“Good lord, it does smell a little better now.” He sniffs his arm again, but the overpowering fresh scent of lemon is all I can smell.
“Can we finally go back to bed now?”
It doesn’t take much to convince Jameson as he pulls the covers over his shoulder, tucks himself into me, and is asleep before his head touches the pillow.
Hearing him breathe so relaxed and deep makes me tumble into an equally deep slumber where dreams evade me and my mind is clear from the dark waves of emotions that constantly wash over me.
Emma called and asked if I wanted to join her to visit Liv. I had my reservations, but she convinced me to go. Jameson is going to drive us, since he is friends with Dax, Liv’s husband. They are going to catch up while he is home on a brief paternity leave with Liv.
I am sitting, having my morning coffee and cursing Mateo, when she pulls up to my house at around ten. Jameson says something about disinfecting some equipment before returning it to Eduardo’s club.
He walks out of the bedroom and places the garment-looking bag on the side of the couch. My face reddens looking at it and thinking about how we used most of the equipment in varying positions. I got used to feeling restrained around him, and the way Jameson fucked me like a champ all night left me pleasantly sore between my legs. I slept so soundly afterwards, until I didn’t.
The doorbell rings, and I get up to answer it. Emma is at the door and waves to someone as she enters.
“Was that Eduardo?” I close the door behind her, and she waves to Jameson, who is scrolling through his phone with his cup of coffee.
She places her mug on the table. “Yes, of course, it was. You know how he is.” She looks around and walks to the refrigerator. She opens it and she fist pumps the air. “My favorite cold brew. How did you know?”
She opens it and pours a generous serving along with my oatmilk, which is hidden off to the side and covered by Mattie’s gallon of whole milk. So infuriating. Why did I somehow miss the lactose enzyme? She places her top back on her cup and takes a long sip.
She sighs dramatically. “Absolute heaven.” She looks around. “Hey, where is Mateo?”
I shoot a glance over to Jameson, and he looks at me, then proceeds to avoid eye contact with Emma.
She stands. “What was that look for, Jameson?”
He won’t look at her. “I have no idea what you mean, Em.” He continues to scroll through his socials, and I scoff.
“Geez, at least I know you are a bad liar.” Emma focuses her attention on me. “What is it, Evie? Is our brother okay?”
“No, he isn’t okay. He was given some pretty devastating news yesterday, remember?”
Emma starts to walk over to his room, but I pull her by the hand away from the door.
“He came home so drunk last night, or rather this morning, around three AM. We had to help him to bed, and it was a sad sight. He smelled horrific, and I swear I need to burn his sheets.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic, sis.”
Jameson finally looks up and holds his hand up. “Hey, I have to agree with Eve on that. He was so saturated in booze and cheap perfume that I think it is better just to do that. In fact, I think he should bathe in more alcohol to burn the germs off. I just hope he was careful and didn’t fuck anyone without protection.”
Emma winces at the visual that Jameson painted for her.
“I told you. He was in a bad way, Em. I was going to check on him, but I honestly thought it would be better for him to sleep. He’ll need to sleep off that hellacious hangover.”
“I agree,” Jameson says.
Emma looks toward Mateo’s door and frowns in displeasure. She relents. “Okay, I guess you’re right. Let's let the guy sleep, but later, he is free game.”
I feel bad for Mateo if he has to hear her bitch at him this afternoon.
I stand, placing my now empty mug of coffee in the sink, and Jameson follows suit. He comes over to me and gives me a quick peck on the lips, pulling himself close to me and wrapping his arm around my waist before he lets go. He claps his hands together, rubbing them together.
“Are you girls ready to leave here and see a baby?”
Jameson agrees to drive us over there, and I climb into the front of his truck. Emma hops in the back, and Jameson gets in on his side, starting up the truck. I roll down my window to let some of the heat out. Jameson blasts the air conditioning, but it doesn’t feel cool until he pulls onto the interstate. The coolingseats are magnificent, as the leather doesn’t seem quite as hot as before.
My thoughts go back to last night and all the delicious things Jameson did to me. I wanted to admit I wasn’t okay, but I didn’t want to upset him. I felt better when I practiced my breathing techniques and remembered that I was in a controlled environment.
