The Scale (Martha's Way) (4 page)

“I’m
not going to sleep with you,” she continued.

“I
want to do a lot of things with you,” he chuckled. “Sleep is not on the
agenda.”

He
reached for her again and pressed her back close to his hardness, letting her
feel the evidence of why he was standing in the middle of her apartment. But
Rita wasn’t giving in. She wiggled her sexy little body out of his hold, green
eyes sending daggers his way the whole time.

What
am I missing here?
Did
he miss her birthday or something else that women often took notice of and men
didn’t?

It
wasn’t as if they celebrated birthdays or any other special occasions together.
Damn! Jason, you could have at least taken her out to dinner. You know, play
the nice guy role.

“I’m
not having sex with you tonight. I don’t want whatever this is between us
anymore.” She waved her hands
between
them.

“Us,”
Jason repeated. The word sounded so intimate. Everything his relationship with
Rita wasn’t.

“The
booty call thing,” she clarified. “Do you see what time it is?”

Jason
crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t bother checking his watch for the
time. The truth of the matter was Blake and Keely had ended up lounging around
much longer than he thought they would. Since he was in no rush, he decided to
enjoy his friends’ company. Blake had moved off The Vineyard since college and
although he returned once in a while, the last time Jason checked, his
permanent address was somewhere in Philadelphia.

“I
want a relationship,” she said. Her voice firmed, her green eyes fixed on his.

There
lay the conflict. For a moment, they stood in the middle of her living room
staring at each other. Jason tried to maintain his composure but his annoyance
level was starting to reach its apex. From the beginning, their relationship had
been based on a mutual desire to satisfy each other on a physical level.
Neither wanted more. What had changed?

Unlike
his father, he recognized his flaws and vowed to never put a woman through the
amount of pain his mother had endured. That only worked in his favor because
the desire to commit to anyone of the opposite sex had never crossed his mind
in his thirty years. No one was going to force him into one at this point in
his life.

The
idea of walking out of the apartment and out of her life forever crossed his
mind. There were other women he could call, even though he was bored with most
of them. But although sex with Rita wasn’t stellar, it was familiar and, at the
very least, did the job.

“But,
it’s my birthday,” he murmured, coaxing her into at least
trying
to see
things his way, in the short term.

“My point exactly.”
She jammed a finger into his
chest. Frustration and anger elevated in the pitch of her voice. “I didn’t see
you all day and it’s…” she glanced at her watch, “almost eleven o’clock, and
here you are knocking on my door for sex.”

“I
was busy.”

“
Well,
I
’m done. Go get
laid somewhere else.”

Jason
ran a hand through his loose hair and made a mental note to get a haircut. He
was, after all, the best man of a wedding. He should try to look the part. “Why
didn’t you tell me three months ago?”

“Tell
you what?”

“That
you wanted a relationship.”

She
shrugged, “I didn’t want one three months ago. But,” her voice softened,
“things have changed, Jason. My feelings have changed.”

His
gaze stayed on her as she paced around the room in her robe. He imagined she
was naked underneath.

“Jason,
you’re thirty years old.”

He
wasn’t sure where this was going but a speech was coming on, for sure.

“You
need to think about love, marriage, a family.”

His
jaws tightened. It was becoming clear to him where this was going and he didn’t
care for it. He evidently didn’t get the memo that thirty was the age one
should be married. He tried to focus his attention on the pretty redhead pouting
at him. His eyes rested on her lips. A vision of her lips wrapped around him
flashed through his mind. Although he no longer got that climactic sense of
excitement he used to get at the beginning, when everything about her was so
new, he still felt a stirring in his groin. Not wanting to lose the tightness
growing between his legs, Jason decided to make an attempt at appeasing her.

“Rita,
I have feelings for you as well.” The words were somewhat true. He cared about
her welfare and wanted her to one day find a nice man and settle down. He took
no pleasure in hurting anyone. Since he had discovered the joys of the female
body, he’d gone to great lengths to stay away from anything that came close to
commitment.

If
he was trying to make his point, he failed. Without saying a word, she walked
to the door and opened it. The frown twisting her face confirmed his night was
over. He took one last look at Rita before walking out of her house and out of
her life.

The
cold night air chilled the last of the heat from his groin as he stood on the
porch and tried to figure out what the hell just happened. He considered
letting her calm down and trying again in a few days, but as he trudged down
the stairs he realized he didn’t care. Great sex, good sex, decent sex; it
wasn’t worth it.

* * * *

Vapor
was one of those trendy restaurants in downtown Edgartown. Saturday nights, a
live band played at the bar; upstairs in the lounge, a DJ spun the latest hits
while people danced away their excess energy and stress. Minka glanced over the
room; even at this late hour, the restaurant was still packed with hipsters who
had too much money, too many friends, and little to do but hang out. From
fainting in a room filled with people, Keely took pity on her and relieved her
of MOH duty for the day. Relieved at not having to spend the day at the inn
surrounded by the excitement about her sister’s upcoming wedding, Minka used
the time to get a pedicure and explore downtown. Tomorrow she would put on a
cheerful face and let Keely enjoy her moment. During their exchange of texts,
she had even agreed to meet for brunch.
 
Feeling restless, she had made a bold decision to drive down the block
to the restaurant.

