Just Checking In
Ten days into November. It was Kevin’s twenty-first birthday today and Jordan had dialed his number four times and hung up before it rang.
Gemma was having dinner with Matt, so she didn’t even have any moral support.
She hated emotional situations and Kevin would definitely be emotional today.
First birthday in fifteen years without Perry, he was probably a mess.
Her bond with Max was different. He understood her and never took offense if she said something insensitive, but Kevin was volatile and her words needed to be chosen carefully before she actually said them.
She picked up her phone once more and was relieved when a text from her brother came through.
Max: Have you called Kevin yet?
Jordan: Nope. Not sure what to say to him
Max: Pansy!
Jordan: Ah, the pot and the kettle. Which one are you?
Max: The pot. I think you should call him first.
Oh, hell no. She wasn’t going to let him con her again.
Jordan: NO WAY! I went into the room so now it’s your turn.
She waited a few minutes, wondering if Max would actually have the balls to call him first and just as she was about to send him another text, the message tone beeped on her phone.
Max: You can call him. He seems to be doing okay.
Jordan: Cool. Gonna call him now.
One more deep breath to brace herself and then she dialed his number.
“Let me guess,” Kevin said when he answered. “You beat Max this time.”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t even talk to Max.”
“Very clever wording, Jo, but I see right through you. It’s been my birthday the whole day and you call me at night…directly after Max…so there was at least a text involved. Next time don’t make it so obvious.”
She smiled. It was nice to hear him in high spirits again. “We’ll try harder to keep you in the dark next time. But anyway, happy birthday, Bink.”
“Thanks.”
“When mom called me earlier, she said you’re not at home.” It was very likely that was going to put her foot in it, but she asked the question regardless. “Everything okay?”
She heard a heavy breath on the other side of the phone and it seemed like his mood dipped a bit. Oh, she had such an exceptional talent, always knowing just what to say to make someone feel better. “I’m driving down to Florida,” he said softly. “There’s something I need to do.”
“You’re going all that way by yourself?”
“No.” Another loaded breath. “I’m…I’m with…someone.”
She was still wondering why he was being so cryptic when she heard a girl’s voice in the background.
“See? I’m back,” Jordan heard her say. “That walk across the parking lot was very scary, but I made it back in one piece. And all on my own. Admit it. You’re proud.”
Jordan liked her already, picking up on the sarcastic undertone the girl used to speak to her brother.
“You’re a jackass.”
“What?” Jordan asked, confused.
“Not you, Jo.”
“Thanks for waiting outside for me, Kevin,” the girl said, unperturbed by his rudeness, and Jordan could now hear a very distinct accent.
Her brother gave an irritated snort. “I wasn’t waiting for you. Now if you don’t mind, I’m on the phone.”
A door opened and closed before Kevin’s voice came over the line again. “Fuck, she’s so goddamn annoying!”
Jordan laughed at his aggravation. There were very few people in this world that he actually liked, so she wasn’t really expecting a different reaction. “What’s her name?”
Hesitation preceded his response. “Jazz…Jasmin.”
Her brother was travelling a very long distance with a girl he didn’t seem to like very much and she was quite intrigued by this arrangement. “That’s a pretty name. Is she pretty?”
He was quiet for a long time and she knew that would be her last probing question before he snapped.
“She’s beautiful…” he whispered, “…in the most unconventional way.” He sounded a little awe-struck, but that changed very quickly.
“I just wish she’d shut up once in a while.
She’s fucking annoying!” She heard the door open again. “So I hear you got a boyfriend.”
And the mere mention of Tyler had her swooning. “Where’d you hear that? Mom?”
“Nope.”
“Shane?”
“Just answer the question, Jo.”
She smiled. “Yes. I have a boyfriend and he’s great.”
“Well, when you’ve been with the likes of Billy Mason and that douche face, anyone else is—”
It sounded like the call dropped out. There was absolute silence. “Bink? You there?”
“Jazz…” The name seemed to catch in his throat. “What are you…uh…Jo-jo, I gotta go.”
“Wait, Bink. What’s—”
He hung up, leaving Jordan very unsettled.
That whole conversation was very strange.
And what the hell happened to make him hang up like that?
She didn’t know Jasmin, but there were a few things she’d picked up.
It may have been Kevin’s tone, his annoyance, or it may have even been the soft way he said her name each time.
At the end of that call, Jordan could conclude one thing with certainty.
This girl was getting to her brother in a way he really didn’t like.
* * * * *
“You’re not gonna cry,” Trisha told herself. “You’re not gonna cry.”
She wanted to chuck the magazine, fling it across the room, but she just couldn’t stop staring at them.
“Don’t cry!”
It didn’t work. Tears streamed down her face and it wasn’t even the type of sobs she could mute.
It was the ugly cry – the one that had mascara running down her face in thick, black streaks.
Admittedly, she’d become an addict, buying every issue of Hot Gossip to torture herself.
It wasn’t too bad at first, but the more she saw them together, the more obsessed she became. They were just so…cute.
Tyler wasn’t affectionate and yet they were always holding each other.
He didn’t dance and yet she’d seen a picture of them dancing in the rain.
He didn’t like public displays of affection yet there were dozens of pictures of them kissing.
And this was the kicker, the thing that hurt the most. He was a serious man and yet they were laughing all the time.
