“Uh, I know this is kind of unexpected, but…you wouldn’t return any of my calls or respond to my texts and, even if you do have a new boyfriend, we were friends way before anything else had happened. I was kind of hoping we could still be friends, Fiona. I miss you and, believe it or not, I miss Vicky too.” He let out a small laugh, and I had never felt so bad.
“Jason, I never got any texts or calls from you. Af.…after, uh, that phone call, I thought you must just be mad at me, which I didn’t blame you if you had been.”
He cocked his head at me. “Where’s your phone?”
I went to my bedroom to retrieve my phone. Walking back into the living room, I saw Jason with his phone out. “I’m calling you, Fee.”
I looked down at my phone and there was nothing. I started getting a sinking feeling in my stomach when he said he just sent me a text and, again, nothing.
“My number’s been blocked, Fiona.”
I closed my eyes at the realization. When I opened them back up Jason was looking at me with a small smile playing on his lips. “I take it you didn’t block me?”
I shook my head. “I would never do that, Jase. Like you said, we were friends way before anything else came into play.”
He took my phone out of my hand and after tapping away for a bit, he called me again from his phone and, this time, it rang. I looked up at him. “I’m so sorry, Jason.”
“It’s okay, Fio-”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not. You don’t deserve to be dragged into my drama. I don’t know why he’d do something so ridic-”
“I do.”
My breath stopped when Jason stepped towards me. He was standing so close, I had to tilt my head back to look at him. He wasn’t as tall or as wide as Damien, but he was still bigger than I was. “You forget, Fiona. I’ve had you. And speaking as a man who’s seen you give into your pleasure, I don’t blame the man one bit. I’d do the same. Hell, most men worth their salt would.”
My face flushed at his personal compliment and reminder of our time together. “I think it’s because you’re the only other man I’ve ever been with-”
Jason threw his head back and laughed. “Now it makes even more sense.”
“What does?” I asked, confused.
He brought his hand up and caressed my face. “Awe, Fee. In a perfect world we would only know one lover. We’d all be virgins until our wedding nights and only share that experience with the one person we’re meant for. But we don’t live in a perfect world and, sweetheart, I have to say, I’m feeling pretty proud of myself that I’m the only other man you’ve been with. And, while I’m feeling proud, he’s feeling threatened, like any other man would.”
“That sounds ridiculous and cavemanish, Jason.”
He pulled his hand from my face and gifted me with one of his signature smiles. “It’s both, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Just like you have to be a woman to understand that time of the month or pregnancy, you have to be a man to understand our level of possessiveness and need to conquer.”
He sounded just like Damien, just a more watered-down version.
“So, we’re to feel flattered instead of frustrated?”
He outright laughed. “Nah, sweetheart, if it’s not making you feel desired, then it’s being done wrong. Do you feel desired?”
His question brought back a rush of memories and images of Damien driving into me and I could feel my face flush with heat. Yeah, I felt desired among other things.
Jason read my reaction perfectly. “Seems to me like he’s doing everything right.”
“If you think manipulation and lying are the right things to do, then I guess…”
“Fiona, it only seems that way if you’re a woman. If you’re a man, it falls under protectiveness and need.” Before I could respond to his absurd man-logic, there came another knock at the door.
His brows rose. “Did my coming here interrupt something?”
I headed towards the door. “No. It’s most likely Vicky.”
I opened the door for a second time today and, this time, it was Vicky on the other side. “Damn, Fee, you look like shit.”
I snorted as I stepped back to let her in. “Gee, thanks.” I shut the door. “Just so you know, I was already very aware of my appearance. No need to broadcast it.”