by JJ Dorn
“I don’t think its broke bud.” He said in an even tone.
“I’m sorry man. I swear I didn’t know she was married.” Mitch said looking a bit sheepish.
“It’s alright, could happen to anyone.” Jamieson said and pats Mitch on the shoulder.
I watched this whole exchange like I was watching a movie. It didn’t seem real somehow. I was in awe watching Jamieson go from raging maniac to calm concerned friend in seconds. I knew it shouldn’t excite me but somehow it did.
Jamieson turned around and looked over at the group of us as if he could tell we were watching him. He slowly began striding over to us. I could see his white shirt was totally trashed. It had blood all over it, some of it was his and some of it was the other guys. He had a fairly large cut above his eyebrow which made my stomach turn a bit. I assumed he was coming to talk to his friends but instead he continued on until he was squarely in front of me.
“I’m sorry you had to see all that.” He said watching my face for a reaction.
“Oh, no worries.” I stammered. “Here, I think your cell phone fell out of your pocket.” I said and thrust my hand out holding the phone forward towards him.
“Thanks.” He said quietly and took the phone from my hand. When his hand brushed mine electricity melted its way straight up my arm.
“It was nothing.” I blushed a bit under his stare.
“Yeah right you totally climbed under the car to get it and ruined your skirt in the process.” Audrey exclaimed. Thanks Audrey!
“You did that for me?” His eyes went dark and intriguing.
“I knew you would probably want it.” I have no idea what I should have said to him. My mind had suddenly gone blank. We just stared at each other sharing some sort of weird silent connection.
“Hey you ladies want to meet us at Hals in a bit?” Julian piped up from across the sidewalk putting an end to the weird connection between Jamieson and me.
Hals was a famous local dinner. It was the original greasy spoon, but it hit the spot perfectly after a night of drinking.
“Sure.” Audrey said a bit too eagerly.
“Cool, meet us there in a half hour?” Julian said as the guys started to walk toward their vehicles.
Jamieson however, didn’t move. He was still staring at me.
“You’re going to come right?” He asked me.
“Yeah it sounds like it.” I tried to play it cool.
“Good, I’ll see you soon.” He said quietly. He hesitated as he turned to leave but finally found his momentum and jogged to catch up with his friends.
“Uh…earth to Jenna. Come in Jenna.” Liv waved her hand in front of my face waking me from my daze.
“Oh, hey.” I said groggily from my trance.
“What the heck was all that about?” Livy asked with her hands on her hips. Audrey stood behind her with the same question on her face.
“I really have no idea.” I told them truthfully.
“Well whatever it is, it looked like trouble.” Liv said smiling. “And you know trouble can be a very good thing, right?” Her grin said it all; she thinks Jamieson and I were going to hook up or something. Liv and Audrey always gave me a tough time about loosening up and living a little. It wasn’t that I was stuck-up or anything, it was just that I was focused and I didn’t want anything to distract me from my goals.
I shook my head at them and began walking toward our car.
It had been almost an hour and a half. Audrey, Olivia and I sat in a corner booth at Hals all looking a bit forlorn. We finally gave up and had ordered food. We were now finished eating and the guys were still a no-show.
“Maybe they had to take their friend to get checked out at the hospital? He did take a nasty hit to the face.” Audrey said.
“Or maybe we just were stood up.” Liv bit back.
“Well whatever, I’m tired. Let’s just head home.” I said faking my tiredness. I knew Audrey and Livy were upset because they were enjoying our time with the hot guys, but I also knew they will get over it by tomorrow night. I however, felt a weird sense of loss. I couldn’t really describe why I felt that way but I did. It bothered me that I felt like that; I had no right to feel that way. After all we had just met and it wasn’t like I even really knew the guy. I just needed to go home and try to forget about ever meeting Jamieson Wellington. Stay focused Jenna you are so close to graduating, just stay focused.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J.J. Dorn lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and terrifyingly maniacal cat, Pippa Kiddleton. She currently owns three American Paint Horses. She has been riding and competing since she was a very young child. J.J. competes on a national level with her horses. When she isn’t spending time at the barn, she is busy working on her next novel. For more information please visit www.jjdornbooks.com or find her on twitter @JJDorn1.
WHAT'S NEXT FROM J.J. DORN
Lovely Distraction
(Coming in Late 2014)
Faith & Betrayal
(Tess’s Story)
Book One: Betrayal
Book Two: Faith