by Jamie Knight
“Am I doing it right?”
“Mmm,” I grunt. “Move your hips.” I grab on to her, guiding her up and down. I’ve always loved having a woman on top of me, and, the fact that it’s Jenny, being in this moment is absolutely perfect.
She leans down to kiss me, and I take her hair out of its ponytail. It falls into my face. She picks herself up, and I follow suit. I grab on to the back of her neck, pulling Jenny into an all-encompassing kiss. Her pace quickens, and, soon, our pelvises are banging into one another, my balls smacking into her body. My muscles tense up as I feel my cock grow bigger. I know I’m about to come, so I put my finger on Jenny’s clit and start to rub it. Her body flinches right before she begins quivering.
“Fuck, Jameson.!” Her walls ripple around me right before I shoot my load straight into her warm and welcoming pussy. So much comes out of me that it spills on to Jenny’s thigh, dripping down her skin. She collapses on top of me. I swipe the hair sticking to her face away, so I can look at her. She moves around a bit, so we’re no longer connected, but her body stays on top of me.
Just watching her relax on my chest, I know I’m ready to make this a more concrete thing. I mean, there’s nothing for me to lose here. Jenny and I have incredible sex, and I’ve never played better than when she was in the stands.
The time is now.
“Hey, Jenny?”
“Yeah,” she breathes.
“Let’s get engaged for real.”
She suddenly sits up at my requests, her eyes impossibly wide. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, let’s get engaged, maybe even married someday.” I felt like I was being pretty clear, but I can also see how it might feel kind of sudden.
“You want to get married?”
I pick myself up, resting on my elbows. I don’t want Jenny spiraling, so I’ll need to let her know that I’m serious about this.
“Yeah, I mean, maybe one day. I just feel like we’ve reached a point where we can actually say we’re in a relationship. And since we’re already fake engaged, it’s super easy to turn it into a real engagement. We’ve already laid down all the groundwork.”
“Yeah, but,” she sighs, “why? Are you doing this because I’m your good luck charm?”
I take a deep breath. I fully sit up, so I can take Jenny’s hands into mine. “I don’t want to lose you, okay. You like what we have going on, right?” she nods. “Then let’s get together.”
“But what about when the season ends, or when you retire? What happens to us then?”
“I don’t know,” I shrug. “That’s the future, and, unfortunately, I am not clairvoyant, though it would be hella dope if I was,” I joke. The mood could really use some lightening. Jenny’s probably just a little nervous about the whole thing. I’m sure after a good night’s sleep, she’ll be on board.
“Yeah, I guess you’re not,” she mutters.
She gets out of the bed after a couple minutes, picking up the discarded clothes on the floor. I’m guessing she’s taking her usual bathroom break, and maybe she’ll get herself all ready for bed. I’ll wash my face and brush my teeth once she’s done. It’s not super pressing for me.
I lie back down and wait for my real fiancée to come back. I’m not sure if she’s going to say yes, but I’m feeling hopeful.
I start nodding off and realize she’s been gone a while — at least thirty minutes. I didn’t hear the shower start, so it should have been a quick in and out thing for her. I haven’t really heard any noise coming from the bathroom. I hope she’s okay.
I get out of bed. When I go to the bathroom, Jenny is nowhere to be found. In fact, it doesn’t look like she’s even been in here recently.
“Jenny?”
I wander around the suite, but there isn’t too much space to look through. It looks like it’s deserted with the exception of myself. I do another lap, but there aren’t too many places to go.
The second lap proves fruitless. Did she leave? I didn’t even hear the door. And why? Everything seemed to be going really well. Maybe my proposal was a little off the cuff, but it felt right given our current situation.
Maybe she needed a second to clear her head and get some fresh air. She’ll be back in like thirty minutes. She has to be.
I take a seat on one of the couches, and that’s when I notice that my keys are missing. I’m pretty sure I threw them on top of the table when we got in earlier? I get up and scour the hotel room. They have to be here.
If there not, that has to mean she took them which means she doesn’t plan on coming back. At least not tonight.
Shit!
I find my phone and dial Jenny’s number. “Pick up, pick up. Come on, Jenny.” It rings and rings but ends on voicemail. I call again, but, this time, it goes straight to voicemail. She’s not going to talk to me. Did she just leave me? I never expected her to just run away like that.
What could I have done? I really thought everything was going well. Maybe I was wrong about being a better person now. If someone like Jenny would simply run out on me like that, I must have done something that really upset her. Maybe if I can talk to her, she’ll understand I didn’t mean to hurt her.
Only problem is I don’t have my car to catch up with her. And I’m pretty sure I can’t get an uber to take me across state lines.
Fuck!
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jenny
I feel really bad for leaving Jameson like that. He’s probably confused as all hell, but I couldn’t spend another second in that hotel room with him or I was going to break down. I was about to lose my god damn mind, honestly and truly.
He asked me to actually be his fiancée! He mentioned literal marriage. It was all the buzzwords. And you’d think that that was what I wanted. I’d been dreaming about that day for so long. Longer than I would like to admit.
