Never Be the Same

by A. Aubry

  “We are going to Chicago. Now let’s get going, don’t want to miss our flight,” he teased as Antonio opened my door and Jameson opened his own.

  With a furrowed brow, I climbed out of the car and stood on the tarmac staring at the sleek white plane that sat before me. Sure, I had seen my fair share of celebrities posting pictures of planes like these before they took them on whatever trip they were going on. I just had never had the opportunity to do that myself. Jameson came up beside me with my weekend bag in hand.

  “This is my plane. I figured we would prefer to fly just the two of us rather than share the aircraft with everyone around us,” he offered as an explanation as to what in the world was happening.

  “You…have a plane,” I started, “I should’ve assumed that from the fancy places that you live.”

  Jameson chuckled and placed a soft kiss upon my cheek, “Yes, you should have. But, if I am being honest, I am glad that you didn’t.”

  Without another word, he took my hand and guided me to the staircase. He allowed me to walk up in front of him and when we reached the landing and stepped inside, we were greeted by the pilot and a woman in a soft blue uniform which I soon learned was the flight attendant. Jeremy was Jameson’s pilot along with Marie as the flight attendant. When Jameson introduced me as his girlfriend, I had never seen two more surprised faces in my life. Was it normal for Jameson to bring girls on the plane as anything but his girlfriend?

  Turning toward the cabin, four large tan plush chairs sat around a long shiny brown wooden table with two on either side. On the other side sat a long tan couch with a few more chairs towards the back of the plane. As we took our seats in two of the chairs at the table, I noticed a few doorways towards the back of the plane. According to Jameson, a small bedroom was in the very back and the bathroom was also located back there as well. He pointed out that it was a full bathroom and my jaw nearly hit the floor. The only bathrooms I had ever seen on planes were the ones where you barely had any room to move and there was only a toilet and a sorry excuse for a sink.

  We buckled up as the pilot announced over the speaker that we would be taxiing to the runway shortly. Marie brought us each a glass of champagne, which I fought Jameson over for a few minutes because he was on low dosage pain medication because of his wounds still healing. I soon learned that Jameson was far more stubborn than I took him for before. After that, Jameson learned that plane takeoffs scared the shit out of me when I grabbed his hand and squeezed it so hard that he told me it was actually starting to hurt. That was what I got for watching Final Destination when I was far too young.

  As the plane finally leveled out, and Marie refilled our glasses before bringing out a few snacks, I really had time to reflect on what Jameson had said earlier. He said he was glad that I didn’t assume that he had a private jet. To be honest, I should have realized it when I found out that he owned the damn club that I was at. Everything surprised me about this man and I didn’t know if it was because of my naivety or I just wanted to be surprised. What girl wouldn’t want to be flown around on a private jet? I was sure there were many girls on this plane with Jameson at one time or another. From the looks that I was getting from Jeremy and Marie, I wasn’t the first girl to be there, but I was the first to be called his girlfriend to them.

  “Can I ask you a question?” I said out loud before meaning to.

  Jameson ran his thumb over the back of my hand, “You know you can always ask me anything.”

  “Why did you say earlier that you were glad I didn’t assume you had a private jet?” I responded quietly.

  “Because most girls do assume that and then that is when the girls who are looking for the perks of being with me start to pop up everywhere. The fact that you didn’t assume right away that I had a private jet and would fly you anywhere you wanted to go in a blink of an eye shows me that you are with me not because of my money, but for me.”

  “Of course I am with you for you, Jay. Yeah, the fancy cars, houses, and this plane that is fucking massive are perks. But that doesn’t mean that is exactly what I want or all that I want from you.”

  Jameson’s forehead creased as he thought about what I said, “What do you mean?”

  I brought his hand in mine up to my lips, setting a soft kiss against the back of his hand, “I want you as you are. The perks could disappear tomorrow, but you’d still be Jameson. That is why I am with you. You are the guy behind the perks and they mean nothing to me because you are the biggest perk to me.”

  “Damn I wish I could take you back to that bedroom and show you exactly how I feel about you,” Jameson said softly, his eyes watching me closely.

  “Well since that is a big no-no from the doctor, why not tell me how you feel about me?” I offered, lifting up the arm rest that divided us and moved closer beside him.

  Jameson let go of my hand and put his on my cheek as he looked into my eyes, “I love you, Briella. So damn much that I didn’t even know that it was possible to love someone this much.”

  My cheeks flushed at his words, “I love you too, Jameson. You can’t even begin to understand how much.”

  “Eh, I have a feeling that I do,” Jameson playfully lifted a shoulder in a small shrug.

  “Yeah, I don’t think you do,” I giggled before leaning in and giving him a quick kiss.

  The rest of the plane ride was spent with my head resting on Jameson’s thigh as he worked on his laptop before I ultimately had fallen asleep. The previous night, I had laid awake and watched Jameson sleep. It was his first night in his own bed after being released from the hospital, and I was on high alert for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. So now that he was on his laptop doing the work and responding to the emails that he hadn’t been able to get to for three weeks, I felt like it was as good a time as any to take a little catnap. Not to mention that Jameson had a really comfortable thigh even though it was outrageously muscular.

