Breakdown 2-18-21 #1
{{Friday, February 5th
Kenner}}
I nearly had a panic attack on my plane yesterday morning. I hadn't heard from Andrew yet and I had to give Sasha an answer when I got to the arena. I had just got settled on the plane, hadn't taken off yet when I pulled my phone out getting ready to call him.... but my phone rang in my hand. I didn't even get to say hello, Andrew said two words to me, then hung up. “I'm in.” I sat back with a smile on my face and very relieved. We may lose since we haven't been in a competitive ring together in years, but even that was preferable to just giving up. At the show, I kicked things off, made my statement showing off both title belts, called David Helms disrespectful.... Selena did Selena things by getting involved and cheapshotting me when it had nothing to do with her.... whatever. I let her think she got the upperhand for now, I am not concerned with her fucking hero complex or her sudden desire for my title now that Ace Marshall waved it in front of her like a cat toy on a string... oh wait, that would have been Regan. But you know what I mean.
Anyway, with the subject of my replacement partner no longer a source of stress now that Andrew had agreed, I couldn't wait to get home and have at least one day to relax before getting into full preparation mode. Andrew would be coming back to work out together some more in a few days but for now? I had at least today to myself.
One of the best things about SCW ceasing house shows, is that I am now home on the weekends. I took the opportunity to call Reece from the plane and see if he was interested in resuming our dog walks on the lake levee. Football was over now too, for the Saints anyway, so his schedule was clear, at least until something he called training camp, which was in August, I think. So, he agreed and after I got home and took the luggage in, I got ready and grabbed Donatella and walked next door to meet Reece and Benson. Jaina seemed happy that he and I were picking up what started our friendship in the first place and introduced her to him... Donatella and Benson making friends, causing us to decide to take them for walks together. That evolved into he and I going running together without the dogs, cause Tella is too little to keep up. Today though, we brought them. Just walking would be a good chance to catch up. Things had been weird and maybe a little tense since the whole thing with Jaina and the abortion, then there was the Pool Incident, which I really hoped he wouldn't bring up... but I was looking forward to maybe getting back to the way things were before.
It's a chilly day, especially since there is always a breeze coming off the lake, but the constant movement walking down the levee kept me from being too cold. Once Reece and I got up to the levee and moving down the trail, he breaks the silence first.
“I'm really glad we did this, I know things have been a little weird over the last few weeks.”
“A little?” I grin.
“Okay, a lot. And for more than one reason. I actually wanted to talk to you about one of them.”
“If you say the word 'pool' I'm going home.”
Reece laughs. I'm not kidding. “No, not that. Never that. I meant Jaina.”
“Oh. What about her? I thought you worked things out?” I mean, he spent the night with her at my house, for God's sake.
“Oh, we did. I just wasn't sure how much she told you about how things worked out.”
“Um, well... just that you'd thought about it and understood her side and thought it was worth trying again.”
“That's pretty much it, sparing details.”
“I'm not sure I want to know details. That's between you and her.”
“Well, I wasn't going to give you a play by play of the night I ended up staying overnight with her...” That was the same night as the Pool Incident. I give him a sideways look and he smirks at me. “Although I will say that was when things really became clear that we were giving this whole thing a real shot.”
“I assumed that. And I'm glad for that, I really am. You know I was very skeptical about this from the start, but I actually think you're good for each other. And hey, it means I didn't leave the church over her abortion for nothing.”
Reece stops in his tracks and stares at me. “You did what?”
I shrug like its not a big deal, even though it really is. “Yeah. I tried asking the priest for advice or... I don't even know what. I got nothing but judgment in return. He actually called both of us whores. I don't need that in my life.”
“Holy shit.” I raise an eyebrow. “Pun not intended.” We both grin and continue walking.
“Yeah it was pretty bad. Probably overdue though, I was trying to be something I'm not because of how my mom raised me. But that's no way to be happy.”
“It's really not. I never understood how people could be happy living their life in service to an invisible being.”
I grin. “You and Dom should talk more, that sounds like something he would say.”
“Smart man.”
