Chapter 16 

After a restless night of tossing and turning and analyzing the ‘date’ with Jason, I came to the conclusion that I was over my infatuation with him.  I’d been too blinded by his looks to see the real person, but now the blinkers were off and I saw him for who he really was – a man who thought taking a girl out for dinner entitled him to sex!  Well, I’d shown him.   

Even though I’d obviously made the mistake of marrying AJ in a moment of drunken madness (and then spent the night having lots of sex, which was all kind of a blur), it didn’t mean I was going to drop my knickers for anyone.  No way.  I wasn’t that kind of girl.  Even if he was gorgeous to look at and I’d fancied him for a long time.  I preferred to get to know a guy before taking things to that level.  Of course I had no rational explanation for what had happened with Alexander James McLean on that fateful night. 

I decided that what I needed to help me relax was a nice long soak in the bath with a good book, and then I’d call the girls and tell them all about Jason ‘asshole’ Orange.  Sharing my problems with them was always a therapeutic experience. 

About an hour later, I emptied the bath before I turned into a prune and got myself dry and dressed.  Seeing as I had no special plans for the day, I just put on my comfiest jeans and an old t-shirt and tied my hair back in a ponytail. 

“Hi Jess” I said a little while later on the phone. 

“Oh hi Steph, I was just thinking of you” she replied “Any goss?  Heard from AJ?” 

“No, I’ve not heard from him but I’m sure I will as soon as he has anything to tell me.  As for goss…I went out with Jason Orange last night” I said 

“Wahhhh!!! Oh my god Steph!  What happened?  When are you seeing him again?  You didn’t tell him about what happened in Vegas did you?” she bombarded me with question after question and I had to cut in and stop her so that I could begin answering. 

“First of all, I’m not seeing him again” I told her bluntly 

“Why?” she asked 

“Because he’s a complete arse, that’s why.  He’s self-obsessed and I think he could be a bit of a control freak given the chance” I said as I remembered him trying to tell me what I should and shouldn’t be ordering from the menu in the restaurant. 

“Really, in what way?” she asked 

“Oh, he tried to tell me what to order to eat and made a big deal out of it, even complaining about the amount of calories in my meal.  He seemed only interested in himself and made no real effort with conversation, unless we were talking about him or nutritional values of food” I explained 

“What a prick” she said 

“Yeah, exactly.  And that’s not all.  He invited me back to his place and stupidly I agreed.  I thought we could talk, you know, get to know each other.  I thought he’d open up a bit and show me the real Jason behind that façade.  But he expected more and I got more of him that I wanted” I told her 

“And what did you do?  You didn’t sleep with him did you Steph?” she asked 

“No, of course not!  Urgh, I bet he’d be shit in bed anyway, he’s way too selfish” 

“Good girl” she said 

“He tried it on of course, but I pushed him off me and told him no” I said “oh Jess, it was a complete disaster” 

“Well, at least you know now.  You can stop fantasizing about him” she giggled 

“Oh yeah, that’s well and truly cured my little Jason obsession” I laughed along with her. 

We chatted about other things then and I was glad to listen to her news.  I spoke to Izzy and Chloe too and had similar conversations.  We decided to get together the following Saturday for a girls night in. 

I got on with some housework (yeah I know how to enjoy a weekend!) and whilst loading the washing machine a little while later, my mobile began to vibrate.  I closed the washing machine door and reached into my back pocket for my phone. 

Hey Steph, is it OK to call you?  We need to talk - AJ 

I quickly texted him back 

Yes, I’m at home - Steph 

I switched on the washing machine and walked into the living room.  The phone began to ring. 

“Hello” I answered, knowing that it was going to be AJ 

“Steph, good news” he said getting straight down to business “I’ve just heard that we have a date for the hearing, there’s a cancellation.  Only thing is, it’s Friday.  Can you get here for then?” 

“Erm…” 

“I know it’s short notice and I’m sure we can rearrange it if we have to” he said “but fuck knows how long we’ll have to wait if we don’t grab this chance” 

“I’ll have to check for flights, let me do that and get back to you OK” I said as I reached over to my laptop and opened it up. 

“Sure” he said and we ended the conversation. 

I began to search for flights to Las Vegas, seeing as that’s where we had to be to get this annulment.  Didn’t make sense to me, but then what did I know about the law?  It would’ve been so much easier if we could’ve just signed a few papers and that’s it, but nothing is ever that easy. 

So after browsing the internet for a little while, I found a flight at a reasonable enough price – yeah, I may be a millionaire now, but I was still me!  I didn’t like to be ripped off.  I looked at hotels, taking a virtual tour of quite a few before deciding to go back to The Bellagio, only this time I wouldn’t be in a suite, and I’d be alone. I grabbed my phone and returned AJ’s call. 

“Hi” I said when he answered after a couple of rings “I’ll be getting there Thursday morning” 

“Great” he said “are you sure you can manage the expense though?  Must be costing a fair bit” 

“I’m OK for money” I told him.  Obviously I hadn’t mentioned the lottery win to him. 

“You sure?” he asked “I don’t mind helping out, after all the sooner we do this, the better” 

“Look…I don’t want or need anything from you except an annulment” I said.  Why did this guy get to me like this?  He was only trying to be nice and I’d spoken to him like a complete bitch.  It just wasn’t me at all. 

“I can’t wait to give it to you” he said with as much venom as I’d given him 

“Good” I said and took a deep calming breath 

“Why do we always bring out the worst in each other?” he asked softly, more to himself than to me it seemed. 

“I really have no idea” I said and I meant it.  Why did he bring out the hidden bitch in me?  I was never like this to anyone. 

“I’ll see you Friday Steph” he said 

“Yeah, see you” I said and we hung up.