The Ex Games Revisited, page 1
THE EX GAMES REVISITED
J. S. COOPER
CONTENTS
Untitled
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Part II
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Part III
Prologue
6. Katie
7. Brandon
8. Katie
9. Brandon
10. Katie
11. Brandon
The Ex Games Revisited
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2024 J. S. COOPER
1
The sound of Noah Kahan’s guitar strumming through the bright orange Bose speaker on my light oakwood desk made me smile for a few seconds. His song, Stick Season, always made me smile, but this time, I couldn’t stop the smile from changing to a half-grimace.
“It’s one weekend, Katie. You’ll survive.” My best friend Meg giggled at the nervous expression on my face. She’s trying to be supportive, but the worried look in her eyes isn’t making me feel confident about my chances. “I mean, it can’t be that bad…can it?” Her voice caught, and we just stared at each other for a few seconds before I responded.
“It’s going to be worse than bad,” I groaned and flopped down on her bed. “I may die. I mean it. I may literally die of embarrassment.”
“You won’t die. You may be embarrassed, though.” She gave me a sympathetic smile.
“I can’t believe this is happening to me.” I buried my head in her pillow. “Of all the jobs in all of the world, I had to get this one.” Just a few days ago, I was over the moon and now I felt like the moon was crashing down on me.
“You were happy about it a few weeks ago.”
“That was before I heard about this weekend training.” I groaned and stared up at her. I knew I looked crazed, with my wild eyes and frizzy hair, but I didn’t care. “I had no idea he worked for Marathon Corp.” The he made him sound like a dinosaur or bear. I’d rather deal with either of those animals than him.
“Well, he more than works for them now.” She laughed, and I shuddered. What had I done to bring this bad luck upon myself?
“I should quit. I’m going to quit!” I cried out melodramatically. “You’ll have to take care of the rent for the next few months while I look for a job. I’ll cook and clean and be your housewoman.”
“Yeah, right. You can’t cook or clean for shit.” Meg collapsed onto the bed next to me and rubbed my shoulder softly. “And you know I’m saving up for my trip.” Her reminder is soft, but it makes my heart lurch.
“You’re not really going to travel around the world and leave me, are you?”
“You can always come with me.” She asked hopefully, even though she knew it wasn’t a realistic possibility.
“But I have a job that I’ve been dying to get for years,” I whined and saw her grinning at me. “Fine, I’m not quitting. This is the job I’ve been waiting for my whole life. I’m not quitting just because he owns the company.”
“Hear ye, hear ye.”
“Don’t go being a lawyer on me,” I moaned at her, and she laughed as she pretended to bang a gavel. “Or judge. Don’t become bitchy Judge Judy on me.” I add on and we both laugh. We were addicted to watching reruns of Judge Judy on TV and we both loved how she went off on the litigants. Sometimes I wondered what that said about us.
“I didn’t go through three years of law school to just stop.” She jumped up off the bed and grabbed my hands. “Come on, lazy bones. Let’s go shopping and buy you some new clothes. You may as well look hot when you see him.”
“I don’t want to see him. Maybe he’ll have forgotten me.” The thought sent a ripple of hurt through me. A cold chill spreads through my bones, and I feel like I’ve been dropped off in Antarctica naked. And he’s standing there, gawking at me. Could he have forgotten me? There was no way…right?
“There’s no way he will have forgotten you.”
“He’s going to hate me.” I gave her a pained expression. “Or he’s going to fire me.”
“He dumped you. He’s not going to hate you.” Meg brushed her long blonde hair behind her shoulder as she waited patiently for me to get up. “And we’re going to make him regret the day he walked away from you.”
“Why oh why did Brandon Hastings have to buy Marathon Corp?” I slowly dragged myself off the bed and looked into the large white vanity mirror. It’s covered with motivational quotes on Post-it notes and photos of Meg and myself from college and on.
I wasn’t altogether displeased with my appearance, but I wished I didn’t look quite so washed out. My long brown hair looked messy, but that was nothing a brush couldn’t fix. I examined my face and was pleased that my brown eyes looked bright and cheerful despite my soul being filled with inner turmoil.
“You look gorgeous, Katie.”
“I look like a little kid,” I groaned, wishing I was naturally glamorous and catwalk-ready at all times. “I don’t look like a manager.”
“Hey, it’s not your fault you’re super smart. So what if you’re twenty-five and an executive manager already? Anyone who cares about that is just jealous.”
“Brandon will care.” I sighed, and bit my lower lip as I grew serious and put my face in my hands. “Oh my God, Meg, what am I going to do?”
“It’s all in the past, Katie. You made a mistake. He can’t really be holding a grudge for all these years.” Her voice doesn’t hide her doubt and I flinch painfully.
“It was a pretty big mistake.” I made a face. I don’t want to remember. “Some may even say it was a lie.”
“Well, it was a lie.” Meg made an apologetic face as she spoke honestly. “But it was seven years ago.”
