MEGA-AX1 The Inferno (9 page)

Brian captured her lips again and picked Jessie up so he could lay her down on the sofa. Just as he started to pull the damn yoga pants off he thought he’d heard a car pull up in the garage. Yet, he continued to kiss her. Then, Brian heard a car door slam. He froze. Jessie was so into their love making she hadn’t heard anything.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think Michael and Téa are back.”

After they both heard the front door open, they quickly tried to get themselves together. Immediately, Brian started having regrets. He and Jessie had crossed all kinds of lines tonight and if they’d had a few more minutes he would have made love to her.

At some point her hair had fallen out of her ponytail. She quickly put it back and tried to right her clothing. Brian fixed his clothing as well and tried to hide his raging hard-on by putting his script down in front of him. Seconds later, Michael and Téa came into the study both giddy and laughing.

Michael took one look at Brian and knew something was off but decided to ask him about it later. “You guys miss us?”

Brian laughed nervously, “We didn’t know what to do without you while you were gone. Seriously, you two are back early.”

Téa yawned, “We walked the red carpet but didn’t stay for the silent auction. Michael made a big donation and we left. I hope you guys weren’t too bored without us. If so, I’ll make it up to you tomorrow because I’m beat. It’s been a long day, and I’m going to head up to bed. I’ll catch you in the morning.”

Michael said his goodnights, too, and went up with Téa.

Jessie and Brian sat for a few minutes in silence each not knowing what to say to the other. Jessie wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed. She hoped they could finish what they started.

Brian on the other hand was feeling guilty. Although he and Brigitte weren’t an official couple, he still felt guilty for what just happened. He also knew that sex between him and Jessie would ruin one of the best friendships he’d ever had. He trusted her completely and knew without a shadow of a doubt that she didn’t need or want anything from him but his friendship. Real friends were in very short supply. He hoped he hadn’t ruined it by almost taking her to bed.

Jessie bit the bullet and spoke first, “Well…I’m going to turn in, too. Are you coming up soon?”

“I’ll be up in a bit. Jessie…I…”

Jessie’s heart was beating so fast waiting to hear what he was going to say. Then, someone cleared their throat interrupting whatever it was.

They both turned to look at the doorway. “Excuse me? Am I interrupting anything?”

Brian was somewhat caught by surprise, “Brigitte, what are you doing here? How’d you get inside the house?”

“Well, I’ve been trying to call you all day, but your phone kept taking me directly to voicemail so I thought I’d drop in and surprise you. The security guard at the gate recognized me and let me inside. Once I got to the house I knocked on the door but nobody answered. I was surprised when I found the door unlocked.”

Brian was going to have a conversation with the security manager. Under no circumstances should anyone ever be let through the gate without him being notified.

This was the first time that Jessie had ever seen Brigitte. Until now, she was just someone that Téa had mentioned and not really real to her.

Jessie could see why Brian would be attracted to her. She was simply quite ….stunning. She was also as different from Jessie as night and day. Where Jessie didn’t put much energy into being perfectly coifed, to put it mildly, Brigitte appeared quite the opposite. She was very pampered and well-groomed.

Brigitte walked into the room as if Jessie was not even there. She went right up to Brian and planted a long, sloppy, wet kiss on him. The kiss was as if she were marking her territory.

Jessie couldn’t bear to watch, especially since moments ago she’d been so intimate with him.

Brigitte turned around as if noticing Jessie for the first time, “I’m sorry Brian, I didn’t know you had company. Who is this?”

Finally, Brian got it together, “Brigitte this is Téa’s best friend, and one of my dearest friends, Jessica Ramsey.”

Brigitte left Brian’s side and walked closer to Jessie. In a sing-song voice, Brigitte’s feigned enthusiasm was just a bit over the top “Oh my goodness! So you’re Jessie. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you from Téa and Brian. I’m glad we’re finally getting a chance to meet. I wasn’t sure if we ever would.”

Jessie did her best to smile especially since,
the green-eyed jealously monster
was making an appearance.

Were Brigitte’s eyes violet? This was just too much. Jessie hated to admit it, but if she were a man, she’d be attracted to Brigitte, too. She hated feeling insecure and did her best to cover it up. “I’m glad to finally meet you, too.”

She couldn’t resist comparing herself to her. Thank god she’d gone to visit a stylist and gotten her hair relaxed specifically for this trip. Her hair was normally in a curly ponytail hidden underneath a hat, so at least her hair wasn’t a complete mess. But Brigitte’s raven tresses were long and silky and more than likely styled by top professionals. As a matter of a fact, her mane was so gorgeous she could have starred in a hair commercial….and probably had.

Just about an hour ago, Jessie had been trying to decide between yoga pants and sweatpants. Brigitte stood before her wearing something that looked like it was from the runways of Milan.

Despite all of that, Jessie did feel slightly triumphant when comparing their bodies. Brigitte was tall and slender where Jessie was tall but more athletic and had more meat on her bones. At least Brian would have something to hold on to.

Brigitte reached out to shake Jessie’s hand. They were super soft and perfectly manicured. Jessie couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a mani-pedi. As Jessie studied Brigitte’s face, her perfectly sculpted eyebrows, and ridiculously long lashes, she was surprised that when her eyes met Brigitte’s, there was simmering anger held within them.

“You and Brian are up late. Where are Michael and Téa?”

Brian went from being surprised to see Brigitte to slightly aggravated with her. She should not have shown up at his house unannounced and the irritation was evident in his voice, “Téa and Michael just went up to bed. I didn’t have a chance to call you today because I had a lot on my plate.”

