Different Roads (20 page)

His fingers fisted in my hair and he
pulled, hard. I felt his breath on my skin as he whispered in my ear,
"You're a fucking tease, you know that?"

"Get the fuck off of her, Trevor,"
the order was issued by a cold, yet extremely familiar voice. I felt every
muscle in Trevor's legs stiffen around me. "I mean it dude, I'm not
playing."

Trevor pushed off me, "Whatever bro.
If you want my sloppy seconds, be my guest."

Seth dove for Trevor and slammed him
hard enough against the living room wall to dislodge two framed pictures
hanging there. Seth's hand wrapped around Trevor's throat, and his feet kicked
helplessly in the air about a foot above the floor.  "If I ever hear of
you getting rough with a woman again, I will hunt you down and personally kick
the living shit out of you. Do I make myself clear?"

Trevor's face was red, and I wasn't sure
if it was from anger, humiliation, or because Seth's hand was still gripping
his throat. "Yes," he hissed through clenched teeth. Seth dropped
Trevor and he fell to his knees rubbing his neck.

Seth whirled to face me, "Come on.
We're leaving."

Numb from too much tequila and
completely dumbfounded by his appearance, I nodded in compliance. I didn't
object when he put his hand on the small of my back and guided me out of the
apartment. Somewhere in the dark, more-sober recesses of my brain, I marveled
about, how once again, Sir Seth had ridden in to save my ass.

Seth
didn't say a word when he slid onto the truck seat beside me. His blue eyes
smoldered beneath his baseball cap as he glared out from under the bill. I
chewed on my bottom lip and fidgeted nervously. "Are you sure you're sober
enough to drive?" I asked him.

            "Fuck
no," he muttered. "But somebody had to get your drunk ass out of
there."

            I
gaped at him, "Shelley and Shannon were with me."

            He
mashed his foot down on the gas pedal, sending pea gravel spitting in every
direction from beneath the tires. He sighed and glanced sideways at me,
"Sometimes Jaq, I feel like you're a disaster waiting to happen. I don't
know what the hell you do when I'm not around to save you from doing something
really fucking stupid."

            I
stared at my hands to avoid his hard look, "It seems that way, doesn't it?"
I said quietly, while trying to swallow the painful lump that was wedged at the
back of my throat.

            His
eyes softened like warm butter and he reached over to squeeze my knee,
"Hey, you okay? Did that idiot hurt you?"

            I
moved my leg out from under his touch and a traitorous tear slid down my cheek,
"I'm fine."

            When
he stopped in front of my house, I silently hoped he would just drop me off and
be on his merry way. His touch had never failed to reduce me into a piping hot
puddle of goo and couple that with the multiple shots of tequila I'd consumed,
I knew if he even looked at me with his piercing, oh-so-beautiful blue eyes I'd
be totally screwed.
Literally.

            I
reached for the door handle, anxious to not breathe in the same air as him and
he said, "Jaq, wait." I froze, unable to take a breath. He sighed, "Oh
hell, let's go."

            We
walked into the dark kitchen, and he reached up into the cupboard for my stash
of tequila. He unscrewed the lid and offered the bottle to me. I shook my head,
"No, I think I've had enough for one night."

            He
smiled and nodded before tipping back a big gulp. He turned his gaze in my
direction. His eyes went dark with something so intoxicatingly sensual I felt
my knees go weak, "What the hell am I doing?" He lifted the cap from
his head and raked a hand through his hair. "I shouldn't even be
here."

            My
morals were about to jump right out the window and it was all I could do to
keep from grabbing his hand and do him one more time for old time's sake. Regaining
some semblance of sanity, I blinked, and smiled weakly, "No, you probably
shouldn't be." I yanked the bottle of tequila out of his hand and
proceeded to kick back a gulp.

            He
peeled my fingers from their tight grip on the bottle and wrapped his arms
around my neck. He rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes.
"I have no right to be mad at you for making stupid choices, Jaq," he
said softly.  His breath tickled against my skin, making me feel lightheaded.

            I
threaded my fingers though his belt loops and clung to him. I was afraid if I
spoke, the moment would be lost forever, and I wasn't sure I was ready to let
him walk out of my life again. "Hey, it happens," I said.

            He
tipped my chin so that my eyes met his, "I wish I could go back in time
and undo all the stupid things I've done," he admitted.

            I
arched an eyebrow at him and asked, "What would you do differently?"

            He
pulled away from me and laughed, "The list is pretty long. I don't even
know where to begin."

            I
pulled him toward me, "Would you undo what we had?"

            "Hell
no," he sighed. "You were the one thing that was right about my life.
I was just too fucking blind to see it." I nodded in silence and before I
had time to wonder what was about to happen, his lips claimed mine. He lifted
me off the floor and I wrapped my legs around him.

            A
moan escaped my lips as he carried me into the bedroom and crushed my body
beneath his on the bed.

That
was the last thing I remembered before waking to a blinding bright sun beating
through the open curtains in my room. A tiny smiled curled at the corners of my
lips and I reached beside me. He was gone. I began to wonder if I'd dreamt the
whole thing or if he really had been here with me last night. I rolled over
onto my side and propped my throbbing head on my hand.

            On
the pillow next to me, there was one, slightly worn baseball cap. I ran my
fingers around the bill of the hat and brought it to my face to inhale Seth's
familiar musky scent. "Fuck, what did I do last night?" I muttered.

