Page 54 of Tease
CHAPTER 42
Jared
This guy Mathew is not gonna go down without a fight. A point he’s clearly trying to make to me. Casually, he readjusts himself in his slacks and leans closer to the table, resting on an elbow. “So, Jared, since you’re new in town, are you looking for a woman?”
If he only knew that I had finally found the woman I’d been looking for over the past five years...
I smile back at him. “Eh, I don’t know. I’m really just trying to focus on the reason I’m here in Chicago.”
Gripping his napkin, he dabs at his dry mouth, his tone now serious. “Andwhyare you here, Jared?”
I’m here for Kailey. To beg for a second chance to show her it’s always been us. She’s mine.Obviously, I can’t letthatcat out of the bag just yet.
Beau chimes in before I can respond, “He’s here to fight. Jared’s one of the newest cage fighters on our team.” He grabs a hold of my shoulder. “We’ll be unstoppable now.”
“That we will.” Skyler raises his glass at us, grinning around his glass, like he knows a secret.Asshole.
“Well, in that case…” Mathew looks around the restaurant, resting his stare in the direction of the bathroom. “I may be ableto help you. With letting out some…steam.” Reaching into a back pocket of his slacks, he pulls out a silver card and hands it to me. “It’s a side business I dabble in.”
I skim over the card; a phone number is on one side, and the other side has a set of handcuffs. Confusion fills my face. “What is this?”
“It’s an elite escort service.” Mathew sucks on his bottom lip, making a whistle sound. “Whew, these women are anything and everything you can imagine.”
What the hell? Is this man a pimp? He must see that question on my face. He shakes his head while silently laughing. “No, I’m not a pimp, Jared. Just ask Beau and Skyler; they’ve used this service before.” I look to my new teammates sitting at the table, and they each give me a subtle nod. Alright then, that’sinteresting. Is Skyler a cheating bastard?
Nah, I want no part of that. I lay the card on the table and slide it back in Mathew’s direction. “I think I’m good.”
He doesn’t pick it up. Instead, Mathew smiles at something behind me. Never taking his eyes off of it, he whispers, “You never know when you might need… a hole to fill, Jared. Keep it. For a rainy day.”
The air shifts around me, standing still, turning electric. I turn my head to see what he’s smiling at. Kailey and Brittney are hand in hand, walking back to the table. Whatever happened in that bathroom must’ve snapped Kailey out of the trance she was in from seeing me, because now she looks like a goddess on a mission. Her head is held high; she’s smiling with her dimples showing, and an attitude that fuels her walk.
Mathew stands up from the table when she gets closer. His mouth forcefully claims her glossy lips. The impact unbalancing her enough to where he has to hold on to her to keep her steady. Nausea rolls through me as I look at Skyler and slightly shake my head at him. When Mathew finally pulls away, this motherfuckermakes a show of biting her bottom lip before releasing her. Kailey’s lip is swollen and her chest is panting. Those lips should be swollen because of me…
“What’d we miss?!” Brittney’s cheery voice pulls me back to reality.
“Nothing, babe. Mathew was just giving Jared advice on some stuff in Chicago.” Skyler looks around for the waiter. “Let’s order, I’m starving. Gonna need my strength later for cardio.” He wiggles his eyebrows at her.
“Uh-huh, forafterthe movie.” Brittney’s thumb lightly swipes at his lips before she leans in and kisses him.
Skyler holds her close. “I could just eatyou instead?”
She shakes her head while making eye contact with me then Kailey. Sympathy appears to flash over her features before it disappears.
“Yes, let’s get this date finished so we can make it to the movie,” Mathew chimes in while typing away on his cell phone.
I’m unable to let Kailey go somewhere that I can’t follow, so my words come out rushed. “Oh, what movie are you guys going to see?”
Kailey’s voice is proud and powerful. “A scary movie; it just hit theaters this week.”
“Is that an invite, KC?” Beau winks at her.
Her armor is well intact now, and she doesn’t even need to think before a response spews out of that deceitful mouth of hers. “I mean, if you two are a thing and wanna go cuddle in a theatre together…” She shrugs her shoulders while taking a long sip of wine. “No judgment here, Beau… If Jared is your cup of tea,” her eyes make contact with mine, and she pauses briefly before she continues, “then so be it.”
“KC, what the fu?—”
Beau’s voice gets cut off with my response. Clearing my throat, she looks back at me instead of Beau. I stare into herbeautiful hazel eyes surrounded by sparkly eye shadow, and state with confidence, “I think you know damn well we,” I point at Beau then me, “are neither one’s‘cup of tea,’Kailey.”
I grab that silver card off of the table and lift it up into the air, making a show of it to Mathew. “But you’re right, we’ll need dates if we’re going to go see that scary movie with you guys.” A wicked smile takes over Beau’s face. “Alright, let’s make a call, bro.”
