AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When I see myself in the big mirror over the sink, I look… fucked. My hair is a mess. Jameson gave me a hickie on my right breast. And there are light green bruises on the sides of my hips from his fingers. I’m not sore between my legs, but I feel more alive down there than normal. More sensitive. Not that I would ever admit it to Jameson, but last night was amazing. It just can’t ever happen again. Even if I wanted it to, and I don’t. It just can’t ever happen again.
After taking the longest, hottest shower of my life, I take my time moisturizing and combing the tangles out of my hair in front of the mirror before being brave enough to find out if Jameson’s still here. On bare feet and wrapped in an oversized bath sheet that goes down to my knees, I pad slowly to my bedroom and peek in the door. He’s not in my bed anymore.
“Jameson?” I whisper.
“Jameson?” I say louder.
“Jameson?” I ask again loudly, before breathing a sigh of relief when he doesn’t answer.
What we did last night was playing with fire. Playing with fire is fine in your twenties, but I’m supposed to be a mature woman in my thirties now. Even if I don’t feel like one most of the time. I still feel like exactly the same me. Still in Western Springs, still working a mess of jobs, still single. I always thought I’d be married by thirty-two and that I’d have kids or be about to.
“Who’re you talking to?”
I spin around, my hands up and ready to slap attack whatever man is in my house now.
Gunnar.
It’s Gunnar.
My best friend, Gunnar. The boy I’ve been in love with since the first day of kindergarten. And Jameson’s cousin. He’s tall and dark like Jameson, with blue eyes, too. But his are all dark blue, without the lighter ring that Jameson and his brothers all have. Gunnar’s handsome, like Jameson, but he’s more serious and doesn’t smile all the time like Jameson does.
“Did you just let yourself in?” I demand, narrowing my eyes at him. He’s very tall. Like Jameson. And right now, tall men in my house are really pissing me off.
“I always let myself in. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing? You just startled me, is all. What are you doing here? Did we have plans, and I forgot, or something?”
“Nope. I had a dentist appointment in Western Ridge and thought I deserved to start the day with waffles. Just wanted to see if you’d already eaten?”
I mean, I ate Jameson Waters’ dick last night, but other than that…
“No, nope. I haven’t eaten, not at all. This morning. Breakfast sounds good.”
“How much time do you need to get ready? Or were you going to just come in a towel?”
I bet Jameson would have made me come in a towel… if I’d let him. And then he would have still been here when Gunnar let himself in. Then everyone would know. Oh, my god. It can never happen again. Never.
“Right. I need to get dressed.”
Gunnar’s frowning down at me. But it doesn’t make my blood rush between my legs like when Jameson frowned at me this morning.
“You okay, Lil? You’re acting kind of weird.”
“Weird? Am I? You know what? It’s probably just low blood sugar or something. I’m going to have a glass of orange juice before I get dressed. Don’t want to faint or something.”
“Since when do you faint?”
“Ten thousand women die every year from fainting-related injuries.” I make up the statistic on the fly, hoping he doesn’t get his phone out to fact-check it. “Better safe than sorry.”
Turning on my heel, I head into the kitchen. And that’s when I see it. There’s a piece of paper on the counter. A piece of paper that I didn’t write. The bold printing looks nothing like my bubbly writing.
What the hell did Jameson do?
Diving for the note on the counter before Gunnar can see it, I press it to my towel-covered chest.
“What’s that?”
“Grocery list,” I stammer, nodding aggressively to convince both of us. “I’m going to get groceries after breakfast. Two birds. You know.”
