Mister West by R.J. Lewis (animal farm read .TXT) 📕

office,” Brett says, laughing. “Not too long ago. Obviously banged him. One last hoorah.”

My stomach is in knots. Is that true? I feel like I want to vomit from jealousy. I am cold head to toe. Ana touches my arm, shaking her head at me. “We don’t know that.”

The guys glance at me, catching my odd emotion. I plaster a fake smile because I don’t want to ruin Ana’s night.

We find our way back to the dance floor. I have fun, but I still feel closed up, especially after hearing that.

“Loosen up,” Ana tells me. “Don’t think about West. Think about now, here.”

I nod. I let go as best as I can. I don’t know what it is, but it’s like I can’t tap into the girl in me that used to love this shit. Everything’s different for me now. I only move lightly to the music.

What they said about Aidan is bothering me a lot. I can’t get it out of my head. Did that woman really pay him a visit at his office? Why didn’t he mention that? He had told me she was well and truly out of his life, and he had expressed he hadn’t been with anyone the entire time we’d been speaking.

It’s really messing me up. I find myself moving to the ladies room. I don’t tell Ana where I’m going because I don’t want her to be concerned. She’s having too much fun anyway. I duck inside. I lean against the wall beside the sinks and dig into my clutch. I remove my cracked phone and turn it on. I go to my contact list. Aidan’s name is at the very top. My finger hovers over the call button. On a deep breath, I click his name. His number starts to ring, and I don’t even know what to say. I press the phone to my ear, feeling unsure.

“Ivy,” he answers quickly on the third ring. “Are you okay?”

I can’t stop myself. “If I had known being on top of you would fuck everything up, I wouldn’t have done it.”

“Everything is not fucked up,” he replies.

“It certainly feels like it.”

“When you’re home, we’ll talk about it –”

“Did Nina Hamilton go to your office recently?”

He pauses for a beat. “What?”

“Word from the grapevine is she did.”

“She was in my office. It wasn’t recent.”

“When?”

“The day you gave me a haircut.”

Jealousy roars through my body. “I thought you said she was out of your life.”

“She is. I kicked her out of my office.”

“Nothing happened?”

“Absolutely not.”

I run my finger along my lips, processing. “Are you really done with her, Aidan?” I ask.

“Ivy, I don’t even think about her. She’s nothing to me.”

I sigh, feeling silly. I can’t believe my lack of impulse control. I could have reasoned with myself that he wouldn’t have done anything with her.

What’s wrong with me?

“Are you having fun?” he then asks.

“I don’t know,” I answer. “We’re chilling with some dudes. They seem fine. They said you threw the most epic parties in here.”

He makes a grunting sound. “Who are these guys?”

“Just guys.”

He lets out a long breath. “You’re not dancing with any of them, are you?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, it fucking matters,” he snaps.

“Are you jealous, Mr West?”

“I am,” he admits blatantly.

“Ana invited you.”

“I know.”

“You could have been here, and now I’m here, without you, about to dance with some guys.”

“Ivy,” his voice comes out in warning.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t make me go over there.”

The thought of him being here excites me. “What would you do if you were over here, sir?”

“I’d ruin your time and make sure not a single dick was within arm’s reach of you.”

“That would ruin my time?”

“I feel like I’d be overbearing.”

“Is that why you really didn’t want to come?”

He takes a moment to respond. “It’s a lot of things. I don’t intend on ever getting sucked back into that lifestyle.”

“Surely one night out won’t deter your progress.”

“It’s too soon, and then with you in the mix, and this roaring jealousy that makes my heartbeat in my fucking ears…” his words trail off.

“So that’s a no, then. You won’t be paying me a visit.”

“Ivy –”

“I have to go back now, Aidan.”

“Ivy,” he repeats sternly.

“I’ll see you when I get home.”

I hang up, sighing deeply. I like that he still cares. I worried he might not have been bothered about me dancing with anyone, but I would have liked if he were here, proving that point. I can’t blame him for his reasons for staying away. He’s justified. I just wish I could stop feeling this needy. It must be the alcohol.

My phone vibrates.

A.W.: I don’t like being hung up on.

It vibrates again.

A.W.: I’m going a little crazy wondering what you’re doing, especially in that little fucking dress.

I respond back.

Ivy: You didn’t seem to notice my dress.

A.W.: Oh, I fucking noticed. It took everything in me not to drag you into my office and chain you to my desk. I’d have fucked you stupid, fed you every inch of my cock, made you scream for me to never stop. You would have been raw by now had you stayed.

A.W.: My resolve is weak when I’m around you.

A.W.: Don’t you know what you do to me? Why I have to protect myself?

A.W.: And that fucking dress would have been the end of me.

I’m truly speechless. We are past the point of witty banter and light teases. His words, even on my cracked screen, send pulses to my center.

I don’t respond to his messages because nothing I say would make him understand how much I would have loved to stay and be chained to his desk. But he stopped that advancement from happening. He told me to get off him and I’m still sore about it.

I put the phone back into the clutch and return to the dance floor.

Ana’s giving Brett a lot more attention now. She’s really enjoying herself, and I don’t blame her. The guy is exactly her type, and he seems really into her.

Dave, on the other