Page 24 of The Do Over
On the way back to the house, Sophie fumed. She had been about to fall into a repeat of what happened between them in college, despite knowing what happened when he broke up with her back then.
It had been hard to move on and when she told the story to her friend in her sophomore year, they pointed out signs that she should have seen from the start and known that the relationship wouldn’t last.
Thank everything for no protection.
Because she knew that if they had gone all the way, she would hate herself. The way it was, she could hide her feelings from Jack.
It could go back to the relationship they had before that day—two people who couldn’t stand each other’s company. And the men who made advances at her…who said she couldn’t indulge them a bit? If Jack had Bethany, she had enough men to keep her attention occupied until after the wedding.
Then she would return to her life, knowing that despite living in the same city, the chances of running into Jack Williams were slim to none.
CHAPTER10
I’M NOT THE JEALOUS TYPE.
He was determinedto prove that he wasn’t the jealous type. If she wanted to be with other people, then it was her choice. He didn’t tell her that he had feelings for her, he never did once ask if she wanted to be more than friends.
All they had was that one night, which gave him absolutely no claim over whom she wanted to be with. Yet…Jack could not deny that the sight of her—being so close to Jerry, laughing at whatever his friend was saying while they sat together at one end of the club, made him jealous.
It was supposed to be two parties— one for the groom and one for the bride, in the same club but they ended up turning it into one big party after the groomsmen and the bridesmaids couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Jack left Aidan with the nanny, so he was free to mingle with them. But the thing was, he didn’t want to get a drink and sit with anyone besides Sophie.
He had been looking forward to spending some time alone with her since she had been busy throughout yesterday. At first, the parties were at two different sections of the club. When they eventually decided to make it one big fun club, he did a quick search for Sophie, before he caught sight of them in a corner.
Jerry was pressed up against her and Sophie had her hands around his shoulder, mouth close to his ear like she was telling him something.
At first, Jack took it to his friend’s flirty nature. But one of the bridesmaids had caught him staring at them and informed him, in a whisper, that everyone knew Jerry and Sophie had slept together the night before.
Was that why he didn’t see her all through?
Jack didn’t want to believe it, but she dragged another of the bridesmaids to where he stood and he was told the same thing. Jerry and Sophie had been together all throughout the previous night and when Jerry came back to where they were lodged, he had a telling smile on his face.
According to the bridesmaids, they had bet on it since the party becausethosetwo had great chemistry. Jack had almost blurted that he slept with Sophie too. He barely caught his words in time and reminded himself that they didn’t go all the way.
Fazed, he retreated to a corner of the spacious club floor and sat on a lounge chair, keeping himself company with a bottle of scotch whisky. However, his eyes did not stop roaming around and they had caught Jerry and Sophie one too many times in positions that supported the rumors from the bridesmaids. Even now, as he stared straight ahead, Sophie was straddling Jerry on a chair and he had his hands around her waist.
What did he mean to her, then? What did that night mean to her?Did she see him as someone she could use as it suited her before moving on to the next person that paid her enough attention? If it had been Jerry or Micheal or another of the groomsmen in the house where the two of them stayed, would she have gone all the way?
“Hey man, why not join the party?”
Jack wasn’t aware of Micheal’s presence until his friend tapped him on the shoulder.
“Yeah?” He asked.
Micheal sat on the lounge chair close to him and placed a bottle of beer on the small center table.
“You’ve been a buzzkill ever since you got here. None of the women catch your fancy? All too good for you? You used to be the life of the party back in college.”
Jack let out an audible, irritated sigh before fixing his friend with an uninterested look.
“One, I arrived in Oregon before you did, so you cannot possibly know what I was doing before you came. Two, if your goal is to find a woman that catches your fancy, don’t think we share the same goal.
“Three,” he raised three fingers, “You knew mein college.You don’t know me now. Or, you seem to forget that I have a kid and I can’t be irresponsible, as much as your outright fear of commitment gives you enough freedom to be reckless.”
When he was done, Jack mentally slapped a hand to his forehead, again. He didn’t mean to be that harsh, but Micheal conveniently placed himself in the line of fire where Jack was looking for some place to dump his frustration.
He opened his mouth to apologize, but Micheal had already gotten up.
“You’re right,” Micheal said. “I’m reckless and I have too much leeway to party all night. But you shouldn’t forget that you have a life to live, even as much as you want to be a father. And a good one at that.”
