Etta didn’t look happy to see Jamie either, but at least she opened one sweaty arm to invite her into a welcoming hug. Jamie slipped against her, unfazed by the heavy scent of her body odor before she had the chance to shower. “I’m sorry,” was all Etta said.
“No, it’s fine.” Jamie’s straight face was forced, but she wouldn’t give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her cry. “You’re right. She’s right. I’m a train wreck of manners and bad breeding. It sucks, Etta.”
She sighed. Adele sighed too, but hers came from relief that Jamie wasn’t melting down.
“I didn’t realize it was that bad. I’m sorry I never noticed,” Etta said.
“Why would you have noticed? You’re on a different plane of existence from me, Etta. People treat you differently… and that goes double for when you’re not around me. I’ve gotten used to it, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. I know that it will get harder once I’m your wife. If this luncheon is that important for your business and image, then let me do what I can. Adele will teach me everything I need to know to survive it, I’m sure. Even Heidi was able to turn her life around in that one story.”
“I’m glad you understand,” Adele said curtly. “We’ll discuss it later.”
“How was your trip?” Etta asked, completely changing the subject. Adele rolled her eyes and turned away, whipping out her phone. “Did you find a dress?”
Now Jamie couldn’t help but frown. “No. I tried on so many dresses. None of them were right for me, however. I’m sorry. You paid for a completely wasted trip.”
“I’m sure that’s not true, and I’m sure that you’ll find a good dress soon enough. Whatever you pick, you’ll be beautiful.”
Adele put her phone away. “I must leave. I’ll call you later to discuss the luncheon.” She didn’t say that to anyone in particular. “Until then… well, sorry to hear about the dress, Jamie. Sorry for anything you heard me say to Etta.”
Jamie smiled, terse.
After Adele left, Etta picked up a nearby remote and turned off the TV overhead. “She’s a bit brash, isn’t she?”
Jamie put her hands on her hips. “You liked that about her. Got you off, I’m sure.”
“You would know best about what gets me off, my flower.”
Jamie patted Etta’s chest, T-shirt sticking to her sweaty skin. “I’m gonna go crash at the penthouse. See you later?”
“See you later.” Etta kissed her forehead and released her. As she walked away, Etta called after her again. “You don’t have to do anythingyou don’t want to do. Okay?”
Jamie flashed her a smile. “Yes, ma’am.”
She walked off. While she made sure there was a bounce in her step, deep inside she perspired more than her fiancée on the elliptical machine.I’m a fuckup. I’m an embarrassment. I have no business being the wife of Etta Coleman.The elevator attendant cheerily greeted her as he always did. Jamie greeted him back. As she rode down to the lobby, however, she felt much like her stomach at the moment – leaping in her throat and threatening to burst if pushed too hard.
Chapter 28
Wedding plans continued to move forward. Jamie barely had time to sit and think about getting a dress, let alone a veil, shoes, and jewelry to go with an ensemble that had yet to exist. She was too busy going over what to do with the garden for the ceremony, where to hold the reception, what flowers to import, and who to pick as her maid of honor. Originally, she would have asked Monique to return the favor from her wedding, but one of the first things out of Monique’s mouth was,“I would love to be in your wedding party, but I’m afraid it would be too difficult to accommodate me. Not to mention, I’ll be eight months pregnant by then, and I’m having enough troubles right now.”Jamie was already in trouble with “only” two bridesmaids.
At least their dresses were easier to choose. After picking a luscious royal purple to use for the color, all that was left was finding flattering looks for Seena and Natasha. Seena picked a flirty halter top with a high waistline and a skirt that bounced above the knee. Natasha was radiant in a more subdued cocktail dress that complemented the blond in her hair. Their fittings at The Ruby Peacock went off without a hitch. At least Jamie didn’t have to worry about that, although Jenny pressured her to pick one morebridesmaid to even things out. With Monique out of the picture, that left few options, and Jamie didn’t want to confront them.
Her parents mostly kept to themselves on the manor premises, but one night Etta and Jamie returned home to find a drum circle spawning on the edge of the woods. More than one neighbor complained about a certain sweet stench emerging from the boundary. When Luna and Saul started getting sloppy with their pot smoking and stumbled in high one night, Etta had to – somewhat politely – ask them to keep the pot to the balconies upstairs.
“What?” she said to Beatrice when she was aghast that Etta was letting them keep smoking that stuff. “It’s not illegal around here. What do you want me to do? Alienate my future in-laws even more?”
At least they were wearing clothes when anyone but Jamie was around. Although one bright evening Etta walked out to find Saul mowing the front lawn in nothing but a pair of denim shorts while having brisk conversationsen españolwith the gardener. Beatrice was even more horrified to find out that Saul spoke Spanish because she had been cursing him in that tongue.
“It’s not that your parents aren’t nice, Miss,” she said to Jamie at breakfast one day. “It’s just… how can he think I’m comfortable around him after all the nudity?” Jamie didn’t take any staff of Etta’s to be prudes, given the kinks she lived with, but…
Ah, the kinks.
Jamie was tied up more often than not recently, particularly in the penthouse where they were always left alone. The more they played, both with the collar on and off, the more eager Etta became. She took her hard. Rough. Sometimes softly, but mostly like a beast who hadn’t tasted sex in much too long – even if only half a day had gone by. Etta demanded to take Jamie from behind, above her, in her lap – both holding her and charging her from below. Etta took Jamie’s requests as well, much to her delight. Inbetween the famished thrusting and coming, there was plenty of oral fun, going in both directions. Etta’s favorite form of foreplay was letting her tongue roam all over Jamie’s sensitive folds.
She welcomed all the sex. It allowed her to escape the stress of planning a wedding and the disappointment of being a failed experiment at an affluent match. Jamie knew she was a terrible wife for Etta. She couldn’t entertain. She couldn’t exert manners the way other women like Monique did, as if they were second nature. All Jamie knew was that a lot of people didn’t care for her, other than to use her as the butt of a joke. Some women took pity on her or at least pretended to be nice, like Kathleen, but they weren’t enough or held clout with the busybodies to assuage Jamie’s reputation.
Once, she was fine with that. Now she entered another world as Mrs. Etta Coleman.
Etta was a woman people “liked” because she had a cool demeanor and kept to herself. A woman people “respected” because she made an unbelievable amount of money in such a short time. A woman nobody would profess to actually be friends with because, well, Etta kept entirely to herself outside of work. No wonder most of her friends were other queer women. They liked the brooding type and getting her to open up. Jamie would know.
