Chapter 3
Candy
“Well is that any way to speak to your husband? I haven't seen you in how many years? I think that you should at least ask me first how I am doing. I have missed you Candy.”
While I didn't remember him at the moment, there was something about his voice that seemed very familiar. I don't know why but I remembered it from my past. At some point, we had been together, or I wouldn't be having this trouble now. But I really wasn't sure what to think about it. This wasn't a joke and the man on the other line sounded like he was smiling. I didn't have to see his face to know it to be true.
“Considering that I didn't even realize I had a husband, I figured that my introduction was as pleasant as it could be.”
“If you didn't know about me, why are you calling me now?”
“Because I was in the middle of getting married when a lawyer came in to tell me that I was still married, and I couldn't marry Jax, the man of my dreams. Apparently, we got married when we were drunk in Las Vegas I take it?”
“That was a mouthful. I am a little hurt that you don't remember me, I sure remember you. And you weren’t that drunk.”
“I tell you that you ruined my marriage and you're the one that's hurt?”
“Look, I can tell that you're a little upset right now, but I assure you that I wasn't trying to ruin your marriage. You can't marry anybody else because we are married. And no offence, but you haven't been a very good wife. I don't think I've had one home cooked meal since we've been married.”
I couldn't believe the audacity of this guy. He didn't know me, but he was talking to me like you did. We had met one time, a long time ago and even if it did get hot and heavy, which I imagine it did, I didn't want to deal with him now. And that night must not have been that special because I didn't even remember him or it.
“Well I haven't gotten one birthday gift, not one anniversary gift, or a present for any other holiday for that matter. I think that most wives would be a little upset, but I'm not.”
“Touché”
He was now openly chuckling, and I don't know why the sound of it was driving me so crazy. I wanted him to take this seriously because I certainly was. The last thing I wanted to do was be married to some joker, or any other person for that matter. I was supposed to marry Jax. It was destined and whatever I had to do to get rid of this guy, I would do. Maybe he wanted money or something, I don't know. But whatever it took. That's what Jax said.
“So seriously, we need to get divorced. It is bad enough that I didn't get to marry him last week, but I don't want to put this off any longer. I will send you the paperwork, my lawyer has already drawn it up for me, all you have to do is sign it.”
“And if I don't?”
I sighed out loud and asked him why the hell he wouldn't. He had no reason to stay married to me. I’d tried to keep my cool, but it was going to be impossible.
“Don’t you ever want to get married for real?”
He just laughed at the idea and said that he was already married, so he didn't want to try again.
“What kind of husband would I be if I was out looking for another bride?”
“You would be the sort of husband that was not really married. I know that there is paperwork that exist that has my signature on it, but that doesn't mean anything.”
“If it doesn't mean anything, then why are you calling me?”
I had to take a deep breath and close my eyes for a minute. This was not the way that the conversation was supposed to go, and I didn't know how to talk to him. I had no idea where he was coming from, but it seemed like he was just trying to be a pain and I didn’t understand what his reasoning was for doing so.
“It means something because I can't marry Jax. That is all it means to me and I would really appreciate it if you would sign the papers, so that we can both move on with our lives.”
“If you want to divorce, then you have to come up here for a little while. It has been a long time since we saw each other, and I wouldn't feel right signing them without at least seeing you again. Do you really want to do this before you see me again? It has been a long time. Things change.”
“Yes, yes, I do.”
It was his turn to let out a frustrated noise and I wasn't sure why that was. Why did he get to be upset about this? Apparently, he knew about it and could have changed it at any time. Why he didn't, I have no idea, but that didn't matter now. All that mattered was that I broke the connection with him so that I could move on with my life with Jax. I didn't feel like that was too much to ask.
“If you want me to sign the papers, you have to come here. It is just that simple. Whether you want to see me or not Candy, I really want to see you again. Come up for the weekend and if you still want them signed at the end of it, I will sign them. That is the best I can do and there is no negotiations.”
It was his tone of voice that reminded me of something about him. Apparently, I did know a little bit about Colt and what I remembered wasn’t good.
“You're a lawyer, right?”
“Yes, I am Candy. See, I knew that you remembered me.”
“No, I just figured by your attitude that you were. If I agree to go up there, what would be the point? We are pretty much strangers and we both have a life. Why would you want to do that?”
His request with strange at the best, and I had no idea what he had going on in his mind. Surely, he had to see that this was a bad idea. How could he not?
“I just have to see you. Isn't that enough?”
It was something that I wanted Jax to say to me, not a man that I had gotten drunk with seven or so years ago. I was getting a headache just talking to him and I wasn't sure how I was supposed to fix this.
Jax had pushed me to call him, but I had tried my best to get it done without my estranged husband. My lawyer said that it would take up to six months to do it that way and I didn't want to wait that long. The only way that was going to get me divorced right now and marry the man that I loved, was to get him to sign the papers. His signature was the only thing standing in my way and I wasn't going to let that happen.
“What I mean is, I want to know what you expect out of me Colt. I am supposed to be married to someone else, so there is no way that I'm going to go up there and sleep with you. I don't know what you have on your mind but if this marriage isn't consummated, I am sure not going to start.”
“Oh, it was consummated alright. Many times. I even got you to come so hard you passed out a couple of times, but you refused to believe it. You said that it had never happened before. Does the man that you are about to marry, make you so the same?”
I couldn't believe that he had said that out loud and sadly it made me shiver inside. I was starting to have a few flashbacks of my night with Colt and I can't say that it was bad memories. I would never admit to him that Jax never made me come that way. It may not have been perfect in the bedroom, but we had something more, we had love. He had close ties to my family
“Well, whatever happened that night is not going to happen again. As long as you understand that and agree to that, I will meet with you.”
“No Candy, I want you to come stay with me for the weekend. I can get you a flight out of there in about an hour. You are still in Southern California, right?”
“Yeah.”
I wasn't going to ask him how he knew that. He already knew too much about me and it made me uncomfortable. All I know for now, was that I had to tell Jax about this and he wasn't going to be very happy.
When I got off the phone with Colt and we had decided to meet up, I went to the bedroom to see if Jax was awake from his nap. I don't know how I was going to tell him this, but surely, he had to see that this was the only way. He was going to like the idea of it, about as bad as I would have if I was in his shoes.
I couldn’t believe how much one night of drinking had screwed up my life.