When I wake the following morning my head is spinning. Jamie is still nestled in the bed next to me, so at least I know that wasn’t a dream. I intended on leaving and staying at Oyster Cove, but couldn’t imagine spending the night without her after everything we’d gone through.
Now I’m stuck wondering how deep of a mess I’ve made. I didn’t exactly end things permanently with Leigh, so that’s got to be the first on my agenda. It will be ugly. My heart breaks when I think about her terminating the pregnancy. I’d never condone an abortion. My parents could have aborted me. They were young, without a pot to piss in, but they managed. I’d like to think I’m a good guy. I make mistakes. Terrible ones at that, but I’m human. I have values, and respect. I’ve learned from my past mistakes, and hope to one day be considered a respectable man, much like my own father.
While Jamie remains cozied up and sleeping, I slip from the bed and head downstairs. My phone is still sitting by the front door. I’d been getting call after call from Leigh, so I shut it off, because I didn’t want to deal with it. I left things in a bad way, because I had no intentions of literally pouring my heart out to Jamie the same day I told my dad I wasn’t sure how I felt. It seems that following my heart led to the emotional breakdown, and confession of my feelings. Low and behold, Jamie feels the same way. Now we need to figure out if we’re both experiencing an amazing case of lust, or has our love literally stood the test of time?
How I’m feeling right now, the knots in my gut, they’re telling me this is real. I’d do anything to protect her, and keep her close. In fact, in the past twenty four hours I’ve lost all respect for Leigh. Her antics have left a bitter taste in my mouth. It’s wrong to dangle a life over someone’s head. Her threats aren’t going to fly with me.
I know I’m the reason she’s losing her shit, but the bottom line is that this all happened because she lied. Her actions following that lie have forced me to look at the big picture of what we called a loving relationship. It was based on sex from the beginning. She’s good at it, and she uses it to keep me wanting more. She’s young and beautiful, so I’ve always been complimented from others about making a great catch. A part of me does love her, but it’s not deep and forever. I know that now. I see the difference of loving someone and being in love. I would have married Leigh and we would have made it work. We’d probably fight so much she’d end up cheating on me with someone younger, who enjoys the party life and putting her on a pedestal. She’s high maintenance, and I’m just a laid back country boy at heart.
Maybe I’m making reasons to sever ties with her. It’s not like I left her last night for the first time. I left her weeks ago. We haven’t spoken at all, and to be honest, I didn’t miss her that much, at least not like it was with Jamie last night. I had to drive right back and hold her in my arms. I needed to comfort her and promise that I never wanted to leave.
There hasn’t really been a single instant where I felt this sort of pull with Leigh. Sure, I comforted her. I assured her we were going to be okay. I promised not to cheat, which in my eyes I really didn’t, since I was moved out. I did right by her. Maybe it took her lying to me for me to take off the blinders and see what I was overlooking. Maybe my infatuation isn’t with Jamie at all, but had been going on for years with Leigh. All I know is that I can’t respect her. She wants to move away from Chincoteague and I’m determined to stay. I have a reason to be here, more than one now. My whole life is here, and it always will be.
Turning on my phone seemed like a good idea at the time. As I listen to the messages and read the texts the only thing I know now is that I have a unhinged ex running around town looking to either murder me, or totally destroy the lives of the people I care about.
I consider calling her, but there’s no calming Leigh down. Apparently she drove by Jamie’s during the night, most likely several times. She knows I stayed here, even when I said I wasn’t going to. I’m screwed.
I look outside for my truck and suddenly come to notice it’s not where I parked it. Panic strikes me when I think about leaving the spare key in the kitchen drawer where we always kept it. I’m not wearing clothes, so I have to rush back upstairs and scrounge to find them. In doing so, Jamie sits up in the bed and wipes her eyes. “What time is it?”
“Early. Go back to bed, babe.”
“What are you doing? It’s Sunday. We should get up and go to Mr. Paul’s for breakfast. Coffee and pancakes. You know you want to.”
My family will be there. Even though we have our own restaurant, we all still share one meal a week at Mr. Paul’s. It’s something we did with my mom, and the tradition stuck after she died. Nowadays we don’t all show up, and it’s never at the same time, but we manage to end up at one little table, sipping on coffee and talking to the neighbors.
