Chapter 15
Jason
♪ I Want It All | COIN
Sloan kicked me out last night at 7:00. She said she had some things she needed to do. I think she was going to finish packing up Brandon’s clothes. I’d have offered to help, but it didn’t really feel like my place.
I didn’t like leaving her. I knew it was crazy, but I honestly wanted to sleep on her couch again, just to be near her. It felt like I was supposed to be near her.
My Minnesota trip was the day after tomorrow, and I wasn’t going to see her the whole weekend. Fuck.
I’d been on my best behavior yesterday, holding back from kissing her the way I really wanted to, because I knew if things escalated like they had the other night after our first date, she’d kick me out. The last thing I wanted was to lose my newfound house privileges. I decided I would only kiss her on the porch, coming and going, until she was ready for more.
It wasn’t easy.
She wouldn’t see me for breakfast this morning, another disappointment. She said she had things to do. I looked forward to dinner, though. Having The Huntsman’s Wife cook for you was an honor of the highest degree.
It was a brutal hour and a half in traffic to downtown LA. I called Sloan after I checked in at the front desk at my publicist’s office.
Sloan answered, talking to someone else in the background. “What? Uh, no. But thanks.” She sounded amused.
“Who was that?” I asked, thinking maybe she was with Kristen.
I sat in the waiting area drinking a Fiji Water. The entire place was white. Even the receptionist wore white. Framed photos of Pia with her famous clients were the only pops of color on the walls.
“I have no idea who that was. I think I just got hit on,” she said, disbelief in her voice.
“What did he say to you?”
“It was weird.”
I sat up. “Was it inappropriate?”
“What? No.” She laughed. “He asked me for my number. Then he said if I don’t give it to him, him and his friends are going to sing ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’? I don’t get it.”
I snorted. “Was the guy wearing naval dress whites, by chance?”
“How did you know?”
“You’ve never seen Top Gun?”
“No.”
I shook my head with a chuckle. “Well, I know what we’re watching later. So what are you doing today?” I asked, putting my ankle over my knee, leaning back into the couch. I checked my watch. My appointment wasn’t for another ten minutes.
“I’m at the car wash right now. Then I have to go to Vons to get stuff to make dinner…”
“And what’s for dinner?”
“I’m thinking chicken Provençal? I have to see how the produce looks. And then I need to go to the mall.”
“The mall? For what?”
She paused. “Just…something.”
She was being evasive, so my interest immediately spiked. “Something?”
“I’m not telling you. It’s between Tucker and me. He and I are not friends right now.”
I’d left Tucker at Sloan’s house last night since I was going to be gone all day today and I was going over there later anyway. Besides, he liked it better there, and I didn’t blame him.
“Really? I thought he was an angel.”
She scoffed. “Turns out I was wrong about that.”
“What did he do? Give me a hint.”
“He just…He ate something he shouldn’t have eaten.”
Fucking Tucker.
“Can I pay to replace it?”
She laughed. “No, definitely not. I got it. He’s going to spend a few hours in doggy prison thinking about what he’s done.”
“Doggy prison?”
“The laundry room. It’s not Guantanamo Bay like the crate, but it’ll do.”
She was never going to stop giving me shit about the crate. “Okay, now you really have to tell me.”
She sighed into the phone. “Your dog—”
“My dog? I thought we were coparenting?”
I could tell she was smiling by the pause. “No, he’s definitely your dog today. Your dog ate about two dozen pairs of my underwear.”
My burst of laughter made the receptionist look up from her white desk.
“He’s been pulling them out of the dirty clothes basket every day to chew them up and stash them under the bed. I found his hoard this morning. I wondered where they were going…”
I was laughing too hard to respond.
She huffed. “Your best friend is a pervert and I feel like you’re not taking this seriously.”
“Well, I can’t really say I blame him. He has excellent taste,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose, still chuckling. “So what store are you going to?”
“The lingerie department at Nordstrom.”
I looked up and arched an eyebrow. “I think I should be allowed, as a responsible dog owner, to replace these damaged items. I’ll need to approve everything, of course, for insurance purposes. Dressing room pictures would be best. In fact, we should probably Skype.”
“You know, I’ve already forgiven Tucker for everything he’ll ever do. You? Not so much.”
“What? How am I the bad guy in this? Here I am, just trying to make you whole…”
“Uh-huh.”
“I like red, by the way.”
She snorted. “What makes you think that you’re ever going to see my underwear?”
I grinned. “Unwavering, unrelenting persistence?”
“Speaking of persistence,” she mumbled.
“Sailor boy’s still there?” I asked, nodding back at a yoga pants–clad Jennifer Lawrence coming out of the floor-to-ceiling frosted doors of Pia’s office.
“Yeah, he’s smiling at me, standing by a giant bubble gum machine.”
“Tell him you have a boyfriend,” I said.
“Might work better if I tell him I have a girlfriend,” she whispered.
My mind flickered to Sloan kissing another woman. “That will definitely not work better.”
She laughed.
My suggestion made me realize that despite our two dates, Sloan didn’t have a boyfriend. I had no claim on her besides just being some guy she was talking to. She could give this man her number and I couldn’t say anything about it.
I didn’t like that. At all.
“Whoa, there’s more of them,” she said. “Oh my God, I wonder if they’re going to actually do it. They seem to be gathering. There’s like five of them now and they’re huddled. There must be a navy recruiting station around here.”
“Does this happen often?” I asked.
“What? Naval officers?”
“You getting hit on.”
“Actually, yeah, lately. It’s weird.”
I moved the phone away from my mouth. I didn’t like that either. And there was nothing weird about it. She was beautiful. Of course other men noticed it.
I changed the subject. “So, did Tucker destroy any other lingerie? I feel like he probably did and we’ll need to get some replacements.”
“Oh, ha ha.” Then she groaned.
“The naval crew still there?”
“Yup.”
“Can you go outside? Get away from them?”
“I can, but I’ll have to hang up with you. It’s really loud out there.”
“No, don’t hang up with me,” I said.
“They’re turning around. They just looked at me,” she whispered. “One of them just waved.”
I dragged my hand down my face. “Are you trying to make me jealous?”
“No,” she laughed. “Why? Are you getting jealous?”
“Of course.” I said it like a joke, but it wasn’t.
“You don’t have anything to worry about,” she said.
“Why? Navy guy isn’t your type?”
“No, he’s kind of cute, actually. It’s just that I’m really into this other guy right now.”
“Oh?” My heart picked up.
“Yeah. He’s pretty amazing. Thoughtful. Took care of me when I was sick yesterday. Sexy northern accent. Doesn’t scare easily, something I need in a man.”
“Sick? Is that what we’re calling it?” I was beaming. I knew she could tell.
“Yup. Sick. We don’t need to elaborate. Oh no…”
“What?”
“They’re coming over here. Oh my God…”
…Singing.