8. Bea

I get up earlythis morning, needing to go for a swim, to let out some of the worries about today. Normally I go early anyway, but I didn’t sleep much last night. I thought maybe Travis would message me during the night, but nothing. The way he reacted at the auction was scary, and I did worry about what would happen today.

Today is going to be a long day, not just because of spending the day with Jasper, but because I will be on edge with every step he takes. I don’t know the story behind Travis and him, but even without knowing, I could feel there is bad blood there. Jasper felt creepy, whatever the story is, Jasper was enjoying it. Enjoying the fact he won over Travis, so what will Jasper do to make sure he always wins?

“Are you sure about spending the day with Jasper? Travis was ready to kill him last night.” Quinn asks, looking through one of the magazines on my bed, as I put on my sweatshirt, and leggings.

I’ve seen men lose their temper before, but I’ve never seen someone wanting to kill someone the way Travis wanted Jasper’s head. If it wasn’t for Blake and Logan being there, I’m sure Travis would have done more than just punch him.

“He might be stupid enough to mess with Travis’ head, but he can’t be that stupid to do something to me—” I turn around to face him. “Can he?” I ask.

Would he really hurt me today, just to get an upper hand on Travis? I have no idea what their history is, but one thing is clear, Jasper is bad news. I am a little on edge about my day with him. Then again, he could surprise me and be a gentleman. Maybe it’s something stupid like they lost a hockey game, which is something a guy would fight over.

“I want to say no, but we don’t know anything about him. Make sure to put ‘find my friends’ on your phone, so I know where you are,” Quinn tells me. I grab my phone from the dresser, and show him it’s on. “Good, if anything happens, one ring or one letter message, understand?” Quinn sits up on the bed, watching me throw a few things into my bag.

“Understand. I’m going to start a group chat and add Travis to it, it’s going to be more work messaging you both.” I sit on the bed next to Quinn and put my sneakers on.

I wasn’t going to give him my number, but after last night, I knew Travis was going to be stressing non-stop all day. I couldn’t do that to him, no matter how much I enjoyed teasing him.

Quinn’s phone beeps, and I grab my phone to start a group chat, but stop when Quinn starts laughing.

“Travis wants to know what I’m doing today.” Quinn hands me his phone to read the message.

Travis - What’s your plan for the day?

Hanging out with you, not sure if Bea

was telling the truth about messaging me,

but I know she will message you.

I need to know she is safe all the time.

Shaking my head, I hand the phone back to Quinn. I throw mine in my bag, no point starting a group chat, but I will message Travis to let him know when I get to Jasper’s house.

“I’ve sent him a message to say I’m free, and will be over at his place soon.” Quinn laughs, and I don’t blame him, I think it’s stupid that he’s so worried. Everyone knows I’m at Jasper’s house today, if I go missing, I’m sure he will be on the top of the list of people to question.

“I want to know what the hell happened between them.” I grab my car keys, and leave the bedroom. “You think it’s something stupid like Jasper trying to get Travis’ girlfriend or losing a hockey game?” I ask with a chuckle in my tone, because I have a feeling it’s something childish.

“Probably. Message me as soon as you get there.” Quinn reminds me, and I go to open the door and reply to him, but stop when I see someone standing ready to knock on my door.

Jasper.

I look over at Quinn, before turning my attention back to Jasper.

“I was just about to come over.” I walk out of my apartment, the last place I want him is in my dorm room. “You didn’t have to make sure I was coming.” I smile at him, and even that feels wrong.

There is something about him, something inside me, telling me he is a creep. Something telling me to stay away from him. But if I back out, I can see Coach wanting to know why, and I know my answer of him being a creep won’t be good enough.

“I’m a gentleman, I thought I would pick you up.” He follows me out of the dorm, and down the stairs. Quinn is walking alongside me, so Jasper can’t walk next to me.

