“You can’t be serious?” I asked.
He was serious. I looked over at Megan for a better explanation, but she simply shook her head and raised her hands in defeat.
“I took her straight home afterwards.” He reached for more popcorn and straightened into the chair.
“You’re a dick.” I shot out.
“Yeah, well, I get that a lot.”
“I feel sorry for the woman that marries you. Seriously, it’ll be like marrying a thirty-year-old toddler with no manners whatsoever.”
He cocked a brow with a curt nod. “You, know I get that too.”
“Shut up!” I nudged his shoulder.
“Can we please watch Dirty Dancing now?” Megan spat out.
Jeremy tilted his head to the side. “Yes, please, let’s watch Patrick Swayze save Baby from the corner.” Megan rolled her eyes, grabbed the remote, and hit play. Within the next few hours, we watched several old movies, ordered in pizza, and laughed at Jeremy’s goofy ways. At first, I wanted to mention that Marcus and I got back together, but instead, I decided to save it. That evening, I was going to enjoy a night with my friends.
The evening passed by quickly, and before I knew it, Jeremy stood and stretched. “I’m going to hit the bed. Megan, you joining me?”
She widened her eyes and looked at me as her cheeks turned a light shade of red in embarrassment. “Jeremy.”
“What? Mia’s fine. She won’t think anything of it.” Megan shook her head and slumped back in the seat. Jeremy reached down, grabbed her wrist, and lifted her to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. “Megan, don’t be shy around Mia. You slept in my bed last night.”
Megan glared at me and quickly added, “Not in the way that you think, Mia.”
I raised my hands. “Hey, no judgment here.” I could tell she was completely horrified by Jeremy’s public display of affection.
Before she could respond, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen, and my entire face lit up when I saw it was Marcus. “Hello.” I answered with a huge grin.
“Hey, just wanted to call and check up on you.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes, and to also ask what your plans are for tomorrow.” I pressed my lips together to hold back the slight squeal that was trying to escape. I excused myself from Jeremy and Megan and ran into my bedroom.
As I flopped back on my bed and stared at the ceiling, I listened to his steady breathing on the other end of the phone. “I’m not sure yet, why?”
“Well, if you’re not busy, I would love to take you out on a date.”
My stomach fluttered with nerves. I wasn’t sure why it did, although it felt nice. “What kind of date?”
I could hear him shifting as he chuckled in a low raspy tone. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”
“So we’re playing that game?”
His vibrant laugh forced an even wider grin across my face. I wasn’t sure that was even possible. “No, baby, you’re playing that game. I’m just simply here as an unwilling participant.”
“Hey play nice, remember?”
“Right . . . so tomorrow?”
“Yes, I’m free.”
“Good, be ready by noon.”
“By noon? That’s early.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t say early morning, but I’m playing nice.”
I laughed and caved in. “Okay . . . what are you doing now?”
Hesitating, he took a deep breath. “I’m in the car waiting for Jimmie. We were called in for a meeting.”
I took a quick glance at the time. It was almost ten. “Oh.” I whispered. It wasn’t a surprise to me that he was out at a meeting that late. Although I had I accepted him with all of his flaws, this was one I wanted so desperately to take away. I hated his lifestyle, but I loved him.
CHAPTER THREE
MARCUS
Mia’s tone was filled with disappointment. I wanted to shake off the silence between us through the phone. Not wanting to end our call on a bad note, I blurted, “Hey, the next two weeks will be fun, taking my girl out on the best dates she’s ever had.”
“Ha! I’ll be the judge of that.” She giggled, and even though I couldn’t see her, I knew she was smiling on the other end of the phone. Jimmie stepped into the car and eyed me suspiciously. He wasn’t used to me smiling like a fucking kid.
“Babe, I have to go. I’ll call you later?”
“Sure, well, maybe tomorrow. I’m pretty tired and might call it a night. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. I love you, Mia.”
There was a slight sigh before she replied, “I love you too . . . and Marcus?”
“Yeah.”
“Please be careful.” After I told her I would, we ended our call.
As I drove off, I let Jimmie in on everything that was going on between Mia and me, even told him about the bet I lost. He burst out laughing and thought Mia was pretty damned clever. He laughed harder when I punched his bicep for thinking it was funny to begin with. Jimmie seemed happy that Mia and I were working it out. In the beginning, when Jimmie found out that Mia was related to Michael Sullivan, he wanted me to end things immediately. He felt it would backfire, not just on me, but on everything we had been working so hard for so long to do—bring down Lou Sorrento.
I was fucking hardheaded and couldn’t simply walk away. Deep down, I knew she deserved better. You could call me a selfish man, I guess. I couldn’t see her with anyone else. She was meant for me in so many ways. Since she came into my life, everything had changed; I learned to laugh again, to smile, to break down, and be the person I was before my father’s death. I didn’t think that was even possible. I learned to live again, and I could not walk away from that.
I had this feeling deep down that I couldn’t live without her. When you finally find a person who makes you feel alive, how could you possibly breathe if she were gone? I knew I couldn’t.
Jimmie shifted in his seat, and my attention was brought back to him. He cleared his throat before speaking. “I need to find a new babysitter fast.”
“What happened to that Melissa chick?”
“She starts college in a couple of weeks. It’s hard to find anyone you can actually trust.” He bounced his right knee and began chewing on his thumbnail, as he usually did he was stressed or worried about things that involved Elle.