  As soon as we landed, and I turned my phone off airplane mode, dozens of text messages from Ashley came through demanding that I call her because she hadn’t heard from me and I wasn’t at work yesterday or today. Once Jameson saw the myriad number of text messages, he laughed and nodded that I could call her when we got in the car. I shouldn’t have been surprised when there was a shiny black tinted out town car waiting for us on the tarmac with yet another driver. I had gotten used to Antonio who was Jameson’s driver in New York, but it was going to take some real adjusting to get used to another one. This one’s name was Christopher.

  Jameson opened my door for me and I smiled at his gentlemanly behavior. I never had to ask him to do things like that for me, he automatically went and did it which was a major plus in my book. When we were settled into the leather seats in the back of the car, I finally picked up my phone and called Ashley. Jameson’s hand went protectively to my knee once I joked that I would be entering an interrogation because I hadn’t told anybody that I was going to be in New York to see Jameson this last weekend. When Ashley finally answered, I realized I shouldn’t have joked too much about it because it definitely felt like an interrogation from the get-go.

  “Where the hell have you been? I mean, I know you had a long weekend off from work, but I had tried calling you because you were a wreck leading up to that. Then I heard you weren’t even at work yesterday or today?”

  “Yeah, I took a few extra days…what’s the matter with that?” I asked defensively.

  “Bri, I’m not trying to be all up in your business, but what’s going on with you is not healthy. Yes, you haven’t heard from Jameson in nearly a month and that is terrible. But I think it’s about time that you get some help to get over Jameson. Meet with a therapist or just talk to a professional about how depressed you have been.”

  I knew she meant well, but even if Jameson hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have sought out help or a professional to talk to. I would have eventually gotten out of my slump and been back to my normal self.

  “Ashley—” I start
ed before she cut me off.

  “No, I know you’re going to try to talk your way out of getting help, but it is really for the best.”

  I sighed, getting a little annoyed with the pushiness, “Ashley, I took the few extra days because I was in New York visiting Jameson.”

  Her audible gasp made me smirk, “Wait, he finally called you? What the fuck! Why didn’t you tell me? What was his lame ass excuse for not talking to you for the last three weeks?”

  I snuck a peek over at Jameson who was working on his phone with his free hand while his other rested on my knee, “There was an incident and that was why he couldn’t answer me.”

  That caught his attention. Our eyes locked and I could see so many apologies playing in his gaze. There were moments over the last few days where he would just start apologizing profusely. The attack wasn’t his fault and he had no way of knowing that it was going to happen. I had been working double time in comforting him during his healing but also comforting him when he would start to get into that apologetic mood.

  “What do you mean incident? That doesn’t sound suspicious at all,” Ashley huffed.

  Jameson nodded at me, letting me know that I could tell her what happened. I took a deep breath because no matter how many times I thought about the attack or talked about it with Jameson, it didn’t make it any less emotional for me. This man who sat beside me was almost taken from me and that in its own right was horrifying to me. I pursed my lips and decided that she really did need to know or else she wouldn’t really take a liking to Jameson as she had before.

  “He was attacked on his second night in New York. A group of guys robbed him after stabbing him and leaving him for dead. The last three weeks, Jameson was in a coma in the hospital and Zander had no way of contacting me because the people who attacked him took his phone.

  “Zander didn’t know much about me either, so he couldn’t exactly look me up in the Chicago phone book and get in touch with me. Jameson called me as soon as he got Zander to go get him a new phone and apologized and flew me out to New York to see him. We just got back today, and I will be back to work tomorrow.”

  There was a long silence before she finally answered, “Holy shit. Wait, what do you mean we are back?”

  Jameson moved his hand off my knee before putting his arm around me once he saw the tears welling up in my eyes from recalling his story, “Jameson has a place here in Chicago. He also has a club down here that needs to be checked on, so he came out here with me. We also wanted to spend some time together and the best way we can do that with my job is for him to be here with me.”

  “Is he okay?” She inquired, and I knew that she was back on his side.

  “He’s getting a little better every day. He’s going to start physical therapy at the hospital tomorrow and I can only see him going up from there,” I smiled up at Jameson.

  “Okay, as long as you are happy and not curled up in a ball at your apartment pretending that you are fine. I will see you at work tomorrow for our usual lunch date,” Ashley replied.

  I nodded even though she couldn’t see me, “I will definitely be there. Thanks for checking in on me, Ash. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  We hung up and I snuggled in closer to Jameson as we sat in the traffic of Chicago. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the traffic in New York and Los Angeles, but we were still stuck in it nonetheless. He kissed the top of my head before going back to his phone which showed his emails that he was still working on. Three weeks of a coma didn’t mean that the emails stopped rolling in apparently.

  I recognized where we were before Jameson had even pointed out that we were stopping at my apartment to get some of my things. Since he was going to be staying in Chicago, he wanted me to stay with him. According to him, he had three weeks of making up to do and that would only be done if we were living under the same roof. As we rolled up to my apartment in my suburban neighborhood, I could see Jameson’s mind working. Where I lived was nowhere near as fabulous as the places he did, but it was still mine. We hopped out of the car and walked up to the building.