I
need to let him go
.

You
need to get laid
.

Minka
grinned at Lily’s words. She wished her friend had taken her up on her offer
and accompanied her to the island, but Lily, in typical Lily fashion, pointed
out the obvious fact she wasn’t invited and barely knew Keely.

Minka responded, her brow furrowed.

I don
’t
sleep around.

LOL.
Maybe you should start.

Minka
rolled her eyes and welcomed the pretty waitress who’d come to take her order.

“What
do you recommend?” she asked. Minka glanced at the young woman’s shirt for a
name tag but realized she only wore a fitted gray T-shirt with a picture of a
black dog on it. She recognized the Martha’s Vineyard mascot and smiled.

“I’m
Maxie,” the girl offered with a warm smile.
“First time on
the island?”

Minka
nodded. “My sister is getting married here next week.”

“Oh,
is it Keely?” Maxie continued with that same friendly chatter. “I thought I saw
a resemblance.”

“You
know my sister?”

“Not
really, but I know her fiancé. Blake and the owners of the bar are good
friends. You might know them, Jason Montgomery and Adam Aquilani.”

What
a small world, Minka thought. It seemed everyone knew each other on the island.

“I
met them briefly last night,” she offered. She had no desire to relive the
memories of fainting in the arms of Jason Montgomery or any other man for that
matter.
 
The last thing she recalled
was the amused grin on his face.

“They
are so good-looking, aren’t they?” Maxie continued.

“Um, yes.
They are.” Minka focused her eyes on the menu. She
didn’t want to think about Blake, or his friends, for that matter. Well, one
particular friend, but whatever. She just wanted to have a glass of wine and
something sweet. The soufflé looked tempting.

“Go
for the soufflé,”
Maxie suggested,
“it’s
as good as it sounds.”

Minka
smiled at the girl. “Okay then, a glass of Lillet and the soufflé it is. I’
m
sure I
’ll be two
pounds heavier tomorrow, but what the hell.”

Not
that she should be eating at this hour, but who went to a restaurant, sat at
the bar, and didn’t at least have some dessert? Especially since the asterisk
on the menu pointed out they had the best chocolate soufflé on the island.

The
waitress gave her
a
once-over. “
You look
fantastic. I
’ll go
place your order.”

Her
phone beeped and she looked down.
So tell me about Blake’s best man.
Obviously Lily wasn’t ready to give up yet.

Minka
paused and thought of the man who’d be escorting her down the aisle.
He’s
handsome in that bad–boy, tortured soul kind of way
, s
he texted back.

The
MOH should sleep with the best man
,
Lily
suggested.

SMDH. I don
’t
sleep around. And I highly doubt I’m his type.

Maxie
reappeared with the dessert and wine. Minka smiled and thanked her. She would
have another glass of wine, eat the soufflé,
then
go
back to her hotel.

“Oh,
he’s here,” Maxie exclaimed. Her stare fixated on the door.

“Who’s
here?”
Minka asked, curiosity piqued.
Stars were known
to escape to The Vineyard for a getaway.

“Jason,”
Maxie answered with a wide smile. “Remember I mentioned he and Adam own Vapor.
Sometimes they like to work the bar.”

A
knot formed in the bottom of her stomach. Could the gods be so unfair and bring
her face to face with Jason Montgomery the day after she’d passed out in his
arms?

Somewhere
in the back of her mind, Minka heard Maxie say something about Jason being good
enough to eat. Turning around to see the entrance, Minka followed the direction
of the other woman’s gaze and spotted the object of the pretty waitress’
lustful comments.

Tonight
he was dressed in faded blue jeans that hung low on his hips with a fitted gray
V-neck T-shirt sheathing the corded muscles of his torso. His blond locks were
disheveled, and she wondered what lucky woman had run her fingers through his
hair. A pang of envy pulled in her gut. He shoved his hand through his hair and
brushed some of the strands away from his face and Minka became consumed by the
man with eyes the bluish steel color of a midwinter sky.

“I
want him,” Maxie whispered.

Minka
smiled at the other woman. She couldn’t blame her for wanting someone like
that. Picking up her phone, she scrolled to Lily’s last text and typed.

Jason
is at the bar. All the women are wet.

LOL.
You too?

If
there was one person in her life she was the most comfortable with, it was
Lily.

Maybe just a little.

Go
have some fun, my friend. I want to hear all about it in the morning. Love you.

Minka
turned her attention back to Maxie, but the waitress seemed to have forgotten
she was there. Instead she ran her hands over her jeans and adjusted her tank
top to accentuate her perky breasts.

She
followed Maxie’s gaze to where Jason stood and let his presence consume her. Like
every other woman in the room, she found she couldn’t look away.

Chapter
Three

“She was hearing the words. They just weren’t
registering on her Richter scale of sanity.”

Dakota Cassidy

Jason
glanced around the crowded bar. The summer crowd was starting to pick up on The
Vineyard. Five years ago, he and his buddy Adam bought an old, worn-down space
and turned it into the trendy bar Vapor was today. His friend was nowhere to be
found, which was to be expected since Adam divided his time between Italy and The
Vineyard. However, he knew Adam was back on the island for the summer, but
probably in Menemsha overseeing his always busy restaurant.