Finding Jaime (2 page)

I notice Mark eyeing her after overhearing our conversation. “Look no further,” he rasps. “You can take me home anytime you like.”

Cade giggles and I swear I see Joss roll her eyes. Cade sits back and Joss shifts again so she’s not stuck to my side.

“What’s happening with you, Joss?” I ask her as Sadie’s having a deep conversation with Mitch. “I haven’t seen you for a while.”

She shrugs. “Not much, Jaime. I’ve just been working, you know, keeping busy.” Her eyes briefly meet mine, and I notice the way her eyelashes curl up more in the outer corners.

“Okay,” I smile and nod. “Anything interesting going on?” I don’t know why I ask, but I want to know how her days are, even though I know her job as a barista and manager of a coffee shop isn’t exactly filled with excitement.

“Not really.” She shakes her head, and the shine from the overhead lights cast a halo on her long hair. “I don’t speak to the customers—I just make the drinks.”

Joss picks up her glass and sips from the thin red straw and continues to look down at the table.

My knee bounces and I take a calming breath. “Joss, do I annoy you?”

Her hand pauses in mid-air before she rests her glass back down. “No, you don’t,” she replies, and again her eyes flick to me for the briefest moment before she almost whispers, “at all.”

“Oh, because it seems as though you don’t want to talk to me,” I snap, and regret the moment I do.

“It’s not that,” she says defensively and, this time, she looks at me and holds my gaze. “I’m just not good at the whole…conversation thing.” She doesn’t look away.

Cade and Mark get up and head to the dance floor along with Sadie and Mitch, leaving three of us alone.

“I could get in the middle,” Tom suggests with a cocky grin. “What do you think?”

Joss rolls her eyes and drops her head down again.
 

Nice going, dickwad! I was just getting somewhere!

I fake a laugh. “You wouldn’t want to be in the middle of the sandwich,” I tell him. “We’re talking monthly cycles, cramps…the works.”

Tom grimaces. “Okay, I’ll leave you to it and grab another round. Same again?” We both nod. “Back in a few.”

I watch him leave and check out his ass. It’s nice, as much as asses go, and I bet he could pound nails with the force behind those thighs. I sigh as I know that as much as I wouldn’t fuck him, I actually don’t want to.

The sofa moves as Joss inches away from me. I snap my head to her and see her awkward movements; her hand shakes as she picks up her drink again. I keep my stare on her as she wraps her lips around the straw and sucks the alcohol into her mouth. I can’t look away. I don’t know why but the simple act of drinking that way is erotic as fuck.
 

Damn, I need to sort myself out, and soon if one of my female friends having a drink turns me on.

In my trance, I let my gaze drop to Joss’ legs. Her black leggings cover every part of her skin, and her shirt—a thin black belt around the middle—hides any evidence that she has a killer bod underneath. The deep red and black plaid fabric still looks good on her, though.

It would be times like these where a woman would hate another for looking good—even in a trash bag—but I can’t with Joss. Maybe because she’s so innocent with it. She doesn’t know how lovely she is and doesn’t try to attract any attention to herself. That could be why everybody likes her so much. They get to take her share of the attention that she could so easily demand.

Chapter 2

I wake up with the worst fucking hangover of my life. There’s a percussion going on in my ears and roadworks going on inside my skull. I push back the covers and attempt to get out of bed.

Ow!
 

The pain is so bad I open my drawer and rustle around for my sunglasses. That’s when I notice a bottle of water and two Advil on the side. I pop the pills into my mouth and crack the lid on the bottle, greedily chugging down the water to sooth my desert of a mouth.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” Sadie whispers, coming into my room. At least I’m alone. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve had a lobotomy with no anesthetic,” I groan. “My head is fucking killing me. How did I get in bed?”

I look down and see that I’m still wearing the same clothes I went out in, except my skirt is bunched up revealing my hot-pink panties. My heels are together under the window next to my dresser.

“Tom and Joss helped you,” she replies and my hand pauses on the way to my mouth.

“Joss?”

Sadie laughs. “Yeah. After we all came back here, you pretty much fell asleep on her.”

I swallow hard. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” she shrugs. “After we’d drunk ourselves stupid, we came back here. Joss sat on the sofa, and you sat next to her with Tom on the other side. You wouldn’t let him near her.” She laughs again. “He wanted to talk to her, but you refused, saying she needed to be protected from the likes of him.”

I fall back on my bed and pull my pillow over my face. “Oh, fuck me, that’s embarrassing.”

“It was sweet, actually. You wrapped your arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards you almost suffocating her in your tits. She looked fucking terrified!”

I throw the pillow back. “I have to apologize to her.” I sit up and drink the last of my water. “I probably ruined a good night for her.”

“Are you kidding? She said to thank you for saving her from having to tell him no again.” My eyes snap to Sadie’s. “When you fell asleep, Tom lifted you up and carried you to bed. Joss went with him and wouldn’t let him undress you, even though he was just kidding about stripping you down.”

“Well, that was sweet of her,” I mumble.
 

“She brought you the water and painkillers before she got a cab with Cade.”

I feel a smile tugging at my lips but hold it back. I still think Joss has something against me, and maybe her being nice was all for show? I don’t know, but whatever it is, I don’t fucking like it.

“Are you working today?” I ask, changing the subject.
 

“I’m on the afternoon shift,” she replies and sits down next to me, smoothing my bird’s-nest hair over my ear. “One until nine. The hotel’s usually busy with new check-ins then, so I’m not looking forward to that. Anyway, Tom’s going to pick me up after to take me to visit my mom and dad, so I’ll be away until Monday night.”

