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
