“Define ‘hanging out.’” Mitch was dangerously close to losing it.
Adam looked him straight in the eye. “We’re dating. We’re together,” he amended. “I know it sounds crazy, but I love her,” he stated matter-of-factly.
The punch came from nowhere, catching everyone by surprise. Maggie gasped as Adam went down hard. “Stay the fuck away from Jenny,” Mitch growled at his unconscious body. He spun on his heels and stormed out of the stationamidst gaping mouths and “Oh my Gods.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.Speed walking to nowhere, his thoughts raced. Now he’d gone and done it. As soon as the LT heard about him punching Adam, he would be up shit creek. It wouldn’t matter that he was standing up for Jenny. Maybe if he told the LT about Adam’s reputation, he’d take Mitch’s side on this. The LT had a soft spot for Jenny.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID. It was Jenny.Decline.That was a conversation he wasn’t ready for yet. What if she really liked him? How was he supposed to tell her that the first guy she dated was only looking for another notch in his belt?
Speaking of sleeping around, he noticed another missed call from Veronica. She’d called multiple times over the last few weeks, only to get his voicemail. Her messages vacillated between anger at him for not calling and desperation from needing to see him. They’d only slept together a handful of times, and he thought she knew going in that this was a casual thing, but she wasn’t getting the hint that he was done. He wondered if he might have to actually talk to her to end it.
Mitch had been tiring of Veronica, and after meeting Maggie, Veronica had lost what was left of her appeal. Maggie was the exact opposite of Veronica in almost every way. Short, brown-haired, naïve, clumsy, and a total goody two shoes. But she was also funny, smart, sexy, and kindhearted. Something about her had crawled under his skin, and she was like an itch he couldn’t scratch.
Maybe he should scratch that itch with Veronica one last time. Lord knew he needed to get laid. That would help him relax. Then he could focus on finding Manuel. On impulse, he called her.
“Can you be at my place in thirty minutes?” he growled without preamble.
“Hey, Mitch. It’s so good to hear from you,” she cooed. “Finally. How’ve you been, sugar?”
“Thirty minutes or no?”
“Geez, grumpy pants. Sure, I can come by then, but I…”
He hung up and kept walking. Getting laid and then drunk would help. Then he could think about all this other bullshit.
“Yes, yes, more. Give it to me, baby. Harder. Harder!”
“Mitch, what the fuck is that?” Veronica stood staring in horror at Harold. “Whose voice is that?”
“That’s Harold, my new pet. And that’s nobody I know. He came like that.” He didn’t want to deal with a jealous tirade on top of everything else.
“Scotch?” he asked as he poured and downed his first glass.
“Oh my God. He’s disgusting!” she whined. “I was hoping we could have a romantic dinner, and he’ll ruin it.”
A romantic dinner? Alarm bells rang out. Maybe he hadn’t fully thought this through.
What was he thinking? Of course he hadn’t thought this through. He never thought anything through. That was his whole problem in life right now. Everything he did was on impulse, and most of it got him into trouble. He was a total fuck up and calling Veronica to have sex was a stupid mistake. One he had to fix ASAP.
When he turned to face her, she had moved up behind him and was an inch away from kissing him. She had covered Harold’s cage, and he was blessedly quiet. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her surgically enhanced breasts against him, and closed the gap. He got lost in her for a moment, but then thought of Maggie’s soft, natural, normal-sized breasts and compared them to Veronica’s hard, perfectly round double Ds. Veronica kissed differently, too. She was forceful and demanding. Maggie was eager and unrestrained, but not sloppy. Veronica’s kiss didn’t make him crazy like Maggie’s did.
He broke the kiss. “Listen, Veronica. I asked you over to tell you something.” He needed to let her down gently yet leave no room for hope. “We’ve never really defined ourrelationship. I mean, we’ve only gone out a couple of times, but I feel like I should tell you that I’ve met someone. We can’t see each other anymore.”
Stretching the truth a little would spare her feelings. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable way to end their practically nonexistent relationship.
“What?” she screamed. “I knew it! Is it the bitch Harold is mocking?”
So much for reasonable. She screamed, she cried, she cussed, and even tried seducing him one last time. When he stood firm, she said her final “fuck you” and left.
After Veronica left, Mitch poured another glass of scotch, sat down heavily on the massive leather couch, and began the oft-repeated and well-known task of berating himself.
One stupid punch, and all the progress he’d made in the last few weeks went flying out the door. His budding friendship with Adam would be history. He would no doubt ask to be reassigned first thing after regaining consciousness. Starting over with a new partner was a depressing thought.
This might also mean that his whole file would be turned over to IA. That was a complication he didn’t need. He wanted to be in on the hunt for Manuel, but if they suspended him, he wouldn’t get to work on the search at all. He’d really fucked up this time.
And what if Jenny truly did like Adam? She’d be pissed as hell. Maybe she’d finally write him off for good. He would deserve it. Every day he wondered why she hadn’t done that two years ago when he’d made her a widow.
Once Jenny cut ties, Maggie would lose interest, but that was just as well. Getting involved with her wasn’t a good idea anyway. She wasn’t casual fling material, and since that’s all he had to offer, he would eventually hurt her. He was no good for her. She deserved better.