Sadie’s parents live a two-hour drive away and didn’t like that she didn’t want to move with them, instead choosing to stay here after passing her hospitality degree. I’ve no idea how working in a hotel is a desirable occupation, but she loves it. The people coming and going, making sure they have a pleasant stay, catering to every whim and request. She wants to have her own someday, and I truly believe she will because of her pure determination to succeed.
 

Me, on the other hand, I struggled to find a job after passing my business degree. Not because I lack the knowledge, but because it’s so fucking boring that I fall asleep just listening to the managers go on and on about turnover, projections, and targets. I’d rather watch paint dry.

“How are you getting on with work, Jai?” Sadie asks, getting my attention. “Are you liking it any better?”

I shake my head, regretting it when the roadworks start up again. “It’s okay, but it doesn’t excite me like your job excites you,” I explain. “Reading through countless financial reports is draining. I can’t concentrate properly and because of that, I’ve missed some relevant information. It’s only when I double check that I see it. It’s not fair to the company, Sade. I could fuck up big-time, and it’ll be all my fault because I can’t get out of the funk I’m in.”

Sadie’s rubs her hand up and down my back, and her touch eases me a little. “Why don’t you go and see someone?” she suggests. “Maybe a professional will be able to help you, because I have no other solutions, sweetie.”

She’s been a great friend, listening to me going on about how nothing has ever interested me enough to keep me going back for more. There’s something inside me that tells me that I haven’t found what I’m looking for. That usually happens when I’m being slammed into by a big cock, and I know it’s because I’m not interested in the guy on the other end of it. I put it down to my conscience telling me that I’m just using him to find gratification, but I know that’s what he’s doing too. However, it plays on my mind so much that I can’t focus the day after. Yet I keep searching for the next one to give me what I need.

“Nah, I know what’s wrong with me,” I reply and carefully stand up. “I’m just bored with looking for somebody to please me. God, I sound like a spoilt bitch.”

“No, you don’t,” Sadie laughs. “Everybody deserves to be happy, Jaime. You just need to find what that is for you.”

But what if I can’t? What if it’s not
somebody
I need to find, but
myself
?

I walk into the coffee shop a couple of blocks away from our apartment. The dim lights a welcome break from the glaring sun, and I'm able to remove my sunglasses when it’s my turn to be served. I look behind the cashier to see Joss busy making drinks, and I don’t notice the man asking me what I want.

“Oh, sorry, can I just have a cappuccino to go, please?” I reach inside my purse for a ten-dollar bill.

He looks over his shoulder and then back to me. “Three-ninety-five.” I hand him the bill and then wait for my change. “Thanks,” he says when I slip it into the ‘thank you’ jar on the counter.

“Hey, Joss,” I greet her when I move over to where she’s making the drinks. She looks at me, and I swear I see a blush across her cheeks.
 

Shit, what did I say last night? What did I do?
 

“Hi, Jaime,” she replies and gets back to moving various pieces around, and I watch closely as her hands work quickly.

Is that it?
“I wanted to say thanks for last night.”
 

Joss freezes for a second, then continues to work. “What for? I didn’t do anything.”

“You made sure I got to bed okay, and that I had water and painkillers, and you wouldn’t let Tom get me naked,” I laugh. The server’s eyes snap to me, and he stares.

“She’s joking, Kyle,” Joss says with a small smile then turns her attention to me. “You’d do the same for me,” she shrugs.

“That’s what friends are for.”

Joss passes a tray loaded with hot drinks and some other variant of cold coffee with cream.
 

Ugh.
 

Then she starts on my cappuccino. There’s no need to ask how I like it as she’s been making mine since we first met over a year ago. Sadie and I had just finished college, and we came to this little shop. Sadie introduced us as they’d known each other for a while. I liked Joss immediately but after the first deer-in-headlights I got from her, she never seemed to like me much after that, and I never understood why.

“Here you go.” Joss pushed my cup towards me, the little chocolate dusting in the shape of a heart—just the way I like it.

I remember I asked for the cup to go. “Oh, Joss—”

“I’m taking five, Kyle. Give Ann a shout to work the machine until I get back. Jaime, will you sit with me?”

I’m stunned that Joss has asked me to sit, and even more-so when she walks around the counter and gestures me to a cozy table for two at the back of the shop.

“Is everything okay?” I take a sip of my drink and moan at the caffeinated goodness.

“Uh… yeah, well, no.”

I put down my cup. “What’s wrong?” I lean forward, and she takes a sharp breath.

“I’m sorry.” She looks down at her twitching hands and looks as though she’s making an effort to make the barest eye contact. “I’m going to try harder.”

“I don’t understand,” I say, and I’m wondering where she’s going with this. “I don’t remember much from last night.”

“To talk to you. I… Last night you told me that you think I don’t like you.”

So
that’s
what I said.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say and shake my head. “I know you get uncomfortable sometimes. It’s cool.”

Joss fidgets in her seat and chews her lip. I watch her white teeth dig into the pink flesh then disappear. “Well…you…uh…”

“Yeah, Sadie told me I pulled you into my bosoms and almost suffocated you,” I chuckle, keeping my voice soft. “Apparently, I wanted to save you from Tom.”

Joss snorts a laugh. “Yeah, that was a little shock.”

“Well,
I’m
sorry about
that
,” I laugh. “I promise I won’t shove your face into my tits again.

The deep blue of her eyes shoot to mine, and just as quick she looks away, her eyebrows pinch together for a split-second. “Anyway, I should get back to work now. Thanks for sitting with me.” Joss stands, and I join her. “I
will
make an effort.”

I take a step towards her and lift my arms ready for a goodbye hug, just like I do with all of my friends. She takes a doubtful step towards me, and I don’t give her a chance to change her mind. I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight, letting her know I’m okay with her just the way she is.

What I don’t expect is the way her hands hold my waist, and I feel the heat of her palms through my thin yellow tee. But then just as I think she’s going to hug me back, she pushes me away.