At twenty-five, I paid out my ass to have a beautiful service for her back home. I didn't do it for her. I did it for Luke and Ethan. I wanted them to have a final send-off, whether she deserved it or not.
The whole town showed up, allegedly mourning, but judging her all the way to hell. Like a car crash, they couldn't look away from what had become of the Barretts. The fake sympathy and looks of pity were the last drops of fuel needed to never return to that place.
I was content knowing my brothers and I were safe and had all made it. I was on track to clear a million annually, Luke owned his own automotive shop, and Ethan was raking it in big time in Boston. The little shit earned millions through trading, not even breaking a sweat as he scored deals that made my ass pucker.
I wondered if Jewels had that same tenacity. Did she know what it felt like to go to bed hungry and wake up the same? Or was she from a privileged background like Bianca, always demanding the best without working for it? Would she turn tail and run to the next big wallet when she was told no?
As I stared at the ceiling running through endless questions, I drifted off, mind and body spent. The soft cushion of feathers carried me off into the dream world, mind hyper-focused on Jewels.
I dreamed of our first date, finally meeting one another after months of back and forth. I desperately tried to sort out her face, jumbling a mishmash of eyes, noses, and lips together to no avail.
There she sat, dressed in a plunging navy dress with white beading around the neckline, highlighting those beautiful breasts, pouring forth like two creamy mountains of silky skin.
As we spoke, my history came pouring out no matter how much I tried to swallow it down, revealing my deepest and darkest secrets without missing a beat. I was shell-shocked, floored that I so flippantly uncovered things I buried long ago. She didn't pity my life or look at me with puppy dog eyes. She listened. She thanked me.
As we chattered back and forth, I had a sinking feeling in my gut it wasn't just a fling. She was everything I ever wanted, and it scared the hell out of me. More so when her face finally stopped shuffling, settling on that of Elena.
I jerked awake, heart pounding and chest heaving.
I glanced over at the blinking notification light on my phone and realized the dream hadn't woken me–the phone had. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to calm down as I swiped the screen.
Jewels: Well, hello there.
I forgot about my scandalous snap.
Bear: How are you tonight, Jewels?
Jewels: Great. Bestie just left. Thanks for the ball-busting. Reality TV isn't that bad.
Bear: It is.
Jewels: How was work?
Bear: Busy. Never too busy for my Jewels, though.
Jewels: Well, from the photo, I can tell you're not messaging me from your desk again.
I grinned. I made the late nights in the office more tolerable by chatting between reports.
Bear: Nope. I left everything at work this weekend. No laptop. No reports.
Jewels: What???
Bear: I wanted to give you my undivided attention ;)
I also wanted to meet her, but I had to plant the seed carefully.
Bear: What are you up to this weekend? The Sixth Street Carnival only has two weekends left :)
The weekly festival popped up each Friday in the blocks around the hotel, offering the perfect place for a first date.
Jewels: Babysitting my bestie's little ones tomorrow into Sunday.
Well, there went that idea.
Bear: Bummer. I'm going to check out more local spots if the weather cooperates.
Jewels: The leaves change soon. Take a camera if you can.
Bear: I'll keep that in mind. Running with a camera doesn't seem like fun, though.
Jewels: It's worth it. Or you could just use your cell.
Bear: Speaking of checking things out, I've decided that I would like to meet you if that's alright.
There it was. I dropped the bomb, and there was no taking it back.
Jewels: That's alright with me, stud.
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding in.
Bear: A) Great, B) You don't know that I'm a stud. I could look like a foot.
Jewels: Something tells me that's incorrect.
Bear: You'll have to wait and see. What do you say Colby's at 7 next Saturday?
Jewels: Colby's? Fancy.
Bear: I've heard great things. Don't like?
I thought I hit it out of the park with that place. It looked great from the reviews, and Nate had raved about it when I took the Ithaca gig.
Jewels: Never been.
Bear: Me neither. It'll be another first for us together.
Jewels: Swoon much?
Bear: I try, I try.
We spent the better part of an hour ribbing each other back and forth, from her reality television habit to my old man sleeping schedule. I laughed, enjoying our banter. I wasn't fussing over things I couldn't control, living in the moment and enjoying Jewels instead. I couldn't spend my life worrying about what could happen.
I rarely looked forward to the week ahead, but I was more than ready to hop on the workweek treadmill to chase the weekend again.
Elena
Exhaustion was the look of the day after a weekend of hyper children and sharing a sleeper sofa with an overweight Labrador. Coffee was the only thing that would get me through the marathon meetings scheduled first thing Monday morning.
Over a dozen managers flew in from around the country, offering different areas of expertise. Per Marty, each visitor would talk to us over the coming week, building up our skills, making us a stronger unit. I wanted to ask him if he would
