Page 42 of Inevitable
That had him collapsing next to me in laughter, so I took the opportunity to throw one last pillow in his face. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close as we both laughed for a minute longer.
My belly hurt from laughing. Then it seemed to hurt for a whole other reason. Jay had graduated and would be moving into a whole new world of acting and fame. He’d already come close to all of it.
He and his brothers had already been named “Most Eligible Bachelors” in magazines. When Vick met us, she’d jokingly named them Brey’s Bachelor Boys, and Rome had been an honorary mention in her book. She couldn’t believe how down-to-earth Jay still was and it scared me to think he may not be one day.
He was on the cusp of it, just out of their reach, just far enough away from the spotlight that we could still have these moments, still have each other, still be best friends.
I wanted to put him in a damn jar, close it, and never let him out. “I’m going to miss you, Jay.”
“Miss me?” He said, his half-smirk back in place, ready to smooth things over right away. “I’m not going anywhere you can’t reach me.”
“You will,” I sighed. “You and I both know it.”
He squeezed my shoulder and winked at me. “You can come with me.”
“Sure, and I’ll just chase women out of your place every day.”
“Someone’s got to be my watchdog.”
“Hire a security team then!”
“Because that’ll look good in the tabloids: ‘Jay’s Bodyguards Carry Another Woman From His Premises.’”
“If it was me, they’d make up something even worse.”
He sighed and unwrapped his arm from me. “Most of the tabloids love you, Brey.”
“Most of them write totally made-up stories about us, Jay.”
“Well, the stories sell.”
“Right. So, that makes it okay. I can look like your understanding girlfriend in the tabloids every so often as long as they are nice about it.” I sneered.
“I haven’t seen you in one in a while.”
“Why are you defending them?” I crossed my arms.
“Because,”—he stood up and started pacing—“I know you.”
I blinked at him when he looked at me to respond.
He sighed. “This will be your way of getting out of going to my premiere with me.”
Before I could make an excuse, he just waved it off. “I want you there, Brey. This is me making it, me being where I want to be, and I want my best friend there.”
I sighed because he was right. I was building to that. We both knew I didn’t want to go. “It’s not that I don’t want to be there to support you, it’s just—”
He stopped me, “If you feel like you can’t handle it, I get it.”
He’d lost his smile and the sparkle he always had in his eyes.
I pursed my lips and smoothed my hair back a little. “I can handle it.”
My voice sounded surer than I felt.
After Jay left, I went to lie down, wondering if my decision to sleep with Rome would end up ruining my small circle of friends. I knew that was Jay’s intention. I knew he wanted me to think about my actions, to question myself, to second guess my decision. I didn’t want to let his words affect me. Yet, I lay there staring at my ceiling and wondering if my self-destruction had bled over into the destruction of our group.
I sighed and stared and stared, hoping the dark sky would lull me to sleep.
