Chapter 18

Jesse

Jesse made herself a hot cup of tea as soon as she made it up to her apartment. She felt numb from her interactions with Hal that afternoon and had spent a considerable amount of time trying to quash the feelings she could feel developing for him. He was funny and charming, and at some moments, he seemed to display a real concern for her.

Jesse shook her head. She knew that he was most likely just doing all those things because he’d had too much wine. It would be best if she just forgot the whole afternoon had even happened in the first place.

Jesse had just settled onto her couch when she heard an urgent knock on her door. With a sigh, she stood and went to answer the door. She opened it, and before she could see who it was in the first place, Mark and Tony pushed past her into the small apartment and sat down on her couch.

“Tell us everything!” Mark said, and Jesse sighed as she shut and locked the door before moving back into her living room to take up her corner of the couch.

Once Jesse was settled, she began her narrative of the afternoon, starting from when Hal had picked her up for lunch and all the way to where they had all met at the door of her apartment, and past then to when he had dropped her off at the door to the lobby. All the while, the two were riveted to her, soaking in every detail of her story.

“And that’s all that happened.” Jesse shrugged her shoulders and took a sip of her tea.

The two men looked between one another and raised their eyebrows.

“So let me get this straight ...” Mark held up his hand and scowled at her. “You’ve barely known this man for a whole day, and you thought it would be some great idea to go ahead and invite him into your house?”

Jesse looked down into her tea.

“Well, I had some reservations…” Jesse murmured.

“Reservations?” Mark said incredulously. “Jesse, he could have done anything!”

“But he didn’t,” Jesse pointed out.

“But what if he had?”

“If he had,” Jesse raised a finger. “I could have sued him for every dime that he was worth.”

“She’s got a point.” Tony smiled and gave Jesse a wink.

“Thanks for having my back, babe,” Mark spat, and Tony chuckled.

“Look,” Jesse sighed. “I can’t explain it either. But I really didn’t feel like anything bad was going to happen.”

“Whatever ...” Mark flicked his wrist. “This whole situation is just unbelievable. I never would have thought I’d be having to warn you about inviting international celebrities into your home. Especially incredibly hot ones.”

“Yeah,” Tony shook his head. “You know, I can’t believe it either. I always thought he was gay.”

Jesse felt herself blush.

“Come on guys,” she ushered them. “Nothing happened, and this will probably never happen to me again, so can we just let this go.”

Mark huffed at her and crossed his arms. Tony gave her a smile and patted her gently on the knee.

“Don’t worry about it, Jess,” he said gently, his dark eyes sparkling good-naturedly. “After tonight, you won’t hear a word about it from us. Right, Mark?”

Mark eyed them both, and Jesse could clearly see that he had no desire to comply.

“Please?” Jesse folded her hands on his knee and pouted a little. “Can I have just this one free pass?”

Mark looked down at her for a long moment and finally released a huff.

“Fine!” he said with exasperation. “But if you bring home anymore A-list celebrities, I want a week’s notice first, alright?”

“Deal,” Jesse nodded and leaned back into the couch.

“Spectacular,” Mark growled as he rose from his place on the couch. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got to go home. It’s getting late.”

“Excuse me,” Jesse laughed, rising to follow the two men as they headed out the door. “You’re the one who nearly broke down my door to get in here.”

“Well, the past is the past,” Mark said dismissively, almost as if he was literally waving her comment away.

“Whatever you say,” Jesse rolled her eyes. “Goodnight guys.”

“Goodnight!” they said in cheery unison, and Jesse smiled as she shut and locked her door behind them.

Jesse heaved a sigh and leaned against her door as she suddenly felt the weight of the day’s activities crash down on her. She rubbed her eyes, and a yawn tore its way out of her mouth. She decided that it would probably be in her best interest to go to sleep.

Jesse moved through her small home making sure all the lights and appliances were turned off, then shut herself in her own room. Once inside, she stripped out of her clothes and changed into a pair of cotton shorts and an old T-shirt. She flopped down into her bed, made sure her phone was set to charge and then turned her alarm on.

As she slowly fell asleep, she allowed her mind to go over the strange events of her day.

The night passed in peace, and the next morning, Jesse was awoken by her alarm. She got up easily, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. She stretched her arms out over her head and then tossed her legs over the edge of the bed, moving to stand and get dressed for her morning run.

Jesse felt even more refreshed as she breathed in the crisp autumn air along her usual route through the city. She felt her body warm from her exertion, and it wasn’t long before she had worked up a healthy sweat in spite of the chill in the air. When she finally made it back to her apartment, she was short of breath, but feeling energized as usual.

Jesse took the elevator back up to her floor and entered her apartment, heading straight for the shower. She found she was in a particularly good mood and had a feeling that this would be a good day. She would start taking her information from her interviews with Hal and put them to use as she began to write her article. She figured she could have a full draft completed by the end of the day, and then she could get that whole project behind her.

When she finished her shower, she went through the usual process of fixing her hair and putting on her makeup. Then, she selected a dark green blouse and a pair of black pants, as well as a pair of black flats. She had worked her hair into a long braid and was altogether quite satisfied with her appearance.

Jesse gathered up a light jacket and left her apartment to go next door and knock at Mark’s door.

“Just a minute!” Mark called from inside, his voice sounding somewhat uneasy.

“Okay …” Jesse called back. “Take your time.”

It seemed that Mark was taking more time than usual to come out, and she was beginning to worry that they would be late for work. Jesse had just raised her hand to knock again when the door finally opened and a nervous looking Mark stepped out into the hallway.

“Good morning!” he said, perhaps a little too eagerly.

“Hey ...” Jesse greeted him with a frown. “What’s the matter with you? Are you alright?”

“Well, it’s just …” Mark said in a rush. “You know how you never read or watch anything until you get to work in the mornings? Well, I do. And I saw something. And I know we agreed to drop the issue. But I just thought you should find out from me before anyone else told you.”

“Mark, Mark, hold on,” Jesse stopped him, as her head was whirling with confusion. “What happened, what are you talking about?”

Mark gave her a long look, and then sighed.

“It’s a picture that popped up,” he said. “Just some amateur picture—probably taken from someone’s phone.”

Jesse shook her head and squinted her eyes.

“Will you just show me the picture?” Jesse said, holding out her hand for Mark’s phone.

“Just, don’t freak out or anything okay?” Mark counseled her as he withdrew his phone from his pocket and tapped at the screen, pulling up the image in question.

Jesse rolled her eyes as she took the phone, sure that this was just another episode of Mark’s dramatism. It was only when she actually saw the picture that her expression dropped.

In the picture, she could clearly recognize the café where they normally got their morning coffee—and the café that she had taken Hal to the previous night.

She could clearly see Hal in the picture, looking directly into the camera.

And beside Hal, in crystal clear quality, she could clearly see herself.