Chapter Three

JAMIE

“And here’s to Jamie finally being a little spontaneous!” Aaron yells as we all raise our shot glasses before drinking the vodka.

“My God! How do you guys drink this every weekend?” I sneer, reaching for the glass of cranberry juice I’ve gotten as a chaser.

Because of my rigorous martial arts training, I rarely ever drink, but my bandmates are big party animals, so when I go out with them, I try to indulge in their vices, so they don’t get on me for being so uptight.

“Let’s dance!” Jennifer yells, pulling my wrist to the dancefloor.

I still can’t believe I’ve allowed them to drag me out, but I guess it’s better to miss Sam from the bar surrounded by friends than in the lonely confines of my apartment. Even here, with the music blaring, and the alcohol pumping through my system, he’s all I can think about.

The irony is not lost on me that he is out of state and unavailable to me because of a deal I set up for the company. If I had allowed them to stay with their outdated distributor, he might be here with me or at least cuddled up under me at home.

Now, I was out with my single bandmates, surrounded by cliché beach jocks circling Jennifer and me like we were fresh meat. The neighborhood bar was such a drag to me, but it was their hangout spot, and I agreed to go where they wanted.

A giggle falls from my lips when I imagine Sam in a place like this. He would be so out of place in his plaid shorts and a polo shirt, surrounded by these guys. While he’s not the usual type of stuck up guy from Sutton Hill, I doubt he would be able to handle this level of mediocrity.

Sutton Hill was all about country clubs and yacht parties. I would bet my savings account that no one in this bar even owned a boat. We were drinking shots of Vodka that cost two dollars a glass, in Sutton Hill, they drink champagne imported from France. The differences between our worlds were so vast, I sometimes wondered how we were even able to entertain each other.

“Damn! You’re working it!” I hear from behind me just before I feel a hand on my hip, and a crotch shoved against my backside.

Spinning around, I see a muscular guy in a low cut tank top. His arms are covered in tribal tattoos, and his dark hair is spiked so stiff I honestly want to ask what kind of gel he uses.

“What are you doing?” I ask him, trying to hide the disgust in my voice.

“I’m dancing, sweet thang. Don’t stop,” he smirks, and I use every ounce of willpower not to roll my eyes.

“I’m done dancing for now,” I force a smile at the muscle head before turning to Jennifer. “I’m going back to the table,” I tell her before walking off, frustration fuming from me.

“What was that about?” She asks once I’m back at the table with the rest of our bandmates.

“I’m not into the ‘beach bro,' with their tattoos and spiked hair. How much do you think those kids work out?” I joke, and the entire table laughs, looking back at the muscle head who is watching our table like a hawk.

“Well, you’re not going to find much else over here, you know,” Aaron shrugs before taking a chug of beer and calling the bartender to order another round of drinks.

“Oh no! Not another one!” I object, waving my hand in the air.

“Oh, come on! You never spend any time with us anymore. At least one more!” Jennifer pleads, and after looking at her poor excuse for puppy dog eyes, I agree, to the applause of the table.

After the second shot, I loosen up a bit, feeling relaxed and a bit horny. I wish Sam was going to be home tonight. If he weren't in that meeting, I’d text him to tell him how much I want him, something I never do.

Sam is the kind of guy you have to gauge and go along with. I match his intensity. What he gives me, I reciprocate, but I don’t suffocate him with affection because that’s the worst thing you can do with someone like him.

“You know what? I’m gonna hook you up!” Jennifer proclaims loudly, standing up on her chair to look out over the dancefloor.

“No! Get down!” I yell, tugging at her arm until she settles back into her seat, laughing hysterically.

“What’s so wrong with that? You don’t trust Jenn’s taste? It could be fun to get set up,” Aaron reasons, but I’m not going for it.

“I don’t like anyone here. Plus, I’m kinda seeing someone already,” the words fall out of my mouth before I can stop them, and from the looks on all of their faces, I know they won’t be letting me backtrack.

“What! Oh, we need another drink!” Jennifer signals to the bartender.

“Not another!” I yell, serious this time.

“Jamie. You have a boyfriend and haven’t even told us. You owe us another drink,” Aaron explains, his eyebrows furrowed together as he pretends to be offended.

Truthfully, we rarely ever tell each other who we’re dating, so they shouldn’t have expected to know anyway.

“Okay, one more,” I relent, rolling my eyes.

“Oh! You didn’t deny he’s your boyfriend! So this is serious! Who is he?” Jennifer chimes in again, and I scowl at Aaron, realizing how he set me up.

“You guys know him from those gigs in Sutton Hill last year. Sam Ellis. He runs the foundation I work for,” I say just as the waitress arrives with our drinks, and I’m ecstatic for the pause.

“Sam Ellis?! He is fine, Jamie! I wish that was my man!” Jamie yells, and my head falls back as I laugh loudly.

“How did this happen?” Aaron asks.

“Yes! We need deets!” Jennifer adds.

“Okay,” I sigh, raising my shot glass in the air as they both do the same before we chug another ounce of Vodka.

“Get to it,” Aaron pushes on as I struggle to ride my mouth of the awful taste of the alcohol.

“Well, I met him at my martial arts class, and thought he was cute, but didn’t make a thing of it. Then when I saw him at our gigs, we kind of flirted, but it wasn’t anything serious. When I started working with him, the tension between us grew to be too much, which was why I quit. But then I was chasing his dog, which was how I got in the accident last year. After that we kind of realized we wanted to try to be together, so we decided to take things slow,” it all flows out like a story as the alcohol works as liquid courage.

Besides my best friend, I haven’t told anyone about Sam, but letting my bandmates in on my little secret lifts a weight off of my shoulders. While we don’t share every part of our lives, we don’t really keep secrets. I’ve been avoiding them a little since I began dating Sam, not wanting to spill the beans. It feels good for them to know what’s going on.

“I’m happy for you,” Aaron smiles from across the table.

“Me too. Now, I see why you don’t want any of these Jersey Shore rejects. I’d be turning them down left and right if I had a Sam Ellis in my back pocket!” Jennifer teases, and we all laugh together.

The rest of the night we have a fun time together, and I feel much more relaxed with them knowing about Sam. My thoughts are still dominated by him, wondering what he’s doing and if he’ll have any free time to hang out when he gets back in town.

Looking at my phone every two minutes, constantly disappointed he hasn’t called or texted, I wonder if he even misses me. Sam is the kind of guy that is out of sight, out of mind. I could completely imagine him not thinking of me at all while he’s away.

We’re so different in that way because he’s all I ever think of whether he is sitting across from me or thousands of miles away. My feelings for him seem to multiply every day, and a lot of times I wonder if I’m on this emotional train alone.

I haven’t even met any of his family, which makes me think he might be embarrassed by me, although he would never say that. He’s a good guy, and I know that. Hell, I love him. But whether he’s enough for me or not is still debatable, because he barely has any time for me, despite what he says about prioritizing me so high. As the liquor wears off, I wonder if I should begin wearing off of Sam.