“Yeah.” I straightened my Vera Wang shirt and pushed my shoulders back like my mother had taught me. “I’m sure he’s not thinking about some silly girl he dated seven years ago.”
“You were eighteen, new to love! These things happen.”
“Yeah.” I nodded in agreement. “If he had half a brain, he would have figured it out.”
“Exactly.” Meg linked her arm through mine and we walked to the living room. “He’s the one that broke your heart.”
“Exactly.” My heart beat slowly as I remembered the tears I had cried late at night. I had been devastated when Brandon dumped me right before Christmas in the first semester of my first college year. Absolutely devastated. I hadn’t been able to sleep or eat for weeks. He had made my second semester of college absolutely awful. It wasn’t until the summer and a trip to London with my parents that I could finally accept that what we’d had was forever gone. He had been my first lover and my first love, but to him, I was just a little girl playing around in fairytale land.
He’d broken my heart and I’d long given up on his ever coming back to me. I was past the days of wanting him back and I’d hoped never to see him again. I couldn’t believe that those hopes and dreams weren’t going to come true.
Flying in first class was a perk of my job that I loved, even though this was the only time I had actually traveled first class. I sat back in the wide leather seat and looked out the window, trying to lose my thoughts in the clouds. I felt worried as I tried to relax and thought about what was going to happen this weekend. I had only been working for Marathon Corp for about a month. It was the first job that made me feel like a real professional, and I felt like I was going to be fired already.
I was in charge of the whole New England area, and I knew that most, if not all, of the lower managers below me felt that I wasn’t qualified for the job. I myself had been amazed when I had been hired as an executive manager. I knew I had the degrees for the job—marketing BA from Columbia and a business management master’s degree from NYU. But I didn’t have that much experience—only the summer internships I’d done while getting my master’s. But I had brains and verve and a lot of initiative. And I knew that I was good at my job. However, I knew that there was no way in hell Brandon would allow me to stay if he realized who I was.
I mean, there was a chance he wouldn’t recognize me. It had been seven years, and we had only dated for five months. It had been the best five months of my life, but for him, I bet it was nothing. I also knew that I looked more mature now and definitely dressed like a woman who knew the world. My usually wavy brown hair was flat-ironed straight and I had on mascara and eye shadow. I looked nothing like the girl I’d been when I started college.
Then I had been bright eyed, with minimal makeup and no hair products taming my normally wild hair. Thinking back, it should have been obvious to Brandon that I had been lying, but I knew it was hardly his fault that I had deceived him. I hadn’t meant to. It had just been one white lie. I hadn’t expected him to ask me out. I hadn’t expected to fall in love with him.
I sighed as I remembered the first time I saw Brandon Hastings outside the bar. That night was one of the best in my life. Meg and some other girls had convinced me to join them at a bar in the Lower East Side that they knew didn’t card minors if they wore short enough skirts and red enough lipstick. I remembered the day clearly. It was a beautiful, warm August day, not too hot, and we were all exci ted to be starting college. None of us had lived in New York before, and we were all pretty naïve and green. I don’t think that any of us had really had boyfriends in high school because we’d all been too busy studying, trying to earn our way into an Ivy League school. And it had paid off for all of us—we were incoming freshmen at Columbia University, and I think the giddiness that had taken over our lives came to fruition that night.
It was a Friday, the weekend before orientation classes were going to start, so one of the girls had the bright idea of christening our first week before classes started. I had never had any alcohol before and was as eager as the rest to go out and party. We were in New York, so why shouldn’t we party it up? We’d all dressed up in the shortest skirts and the tightest tops we owned. I’d borrowed high heels from Meg and a bunch of makeup, and we took the 1 train to 42nd Street and then caught a cab to Doug’s.
Doug’s was everything I had imagined it was going to be: dark and musty, with bright lights and lots of cool-looking people. I was amazed that we had been able to walk right in without even a second glance from the bouncer. Our plan had worked. None of us were carded, and we walked quickly to the bar to get some drinks. Felicity, who was the one who told us about the bar, ordered us our first round of drinks. Scotch on the rocks. It tasted awful, and I thought my stomach was on fire as it burned slightly.
“That’s just to get us buzzed faster,” she grinned before ordering a round of Sex on the Beaches. “These will taste better, girls.”
And she had been right. I guzzled two glasses down within half an hour, not thinking anything of it, as they hadn’t tasted alcoholic at all. We were all just standing around when the DJ started playing some old Madonna songs and Meg grabbed my hand and we ran to the dance floor, giggling. The other girls followed quickly and we danced around as if we were on Dancing With The Stars.
We danced all night, and even though different guys came up to us, we turned them down. That wasn’t a night for us to look for guys, but a night for us to bond with each other. It was the first of many memories we were going to make together.
We stumbled out of the bar at about one a.m. I remember that Meg and Felicity went to look for a cab while the other girls went to the bathroom. I stood there waiting outside the club and leaning against the wall, feeling dizzy and sick. The evening air was cool, and I shivered in my lack of clothing.
