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“So what gives?”
“Nothing gives.”
“Oh, come on, Jess. I didn’t forget that two Fridays ago you and Reece cornered us in our study, pretending to be mad at us because you met at our party.”
“Pretending?”
“Jess, I’ve got eyes, you know. Even someone blind could feel the sexual undercurrent between you and Reece the moment you share space. When you came back from Fairbanks –don’t ever go away again without letting me know your whereabouts,” she added, pointing an accusing finger at her, “you told me you two were over and I believed you. You both went on living your separate lives, trying to build new relationships, until you met face to face at our party with your new significant other in tow. Oh, you both tried to play it cool, but were you alone, you would’ve started to tear off each other’s clothes. And I’m perplexed, because I don’t understand why two people who are plainly meant to be together had to go and complicate things by dating someone else instead of each other. Johnny and I were talking about it just the other night, but didn’t know what to make of it. You’ve said nothing. Reece has said even less. So what gives?”
“Nothing gives,” Jess repeated.
“My shoes! Recently, you’ve been so pensive, morose, irritable, I hardly recognize you. Your head is literally on the moon. And Reece is worse than a bear. Johnny and I tried to understand what’s eating at him, but apart from a couple rude brush-offs when we dropped your name into the conversation, we didn’t get a word. Now, we’re not blind, nor stupid, and we’ve known you guys long enough to understand something momentous must have happened causing a fracture between you, and we can see it is still unresolved. We’re concerned. We love you both and hate to see you so down in the mouth, so sullen and cranky. We’d like to help you guys.”
“I’m sorry to hear you’re concerned about us LeeHanne, unfortunately, there’s nothing you or Johnny can do to help right now.”
“You’ve always confided in me Jess, and the fact that all of a sudden you’ve become a tomb, is worrying me.”
“I know. Forgive me, but this is not the time, nor the place to talk about it. Furthermore, my lunch break is over. But I promise you an explanation at the next good opportunity.”
“Touchy,” LeeHanne commented, taken aback by her friend’s reaction. Before today, they had never had a problem discussing all kinds of personal topics no matter the subject, place, or time of day. She was piqued, and slightly offended by Jess’s sudden lack of trust in her skills to comprehend her problems and give her support.
“Yes, I seem to be a bit touchy. Again, I’m sorry LeeHanne, but please try to understand. I’ll talk to you later. Thanks for lunch.”
With that, Jess left the sandwich bar.
Understand. Understand what?LeeHanne wondered, puzzled, watching her friend deal with the street traffic outside, until she disappeared around the opposite corner. The only thing she understood now was that Jess had promised her an explanation, and LeeHanne would make damn sure she didn’t forget her commitment.
* * *
Once back in the salon,it wasn’t easy for Jess to concentrate on her customers and their heads, when all she could think about was last evening.
Luckily LeeHanne had not inquired about that or she’d be further aggravated with her. She knew she and Rob had gone out to celebrate their first three months together, but still engrossed in her own special evening, her friend had spared Jess the embarrassment of lying to her. LeeHanne was genuinely concerned for her, and like the good friend she was, had tried to help Jess ease her mind off her problems. But how could she explain and justify her reckless behavior to her friend when she couldn’t explain it and justify it to herself?
In the course of a few hours, she’d stood Rob up. Let Reece take her to his apartment. Made out with him against a kitchen wall, and betrayed, with little to no hesitation, Rob, Tracy, and all the sound principles her parents had taught her since infancy. Oh, but the good thing was, now she knew what Reece’s kitchen looked like.
The beginning of a hysterical laugh escaped her lips, drawing her customer's attention to her.
“What is it, dear?” the woman asked.
“Nothing, Mrs. La Salle. It suddenly occurred to me I forgot to pay a bill,” Jess smoothly lied, smiling at the woman through the mirror, wrapping yet another strand of her hair in tin foil.
“Oh, dear. That always happens to me too. My husband…” The rest of Mrs. La Salle’s conversation waned to a murmur that became the background to Jess’ thoughts.
Last year, after she’d left Fairbanks to go back to Chicago, thanks to Reece's mad search for her, she had had a lot of explaining to do to everybody, particularly to her parents who were very curious to know more about her mysterious man. They probably had not believed Jess when she’d told them Reece was just a friend worried about her, but, luckily, they had not pursued the matter.
LeeHanne was a totally different customer. Jess had tried to tell her as much of the truth as possible, but had refrained from telling her about the wedding or the divorce –and apparently so had Reece. Therefore, Johnny and LeeHanne still missed a vital piece of information that could shed a different light on their relationship. Going into all that would be too painful for Jess, and she had no intention of doing it. But even if she found the courage to tell her friend everything, she seriously doubted that LeeHanne could understand that each time Reece touched her, her body was set on fire, and her rationality was shot straight to hell.
Undoubtedly, Johnny and LeeHanne shared a great deal of passion and could comprehend the spin-and-spew rides Jess’s senses were subjected to by Reece’s mere presence. But whatever the Jenkins had, it was nothing so wild, so mind-blowing, so primal like what there was between her and Reece.
Theirs was the kind of affair seen only in movies or read in erotica novels. It was a vicious circle Jess wanted to break away from, and at the same time perpetrate, because it made her feel both glorious and guilty. When she was with Reece, she experienced sensations so intense she never wanted to do without them anymore. But in the aftermath, she condemned herself for the weakness that had forced her to betray her moral standings and act no better than a nineteenth-century mistress. He could have her whenever the mood struck. He just had to show up and Jess was ready for him no matter what man was in her life at the moment. She should resign to her fate, but her conscience ate at her like a hungry moth, because she wanted more than mind-blowing sex from Reece. She wanted his soul.
Mrs. La Salle was her last appointment for the day. After seeing her to the till near the exit door, and saying goodbye, silently hoping today she’d not lost a valuable customer due to her listless mood, Jess went back to her booth, and set about straightening it up, feeling exactly like she had when she’d left Reece’s apartment yesterday evening.
Like shit.
ChapterNine
The apartment was totally engulfed by the darkness when the doorbell suddenly rang, shattering the stillness inside.
