Back to Black
Me and Mr. Jones
2012
Lila could feel her phone buzzing relentlessly in her purse. She excused herself from her current company and tried to wiggle out of her man’s arms. Lila felt his grip around her waist tighten before she was pulled in closer to him. She pressed a hand to his chest and nipped at his earlobe before whispering, “My phone has been going crazy for the past ten minutes, have to make sure it’s not my dad or something.”
His grip loosened allowing Lila to scurry off as quickly as she could in her heels. As she hurried away, Lila pulled her phone out of her purse and let out a sigh of relief, “Hello?” She leaned against the doorway of the ballroom to keep an eye out for her boyfriend.
“I miss you.”
Lila sighed, “I’m still in Wisconsin, Jon. You know I won’t be home for another couple days.” She could practically see Jon rolling his eyes.
“I don’t understand why you’re even dating that clown in the first place.” Jon popped open his third beer of the night and moved into the living room. He dropped his body on the large couch opposite the television.
“You know why. We’ve had this conversation a hundred times.” Lila bit her lip nervously as she poked her head back into the ballroom to see where here boyfriend was. Craig Smith was standing in the far corner of the room with his parents. The two made eye contact causing the hockey player to send Lila a small wave.
150 miles away, Jon sank deeper into his leather couch and groaned. His eyes were glued to the large screen before him, “Instead of standing around with a bunch of strangers, you could have been in Chicago with me, sitting on your favorite couch watching your favorite movie.”
Lila couldn’t help but smile into the phone. Her voice softened a bit, “Record it for me. Save it for next time I visit.”
“At this point, it’s surprising Sarah never gets suspicious about all the random shit I keep recording.” He mentally cursed at himself as his girlfriend’s name slipped out. The hockey player tried to stop the words from coming out, but they just happened like word vomit.
Trying her best to mask the hurt expression on her face, Lila choked out a laugh, “I can’t keep lying to myself like this.” As she looked up from the spot on the floor she had been staring at, Lila noticed Craig slowly making his way toward her with a worried look on her face.
Making things go from bad to worse as Jon usually did in these kinds of situations, he chugged the rest of his beer before speaking again. “Break up with him, Lila.”
The way her name rolled off his tongue sent chills down the 21-year-old’s spine. She watched as someone grabbed a hold of Craig and started pulling him toward the front of the room. “Break up with Sarah.” Lila sent Craig a soft smile of encouragement as he pulled his speech out of his jacket pocket.
“Babe…” Jon rubbed his hand over his face and sighed.
Lila could hear Craig’s voice coming through the speakers of the ballroom. His speech had started and she was missing, “It’s only fair.”
Jon stayed silent on the other end as Lila watched her boyfriend give a best man speech from the back of the ballroom. The past several months felt like she was living the life of a double agent. By day, she was the adoring girlfriend of Nashville Predator, Craig Smith, and personal assistant to the esteemed lawyer, Quinn Weber. By night, Lila Jones was the other woman. Her time was filled with secret phone calls and quick flirty messages masked behind fake contact names. There were quick trips to Chicago or a home cooked meal in Nashville. The slightest mistake in scheduling or slip of the tongue would bring the whole operation to a screeching halt.
“You know I can’t.”
Lila let out an angry sigh, “I can’t believe we played ourselves with this. If you want to stay with Sarah, maybe this isn’t really lo-” She was interrupted by the applause that began filling the ballroom. “Fuck! I just missed Craig’s entire speech.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her boyfriend handing over the microphone and searching the room for someone… for her. She bit her lip as he spotted her still on the phone, “I have to go.”
Before giving Jon a chance to respond, Lila hung up her phone and shoved it back into her purse. She met up with her boyfriend who had been held up by his drunk uncle. Craig wrapped an arm around Lila’s shoulder and pulled her into his side which she happily melted into. He dropped a kiss on her head, “You ok, baby?”
Lila tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and nodded, “Yeah, it was just my sister.”
As Lila stood beside Craig and continued to spend time with his family, the more the guilt of her actions sunk in. She knew what she was doing was wrong, yet somehow she couldn’t find it in herself to stop. Just a few days ago, Jonathan professed his love for her as he dropped her off at the O’Hare airport. Perhaps the declaration of love was enough to make Lila stay. As sat at a table waiting for Craig to return with drinks from the bar, Lila pulled out her phone to find a text from Jonathan.
im sorry i made you miss his speech. i love you
Unaware of a lingering presence behind her, Lila smiled to herself as she typed her response. I might let you make it up to me. She set her phone back on the table with the screen facing down when Craig’s drunk uncle managed to stumble over to their table and nearly spill his entire rum and Coke down her dress.
