Overtime(153)

“Go, please,” she said, looking away before rattling off her address.

“Boyfriend troubles?” the cabbie asked as he drove off, and Kacey shrugged as her hands cupped her growing belly. Her ring caught the light of the sun and her eyes clouded with tears. She was supposed to be happy, excited for her future with Jordie, but she felt like everything she’d thought was good was a lie. That the foundation of their relationship was built on dishonesties. For the longest time, she had thought it was the help of AA and therapy that had gotten Jordie through his problems at the beginning, but instead it had been Natasha.

Someone he cared for.

Someone he hid from her.

Someone who wasn’t Kacey.

Wiping away her tears, she guessed the other shoe had finally dropped.



Screaming out in frustration as the taxi pulled away, he turned just as Natasha came out, a napkin under her nose as she glared at him. But he didn’t care. He could give two shits that her nose could be broken or that she was mad, because he was furious.

“How dare you?” he sneered and she shrugged.

“You are making a mistake,” she said nasally. “You love me.”

“No, I do not!” he yelled. “I don’t f*cking love you, not even a little bit. I love that woman, the one that just got a cab to go home because of the shit you started. Do you know how fragile pregnant women are? Oh wait, no, you don’t, because you don’t have kids or even want them because you don’t get close enough to anyone to even start to have a relationship.”

“I got close to you!”

“But I don’t want you!” he yelled back, his heart pounding as his mind reeled with ways to handle Kacey. She was overly emotional all the time, with good reason, and he knew he was in deep shit. She was right; he should have told her about Natasha, but honestly, he never even thought of her. He was so happy with Kacey that he didn’t need Natasha anymore. He knew that sounded horrible and maybe made him an ass, but he only needed Kacey.

Natasha’s eyes widened as she slowly shook her head. “You don’t mean that.”

What the hell was up with all these crazy people? First Liam, then his mom, who was straight from crazy town, and now Natasha? When was he going to catch a break? If it wasn’t fighting his alcohol issue, it was batting away crazy people who wanted to f*ck with the one great thing in his life. The one thing that mattered more than the next drink, or the people from crazy town. His everything.

Stepping toward her, he took her by her shoulders. “Listen to me, Natasha. I don’t love you, I never said I’d love you, and I never will. That woman though, that woman I love. More than I could even try to put into words. You know how much she means to me. Please stop this,” he begged, but Natasha shook her head.

“I miss you.”

He let his head fall back and he couldn’t believe it. She had been such a cool chick, a wonderful f*ck, and an okay person, but when did she take a detour to Crazyville and why was she doing this? Shaking his head, he said, “Natasha, don’t. Because I will never be yours. I’m Kacey’s. Only Kacey’s.” Her lips trembled as she looked away and he asked, “Please don’t call the cops on her. Let that be your apology to me.”

“Who said I’m apologizing?”

He expected that from her. She was prideful, just like Kacey, but unlike Kacey, she didn’t forgive easily. Nor did she let go of a grudge. Though she also knew that what she’d just done was unacceptable. “You will because you know that you shouldn’t have done that,” he answered and she shrugged. She worked her lip, tears falling from her eyes, and in another time, another place, a drunk mind frame probably, she would have been it for him. But she wasn’t, and as much as it hurt her, it did upset him. He had cared about her. After this though, he wasn’t sure he could ever speak to her again.

“I do love you, Jordie,” she said then, her eyes meeting his. As she dropped the napkin, he knew that her nose was broken, which made him flinch. That woman of his had a temper and a mean right hook.

Squeezing her shoulders, he said, “Do yourself a favor and stop. Find someone else who can return that love. But first, go get your nose taken care of. Forward me the bill if there is one.”

She shook her head as she covered her nose. “I can’t believe she hit me.”

“I can,” he said slowly. “She loves me, and real love brings out the irrational part in people. Now I have to go home and convince her she has nothing to worry about. I doubt you’ll wish me luck,” he teased and she shrugged.

“I won’t.”

“Didn’t think so,” he said, fishing his keys out of his pocket. This was one of those moments when what Benji said rang true. Natasha didn’t add to his life; she messed it up, so she was out of it. “This is goodbye, Natasha. Don’t contact me, and I won’t contact you.”

She swallowed hard, wiping her face as she stood a little taller. Her nose was already bruising on her pretty face, but that wouldn’t hold her back. She was flawless no matter what, but he still didn’t understand how she could do this. Then his previous statement came back to him. She was in love with him, which made her irrational, and he felt horrible for hurting her feelings, but he had never lied or promised her anything. His heart was always Kacey’s.

He just had to hope Kacey remembered that.