7. You Slept In The Same Bed As Jake Boyd And All You Did Was Cuddle?!
brIANNA
7
Unknown
Hey, it’s Jake. I got your number from Chris. I just wanted to apologise for Sunday morning. Not sure how that happened!
Brianna
It’s completely fine. I know you’re a man of honour, Just Jake.
Just Jake
I have a feeling I now have a new nickname…
Brianna
Yep, you’re stuck with it now, sorry. Maybe I’ll shorten it to JJ…
Just Jake
I’ll just have to come up with one for you now.
Brianna
It has to come naturally. A nickname like Just Jake is hard to compete with, after all.
Just Jake
Hmm, I shall think this over. You’ve awoken my competitive side now.
Brianna
Good luck, Just Jake.
I grin at the last message from Jake just as my new team leader walks up to my desk.
“I hope that’s work-related?” Cynthia asks pointedly, and I place the phone back on my desk.
“I was just checking the latest social media stats I’m responsible for.”
That was exactly what I was doing when Jake’s last message came through, so I’m technically not lying. Besides, Cynthia doesn’t need to know that the smile on my face was caused by a text from a friend rather than seeing the engagement numbers on the ad I am running for our latest campaign.
Cynthia walks off to terrorise someone else, and I resist the urge to sigh. I’ve been struggling to find enthusiasm for my job for a while, and after meeting Cynthia, I know I’m even less likely to find it here. Five minutes with her earlier showed me she is not a fan of new blood and would most likely view me as competition rather than a colleague.
Why do some women insist on tearing others down instead of lifting them up?
I am good at my job, and I know that. My boss in Sydney always told me how helpful I was to the team and had given me quite a lot of responsibility for someone so young. But I know in my heart that marketing high-end fashion items is not going to provide me with a sense of purpose. The two days of driving gave me a lot of time to work out what I want to do with myself now, and after my conversation with Jake and mentioning photography, a small kernel of an idea has been brewing in the back of my mind. I can’t allow myself to entertain it properly, though. I’ve heard that you should never make life-altering decisions after a major life event. I have already upped and left my old life behind. Now isn’t the time to try new things.
Several hours later, I drag myself away from my desk and head towards the City Cat terminal near my new office. There is already a line on the gangway, so I join my fellow commuters, who all stand silently, lost in their own worlds with music playing in their ears and scrolling through their phones. Usually, I’d be doing the same thing, but I am distracted when I spot Jake’s apartment building across the river.
It is one of the tallest in Kangaroo Point, and my mind drifts back to waking up next to Jake on Sunday morning. I had fallen back to sleep with his arm over me and slept a few more hours until he woke up and moved away, looking at me sheepishly. We didn’t have a chance to talk about it, as Morgan had started banging around in the living room, and I’d managed to slip out of the room without her noticing. We all had brunch together at a nearby cafe before I finally returned to my parents to start unpacking. But the memory of sleeping in Jake’s arms was hard to shake, and even now, the comfort I’d felt while snuggled in against his chest is still with me.
Another thought to shove aside. No good can come from falling back into my high school crush on Jake Boyd.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out to read the message from Kylie.
Kylie
Hey miss, what are you up to tonight? Need to escape from your parents? Tara and I are planning a night on the couch if you want to join us.
Brianna
Yes, please! Mum is already driving me nuts. She wouldn’t even let me do my own washing! Can I bring anything?
Kylie
Just yourself and that adorable little ball of fluff.
I knock on the door to Kylie and Tara’s West End apartment and wait for one of them to let me in. Maddie sits patiently at my feet, and I smile down at her. Kylie opens the door and pulls me into a big hug as if it hasn’t only been thirty-six hours since we last saw each other.
“I’m so happy you’re back!” Kylie has always been so bubbly, and I smile when she drags me inside.
Tara steps out of the kitchen and immediately starts fussing over Maddie, scooping her up.
“We’ve ordered Thai food. It should be here in about twenty minutes,” Tara says, cuddling Maddie close.
Maddie gives her a sneaky lick on the cheek, and Tara laughs before putting her back down.
“Your dog is seriously the cutest. I wish I could get one, but we’re both out so much for work these days. It wouldn’t seem fair for a little fur ball to be trapped in here all day.”
“Yeah, I’m lucky to work from home a couple of days a week, normally. I’m not doing that while I’m at Mum and Dad’s, though. She’s got Mum for company while I’m there, and I wouldn’t get any work done if I had Mum flapping around me constantly.” I roll my eyes, and they both smile at me sympathetically.
“So your Mum is still the same, huh?” Tara asks, handing me a can of coke from the fridge.
“Worse, if you can believe it. At least when we were younger, she had work to keep her occupied, but now that she’s retired, she’s got nothing else on,” I say.
“I wish we had space for you here. We’d have you in a heartbeat, but it’s only a two-bedroom place,” Kylie says apologetically, and I wave her off.
“Don’t be silly. No one could have predicted I’d be back here needing a place to live. I’ll work something out eventually, and at least I have a roof over my head while I get my life back on track.”
“I can’t believe Richard did that to you, babe. What an absolute dick!”
I had hoped we would make it a little further before my break-up became the topic of conversation. Still, I know that my spectacular relationship explosion was the group’s latest gossip after I let it slip on Saturday night, so I shrug.
