Chapter 12
Jen
I’m dog-ass tired after another twelve-hour shift. My fourth in a row. I’m just about to slide into Sloan’s big ass bathtub when the doorbell rings.
“You have to be kidding me. It’s seven-thirty at night.”
I wrap a towel around myself, head downstairs, and peek out the windows at the sides of the door. No one’s there so I crack it open to find a vase of flowers on the doormat.
Securing my towel with one hand, I grab the vase with my other.
Thing’s heavy.
I kick the door shut and throw the lock before setting the flowers on the coffee table and reaching for the note. My mind conjures up an image of Luke at dinner last week and these flowers feel like something he’d do, but my smile widens when I see the message.
I like sending flowers to my own house knowing you’re there. I miss you. I now understand why the guys dread the long stints on tour.
XOXO,
-Sloan
I know the guys are out west somewhere which means it’s probably four-thirty wherever he is. Unsure if he’s in the middle of sound check, I grab my flowers and head back upstairs to thank him for the beautiful roses.
I pull the petals off of one rose, scatter them in the bath, and snap several pictures. Deciding something’s missing, I slip into the water and take a picture of my body, making sure the petals keep his favorite parts hidden.
Jen 7:48pm
Thank you for the flowers. I’m putting them to good use.
*picture message*
He still hasn’t answered by the time I get out, dry off, have dinner, watch a show, and curl up in his bed.
My heart knows that means he’s at work, playing for thousands of fans, and then probably following the show up with some obligatory appearance somewhere.
My head though, goes down a darker road with the stupid what if game.
What if there was a fan he couldn’t resist?
What if he’s tired of my bullshit and dragging my feet?
What if because I kissed Luke, he wants to even the score?
It’s now ten at night here on the east coast and that’s prime show time out west. I hug his pillow to my chest and send one more message.
Jen 10:07pm
I miss you. Come home soon.
I don’t know if Sloan’s gesture is because we’re now exclusive or if he’s reacting to my dinner with Luke, but I’m tired of torturing myself. Even if it means I can’t have Luke, I’m starting to realize Sloan’s more than under my skin. He’s in my heart.
The next morning, I wake up to a message from Sloan that would melt my panties off if I were wearing any.
Sloan: 1:37am
Hell yes! Also, that picture left me hard the ENTIRE show. I thought I was going to have to call a doctor for an erection lasting more than four hours.
I chuckle as I read the message. My whore-mind can’t help but wonder if he’d call Dr. Blackwell to consult on the matter.
What is wrong with me? I’ve committed to being exclusive with this man and the first thing I do is picture another man sucking him off? Get a grip, Jen. It isn’t lost on me that I was irate thinking of Sloan and another woman. But Sloan and Luke? No problem.
I throw back my covers and call Emma.
“I need a pool day,” I say instead of hello.
“Oh, you do remember we exist!” She laughs into the phone. “And here I thought you were working yourself to death specifically to avoid us.”
“Har-har. I didn’t ask for twenty-four hours of overtime this week, thank you very much. I think Adam’s punishing me.”
“Oh girl, come to Bri’s, tell us all about it. I’m already here. Sienna’s coming over in an hour.”
Thank god for girlfriends with pools and days off.
I slip into a bikini, pack my bag, and make the familiar drive.
When I get to Brett and Bri’s house, seeing the girls without all the guys milling about and being loud makes me miss Sloan even more.
“Does anyone else feel like this is the longest four weeks in the history of time?” I whine, stepping out onto the pool deck.
Unlike Noah and Sienna’s pool, Brett and Bri’s pool is in full sun all day.
I spy Riddik in a pool float with a little umbrella over the top and laugh, the pressure in my chest easing but only slightly.
“You can say that again,” Bri agrees.
“There’s only so many dick pics I can receive before I’m actually just dying for the real thing,” Emma laments.
Bri laughs and responds, “Amen. And honestly, that limit was hit the first day.”
I strip out of my shorts and t-shirt and wade into the shallow end of the pool when Emma turns her attention back to me. “How are things between you and Sloan? Ever since Luke showed up, he seems off.”
“You noticed too, huh?”
“Kind of hard not to. Sloan’s not good at keeping his mask in place whenever Luke’s around.”
“True. Things between he and I are good though.” I tell them about the roses and the note and finally confess the biggest news of all. “We’re giving an actual relationship a try.”
As soon as I finish my sentence, Emma launches herself at me, taking me underwater. I sputter to the surface when she breaks her hold.
“I knew it!” she squeals excitedly.
“Calm down, psycho. We aren’t getting married. We’re just basically continuing to do the same thing we’ve been doing.” I grab a pool float from the side of the table as Emma begins planning our future where the eight of us go on vacation and raise all our kids together.
When Sienna joins the mix, we go back to talking about how much we miss the guys. We need their testosterone to balance our high, high, levels of feminine energy.
“I’m not going to be able to tolerate this shit for eight more months,” Sienna sighs.
“Thank god, they’re coming home tomorrow.”
An hour later, I check my phone and my heart drops to my stomach.
Adam 1:45pm
I need you to cover Tracy’s shift tomorrow. She’s having an emergency appendectomy.
I fight the strong urge to reply maybe she wouldn’t need an appendectomy if she didn’t eat grease for every freaking meal. Instead, I reply with something a little calmer.
Jen 2:39pm
I can’t work tomorrow. I have unchangeable plans.
I took the day off because Sloan is coming home. I’m not giving that up.
Adam 2:40pm
Dinner with your boyfriend doesn’t count.
Okay, kid gloves are coming off.
Jen 2:41pm
You pompous, arrogant, asshole. I’ve worked five… FIVE twelve-hour shifts in a row. This is my first day off in a week. I’m not coming in tomorrow. Find someone else.
Adam 2:44pm
Careful, Jen. I’m still your manager and if you still want this to be your job, then I’ll see you at 7.
I throw my phone on the chair. “Motherfucker!” I yell, clapping a hand over my mouth when I remember Riddik is in the pool.
“What’s wrong?” Sienna asks.
“My fuc—freaking boss just told me I have to work tomorrow.”
“No!” Emma says, angry on my behalf. “Jen, I need you to get another job. That place is going to kill you before you’re thirty.”
I don’t disagree.
“Ugh, I know. Luke has actually set up an interview with the nurse manager for his ER next week. It’ll most likely piss Sloan off, and the commute will be a bitch, but I’m starting to really consider it.”
I turn back to my phone to break the news to Sloan, my pool afternoon ruined by the fact that I’ll have to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn tomorrow and know that while I’m fetching crackers for cranky geriatrics, all my friends will be celebrating their reunions with their loved ones.