I mean, Jameson Kendrick in love with me, what a concept! But that isn’t what’s going on, not in the slightest. What’s happening is I fell in love with him again, and, just like before, he doesn’t have feelings for me, not really. I’m just a novelty to him. Someone who makes playing football easier.
And, to top it all off, he still hasn’t remembered me from high school! I probably could have told him weeks ago that we knew one another, but I really wanted him to figure it out on his own. Maybe it would prove that he really did have feelings for me all those years ago.
But it was an exercise in futility because all that it did prove was that Jameson didn’t love me then, doesn’t love me now, and I’m the fool who fell in love with him twice.
I get back to his apartment. There’s no way I can keep living here. It would be way too awkward. Jameson’s going to come back with all kinds of questions, expecting answers.
I can’t face him.
I take the few things I brought with me, packing them all into a duffle. I should at least leave Jameson some kind of explanation. He really has been good to me this entire time, and I’d feel bad leaving him like this without letting him know why. Or a hint as to why.
I take out a piece of paper and lean against the counter. I’m not about to give him the whole laundry list of reasons, but there is something I can tell him.
Jameson, thank you for taking me in when I needed it. I’ve grown to really like you which is why I can’t keep being just your lucky charm. You need to like all of me.
That should more than explain to him my position.
That’s my queue to leave. The only place left me is my parent’s house. I’m planning on telling them that Jameson and I just didn’t work out. Everyone thinks we rushed into this engagement, so it’s a good enough reason to end it. In the end, we really weren’t compatible.
I grab my car keys and my bag. The first tear starts to fall as I am standing right outside the door. I managed to keep it together until now. Maybe because it hadn’t felt real. But I’m officially leaving this guy in my past. I know that’s what I said back in high school, but this feels like the last nail in t
he coffin.
Twice is more than enough times to know that a relationship with Jameson isn’t going to work. I should have realized after the first time, but I was so blinded by him.
I finally leave the apartment, heading out to my car. I left the keys he gave me on the counter next to the note I wrote him. So, even if I wanted to, there’s no getting back inside now.
It’s time for me to say goodbye to Jameson Kendrick for good.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jameson
When I got back to my place, Jenny was gone. All her stuff was packed, and she left me this devastating note. It’s all I’ve been thinking about these past couple of weeks. That’s why she was asking me all those questions before. I was too fucking stupid to realize that it was all hanging in the balance just then
I’ve always been such a god damn idiot.
It doesn’t help that it’s all anyone is talking about. The number of reporters that have hounded me regarding the breakup of my engagement has almost pushed me off the edge. It doesn’t help that my family’s been calling, wondering how I’m holding up. I’ve managed to avoid all of them, even Selena, but I know I’ll have to face them eventually.
But I think what sucks the most is how well I’ve been playing. All the games I’ve been in, that’s what gotten me over the hump of my fear of reinjury. I literally just had to get over myself.
So, even with my mind nowhere close to thinking about winning games, I’m still giving some of my best performances. Because of this, I had to come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t really worried about that. I mean, I was a little bit, but it wasn’t even the main crux of what’s been going on in my head.
My phone rings, and I see it’s my sister. She’s been giving me my space thus far, but I’m sure she is at the edge of her patience. If I keep this up, she’ll be at my door in seconds, demanding to speak with me. I may as well get this over with now.
“Hi, Selena.”
“Jesus Christ, Jameson! Why haven’t you answered any of my texts or calls? It’s been like two weeks. At least let me know that you’re okay.”
“I’m doing fine. It’s just been kind of weird.” That’s an understatement, but I’d rather not discuss my entire emotional state with my big sister right now.
“It must be. I’m surprised that you and Jenny ended the whole thing so early. I thought you guys were staying together until the end of the season.”
We’d never actually discussed an end date. It was all pretty open ended, so we could more go with the flow. But it feels like the flow really fucked me over this time.
“I don’t know, Selena. Honestly, I was a bit blindsided by the whole thing. Jenny left on her own accord, not because it was a part of some arrangement or whatever.” There’s an edge to my voice which I didn’t mean to have. Just having to think about all of this is making me feel angry and depressed.
“So, she left you?”
“That’s one way to put it.”
That’s the only way to put it.
“I’m sorry, Jameson. But, you said you’re fine. I mean, it was a fake engagement, so it must not have hurt too much.”
“That’s not the point.” Selena goes quiet for a second and I’m worried I’m being too harsh. “Sorry, I snapped at you. I’m stressed is all.”
“So, are you upset that Jenny left?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I admit. “She left me this note that said I need to like all of her. I do. You know I thought that she was my lucky charm, but I’ve been playing fine. Maybe I just liked having her there.”
“I think it might be more than that, brother.” I’m about to ask her to explain, but she let’s out a loud sigh. “Well, I really need to get going. I’m having lunch with our parents. I’ll let them know that you’re alive and stuff.”
“Thanks.”
We say goodbye to one another and hang up the phone. I’m left to think about what my sister said. That this whole thing is more than just me liking Jenny’s presence. I’ve grown to need her. She fell into my life and I can’t really imagine what to do now that she’s gone.
