Baby Number Two(29)

"It wasn't like that. I won a frequent customer contest."



"Uh-huh."



"I did!"



"So what was is it called?"



"What?"



Jack waved his hand at me. "The drink."



"Oh. Chantel Red. It was this sangria thing. It was actually pretty good now that I think about it."



Jack smiled and tore his gaze from my face to eyeball the swarms of  people who were trickling in from the street. From what I could gather  from the bits of conversation I was overhearing, they were stragglers  from a concert that had just ended somewhere up the road.



Seth resurfaced from the crowd and slapped a tray of shots down on the  counter, taking a moment to regain his composure before rushing off to  stop a scantily dressed patron from climbing on top of the bar. "Finders  keepers," Jack said, flashing me a devious smile as he divided the  shots between the two of us.



I gave him a skeptical look at first, but I quickly found myself tossing  each one back at his encouragement. It'd been quite some time since I'd  drank vodka straight up, and the burn let me know that I'd be  regretting it come morning.



Jack wiped the excess moisture from his mouth with the back of his hand,  giving me an impressed smile once he was done. "Looks like you've still  got it," he said, poking in the ribs.



We spent the next half hour or so drunkenly reminiscing, and by my third  shot I finally had the courage to ask him what had been on the  forefront of my mind all night.



"So...where's your bride-to-be?"



Jack looked confused for a moment. "Oh, Lauren?" he said once it  clicked. "She's uh...she's back at home. She's never really been a fan  of these kinda places."



"These kinda places?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.



Jack nodded. "I think 'shady hole-in-the-walls' would probably be her  descriptor of choice," he said, lifting the edge of his glass to his  mouth. His Adam's apple bobbed against his throat as he swallowed back  the last of the warm substance inside of it, clenching his jaw at the  burn.



"So I take it you've never brought her here then?" I asked him, trying my best not to sound as curious as I was.                       
       
           



       



"No," Jack said, speaking pointedly. "You're the only woman who's ever gotten that honor."



It was a remark that did its part in getting my heart racing. "Oh," I  whispered, studying the countertop to avoid looking him in the eye. A  lump of regret surfaced in my throat, but I swallowed it down before it  could manifest itself in other forms.



Jack went to set down his glass, accidentally brushing his hand up  against mine in the process. "Sorry," he said, but I could tell by his  tone that he was apologizing for something more than his clumsiness.



"For what?" I pressed. "Having so little involvement in your own wedding  that you didn't realize your fiancée booked me to plan it, or waltzing  back into my life after a ten-year absence and acting like you never  left?"



We locked eyes, and I felt oddly calm despite the fact that my heart was on the verge of beating right through my ribcage.





"Both," Jack said.



I laughed at that. I couldn't help it. Everything about this situation  was so ludicrous it felt like something out of a bad dream. It wasn't  though. I'd been pinching myself ever since Jack had walked into my  office and I'd yet to wake up.



Jack stared at me as though I was from another planet. "What could you  possibly find funny about this?" he questioned, grabbing hold of my arm  in an attempt at getting me to stop laughing.



It worked.



Suddenly the only thing I could focus on was the warmth of his gaze as  it burned desperately into my own. His touch was like fire, and those  stupidly expressive eyes of his never once left my face.



"Stop looking at me like that," I demanded, grabbing a bottle of vodka  from behind the counter and downing a large gulp without any chaser. I  was already going to be spending my entire morning with my head in my  toilet bowl. Why not make it count?



I tried to escape Jack's gaze as I worked at finishing off the bottle,  but it came as no surprise that he wouldn't let me. He continued staring  at me as I drank, half amused and half concerned, eventually reaching  forward to pry it from my grip.



"What the hell are you even doing here?" I spat, attempting to blot away  a spill on my dress with a napkin. "And don't even think about giving  me some smart ass answer. I think we both know it's not just a  coincidence."



I could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to come up with a  suitable lie, but eventually he settled on the truth. "Your assistant  said I'd probably be able to find you here."



Of course she did.



Jack focused his attention on the condensation mark his glass had left  behind on the counter. He looked conflicted about something, but I  pushed my way into the crowd and pretended like I didn't care.



I couldn't care.



Instead I allowed myself to be pulled into the anonymity of the night. I  danced with men whose names had no intention of remembering, refusing  to stop until the room started spinning and one of them got to talking  about how he wanted to take me back to his place for a nightcap.



Whatever the hell that meant.



I laughed and untangled myself from his grip, pushing my way outside.  The change of air took me a second to adjust to, but I did, and I was  just about to call for an Uber when I heard heavy footsteps approaching  me from behind. Thinking I was about to be raped or mugged, I pulled out  my pepper spray and swiveled around for a fight, but I was met instead  by Jack standing not even four feet away from me with a pissed off look  on his face.



"Of course." I sighed and clawed my fingers through my hair. "You really can't take a hint, can you?"



Jack took an angry step towards me and spoke through gritted teeth. "Look at you..."



"What?" I shot back, crossing my arms. I gave him a snide look to combat  the pitiful one he was giving me, making sure to keep my distance from  him to avoid doing anything I'd later regret.



Jack shook his head. "You're a mess."



"Oh that's rich coming from someone who's about to marry a woman just  because it's what her daddy expects!" I let out a humorless laugh and  narrowed my eyes at him. "You're a spineless asshole, you know that?  Always have been, always will be. Why don't you just go home to your  fiancée, and your fancy life, and just...just stay the fuck out of  mine!"                       
       
           



       



I leaned back against the building and struggled to catch my breath, ignoring the amused twinkle in Jack's eye.



"Did that feel good?" he asked after awhile, taking another step towards me.



I snorted. "Fucking incredible."



"Great, because now it's my turn." Jack closed the distance between us,  cornering me against the wall. "First of all, I'm not sure if this  perpetual state of drunkenness you call a life has finally taken its  toll on your memory, but let me remind you that you were the one who  ended things with me." He pressed a finger against my mouth to stop me  from protesting and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Secondly, if my  feelings for Lauren were even a fraction as strong as my feelings for  you, I think we both know

I would have never come here tonight."



Those last few words pulled the air right out of my lungs. I had to get  out of here. If I didn't, it was really only a matter of time before I  did something reckless.



"Yeah, that's right, run!" Jack called after me. "It's what you do best after all!"



I was just about to round the corner when he caught up with me and  grabbed me by the waist. "Get the fuck off of me!" I spat, shoving him  away with every ounce of strength I could muster up in my current state.



Jack backed off and dragged his tongue over his bottom lip in  frustration. "Well I'm not letting you walk," he stated, not giving me  any room to protest. "Come on. I'll give you a ride."



"Not a chance," I called over my shoulder.



"I said I'm giving you a ride," Jack said more firmly, stepping forward to block my path. "It isn't up for debate."



I scowled at the back of his head as he grabbed my arm and led me  towards his sports car, letting go of me just long enough to unlock it.  "What are you waiting for?" he spoke up when I wouldn't budge from the  sidewalk, sighing. "Get in already."