Trisha had never wanted to change him. She loved him the way he was.
In every relationship, each person always had little pet peeves about the other.
Hers was that he never let loose. He never opened up, or talked about his feelings and eventually it got to the point where he was closed so tight, she felt like there was no room for her.
She couldn’t keep giving so much of herself to a man who didn’t do the same.
And even though it broke her heart to do it, she left, because she realized that he was never going to be that kind of man.
But now he was. He was that man…to Jordan.
When Tyler first started dating Jordan, Trisha had been certain that it wouldn’t last. But then she’d seen Jordan semi-naked at his apartment and that was an indication that there was something more.
That brought out her bitchy side real fast. She’d called Jordan a standby even though she knew Tyler would never use a woman as a bed-warmer.
Lashing out had been her only option. It was petty and stupid, but she’d wanted to transfer some of her hurt.
It was that grin on his face when Jordan came down the stairs, the look of complete fascination in his eyes as he watched her. That hurt her more than knowing they were sleeping together. In their three years together, Tyler had never looked at her like that. Not once.
She’d been at his side for three years, through thick and thin, good times and bad.
The ever-loving, ever-dutiful girlfriend.
She took his lunch to the office every day.
She cooked him dinner every night. She rubbed his shoulders when he was tired.
She made sure her nails were always manicured, her hair was always done, her make-up was always perfect.
She did her best to always look good for him and he never looked at her like that.
Another wail burst out of her. She couldn’t deal with this right now. The wedding was in exactly one month. December twenty-third was just around the corner and she needed to pull herself together. She needed to stop obsessing over what could have been with Tyler and focus on Oliver.
Oliver was a great guy. He made her happy.
He was open and honest. He loved her with all her flaws, even during her bouts of bitchiness, which happened quite a lot.
And she loved him. Up until a month ago, she hadn’t had a single doubt.
She’d wanted to marry Oliver with all her heart, but now she wasn’t so sure.
All these old feelings for Tyler were resurfacing and she was starting to question if she was truly ready to walk down the aisle.
She heard the front door open behind her and quickly wiped her eyes. She knew it wouldn’t help. Mascara stains were the devil, but she at least wanted to look the tiniest bit composed when Oliver saw her.
“Hey, babe,” he said, walking around the sofa to greet her.
He took one look at her and froze. His blue eyes moved from her to the magazine and he raked a heavy hand through his sandy brown hair. Letting out a deflated sigh, he lifted the magazine and sat down beside her. “Tyler and his new girlfriend getting you down?” he asked softly.
She shook her head, but couldn’t speak. Her throat was too tight to get a word out.
“They look really cute together.”
The ugly-cry face immediately took over and she burst into tears. His arm draped around her shoulder and he gave her a gentle squeeze. She nuzzled her face against his neck and for the first time in her life, she didn’t care that she looked horrid.
“Trisha?”
“Yes,” she squeaked out.
He cupped her face with both hands and tilted her head up until their eyes met. “You know I love you, right?”
She nodded.
“And you know from the first second I saw you, I wanted to make you my wife?”
She nodded.
“But now you’re not sure.”
“I-I am…Oliver, I’m sure.”
A sad smile curved on his lips and he slowly shook his head, his thumb tenderly stroking the tears off her face. “You’re not. These lips may lie, but those eyes don’t. We rushed into this. Two months and I got down on one knee. We were so happy, I thought you were over him.”
She choked on the words, but she managed to get them out. “We are happy…we’re still happy.”
“At this moment, you don’t look happy.” His blue eyes hazed with mixed emotions.
“Trisha, when you walk down the aisle, I want you to be a hundred percent sure that it’s me you want.
” He paused for a long time, thinking very carefully about his next words.
“This is what I’m going to do. I leave for London in two days… and I won’t be coming back.”
“Oliver—”
“I won’t call. I won’t email. I’m going to give you the time I should have given you in the beginning.
I knew you were hurt and I still pursued this, so I’m going to take a step back and let you do what you need to do to move on.
” He paused and she could see he was hurting just as much.
“And if you decide…that I’m not the man you want to move on with, or if you need more time, you call me… and we’ll cancel the wedding.”
She was so confused, her heart torn between these two amazing men. “I don’t want you to go,” she whispered, black tears still rolling down her cheeks.
“I don’t want to go. Trisha, I know how you feel about me, but right now we both don’t know how you feel about Tyler.
And maybe I’m just an arrogant, selfish prick, but I refuse to have you that way.
It’s all or nothing.” His jaw tightened, a sign that he was a little annoyed.
“I pushed too hard, too fast and I’m willing to give you some breathing room to make a decision.
Maybe you and Tyler need some closure. But understand why I’m doing this.
There will not be another day that I come home to find you crying over your ex. Clear?”
She smiled and gave him a small nod. “Clear.”
“Good. Now give me that nose.”
She giggled, sticking her nose up for him to kiss.
He always did that. He knew how much she hated ruining her make-up and even though she was a mess, it was a habit now.
She let out a deep sigh as his arms wrapped around her.
He was right. It wasn’t fair to declare vows to one man when she still had unresolved feelings for another.
She needed to take this time and use it wisely.
She needed to think long and hard about what and who she really wanted.
She needed to make a decision. And all of this could only happen after having a good, long chat with Tyler.