I grin. “It sounds like a big deal, Dom thought it was, but for me it was just what I needed to do for Jaina. She needed me more than any god did.”
“I see where she gets her loyalty to you, you're just as loyal to her.”
“I've always been protective of her. She had a not so great childhood, and I just want her to be happy.”
“She told me about some stuff growing up. She's amazingly strong for everything she's dealt with. I bet she has you to thank for some of that.”
“I'd like to think so. Sometimes I wonder though how much is actual strength and how much is for show. She can be like her mom in that way. Pretend everything is fine when it's actually a dumpster fire.”
Reece stops walking again and faces me. “That's not just a random statement, is it? You're worried about her.”
I laugh, halfway scoffing really. “I'm always worried about her. It's a state of being.”
“Yeah, but I mean specifically.”
“Maybe.... I don't really know if I should tell you though.” The truth was that this morning on the flight home Jaina had been buried in her phone texting. I thought it was Reece so I made a joking comment, and she corrected me and told me it was Jordan. Imagine my horror.
“I think I know. You found out she's been talking with her ex.”
I blink a few times. “I... yeah. How did you-”
“She told me. Part of this second chance thing is being up front.”
“I see. I wish she would have told me, I only figured it out this morning on the flight home.”
“She said she didn't want you to get the wrong idea. And she showed me the texts. It's all innocent stuff. The ex was worried about Sienna after she was hurt.”
“Huh. I mean, that's what Jaina told me, but she didn't show me. Did you ask to see it?” If so, that's a little overboard...
“No. She just wanted to make sure I knew the truth. This was last week sometime, though. Was she still asking about Sienna?”
“I have no idea. I didn't see it. She just told me that was why they were in contact, and she was replying to be civil. I'm going to tell you what I told her though, I'm afraid of the same thing happening again, Jordan pulling her back in.”
“I don't think that's going to happen.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, she told me that the whole thing with her was pretty much a distraction from the problems with me. You know, hiding things. Obviously, that isn't an issue now.”
“Hmm. I guess that's what she meant when she said she used Jordan, too. But I don't know... Jordan just has a way of getting to her.”
“You think Jordan can still manipulate her?”
“I do. Maybe she really isn't doing it on purpose, or maliciously... but that doesn't mean it can't happen. I didn't really say much to Jaina about it, I have been trying to let her do her own thing, you know? Stop telling her what to do.”
“Treat her like an adult?”
I grin. “Yeah. She made a mess of things at first but she's doing better. I would hope she learned her lesson about Jordan, but.... well, I know what it's like to try to get away from someone who knows all the right things to say. It's not easy.”
“Maybe I should talk to her about it. She might be more receptive if it came from me.”
“That's between you, I'm not going to say do it or don't do it.” I give him a look though. I hope he picks up on the fact that yes, I actually want him to do it.
“Understood.” Reece nods once. Yes, he got it. We start walking again. “You don't need to be stressing over this anyway, you have enough to worry about. Things heating at SCW for you. And I saw that internet picture...”
I roll my eyes. “Hasn't everyone?”
“Probably. You don't seem all that upset about it."
"I mean, I posed for it. I just hate that the vultures think I was actually naked. They should know better about me by now, I would never do that."
"You sounded good on the morning show though. I bet it blows over.”
“I hope so. I'm tired of the fucking vultures trying their best to ruin my life. It's always something, every year.” I shake my head.
“I can relate, they came at me pretty hard when I was injured. After everything about my ex came out.”
“What in that situation could they have possibly tried to taint you with?”
“According to the tabloids, I was a-” He makes air quotes with his fingers. “-”hostile patient,” and drove her to cheat by treating her bad.”
I shake my head. “I swear the things these people will come up with to get clicks. They tried to say my marriage ended because I cheated on him with Dom.”
“Yeah, I remember reading that. I never believed it.”
I smile. “Thank you. I don't believe you were an asshole, either.”
“Appreciate that.” He smiles back.
“If I thought that, I wouldn't let Jaina anywhere near you, grown woman or not.”
“I believe it.”
I make a face. “Ugh, don't say that phrase.”
