

Jon filled his
lungs with air and let it out. “Pam and I took Tasha out for dinner and drinks
last night.”

Dean’s face went
blank. “You didn’t.”

“The whole thing
was Pam’s idea, but she got too drunk and passed out when all of us got back to
my place.”

“
All of us
?”

“So, Tasha and I
put Pam to bed…”

Dean leaned his head
back and ran a hand over his slicked back hair.
“Oh, hell no.”

Jon waited for
three loud blonds to waltz by before continuing. “Next thing I know, I’m
rubbing Tasha’s feet on the couch.”

Dean tipped his chin
down like he was peering at Jon over a pair of imaginary reading glasses. “Are
you bullshitting me right now?
Because I’m not in the mood
for anymore of your stupid jokes.”

Jon shook his
head from side to side. “She had been wearing these purple high heels all night
long and said her feet were killing her.”

“
Okaaaay
.”

“But here’s the
thing, the whole time I’m massaging her feet I can see right up her skirt.”

“Oh boy,” Dean
muttered.

“And girl’s not
wearing any panties either, bro!”

The brunettes behind
them stopped talking for a moment and then started cackling.

Dean took a long
swig, watching a
pretty Asian
girl walk by their table
and ignore his smile. His smile shifted into reverse. “
Sonofabitch
,”
he mumbled, knocking his drink back. “Then what happened?”

Jon sat up
straighter. “Then…I fucked her brains out on my couch until four in the
morning.”

“No
way.”

“I shit you not,
man. Girl looked like a glazed donut by the time I was done with her.”

Dean creased his
brow. “
Wow, that
is really vulgar.”

“And she loved
it, too!
Couldn’t get enough.
Neither of us could.”

“So wait, the
whole time Pam is passed out in your bed down the hall?”

“The
whole time.”

“Would she be
pissed about if she found out? I mean, she wasn’t too upset about the whole stripper
thing on the boat.”

Jon shrugged.
“Who knows? Personally, I think she’s a lesbian.”

Dean grinned.
“Wouldn’t be the first time you drove a girl gay.”

“Ha-ha.”

“So what
happened next?

Jon adjusted his
leather coat. “After that, I cleaned up in the bathroom real quick and slid
into bed with Pam. She never even knew I was gone.” He leaned back and exhaled
a reflective breath. “But talk about awkward the next morning. I kept thinking
she knew what had happened, but she didn’t.” He ran his tongue across his
teeth. “I think.”

“Obviously,
you’re hell bent on getting on Evy’s bad side.”

“I couldn’t help
it, dude. It just happened.”

Dean returned to
scanning the bar. “You’re a glutton for punishment, Jonny-boy.”

“And here’s the
kicker…I can’t stop thinking about Tasha. All day long today, I kept replaying
the whole thing in my mind, over and over and over.” Jon stared off through
dreamy eyes. “I’ve got a huge boner right now just
thinkin
about it.”

“That’s good to
know,” Dean replied flatly, lifting his glass.

“I’m going to
call her.”

He stopped the
glass in front of his lips. “Tasha? Bad move.”

“I have to; it’s
beyond my control. She’s all I can think about.”

“You already
said that.” Dean took a quick drink.
“And what about Pam?”

Jon spun his glass
on the table, leaving a big wet ring. “She’s too crazy for me. I have to let
her go.”

“I thought you
liked the threesome stuff.
Thought it was a dream come true.”

“I was just
saying that to look cool. Truth is
,
it’s a lot of
pressure satisfying two women at the same time.” He shook his head bleakly.
“No, I’m more of a one woman kind of guy.” He paused, narrowing his gaze.
“Unless I’m on vacation somewhere tropical, then it’s anything goes.”

Dean laughed as
a girl with long black hair and stunning blue eyes dropped into his lap,
spilling his drink on his shirt. “Damn, Becky!”

“Dean Jacobs!”
she bellowed with a sloppy grin, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I thought
you had moved out of the country. You never stop by and see your favorite
bartender anymore.”

He brushed the
liquid from his shirt, the smell of whiskey now permanently attached to him
wherever he went. “You’re obviously not working tonight.”

“Not on Monday,
silly!” Her smile fell. “I hear you’re getting married. Is that true?”

Dean turned to
Jon for help and Jon looked away. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

Her smile
returned in full force. “I knew it was bullshit,” she said, looking at Jon.
“Can you imagine this one being married?”

Jon arched an
eyebrow at her and she let out a drunken laugh.

“Yeah
right!”
Becky fell back into Dean’s eyes and turned somber. “Do you remember that night
on my building’s rooftop?”

Dean swallowed
thickly. “How could I forget?”

“That was like a
movie.”

“Yeah?”

“What’re you
doing afterhours?”

“Tonight?”
He looked to
Jon, his wet shirt clinging to his abs. “Haven’t got that far yet.”

“Come over.” She
bent closer, the smell of tequila heavy on her breath. “Stars are out tonight.”

“I thought it
was cloudy.”

“The stars are
always out when Dean Jacobs is around.” She wiggled her tight little rear end
around in his lap, a mischievous grin playing on her lips. “Ooh, somebody’s
getting hard just thinking about it.”

“That’s my
phone.”

Becky’s face
stiffened. She reached down and frowned. “It is your phone!” Her hand kept
moving and her grin resurfaced. “What about this?”

“That’s my chap stick.”

Jon laughed.
“Easy mistake.
They’re about the same size.”

Becky caught
Dean off guard and planted a wet kiss on his lips and he turned his head away.
“I want you inside of me,” she whispered in his ear.
“Tonight.”

He lifted her back
onto her feet. “I have to hit the restroom.”

Jon watched
Becky stare after Dean with a desolate look on her face. He cleared his throat.
“You look like you’ve been working out. Must be doing a lot of
twerking
and stuff, huh?”

“
Piloxing
,” she said absentmindedly, looking around the bar.

“
Pil
-what?”

“Pilates and
boxing combined.”

“Oh
yeah?
Where do you…” The words died on his lips when Becky stumbled off to the bar.
“Do that at?” he finished, shifting in his seat and pulling out his phone.