Jamie is waiting for an answer, but I’m still freaking out over the disappearance of my truck. Not wanting to alarm her, I pull my jeans on and climb across the mattress to kiss her tempting lips. “I need to tell you something.”
She leans on her elbows while noticing my worry. “What’s wrong?”
I scratch my head and fall back on a pillow, wiping my face while I search for the right way to tell her. “I may or may not have left things unresolved with Leigh yesterday.”
“What do you mean? You talked to her though, right? You told her it was over and you weren’t moving back in?”
“Yeah, I mentioned it being over, but I told her I needed more time, because I didn’t want her going off the deep end.”
Jamie’s body language relaxes. “Shoo. I thought you were going to say you told her you’d be together again.”
“She knows I slept with you, Jamie. It came out. I didn’t want to lie about it.”
I watch her go through the motions of what that means. Her eyes widen. “Is there anything else you aren’t telling me?”
I sigh. “Nothing big, except my freaking truck is missing, and she left me about twenty messages between texts and voicemails. I said I wasn’t moving back in, but I ended up staying here. She must think I lied about it. I kind of did. I mean, we said I’d live back at my parent’s house, but I slept here last night. My truck was right out front.”
“She stole your truck?”
“Apparently.”
Jamie starts laughing. It’s not the time to laugh, but she’s doing it. She’s hysterical, covering her face while she continues her amusement at my expense. “Are you going to call the police?”
“I don’t know what to do.”
She laughs more. “I’m sorry. You’re probably upset and I’m entertained. It’s really funny though. I mean, who steals a car to win back a guy? It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
She’s right. It’s pretty pathetic. I take her hand and play with it. It’s the smallest things that distract me from the negative happening in my life. Actually, it’s Jamie. The world could come crashing down around us, but as long as she’s still with me I’d be okay. I feel like I’ve waited my whole life for a second chance and I won’t let something ridiculous ruin that. This drama won’t last forever. Eventually it has to end. Right?
“Let’s get dressed and go to breakfast?”
“Are you sure? I know last night you said we should keep things hidden for a while.”
I nod. “I know what I said, but I just don’t give a shit. We’re hiding from Leigh. She’s one person. It’s not a deal breaker for me, unless it is for you.”
“As long as she’s not stealing my car I can handle it. I mean, she thinks I’m a slut, and that I’m the reason you left her, but whatever. Technically I think you were mine first.”
I kiss her hand again. “Yeah, that’s true.”
She bites down on her lip. “So breakfast? Should we get dressed?”
“These are the only clothes I have. My truck had all of my belongings in it.”
Jamie shrugs. “Don’t guys put their underwear on backwards after the first day?”
My face scrunches. “Maybe dirt balls. That’s sick.”
She giggles. Her mood is completely different from yesterday, and I know I’m the reason. In the midst of the crap, it makes me smile.
Jamie pulls me toward the bathroom shower, undressing me as we go. I feel like we’ve been together our whole lives. It’s crazy, but true. She gets me. She owns my soul and I’m okay with it. The longer I stay the deeper I fall. I have to believe my mother helped make this happen. I hope she’s smiling today too. It makes my heart fill with contentment imagining it.
Jamie does a good job distracting me in the shower, her wet, sexy body rubbing against mine as the hot water beats down on our skin. She turns to face me, her full breasts pressing against my chest while we kiss. I get hard instantly, knowing the ache between my legs isn’t going away until I have her again. Without warning, I spin her back around bending her petite frame over so her ass is the only thing in the air. My palms course over her back, while the tip of my erection is positioned. I’m quick to enter her, grabbing her hips so I’m in total control. Our bodies make a smacking sound the moment I begin my pace. Jamie gets loud, moans escaping her as I continue bucking into her wet channel. I take hold of her wet hair and yank back, seeing her body arch and hands coming up flat against the tile wall. I’m close, but to be fair I pull out to prevent her from having to walk around all day with a mess between her legs. Jamie twists and finishes me off with her mouth. It feels so good my eyes roll back in my head as I grip a chunk of her drenched blonde hair.
When she comes up and kisses me I don’t find it at all revolting. I smash my lips against hers and promise to never let her go again. This is what I want forever. Time no longer matters to me. When it’s right you feel it, and when it comes to Jamie I’ve been experiencing that since the day we first met.