Reece laughs.
We stopped at the pier as usual, then made our way back, continuing to catch up on things. I answered his questions about SCW, told him how Sienna was doing. He explained to me what training camp is, and talked about being nervous about next football season, since they didn't know what their quarterback was going to do. I don't really care about football, but I listened, because that's what friends do. When I got home and watched Donatella immediately curl up in one of her beds, worn out, I felt like things were finally getting back to some kind of normal. From before Jaina got pregnant, before me and Dom had problems. It made me happy that things seemed to be settling down and Reece and Jaina were trying to make things work. It gave me encouragement that eventually things would be back to normal between me and Dom, too. It's been better, but not the way it was before yet.
* * * * *
I had a shower and I've just finished getting dressed and am brushing my damp hair out when my phone rings. I grab my phone and see it's Sara Claiborne. I take a deep breath and sit on the edge of the bed before answering.
“Hi, Sara.”
“Bree, good afternoon. How are you?”
“Had a great morning, actually. And yourself?”
“I had an informative morning. Whether or not it's great depends on perspective.”
“I take it that means your investigation is done?”
“It does.” My stomach does a flip. I almost hope the leak did come from someone at Dior, cause the alternative meant Lancelot Crane, and I didn't want to deal with that. Sara continues. “Only five people at Dior ever had access to those files. Myself, the man responsible for that particular campaign, Nick Smith-”
“I remember Nick.” He was an overly anxious man but a good person under it all.
“Of course. The others were the team tasked with turning the photos into ads. Doing the airbrushing, adding the wording, that sort of thing. Two men and a woman. All of us are still working with Dior, and we've verified that the rejected shots were deleted when they should have been. Our IT department checked our servers and verified they do not exist.”
“Was IT able to tell if they had been copied first?”
“I was told our servers have keyloggers and trackers to monitor that sort of thing, as a lot of our work is of course confidential. A far as our tech could tell, they were only ever sent from one machine to another for work purposes, never copied onto anything external. But, all five of us agreed to have our personal computers inspected, just to be absolutely sure no one copied them. Everything was clean. We are as sure as we can possibly be that the photograph was not leaked from Dior.”
I sigh hard. “Okay. I appreciate you taking this so seriously and looking into everything.”
“Of course, we had to reassure you as well as our Board of Directors. Something like this originating from us could have been devastating.”
“I understand, but I am thankful anyway, even though the results mean that there's only one other likely possibility, and I was very much hoping against it.”
“You mean Mr. Crane.”
“Yes.”
“Are you afraid of him, even though he's in prison?”
I want to explain, but I can't have the truth come out, not now. “Can I speak candidly, off the record?”
“Of course.”
I have a slight hesitation in trusting Sara, but decide that once she hears it, she'd understand.
“The allegation about that photoshoot with Crane, you remember it?”
“It's impossible to forget it, we lost a lot of money. We lost you.”
I suppose it was a stupid question. “The last time you and spoke, it sounded like you believed the story.”
“I admit I had my suspicions based on things you said, but-”
“It was true.”
I hear Sara sigh. “Did he leak the story?”
“No... that was someone else, very long story that I don't feel like getting into. But I see why you asked. To answer your question though... yes, he scares me. I was coerced.”
“Bree... why didn't you say so when I asked you that very question?!”
“I just told you, he scares me. It wasn't physical.... I hadn't even realized I was manipulated into it until later. He just... talked me into it. Everything he said made sense. Until afterwards and I went home and I thought, Oh my God, what did I do? I confronted him when the story broke, I wanted him to deny it. He threatened me that day. Put his hand around my throat-”
“My God.”
“He later confronted me at a public event, grabbed my throat again with a hundred people in the room. He isn't afraid of anyone or anything, he thinks he's untouchable. He scared me before we knew he was a killer. If I had admitted that coercion to you then, and it became a story? I could quite literally be dead right now.”
“And you think he can get to you even now from prison?”
“I don't put anything past him. I don't want to make any kind of public statement right now about this picture that even hints that we think he is behind it. I don't want to draw his attention.”
