He turned around, the wind blowing his hair in his face. With a hand he held it back. “I started worrying you’d gone. That you’d quit me and left like you were going to.”
“I wouldn’t do that without talking to you first.”
“I wasn’t sure.” He avoided my eyes. “After the way I treated you, thought you might have just taken off.”
“That’s what got you so worked up?”
He sucked in his cheeks, nodded. All of a sudden, the ice cream lost its flavor for me too. I likewise chucked the rest of mine, licking my sticky fingers clean. Jimmy watched all the while, face wiped of expression. This conversation was a minefield. All I could do was to tell the truth, do my best by us both.
“I was jealous,” I admitted, putting it all out there. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you, to ask you not to leave with her. I just wasn’t quite ready.”
“Yeah, I know.”
I nodded, put my hands in my pockets and waited. And then I waited some more.
Nothing.
I held in my groan, but only just. “Jimmy, now’s your turn to admit that you were jealous when you saw me holding Dean’s hand. Relationships are kind of a give-and-take thing, you know?”
He snorted. And then he scoffed. Then he kind of turned in a circle, his mouth wrinkling like he’d tasted something foul. I half expected him to bolt and run given all of the avoidance tactics previously displayed.
“Anytime you’re ready,” I said.
“I …”
“Yes?”
He winced. “I guess, I didn’t think about what it’d be like if you really liked one of them.”
“Even though that was the entire point to my dating other men? To like one of them more than I like you.”
A shrug.
“You over it now?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “’Course, its fine. Won’t happen again.”
Oh, the dubiousness, it filled me right up. But I couldn’t make him admit to caring about me more than he liked. I couldn’t make him do shit. “All right, one more go. I did enjoy going out with Dean and I was looking forward to seeing him again.”
“Okay. Good.”
“On one condition.”
He gave me a wary look. “What?”
“You meet Tom.”
The regal chin rose to unforeseen heights. “That replacement guy? No. Fuck no. We talked about this, you have to commit, Lena.”
“This was always meant to be temporary gig. Given how much we push each other’s buttons, I think it might be wise to have a backup plan in case I can’t continue.” I squared my shoulders, standing tall.
“I don’t think we should do that.”
“Jimmy—”
“If you just tried, Lena.”
And this was about the point where realization struck home, tough love was tough on everyone involved. Sometimes, however, you just had to. “Jimmy, I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. You’re going to talk to the man.”
The surprise in his eyes, I wish I’d taken a picture. His jaw moved, face tensing. “Fuck, all right.”
I held his car keys out to him, moonlight glinting off them. “Do you want to drive us home?”
He snatched them out of my hand. Something told me it was going to be a long and painful journey.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The next evening, Jimmy’s attitude had not improved. His resistance to the very tall thin and polite Tom Moorecomb read plain as day in his body language. Should he turn any further in his seat, his back would be to the poor man completely.
“Tom was involved in couples counseling, Jimmy. Isn’t that interesting?” I said, jaw aching from clenching so much. A tension headache was slowly but steadily brewing behind my eyes. “Jimmy?”
The jerk didn’t even look up from his phone. It was like trying to deal with a toddler, a very cranky one. Sadly, he’d seated himself opposite the room from me, out of kicking range. I’d hate to have to smack him in the head with a pillow in front of Tom. Perhaps it could be left as my final die-hard option.
“Jimmy?”
He looked up at me from beneath his dark fringe. “What?”
The doorbell rang. Fortunate for him really.
“Let me just get that while you two talk.” I gave the ignorant jerk a meaningful look.
He just blinked.
Before I could reach the door, Mal and Ben barreled on in.
“Lena, helloooo.” Mal shook my hand so energetically I feared my shoulder would dislocate. “Looking foxy and strict in your business suit. I would totally take orders from you if my heart and soul were not spoken for.”
“Thanks.” I’d bought the navy suit in an attempt to make the right impression on Tom. Jimmy had just given my new outfit a weird look and told me double breasted didn’t suit a girl with such assets. I’d been nervously fussing with the buttons on the jacket ever since.
“We in the living room?” asked Ben, already making his way into said location.
“Wait, we’re—”
“Hi.” David, Ev, and Anne followed close behind. Ev and Anne were dolled up, the first in jeans and a slinky top, the second in a smokin’ hot green knit dress. Their awesome style however did not answer any of the questions pouring into my head.
“Hey,” said Ev, kissing my cheek while David gave me the rockstar chin tip.
“I’m really looking forward to tonight,” said Anne.
“Great.” I smiled.
She stopped and studied me. “Shit, you have no idea what’s going on, do you? Ev.”
“What’s up?” Ev about turned on her cool boots.
“Lena doesn’t know anything about this.”
Her face fell. “What?”
“Nope.”
“Crap.”
“Yep.”