I hesitantly made my way forward. “Hey, Steve,” I asked him as I tried not to look at any part of his exposed skin.
“Yes, JimJem?”
“Can you help me carry out the drink dispensers, please?”
“Course I can.” He walked in front of me, and I almost groaned out loud at his glorious shoulders and back muscles. In the kitchen, he deftly picked up five of the dispensers, and I carried two. We went back outside, and I organised my workstation. “I texted Dee,” he told me.
“Okay, I’ll be fine until she gets here.” I smiled.
“Good, see you after.” He grinned, and then he was taking up his position with Warren and David. They seemed to have taken the last spot, which meant they would be the first one to wash cars.
Heather dashed past me in tracksuit bottoms and a cropped T-shirt. “I’m already freezing,” she laughed. “Thank God I put on a padded bra; my nipples would be giving everyone a show.”
The first car rolled to a stop at Steve and the guys. I watched. Everyone watched. However, their system was fundamentally flawed. Each group washed a car. There were four groups made up of three or four people, male and female. I tilted my head as I watched them. Surely it would make more sense for a car to roll through the groups in stages? First group soaked the car, second group lathered, third group rinsed, fourth group dried. It would be continuous. I made a mental note to tell Steve when he finished with the first car, but then I got my first customer.
“You got any coffee there?” the older man asked me.
“I do.” I made him a cup as an older lady came out of the shelter, carrying boxes. She laid all the boxes out and took the lids off them. My eyes widened as my mouth watered. Screw the muscles, look at these delicious homemade baked goods! There were caramel biscuits, brownies, Bundt cakes, cookies, peppermint snowballs, lemon bars, cakes. I was doomed.
“Hey there, I’m Maggie.” She was wearing a “Denver Animal Shelter” polo shirt. “I thought there were two of you?”
“Just me so far.” I smiled. “You cannot leave me alone with these,” I confessed. “I’m going to eat them all.”
“Well, that’s what they’re here for.” Her smile was wide.
“Do I need to pay for these?” the man I had been serving asked as he pulled out his wallet.
Maggie went to say no, and I cut her off. “You don’t, but if you want to donate anything for them, you can.”
“Sounds good.” He dropped two dollars onto the side of the table and took two of the treats. “Thank you.” He walked off to the side, and I watched jealously as he bit into his brownie.
“Take what you want and put them in this box,” Maggie told me discreetly. “I’ll keep them for you.”
I hurriedly selected four and apologised for being greedy. She laughed and then went back inside. Suddenly, I was inundated with people. A queue formed, and I spent the afternoon serving hot drinks and homemade treats, while the gym guys washed numerous cars. At one point I took my jacket, hat and scarf off. It wasn’t really hard work, but it was continuous, and I was glad of it after last night’s texts from Aiden. Dee, whoever she was, never turned up, and because of that, Maggie or one of the other volunteers kept my dispensers full. As the gym crew washed cars, people had the opportunity to have coffee and snacks or go into the shelter and take a look around. If they wanted to stay longer, they could park the car. I realised early on that’s why they weren’t using the conveyor belt system; they wanted to entice people out of their cars.
“How’s it going, JimJem?”
I looked up from the coffee I was pouring and smiled at Steve. He had sweat on his brow and was still shirtless. I looked over at the line of cars and realised there were only a handful left. “Good. It’s been busy.”
“It has.” He smiled as he looked over to the cars.
“You want a tea? I have one peppermint bag left, I kept it for you.” I had remembered Steve didn’t drink caffeine and slipped the tea bag into my pocket.
“You kept me one?” His whole face lit up. “You’re an angel.”
I smiled as I made his tea, and he took it back over to his spot. Then David came over and then Warren. Then the next group filtered over and the next, until all the car washers were served.
“You did amazing.” Heather beamed at me as she drank a coffee. She wasn’t as wet as the guys and still looked magnificent.
“It was nothing, you guys did all the work.”
“Let’s just say we all worked hard,” she suggested, and I nodded. “I have to get back.”