“Is there any other way this photo could have come out, though? He's the only other person who has it.”
“I don't know, Sara. Maybe an assistant? Or someone broke into his studio or hacked his computer, I have no idea. All I know is that right or wrong, putting it out there that we think he did this is a bad idea. I can't say anything until I know more.”
“I understand, and I'm very sorry you have to go through this. I feel responsible, it was my idea to hire him for that shoot.”
“Stop it, no one knew back then that he was crazy.” Well, Sienna had run ins with him and knew he was... strange. But not a murderer.
“I suppose you're right. If there is any way I can help you, please don't hesitate to call me.”
“Is that coming from you, or Dior?”
“Both.”
“I appreciate that, more than you know. Thank you Sara.”
As soon as we end the call, I dial Sienna. For a minute I thought I was going to get her voicemail but she finally answers.
“Bree! How are you, sweetie?”
“Hey babe. Are you busy?”
“I was just getting out of the bath. And you didn't answer my question. Is something wrong?”
“Maybe. I just heard from Sara Claiborne, from Dior. The picture didn't come from them.”
“Shit. Is she sure?”
“Their IT people checked into things. They're sure.”
“So it had to be Crane.”
“We can't be sure of that, though. He had people working for him, anyone of them could have-”
“They could have. But they didn't. I just know in my gut this is him.”
“Okay, Let's assume you're right. Why?”
“That, I haven't figured out yet. He had many more problems with me than with you. Maybe this is just the beginning, maybe there's more coming.”
“Sienna.... I'm sorry, but you sound a little paranoid right now.”
“You don't know what he is like!” I pull the phone away from my ear as Sienna screams. Her tone lowers and I put it back. “-many things I never told you, I didn't want you to worry, but the man is psychotic, okay? I was there that day when he confessed to the killings, he tried to kill Regan in front of me!”
“Sie....” I knew she was there but she had never told me that.
“If he is really behind this, he isn't stopping with one leak. This was the warning shot. More will come. Of more people. And we have to figure out why and what he wants.”
“Okay. We will. I believe you, he's... insane. We will figure something out.”
“No. You do your best to not draw any more of his attention. I don't know why he started with you, but I will not allow him to fuck with you any further. I will do what I can here to try to find out what's going on, who did this... what Crane wants.”
Sienna had that tone to her voice, the one she had when she previously spoke about getting back at Jordan, and then Kelcey. This just turned into her next obsession. And honestly, that worries me more than the photo leak. If it's not him, Sienna could very well accuse him wrongly and piss him off. But I know how to handle this.
“Okay. Do what you feel you need to do, but Sienna.... please be careful. You don't want him to know you're asking questions.”
“I know what to do, I still have contacts in modeling. Don't worry about this at all, sweetie. I will figure this out.”
“Okay. I trust you.”
“Good. Now focus on your upcoming matches, you and Andrew need to complete our goal, and then you need to kick every ass Ace is throwing at you. SCW needs you as champion.”
“I will throw everything I have into it babe, don't worry.”
“Love you, bitch.”
“Love you, bitch.”
I stare at the blank screen of my phone after ending the call. I hope Sienna knows what she's doing, this could get ugly very quickly if Crane hears she is asking questions before we have any kind of proof. I hope she's wrong.... but I'm afraid she's right.
{{Monday, February 8th
Kenner}}
It's mid-morning, judging by the way the sunlight slants through my bedroom widow, when I wake up. Dom is holding me from behind, we're both buried under the blankets. I don't need to turn around to see if he's awake though, I know he is... cause he's what woke me up, running his hand up and down my side, over my hip, up my ribs, around my waist. It's my favorite way to wake up. I snuggle back against him.
“Good morning, baby.”
“Hey... morning.” I feel a kiss on my neck. “Hope you don't mind me waking you.”
“Mmm, not when you do it like that.” I turn onto my back and give him a smile. He leans over and kisses me.
“Figured it was only fitting for the day.”
“Oh, is it a special day?” I let a smirk spread slowly.
“Funny. You're very funny.” I get another kiss.
