Jacoby: Where’s Mike?
Me: IDK. Not here tho. It’s just us girls.
Jacoby: I don’t even know who this chick is, but from what you’ve said about her, I doubt she’ll throw you under the bus in front of such a small group of people. She seems to be the type who would opt for a bigger crowd. More people = more drama.
Me: Good point.
Jacoby: Plus, if she was going to out you tonight, I’m pretty sure she would’ve already done it.
Me: I’m just scared she’s going to say something at the dinner table, which is why I’m hiding out in the bathroom. Well…that and to text you.
Jacoby: You can’t sit on the crapper all night. You have to leave eventually.
Me: I’ll just tell them that I have IBS. No skin off my nose.
He sent a bunch of laughy face emojis.
Me: Fine. I’ll go back to the table, but if this blows up in my face tonight, I’m blaming you.
Jacoby: If that happens, I’ll make it up to you. I promise.
I had no idea what he had in mind, but if it was another sensual foot massage, then I’d have nothing to complain about. And once that thought crossed my mind, I couldn’t shake the memory of his hands and the physical reaction my body had to them.
Thankfully, the erotic thoughts of Jacoby rubbing down the rest of my body—a bit of oil on my back, maybe a few candles lit, some music softly playing in the background—that filtered through my mind was enough to keep me sane for the rest of dinner. Granted, it prevented me from partaking in the majority of the conversations going on around the table, but that was okay with me. My only goal was to make it out of there alive.
And that was exactly what I did.
The table hadn’t even been cleared before I pushed my chair back and stood. “Dinner was amazing, Jeannine. Thank you again. Really. I had a fabulous time with you ladies tonight.”
“You’re leaving already?” Nicole asked, sounding almost disappointed.
Out of all the women, I felt sorry for Nicole the most. She truly was a sweet woman, always doing what she could to help me while I adjusted to having cameras follow me around all day. If she sensed even an ounce of my anxiety, she’d quickly whisper a tip or trick into my ear, which would instantly calm me down. I felt sorry for her because I knew how Tiff would treat her when she returned to her own life and I went home. Honestly, none of these ladies deserved the intense whiplash they would get when having to deal with the real Tiffany Lewis.
Well, except for Serenity. She didn’t get my sympathy.
She not only deserved it, but I had a feeling she could handle her own.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, but I have to get going.”
“Oh, why?” half the table whined.
I hadn’t thought ahead, not expecting anyone to actually ask for my motivation for leaving a dinner party that I’d been at for the last almost four hours. So I said the first thing I could think of. “I have IBS, so I have to get home before I ruin everyone’s night.”
At least no one tried to convince me to stay longer.
* * *
“You’re kidding, right?” Jacoby’s face had turned red from laughing so hard.
After the driver dropped me off at home, I’d walked straight to the back of the house and out through the French doors. The only thing I did between the front door and the back was toss my purse and heels—that I’d taken off in the car—onto the couch. With bare feet, I held the hem of the dress off the grass and headed straight to Jacoby’s pool house.
Considering I hadn’t informed him that I was on my way over, I expected him to be surprised to see me. What I hadn’t expected was the excitement that danced in his eyes and consumed his massive grin. That sight alone was enough to eradicate all the stress that had built up in my chest throughout the night. But it was his teasing nature, laughing at my retelling of the evening, that made it all seem so trivial.
I hung my head forward and smiled to myself. “I wish I was, but I’m not.”
“I know you said you’d tell them that, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it. At the dinner table, no less. Irritable bowel syndrome? Seriously?” He was beyond amused by this.
Most women would’ve been embarrassed on some level, but I wasn’t. A little scared to hear what all was said after I’d left Jeannine’s, but that was about it. At the end of the day, it wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever said in front of a group of people, although it was the first time it’d end up on TV. Then again, maybe that’s why I hadn’t been humiliated by it—the entire world would think it was Tiffany who had said it.
“What else was I supposed to say? They were all asking me why I had to leave, and I certainly couldn’t tell them that it was because I wanted to hang out with my neighbor and play video games while drinking beer. I’m sure that would be more scandalous than Tiffany being unable to control her bowel movements.”
“They think Adam is traveling, right? Couldn’t you have just said you needed to get home to video chat with him?”
I glared at Jacoby and blinked slowly, letting my expression speak for me. “You know…it’s not nice to offer such excellent ideas after the fact. If it’s too late to do anything about it, it’s best to keep your suggestions to yourself, no matter how good they are.”
“You’re absolutely right. My bad.” He struggled to bite back the grin that tugged at the corners of his lips. “Now that I think about it, using IBS was a genius move. No one would be crazy enough to make something like that up,
