Always the One, page 11
part #1 of Always and Forever Series
“Babe, um, this is uh Evan. He’s our investor I’ve been telling you about.” Her voice is breathy, and I finally break eye contact with the poor chump to look down at Shay. She looks just as I thought she would, her cheeks are flushed and her lips are swollen from my assault. She’s seriously beautiful. I know she can feel me against her stomach and she glances down. Her lust-filled green eyes widen. She shoots her head back up and looks at me in shock. I give her a quick wink.
“Sorry, how rude of me. I’m Trey, her boyfriend. She’s told me a lot about you, Ethan.”
“Babe, it’s Evan,” she says, looking up at me with a pissed smirk on her sexy lips. I know it was rude, but I don’t care. I hate this bastard and the way he’s still looking at Shay. I guess next time I’ll have to slap her ass and give her a hickey in the shape of a T for my name. Dick.
“Oh, Evan, sure, whatever.” I shrug my shoulders to give extra emphasis on the lack of shits that I give.
“Nice to meet you, Trey.” He holds his hand out toward me, and I stare at it for a second, debating what I should do. After a few more seconds, I choose the high road. I squeeze it hard with force, trying to out strengthen him. Okay, so maybe not the high road, but it was a detour to the nice way.
“Trey, your lovely girlfriend, here has been working tirelessly to get this new line together for the board of directors. She’s quite incredible, don’t you think?”
Don’t I think? Yeah, I think my girlfriend is incredible. Who is this dude? Lovely? I’m sorry, but this guy must be the dumbest man alive to call her lovely in front of me.
“Her name is Shayla, not lovely.” He smirks the biggest grin, and I can see the cockiness radiating off of him in waves. It makes my blood boil. Shay starts squirming in my arms until she gets loose from my grip.
“Trey.” She’s no longer red from blushing when we lock eyes; she’s red with anger, which is extremely sexy looking on her. I hear Kingston cough next to me, and I know he knows I’m about to get my ass handed to me. I heed his warning, as well as the threat in Shayla’s tone and bite my tongue. Step down, Trey, remember she isn’t the pawn in your fucking issues.
“Sorry, yes, Shayla is amazing.” Lana chuckles next to King’s relaxed posture. They both think it’s funny to see me bugging out, little did they know I’m choosing to not fucking snap. Something about this Evan guy just doesn’t sit well. His eyes roam over Shayla’s body in ways they shouldn’t, spending an unsettling amount of time on her beautiful curves. Any man would be jealous if another man were looking at their woman the way he did.
“One of the greatest talents I’ve ever had the complete pleasure of working with.” He draws out pleasure, letting it roll off his tongue smoothly. I remove my arm from around Shay and move toward Lana, leaning to her level to give her a quick hug, choosing with all my fucking strength to not punch his fucking lights out.
“Both you girls are talented, all the brains and beauty,” he states again, and Kings takes a deep breath next to me, I shoot him a look and see him raging, chest puffed and ready to attack. He and I both. Lana grabs his arm and holds him in place; Evan is too oblivious to notice, as he’s wrapped up in checking his phone.
“You girls need to eat, it’s past lunch,” I state, moving back toward Shayla. Wrapping my arm around her again, I stare at Evan, giving him the signal to leave so the girls can eat.
“True, I should leave you ladies to it. Thanks for seeing me today and have a great vacation. Lana, Shay.” He nods at them both. “I will update you when I hear back from the board.”
“Thanks, Evan,” they cheerfully say in unison. My eyes never leave his moving form until he is out of sight.
“We need to have a little talk, can we go in my office?” Shay pulls me by the hand, leaving my arms and leading us to the back of the store, not really letting me answer.
Shutting the door I make myself comfortable on her desk, leaning against it and crossing my arms and legs at my ankles. I know she’s standing there staring at me, while I adjust myself.
“’Her name’s Shayla, not lovely? Evan, sure, whatever?’” She mocks my previous statements.
I shrug my shoulders and smirk. “It’s the truth.” I state matter-of-factly.
“Trey, you have got to get this under control. Evan is a good guy, he’s just over the top with compliments, I’m sure it’s just to butter us up, so we don’t back out.”