“Happy anniversary, baby. I love you.” I reach up with one hand and rub his cheek. He does the same to me.
“I love you too, Bree. So much.”
We kiss again for a few seconds, before he pulls away and lays back next to me. I get closer, laying my head on his shoulder, his arm around me holding me close.
“Been a wild two years, huh?”
“There were some wild moments, yeah. But we're still here.”
“I admit there was a time or two I wasn't sure we'd keep it together.”
“You scared me that one time. Last year.”
Dom nods, he knows I'm talking about when he was filming Deep Cover and he left here, to stay in LA to finish the movie after we had a massive argument.
“That... was rough. I was scared, too. But we made it. I think we can get through anything.”
“I think so, too. I know its been a little bumpy lately, and I started it with the-”
“Shh. Don't. That's done. We got past it.”
I sit up just a little so I can look at him. “Did we?”
“Yeah. It's done.”
I smile. “Okay.” I'm not sure if it's really done, time would tell on that. But I can tell that in this moment he means it. I lean back again and we lay quietly for a minute or two, just enjoying being together.
“You know, it was pretty insane to have thought just a few months ago that we could have had a wedding today.”
“Oh my God, yeah. I was optimistic at the time but there's no way we could have pulled that off. Not with how crazy everything got. I mean... SCW, Sienna's accident, the stupid picture... our bullshit.”
“It has been crazy lately, hasn't it? I guess I was overly optimistic.”
“You were trying to prove something.” I smirk, to let him know I'm not upset about it anymore. “But I guess the argument or misunderstanding or whatever you want to call it, had a silver lining.”
“Oh definitely. I'd say a few. We figured out some communication issues. We both worked through some lingering bullshit about the past. And most importantly.... we didn't have to rush a wedding that would have stressed everyone out and we wouldn't have really enjoyed.”
“Maybe we should argue more. The making up was very enjoyable.”
Dom laughs a little. “That was fun, I agree. But you know, we can do that without the ugly part first.”
“There's an idea.”
“Like today. Instead of running around stressing like we would have been if we'd stuck with my original insane idea, we can do whatever we want.”
“Relaxing all day does sound a lot better than me acting like Bridezilla.”
“You would do that?”
“Hi, have you met me?”
Dom laughs. “Good point. The thing is though, we can plan things from far out, so that when it does happen, there's nothing to stress over, because we'll know everything will be perfect.”
“That's a good idea. Very far out. Like... a year.”
“That far, huh?”
“Maybe. I don't know. I kinda don't want to figure that out right now.”
Dom sighs and pulls me closer, hugging me tight. “You're right. That isn't relaxing. So, what do you want to do today?”
“Hmm. Can we just stay in bed all day and do nothing?”
Dom sits up and looks at me with a grin. “If we stay in bed all day, there is no way that nothing will happen.”
I laugh. “You know what I mean. All I want to do today is be with you.”
“Well then... what the champion wants, the champion gets.” He kisses me again. “But first... what do you want for breakfast? I'll make it and bring it to you.”
I put my finger under my chin in a mocking thinking pose. “Umm.... how about you? In the shower.” I smirk.
“I like the way you think.”
He kisses me again before quickly getting up. He takes my hand and pulls me out of bed. We then go into the bathroom, to have our 'breakfast.'
Later, we are dressed and downstairs in the den. Dom made an actual breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. Simple but good. We both have coffee now as we sit on the couch.
“I wish every morning could be this satisfying.”
“But then it wouldn't be special.”
“I guess you have a point.” I grin over my coffee mug.
“Are you ready for what I have for you?”
“Didn't you just give me something?” I smirk.
“Yeah.... I did, but I have something else.” I'm teasing of course. I'm also a little embarrassed, I didn't get any anniversary gift, I didn't think we were doing that. He reaches over to the coffee table, into a drawer that's built in. It's mean for remotes or such I guess, but Dom pulls out a yellow envelope. I'm surprised, I didn't think that drawer was that big. He hands it to me.
“What's this?”
