Never Be the Same

by A. Aubry

  “What is going on? What did she say?”

  Great, make me relive it why don’t you.

  “She said that they had been working things out between them because she still wants to be with him. She also said that if Jameson didn’t want to be with her then he could do better than me.”

  Zander sighed, “All of that is a load of shit, Bri. He hasn’t spoken to her at all. He blocked her number after they broke up. And as far as the crap that he can do better than you, I don’t think he can.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Since Jameson met you, I don’t see him getting anyone better for him. Most girls that he has met and been with are only after his money. You, on the other hand, are not. I’m sure that’s what this is all about. Vanessa wants back in because when her and Jameson were together, he didn’t have as much money as he does now.”

  Zander stood up as I shrugged. It was nice of him to try to comfort me, but I needed to hear everything from Jameson. Zander walked down to the nurses’ station and after a few minutes, a hospital security guard showed up. What would he need with security? The rather large and scary looking man walked down to Jameson’s door, nodded at me, and entered the room. A moment later, Vanessa was being dragged out of the room kicking and screaming. I couldn’t help but watch as she made a scene down the entire hallway until she and the security guard disappeared. It was like a car accident, you shouldn’t be watching it, but you couldn’t look away.

  Zander appeared at my side once more with a broad smile on his face. I could tell that he had a sense of accomplishment at getting her kicked out. I laughed quietly to myself and shook my head.

  “Z,” Jameson’s voice floated out of the room, “Is Bri still out there?”

  Zander looked into the room, “Yeah, man. She’s right here.”

  “Oh, thank god,” I heard Jameson say softly.

  I stood up and wiped my eyes, praying they weren’t all red and puffy like they normally got whenever I cried. Zander stepped out of the doorway and allowed me to walk in. I caught a glimpse of him plopping down in the chair that I had just vacated. He was going to give us some more privacy. I slowly walked into the room, my hands playing nervously in front of me.

  “Come here, baby,” Jameson held out his hands, encouraging me back to him.

  Without another word, I walked back to his bedside and sat on the edge of his bed. Jameson reclined the bed back a little and moved over, opening a space up next to him. My head cocked to the side as I wondered what in the world he was doing.

  Jameson patted the open space beside him, “Lay with me, we need to talk about what just happened.”

  “I—I can’t, Jay. That bed is meant for you.”

  “If I say that this bed is for us, then it is for us. Now lay with me.” His voice was just the right amount of firm yet soft.

  It was an argument that I knew that I would never win. So, reluctantly, I laid down beside him before turning onto my side, fitting perfectly into the space he had provided. My head rested into the crook of his neck and his arm laid under me as he held me just close enough that we were touching but not hurting him at the same time. I didn’t even know where his wounds were, I was worried about touching every single inch of him for fear that I would hurt him.

  “What Vanessa said about us working things out isn’t true,” Jameson whispered as he pressed his lips against my hair.

  “I know, Zander talked to me about it in the hallway,” I assured him.

  “Sometimes it’s nice to have Zander handy, other times…not so much,” he softly chuckled.

  “When are the other times?” I asked curiously.

  “Now, when he’s staring into the room at us and winking at me.”

  I giggled and buried my face into his neck, taking a moment to relish in the heat of his skin so close to mine.

  “When I was with Vanessa two years ago, I thought that she was it for me. When we broke up, I never let in another person as easily as I let you in. What we have is far more real than anything I have ever had and that is including what I had with Vanessa.”

  “Is this the part where you ask me to be your girlfriend? Because I don’t remember that ever happening,” I quipped.

  Jameson’s hand gently tugged on my hair and I pulled my face back from his neck to meet his eyes, “I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend the night I was attacked. I was also going to tell you that I’m in love with you.”

  My mouth fell open in surprise. Jameson loved me. Just like I had realized after a few days with him that I loved him. Everything that I had been feeling and thought that he had been feeling wasn’t a lie. Holy hell.