“Are you okay?” The voice was deep and husky, and I remember feeling comforted even though I hadn’t been able to look up. “Do you need me to take you somewhere?” The voice was closer this time, and I felt warm hands on my shoulders as he forced me to look up at him.
“I’m fine.” I giggled and looked up at him through my fake eyelashes. “Just waiting on my friends.”
“You’re drunk.” He frowned and looked around. “It looks like your friends have left you.”
“No, they’re in the ladies’ room.” I pointed toward Doug’s. “I’m just waiting on them to come out.
“I see.” He stared down at me and there was concern in his blue eyes. Blue eyes that sparkled like the ocean in the middle of the day. “I’ll wait with you.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at him and then started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” He frowned as he looked at me and I pointed at his face. “My face is funny?” He gave me a wry smile and I shook my head.
“You look like Clark Gable.”
“You think so?”
“Yes.” I grinned at him. “You’re handsome.”
“Why, thank you.” He looked at his watch then back at me. “We will give your friends a few minutes then see about getting you home.”
“Are you trying to seduce me?” I wiggled my eyebrows at him and giggled. He was handsome and I was enjoying flirting with him. His blue eyes were bright and had a wise look. His hair was jet black and contrasted well with his olive skin. He was tall and muscular and smelled like some expensive cologne I didn’t know the name of. It certainly wasn’t the same cologne my dad or any of my high school boy friends used.
“No, dear.” He shook his head. “I don’t take advantage of young women.”
“You wouldn’t be taking advantage of me.” I licked my lips slowly. I’d read an article in Cosmopolitan that said the way to seduce a guy was to show him your tongue. “I’m twenty-two. I make my own decisions,” I lied easily.
“Well, maybe we can go out when you’re sober, and if you still want me to seduce you then, I’ll see what I can do.” He put his arm around me and his fingers felt like heaven against my skin. “You’re cold. Why don’t you have a coat?”
“I didn’t realize how cold it would get.”
“You girls these days don’t know how to take care of yourselves.” He looked at me disapprovingly, and I wondered how old he was. He definitely wasn’t a college student like me. There was no boyish look to him. He was all man, and 100% hunk at that.
“I don’t feel good.” All of a sudden my head felt like it was going to explode and my stomach was swirling like a hurricane.
“My apartment is just a couple of blocks down if you want to come.”
“I don’t know,” I mumbled as I grabbed his arm. I didn’t want to think about anything. I just wanted to lie down on something cool and rest my head so the world would stop spinning.
“Come. I won’t hurt you.” He took my hand, and I followed him to his apartment. I know, I know—I was a dumbass. If I hadn’t been drunk, I would have told him where to get off, but I wasn’t in my right mind. I always thought that if only I hadn’t been drunk that night, everything might have been different.
I don’t really remember much of what happened later that night. It’s all a blur in my mind. The next thing I remember after leaving with him is waking up in a king-sized bed, feeling like someone was banging nails into my head.
“Good morning, sunshine,” a deep, warm voice greeted me, and I looked up to see him staring down at me with a cup of tea in his hand. “Drink this. I’m cooking breakfast for you right now. Lots of bacon and eggs.”
“Ugh, don’t talk about food,” I groaned and lay back down, my brain racing a million miles a minute. Who was the gorgeous man next to me, and what was I doing in his bed?
“I’m Brandon, by the way.” He smiled at me gently. “We didn’t exchange names last night.”
“Oh.” I peeked up at him and swallowed hard. He was gorgeous, and even though I felt like death warmed up, I was still attracted to him.
“And your name is?”
“Oh, sorry. I’m Katie.”
“Nice name.” He smiled at me again. “Rest a little and I’ll be back.”
“Okay, thanks.” I gave him a quick smile, lay back, and closed my eyes. Oh my God, oh my God, have I been kidnapped? I peeked under the sheets and groaned as I saw myself wearing only my bra and panties. He’d taken off my clothes. Then panic hit me—had we had sex? Oh, God, did I have sex for the first time and not even know it?
“Scrambled eggs, bacon, and lots of buttered white toast.” He walked back into the room. “Nothing healthy, but it will help your hangover.”
“I feel like shit,” I blurted out and blushed when I realized what I’d said.
“Not surprising.” He laughed. “First hangover?”
“Yeah.” I nodded and felt my face going red. Did he know it was the first time I’d ever had a drink as well?
“I don’t know many people who’ve reached the age of twenty-two and never had a drink.”
“Oh?” I looked down at the plate and swallowed hard. Should I tell him the truth?
“Were you and your friends celebrating something?”
“Yes. Yes we were.”
“Oh?” He looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. I knew there was no way in hell that I could tell him that we were celebrating starting college. Then the questions would start, the ‘Why were you drinking?’ and ‘Why are you so irresponsible?’ I stared at him guiltily. I felt bad and disappointed in myself. I knew that my parents back home in Florida would be upset if they knew I was already making bad choices.
