Chapter Eight
Maria
Between Dom’s idea to shoot a naked ad campaign together and this—spending time with Jade—I was beginning to seriously dislike him. Not really, but he was being a mighty big pain in my ass as of late, what with all his ideas and suggestions. New thing: if it came out of Dom’s mouth, then I was going to see it for what it was—bad.
All right, fine! Hearing Dom out on this one and deciding to actually grab breakfast with Jade wasn’t all that bad. It was perfect timing, too. Especially because the family had a long weekend in the Hamptons planned, and Jade would be coming.
Interrupting my thoughts, Jade said, “See, that’s why I don’t need a man in my life.” She tore off a piece of her bagel and slathered it in cream cheese before popping it in her mouth. “Relationships aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be.”
She wasn’t entirely wrong. We all knew I still hadn’t found my soulmate . Honestly, sometimes I wondered if there was even such a thing. And if there was, would I know it when they came along? Perla, Bianca, and Allie all swore there was such a thing, and I actually believed it when I thought about their love stories. Because let’s be real, they found the people they were meant to be with. But maybe some people—ahem, me—were meant to never find their person. That could be a thing, right?
Yes, yes, I knew what you were thinking—Jade wasn’t that bad. And she really wasn’t, I supposed. I just needed to learn more about her. And I was doing that. Trying to do that, at least.
While she had similarities to me and my sisters, she was also different. She was more aloof. She preferred listening to talking if she could help it. She believed deeply that the best relationship you could be in was the one you had with yourself. That eventually spiraled into talk about our equally shitty dating history. The number of good guys out there was surprisingly low, and it was scary to say the least.
Jade hadn’t had the best luck in love, and I think that also contributed to her. . . we’ll say guarded personality. I appreciated that she had compartmentalized that because when it came to getting to know me—and even my sisters—she seemed to let her walls down so we could get to know each other.
I picked up my coffee cup and sipped it. “Listen, I’ve always said there needs to be a romantic comedy movie centered around one main character who finds love within themselves, and it’s a journey of their own making. Maybe they have friends or siblings, but that’s it. No significant other.” I spoke with my hands. “Anyway, Bibi thinks it’d be dreadful. Even when we’re not watching a romance, she tries to spot the romantic thread in the film. Sometimes she grasps at straws.”
Jade laughed so hard she snorted, covering her mouth with her hand in response. “I can definitely see her doing that.”
“I know, right?” I replied, chuckling as I wiped my mouth on a napkin, folded it up, and placed it on the dish in front of me. “You know, I’m glad we did this.”
“So, we’re good?” she questioned.
It was just like Jade to bring the conversation to a screeching halt, to put me on the spot. But I needed that sometimes. “We’re on the way to good,” I admitted.
“That’s all I could hope for.” She smiled softly and peered around. “You know, I’ve never been to this place. Next time, I’m ordering your regular because who knew Asiago was so good?”
I shrugged. “I can’t believe you’d never tried it before. That’s like a crime or something. At least, it should be. You’re Italian, so cheese is your friend.”
“Oof,” she replied, swallowing another bite of her bagel. “I feel bad for Italians who are lactose intolerant. Or is that another crime?”
We both laughed, and I heard my phone vibrate on the table. I flipped it over and quickly read the text that came through from Dom.
Dominic: Are you two braiding each other’s hair yet?
I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face as I turned it over and brought my attention back to Jade and our conversation. “Sorry about that. I always check because I never know if it’s going to be something with Isabella.”
“Ugh, I do that too many times a day to count, and I don’t even have a kid. Don’t worry about it.” She curled the bottom of her hair as she wrapped it around her finger. “So, who was that, if that’s not too nosy?” It was a little nosy. “Dom?”
Since she hit the nail on the head, I supposed it wasn’t a big deal to tell her she was right, was it? “Yeah,” I answered simply, not wanting to get into more about Dom with her. It was bad enough she knew more than anyone else. I mean, people might have suspected something was going on with me and Dom, but they had no evidence of it, so it didn’t matter. Jade, on the other hand, knew it for a fact.
“I’d bet good money that the sex is better when there’s that friend connection first.”
I had to change the topic before we started delving into positions or something. “Speaking of money, any luck on the job hunt?” That was a subtle segue, right?