I scoff, lifting my brow. I know she can’t be serious. She turned down other investors and picked him, so what buttering up needs to be done?
“Shay, he doesn’t look at Lana the way he looks at you. I can try my best to let that go, but then he calls you girls beautiful and puts his hand on your lower back. Don’t you think that warrants me to be a tad jealous?”
“No, not with me.” She stands still, her gaze never wavering and her tone firm. I shake my head and finally move. Pushing from the desk, I sit in the chair just in front of it. Moving around me, she takes my previous spot and leans against her desk.
“You know, men nowadays tend to not be so gentlemanlike, I feel he is just being a gentleman.” Dropping my head in my hands, exasperated, I laugh in a mocking tone.
“The only woman I touch like that is you. I don’t whisper in Lana’s ear and place my hand inches from her ass, or call her beautiful one too many fucking times,” I tell her, sitting back up and running my hand through my hair. I know Shay, and if the roles were reversed she would be a tad jealous. We are a naturally jealous species, humans are jealous of all things. Friends are jealous when their best friend hangs with someone else, men are jealous when their women talk to other men and I know damn well women get jealous of other women. It’s human nature; however, mine may be a tad bit more complicated.
“Trey. It’s nothing. Okay.” She comforts me, her tone low and calming. I appreciate her being patient with me and talking things out with me, but I’m not going to just sit here and let a man call my woman beautiful the way he does. “Okay, I think we need to talk about this tonight. I feel this isn’t the time or place to go this deep into the issue.”
“You’re right. Maybe we should talk about it when you get home. Are you mad at me?” I reach my hand out, hoping she will take it. I smile internally when she places her hand in mine.
“I’m not mad, I’m just not understanding you and why you feel the way you do.” I can appreciate that, and now I need to be patient with her and step back for a minute. It’s only fair.
“I can meet you at home. I can see I’ve overstepped my boundaries,” I declare, standing and letting her hand slip from mine. I don’t know how I feel about everything. I mean I didn’t overreact like I could have or like I wanted to, but I still let my jealousy slip through the cracks just enough for Shay to be disappointed in me.
“You didn’t overstep your boundaries, you just didn’t respect mine. I don’t want to fight, but we do need to talk about this, Trey, this has to stop.” I shake my head in absorption. My chest tightening enough to make me want to fall to my knees at her feet and beg for her forgiveness. I guess the whole saying about people being mad at you isn’t as bad as them being disappointed in you—is true.
“I’m sorry, Shay. I’ll see you at home.” I leave her without one more glance, heading back to the rental car. Kings sees me leaving and says his good-byes. I wait in the car while I watch him say something to Shayla, shaking his head and then hugging her briefly before heading to me.
Climbing in, he starts on me immediately. “Get your jealousy under control, Trey, you don’t want to lose my sister,” he warns, buckling up while I pull out.
“I know, but you see it, right? You see the way he looks at her, the way he talks to her?” I ask, begging that he will agree so I can convince myself I’m not making this shit up in my head, that I’m not totally wrong for feeling the way I do.
“Yeah, I do. But he hasn’t done anything to make her feel uncomfortable and he hasn’t made a move on her, so that shouldn’t bother you. Besides, my sister is a beautiful woman, so anyone who isn’t blind is gonna check her out. Learn to deal with that or move on. Don’t put my sister in the middle of all your shit.”
“I know she’s fucking beautiful, I get that. I know I am the fucking problem, Kings, but I need help fixing that” I confess, my eyes not leaving the road in front of me. Shayla has always been shy, yes, but what she hasn’t been is unsure of what she wants. Shayla rationalizes all things, thinks them through thoroughly, and goes in strong with her final decision. She is the strong one in our relationship.
“Then figure out exactly what it is you need from her to help you. Because she is loyal as fuck and there shouldn’t sit one doubt in your fucking head over your relationship with her.” I hate that he’s right. Not once did Shayla respond to Evan’s comments or blush when he complimented her. All that shit is made up in my head.
“I’ll work my shit out. As long as I have Shayla, I can work my shit out. If it means keeping her then I’ll do it,” I declare.