“Remember the prenuptial agreement your lawyer drew up a few months ago? Well, I dug it out of your desk, and read it over. I know we were supposed to do that together, but other things kept getting more attention. But, after clearing the recent hurdle, the talk we had last week or so.... I thought it was something that should be done. So, I read it... and I signed it.”
I open the envelope and pull out the papers. It's five pages thick, mainly because legalese is way more wordy than it needs to be. If it was written in plain English, it probably could have been two pages. I flip through, I already know what's in it, I had looked it over right after Rodney Sharp sent it to me. And the last page has one signature, Dom's. My space is waiting for me. I look up.
“Dom... “ I don't know what else to say. I had shoved this into my desk after we had the discussion that led to postponing the wedding. We didn't need it right away if we weren't getting married right away, and we put it off because... well, the short version is he didn't trust me.
“I was hoping this would be a sort of... sign, or gesture I guess, that I know I was being irrational before. You were absolutely right to call me out on it, and suggest we weren't ready to do this if I kept questioning you. So-"
"It's not like I didn't do anything wrong."
"I know, but my reaction wasn't proportionate to your mistake. I hate to say it, but I treated you more like you cheated, instead of just tried to piss the guy off."
"I never thought of it that way, but now that you put it like that..." I kinda shrug. He isn't wrong.
"It was asinine to feel like I couldn't trust you over that. You were right, it was never a you problem, it was a me problem. But this-" Dom taps the papers I'm holding. "-is I guess my way of officially telling you, showing you, that I've got my head straight, my heart is in the right place.... I do trust you, completely. I love you and I want to marry you."
I smile, before tossing the papers onto the coffee table, then lunge forward to hug him.
"I love you, too." I pull back a bit, cause leaning over that way wasn't comfortable. "I know you want to marry me baby, I just wanted to do it for the right reasons. I believe that's where we are now." The fact he signed the paperwork proves that. If he still had any doubts about trusting me, he wouldn't have taken that step. I'm not even mad anymore that he struggled with it, after he told me what was stuck in his head, I got it. He had to figure it out himself, though. And I'm very relieved and ecstatic that he did. Dom gives me a smile, almost nervous.
"Just thought today was a good day for me to give that to you. I don't have any other gift... sorry."
"This is the best thing you could have given me. I admit I didn't.... no, wait. I did get you something. Hang on..."
I get up and hurry to the library. I had just remembered there was something I bought weeks ago, in anticipation of things settling down and us choosing another date. But right now is the perfect time to give it to him, instead. I dig in the back of the bottom desk drawer where I hid the little box, then go back into the den, holding it behind my back.
"Okay. I bought this a while back. I was going to give it to you when we picked a new wedding date. But after what you did... it seems fitting that you get it now." I pull my hand out and hand him the little box, a black jewelry box. He gives me a curious look before opening it. Inside is a white gold ring. I smile as he looks at it, then up at me.
"Is this a wedding ring?"
"Yep." I smile bigger.
"Um... you bought my ring?"
"Why not? You bought mine."
Finally, I get a grin from him. "I guess that makes sense..."
"Like I said, I was going to give it to you after we picked a new date. Sort of a pre-wedding gift. But this seemed like a good moment. I know you can't really wear it now, it's not exactly like mine. But now you know it exists, waiting to be there for that day.... like me."
Dom takes it out of the box and looks at it closer. Men's rings aren't supposed to be flashy, so it's plain white gold with five or six very tiny diamond chips inlaid.
"I love it." He starts to put it on, but stops. "Wait... I don't know how this works, am I allowed to see if it fits?"
I giggle. "Yes. It's not the contract itself, silly. If it doesn't, it can be sized."
He grins back, and tries it. "No need for that. Perfect." He then quickly takes it off and puts it back in the box. I can't help but laugh.
"What, afraid keeping it on too long will be bad luck or something?"
"Come on, you know I don't go for that superstitious shit."
"Baby...." I'm still giggling. He shrugs, and cracks a grin.
"Okay, maybe a little.” Said while putting his hand up, thumb and pointer finger apart but almost touching.
"See, this is the kind of ridiculousness I like."
"We'll just put this in your jewelry box upstairs, yeah?"