  Jameson smirked, his signature teasingly playful smirk, “This is the part where you say it back. Unless you don’t feel the same, I don’t want to rush you.”

  I brought my hand up to his cheek and brushed my fingers along his skin, “Jay, I’m in love with you too. I have been for a while. I think that’s why I took you not contacting me so hard.”

  “Then, Briella Roberts, will you be my girlfriend?”

  “I thought you’d never ask,” I smiled, bringing his face down to mine.

  Waiting for Zander to open the door seemed like it was taking forever. Tomorrow would be my last day in New York, I took an extra day because today Jameson was being released from the hospital and I wanted to make sure he was settled before I had to go back.

  Finally, Zander turned the lock and pushed the door open, holding it so that Jameson and I could walk through. Jameson winced and grabbed onto the doorframe, his body hadn’t exactly been active the last three weeks and it was taking some adjusting on his part.

  “Easy, Jay, take your time,” I soothed, running my hand over his back.

  “I feel so pathetic,” he uttered.

  Pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, I smiled, “You’re the strongest man that I know.”

  Jameson coughed a laugh, “Yeah, I’m definitely not very strong right now.”

  He pushed up off the doorframe and I led him into the living room before he plopped down on the couch. That was when I had a moment to take in Jameson’s penthouse. The floor to ceiling windows reminded me of his home back in California. The views breathtaking all over again. If I thought that California had amazing views from his house, I hadn’t even been prepared for the beauty that was Manhattan and Central Park from a penthouse apartment.

  “Wow, this view is amazing,” I said in disbelief as I walked over to the windows.

  Zander laughed, “You live in Chicago, I bet you have good views too.”

  I turned my head and looked at him with narrowed eyes, “Zander, I live in the suburbs of Chicago. I cannot afford to live in the downtown area.”

  His eyes shot up in surprise, “Really? Jameson has a place down there.”

  Jameson grabbed the nearest item to him, a pillow from his couch, and chucked it at Zander. I giggled and shook my head at them.

  “Of course, he does,” I rolled my eyes, because why wouldn’t Jameson have an apartment in downtown Chicago?

  “We have a club down in Chicago and I had to stay there to oversee the construction and stuff. It’s a nice city and it’s better to have a place to call my own when I have to check up on the club,” Jameson offered his explanation.

  I walked back over to where Jameson sat and leaned in close to him, resting my hands on the cushion behind his back, “Jay, you don’t have to explain it to me. I understand. Plus, that’s just one more place that we can christen together when you are all healed.”

  Jameson’s eyes lit up and his hands rested on my hips before they traced up my body to my breasts, “We could always get to christening this place right now.”

  “Guys, that’s just gross. You’re acting like I’m not even here,” Zander whined.

  “Z, you once dry humped a girl in front of me for ten minutes before you remembered I was there,” Jameson pointed out, “If I want to talk to my girl like that and touch her in my house, I am more than
allowed to do that.”

  I kissed his lips quickly to soften the blow of removing his hands from my chest, “Too bad the doctor said that you can’t do any strenuous exercise for a while.”

  “Damn, she’s got you there, Jameson,” Zander teased, immediately silencing at the death stare that Jameson was shooting him.

  “Get the fuck outta here,” Jameson said in a stern voice that I hadn’t heard from him before.

  Zander help up his hands in surrender, “Okay, okay. If you need me tomorrow after she leaves then just call me.”

  He left in a hurry, probably to avoid Jameson’s gaze. As soon as the door slammed shut, Jameson pulled me to him, forcing me to straddle his lap so I didn’t collapse on his chest. Jameson had four stab wounds total. All four were to his torso, one coming scarily close to puncturing his lungs. I couldn’t believe that a group of men would attack a solo guy just because they wanted his wallet. Jameson didn’t even see them coming, they didn’t even bother to demand his wallet from him like normal robbers did. They just started stabbing and took what they wanted later.