Thankfully, Tara has always been able to read people better than Kylie. She grabs my hand and drags me into the kitchen, leaving Kylie to take Maddie’s lead off so she can run free through the place.
“Come on, I’ll give you the tour.” Tara shows me around the apartment, which isn’t huge but is quite comfortable.
I had been jealous when they moved in together a few years ago. That probably should have been a sign that I wasn’t that happy in my relationship when I’d rather live with my girlfriends in Brisbane than with my super-rich boyfriend in a expensive apartment in Sydney. But there’s no point in dwelling on that now.
Kylie calls out that the food has arrived, and Tara and I join her in the kitchen again. We serve ourselves and head for the couch, where Tara starts flicking through Netflix for something to watch.
“We were thinking something light and fluffy, or do you need a tear-jerker?” she asks.
I shake my head. “No tear-jerkers, please. I actually haven’t cried much since it happened,” I say, choosing to leave out the panic attacks that I’d experienced in the first two days.
Kylie and Tara both gape at this confession, and I busy myself with shovelling noodles into my mouth.
“Really? I’d be a complete mess,” Kylie says.
I smile sadly at her. “Well, to be fair, I’ve had a lot to sort out since he blew up our life together.”
I can feel the emotions I’ve been suppressing fight to come out, and I squash them back down. I’ve never been big on crying in front of others, and I don’t want the first time hanging out with two of my oldest friends being marred by me having a breakdown.
Tara and Kylie exchange a worried look.
“Do you want to talk about it, Bri?” Kylie asks cautiously.
I shake my head. “Not yet. If I start talking about it, it all seems real, and I’m not ready to break down until I have my life sorted out.”
My phone buzzes from the armrest beside me, and I welcome the distraction in the form of another text from Jake. I am sure the girls are about to force me to talk about it, regardless of what I say.
Just Jake
I’m going to be back in town at the apartment this weekend. The others are coming around on Saturday for dinner and movie night in the theatre room if you want to come along.
I try to hide the smile that creeps across my face, but I do a terrible job, and Tara clears her throat.
“Who’s sending messages that’s got you smiling like that?” Something about the glint in her eye and how she says it makes me think she already knows the answer.
“Jake. He messaged earlier to apologise for how we woke up together on Sunday morning,” I say, forgetting that I haven’t shared the details of our impromptu slumber party with anyone.
“What? You slept with Jake?” Kylie squeals.
“No! We just slept in the same bed, so I didn’t have to sleep on the couch,” I reply.
Aside from Morgan, who had been thankfully oblivious, everyone else had still been in their rooms when Jake and I got up on Sunday morning. When Kylie and Tara didn’t join us for brunch, the others had assumed I’d bunked in with them. An assumption that I hadn’t corrected, and Jake had watched me closely while remaining silent.
It wasn’t like anything had happened anyway.
“Aw man, you slept in the same bed as Jake Boyd, and all you did was cuddle? Teenage Bri would be very disappointed,” Kylie says in mock disgust, and I throw the nearest couch cushion at her.
“Well, grown-up Bri has just had her heart trampled on by a man, and the last thing she wants is to jump right into the arms of another one. I refuse to be dependent on another man ever again.”
“You don’t have to depend on him. But a few orgasms wouldn’t hurt, surely.” Tara wiggles her eyebrows, and Kylie giggles.
Tara dodges when I throw a second cushion her way and continues her sales pitch for sleeping with Jake. “I have it on good authority that Jake is a very generous lover. Seriously, very, very generous.”
“What?! When did you sleep with Jake?!” Kylie stops laughing abruptly and turns to look at Tara with wide eyes.
“Not me! Remember when Beth from school dated him for a few months a few years ago? She said he was the best sex she’d ever had. Was all about keeping her satisfied.”
“Why did she stop seeing him if he’s that good?” I can’t help but ask.
“She couldn’t deal with the distance with him being out in Stanthorpe. She said she went out to visit him once, and the country life did not agree with her. But yeah, if you’re going to hook up with someone to get over Sir Dicksalot, Jake is your man.”
I giggle a little at the nickname she’s given Richard. “Noted, but seriously, I’m not hooking up with Jake. We’re just friends.”
“Whatever. I saw how he was looking at you on Saturday night,” Kylie says.
I raise an eyebrow at her. “As if. You were too drunk to notice that.” I realise too late that this was the wrong thing to say when the smile slowly fades from her face.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to get drunk. Will lost his shit at me on Sunday morning. That was great fun with the mother of all hangovers.” She rolls her eyes, and I am just grateful that the topic of conversation has shifted from Jake and his sexual prowess.
“It’s okay, hon. Now that I’m back, let’s do more stuff that doesn’t involve drinking, okay?”
She smiles at me.
Tara finally picks a movie for us to watch while we eat. But I am distracted, and when the girls aren’t paying attention, I pick up my phone and stare at the message from Jake. Tara’s words still roll around in my head, as much as I’m trying not to go there. Shaking my head, I type back my response.
Brianna
I’m keen. Better than hanging out with Mum and Dad. Can I bring my dog?
Less than a minute later, his response comes through.
Just Jake
That’s fine. Not like I need to check with the landlord. See you on Saturday, Bri.
I smile before catching Tara looking at me with a smirk and another annoying eyebrow wiggle, and she ducks when I throw the last cushion.