I laugh again, and he chuckles with me. "Okay. It can go right next to the band that goes with this bad girl." I flash my left hand at him.
"Great idea." He hands the box back to me. I take it, shaking my head and still laughing a little, and set it on the coffee table, incidentally right on top of the papers.
Dom pulls me closer to him and I lean in, as he puts his arm around me. I realize right then that everything in the last few weeks that had pushed us, tested us.... only made this moment possible. We passed the test, we got where we need to be. This is us, the way it's supposed to be. No mistrust, no misplaced intentions... all love. For a short time we thought this day would be the day we were married, but we weren't ready. Not just him... neither of us. I know we are now. Maybe it's time we actually figured out that new wedding date. But not today... today I just want us to be.
* * * * * {{ Jaina }} * * * * *
It was Aunt Bree and Dom's anniversary today, and Jaina had an idea. She didn't want to be in their way for whatever they wanted to do, so she asked Reece if she could spend the day with him, to give Aunt Bree and Dom the house to themselves. She knew that there had been some weirdness going on, starting from when Aunt Bree wore that wedding dress to the Halloween Party on Blake's yacht, and that they could use all the alone time they could get right now to make things better. Besides, no couple wanted a third wheel in the house on their anniversary. Reece was more than happy to agree, and Jaina had actually gone to his house last night.
It's close to noon as the two sit in Reece's living room on the couch, Jaina with her feet up on his lap. Reece was scrolling through Amazon Prime looking for something to watch, as they planned a lazy day just hanging out. Jaina though had her phone out. Reece didn't mind, there wasn't anything playing yet, and Jaina wouldn't be rude enough to be messing with her phone if a movie was on, or they were talking, or something like that. The latest text she got though made her roll her eyes and sigh in annoyance. Reece pats her foot.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing... just one of my friends being dumb.”
“You just sounded irritated.”
“Yeah, stupid dumb, not silly dumb. I'm not answering this. Did you find anything to watch yet?” Jaina puts her phone aside.
“Not yet. You sure it's nothing serious?” Reece gestures towards her phone.
“Positive. Not sure why I replied to the first one.”
“Wait... was that Jordan?”
Jaina closes her eyes and sighs again. She had wanted to avoid saying who it was, but she also isn't going to lie. “Yeah.”
“Still entertaining her, huh?”
Jaina shrugs. “I guess so. I don't want to be rude.”
“Why not? She was pretty fucking rude when she told your business to the world.”
“I know... it's just hard to stay mad at her. I mean, we work together. What if I keep being a bitch and then I'm told to interview her for something?”
“Then you do your job and if she's unprofessional, she looks bad, not you.”
“I guess so... sometimes I just wonder if I was too hard on her. Like she really thought she was acting right and-”
“See, this is exactly what I was afraid of.”
Jaina pulls her feet off Reece's lap and sits up. “What do you mean?”
“You talking to her. I don't like it.”
“It's not a big deal.”
“I think it is. Matter of fact, I don't want you to do it anymore.”
Jaina frowns. “What? You're picking my friends?”
“Is she really your friend, though?” Reece sits up too, putting the TV remote down and facing Jaina by turning sideways on the couch. “Think about it, Jay. All she does is get into your head and cause trouble. Look what happened last time you tried to be just friends.”
“Last time I was dumb and met up with her because I needed a distraction. This is just texts, why is that such a big deal?”
“I thought you said it started as just texts before, too.”
Jaina sighs hard, annoyed. “You're really making an issue out of nothing.”
“If it's not a big deal, then it shouldn't be a problem to just not talk to her. Right?”
“I.... that's not fair.” Jaina frowns. It sounded like a trick.
“Just because you don't want to admit I'm right doesn't make it not fair.”
“Reece!” Her frown turns into a scowl.
“She upset you, okay? I saw how mad you were about that video she did, and it just seems to me, from the outside looking in, that she pulled you in then spit you out when she was done. I just don't want you to end up manipulated and used again.”
“Oh my gods, why does everyone think I can so easily manipulated? Aunt Bree didn't like the fact I was trying to be civil with her either, she thinks Jordan is trying to pull something. Do you both really think I'm that stupid?”
