Isn’t Rejection What You Wanted?

Taunting

CAMI’S POV

—

My phone starts ringing, and I glance at the time. 21:00

I reach for my phone, and it’s my mom.

I adjust on the comfortable bed and answer the call. “Mami, what do I owe the pleasure of your call?” My mom sighs, “What have you done?” the disappointment in her voice is thick. “Mom, Alison photo shopped…”, “No, you are deceitful!” she snaps, and my head pulls back in disbelief. “Are you believing her, over me?” I ask baffled, “She has the proof,” is all my mother says, and it was the last straw.

“How dare you?” I scream into the phone, not caring who hears. “Ever since dad died and you met Hank, I was nothing to you anymore!”, “That’s not true! I loved you!”, “Loved, exactly.” I grit out, furious that she even admitted it. “Love,” my mother sighs, “I meant love,”, “But you don’t, and that’s fine because I don’t need you anymore.” I breathe out, my heart shattering in my chest.

“You are my daughter," she tries to act like a saint, "But you choose Alison over me, every single time.", "I don't," she tries to save her ass, but I've seen what she does, and I'm done falling for her lies. "But this time is different, you disgraced us." her disappointment is just like any other day. "I did nothing, and if you really believe her, do not, ever contact me again." I end the call with tears streaming down my face, and when I toss my phone across the bed, it lands on the edge at the bottom.

"I don't think the phone deserves that," Jared's voice makes me look at the door where he leans against the frame, ankles and arms crossed, staring at me. I scoff, shaking my head, "I think it did," I try to smile, but more tears swell in my eyes are stream down my cheeks. "Do you want me to take care of it?" he asks, and my head tilts as I frown at him, "Meaning?" I ask with interest. "Just yes or no," he shrugs, and I shake my head, "No, it's all good." I inhale a sharp, audible breath. "He will finally realize what he lost," I clutch the duvet in my fists beside me.

"Baby!" a woman's shriek erupts through the house, and then a petite blonde runs into the room, grabbing Jared's arm and he turns to her, looking defeated, "What did I tell you?" he snaps at her, and I feel kinda bad for her. She's taken aback, and her gaze flicks to me, "Who's this?" her distaste is clear on her face and in her voice, "An old friend who needs help,", "But why is she here?" she twirls her hair around her finger. "I'm helping." he grits out and nods his head towards the hall and she huffs, rolls her eyes and leaves.

"Sorry," he winks at me, "You should be nicer to your girlfriend," I scoff, "God no, she's not my girlfriend," he straightens himself, his posture perfect. "She's this week's hookup," he grins, slapping the wall before he backs out and then he pops his head back in, "If you change your mind, let me know," It seems like he wants to take care of my family for me, but what can he actually do? Threaten them? They'd call the cops and he'd get arrested for it.

--

Waking up at three AM with a crispy, dry throat isn't what I had expected, and I find myself stalking through the house, wearing an oversize t-shirt and my toes curl with every step because of the icy tiles underneath my feet. I find the kitchen easily when I recall how Jared explained the layout of the mansion earlier, and I open the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water, but as I shut the fridge door, I jump when a tall shadow stands in the entrance way and he reaches sideways, and switches on a light beneath the cupboard beside him.

"I'm glad you found your way," Jared smirks and strides into the kitchen. It's still mostly dark, but the light helps a lot too. I can see clearly near the fridge and microwave, but the rest is covered in a gloomy light. "Hi," I smile and take a sip of water. "Why are you up?" His stare is intense, and I just lift the bottle, "Thirsty," I explain and he nods, "Same," he walks over to me, and that's when I look at him, like really look at him. He's ripped, his muscles are large and the tattoos...are a lot.

"You like it?" he asks while passing by me, and I can feel how red my cheeks become from embarrassment. I stared at him like he's food and I've been starving for weeks. "Sorry, I just..." I sigh, flattening my hair as I drag my hand over my head, "No worries," he shuts the fridge, turning and stopping right in front of me, our toes touching. I look up at him, and he stands with authority as he takes a sip of water. I can't stop ogling him... "Everything alright?", "Yeah..." I lie. I can't be attracted to Jared, can I?

