Heartbreak 'n Heels

Chapter 19

Deacan strolled through the Galleria Mall, looking in store windows while he waited for Clark. Standing outside of a shoe store, admiring a pair of sneakers, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Hi, Deacan.”

“You should’ve kept walking, Jennifer.” Deacan didn’t even turn to look at her when he spoke. He was hoping, praying she would just walk away. What more did he need to do to get her to understand he didn’t want to see or talk to her ever?

Jennifer sighed and touched his arm. “I don’t want to fight with you. I just want to talk.” There was a tremor in her voice, and before, that was all it took for her to hook him. He’d hated to hear her sad. She thought back to when she’d finally told him about her parents and their lack of interest in her. Tears were streaming down her face and Deacan had held her, kissed her face repeatedly, and assured her that she was loved now. To cheer her up, the next day he took her to Chicago and they spent the day walking the Magnificant Mile and spent the night in the hotel making love. She knew then that Deacan was the best thing to ever happen to her.

“There’s nothing to talk about. Go talk to Jonathan,” he spat at her. Deacan looked down at her hand on his arm then glared at her. Jennifer snatched her hand away quickly and he began to walk away. She had no choice but to follow him.

“He doesn’t want me. He wants that stupid bi-” she clamped her mouth shut when she saw the murderous look in his eyes. How could he be so protective of her? They’d only been together a few months. What the hell was it about Erica that all the men in her life wanted her? There was nothing special about her, at least not that Jennifer could see. Sure, she was nice, pretty, didn’t cause any issues, well except stealing men that didn’t belong to her.

Deacan scoffed and gave a mirthless laugh, “So that’s it? He dropped you. Well, I don’t want you either. I’m going to make this simple, stay the hell away from me!”

“I can’t,” Jennifer whispered. It was the truth. She couldn’t stay away from him. He’d wanted to marry her a few months ago, that doesn’t just go away. She couldn’t walk away with nothing. Why had she been stupid enough to tell him about the affair with Jonathan? They’d been sneaking around for about six months. He’d whispered those sweet nothings to her, made the promises men made when they were between your thighs, and there was no follow through. Jonathan had decided he was done with her when he realized he’d lost Erica.

After Erica had caught them in his office, when Jennifer slapped him for saying she meant nothing to him, she had walked back into his office to give him hell. He was sitting on the edge of his desk, holding a piece of paper in his hand, shaking his head in defeat.

“Jonathan, you’re an ass!” She was visibly shaking, fear and anger warring inside her. Both wanting to control this conversation.

“I know,” was his simple reply. The fear in her won. Fear of losing him, fear of being alone, fear of having no one, fear of her parents being right, fear that she was worthless and unwanted.

“What’s that?” Jennifer stepped closer and tapped the paper. He handed it to her and she read Erica’s resignation. Regardless of everything going on between them, Erica was excellent at her job and people loved her. She made the clients feel comfortable and the vendors were always happy to deal with her if there was an issue with our referrals. “So she’s leaving. It’ll be alright.”

Jonathan sat in silence, so Jennifer stepped between his legs and kissed him. At first, he didn’t respond, but then he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. The kiss became rough, angry. He slid his hands under her skirt and gripped her hips. His nails dug into her skin and Jennifer hissed. She pulled back from the kiss and slapped him.