Sinking onto the nearest stool, she stared at the phone. Still, she didn’t reach for it. The only one she wanted to speak to was beyond her reach. She tucked her hands into her lap and let the anger build.
Doctor Reimer always said keeping contact with Mother would be okay, but not to allow her to kowtow me. Would Doctor Reimer still think it a good idea to let her in my door if she knew just how bad this was getting? Probably not. I need to find a new place to live and get out from under her thumb. Gods above, I hate feeling like I’m ten. Maybe it’s time to tell Hillary the whole truth.
Chapter 12
The loud pulse of the jukebox filled the bar as Jack slipped behind the bouncers with a quick grin. People here knew him, perhaps too well, but it wasn’t a place he avoided just because he’d decided to grow up. He ignored the raucous beat and headed for the bar when he spotted Rick leaning against the polished oak.
“Hey, you’re not on duty are you?” Slapping the other man on the shoulder, he waved at the bartender who acknowledged him with a sly grin.
“Naw, off duty for the next four days.” Rick held up a beer. “You want one?”
“Sure. Molsens.” Jack grinned at the bartender who handed him a sweaty bottle. “So how goes it?”
“Good. How ’bout you? I hear you and Shelli split up. Sorry man, I know she was the kind of arm candy we all…”
“Yeah, it just wasn’t working out anymore.” Jack shrugged, heat suffusing his face at the reminder of his most recent lady. “It was time.”
Rick grunted, his bottle hanging from his fingers. “Yeah, you get some at Len’s wedding? Usually a few women you’d go for at a wedding.”
“It was a wedding. I went, I saw, I pitied Lenny, and I came home.” Jack grinned. “There were a few hotties there. Saw a couple who would have caught your attention. If nothing else, Barbara’s got good taste in bridesmaids.”
A voice from behind grabbed his attention. “Hey, if it isn’t the man himself. You were supposed to wait for me.”
Jack nodded at the bartender for another round and turned to grin at his co-worker, Dean Brady. “You’re supposed to be at work.” Jack pushed a beer at his co-worker. “Let me guess, you’re still not up to snuff?”
“No, the ankle isn’t quite healed up just yet. So how many women did you bag at the wedding? Two? Three? Ten? Maybe all at the same time. Damn, man, what I wouldn’t give to suffer from your affliction.” Laughing, Dean took a swig of his drink.
“Yeah, he’s not picky at all.” Rick guffawed. “Willing to bang anything that meets his requirements: female, two legs, and breathing.”
“Don’t forget big tits.” Dean roared. “Ain’t seen one woman you’ve ever had with small boobs. Must make up for being loose.”
“Money can buy many things. Maybe his girls all keep it tight down there…”
“Shut up.”
“Now, now, Jack, my boy.” Rick clapped him on the shoulder. “You have to admit your taste in women is pretty good. Well, except for that one you had dinner with the other night. Still, the wedding is optimal hunting grounds. All those lonely single women looking for love.”
“It was a wedding,” Jack muttered into his beer. He rolled his shoulders, uncomfortable with his friends’ teasing. Memories of Gillian’s open responses, her untutored skill, flashed through his head. “And I don’t—”
“Darlin’, I’m so sorry I didn’t get to go to the wedding. We could have had some fun.” White-tipped nails curled over his bicep as he straightened. Tall, beautiful Shelli licked the glistening red of her lips. She smiled, her fingers plucking at the chain at her throat, drawing attention to the ample cleavage peeking out from beneath her tight, red T-shirt.
He glanced down as her nails drew tiny hearts along his arm. “I’m not.” Jack pushed her hand away and smiled. “I meant it, Shelli. I’m not interested in what you’re offering. Why don’t you go see Greg or one of the other boys you play with? I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
“Oh, hon, you’ll be back.” She pushed her breasts into his arm, her hand trailing down his chest. “You need a woman who can satisfy you, and I know every button you’ve got.”
“Not as well as you like to think.” Jack caught her wrist before she could cup his embarrassingly unaffected groin. He sighed. Whatever she’d stirred in him before was gone. Her touch left him cold. “Now, if you don’t mind?”
With mixed emotions, he watched her stomp off. Cold, cruel, he’d gotten more than one glimpse of her intolerance for those beneath her. It was one of the reasons they’d split, but it hadn’t been the biggest.
“Wow, you sick or something?” Dean whistled. “I’d have thought you’d be tapping that.”
“Been there, done that, and I’d have to say he ain’t going back.” Rick eyed him with a confused, assessing look before he slid another beer into his hands. “Drink up, my boy, you can tell us all why you didn’t get caught up in the hype of a wedding and have sex in weird places.”
Jack laughed. “Weird places? What on earth are you talking about?”
“Everyone knows people at weddings have sex in the bathroom, in closets. I’ve even heard of people having sex under the tables.” Dean pointed a finger at him. “So where did you get laid and with who? Come on, we want details.”
“None of your business.” Jack shook his head, his voice curt, angry. “My private life is just that, private. You want to have details on sex, get laid.”
“Yep, he’s sick.” Jack
