Page 75 of Forever Wild

Her eyes crinkle in a grin as she lets out a yawn. She had a full day of important meetings, and I’m sure tomorrow will be just as bad. “Will you stay on and fall asleep with me?” she asks.

“Of course, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.” Ever. I add that last part in my head, the certainty of us—of Bryn and I—cementing itself in my mind and my heart.

I know it’s going to take work. Relationships aren’t ever easy, and relationships where both people travel are more complicated than most. But this is worth it. Bryn is worth it.

Chapter thirty-eight

Jameson

“Hey, babe,” I say as Bryn arrives at the restaurant, her suitcase in tow, after a delayed flight.

“Hey,” she sighs, leaning into the kiss I place gently on her forehead.

It has been five weeks since I last saw Bryn in person, and it has been absolutely brutal. Despite texting every day and having SextyTime at least three times a week, it’s like a piece of me is missing. I’m also horny as hell.

Turns out, after you’ve been inside Bryn, your cock raises its standards, and it’s no longer content with your hand. Which is why my shower getting ready for our date tonight took twice as long as normal. It wasn’t until I had replayed an entire FaceTime sex session with Bryn that I had been able to ease some of the tension building in my body like a Diet Coke bottle that just had a Mentos dropped in.

“You ready for the best dinner of your life?” I ask.

“I have been looking forward to it for weeks,” she responds, lacing her fingers in mine.

We head into the restaurant, asking the hostess to hold on to Bryn’s suitcase before following our server to a dimly lit booth with dark wood seats.

Dinner is amazing. We order way too much food, but eat it family-style, both of us grabbing rolls and slices of fish off the various platters spread in front of us.

The Hungry Guy commercial shoot took place yesterday and today here in New York, and, knowing how many questions Bryn has already texted me about it, I jump into giving her all the details.

“Kyle is an idiot. He kept trying to tell me what to do with my face.” She snorts a laugh. “I’m not kidding. I was this close to punching him square in the nose.” I hold my chopstick tips half an inch apart to demonstrate just how much I hate the guy.

Honestly, Kyle does seem like a self-centered asshole, but my hatred is 100% on Bryn’s behalf rather than from my own experience. The shoot was actually very professional, and both Jon and Erica were impressed by how smoothly it all ran. That said, when Kyle sauntered over to introduce himself, it took all my self-control to not sucker punch him right there for the shit he pulled on Bryn.

She drops her head into the heels of her hands, massaging her temples. “I can’t believe that douche canoe is going to be my boss. I truly believe I need to start looking at other jobs. I cannot work for him.”

“Have you talked to Tara? What does she have to say about it all? They have to realize how unfair it is to promote him just because he got you kicked off a project,” I say.

“I did get to talk to Tara. The good news is that she, at least, recognizes how unfair it all is. Unfortunately, one of the men on the leadership team is a big Kyle stan. So, the compromise is that we will both pitch via projects in a couple of months. Since Kyle is spending all of his time on this one, he gets to pitch it and talk about what he would do differently next time. I have to use something else.”

“Can you pitch the MyUsual app you’ve been talking about? I know your sister is all about being able to easily place her custom orders everywhere.”

“A low-key version of that is what I’m hoping for. It’s basically just going to be a feature on our app that lets you save your usual and then, when you log in, the landing screen will push a pop-up asking if you want to order it. I’m worried it’s not going to be enough, though.”

We continue eating, chatting about other jobs she might consider, but I know Bryn loves Hungry Guy. She would hate to have to leave the company she’s put so much of her soul into the last few years.

“Do you want the last tuna?” Bryn asks, pointing with her chopsticks to the last piece of yellowfin tuna sashimi on the white platter, the last man standing from our feast.

“All yours,” I reply. “I’m actually going to use the restroom before we head out.” I stand up, pulling my wallet out of the pocket. “Here’s my card, can you ask for the check?”

“Of course.”

I weave my way between tables, heading to the restrooms in the back of the building.

“Hey, Jameo.” My head snaps to the left, recognizing that voice from my nightmares. I gape at Alexis, standing there in front of the bathrooms in a shiny silver dress and her made-up face pulled into a phony smile. How have I never noticed how fake she is before?

“Alexis,” I say, moving to walk around her toward the bathroom.

What are the odds?

She moves in front of me, her hand lightly touching my chest. “I miss you.”

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