            "Judging
from the stupid smile you have on your face and that cap you're holding,"
Shelley said from across the room. "I'd say you were a very naughty girl
last night."

            I
groaned and rolled onto my back, pulling my pillow over my face to shield my
eyes from the sun and Shelley's inquisitive stare, "Go away," I said.

            She
giggled and pounced on the bed beside me, "I will. Right after you tell me
everything."

            "I
would love to tell you every panty dropping detail, but..." I pulled the
pillow slowly down and peered at her through one eye, "I don't remember a
damn thing."

            Shelley
snickered and said, "That's okay, I'll use my imagination and fill in the
blanks."

            I
rolled my eyes and slid off the end of the bed, "I need a shower."

            I
turned the water on as hot as I could stand it and let it try to wash my
stupidity away. I couldn't be sure if I'd actually slept with Seth, but judging
from the way certain areas of my anatomy felt this morning, I was reasonably
sure I had.  When the water ran cold, I turned it off and slipped into my robe.

            "I
can't believe how fucking stupid I am," I said to myself. I was disgusted
that I'd allowed myself to sleep with Seth after everything he'd done to crush
me in the past. "He's a married man you moron."

            Shelley
poked her head inside the room and glanced around, "Who are you talking
to?"

            "Myself,"
I admitted.

            She
nodded slowly and gave me a thin-lipped smile, "I heard some of that
conversation," she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly against
her. "I am only going to offer you one teensy-tiny bit of advice and then
I'm going to shut up."

            "Okay,"
I said, holding my breath.

            "First
of all, you need to swear off the tequila," she put her hands on my
shoulders and walked me over to my bed. She sat down and motioned for me to sit
beside her. "Second, you might want to review your decision making process
where men are concerned. Because frankly sweetie, you suck at making good
choices in that area of your life."

            "Ya
think?" I said.

            She
held up her hands, "Hey, don't shoot the messenger, I'm just sayin'."

            I
nodded, "I know."

            "Finally,
if you insist on being a hoochie-mama? Buy some damn toys, and keep a good
supply of batteries on hand," she grinned.

            My
face flushed, "You are so wrong for that," I chuckled.

            "Hey,
don't knock it until you've tried it," she grinned ear to ear. "Now,
get dressed, let's go get some ice cream. For every question, ice cream is the
answer. Especially when it comes to the opposite sex."

            "Does
it cure amnesia?" I asked.

            "Probably
not tequila-induced amnesia, no," she giggled.

            "What
is that noise? Is that my cell phone, or did you forget to turn off your
toys?" I asked and glanced around the room trying to locate my phone.

            Shelley
got on her hands and knees and reached under my bed. She pulled out the pants
I'd had on last night and found my phone in the front pocket where I'd left it.
Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head, "Well, if you don't remember
anything about last night, maybe one of these text messages will help fill in
the blanks."

            I
snatched my phone out of her hands, "What are you talking about?"

            "See
for yourself," she said, turning to leave. "Don't forget about our
date with Ben and Jerry."

            I
thumbed through the messages on my phone and my eyes went wide when I saw the
message from Seth:

                       
Hey
girl,

When I woke up
next to you this morning my first reaction was what the fuck is wrong with me? Sleeping
with you last night felt so right. I don't know how I could have been so stupid
to walk away from everything we had together. You were, and still are, the most
amazing girl I've ever known.

I know I left so
many unanswered questions and you have no idea how sorry I am for hurting you.
I had my own personal demons to deal with and I felt like if I stayed with you,
I only would have ended up dragging you down with me.

There is not one
day that goes by that I don't think about you or wish things could have been
different.

Jaq, I will love
you always. I just thought you should know.

Seth.

            "No,
god dammit!" I screamed and collapsed onto the floor.

            Shelley
came running, "Jaq? What the hell? Are you alright?"

I couldn't stop the tears from coming. I
shook my head in response and handed her my phone so she could read the message
herself. I buried my face in my hands and bawled like a baby. An angry,
red-faced, teething baby.

Shelley's mouth dropped to her chest,
"Oh my god."

It's
been one week since I slept with Seth. Six days since he sent me the
heartbreaking text that felt like a knife was wedged into my spleen and twisted
a couple of times to make sure I felt it. I've made up my mind that it's time
to end my relationship with Damon.  In fact, I've decided to swear off all members
of the opposite sex. Knowing that Seth still loves me, and knowing I've never
stopped loving him, I just can't imagine my life with anyone else.

            Because
of Damon's persistence, avoiding him all week wasn't easy. I managed to
rearrange a couple of my classes, moving them to the morning time slots so I
wouldn't be around campus any day after two in the afternoon. Damon liked to
show up unannounced after my afternoon classes and try to mesmerize me with his
panty-dropping charm. I figured if I didn't have to see him, I'd be immune to
his wicked ways.

            He'd
been blowing up my cell phone all week by sending text messages and calling. I only
responded to a couple of texts to temporarily placate him until I could figure
out how the hell to break things off completely. I thought about doing it by email
or text, but decided that might be even more risky than just sucking it up and doing
it face to face. Nothing was ever easy when it came to getting rid of Damon
Blackwell.

            My
plans for the night involved meeting him at his sister Dani's house across town
for dinner. I told him there was no reason for him to drive all the way over to
pick me up, take me to his sister's house, and then bring me back home again. I
planned to end things with him right afterwards. I thought I had a pretty
foolproof plan since I knew I could outrun him with my Charger (unless he had
his Harley), if by chance he came after me.