I was rearranging the snacks when a shadow formed over the table.
“Black coffee.”
I looked up, and my smile froze. Levi stood in front of me, and I wasn’t really prepared to see him. “Levi.”
“Jemma.” His look was cold, and I felt my cheeks burn.
“Just black?” I asked as I poured the coffee, noticing that my hands were shaking.
“Yes.”
Another psycho who only drinks their coffee black. “Homemade treat?” I offered.
“No.”
“Okay.” I handed over his coffee.
Levi stood and continued to look at me. He then looked over his shoulder at the car washing area. Steve looked over and straightened up either because of the look of Levi in general or the frozen smile still on my face. “That one?” Levi asked as he turned back to me.
“I’m helping out friends.”
“I’m sure you are.” Levi’s head tilted as he considered me. “I can’t figure you out.”
“I don’t believe I asked you to.”
“He doesn’t have many friends,” Levi told me.
“Having spent some time with him, I can’t say I’m surprised.” Snarky, Jemma.
The corners of Levi’s mouth tightened. “You hurt him.”
“I don’t think it’s possible.”
Levi drank his coffee in two gulps. “Stay away from him.” My mouth dropped open at the order. “I don’t like people who hurt my friends.” Levi tossed a twenty on the table and walked back to his car.
What in the actual hell was that?
“Jemma?” Steve asked me quietly as he parked the car in Tyler’s space. “Are you okay?”
“Huh?” I had been staring off into space, I realised. “Yes! Yes, I’m good.”
“You’ve been really quiet since the blond Viking guy.”
I snorted out a laugh at Steve’s description of Levi. “He would make an excellent Viking, wouldn’t he?” I mused as I got out of the car.
“He would,” Steve agreed and smiled as he took my hand. I didn’t really notice what he was doing until we were on the third flight of stairs.
I stopped climbing. “You’re training me?” I asked him curiously.
“Not at all.”
“You’re increasing the speed we go up the steps.” I looked at him accusingly. I thought about it. “You’ve been doing it every time?”
“You’re what age?” Steve said as he pulled my arm to get me moving.
“Twenty-nine.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“June.”
“Okay, so before you’re thirty, do you want to have clogged arteries and health issues?” Steve asked.
“It’s in three months,” I said dryly.
“Trust me, JimJem, I will have you fit for your birthday.” Steve winked at me.
“Maybe I’m happy!” I wailed. “Maybe I’ve embraced my sloth-like existence and am perfectly content.”
“I call bullshit.”
“I call I don’t care,” I countered.
We were at our floor, and Steve stopped at his apartment door. “You were a great help today, and I know they really appreciated the amount of money you raised for them on the table.”
I had made a significant amount in donations. People had ranged from a couple of dollars to ten dollars. Also, quite a few cars left not only clean and shiny but with a new family member.
“Y
ou’re welcome.”
“See you tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow’s Sunday.”
The door to his apartment opened, and Tyler popped his head out. “She got gas?”
“Enough to get you to work.” Steve handed over the car key.
“Cutting it too fine,” Tyler told him as he stepped out. “Hey, Jemma, gotta run.” He took off down the back stairs, and I noticed he was in jeans.
“He changes at the station,” Steve told me.
“Ah.”
“So tomorrow?”
“I’m not doing any exercise,” I said stubbornly. “Even God rested on Sunday.”
“Have a great evening, Jemma!” Steve was laughing as he went into his apartment.
I made a face at his back and went to my own door. After I hung up my coat and took off my boots, I put my four chocolate brownies in the fridge. I would have them later. I stood in my kitchen, wondering what I was going to do now. I had a good day, and I was energised from being outside and active. I scowled towards my front door—that was a Steve effect.
“It’s Saturday night, Jemma,” I said as I headed to my bedroom. “Saturdays are for books or binge watching.”
I undressed and pulled on my pj’s. With a smile, I decided Saturday was a Supernatural night.
After several episodes of my favourite TV show, I had watched a crime show, which obviously hadn’t been as invigorating as Dean Winchester, as I woke up on the sofa. My phone was lit up, and I reached out for it.
