The Journey Home(9)
Author: Kelly Elliott

“What’s his name, anyway? She only calls him “Mr. Hot Pants” with me.”

I shrugged. “I have no clue. I think it pisses her off I haven’t asked. Honestly, I’m tired of hearing about him. He sounds like an ass who just likes to fuck all day and night. No, thank you.”

“Okay, well, who the hell cares about Zoey?” Monica said. “When do you close on the house?”

I smiled and jumped a little. “Tomorrow! Can you believe it? I’m buying a house!”

“And a waterfront property, no less, on Beaver Lake. With a dock! How in the hell did you pull that off without Mommy and Daddy’s help?”

I pushed Monica’s shoulder, she stumbled and laughed. My mother was not happy with me—I still refused to work for my father at his telecommunications company, Powers Communications. My mother couldn’t understand why I wanted to work and earn my own way. According to her I struggled to make ends meet. Truth be told, I made decent money. And I loved my job. I didn’t want to take a dime from my parents—if I did, my mother would take it as permission to control my life. No thank you, I thought. I did that for eighteen years.

“The dock isn’t going to do me any good without a boat.” I said, making my way to the kitchen.

“Maybe you’ll have a hot neighbor with a boat.” Monica said, wiggling her eyebrows.

I threw my head back and laughed. “That would be nice. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind a guy pushing me against a wall and having his way with me.”

Monica picked up an apple and took a bite. “Just get Zoey’s guy to do it,” she said.

“I swear, if she tells me one more time about him fucking her against a wall, I’ll scream.”

I shook my head. Zoey had dated plenty of guys, but she’d never once shared like this about her sex life. Why she felt like she needed to share now was beyond me.

“Why do you think Zoey is so fixated on telling me about her sex life?”

Monica shrugged. “Who knows? I’m telling you, I don’t trust her. That night we were talking about Cale, I swear she was listening in. I wouldn’t be surprised if she tracked him down and fucked him just to get one up on you.”

I looked at Monica and frowned. “She would never do something like that, Monica.”

Monica rolled her eyes. “She’s evil. Pure evil.”

I giggled and shook my head. “She’s sick. Be nice.”

“Shit, she could live another fifty years. I don’t care if she’s sick. I don’t trust her and I think you need to be careful with her.”

“Okay. Let’s forget about sex-crazed Zoey. Tonight is our night. Maybe we’ll even get fucked against a wall.”

We both started laughing as we made plans to head out for drinks and dancing.

“THAT’S THE LAST box,” Jack said, out of breath, as he dropped the box on the floor.

I looked out the giant window that over looked Beaver Lake and smiled. I can’t believe I own a house.

Jack slapped me on the back. “Now you just need a boat to fill that empty spot on the dock.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Let me get my mortgage under control first.”

“Shit, just ask your dad for one. He’ll buy it for you in a heartbeat.”

“Not an option.”

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out.

Zoey: Hey handsome. How is the move coming along? I can’t wait for you to fuck me on every surface of the house. I’ll be there soon!

I sighed and sat down on the sofa. I’d been dating Zoey for over a month and wasn’t sure how much more of her I could take. I liked her, but something was off.

“Zoey?” Jack asked, shooting me that all-knowing look.

I nodded.

“You have a hotter than hot girlfriend, and she’s kinky as fuck. She’d probably do anything you asked her to do. Why are you pouting?”

I sucked in a deep breath. “That’s just it, Jack. That’s all it is for her. Fucking. There’s no real connection between us. I mean, she’s great in bed. But something is missing. For once I’d like for her to come over, sit, and have a glass of wine with me. Talk to me. The moment she walks in the door she strips out of her clothes and either drops to her knees to suck me off or goes to the bedroom and tells me she’s had a hard day and needs to be fucked.”

Jack smiled. “Sounds like my dream woman. What’s the problem?”

“I don’t know. Something feels off. I feel like she’s hiding something from me. I plan on talking to her about it tonight.”

Jack stood up. “Dude, honestly?” he said. “There’s something about her that doesn’t sit right with me. It never has. She has that look in her eye.”

I tilted my head and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“She’s a liar.”

I stared at Jack. I could feel anger building in my veins and I wasn’t sure why. “How the hell do you know that?”

Jack shook his head and looked away. As he turned back toward me, the look on his face was sad. Regretful, even.

“Because when I look in her eyes, I see my own.”

He turned and headed out the front door. I stood there stunned. “What the hell does that mean?” I whispered to myself.

I followed Jack back out to the truck we’d rented. I grabbed his arm pulling him to a stop. “Is there something you want to tell me, Jack?”

He stared at the ground, then out toward the lake. “About six months after you and Maddie hooked up, she came to my house.”

My heart slammed in my chest. “What? Why didn’t you tell me? What did you say to her?”

Jack kept staring out over the lake. “When I opened the door and saw her standing there…I don’t know if I was jealous that she’d come back for you, or the fact that I’d wanted to hook up with her that night, or just that I’m a dick.” He gave me a weak smile as I stood there, waiting to hear what he was going to say.

“She said she’d just gotten back home from her internship in London and was looking for you. I told her you had a girlfriend. That it hadn’t taken you long to move on. I invited her in and was ready to put a move on her, but she turned me down—flat. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes, though. She was crushed. When she turned to leave I almost called out for her to tell her it was all a lie, but I couldn’t. I let her walk away.”

I’d never hated Jack in my entire life. I don’t think I’d ever really been mad at him, until right now. Hurt and anger built up inside me.