“No need. I run On the Go, I know where everyone is all the time. Besides, I often go to Rickard’s, Mike and I used to go there all the time. We have a standing reservation. I’m just more willing to use it to bounce people.”
“Out of line?” I asked.
“Where else?” she asked with a smile that bordered on evil.
I had heard about rich people who thought they owned the world. Gia had had her own experience with such, nearly ruining her chances with Reece. I thought of Mike again. My feeling about him were mixed to say the least but if he had some kind of crazy ex-girlfriend thing going on I was worried for his safety. I wasn’t sure I could love him but that didn’t matter.
Some girls would have run the other was as fast as possible, not wanting to get involved, self-preservation being both common and understandable. I was a weirdo however and felt protective of the guy I wasn’t even sure liked me outside of fucking my ass. Our connection was a bit tenuous at that point but I didn’t want him to get hurt. I also didn’t believe for a second that Jessa had been there by accident, partly because, as she so kindly pointed out,
“That’s not very nice you know,” I said.
“Nice guys finish last, bitch,” Jessa snarled.
“Did you just call me a bitch?” I asked.
“Fuckin’ right I did. You’re nothing. Mike is mine and I can have him back any time I want to. You need to back the fuck o-”
I didn’t hear the last word. I was to busy slamming the door on her face hoping I’d broken her nose.
Going back my bed room I got out my phone. I looked up Mike’s number, not having yet committed it to memory and wrote him a quick text, inviting him out to lunch.
I wasn’t sure what his intentions were but I knew Jessa and the least I could do was try and warn him.
Chapter Eight
Mike
I was waiting for Ava’s serve, turning my racket in my hands as was my custom, when my phone started to bing in the pocket of my tennis shorts. Ava and I were having our usual Sunday match. Something when had done since we were kids, initially at our parent’s insistence. We had always liked each other better than tennis, the sport mostly becoming an excuse to make to time in our busy lives to see each other. She was just as competitive as she had been when she was ten her serve only getting harder and more accurate as she grew up. I still had a slight bruise on my chest left over from an incident the week before.
“Are you going to get that?” Ava asked.
“You think I should?” I asked, straightening up.
“Sure.”
I pulled the phone from my pocket and looked at the notification. It was a text from Sally.
“It’s from Sally, right?” Ava asked.
“How did you know?”
“Just a hunch,” Ava said, with a sight shrug.
I tapped on the notification and read the message. Sally wanted to meet me for lunch. I was a bit surprised considering how we had left things the night before. I had wanted to ask her to stay but honestly wasn’t sure if she was into it. I had the feeling that she was but didn’t want to push. I was a bit shaken by how attached I was getting to Sally.
“You should go,” Ava said.
“Hey?” I asked, looking up.
“To lunch with Sally, she clearly doesn’t hate you, yet.”
“How did you -”
“You’re not the only one who notices things, bro.”
“Fair enough,” I said.
She was right of course. An eye and memory for detail was pretty much a family trait. One which had led us both into our careers.
“If you still know her by thanksgiving you should invite her to my party, so I can meet her.”
“Why would you want to do that?” I asked.
“I’m the only family you have left and I’m really curious about the girl who finally managed to capture your cold, guarded heart.”
Coming from anyone else that last bit would have hurt. Though I knew Ava and could tell she was at least partly joking to make a point. I could always count on her to call me on my bullshit.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” I said, texting Sally back to say yes, “I don’t have the best history.”
I had to google the deli, it not being my usual kind of place. Sally was already sitting at one of the low wooden tables when I arrived, working on her iPhone. She was looking really sexy in a very nice dress with leggings, a nice tweed overcoat hanging on the back of her chair.
“Hey,” I said, sitting down across from her.
“Nice suit,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“What happened with you and Jessa?”
That came out of nowhere but wasn’t really a surprise. Jessa was famous now, almost always in the papers. We were usually photographed together so it made sense Sally would find out about us sooner or later, though it was more likely to be sooner considering the fact they were all over the internet, including On the Go which, last I could bear to look, had over 50 million subscribers. I early broke my foot kicking a wall after seeing that number.