Aiden: I spoke to Levi
I bet you did. I frowned as I thought of Aiden’s friend. I considered his text and decided there wasn’t anything really to say about it and left my phone on the table.
Yawning, I headed to my bedroom. After doing my nightly routine, I climbed into bed. I missed him. It was silly and probably irrational, but I missed Aiden. I missed his smile. I missed his laugh. I missed his knowing smirk. I missed his touch. I felt tears press against my eyes and shook my head in an attempt to knock them back. My hand hovered on my covers as I debated whether to go and get the phone from the living room. What would I say? I spoke to Levi too. He’s a dick, I can see why you’re friends. I couldn’t imagine that going down well.
“I miss you.” I told the empty room. “I miss you so bad it hurts.” I took a breath. “I miss the way you kiss me. I miss the way you breathe me in when you think I’m sleeping.” I felt a tear slip out. “I miss knowing you. I miss you.” I wiped the tear away as it rolled down the side of my face. “I hate that you make me feel like this. I hate that I haven’t had the time to know you properly, but I really do know you.” I turned on my side. “I think you miss me too.” I closed my eyes. “I really hope you miss me too,” I whispered into the darkness.
Wiping the other side of my face, I snuggled down into my blankets and wished for sleep. Images of Aiden flooded my mind as I tossed and turned. I needed a mental cleansing. I needed to wash him from my memory. How? Another man? My mind screamed in protest. I had never been someone to hop from relationship to relationship. In high school, I had a boyfriend senior year. He was nice. We didn’t do anything significant sex wise. I lost my virginity in college to another nice guy. We were together for two years, and then when he transferred to another college for a change in his major, I was happy going it alone until I met Tim. Tim and I hit it off at a friend’s party, and within six months we were living together.
Three men. I had slept with three men in my entire twenty-nine years. I gave a giggle as I thought about it; that sounded wrong. From the age of twenty, I had slept with three men. That was probably why Aiden was having such an impact on me. I was private, secluded…he may have been right when he called me a prude? Then I thought about what we had done in the bedroom together—yeah, I wasn’t a prude. My face flushed as I thought of him moving over me, and my body heated. I sat up abruptly in bed.
“Enough!” I yelled out in the quiet of my bedroom. “For mercy’s sake, Jemma, he is just a man! A lying, cheating, sneaky, evasive, manipulative, arrogant man.” I swung my legs out of my bed and headed to the living room where I snatched my phone up.
Me: Levi is a dick – much like you. I can see why you’re friends. Leave me alone, we have nothing to say to each other. Your chance to talk to me was three weeks ago.
I hit send and instantly regretted it. Ugh, now he knew he was getting to me. He’d be worse. He’d know he was affecting me, and I was acting on my emotions. I marched to my fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine. I glanced at my kitchen clock. It was almost three in the morning. He could be sleeping. He wouldn’t see it until morning, and by then I would have slept.
I could block his number. I hesitated. I could block his number and then not have to deal with him at all. I unscrewed the bottle lid. I took a drink. Yes, I took it right from the bottle, and yes, I judged myself for it. I laughed at myself. God, now I was really in trouble. I could block his number until he came to work, and then I would have to deal with him furious. I had already had a taste of his anger on Friday night. I didn’t want any more of it. I took another swig. If my mother could see me now, she would be horrified. Standing there in long pyjama bottoms, camisole top, hair like a nest, and drinking wine—not even cheap wine—straight from the bottle. Maybe the fact it was good wine softened the blow. Nope, now I’m just insulting the winery.
I screamed in the kitchen. All the anger, all the frustration, all the hurt came out. “Wow, that felt good,” I told my wine bottle as I took another drink.
I heard the knock on my door. Well done, Jemma, you woke the neighbours. And why wouldn’t I have? It’s three in the morning, you stupid woman, and you just screamed bloody murder. The knock came again. Fuck my life.
I went to the front door and saw Tyler there with his hand raised to knock again.