“I have a car?—”

“And I said I will drive you,” he snaps at me, and I look over at Quinn who is looking Jasper up and down, then looks over at me. I have to press my lips together not to laugh. “So let’s go, I have a fun day planned.” He walks over to his car, and I look at the white Audi, it’s brand new. Does everyone in this town have money?

I knew he had money when he spent ten thousand on me last night, so I shouldn’t be surprised with the car, and I bet he has a fancy house, too.

“Message me as soon as you get there.” Quinn gives me a kiss on the cheek, and I nod, before walking over to Jasper’s car.

Jasper opens the door for me, giving him a smile, but it’s gone when I feel his hand on my lower back. Why does his touch make my skin crawl? I sit in the car and take out my phone to text Travis.

Bea - Jasper’s picked me up,

on the way to his place now.

Before I can even put my phone into my bag, my phone vibrates in my hand.

Travis - Please message me when you get there.

Be Careful.

I text him a quick ‘okay’ before Jasper makes the drive to his place. The quicker I can get this day started, the quicker it will end.

“What do you have planned for the day?” I ask.

He turns his head slightly to face me, with a cocky smile on his face. Just for the smile I want to slap him.

“Breakfast date, lunch date, then dinner, and to finish I thought some dessert would be nice.” He turns back to the road, and a cold shiver just pulses through my body.

“You think I’d sleep with you for ten-thousand?—”

“No, I don’t. I’m confident you’ll be begging me to show you a good time by the end of the day.” I have to laugh at his comment. The man is confident I’ll give him that, but a lot more arrogant than anyone I’ve met before. “You can laugh all you want, but you’ll see I’m better than Travis for you.”

“And who said I’m with Travis, the last I checked I’m single.”

“Well, that’s not what I hear.”

“You need to get your facts straight.” I look out the window when the car pulls into the rich area of town. I know Travis’ father lives around here, and I can take a guess Logan and Blake’s parents live around here too. There is no way Jasper can get a place in this area unless his daddy paid for it.

The car comes to a stop, and I look up at the house. There is no way he bought this house, if I had to guess, Jasper is a few years older than Travis. So, either he robbed his dad, or his dad paid for it. This is not his house.

“Am I working for the whole family?” I ask him, getting out of the car, and I hear him laughing behind me. “If that’s the case, you didn’t pay enough,” I say when I hear the car door shut behind me.

“This is my house, just me.” My body tenses up when I feel his hand on my lower back. Why does he think he can touch me? I walk with him to the front door, and wait for him to open it. I take the moment to send Quinn and Travis a message to let them know I’m here. Then Quinn starts a group chat, to make it easier for me.

Quinn - Easier for you, I’m at Travis’s house.

Bea - I don’t like him.

Travis - What’s he done?

Has he touched you?

Is he sitting there with his phone in his hand? It didn’t take him long to reply at all.

Bea - No he hasn’t touched me.

He’s just a creep.

Message later.

I put my phone away and follow Jasper into the house, toward the kitchen, and see breakfast all set up for us.

He walks to the table and pulls out a chair for me, and pats it a few times. Asshole. Walking over I take a seat, and look around, there isn’t much in the house, has he just moved in?

I was going to stop at the coffee shop to grab breakfast, but that changed so I might as well eat while I’m here.

Jasper sits down next to me, and pours me some coffee. “So, Bea, tell me about yourself. I would love to know what’s so special about the girl who has the attention of the biggest playboy in town.”

I start laughing, and roll my eyes at him. If he thinks that about Travis, what does that make Jasper in town? I don’t know anything about him, but just being with him for five minutes, I don’t think he’s ever had a girlfriend and stayed faithful to them. Ever. Maybe I should have looked into Jasper last night, to see what the town gossip mill says about him.

“Nothing really to say, I’m studying to become a lawyer one day. I love to swim, and got into the college on a swimming scholarship. What about you? Why does Travis hate you so much?” I ask, taking a bite of my toast, waiting for him to reply. For a moment he stares at me with a stupid smile, only making me want to punch it off his face.