She rolled her eyes and brought her feet up on the chair, pulling her knee to her chest. “Maria, my dear sister.” She paused and nodded. “Sorry—had to try that out. Turns out, I dig it.”
Okay, so Jade was funny. Maybe I had a dry sense of humor, but I laughed at the majority of what came out of her mouth and not in a mocking way. Just in a she-was-genuinely-funny way. “I don’t hate it.”
Choking on her drink, Jade stopped sipping and smiled, putting it down. “Good, so we’re on the same page. Anywho, back to the topic at hand of me finding a job. It’s worse than trying to figure out how to give your first blowjob. It’s like I don’t know where to start, and every time I think I’m getting somewhere I’m met with crap results.” She ran a hand through her hair before pulling at the band around her wrist and tying it up in a loose, sloppy bun. “You know, oddly enough, that’s one of my favorite drinks.”
I arched a brow. “What is?”
“A blowjob. It’s basically just amaretto and Irish cream topped with whipped cream. Nothing much. Sort of like the guys I’ve given blowjobs to.”
I nearly choked on my saliva at her. . . candor.
“Oh, are you okay? Maybe that’s a trait that runs in the family. Randomly choking. It’s like you go to talk before your throat is ready or something. Hey, another thing we have in common.”
I shook my head and raised a hand in the air, trying to get air back in my lungs. “No. It’s just you remind me of Allie. Well, and Bibi, actually.”
“How so?” She angled her head and waited, curiosity all over her face.
“You don’t mind talking about sex. Like, ever. And it’s not a bad thing, either. In fact, I wish I was more like you guys in that regard.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “Guess I never really thought about it. But I respect you for not wanting to talk about it.”
I refilled my coffee with the pot on the table. “Actually, it’s funny, but it’s like Dom is making me more comfortable. I don’t know, is that silly?” It kind of felt like it was, but it was also true.
“Aww,” Jade gushed. “I think it’s sweet. Maybe even a little romantic.”
I drew my brows together at the word romantic . It felt more intense of a word than was fitting for our situation.
Waving her hand in front of her face, she shook her head as if backpedaling. “In a totally friends-with-benefits way. Not in a relationship sort of way. But tell me again why you two aren’t just dating.”
And somehow we’d wound up right back on this topic. It seemed inevitable. I might as well go with it. Maybe if we talked about it, then this could end, and she wouldn’t have any more questions. “We’re friends,” I told her, shrugging a shoulder. “Dom and I are two very different people. Plus, he doesn’t have feelings for me. Not like that. Neither of us want to ruin our friendship.”
“Sex isn’t already ruining it?”
Shaking my head, I considered her question. “We have rules.”
“Ahh. Rules.” The way Jade said it, I wasn’t sure she understood, but it didn’t matter—Dom and I did, and that was all that mattered.
I thought back to that first day we met at her apartment all those months ago. She’d brought up a friend. I remembered because I’d found it ironic that we’d both had long-term best friends of the opposite sex. “I know you mentioned you have a childhood friend. Jake was it? Have you two ever—”
“Oh, hell no!” Jade had her hands up in the air and was shaking her head profusely.
I couldn’t help but laugh, though. “That’s how we were.” Before Vito’s wedding.
“It’s different.” Jade’s expression fell serious. “Trust me. Jake and I will never be more than friends. We’ve never—and I mean never—thought about each other as the other’s possible benefit. Plus, he’s not exactly my type.”
“Maybe he is, but you just haven’t looked at him that way,” I said.
“Maybe. So how long has this been going on with you two?”
“Three years. Give or take a few weeks.”
“Three years!” Jade shrieked.
“Well, on and off,” I clarified, not sure why I was suddenly spilling my guts to someone who I didn’t even like knowing knew about us.
“Interesting. And neither of you caught feelings yet?”
I thought we’d established this. I shook my head. “Nope.”
“Sorry, it’s just a little unbelievable. No feelings? Ever?”
“It’s one of the rules.”
She nodded in understanding. “That’s right, the rules. I must say, Maria, you are something else.”
My brows drew together as I considered what she meant by that.
But before I could think on it for too long, she added, “In a good way, of course.”
“Thanks. Well, we keep it light. Fun. You know?”
Unlike the chess game Dom and I finally scheduled where the stakes were high.