I knew it wasn’t his mum because from what I’d read, they’d fallen out.I hadn’t seen anything about his sister in a while, so they probably didn’t speak any more either.Not that I kept tabs on his life or anything.Like I said to him, a lot about his life was public knowledge and the co-workers I used to have gossiped about celebs like it was a national sport.
If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t jump to conclusions, but Jake’s reputation preceded him.He wasn’t known as Hollywood’s bad boy whore for nothing.
When I’d asked if he needed to take the call, I was expecting him to say no.I mean, would it have hurt him to turn it off or at least put it on silent?
By taking that call and leaving me alone at the table, he’d made his priorities very clear: his phone or rather his fuckbuddy was more important than me.
What was he even doing at a place like this?A strip club was more his scene than a hotel designed to help you find your one true love.
And why wasIstill here?I should find my Love Alchemist woman, Sammie, and ask for a refund, like I’d told myself I’d do when I got introduced to Jake.But then I saw the food some couples were eating and I was starving, so decided I should at least get a meal out of this shit show before I left.
Just as I was contemplating my next move, Jake came back.
‘Sorry about that.’ He pulled out his chair and sat down.
‘Everything okay?’ I asked, wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt.Maybe it was his granny calling because she was sick or there was some kind of emergency.I wanted to at least be sympathetic.
‘Yeah.’
‘So no major emergency then?’ I asked, giving him the opportunity to get himself off the hook.
‘No.’ He shrugged.In other words, he left me alone at the table for something that could’ve waited.Yep.Just like I said before:rude.
Once the waitress took our orders and our drinks had been delivered, Jake pulled out his phone.
‘We should take some pictures,’ he said.
‘Of what?’ I frowned, before sipping my prosecco which tasted amazing.
‘Everything?’
‘Why?’
‘For…’ He took a glug of beer then fidgeted with his napkin.‘Instagram and stuff.’
I rolled my eyes so hard they almost tumbled out of my sockets.
They say you shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but so far, everything I’d seen had reinforced all the stuff I’d heard about Jake.
He’d had women swarming around him at the bar.
He’d had a woman call him repeatedly before we’d even ordered our starters.
And now, instead of trying to get to know me, he just wanted to take selfies ‘for the ’gram’.
This was exactly why I didn’t want to date another celebrity.They were always so full of themselves.
Jake started snapping away, taking photos of the sea views from our window, pictures of the restaurant and then he turned to face me.Nice of him to remember that I was even here.
‘I suppose we should take a selfie,’ he said, a wave of something flickering across his face.
He was probably worried that I didn’t fit his social media ‘aesthetic’ which was true.I’d seen the kind of women he dated.
Whenever I walked past those gossip magazines in the supermarket, Jake was often splashed across the cover with his latest squeeze who was normally a gorgeous model, actress or singer.So I knew from experience that being pictured with someone like me wasn’t going to fit his image.
Then again, since that terrible butter jingle came out, I didn’t think he’d been seen out in public as much as he used to.
I knew full well that I shouldn’t listen to gossip, but I’d overheard someone in the juice bar say that he’d disappeared because he went to rehab to treat his sex addiction or something.
