“Wait, Lex…”
I turned and plastered the best smile I could muster on my face for Mandy. She was pretty buzzed, so she didn’t notice her best friend freaking out on the inside right in front of her. “Hey, what are you guys up to? I thought you were leaving?”
I darted my eyes over to Holt, who was glaring at me with a tight-lipped expression.
Mandy’s eyes glanced at Jameson and she leaned back and laughed. “Whoa, are you two fighting? What’s with the mean grouchy face?” She looked back to me and narrowed her eyes. Shoot. She wasn’t as buzzed as she was acting. She knew something was going on. “Well, I’m glad I found you, because I need to use the restroom and I need your help with, uh, things.” She placed her drinks on the bar and practically yanked my arm straight out of my shoulder as she dragged me back to the bathrooms.
Once inside, she whirled around on me and planted her fists on her hips. “What the heck is going on?”
“Three weeks. Jameson wants three weeks with me in Jamaica. All my fantasies. Everything.” I couldn’t even get full sentences out. I couldn’t even think. My vagina was screaming and cursing at me so loudly for walking away that I couldn’t even think.
“You did say yes, right?”
I looked at her like she was crazy.
“Jameson Holt is the kind of guy you lose your inhibitions with. Not like Trager—who would let you know if your pants were getting too tight. Do it. Have a harmless fling.”
“There's nothing harmless about a man like Jameson Holt. He's going to end up hurting me.”
“Girl, then go enjoy the pain.” Then she shoved me out of the bathroom and pushed me all the way back to the bar stool I just left.
I said it before and I’ll say it again: Normally I'm not the type of person who gets into mischief. But Jameson was sitting in front of me, a little sinful sparkle in his eye, my girl parts tingling, and all of a sudden this sounded like the best idea in the world. So off the ledge I jumped (Okay Mandy pushed mostly).
"Yes," I whispered.
"Yes what?" His eyes went wide.
"Hell yes."
13
Jameson
“I think it’s AMAZING how the measly 26 letters in the alphabet can produce so much bullshit.” @Kavon #Bullshit
"Strange kind of wedding, right? There's no groom?" the bartender asked, setting the beer I ordered on the bar. Icy vapors rose from its open top, causing my mouth to water.
"The groom was a douche. The bride caught him with someone else the night of her bachelorette party and she couldn't get her deposit back." I pulled the bottle to my lips and gulped the cold liquid. Alcohol immediately warmed my stomach and spread to my chest. "She even tried to donate the entire thing to some lucky couple, but no one wanted a jinxed wedding. So we're here celebrating her not making the biggest mistake of her life."
The beer hit my bloodstream and my muscles instantly loosened. I was wound up tight. Tighter than I’d ever been. I hadn’t had sex in weeks and my balls were killing me. I looked around the room and tried to think of anything else to get my mind off getting inside Lex. I looked down at the paper in my hand and smiled. My shy little fact checker finally emailed me her fantasy list. I promised myself to do everything on this list for her, even though I think she must have been rip-roaring drunk when she wrote it. But I was up for all of it. Every dirty little thing. Everything but number ten. Ten I didn’t think I could do. I didn’t think I had it in me. It was just too much. Too crazy. Too soon, anyway.
The reception hall was exactly what I'd expected: everything was snobby Trager-like and gaudy, right down to the flower arrangements. This wasn't any wedding for someone like Lexa.
I heard her voice before I saw her. "Just make sure I don't get plastered," her voiced echoed down the hallway.
"Well, why the hell not?" Mandy's voice questioned.
"Because then I can't be held responsible for anything I do, and..." I turned in her direction and my breathing stopped. I never gave thought to that old cliché; but she actually took my breath away. Christ was she beautiful. I still couldn’t believe Trager let her get away.
I didn't leave her side all night. If someone were to have walked past the doorway, give even half a peek inside, saw everyone dancing and then watched us, they'd think it. They would be one hundred percent sure that it was our wedding. Her in a tight, sexy little white dress and me in a suit, dancing and touching each other like it was the best day of our lives. The way she moved was intoxicating. It was so overwhelming that I had to walk outside and get air when Mandy and her started a conga line.
"I didn't mean to hurt her," a voice called from behind me.
I spun around to find Kevin standing at the window, teary eyed, watching what was supposed to be his wedding too.
"But you did. And now you don't deserve her anymore," I said, shrugging.
"She wasn't like that when we were together; she was so straight and ambitious. Headstrong. Everything was work and being the best at what she wanted."
"Yeah. Poor you," I laughed. "I'd rather have a driven woman than a leech like Sophia, who is only looking for the next guy who could get her somewhere." I turned my back on him then stopped and whirled back around. "And you know what? Marriage is about growing with someone. Accepting them for who they are and loving them and all their flaws. If you ask me, you and Sophia deserve each other."
"Fuck off, Holt. What? Are you going to make it all better for her now? Just wait until shit hits the fan with you too. Wait until you're waiting at a restaurant alone because she's still working. Wait until she can't be bothered to cook dinner, have sex, or even take the time to brush her hair and get dressed because she's on her computer working."
"So why are you here then? Why are you standing by that window like a pussy, tears in your eyes, thinking about what you could have had?"
"Because other than that she was perfect."
"Ever think that it was your issue and not hers? Ever try to offer her a drink, a back massage, anything while she was working? Surprise her with something? Support her and encourage her to be the best she could be? Listen to what she's doing? Hell no, right? It was all about you, the fucking mailroom guy." And please, the woman was a fact checker; it's not as if my father had her running the magazine. She had plenty of time to work and play with Nerf guns in her office. He's talking shit. "Get lost. She doesn't need to see you today."
“You’re going to hurt her just as much as I did. Difference is that I really did love her. I just needed to see what the other half of the world fucked like. You’ll see. She’s terrified of sex. Her body. Everything.” I watched him walk away, hands shoved deep into his pockets. “Just wait until you find how she really is. You won’t want her when you really know her. Trust me.”
Jackass.
I leaned heavily onto the wall for a few moments to try to dowse my anger. I was fuming inside thinking Lexa could ever have been with such an asshole. Was she really as bad as he thought? I didn’t see it at all.
"Hey. Who were you sneaking out to talk to, huh?" Mandy’s voice called from behind me.
I shook my head and laughed. “What are you doing out here. What happened to the conga line?”
“Over. Now they are playing Mony-Mony and throwing dollar bills at her.” She stepped closer to me and crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits so I knew she was about to be all whiny with me. “Please don’t mess with her head. Just show her a good time, make her forget about him. Don’t let her fall for you.”