“That’s what I like about new girls in town, they don’t know the stupid rumors about us —” He takes a mouthful of a croissant and starts eating it. What rumors? I’ve not heard one rumor about anyone in this town, but then again I’ve not really spoken to anyone to just get to know them. “There are rumors about me which are untrue, but Travis, well he’s a man who believes them.” Jasper stops and I have a few more questions to ask, but at the same time, I don’t think I want to know the answers to them from him, especially if I have to spend the day with him.

Would Travis tell me the truth any more than Jasper? Travis had the chance to tell me what the problem was with Jasper, last night, and he didn’t say anything. All he has said is to be careful, but of what?

“Are you not interested in the rumors?” Jasper leans back in his chair, drinking his coffee, watching me at the same time. “Or are you waiting to talk to Travis to get his side of the story?”

I stay quiet for a moment and wonder what my next words should be. I can ask him, and then worry the rest of the day about what Travis will tell me after I ask him, or just leave it and walk away from it. Then again, I could use the rumor to help me in my game plan to take down Travis and his family.

So much to think about, but I have to think about why I’m here, my reason for being in this town, and not Travis and his ego fight with Jasper.

“What’s your side of the story?” I ask, but each word hurts to say.

He turns his chair to face me and pulls mine closer to his. Leaning in closer, his lips brushing against my jaw as he gets to my ear.

“The rumors are I raped—” I try to push the chair away from him the second I hear the word, but he keeps a tight hold on my chair. “His sister. Is it rape when you date each other?” I hear him take a deep breath in, taking in my scent, and my body shivers as he leans back a little, locking eyes with me. “Like I said it was a rumor, she even told the police I never touched her.”

I stare into his eyes, and I don’t know if he’s telling the truth or trying to scare me. My stomach feels sick, thinking I’m in a room with a man who is rumored to be a rapist. Flashbacks hit me, the screams hit me, and I need to get some space from him.

I know Travis has a sister. I haven’t seen her around, but if I’m right about her age, she would’ve already finished college by now. So, I thought she was away at work, maybe she’s not in town because she wanted to get away from Jasper.

I take a deep breath, trying to get my heart rate to settle down. I have no idea what I should do now, or what he wants me to ask, so I’m going to act like it’s not affected me.

Can I even do that?

“So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?” I ask, and he starts laughing, as he walks away from the table.

“To have some fun.” Without saying anything else he walks out into the garden, and I get ready to have a day with a man who might have raped another woman.

There is no fucking way anyone would have let him spend the day with me if the rumors were true, or if it was true and his dad paid them off. Travis’s family is rich. they don’t even need the money. There is more to Travis’ family than I know, and I’ll find out everything.

“Are you going to sit there all day wondering if I did it or not, or are you going to believe me when I say it’s a rumor? Come on, time for some fun.” He looks at me, and I follow him out to the garden, and I have to say this is a nice garden, and the swimming pool is a good size too. He takes his T-shirt off, I didn’t bring a swimsuit, and I’m not getting in there without one.

I quickly get my phone out and send Quinn a private message without Travis in the group.

Bea - Don’t tell Travis about this message,

but keep the phone close.

Jasper just told me something and

I don’t feel good about it.

Quinn - It’s in my hand. You okay?

Bea - At the moment yes.

Putting my phone back into my bag, I walk out to the garden, and a very on edge day with Jasper. This is not going to be fun.

The day hasn’t been as horrible as I thought it would have been. Jasper made me laugh with some funny jokes, and we’ve been baking and cooking for most of the day. Something I didn’t think he would know how to do, but the man is full of surprises, because he can cook a very nice meal. There were times I’ve forgotten he’s a creep, but then he does something to remind me he’s a pig.

He’s been drinking beer throughout the day, and it started quite early, I think the first one was about an hour after breakfast. Which meant there were moments where he’s been in my personal space a bit too much, I’ve laughed it off and moved away from him.

