38. Jameson
Chapter thirty-eight
Jameson
“Hey, babe,” I say as Bryn arrives at the restaurant, her suitcase in tow, after a delayed flight.
“Hey,” she sighs, leaning into the kiss I place gently on her forehead.
It has been five weeks since I last saw Bryn in person, and it has been absolutely brutal. Despite texting every day and having SextyTime at least three times a week, it’s like a piece of me is missing. I’m also horny as hell.
Turns out, after you’ve been inside Bryn, your cock raises its standards, and it’s no longer content with your hand. Which is why my shower getting ready for our date tonight took twice as long as normal. It wasn’t until I had replayed an entire FaceTime sex session with Bryn that I had been able to ease some of the tension building in my body like a Diet Coke bottle that just had a Mentos dropped in.
“You ready for the best dinner of your life?” I ask.
“I have been looking forward to it for weeks,” she responds, lacing her fingers in mine.
We head into the restaurant, asking the hostess to hold on to Bryn’s suitcase before following our server to a dimly lit booth with dark wood seats.
Dinner is amazing. We order way too much food, but eat it family-style, both of us grabbing rolls and slices of fish off the various platters spread in front of us.
The Hungry Guy commercial shoot took place yesterday and today here in New York, and, knowing how many questions Bryn has already texted me about it, I jump into giving her all the details.
“Kyle is an idiot. He kept trying to tell me what to do with my face.” She snorts a laugh. “I’m not kidding. I was this close to punching him square in the nose.” I hold my chopstick tips half an inch apart to demonstrate just how much I hate the guy.
Honestly, Kyle does seem like a self-centered asshole, but my hatred is 100% on Bryn’s behalf rather than from my own experience. The shoot was actually very professional, and both Jon and Erica were impressed by how smoothly it all ran. That said, when Kyle sauntered over to introduce himself, it took all my self-control to not sucker punch him right there for the shit he pulled on Bryn.
She drops her head into the heels of her hands, massaging her temples. “I can’t believe that douche canoe is going to be my boss. I truly believe I need to start looking at other jobs. I cannot work for him.”
“Have you talked to Tara? What does she have to say about it all? They have to realize how unfair it is to promote him just because he got you kicked off a project,” I say.
“I did get to talk to Tara. The good news is that she, at least, recognizes how unfair it all is. Unfortunately, one of the men on the leadership team is a big Kyle stan. So, the compromise is that we will both pitch via projects in a couple of months. Since Kyle is spending all of his time on this one, he gets to pitch it and talk about what he would do differently next time. I have to use something else.”
“Can you pitch the MyUsual app you’ve been talking about? I know your sister is all about being able to easily place her custom orders everywhere.”
“A low-key version of that is what I’m hoping for. It’s basically just going to be a feature on our app that lets you save your usual and then, when you log in, the landing screen will push a pop-up asking if you want to order it. I’m worried it’s not going to be enough, though.”
We continue eating, chatting about other jobs she might consider, but I know Bryn loves Hungry Guy. She would hate to have to leave the company she’s put so much of her soul into the last few years.
“Do you want the last tuna?” Bryn asks, pointing with her chopsticks to the last piece of yellowfin tuna sashimi on the white platter, the last man standing from our feast.
“All yours,” I reply. “I’m actually going to use the restroom before we head out.” I stand up, pulling my wallet out of the pocket. “Here’s my card, can you ask for the check?”
“Of course.”
I weave my way between tables, heading to the restrooms in the back of the building.
“Hey, Jameo.” My head snaps to the left, recognizing that voice from my nightmares. I gape at Alexis, standing there in front of the bathrooms in a shiny silver dress and her made-up face pulled into a phony smile. How have I never noticed how fake she is before?
“Alexis,” I say, moving to walk around her toward the bathroom.
What are the odds?
She moves in front of me, her hand lightly touching my chest. “I miss you.”
I shake her hand off me, my heart pounding as hatred rages through my veins at the gall of this fucking woman.
“I don’t miss you, Alexis. You cheated on me. I’d actually be shocked if you ever liked me at all.”
“Come on, baby, you know that’s not true. We were in love. It’s why the breakup was so unbearable…for both of us,” she says, batting her thickly coated eyelashes at me.
I go to step around her again but she moves with me. “That wasn’t love, Alexis. It was roommates who had sex.” I glare at her. “Plus, I’m dating someone new now.”
“Oh really?” Alexis’s gaze searches the dining area. “Is that right? A new girlfriend?” She finds Bryn, the one woman sitting alone, and her mouth becomes an evil slash. “And look at that, she clearly needs your money. Looks like a match made in heaven.”
That does it. “Fuck off, Alexis,” I say, moving around her. “Not everyone is a moneygrubbing whore like you. Bryn is smart and funny and doesn’t give one shit about my wallet or how famous I am. She is a better person than you could ever imagine being, and she makes me happier than I’ve ever been before.”
Alexis doesn’t even flinch. “Oh, please, Jameson. We both knew what we were getting into with that relationship. It was clear from the beginning. I was good for you and your career. So what if I entertained myself with other guys when you were gone?”
Is she kidding me? How can she possibly think I knew what I was getting into or that it was okay for her to “entertain herself with other guys” while I was gone? Fuck that.
“We were not on the same page. There is no way you thought I was okay with you fucking every athlete you could find in our fucking bed , Alexis . You are a piece-of-trash human, and even though I should’ve seen it earlier, I could not be happier now that you’re out of my life.”
She glares at me, venom seeping from every pore. “You wouldn’t know a good thing if it smacked you straight in the dick, Jameo. I guarantee you that girl is after your money or your fame, just you wait. No one puts themselves through a golfer’s schedule if all they are looking for is love. If you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s likely just because she’s good at playing the game. Good at hiding her intentions while playing the loving girl next door. Trust me, she’ll fuck you over worse than I did.” With that, Alexis stalks back toward the dining area, her heels clacking with each step.
Alexis is wrong. That’s not Bryn at all. She is sexy and smart and has never cared about my wallet or my fame.
When I get back to the table, Bryn is focused on the check, calculating the tip. “I added a twenty percent tip, hope that’s okay. It felt like anything lower would be bad for your image, but I also didn’t want to spend more if that’s not what you normally give.”
“I usually go a little higher, but I’ll throw out some cash as well.” I pull a couple bills out of my wallet and put them down on the table. “Let’s go.”
Bryn looks up at me, confusion pulling at her features. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I grab the pen, signing the credit card receipt without sitting down. Alexis is wrong about Bryn, but that doesn’t mean I want to stay in this building with my ex any longer than necessary. I definitely don’t want to give Alexis a chance to spew her hateful comments toward Bryn directly.
I grab Bryn’s hand, tugging her out of the booth. “Ready?”
“Sure. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”