EIGHT
Jake
“Why do you keep checking your phone?”
“I sent Mia a text. I’m waiting for her response,” I admit. I don’t tell him that I called her last night and got her voicemail, and I’ve been torturing myself about what she was doing and if she’s with Gavin. Why hasn’t she responded to my text?
Luke and I are in his house. He and Ana invited me over for breakfast, and since we finished our meal, Luke and I have been in their living room talking. Ana is going over to Rae’s. I think they’re going shopping or something together. Mia isn’t going with them. Where the hell is she?
“Maybe you should look for someone to help you forget her,” Luke suggests carefully.
I send him a withering look. “Why the fuck would I do that?”
Undaunted by my annoyance at his suggestion, he says, “Because I think it’s time you move on from her. She’s with someone else.”
“I didn’t wait for her [stay faithful] for two years, just to sleep with someone else when she’s right in front of me.”
“Wait, what? You haven’t been with anyone in two years?” Luke looks incredulous. I didn’t mean to reveal that to him or anyone else for that matter. It’s no one’s business. “You’ve been celibate? Because of a chick? You may as well be a monk. Fuck, man. I’m not sure I can do that.”
I didn’t exactly plan to be celibate but after that night in Vegas, my head has been so wrapped up in Mia that I had no interest in being with anyone. Not even Caroline, who had been my regular (companion/partner) for a year. Our arrangement had been strictly about sex which we found mutually beneficial. She was an ambitious prosecutor with no time for emotions. It was the perfect setup for me until Mia. It’s weird but even thinking about being with anyone else felt like I was betraying Mia.
“That’s really good to know, Luke,” Ana says from the doorway, taking Luke and me by surprise. She sends a scathing look to her fiancé. Way to put your foot in your mouth, brother. Seeing the sheepish/disconcerting expression on Luke’s face almost makes me smile. Then she turns to look at me, her expression open (and friendly). “That’s sweet, Jake,” she says earnestly. “You should tell her. She probably won’t be thrilled with what I’m about to tell you, but you should know she hasn’t been with anyone since you. She hadn’t been on a single date. Well, until she met Gavin. Gavin’s a great guy but my money is on you.”
Her words give me hope. She starts to leave but when she gets to the door, she turns back to look at me and adds, “By the way, did you know Luke introduced Gavin to Mia?” My delight at finding out that Mia hadn’t dated anyone until recently fades. I turn to my brother who groans and closes his eyes as if in pain. He opens his eyes and sees me glaring at him. I’m pissed. Mia would still have been single if he hadn’t introduced her to douchebag. “And he’s been trying to do more than just going out on dates. Who knows how far Gavin has convinced her to go?”
Luke makes what sounds like a strangled/choking sound. “Fuck.” Looking at his fiancée, he says, “Thanks, baby. You know you’re going to pay for that tonight, right?”
She blows him a kiss. “I’m looking forward to it.” She walks out with a smile on her face.
Luke reluctantly turns back to me to meet my glare. “Jake, like I told you, I had no idea she’s your Mia,” he says lightly [placatingly], wanting to placate me. “And I didn’t exactly introduce them. Gavin came to watch soccer, I mean football, whatever at my house, and Mia came over with Ana, Rae and Cole. There was no way I could have known that he and Mia would get together.”
I know he’s right, he couldn’t have known what would happen but still . . .
“If it helps, I don’t think they’ve had sex yet. Mia told him she wants to take things slow.”
Call me a (neatherndal) but the tightness in my chest eases at his words. I know I don’t have any claim on her but I’m certain we belong together and I feel possessive of her.
“I have to go.” Going back to my house and hitting the gym sounds like a good way to get rid of my frustration (and anger), and it’ll give me time to think of my next move with Mia.
“Jake?”
I shake my head at my younger brother. “Not now, Luke.”
The drive back to my house doesn’t take long. (Add more?)
The truth is that I don’t blame Luke, and I have nothing against Gavin for asking her out. Mia is a beautiful woman. How can any red-blooded man resist her? But I need him to step away [aside] now. I have no doubt that he can see how much Mia is affected by me. He knows. So I need him to do us all a favor and step aside.
If Luke had mentioned Mia’s name to me just once, I’d have asked if she had xxx hair and xxx eyes, and I’d have been on the next flight to London. I think [The thought] of having her so close, and then letting her slip through my fingers . . . after longing for her for years . . . No, that’s not going to happen. I’m not letting her go. Not ever.
She’s mine.