Page 42 of Rebel Heart
“Their kids are grown?” Jamie visibly shuddered. “Exactly how old are we now?”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered. “Why do you think I keep doing everything I can to stay in shape and continue moving? As soon as we stop, it’s going to catch up with us. The age combined with the years of beating up our bodies.”
His lips twitched. “We’ll just have to find other things to keep us young once the skating stops.”
“Let me know if you find anything that helps beyond what we’re already doing. As it is, I’m going to head home and hop in the sauna before taking an ice bath. I’ve got to do what I can to help myself recover, so I don’t have to have the skating stop.”
Jamie nodded, something that looked a lot like amusement taking over his expression. “Alright. Andwould you like me to pop over to your place if I figure that out, or do you think a simple phone call might suffice?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
The second I’d asked the question, I realized what was happening, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“It means that you claiming to stop over here for my well-being and to tell me about a phone call you had with Wes is utter bullshit.” He let out a laugh. “I’m not mad about it. I’m just waiting for you to be honest with yourself about why you’re really here.”
I sighed. “I didn’t realize it was such a problem to want to get out of the house for a bit and spend some time with a friend.”
“Care to enlighten me on what’s so bad about being home?”
I didn’t.
I really didn’t.
I didn’t want to confess that I hadn’t wanted to be home for fear that I’d be alone with my thoughts again. Or because I could still picture what I’d done with Jules in my bedroom that one night. And because I needed something to distract me from my phone.
If I’d been smart, I would’ve gone to Vic’s place today instead of coming here. He wouldn’t have been thinking like Jamie at all. If anything, he’d likely have tried to come up with plans for a fun night out. Maybe that would have been the wiser choice.
Even right now, I was itching to go in search of myphone, which I’d purposely left on the counter in Jamie’s kitchen. My fingers had hovered over that one name far too many times for me to count in the last couple of weeks.
“Nothing’s bad about it.”
Jamie wasn’t satisfied with that response. “Are you sure? It seems like you’ve got something gnawing at you. It might help to admit that and actually talk about it with someone.”
I shook my head. “When did you become a therapist?”
“It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you’ve got some free time on your hands.” Laughter filled the air before Jamie got quiet. “I’m serious, Beau. We’ve danced around this for long enough. Tell me what’s going on, so I can return the favor and help you the way you guys helped me.”
Where Vic wouldn’t have even acknowledged there was a problem, and Talon would have been too overbearing about it when it came to what I was dealing with, Jamie probably was my best option for trying to sort through this disaster of a situation I’d created for myself.
After letting out a long breath, I grabbed a seat and admitted, “It’s Jules.”
He chuckled. “I figured that much out already. But I guess I’m curious about this now, because the last time we discussed her, you insisted it wasn’t serious.”
“It wasn’t. It’s not.” I shook my head, feeling so frustrated. “Technically, there’s nothing going on between us now.”
That news surprised him, his head tipping to the side. “That doesn’t sound good. What happened?”
I wasn’t quite sure where to begin. “She asked me to attend the birthday party her family was throwing for her.”
His brows shot up. “Birthday party?”
I nodded. “Yep. There’s the other thing. Evidently, her family is big on celebrations.”
“I get that it’s not really your thing, but is that honestly a big problem?”
Shrugging, I admitted, “I probably would’ve had an issue either way, but I think what makes it worse is that she told me more about her family.”
My mind drifted back to learning the truth. A Westwood. Jules was a member of the most well-known family in this town, probably even the state of Pennsylvania. People from all over the world knew about her family.