Three hours, two drinks, and one long car ride later, Lila found herself covering her bare body with a thin white sheet while Craig hopped in the shower. She had told him she would join him in a moment, needing a minute to catch her breath. On the bed side table of Craig’s childhood bedroom, Lila watched the screen of her phone light up. She sat up slowly, tossing a paranoid glance toward the bathroom door before checking her phone.
got 2 tix for Hawaii. we leave saturday ill send a car
Lila responded with a quick love you and tossed her phone in her open suitcase on the floor. She untangled herself from the sheet and made her way into the bathroom to find Craig still standing in the shower. She opened the door and stepped inside. In an instant, the hockey player had wrapped his arms around her waist and began peppering her neck in kisses. Lila turned in his grasp to face him.
“What took you so long?” Craig asked, nuzzling his face into Lila’s neck causing a soft giggle to escape her lips.
Lila bit her lip as Craig’s lips found the sweet spot on her neck. A soft moan slipped out between her lips before speaking, “Got a text with my travel details for this weekend.”
Craig pulled his face again from Lila’s neck, water from his hair dripping on her face, “You were just out of town with Quinn last weekend!”
“I’m sorry, babe.” She bit her lip, unsure of what to tell him. Lila knew Quinn would never cover for her. Quinn was the one to push Lila to start dating, fully aware of the relationship going on between her assistant the Blackhawks’s young captain. “This isn’t for work though, I thought I told you about this trip? A friend of mine just moved and asked me to come out and help her organize her new office. She’s paying me for my time, it’s good money.”
Craig studied his girlfriend’s face. “Are you sure you’re not going out to meet up with your other boyfriend?” The words of his brother-in-law echoed in his mind.
Lila felt like she just had the wind knocked out of her, “What do you mean?”
“I’m not stupid, Lila. Jason saw the name Mr. Jones pop up on your phone like a hundred times during the reception.” Craig dropped his arm back to the side of his body, taking a small step back.
“Mr. Jones? Baby, my last name is Jones! I was texting my dad.” Lila took a step forward with a small smirk on her face. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Craig’s neck, leaning her body into his, “Besides, I’ve got you. I don’t need anyone else. Nobody stands between me and my man.”
The hockey player smiled and kissed Lila in such a hungry manner. He lifted her body into his arms causing her to wrap her legs around his torso. Craig turned, feeling the scolding hot water from the shower hit his back, and pressed Lila against the wall of the shower. He dropped his head into her neck and began attacking it once more.
For a fleeting moment, Lila felt her heart flutter. She always told herself Craig was temporary; Jonathan was the man she was in love with. But with the intimate moment they shared in the shower, Lila began to wonder if it were possible to love two men at once.
Lila could feel her phone buzzing relentlessly in her purse. She excused herself from her current company and tried to wiggle out of her man’s arms. Lila felt his grip around her waist tighten before she was pulled in closer to him. She pressed a hand to his chest and nipped at his earlobe before whispering, “My phone has been going crazy for the past ten minutes, have to make sure it’s not my dad or something.”
His grip loosened allowing Lila to scurry off as quickly as she could in her heels. As she hurried away, Lila pulled her phone out of her purse and let out a sigh of relief, “Hello?” She leaned against the doorway of the ballroom to keep an eye out for her boyfriend.
“I miss you.”
Lila sighed, “I’m still in Wisconsin, Jon. You know I won’t be home for another couple days.” She could practically see Jon rolling his eyes.
“I don’t understand why you’re even dating that clown in the first place.” Jon popped open his third beer of the night and moved into the living room. He dropped his body on the large couch opposite the television.
“You know why. We’ve had this conversation a hundred times.” Lila bit her lip nervously as she poked her head back into the ballroom to see where here boyfriend was. Craig Smith was standing in the far corner of the room with his parents. The two made eye contact causing the hockey player to send Lila a small wave.
150 miles away, Jon sank deeper into his leather couch and groaned. His eyes were glued to the large screen before him, “Instead of standing around with a bunch of strangers, you could have been in Chicago with me, sitting on your favorite couch watching your favorite movie.”
Lila couldn’t help but smile into the phone. Her voice softened a bit, “Record it for me. Save it for next time I visit.”
“At this point, it’s surprising Sarah never gets suspicious about all the random shit I keep recording.” He mentally cursed at himself as his girlfriend’s name slipped out. The hockey player tried to stop the words from coming out, but they just happened like word vomit.
Trying her best to mask the hurt expression on her face, Lila choked out a laugh, “I can’t keep lying to myself like this.” As she looked up from the spot on the floor she had been staring at, Lila noticed Craig slowly making his way toward her with a worried look on her face.
Making things go from bad to worse as Jon usually did in these kinds of situations, he chugged the rest of his beer before speaking again. “Break up with him, Lila.”
The way her name rolled off his tongue sent chills down the 21-year-old’s spine. She watched as someone grabbed a hold of Craig and started pulling him toward the front of the room. “Break up with Sarah.” Lila sent Craig a soft smile of encouragement as he pulled his speech out of his jacket pocket.
“Babe…” Jon rubbed his hand over his face and sighed.