There is still a part of me that believes there is something not right about Jasper. There’s definitely a creepiness about him. The odd comment here and there about how he likes his girlfriends to be, or how he wants to have fun with more than one.

Now I know people enjoy threesomes, sometimes even more, but I don’t want to know about it. That is between the couple. I’ll admit I’ve fantasized about a threesome, now and again, but it’s not something I’m going to share with the whole world.

Some of Jasper’s comments have been creepy to the point where I’ve even had to ask him to stop talking, which makes him laugh, and yet he keeps telling me what he likes to do to girls. He even says he always gets what he wants, because no woman can say no to him. Fucking asshole.

I don’t even think he knows he’s doing it. It’s like this is how he talks all the time, which makes me wonder how the hell he ever gets a girl in the first place. He’s been belittling all his ex-girlfriends to me, but not spoken about Travis’ sister. He starts to and then stops himself. What secrets is he hiding about her? I know a few things about the Parker family, things I don’t even think Travis knows, and it’s one big thing I can’t wait to throw in his dads’ face.

While he’s been talking, I’ve had time to realize he has no respect for women at all. Which makes me think maybe he did rape Travis’ sister. He doesn’t like anyone saying no to him. It just makes sense.

I message in the group a few times throughout the day, and messaged Quinn separately because it was things I didn’t want Travis to know about. One of those things was how uncomfortable Jasper makes me. If Travis knew that, he would be here straight away, dragging me out away, and I dont’ want that to happen.

I might not want to be here, but being here will help me with my plan to take down Travis’ family.

I don’t like Jasper. But I like him more than the Parker family. Mr. Parker broke his own family, as well as mine. Now I’m going to bury him, and Travis isn’t going to get in my way.

“Not long to go. You want to finish it with a bang?” Jasper stands behind me in the kitchen with his hands on my hip, I hate that he thinks he can touch me whenever he fucking likes.

“No, and you can take your hands off me.” I grab his hands to push them away, but he grips my hips tighter, so I can’t move them. Jasper leans in closer, pushing his pelvis into me.

I feel him leaning closer to my ear. “I’m very confident I’ll make you forget about the asshole.” He licks my neck, making me angry, and I elbow him in the stomach. He finally steps away from me.

“I said no, and if you try it again—” before I can finish he slams his lips onto mine. Fucking asshole keeps touching me.

I bite his lip hard enough for him to pull away from me, but he quickly grabs my cheeks together.

“Now I like it rough, but only when I get to be the one hurting you.” He wipes the blood from his lip, then smiles as he looks down at me.

“Well, it won’t be with me.” I slap his face, I have no idea who the fuck he thinks he is. But I’m never going down without a fight. It will never happen again, no one is touching me unless I want them too.

A sting hits my lip. Before I can slap him again, Jasper grabs my wrist with one hand and my face with the other. He moves in closer, kissing my lip, wiping the blood off that had escaped.

“I like the fight. You feel this—” He pushes his hard, disgusting dick against me. “Come on, fight me.”

“Fuck you.” I spit on his face, trying to push him away from me. If he thinks I’m going to forget this moment, he’s wrong. I will make him pay for touching me, for hitting me.

“More than happy to fuck you.” He pushes more of his body weight against me. “I’ve got a message for you—” Kissing my neck, blowing his disgusting air on me. “Mr. Parker says hello sweet little Bea. He’s excited to play again.”

Fuck. I shout to myself.

I knee him hard enough that he screams out in pain. As he bends down, I punch him in the face, so he falls back and fuck does that hurt my hand.

Quickly grabbing my bag, I turn to face Jasper. “Tell Mr. Parker, I’m ready for him.”

He knows who I am, I had a feeling he would. But now he”s got a plan and it started with Jasper. So, what else does he have planned?

Quickly getting out of his house, I call for an Uber. Right now, there is only one thing I want to be. To be alone.