I’ve been going through the motions, doing what’s expected of me these past couple of weeks, thinking it didn’t really matter. But, now, I know it does.
Ugh! I’ve been sitting here thinking for way too long, and, now, I might be late for practice. Maybe I can go see Jenny afterwards. I feel like, at the very least, we need to talk.
The TV has been on in the background this whole time. While I was talking with my sister, the news came on. Looks like that annoying reporter Tad’s on screen again. How is he always everywhere all the time? It’s beyond annoying. Does he ever take a vacation? Just fuck off for like two weeks minimum?
I turn up the volume when I see who I think is Carrie, Jenny’s old roommate. I would not forget the face of the woman who tortured my fake fiancée. Even if I never developed these feelings for her, it’s total shit that someone would do the crap Carrie did. I really wish Jenny had let me throw the entire book at the girl. She deserves worse, but, at the very least, she should have spent some time in a jail cell.
“For our viewers who just tuned in, we are sitting here with Carrie Adams, former roommate of Jameson Kendrick’s ex-fiancée, Jenny Foster. Now Carrie, you called in to contest some of the facts the Jameson and Jenny gave the public about their relationship. Would you care to share with the rest of us?”
“Would I ever. Their whole engagement was a total hoax. Jenny was obsessed with Jameson. She concocted this whole plan to get drunk and sneak into the locker room. She was hoping to seduce him.”
“That sounds crazy,” Tad comments, gesturing his eyes.
“Well, Jenny isn’t exactly fully there. She never got over her little high school crush. I mean, he ghosted her all those years ago, and she held some sort of grudge or whatever. I tried to tell her to just let it go, but, no, she really thought she could get him to fall in love with her.”
“So, that part was true. They did go to high school together?”
“Yeah, apparently they were in some geeky club together. Debate or chess or something like that.”
Chess club? Could Jenny be…?
I jump out of my seat and find my yearbook. Flipping through the pages, I find the club photos and see the one for chess club. I see myself standing there, and off to the side, kind of hiding herself is Jenny. And her name is right there under the picture. How could I forget?
How could I FORGET!
Jenny is the girl from chess club. The one I used to flirt with. We’d always play with one another. I knew she wanted to go out on a date, but I never had the time. I kept trying to find any spot in my schedule, but there was so much to do regarding getting recruited and staying in shape. I think I actually told her I would meet her somewhere, but when practice went long, I just blew it off. At the time, I didn’t think it was a big deal. But to her it probably was.
What the actual fuck!
No wonder Jenny got all muddled. She must think I don’t care about her at all. We spent weeks together, and I never put two and two together that we were almost a thing years ago. And, once again, my own idiocy is what prevented the two of us from having something significant.
I probably could have made time to date her in high school. Admittedly, I was starting to get a little self-centered back then. I wanted things to be all about me, and Jenny challenged that.
But I’m not about to make the same mistake again. Some things are more important than being a great football player. In fact, a lot of things are.
I look back at the TV, and Carrie is still giving her interview.
“If Jenny is the one who snuck in and made all the fuss, why would they need to make up an engagement. It sounds like Jameson hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“I think that Jameson took advantage of the situation, and, in order to save his ass and cover up his bad boy behavior, he got her to agree to pretend to be his fiancée. It’s pathetic, if you ask me.”
I pull out my cell and call Coach Kramer.
“Kendrick, is everything okay?”
“Did you see that interview on the news? With the Carrie girl?” He clears his throat which tells me all I need to know. “If it’s not too much trouble, I want our lawyers on that girl for libel. Yesterday would ideal, but immediately will also do.”
Kramer chuckles. “I’m on it. Are you coming to practice?”
“That’s the other reason why I’m calling. There’s something I’ve got to do, and the sooner, the better.”
“Does it have to do with Jenny?”
“It does,” I grunt.
“Good.” I’m surprised he’s on board so fast. Kramer doesn’t like anyone missing practice unless it’s a ‘good God damn reason.’ “Just make sure to keep her this time, huh?”
“Will do, coach. Will do.”
We hang up, and I get my keys. There aren’t very many places Jenny would go. I highly doubt she’s back in her dorm. The only other place I can think of is her parent’s house.
Thank God I have the address. I type it into my GPS and head out to the farm immediately. I need to get her back before it’s too late, and she’s decided I’m not worth any more. She’s the first girl to make me think that I actually could do something good and maybe even worthwhile with myself.
*****
I’ve been on the road for about an hour. It sucks that she’s so far away. I wish I could just be with her this instant. At least I have more time to think about what I want to say. I see a car approaching me, and it resembles Jenny’s. There’s no way. She passes me, and, seeing the driver, I know that it’s her.
I do the most illegal U-turn, not wanting to lose her again. I’m so anxious, my hands are gripping the steering wheel for dear life. I’m gonna break a bone if I don’t calm down.
Jenny pull into a gas station, and I follow suit. I don’t think she’s noticed me yet. I park a few cars down from her and get out. She’s about to walk into the store, but I call out.
