chapter 9
787 Words
“How is your sister?” I asked, my throat tightening.
“Good.” Jason shrugged. “Busy. Stubborn as ever. I was just at her house this morning.”
I was careful not to let the reeling emotions deep within me show. I still felt immense guilt about leaving her the way I had the night we were together. I shouldn’t have had s*x with her in the first place, but I’d been a real d**k bolting right after.
I’d just been so freaked out. I couldn’t understand what had come over me that night.
Sam had always just been my best friend’s little sister. That night, though, when she’d approached me, something had seemed to unlock within me. She’d always been pretty, but she’d been suddenly stunning. Sultry. Sexy.
I’d lost total control of myself and crossed a line. I hadn’t known what to do afterward. I’d panicked, and then, I’d left town completely. Had I run away? As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I couldn’t really deny it. I’d been terrified of Jason finding out, but over the years, he’d never brought it up.
Samantha had kept our encounter a secret.
My reason for staying away had shifted from fear of my best friend hating me, to fear of giving into temptation once more. Samantha was forbidden to me. I couldn’t risk crossing that line with her again, but I’d known I wasn’t strong enough to resist her.
She continued to haunt my thoughts throughout the years, and the memory of our night together lived permanently on the edge of my mind. I compared every woman I was with to her, and they had all fallen short.
Samantha was dangerous to my sanity and self-control, and I’d done my best to avoid falling further under her spell.
“So, I have a list of best man duties for you,” Jason said, snapping me out of my wandering thoughts. “You’ve been slacking so far, you know.”
I smirked. “Oh, have I? Well, a thousand apologies. What do you have for me?”
Jason produced a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it, smoothing it out on the table between us.
Clearing his throat, he began, “Number one, you need to go in for a tux fitting. We gave them your measurements, but you know how these things can go. I don’t want you wearing capris the day of the wedding.”
I nodded, conceding the point. “Noted.”
“Two, you must organize a bachelor celebration.”
“Naturally.”
“Nothing too wild. I have a reputation to maintain in this community, you know.”
I chuckled. “All right. Only a few strippers then.”
Jason grinned before looking back at his list. “All right, let’s see. Reception speech, help with setup, ummm…oh! This is an important one. You’ll be in charge of the rings the day of. Basically, make sure the ringbearer has them at the start, and then, you’ll hold onto them until the actual exchange.”
“Gotcha,” I said. “Not a problem.”
“Henry’s super excited to be the ringbearer,” Jason declared, his smile widening. “It’s all he talks about when we’re together.”
I frowned. “How do you know this kid?”
“He’s my nephew.”
That only caused me more confusion. “You’ve never mentioned having a nephew before. Is he the son of a good friend? Or does he belong to one of Mandy’s siblings?”
Jason furrowed his brow, looking momentarily baffled. At length, his eyes widened, and a look of realization dawned on his face.
“Oh, s**t! You don’t know, do you? I forgot.” He smacked the palm of his hand against his forehead. “Henry is Sam’s kid.”
I stared at Jason in disbelief. “Wh-what? Samantha has a son?”
“Yeah! He’s a great kid. You’re going to love him.”
A thought entered my head. An impossible thought. A potentially life-altering thought.
“How…how old is Henry?” I asked in a choked voice.
“Six,” Jason answered easily. “He’ll be seven in a few months.”
It felt as though the floor dropped out from under me, and the room started spinning around me.
Jason continued chatting away as though he hadn’t just flipped my world upside down. I was too afraid to ask any more questions about Sam and her son, but I knew I needed to find her and have a conversation with her.
If she’d been keeping my child from me for six years, I was going to demand to know why.
- Writer