“You fucking better, because remember, bros or not, Shay comes first in my line.”
“I know.” Leaving the conversation there, I get us home and spend the next few hours on edge, waiting for Shayla so I can fix everything.
I watch the clock religiously, checking it every five seconds when five rolls around. I’m waiting in Shayla’s room, nervous for what she’s gonna say. Nervous for what I’m gonna say. We have such strong passion between us two, that it can go one of two ways—amazing or completely south.
I hear the front door open and shut, then the distinct sound of heels against the hard wood, echoing down the hall. My palms are sweating and I gently rock back and forth from my spot on her bed. The door creaks open and she appears, looking just as tired and stressed as me. We have only been dating a short time, and I feel we have already faced so much shit. And it’s all my fucking fault.
“Hey,” I start first, ready to get this shit going and fix the mess I made.
“Hi.” Her low voice pinches my heart tighter. I hate that during this important time in her life, I’m causing issues. God, I really am a bastard.
“I have a problem. I have severe jealousy, something I am struggling to control. I just don’t appreciate men looking at you and calling you beautiful and incredible. He shouldn’t be talking to you like that, especially in a professional setting.” I ramble on, trying to fit all that I want to say into one breath. She removes her shoes, then stands in place for a moment longer, her fingers rubbing circles against her temple.
“Trey. I’m your girlfriend. I chose you. I may be new to this whole thing, seeing as you’re my first boyfriend. But, I’m almost certain cheating has to happen in order for someone to doubt or feel insecure the way you do.” She moves to her dresser and removes her jewelry. She hasn’t looked at me, avoiding my sorrowful stare, I’m sure. I look how I feel—like shit.
“Shayla. I fucking trust you; it’s him I don’t trust. I feel like he has a hidden agenda. I can’t explain it but the way he looks at you makes something not feel right.” I am trying my best to search for a rational way to explain how I can feel the way I do just simply because his eyes have a wandering problem, but even it sounds crazy to me and I’m the one fucking feeling this way.
“Trey, this man is going to help me build this dream of mine, something Lana and I have wanted for so long.” She says this and I choose to forgo telling her that makes me just as insecure. Sure my dad is wealthy, and if I wanted to I could ask for a loan to help invest in her dream, but she wouldn’t take it and I know she wants to make it on her own. But I think I would do better keeping that information to myself.
“I know, but I just want to make sure he is doing it for the right reason.” Her head snaps in my direction and her eyes narrow in on me.
“Wow, Trey. That’s not cool.” She walks into her closet and I curse myself, squinting my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose, I think of something to combat what I just said. Before I can speak she comes rushing out of the closet, wearing nothing but a silk nighty. She looks beautiful.
“I’m glad to know that you think I couldn’t get this dream off the ground without my nice body. Did you ever stop and think about that? Did you even think it could be possible that I might actually be working really hard, and Lana and I are really that incredible? Maybe just possibly he’s stating a fact? Or am I not good enough in your eyes, and the only way I can possibly get this investor is if I flirt a little with him and not by pure talent?” Her voice raises and she looks extremely hurt. Not pissed, just hurt. Holy fuck, this is her goddamn dream and the only thing stopping it or getting in the way is me. I am the one making this dream difficult.
“Shayla, I get that you are talented. Trust me, I know you are fucking talented, you and Lana have worked your asses off to accumulate all this success, but he has been nothing but unprofessional. What’s mine is mine, and I want to protect it.”
“Spare me the alpha talk. I am your girlfriend, yes. But I am my own freaking person, Trey Adams, you do not own me and until you can get your thick skull around that, you and I will not see eye to eye.” I watch her throw her hair in a messy bun, stunned to silence because I think I know exactly what she’s getting at.
I feel my hands start to shake and my legs feel numb, my body overheating with sudden fear. “What the fuck does that mean, Shayla?” I ask, my voice rumbling low in my chest.
“If you can’t trust me, you are gonna lose me. And you want to know the worst part, Trey?” she questions, tears forming in her eyes. I bite my lip and take a deep breath, my nostrils flaring.