Brigitte went back toward Brian and put her arms around his neck, “Well, you seemed to have found enough time to spend with your friends.”

Apparently, the green-eyed monster didn’t just stop off to visit Jessie. He seemed to also make a pit stop with Brigitte, too.

Jessie decided that she hated Brigitte. “It’s getting late. It’s been a long day so I’m going to head upstairs to bed. It was nice to meet you.”

Brigitte seemed genuinely surprised and all false pretenses of being glad to meet Jessie evaporated. “You’re sleeping here?”

Brian, sounding frustrated, answered for Jessie, “Yes, she has one of the spare bedrooms upstairs.” He turned to Jessie, “Jessie…I….we’ll talk later ok.”

That was her signal to leave. Jessie gave him a half-smile and walked out of the room.

*****

Brian was on his second brandy since Jessie left to go back to her room. He knew he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to visit with Brigitte so he’d cut it short. Of course she wasn’t happy about it, and he had to make all kinds of promises to call tomorrow.

More than anything he couldn’t get his mind off of what happened between him and Jessie. One minute they were sitting on the couch reading lines, and the next minute he was about to make love to her.

Is that what she wanted? Is that what he wanted? Brian looked up at the direction of Jessie’s bedroom. Should he go to her? What would happen if he did?

If he were honest, he wanted her, there was no doubt about that. But, it was Jessie! One of the best things about their friendship was that he could be himself. Brian had to be “on” all the time even in his private moments. The only person he knew he could truly be unguarded with was Michael. That was until he met Jessie and Téa. They were two of the most genuine people he knew.

Brian could tell Jessie anything and not worry about it being ‘leaked’ to the tabloids. The best part about her was the he didn’t need to perform when they were together. Living in a world that was so cut-throat and where everything was pretend, it meant a lot to have such an honest relationship.

There weren’t any expectations or pressures; they just simply enjoyed each other’s company. He didn’t want that to change. He needed for it not to change. Sex always complicates everything. He wasn’t going to lose her friendship because they had a moment and got caught up in the script. What was Brian thinking? Jessie was the sensible one. She probably was already regretting the mistake they’d made tonight. He had hopes that they’d laugh and talk about it tomorrow.

Chapter 12

Jessie awakened early the next morning after a fitful night of sleep. She tossed and turned waiting and hoping that Brian would come to her. She decided to just get up and out of bed. It was obvious she wasn’t going to get anymore sleep. Maybe an extra vigorous workout would give her some clarity and diminish the anxiety swimming around her mind.

She put on her running clothes. Jessie quietly left the house but didn’t notice the paparazzi hiding in the bushes.

Fifteen minutes into her run, her mind couldn’t stop replaying what happened between her and Brian. She tried to remember when her feelings for him had changed from friend to something else. She couldn’t put her finger on it. As much as she denied it maybe it was because deep down she’d always been attracted to him; however, he’d never shown the least bit of romantic interest.

It suited Jessie to remain in the friend zone because of the fullness of the friendship. Brian offered support, encouragement, and everything you’d expect a partner to provide. Maybe the question she should be asking is not when she became attracted to him, but when did she decide she was ready to elevate the friendship to something more.

Who was she kidding? Brigitte had everything to do with this. Jessie was threatened by that relationship, and it had her acting out of character. Gray was right about her and men. She should have just tried to be honest and talk to Brian about her feelings. Instead, she tried to seduce one of her best friends knowing in the back of her mind that he was involved in a relationship. She should be ashamed of herself. He didn’t deserve that. He’d wanted her physically, but it was obvious from his reaction he was shocked, confused, and regretted it as soon as it happened.

Jessie felt sick to her stomach and abruptly stop running. She bent over to touch her knees and catch her breath. Not because she was winded but because she had just realized how important Brian had become in her life, and she’d just tried to manipulate him. Jessie inhaled deeply. She hoped she could make it up to him.

After looking at her watch she’d been gone over an hour. What happened to the time? She didn’t mean to run this far. It was time to head back. Jessie had gotten what she wanted out of this run—clarity. Sometimes she didn’t come to the conclusions she’d desired, but it always gave Jessie better direction. She would follow Brian’s lead. If he only wanted her as a friend, then she would bury her feelings and be the best friend she could be…and apologize.

*****

When Jessie arrived back to the house everyone was up. She just wanted to hide out in her room. It was childish and not an option, but she needed to give herself a little more time. A shower was a good excuse, and with all the sweat dripping from her body she definitely needed one. Of course, she ran into a well-rested and observant Téa as soon as she walked through the door.

“Hey, I was looking for you this morning. It took me a minute to figure out you were out running. I thought today was a yoga day? Anyway, was it a good run?”

“I like to switch it up every now and again. The flight was so long I just felt like a run, and it was a good one.”

“You…switch things up? That’s a joke right? I’ve never met a more disciplined person in my life.”

“Téa, I’m super sweaty. I’m just going to head up and take a quick shower.” Jessie felt raw and not ready to discuss her emotions with anyone and started up the steps.

“Are you sure you’re ok? You tend to go running when you have something on your mind. I know today is the nine-year anniversary but you’ll get through it.”

Jessie stopped in mid-step and turned around with a horrified look on her face. She whispered, “I forgot.”

Téa’s eyes widened in surprise. “Jessie, I’m so sorry. It’s ok.”

Jessie hurried up the stairs with tears streaming down her face. How could she forget? What the hell was wrong with her? She passed Michael as she went into her room and closed the door. He saw the distress on her face. Téa was right on Jessie’s heels. She knocked on the door.