“Of course not.” Reece's tone was softer, and he reaches over and grabs Jaina's hand. “I'll admit that Bree and I talked about this, and we don't think you're stupid. You're a sweet person, you have a good heart... and that makes you maybe too trusting.” Jaina looks down, she had to admit there could be some truth in that. “Neither of us think you and Jordan are good for each other, as friends or anything else. It's ended badly twice already. I'm just trying to look out for you, I don't want to see you hurt again.”
Jaina just looks at him a few moments. “I wouldn't let that happen. I haven't seen her and I don't plan to. I just didn't want to be in some, like... constant war, backstage.”
“This is what I'm trying to tell you babe.... your tendency to see the best in people and be nice to keep the peace is what makes you vulnerable. From what you told me, it sounded like she took advantage of you when you were in a bad place before, who's to say she won't take advantage of your kindness this time?”
“I don't know... I think she learned her lesson. I know I did.”
“If so, then I think you know deep down that leaving her alone is for the best. I mean, she annoyed you just now.”
Jaina glances at her phone. “Maybe you're right.”
“You know I am. Your aunt, too. I know you don't like being told what you should do, you want to make your own decisions. Believe me, I respect that. But that's no reason to keep engaging in something toxic, just to be spiteful.”
Something clicked in Jaina's head at those words... maybe she was pushing back against this simply because she didn't want to be told what to do. The truth was, she was still mad at Jordan, and had only been answering her because she believed that Jordan cared about Sienna's condition. They were friends at one point, after all, and Jordan might have screwed everything up between them, but she wasn't a monster.
“Okay. You're right. I don't owe it to her to be nice, and maybe I am just resisting because I got tired of people trying to tell me what to do. So okay, I'll leave her alone.”
“You will?”
Jaina nods. “But.... I don't want to just ghost her. She'd just keep texting and texting and not get the hint. I want to tell her to her face that we can't talk anymore.”
Reece thinks about this a moment, and Jaina thinks he's going to object. But, he nods agreement instead. “Okay. That's a good idea. No room for misinterpretation that way.”
“That's what I'm thinking. No room for debate, either.”
Reece smiles at her, and pulls her hand he was still holding up to his lips to kiss it. “I know you don't want to be blunt or cold, but sometimes you have to be to protect yourself.”
“Yeah.... I'm figuring that out.” Jaina was starting to understand why Aunt Bree acted the way she did sometimes.
“The fact that this is so hard for you just proves me right, you're good-hearted and don't want to hurt anyone, even if they hurt you. It's a big part of why I love you.”
Jaina sits back a bit, startled, her heart having leapt to her throat. “You.... what?”
“Don't act so surprised.” Reece grins. “How else would it have been so easy for me to forgive you and start this over?”
“I... didn't know. I mean I hoped that you had cared enough to see my side and understand, but...”
“Come on, you can't tell me you don't feel it, too. Right?”
“I....” Jaina didn't know what to say. She did care about him, a lot, more than she had about anyone in a long time, since Jordan. But...
“Jay...” Reece reaches up and rubs her cheek with the back of his hand, an intense yet gentle gaze into her eyes.
“I... do. I feel it, too.”
Cupping her face with both hands, Reece gives her a kiss, then presses his forehead against hers. She closes her eyes.
“Then say it. I love you, Jaina. Tell me you love me.”
Jaina can feel her heart beating in her throat. It had been a long time since she said that to anyone, and it scared her. But it seemed to mean so much to him, so....
“I... I love you.”
She wasn't even sure if it was true until she heard the words in her own voice. Reece exhaled heavily, almost in relief, before pulling her close to kiss her again. Jaina wraps her arms around his shoulders, clasping her hands behind his neck. Reece then pulls her towards him, to sit on his lap, her legs around him. Jaina smiles through the movement even as they're still kissing... sitting on him that way is her favorite, and she loves that he knows it. The last thought in Jaina's mind before giving Reece her full attention, was that she couldn't wait to tell Aunt Bree about this. She would be so happy for them.