Chapter 10

Jeremy

I watched Nora walk all the way home and then I slammed the door. How the fuck could she have ended up like all the rest? She was supposed to be different. I’d been tender and loving and done everything for her pleasure and that’s how she chose to leave it? Thanks for the sex, we can do it again but that’s all it is? Next time maybe I’d just throw a few hundred dollar bills at her and treat her like a whore, then maybe she’d react like I expected.

It was always the same damned thing with women, treat them like shit they loved you; treat them like a goddess and they just wanted to be friends.

Being a billionaire hadn’t helped a bit. Instead, it had only brought more insensitive women my way. No one had ever taken me seriously and they usually assumed it was all me. In some cases, I will admit those women had been right, but not all of them and certainly not Nora.

Things had started off so amazing. She was really into it and seemed to be as much into me as I was her, but then something happened like a switch had been flipped, and she turned cold.

The phone ringing didn’t help my mood, especially since I didn’t know where my phone was. I had somehow misplaced it and the last time I’d seen it was when I went to get my ice cream. I searched the house and then stepped out on the front landing where my bowl of ice cream had been taken over by ants. I left them to their feast and headed back inside content to deal with the empty bowl later rather than get eaten up. By the time I found it in the kitchen under the dishrag I’d used to wipe up some spilled ice cream, the damned thing had stopped ringing and was showing a missed call display.

My brother had called from New York, so I hit redial, grabbed a beer from the fridge and headed to the couch. I didn’t sit on the one I’d been with Nora on, instead, I took a seat all the way across the room.

“I wish you’d learn to answer your phone. I’ve called about three times.”

“I lost it. What’s the problem?” I figured Nora had gone home and called her sister to tell her all about how she’d rejected me. I could see Harper telling my brother and now he’d called to rub it in.

“I was just checking to see how practice went.” I slumped in the leather couch feeling like a big loser.

“Jimmy climbed up on the dugout and cut his leg on the fence on the way down, but other than that it’s good.”

“Oh man, is he okay?”

“Yeah, I left a parent in charge and ran him down to see Nora for a few stitches.”

He whistled through the phone. “I bet Katy was flipping out. Did you comfort her?”

“No, why would I?” He’d always thought I should get back with Katy, but since she’d dumped me our senior year, I wasn’t about to try again. “She ditched me, remember? And then she let the guy knock her up and leave her. No thanks. I care about her, but it doesn’t mean I have to get involved.” My tone was a lot harsher than I meant it to be, but I was so angry about Nora, I couldn’t help it.

“You’re in a pissy mood, mind telling me what else happened today?” He could always read me like a book.

“I had Nora over earlier.” It didn’t seem right telling him about it, so I kept the details to myself.

“You two have a fight or something?” His tone was suspicious and he lowered his voice letting me know her sister was around.

“No, we had sex, then she proceeded to tell me what it was and that it couldn’t be more. Then she left.” I felt miserable all over again just thinking about it.

“Wow. I’m not even sure if I should touch that. I mean, that’s pretty big, brother.”

“Yeah, not that it matters. I finally get my dream girl and she turns me down after the fact. Do you believe she actually told me she wants to do it again?”

He chuckled. “You should take that as a compliment.”

“I take that as I’m good enough for a fuck but not much more. Well, I have news for her. She’s lost her virginity for all of an hour and she decides she wants a fuck buddy, I’ll give her a fuck buddy.”

Luke coughed and then I could hear him take a swig of something to drink. After a moment, he collected himself. “She was a virgin? Like for real or you know, they just say that sometimes.”

“I popped her cherry, so yeah, I’m pretty sure she wasn’t lying.” My dick hurt just thinking about how tight she’d been. It had been amazing.

“Maybe she got scared. It could have been that she expected you were just using her, so she thought she’d beat you to the punch.” What he was saying made sense, but it did nothing for my bruised ego.

“I’ve never given her anything to be scared about. She spread easy enough and she sure wasn’t afraid of my dick?” It just didn’t make sense. But if she wanted things like this, I’d oblige. Far be it from me to turn down a piece of ass.

“I don’t think you should be so hard on her is all. She’s not that experienced and you know the rumors that go around. You’re the billionaire playboy. I’ll have Harper talk to her if you want?

“Don’t you dare! I don’t want those two sitting around comparing notes.”

“Why, you think they’ll figure out I’ve got the bigger dick?” My brother had always prided himself on having the biggest cock, but that had never been proven.

“You’ve got it all wrong once again. You are the biggest dick, but that doesn’t mean you’ve got the biggest.” I laughed knowing that he was probably sitting there with his big dopey grin and shaking his head.

“Look, man. You’re going to have to be nice to her. She’s going to be family soon. You’ll have to endure her through every holiday and at Sunday dinners.” My brother had always missed the large Sunday dinners we’d had as a child and when we redid the house years ago he’d even put in a table large enough for twenty people.

“I know you have a point and I want all of that, but I’d prefer she’d be there for me and not her sister.” I couldn’t believe I’d just said that aloud.

“Whoa, did I catch that? Are you in love with her, Jeremy?” My brother got quiet and waited for my response but all I could do was sigh. Not even Luke could see that I had been head over heels for Nora since the day I’d met her.

“So, what if I am? She’d never believe it anyway. I may as well take whatever I can get.”

“Take it from me, Jeremy. Go after her.”

I let those words sink in, but I couldn’t do it. I was done chasing Nora. It was high time Nora chased me.