Opening my mouth, I ask with a sharp tone, “What’s that, Shayla?”
“Not only do we stand to lose this relationship, but we’ve come too far and we risk losing our friendship as well.”
The words hurt me, but I can’t lie that she has a fucking point. I don’t just stand to lose my girl; I stand to lose my best fucking friend.
“Babe.”
“No, Trey. I need a second, this is too much for me.” I watch her leave, my legs unable to move with where my mind is screaming for them to go—after her.
I take a few minutes, racking my brain with what the hell I should do. How did we go from rational adults, talking about everything to her running out of the room in tears, with threats of losing each other completely?
Because you are a jealous fucking idiot, Trey Adams.
Moving my feet I go to find her. Spotting her on the couch, with her head resting against a pillow crying softly, I approach her with hesitation, being cautious of her current state. She’s vulnerable and hurt, because I let her down.
“Baby?” I ask, sitting in front of her on the coffee table.
“What, Trey? What?” she says in defeat, her voice filled with exhaustion. I know she is worn out and it’s my fault.
“Hear me out?” I beg. Eyeing me over, then looking past me to the wall, she huffs, nodding her head. I let her get comfortable, sitting up and crossing her legs under her, with the big pillow on her bare thighs.
“I’m sorry that this is not just my battle anymore, but yours, too. We’re together and you are the first real relationship I’ve had. I’m scared to trust you, and I’m scared to forget the past, which isn’t your fault and you’re right, I have no reason not to trust you. Because you aren’t her. I get that. But the truth is, if you left, Shayla, if you ever left me, it wouldn’t just hurt me, it would fucking ruin me because I’m in love with you. I acted irrational over what he did tonight and that is my issue. Not yours. I can’t make you forgive me nor do I expect you to, but I need you to please be patient with me.” The confession rolls off my tongue, and I hope it lands in her heart. I hope she can feel what my words are meaning. I am genuinely sorry.
“I love you too, Trey. I do. But that doesn’t always make everything okay. If you can’t trust me to be anything other than the person you love, then this won’t work.” She looks down, tucking her fallen hair behind her ear. I see a small tear roll down her cheek, and I reach to wipe it away, thrilled that she doesn’t pull away.
“You are right, it doesn’t. But I know it could be a great start.” She nods.
“Yeah. I will ask that you stop interfering with the investment. I don’t want to lose this, and I don’t want Lana to either. I promise that I will be faithful to you and if he ever crosses a line, I need you to trust I would stop it before he could even try, okay?” Our eyes search each other’s and I take in her beautiful face, like I’m seeing it for the first time. Seeing tears in her eyes that I have caused is not something I’m proud of. My dad would fucking knock me out if he found out that I made the woman I love cry.
“I promise I will work on this every day, and I will learn to control my feelings and keep you out of my issues.”
“Trey, I don’t want you to shut me out, I want you to let me in. I am more than willing to help you through these issues, but not if you let the world and other people suffer from it. If you feel insecure”—She stops, reaching out and leaning forward, she lifts my face with her hand under my chin— “talk to me about, don’t just act on your knee-jerk reaction.”
A delicate, serene smile creeps onto her face and she bites her cute lip. “I remember that day in the tree house—your graduation, remember that?” she questions and I nod, seeing the image of her in front of me, listening to me talk about my mother. She was a fucking warrior that day, staying strong to listen to me break.
“That Trey, the Trey who struggled with those demons, the ones you are facing still, well, he talked to me. He opened up to me and treated me like his confidant, like his best friend, not his property. Words are the loudest sounds in the middle of a roaring battle, Trey. So, tell me, don’t show me.”
I want to wrap her in my arms and steal every breath she has, how did I get this lucky?
“I don’t deserve you, and I’m too selfish to give you up. I will fight to make us a better team, make me a better man,” I promise her, leaning forward to meet her already extended body. She still sits on the couch, so our bodies are barely close enough to touch each other’s lips. Giving her a gentle, but firm kiss, I pull away only an inch. “How did I get so lucky to have you in my life all these years?” I’m not asking her rhetorically I really am blown away that I was worthy enough to be her everything.