  “Jay, baby, you gotta be careful,” I scolded softly, running my hand through his hair.

  He looked like he was getting better and stronger every day. Zander had told me one day that while Jameson was in a coma, he looked as white as a ghost the first day that he saw him. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Jameson to be looked at as vulnerable and weak. But even the toughest of men could be brought down by the blade of a knife. I almost lost Jameson because of it and it only proved that he was human.

  “I just want you close,” he sighed, easing me closer to him so that he could bury his face into my neck.

  Every second that we were together, and he was able to be in this position, he took it the last few days. It was his way of reassuring himself that I was really there with him. Who was I to argue or to tell him to stop when he needed reassurance?

  “I’m here,” I whispered while rubbing his back, “You’ll always have me.”

  I could feel him relax in my grip, I’ve seen Jameson at his prime and now I had seen him at his lowest. He needed me as much as I needed him. The three weeks of agony that I went through was enough proof of that.

  “I’m going back with you,” Jameson stated into the quiet moment we were having.

  I sat back slightly so that I could look at him, “What are you talking about?”

  A shy smile tugged at his lips and it nearly took my breath away, “When the nurse was talking to you about the ointment for my stab wounds…I asked the doctor if I could travel to Chicago with you. He recommended me to a doctor out there for follow ups and said I could start my physical therapy there as well. The club in Chicago needs to be checked on anyways since it’s been almost a year. That club hasn’t been doing so well the last several months and I was going to check there after New York before this happened. This way, you can still work, but I can continue to be close to you.”

  The grin that took over my face was so wide that my cheeks actually hurt, “You’re being serious right now?”

  “Very serious,” he confirmed.

  “Oh my god, Jay!” I squealed, pulling him back into my arms and quickly apologized when he groaned at the soft collision of our bodies, “This is amazing news!”

  Jameson chuckled, “Know any good physical therapists out there in Chicago?”

  I playfully tapped my fingers against his back, “I work in a hospital, what do you think?”

  “You could always prep me for physical therapy,” he said in a low, seductive voice.

  “I would, but I only do prep for surgery,” I teased.

  Jameson’s hands ran down my body and cupped my ass, “I think the first step of preparation is to take off my shirt.”

  I raised an eyebrow and pursed my lips, deciding to go along with his rouse. I followed his instructions and lifted his shirt up and over his head. When the material slipped through my fingers and landed with a soft thud on the hardwood floors, my eyes ran over stitched up knife marks that marred his skin. The doctor said they would obviously become scars, but they needed their time to heal.

  “Now your shirt comes off,” Jameson encouraged quietly.

  “If you pull this shit with your physical therapist, Jameson Barnes, we are going to have an issue,” I crossed my arms over my chest in an attempt to show that I was serious.

  “Oh, don’t worry, baby. This is just for my in-home therapy,” he smirked but allowed his hands to trace up my hips before latching onto my shirt and pulling it over my head.

  I watched as Jameson eyed the lacy blush pink of my bra. This man was stabbed several times and was in a coma because of those injuries, but yet his libido never failed. I rolled my eyes at his persistence but reached behind me and unlatched my bra before discarding it on the floor.

  “Yep, perfect therapy right here,” his lips perked up more before his hands latched onto my breasts.

  He squeezed just a little too hard and it made me jump, after not being touched like this for three weeks I was a bit sensitive, “Geez, Jay. Be careful. They are my breasts not your stress balls.”

  “But they are the perfect consistency for stress balls,” he joked as he squeezed gently this time.

  I cocked my head to the side and my gaze moved down to his lap, “You want me to squeeze my stress balls like that?”

  Jameson shook his head, “No, god, please no,” he leaned down and kissed each breast in turn, “I’m sorry my babies, I’ll never do it again.”

