“Hey Chris. What’s going on?”
“Sup Hillary. How you feelin’?” He says with a chuckle.
“Oh man. It was rough getting up let me tell ya. I would have slept longer but Tess called my house at 11:00 a.m. and had my dad wake me up.”
“Oh, that’s not cool. She wasn’t nearly as drunk as you and Jameson.”
I couldn’t look at him after he said that. I felt embarrassed for some reason.
“You didn’t let him drive home last night, did you?” I asked.
“Oh hell no! I made him get in my truck and drove back to my house. I brought him back here later this morning when he woke up and wanted to drive home.”
“Oh phew. He called me this morning but I couldn’t move out of bed to answer the phone.”
“He did, did he?”
“Um, yeeeaaahhhhh. Why? Is there something I need to know?”
“I don’t know. You tell me hot lips. You guys were all over each other in the car last night. I thought it was funny but Tess seemed disgusted by it.”
“Disgusted? Why would she be disgusted?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s got the hots for Jameson? They’ve been close friends for a while.”
“What? No way. She’s with Brody…”
And then it hits me… the conversation we had in the car just a short while ago. Is she gonna dump Brody because she was jealous of what happened between me and Jameson last night? Does she have feelings for Jameson?
“Yeah, well according to our conversation last night driving home she wasn’t too confident about that relationship lasting much longer.” He admits.
Whoa!
Snapping me out of my thoughts is the sound of loud roaring engine.
Jameson.
I see in my rearview mirror Jameson’s white Mustang in the drive-thru, and he’s grabbing himself a coffee. I turn my head to the left and see Christian grinning. I turn my head to the right and see Jameson pulling his car up next to mine.
“Hey Hillary. Wanna go for a drive and talk?”
“Hey guys. I’m heading home for dinner. I’ll be back later.” Christian interjects and takes off.
“Um… hey… how ya feelin’ today?”
“I’m good.”
This is awkward.
Without any words said he gets out of his car and gets in to mine.
“Look Jameson… about last night… you don’t need to say anything. We were drinking and having fun and –“
“Hillary, I like you.”
“It’s okay. It’s no big deal. Wait, what?”
“I said, ‘I like you’. I’ve been attracted to you since the first time I saw you here and Tess introduced us. I just never did anything or said anything about it because the timing wasn’t right. If I was dating someone and you weren’t or vice versa.”
I’m dumbfounded. Why me?
“Really?”
“Yeah really. Are the feelings mutual or was last night just a one-time fun night for you?”
Now is when I need to reassess all those thoughts and feelings I’ve had over the last couple of months when it came to Jameson.
“Wow! I-a-um—”
“You don’t have to answer me now if you can’t Hillary. I just wanted to be honest with you.”
I think for a moment. “Jameson, will you go for a drive with me?”
“I would love to.”
THE SUN HAS SET, the roads are narrow, dark and winding but that doesn’t stop my speed. I think I’m scaring Jameson which is way too fucking funny considering what a speed demon he is in his Mustang. I grew up on these roads. I could take these turns in my sleep.
“I’ve never taken anywhere here before. This… this is my hiding place. Where I go for peace, I guess you could say.”
“I’m honored you are sharing this with me then.”
“It’s nothing special… just a peaceful place I sit to unwind if something is bothering me or to just think or relax.”
“I’ve been in this area but never down here on the docks. It’s really nice.”
He’s been over here before?
“Sometimes the restaurant over there on the right, up on the hill, has a live band and I get a free show.”
“That’s cool. So are we here because you need to think about what I asked you?”
“I don’t know… maybe. So it was pretty stupid to bring you then, huh?” I ask with a slight chuckle.
“Maybe I can help persuade you then Miss Nowal?”
Oh damn!
“And how exactly would you do that Mr. Michaels?”
We stand on the dock, scattered lamp posts illuminating our view, gentle waves lapping at the bank of the river. Jameson takes a step closer to me, places one hand on my hip and his other hand on my cheek. He’s so close, and I’m nervous, so I look down breaking eye contact. He takes one finger and lifts my chin so I’m looking at him. He strokes my cheek with his thumb and my eyes close at the sensual touch. His lips are on mine. His kiss takes my breath away, so much that I can feel myself about to lose my balance. I grab on to his shirt so I don’t fall. His arm is immediately around my waist.