The Freelancer – Chapter 56

“I need to make the rounds to see if everything is running smoothly.  Will you two be okay by yourselves?” Blaine asked.

“Hmm.  Private room, fully stocked bar, I think we’ll manage,” Trista replied with a wink.

Jenna snuck a glance at her watch.  Jackson had been gone for a while.  She wondered if she should go after him, but discarded the idea.  It would seem too needy.

“Is it time for you to turn back into a pumpkin, Jen?” Trista asked.

“Huh?  Oh, the watch.  No, I was wondering how long Jackson had been gone,” Jenna said as she poured herself another daiquiri.

“Okay, spill it, Jen.”

“Spill what, Trist?”  Jenna took a sip of her drink.

“Don’t play innocent with me, girlfriend. I invented that game.  I’ll spell it out for you.  First, I have to practically force the guy on you.  Now, you’re his shadow.  What gives?”

“Nothing,” Jenna lied.

“Look, you don’t have to get all defensive with me.  It doesn’t seem like you to sleep with a guy and get all clingy.  Actually, it’s not like you to sleep with a guy you’ve known for all of five minutes like this.”

Jenna slammed down her drink on the table.  “I am not all clingy.”

“Jen…”

“Okay, so what if I’m clingy.  I haven’t been in love in years and…”

“You love him?”

Oh, great, Jenna thought to herself.  She hadn’t meant to say that.  Aloud, she said, “No…maybe…hell, I don’t know.  He knows about Tony.”

“You told him?”

Jenna sighed.  “I hadn’t planned to tell him yet, but Daniel was playing the video of that birthday party for Lana.  Lana didn’t know not to say anything about him.”

“Well, that was ideal.”

“Talk about it.  Jackson was great, though.  It felt good to talk to someone about it after all this time.”

“See? That’s what I’ve been telling you for the last two years.  You never listen to me.”

“That isn’t all of it, Trist.”  Jenna leaned forward, her tone confidential.  “I think I heard him say he was falling in love with me.”

Trista shrugged.  “And?  I don’t see what the big deal is about that.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t give me that look, Jen.  I’m trying to keep you grounded in reality before you start planning your wedding.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

Trista shook her head.  “I hate to be the one to tell you this, sweetie, but you had sex with him last night.”

“Trista…”

“Men will say a lot of things to get a woman into bed.”

“It wasn’t like that Trista.  He didn’t say it to get me into bed…”

Trista’s turquoise eyes were ablaze.  “Don’t tell me he said it once you were already in bed?  How predictable.  Did he say it before or after he c–”

“Trista, will you please stop and listen to me for a damn minute?”

“I guess I hit a nerve, but I’ll listen if it will make you feel better.”

“After I told him everything, he got a phone call and I went to change.  I found him in the guest room and I basically threw myself at him, but he shut me down…”

“He shut you down?”  Trista looked amazed.

“Yeah.  He didn’t want to take advantage of me when I was upset.  Anyway…”

“That’s so sweet.”

“Trist, stop it.  This isn’t the important part.  After he shut me down, he was holding me and I started to fall asleep.  I can’t be 100 percent sure of what I heard because I was half gone, but I think he said he was falling in love with me.”

Trista frowned and bit her lip in thought.  “Did he know you were asleep?”

“I’m not sure.  He didn’t say anything else and I fell asleep, so I don’t know.  I’d forgotten about it when I woke up and I didn’t remember until we were in the shower, but I didn’t get the opportunity to mention it.”

“The shower, huh?”  The look on Trista’s face was worth a million bucks.  “So, uh, Jen…what was going on in the shower that kept you from telling him?”

Jenna felt her face grow hot.  Trista laughed.  “That good, huh?  I’m going to want details, you know.”

Jenna had no intention of sharing the intimate details of last night with her right now.  Changing the subject, “Do you think I should say something to him about it?”

“Definitely not.”

“What happened to being open and honest?”

“Nothing.  It’s still important, but this is way heavier than why he won’t make out with you.”

“Trista!”

“I’m serious.  If he meant it, he’ll tell you when he knows you’re awake.  If he didn’t, he’s glad you were asleep and you should leave it at that.  He’ll mean it soon enough.  Look, Jen, quit wasting your time in here with me and go find him.  We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Trista,” Jenna said, giving her friend a hug before hurrying off.

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