  Giggling, I carefully brought us back together. Jameson’s hands moved back down to my ass and I could feel the roughness of his stitches against my bare skin. Our lips met and the slow, passionate kiss that ensued was one of many that had happened over the last few days. Each kiss was an apology of the time that we had lost and the tenseness that was between us when he first called me. Each kiss was a promise of a better tomorrow and a need to feel the now.

  Chapter Ten

  I walked into Jameson’s bedroom to see him still lounging in bed. At least this time when I walked into the room he was in regular clothes and not in his pajama pants like he was before. I had spent lots of time with Jameson when I was visiting California, and I thought I knew everything about him. When we were in California, we didn’t have a timeline of events, we didn’t have a schedule to keep to. This time, however, I had a plane to catch and so did he so that we could get to Chicago within the realm of the same time. Now, I found out Jameson was more of a ‘go with the flow, get there when we get there’ type of guy. I, on the other hand, was more of a planner and scheduler.

  “Jameson Barnes, we need to get going. I’m going to be late for my flight,” I whined as I sat down on the edge of the bed next to him, pushing my weekend bag towards the middle of the bed.

  “You’re cute when you’re flustered,” he grinned as he slowly sat up straight.

  “Well I’m about to get real fucking adorable if you don’t get your ass in gear,” I narrowed my eyes at him.

  He eased closer towards me and cupped my cheek, “I’m sorry, Bri. I’m ready now.”

  What the fuck was he talking about? Where were his bags with his clothes and other things he would need in Chicago?

  My head whipped around as I searched the room but only saw my bag on the bed, “Am I missing something? Where is your stuff?”

  The way Jameson’s smooth laugh floated around me made my heart skip a beat, “I already have clothes and everything I need at my home in Chicago. Each one of my houses has the things I need because I never know how long I will be there.”

  Well, that made sense.

  “Okay. Well let’s go then. I don’t want to be late for my flight and I’m sure you don’t want to be either.”

  As I tried to get up, Jameson gently grabbed my wrist, “I lied, I’m not ready.”

  I heaved a heavy sigh, “What do you mean you aren’t ready, Jay?”

  He tugged on my hand and I got closer to him without practically sitting o
n his lap, “I haven’t gotten a kiss.”

  Even though it was a pathetic excuse, and a complete lie because I had kissed him ten minutes before, it still made me blush like the guy I had been crushing on just called me cute, “If I give you a kiss, will you be ready then?”

  Jameson nodded quickly, and I knew I had to give in. I mean, how could you say no to someone who was being utterly adorable?

  Carefully, I laced my fingers into Jameson’s hair and brought his lips to mine. All the air was pulled out of my lungs as soon as they touched. No matter how many times I kissed this man, that was always the reaction that my body had. Well that, and my skin practically hummed with the energy that I felt between us and fireworks went off like crazy in my head. When I felt like I needed to be able to breathe, I pulled back slightly and watched as Jameson kept his eyes closed for a few more seconds.

  “I love you, Bri,” Jameson whispered when our eyes finally met again.

  “I love you too, Jay. Now let’s get moving.”

  I helped Jameson stand up from his bed, his range of motion getting better a little more every day. We rode the elevator down to the lobby of his penthouse apartment before going out to his town car with Antonio as our driver. Once my small weekend bag was in the trunk, the car took off in the direction of the airport. Jameson seemed oddly quiet and content with being in the car. I didn’t even think that he had a plane ticket yet and yet he looked so calm and collected.

  As we drove nearer to the airport, I watched as the airplanes landed and took off. It was something that always mesmerized me from the outside but once you got me in a plane, I was terrified of both. The exit sign for the departures ramp passed by in a flash and I almost asked Antonio were the fuck he was going. That was until we pulled up to a small security building. Antonio exchanged words with the security guard that was working before he continued to drive. My mouth fell completely open when finally, we parked beside a small personal plane. Was I dreaming?

  “Jay?” I looked over at where he sat beside me, a large grin on his face, “What is going on?”