Lila could hear Craig’s voice coming through the speakers of the ballroom. His speech had started and she was missing, “It’s only fair.”
Jon stayed silent on the other end as Lila watched her boyfriend give a best man speech from the back of the ballroom. The past several months felt like she was living the life of a double agent. By day, she was the adoring girlfriend of Nashville Predator, Craig Smith, and personal assistant to the esteemed lawyer, Quinn Weber. By night, Lila Jones was the other woman. Her time was filled with secret phone calls and quick flirty messages masked behind fake contact names. There were quick trips to Chicago or a home cooked meal in Nashville. The slightest mistake in scheduling or slip of the tongue would bring the whole operation to a screeching halt.
“You know I can’t.”
Lila let out an angry sigh, “I can’t believe we played ourselves with this. If you want to stay with Sarah, maybe this isn’t really lo-” She was interrupted by the applause that began filling the ballroom. “Fuck! I just missed Craig’s entire speech.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her boyfriend handing over the microphone and searching the room for someone… for her. She bit her lip as he spotted her still on the phone, “I have to go.”
Before giving Jon a chance to respond, Lila hung up her phone and shoved it back into her purse. She met up with her boyfriend who had been held up by his drunk uncle. Craig wrapped an arm around Lila’s shoulder and pulled her into his side which she happily melted into. He dropped a kiss on her head, “You ok, baby?”
Lila tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and nodded, “Yeah, it was just my sister.”
As Lila stood beside Craig and continued to spend time with his family, the more the guilt of her actions sunk in. She knew what she was doing was wrong, yet somehow she couldn’t find it in herself to stop. Just a few days ago, Jonathan professed his love for her as he dropped her off at the O’Hare airport. Perhaps the declaration of love was enough to make Lila stay. As sat at a table waiting for Craig to return with drinks from the bar, Lila pulled out her phone to find a text from Jonathan.
im sorry i made you miss his speech. i love you
Unaware of a lingering presence behind her, Lila smiled to herself as she typed her response. I might let you make it up to me. She set her phone back on the table with the screen facing down when Craig’s drunk uncle managed to stumble over to their table and nearly spill his entire rum and Coke down her dress.
Three hours, two drinks, and one long car ride later, Lila found herself covering her bare body with a thin white sheet while Craig hopped in the shower. She had told him she would join him in a moment, needing a minute to catch her breath. On the bed side table of Craig’s childhood bedroom, Lila watched the screen of her phone light up. She sat up slowly, tossing a paranoid glance toward the bathroom door before checking her phone.
got 2 tix for Hawaii. we leave saturday ill send a car
Lila responded with a quick love you and tossed her phone in her open suitcase on the floor. She untangled herself from the sheet and made her way into the bathroom to find Craig still standing in the shower. She opened the door and stepped inside. In an instant, the hockey player had wrapped his arms around her waist and began peppering her neck in kisses. Lila turned in his grasp to face him.
“What took you so long?” Craig asked, nuzzling his face into Lila’s neck causing a soft giggle to escape her lips.
Lila bit her lip as Craig’s lips found the sweet spot on her neck. A soft moan slipped out between her lips before speaking, “Got a text with my travel details for this weekend.”
Craig pulled his face again from Lila’s neck, water from his hair dripping on her face, “You were just out of town with Quinn last weekend!”
“I’m sorry, babe.” She bit her lip, unsure of what to tell him. Lila knew Quinn would never cover for her. Quinn was the one to push Lila to start dating, fully aware of the relationship going on between her assistant the Blackhawks’s young captain. “This isn’t for work though, I thought I told you about this trip? A friend of mine just moved and asked me to come out and help her organize her new office. She’s paying me for my time, it’s good money.”
Craig studied his girlfriend’s face. “Are you sure you’re not going out to meet up with your other boyfriend?” The words of his brother-in-law echoed in his mind.
Lila felt like she just had the wind knocked out of her, “What do you mean?”
“I’m not stupid, Lila. Jason saw the name Mr. Jones pop up on your phone like a hundred times during the reception.” Craig dropped his arm back to the side of his body, taking a small step back.
“Mr. Jones? Baby, my last name is Jones! I was texting my dad.” Lila took a step forward with a small smirk on her face. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Craig’s neck, leaning her body into his, “Besides, I’ve got you. I don’t need anyone else. Nobody stands between me and my man.”
The hockey player smiled and kissed Lila in such a hungry manner. He lifted her body into his arms causing her to wrap her legs around his torso. Craig turned, feeling the scolding hot water from the shower hit his back, and pressed Lila against the wall of the shower. He dropped his head into her neck and began attacking it once more.
For a fleeting moment, Lila felt her heart flutter. She always told herself Craig was temporary; Jonathan was the man she was in love with. But with the intimate moment they shared in the shower, Lila began to wonder if it were possible to love two men at once.
♠ ♠ ♠
thank you amy.