Page 62 of Payback
I exhaled with relief, and he appeared surprised by my reaction.
"What? That's not an entirely unlikely scenario."
"It's highly unlikely," he growled, and it was evident that I had touched a sensitive nerve.
"So, what's your plan then?" I asked.
He began smiling again, then seized me and turned me around, gently pushing me in the direction of the bed.
"Get on it, on your knees," he instructed.
I complied, climbing onto the bed, facing him, and positioning myself on my knees. My outfit did a poor job of concealing me, and I wasn't even wearing panties beneath it. If he were to stand behind me, he would have an unobstructed view of my ass. Or had he shortened the skirt?
"And now, Master?" I asked.
He grinned, looking rather pleased to see me in this position.
"Now, I'm going into the other room, and when I return, you'll be very sweet and attempt to seduce me."
"Seduce you?" I exclaimed. "You want me to try to get you into bed?"
"Exactly!"
"Then why the outfit?" I questioned.
“Because in this little world we’ll inhabit, you’re the one obsessed with me, Alison,” he elucidated. “In this universe, you’ve been fixated on me since high school. You’ve practically been shadowing me, imploring me to have sex with you so you can demonstrate how amazing it would be between us. But nothing has worked. So, here we are. You’ve broken into my home, adorned yourself in your old uniform, or whatever remains of it, and you’re attempting to make me fall for you.”
With each sentence that unveiled the details of the theatrical scenario we were about to enact, my jaw dropped further. I couldn’t fathom what he was saying, and once he finished, Jared stood there, a smile playing on his lips.
“But that’s utterly insane!” I protested. “Am I crazy? You want to be with someone deranged?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re just mildly obsessed.”
“I broke into your house!”
“The door was open,” he replied, his tone playful.
“It’s still breaking an entry!”
He shrugged. “What won’t people do for a little affection?”
“That’s insane,” I muttered, shaking my head. “And why am I wearing my old uniform?”
“Well, even though you were obsessed with me in high school, you were still a bully. Your confession is happening tonight, about how you’ve always been in love with me, and that’s why you pursued me.”
“So, until now, my only intention was to have sex with you?”
“You noticed how handsome I had become and realized you wanted me,” he said, shrugging casually.
“I understand,” I groaned in frustration.
“And tonight, you’re putting everything on the line.”
“So, tonight it’s true. We bully because we like the person.”
“You did,” he asserted, pointing at me. “You, Alison. The one person who struggles to express her feelings through words. But now we’re adults, and you know you can’t bully me into loving you.”
As I sat on his bed, it felt like a figurative slap in the face to hear him talk about me being in love with him and unable to articulate my emotions. In high school, I was with the most popular guy, the football team’s captain. We were the ‘it’ couple. Later, I married a highly influential and adored man, who brought even more wealth and status to my life. How could I have ever considered looking Jared’s way? He was insignificant. Even now, he couldn’t measure up to the men I had been with. No matter what, I would always see him as a loser.
