46. Ben
BEN
Jolie stays the night.
She doesn’t feel like talking much after Offside, so I’m relieved when she slips into my bed and lets me hold her. That’s all I do, spooning her in my arms until she’s drifted off to sleep.
I wish I could do the same, but my mind is on a constant reel, spinning with ways I want to end Kieran before logic disrupts the cycle and demands that I think of something to bring him down.
Kicking my leg out from under the blanket, I roll onto my back, staring up at the dark ceiling.
I don’t want to disturb Jolie with my restlessness, so I end up slipping out of bed and padding downstairs…
away from the sexed-up noises coming out of Sawyer’s room.
Someone’s having a good time. I wonder if it’s the girl from Offside.
All his sweet-talking obviously paid off.
Walking into the kitchen, I nearly jump out of my skin when I find Jimmy at the dining table. He’s sitting there in the dark, except for his face, which is highlighted by his phone screen.
“Geez, man. You scared the shit out of me.”
He softly snickers. “Sorry. Can’t sleep?”
“Nah. Been trying for hours.”
“Me too,” he mumbles. “I just brewed some tea if you want it.”
I walk to the counter and fumble my way in the dark, lifting the lid of the teapot and giving it a sniff. Smells kind of funky.
“It’s supposed to help you relax—chamomile and passionflower.”
I nod, figuring what the hell and pouring myself a cup.
Taking a seat adjacent to the guy, I glance at his tight expression and ask, “You okay?”
“Yeah.” He slaps down his phone with a sigh, plunging us into darkness, although all the curtains are open in the living room and moonlight is streaking through the windows. I can make out his shape but not the details of his face anymore.
“Something’s obviously bothering you.”
“Ditto,” he counters, and I let out a soft laugh.
“Yeah, I know. Got some stuff weighing on me. Makes it impossible to sleep.”
“Anything I can help with?” His voice picks up, like not having to think about his shit will be a welcome relief.
“Just…” I tut, annoyed that I can’t really talk about this. I’m pretty sure Jolie would die of humiliation if I let slip that there’s a video out there of her having sex for the first time. But if we’re wanting to expose the guy, then it’s going to come out anyway, right?
“Whatever you say at this table is just between you and me. If you need to open up, I’m really good at keeping things to myself,” Jimmy assures me, and I smile, because I believe him.
He doesn’t say much period. Not exactly the gossiping type.
And so I let him in. I tell him, in as little detail as possible, that my girl’s in trouble, and I don’t know how to help her.
He listens intently, blowing out breaths and making small noises that indicate he’s actually hearing what I’m saying.
“It’s a shit show, and I don’t know what to do,” I finally finish.
“You’ve got to bring in the authorities.” His voice has a dark, steely edge that I’ve never heard before. “You do whatever it takes to make sure that scum can never do this again.”
“Yeah, I know, but I feel like it’s all about timing. If the police approach this wrong, those girls might all be exposed.”
“You need to find out who these women are. I bet half of them don’t even know they were recorded, and if they did, they’d have something to say about it.
” He lets out a breath like he’s disgusted, then lightly sniffs, his voice coming out a touch calmer.
“I wonder if Jolie can do some digging and ask around, see who Kieran’s been dating lately. ”
“I really don’t want her involved.” I wince. “I need to protect her.”
“I get that, but she might have more luck talking to these women. They have something in common. Something you don’t.”
“True.” I nod. “So, you’re suggesting we get a little ‘Me Too’ movement going on campus, expose him that way?”
“Yeah.”
“But what if he posts the videos before he can be arrested?”
Jimmy scrubs a hand down his face. “That’s the tricky part. I still say you need to involve the cops and ask them to investigate it quietly.”
“Yeah, I know.” I sigh. “I just don’t want them to fuck it up.”
“You’d think you could trust them to get it right.”
“Yeah.” I snicker. “You’d think.”
Jimmy goes quiet, and we both sit there stewing. I finish the tea, my body slowly starting to relax but my mind still racing. I’ll do anything for a distraction right now, so it’s easy to ask, “You all good? You need to talk about anything?”
He lets out a rough laugh, and now that my eyes have fully adjusted, I can see him shaking his head.
“Come on, man. What is it?”
“Just sitting here trying to figure out what to do with my future.”
“Your future? You thinking about changing majors or something?”
“No, man. I’m… thinking about basketball.”
My lips start to rise, and I shuffle forward in my seat. “What about basketball?”
“New coach thinks I might have what it takes.”
“That’s awesome, man.” He doesn’t agree with me, and I frown. “Do you… not want to play?”
“It’s all I want, but…”
“But?” I prompt him after a pause that’s way too long.
“I have big expectations hanging over me. Pursuing that will cause a lot of angst and friction in my life, and I’m just not sure I can handle it.”
I nod, thinking I understand. I’ve heard that his parents are overbearing to the extreme.
Mac’s made a few comments, and I’ve read between the lines. I think they hate that Jimmy moved into this place. And I’ve also heard they want him to join the family business after college. NBA is not in the cards for their son.
“I’m sorry, man. That sucks. But… I say follow your heart, you know? You don’t want to spend your life living someone else’s dreams. You have to chase after the things that make you happy.”
“What if the things that make me happy will also cause me pain?”
I shrug, wishing I had a good answer. “I guess you just need to decide which pain you can live with.”
He lets out a soft groan, dipping his chin. “They’ll never forgive me.”
“Or… they’ll realize that they love you enough not to lose you.”
He scoffs at that, shaking his head and obviously not feeling any better than when we started this conversation.
I guess neither of us really do.
We’ve talked, but we haven’t come up with any solid solutions.
With a sigh, I stand from the table. If I’m going to be awake, I might as well be curled up next to my woman.
“Thanks for the tea.” I pat his shoulder as I walk past him. “Hope you manage to get some sleep.”
“You too, man. Thanks for listening.”
I place the cup in the sink. “Anytime.” And I really mean that.
Jimmy’s a good guy, and he deserves to get the life he wants. A life he chooses. We all do, don’t we?
Which is why I stood up for Jolie when Caroline was trying to boss her around, and it’s why I’ll do whatever it takes to set her free from this asshole.
I just need to figure out a way of doing it without putting her in harm’s way.