  Once I let us inside and we climbed the two flights of stairs to my apartment, we were standing outside my apartment door. Jameson definitely looked out of place even though he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Just his presence screamed money and I knew that he was in for a surprise when I opened my door to my one-bedroom apartment. Unlocking my door and moving into the apartment, I held the door open for Jameson. After a few steps inside, he turned his head to take it all in as I closed the door behind him.

  “So, what do you think?” I asked as I came up beside him.

  My apartment was one of the ones that was recently redone before I had moved in. All the appliances in the kitchen were brand new and while the rest of the apartment was not that large, it was big enough for one person, or maybe two, to call home. Jameson looked around the room before looking down at me.

  “It’s definitely quaint, but it doesn’t scream Briella,” he smirked.

  “Well, that would probably be because I moved in almost year ago once I got my raise but haven’t really had the time to settle in and make it my own,” I answered before sticking out my tongue teasingly.

  Jameson chuckled and pointed in the direction of my bedroom, “Go get some of your things together. I’m in need of a nap with my beautiful girlfriend.”

  I pursed my lips as I flushed. Turning around, I fast-walked to my room and exchanged the clothes in my weekend bag for new ones along with some other little things that I would be needing. With my laptop squished into the top of my bag, I zipped it up and threw it over my shoulder before returning back into the living room where Jameson was looking closely at the few picture frames sitting on a small shelf. I came up beside him and set my bag on the floor as he studied a picture of me and my mother closely from when I was just a few months old.

  “You were the most adorable baby,” Jameson quipped before side-eyeing me.

  “I was a very chubby baby, kind of like a cabbage patch doll,” I responded sarcastically as I put my arms around his waist.

  “Aren’t all babies chubby?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

  “I have actually seen some rather skinny babies in my lifetime,” I giggled.

  Jameson put his arm around my shoulder and held me tighter against his side, “Well I think you were very adorable.”

  “What about now?”

  Of course, I knew I was fishing for a compliment, but I wasn’t used to getting them. Anytime that Jameson called me beautiful or anything it made my day about a hundred times better. Gavin pretty much ceased all compliments of me once we were engaged and it felt nice to be complimented every once in a while.

  “Now? I think you look gorgeous,” he said honestly before tilting up my chin and placing a gentle kiss against my lips.

  “Let’s get you home. It has definitely been a busy day for you after being in the hospital for so long.”

  “Sounds good to me. Any time that I can get you in a bed is the best part of my day.”

  “Jameson Barnes, we are not having sex until the doctor gives you the all clear.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, you’ll be begging for it soon enough. Three weeks is a very long time.”

  I rolled my eyes, “You will be the one begging, Jay. Not me.”

  “Challenge accepted.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Mrs. Anderson, this is James and he is going to be wheeling you up to your room upstairs. Dr. McGee said that the surgery went great and that he will be up to check on you later on. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask the nurses…I made sure that you went to the best floor with the best nurses,” I smiled and winked.

  The elderly woman held out her hand and gave mine a quick squeeze, “Thank you, Briella. Whatever has you this happy, keep it close.”

  I could feel my cheeks burn with a blush, “I will, Mrs. Anderson. Take care.”

  Walking over to James’ work station, I gave him the all clear to tak
e Mrs. Anderson upstairs. I rounded the desk and happily typed in her file the instructions from the doctor to the nurses up on the floor that she would be on. While I was working, my mind kept flipping back to Jameson. He had his first physical therapy appointment here at the hospital this morning and I hoped it was going to go well. It didn’t help how adorable he was last night about things and how right it felt to be living together in a sense so early on in our relationship.

  A few of my coworkers had been eyeing me suspiciously because of how happy I had been since I came back to work this morning. To be fair, it was a complete one-eighty from how I had been acting all of last week up until I left for New York. I couldn’t help it, Jameson made me happier than I had ever felt in my entire lifetime. That included every single day that I had been with Gavin as well. Just as I finished making a few notes in other patients’ files, the phone beside me rang on the desk. I picked it up and nestled it between my ear and shoulder to finish the note I was making.

  “Surgery, this is Briella,” I said into the phone.

  “Hey Bri, it’s Tina. There’s someone asking for you in reception,” Tina’s soft voice responded.

  I chuckled, “Did you get a name?”

  “Um…” She spoke away from the phone before answering, “Jameson Barnes?”

  My heart jumped at the sound of his name, “I’ll be right there!”

  I didn’t even give her time to reply before hanging up the phone. Locking my computer, I hopped up and walked as fast as I could up to the reception area of the hospital. The second that I rounded the corner, it was hard to miss Jameson. He stood out like a sore thumb, even though he was in workout pants and a t-shirt that hugged his frame nicely. Ignoring everyone around us, I jogged up to him, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him several times before choosing to speak.

  “Jay, baby, is everything alright?” I questioned, admiring his facial features even though I just did that this morning.

  “Of course, everything is alright. You’re here now,” he smirked, giving me another gentle kiss.