“Hey there, neighbour,” I greeted as I opened the door.
Tyler took one look at me and sighed. It wasn’t until he sighed that I realised I had the wine bottle with me. I saw Phil’s head out of his door too and self-consciously put the bottle behind me.
“You okay, Jemma?” Tyler asked me.
“Yeah, um, saw a spider.”
Tyler’s look spoke volumes.
“Sorry, Phil, overreacted,” I called out. He shook his head and went back inside. “Sorry,” I mumbled to Tyler. “You just finished?”
“Finished at two.” He stared at me. “Just got home and heard your scream.”
“Sorry.”
“Okay, let me in.” Tyler moved forward.
“What?” I looked at him startled.
“I need to check the apartment,” he told me as he physically moved me aside and walked into my living room.
“Tyler!” I closed the door hurriedly and followed him. “I’m fine! I was merely letting out some frustration and didn’t think.”
Tyler nodded and went through to my bedroom. I stood there silently as the humiliation and anger at myself washed over me. He came back a few minutes later. We stood and looked at each other in a stare off, and then Tyler sighed.
“Are we just drinking straight from the bottle, or are there glasses?”
“I have glasses,” I said as I sat on my couch. Tyler nodded and sat beside me. Reaching over, he took the bottle off me and took a drink. He passed it back, and I took a drink too.
“He really fucked you over, huh?”
“I think I fucked myself over,” I admitted with a wry laugh.
“You read too much into something that wasn’t there?” Tyler took another drink.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “He’s…ugh, Tyler, you have no idea.”
“I do.” He smiled sadly at me. “It’s hard when you’re so wrapped up in someone you forget to see that you’re maybe losing yourself.”
“I know he cares for me, I know it.” I leaned back and rested against the back of the sofa. “He tells me I’m his, but I don’t think he’ll ever be mine.” I let out a disgruntled laugh. “And that matters! Do you know
when he told me I was his, like I was a possession or something, I was happy.” I yanked the bottle back from Tyler and took a hearty swallow. “I was happy that he claimed me; he may as well have stuck a flag in me and declared he owned me.”
“That’s a very weird visual, Jemma.” Tyler was grinning at me as he took another drink. “I mean, where does the flag even go?”
I thought about it. It kinda was a strange visual. I started to laugh. “Yeah, okay, let’s forget I said that.” I giggled.
“I can’t.” Tyler started to laugh too. “I just have visions of you with a flag sticking out your butt or something.”
I snort laughed. Genuine snort laughed, and then the two of us dissolved into laughter on my couch. Our laughter trailed off, and I found that I was leaning into Tyler and it was not unpleasant. I went to move away, and he tugged me back into him as his arm went around my shoulders. He passed me the wine, and I took a drink.
“Tell me about him,” he said quietly.
“Why?” I whispered miserably.
“It helps to talk about it.” Tyler’s voice was low in the dark of my apartment. I hadn’t even put the light on. We were sitting in semi darkness with the light from my hall casting the only light in the room. He took the bottle back and took a drink.
“I met him in a coffee shop. I thought he was the model from the cover of the book I was reading. He wasn’t. Obviously. Later that day, I realised he was one of the construction guys in my building doing a refurbishment of the upper floors.” I leaned over and reclaimed my wine bottle. As I retold the office incidents and the night of the gala, I felt all the turmoil of Aiden run through my veins again. I left out who he was married to and the arrangement, but I did say it was a marriage of convenience. “And there you have it. Jemma’s messed up love life.”
“Huh.” Tyler grunted as he shifted on the couch. “That’s a mess alright.” He handed me the empty bottle. “Got anything stronger?”
“Tequila?”
“Sounds perfect.”
I got up and went to the kitchen. The tequila was on the top shelf, and I strained to reach it. The heat of Tyler’s body behind me made me stiffen as he reached for it over my head. He stood back, and we both made our way back to the couch. Without looking at him, I sat down in the same spot, and he folded his body next to me. Tyler opened the bottle and took a sniff.
Her Greatest Mistake Page 23
