fanqie novel
38
“Because you backed off when it came to Kendall?” Dominick said. “How many conversations did we have when I didn’t want to date my client’s sister?”
“Endless,” Ford groaned.
“Do you think, because it’s you, this is going to be any different?” Dominick continued. “I don’t think so, buddy.”
“Why are you pushing so hard for her?” I asked everyone at the table.
“Because you’re happy,” Brett said. “And I haven’t seen you like this in a long time. Sure, travel puts a fucking smile on your face. Sure, you like practicing law and closing million-dollar-hell, billion-dollar deals. But it’s not enough, Jenner. Money isn’t enough for any of us.” He stopped to look at each person around the table. “Guys like us, we need more; we need something we can’t get from business ventures, and that’s someone to share it with.” He nodded toward me. “You know that. And if you don’t, you’re a fucking moron.”
I stayed silent while I processed his words and finally added, “My situation is different.”
“How so, my man?” Brett asked. “When James and I got together, I was living in Miami-you know that. Things weren’t easy for us, but we made it work. My boys-Jack, Max, hell, even Scarlett-none of them had it easy with their relationships either, distance a factor with each one. And you know Dominick’s deal; it was going to take a fucking unicorn to get him to settle down, and Kendall turned out to be one.” He took a drink from his tumbler. “What I’m saying is, we’ve all been there, buddy. We’ve all experienced our fair share of shit.”
“You’re right,” I agreed, running each of their stories through my head. “I’m definitely not denying that.”
“But it changes nothing-is that what you’re saying?” Dominick asked.
I shook my head, sighing. “I don’t know … I just don’t fucking know. And I don’t even have the time to think about it. My schedule is about to take me on the road, and none of those stops are near Florida.”
“What’s preventing her from coming to you?” Ford asked.
I laughed. “School. Finals. Graduation. Remember, she’s a pup.”
“Damn, dude,” Dominick exhaled. “I keep forgetting how young she is.”
And that had been one of my main points, but they kept dismissing it.
“But she won’t be in school for much longer,” Brett voiced. “Graduation is in, what”-he took out his phone and looked at the screen-“six weeks or less?”
I nodded. “Yeah, something like that.”
“It’ll be interesting to see what happens when she’s not chained to Miami-where she’ll choose to end up,” Dominick said.
I thought the same, but I wasn’t going to mention that to Jo. I didn’t want to influence her decision. I didn’t want to put any pressure on her. I wanted her to decide on her own.
And even though home was LA, it didn’t sound like she had any intentions of returning.
“Who wants to place a bet?” Ford asked.
No fucking way. This wasn’t happening on my watch.
I put my hand up in the air. “If you want to bet on the outcome of my life, do it behind my back, but I’m certainly not going to sit here and listen to the wagers you guys are willing to risk.”
“Fair enough,” Ford said, grinning at the other boys.
“I’ll start the group text right now,” Dominick added.
“A bunch of fucking dickheads,” I barked at all of them.
Jesus, it was going to be a long fucking night.
Me: How many times have you been back to Gloria’s?
Jo: Ha! I’m not going to lie … it’s been tempting.
Jo: It’s good to hear from you, Jenner.
Me: I’m in Manhattan for business, flying to Dallas tomorrow, and then onto San Fran.
Jo: My forever wanderlust. Must be magical to see so much in such a short time.
Me: I’ve seen boardrooms and conference tables and the view from my hotel.
Jo: It’s too bad none of those stops are taking you south.
Me: Will you be making any trips home after graduation?Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
Jo: Don’t know. Probably not. I have to plan my next move-remember, that whole job thing? 😉
I stared at the screen. So many thoughts were filling my head, so many replies I wanted to type.
Nothing felt right.
Nothing felt worthy.
Jo: I’ve missed you.
And then those three words came across my phone.
Ones that had so much meaning.
Ones that resonated so hard because I felt the same.
Damn it, Jo.
Jo: I have to run into class … I’ll talk to you soon.
She ended her text with an emoji. The face with puckered lips and a red heart coming from the mouth.
She was sending a kiss.
And, fuck, I felt it.
JOANNA
“I
‘m losing him,” I said to Monica as I crawled onto her bed, snuggling up next to her, our feet matching in the same fuzzy pink socks.
“Impossible.”
The emotion in my chest caused everything to tighten. “Not impossible. We haven’t had a real conversation in two weeks. Just some awkward text exchanges.”
“He’s busy, right?” She set her textbook on her nightstand. “Didn’t you say he’s been traveling nonstop for work?”
“Yeah, his Instagram shows a different location almost every day.”
“So, that’s it, babe.” She tucked a chunk of my hair behind my ear. “He’s so occupied; he doesn’t even know what city he’s waking up in.”
“But, Monica …” I paused, the emotion now sliding into my throat. “Why doesn’t he call me before he goes to bed? I mean, the man does sleep at some point. Why doesn’t he phone me when he wakes up? If he cared, wouldn’t he do at least one of those things?” I fought the tears from coming into my eyes. “Wouldn’t he want to hear my voice?”
“Has he ever called during either of those times?”
I shook my head.
She rubbed her toes over mine. “So, he’s not a caller. We can forgive him for that, can’t we?”
“Or maybe he’s just not as into me as I’m into him.”
Oh God.
This was so hard.