I mean staring at his naked upper body isn't that bad, and he saved me from a humiliating situation, so it's just a little gratitude, right? I'm not romantically involved with him, nor will I ever be... "Look," Jared sighs, leaning towards me and he places his bottle behind me on the kitchen island. I stare up at him like he's my idol, waiting to just hang on every word he says, but I also know I won't listen to him because he's irrational and doesn't make sense sometimes.

"You seem..." he pulls back slowly, his eyes traveling down the length of me, "Frustrated," he breathes out, and I don't know why he made it sound so sexy. "I...well...yeah," I deadpan, "My husband left me on our wedding day, because of Alison." I sneer, "And I just...she did it again." my teeth grind against each other, "And I can't f*****g stand it," tears swell in my eyes, but not because I'm sad, no...because I'm furious. The anger shaking me is winning, and it's taking over my entire body.

I drop my head back, and I suddenly feel Jared's strong hands grasp my waist, and he lifts me off the floor, making me sit on the island, and he steps in between my legs, keeping them parted. I sit up straighter, eyes wide and I try to pull my shirt down that's railed up to my waist, but what catches me off guard is that he doesn't take his eyes off mine. "What do you need?" he has me caged in between his hands that rest on the edge of the counter on either side of me.

What do I need?

A bottle of tequila, a vacation far away, a month of sleep, food...and a good f**k.

"Nothing," I sigh, feeling annoyed and turned on. "Don't start lying to me now," he chuckles, and I admire how he tries to lighten up the mood, but it isn't working. Not today. "He left me, Jared." I breathe out. "Derek knew what Alison was capable of, and he still got into bed with her. He chose her, and I thought..." my voice cracks under the pressure of all the anger and hurt. "I thought he was different, I thought he was the one who would truly see what she was.", "He's an i***t," Jared scoffs, making him sound stupid and that is exactly what he is.

Derek is stupid, an asshole and he...he was the love of my life, but I wasn't his.

Jared leans in, and for a second I think he's going to kiss me, but then he moves his head to the side, and whispers, "Do you want a cupcake or ice-cream?", "Do they contain alcohol?" I snort as a joke and he pulls back, grinning before he turns and opens his freezer. "It doesn't have a lot of alcohol in, but it is the reason why the ice-cream stays creamy and smooth," he opens the lid of the strawberry ice cream, and he hands it to me. My eyes widen when he reaches in between my legs, but when he opens the drawer, relief and disappointment wash over me.

I'm wet between my legs, and my panties are soaked, but not because of Jared, but because of his attention. He stares at me like I'm the most important thing, and he just handed me ice-cream. "Enjoy it," he holds out the spoon, and my fingers brush over his as I take the cold metal in my hand. "Aren't you going to have some?" I offer, scooping some up on the spoon before putting it into my mouth. My lips fold around the metal as I pull it out, and Jared just blandly stares at me, amused and a hint of desire in his eyes, but that can also just be my imagination.

Jared’s lips twitch up in a grin, and he grabs my wrist, the action so fast that I didn’t even see it. I felt it. He adjusts my hand, and scoops up a spoon full as he controls me. He brings the spoon closer to his mouth, and all I can watch is how his pupils dilate while holding my gaze.

It’s hard not to look at his mouth, but the way my heart beats faster and faster makes it impossible to move anything at my own free will. Jared groans, which sets me back, and he pulls his head away, “That’s good, yeah?”, “Yeah,” I breathe out, and I quickly pull away when he lets go of my wrist. The skin where he touched feels on fire, like my skin could melt off the bones. “Want some more?” I offer, not wanting him to disappear.

“I’d like to play a little game,” he raises his brows, and his vagueness intrigues me. I shift on the counter top, straightening my back, “What game?”, “Stick your tongue out, and put ice cream on it and don’t let it back into your mouth,” he grins and I do as he does. I try to hold back my giggle as we stare at each other with our tongues sticking out, and I can feel the ice cream melting on my tongue, streaming down my chin.

My jaw starts to hurt as I sit, and giggle while Jared just stares at me, his stare intense like my jaw’s muscles. I didn’t notice how close Jared had come to me, but as his face hovers in front of mine, his eyes flicking between mine, it feels like the time stands still, and I’m caught off guard by his next move.

He leans closer, gently pressing the tip of his tongue against mine and his is so cold, the ice cream barely melted unlike mine that’s halfway melted, and it’s unbearable to not push my tongue past his and into his mouth, especially when I feel his hands resting on my knees.