Page 41 of Thirst Trap
16
Whitley
Is thereanything better than taking off your bra at the end of a long day?
I don’t think there is.
I plop down on my bed, letting the weight of the day roll off me. And today has been a doozy. It was one of those days that if anything could go wrong, it tried to. But at the end of the day, the fundraiser was a success; the organization raised twenty thousand dollars, and I have another successful event under my belt.
But the best part of this event? Most of the work was done remotely and online. The only contact I had with the organization was today’s event. Which made me think, could I do this anywhere? Or, more specifically, from Rolling Hills?
The more I think about it, the more I’m thinking I can. Many of my clients are in Birmingham, but it’s not a bad drive, especially if I’m only making it a few times a month. Most of the things I’m doing to secure donations are through email or phone calls. And if I take my business more remote, could I expand and work with more organizations? Could I expand to work with places in Nashville?
The thought makes me smile. Maybe this could actually work between us. All I know is that this is a road I definitely need to explore.
After a hot bath.
I strip away my clothes from the day as the bathtub begins to fill. I drop in a bath bomb for good measure as I get out a towel and put my hair up. As soon as the hot water covers me, I immediately feel relaxed.
The only thing that could make me feel better right now is Jake’s strong hands rubbing away the aches of the day.
What would it be like if he and I had normal days? He gets home from a shift and I have a dinner for two ready? Or if I came home from a fundraiser and he was there waiting for me with a glass of wine and a foot rub? It all sounds so domestic, cliché, if you will, but that doesn’t stop me from imagining it.
It also makes me laugh. Every so often, I can’t believe how we met. I mean, how does that happen? I’ve heard of people meeting at bars before. Heck, that’s how Ella Mae met her husband in college. But because he gave me a lap dance? What a story to one day tell our children.
Then it hits me. I still haven’t seen the video. I don’t know why. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to. But it just never felt like something I needed to see. I have the mental video in my head, and it’s one I replay often.
Maybe it’s time I saw it. I mean, it is the video that made JakeForUfamous; I should at least check out the role I had in helping.
I wipe off my hands and grab my phone, being careful as to not drop it in the bathwater, I download the app I once said I never would.
It makes me pick out a username, and I jokingly want to make it Officer_Sexy’s_Woman, but I don’t. Instead, I use the same screen name I’ve had since high school and begin to search for Jake’s account.
It doesn’t take me long to find, and within a couple of scrolls, I see the first one. I immediately click on it, and I’m transported back to that night in Nashville. I can still hear his voice the first time he spoke. I remember how good he smelled when he leaned in to whisper to me. I remember the rush of excitement I felt as I watched this man dance in front of me.
The video restarts, and this time, I watch me. I almost don’t recognize myself. This girl is carefree. She’s living in the moment. She’s living her best life.
She’s happy.
I can’t help but smile. That’s what Jake does to me. That’s his effect on me. It happened that night, and it’s happened every day we’ve been together since.
He makes me happy.
After the fifth time watching, I scroll away from the video. I almost start watching some of the ones he’s posted, but many of those I have seen thanks to Betsy.
I begin to scroll on videos and find myself completely immersed in this app. Some of them are hilarious. Some are heartfelt. Some make me wonder why seeing backs being cracked by chiropractors is so satisfying.
Simply: I have fallen into theForUrabbit hole.
I don’t know how long I stay in the bathtub watching videos. I know it’s long enough that my water is starting to get cold, and I consider getting out, but when I scroll to the next video, I’m frozen in place.
The bar looks familiar. In fact, it’s the bar in Nashville where Jake and I met. I take a closer look, and I have to blink a few times before I realize what I’m watching.
It’s Jake. Dancing. In public.
But not the night we met.
I check the video’s time stamp, and it looks like it was uploaded less than a few hours ago. I knew he was going to Nashville tonight with Trent. I just didn’t realize that would mean he was putting on a live show.
