Chapter 11

 

 

By the start of the second quarter, Jessalyn was almost positive that Spencer wouldn’t show up. Giovanni and Jojo had arrived shortly after she did. Then came Kenton. Drake even showed up and that was rare considering the man worked late into the night. He still had on his work uniform when he arrived. Emory was relaxed in Remington’s arms, feeling better after she’d been sick for the better part of two weeks.

When Jessalyn heard the front door open again, her stomach tightened. Maybe Spencer had finally arrived. She was lying on the floor, partially on a beanbag, when she looked up to see who would come around the corner. Mild disappointment flooded her features when she saw it was Davina. Looked like Spencer was going to be a no-show after all.

“Hey, y’all,” Davina said, taking off her sweater. “What did I miss?”

“The entire first quarter,” Kenton said, then laughed.

Davina darted her tongue at him.

“Why are you so late, V?” Kenton asked.

Davina’s eyebrows raised. “Late? You act like this was an important meeting or something. It’s football, Kenton. Read my lips. Foot-ball…”

Kenton took a swig of beer and returned his attention back to the TV.

“Hey, Davina, there’s plenty of food in there. Go get a plate,” Emory said.

“I think I will. I’m starving, and I know Remy ordered all kind of fancy stuff, didn’t he?”

“You know he did,” Jojo said, cuddled up on the couch with Giovanni.

Jessalyn considered getting up to get some food, too since she had yet to have any, but she was caught up in the game. Plus, the position she was laying in was too comfortable to break away from, so she stayed put.

“Good evening everybody,” Spencer said.

The sound of his voice nearly paralyzed Jessalyn. Instead of making an effort to turn around and look at him or speak, she kept her focus on the seventy-inch flat screen. But something about knowing he was here, in the same room with her had all kind of emotions and vibes running through her. From what she could gather, he’d taken a seat on the sofa where Kenton was sitting. That meant, when she finally did go to the kitchen for a snack, she’d have to walk right by him.

Crap!

“What you been up to, Spence?” Kenton asked.

“Nothing. Same ol’, same ol’…just a different day.”

“I heard that,” Kenton said.

Jessalyn adjusted her position and kept on watching TV. She thought it was pretty weird how she couldn’t see Spencer’s face, but she knew he was watching her. She could feel his eyes. His energy. They shared vibes – a strong force that even in a room full of people, they could easily tune into each other.

When Davina stepped back into the room with her plate, she said, “Oh, hey, Spence. I didn’t see you come in. What’s up?”

“Nothing much. What’s up with you?”

Davina eased down on the floor next to Jessalyn with a plate of food and a drink while saying, “Nothing much. It’s good to see you. I feel like we all haven’t gotten together like this in forever.”

“That’s because we missed the family dinner this past Saturday,” Giovanni said.

“And that would be my fault,” Emory said. “That cold really knocked me off of my feet. But I’m doing better now.”

“That’s all that matters, Emmie,” Davina said.

And that’s how it went for the next few minutes as the game approached halftime. Giovanni, Jojo, Emory and Remington were engaged in conversation. Drake was talking to Spencer and Kenton. Davina was eating chicken wings like this was her last supper.

Jessalyn sat up, thinking that this was her chance to get to the kitchen without too much attention on her. Without Spencer’s eyes on her.

As soon as she stood up and stretched, her eyes met his and their gazes held for more seconds than she wanted to hold it but for some reason – and she knew what that reason was – she couldn’t look away. When she remembered how he’d avoided her for nearly a week, looking away became that much easier.

She could finally breathe a sigh of relief when she was out of the room and standing in the kitchen, surveying the variety of foods. Taking a paper plate, she used a pair of tongs to grab a few chicken wings. Immediately after she did so, she felt Spencer’s presence lingering behind her.

A breath escaped her lips. No man had ever had this kind of effect on her. He didn’t even have to touch her. All he had to be was near her and her temperature elevated. Then she felt the warmness of his breath tickle her neck when he asked in a bitter tone, “So, how was your date?”

Jessalyn rolled her eyes but didn’t turn around to address him. She continued looking at the food. Picking up a spoon to scoop up jalapeño poppers, she said, “Oh…you can talk? That’s interesting.”

“I asked you a question, Jess.”

She shrugged. “So. I heard your question, just like you heard your phone ringing when I tried to call you over the last three days, but you didn’t answer, did you?”

A long sigh did nothing to calm him. He just continued to watch her with her back to him, irritated that she wouldn’t turn around to address him.

“And what’s it to you how my date went? It’s not like you actually care.”

“I do,” Spencer said, glancing around to make sure no one was coming into the kitchen, then continued, “Because I find it odd that, the night before this supposed date of yours, you were all over me.”

“And?”

His jaw tightened. “And I’m wondering if your tongue made its way down his throat the same way it did mine.”

Jessalyn frowned, then turned around to face him.

Before she could get a word out, he continued, “And you make a special trip to go dress shopping for this guy? He means that much to you that you have to go buy a new outfit to impress him?” His already angry expression hardened. “Who is he?”

She glared at him. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. Seriously,” he said, shooting her a penetrating gaze. “Who is he?”

“That’s none of your business, Spencer,” she snapped. “Jeez. I think I liked you better when you were ignoring me. Why don’t you go back to doing that?”

He wanted to grab her, rake the food off of the table and sit her butt down on it, pin her in between his legs, circle his arms around her and kiss the anger right out of her. But he couldn’t do that. If they were anywhere else besides Remington’s house, he probably would have. Right now, he wanted information and she refused to give it to him. So, he decided to push more of her buttons.

“Do you really think there will be another man as good to you as I am?” He chuckled softly. “If you’re thinking that, then you really do need to grow up a bit.”

That did it. She didn’t care that they were at Remington’s house and that the family was there. She needed to put an end to this here and now. “What do you want me to say, Spencer? That the date was horrible? That the entire time I was with him, I was thinking about you? Is that what you want to hear?”

Spencer frowned, leaving her question unanswered.

“Okay. Then I’ll say it. The date was horrible. The entire time—and I mean the entire time—I was with him, I was thinking about you.” After confessing that truth to him, whether he believed it or not given the sarcastic nature of her tone, something broke inside of her. Something that pained her. Feeling strongly about someone and not having those feelings returned was the worst feeling ever for anyone – man or woman. It was especially hard for her because she wasn’t new to him. She’d loved him for some time now and on two occasions, he had made her feel like something could materialize between them only for her hope to be dashed by his unwillingness to give a relationship a chance.

She kept her sadness at bay by the sheer anger coursing through her when she said, “While you’ve been busy pretending I didn’t exist for the last week, I was thinking about you. Every day. Thinking about how you were. Calling you. Texting you, and I get no response. How dare you question me about who I go out with? You have no right. It’s not like you want me, so what do you care if someone else does?”

Walking away from him with her food, she took her jacket from the living room couch, peeped inside of the entertainment room and said, “Sorry guys. I need to take my food to-go.”

“Noo,” Emory said. “Stay a lil’ while longer, Jess.”

“I can’t.”

Remington frowned. “Is something wrong?”

Yeah. Something was wrong. She couldn’t stand to be in the same room with Spencer. At least not right now. “No. I just have some business to attend to. I’ll see y’all later,” she said and walked away before anyone else could ask questions.

As soon as she started the engine to her car, she watched Spencer step outside. If he was trying to talk to her, it was too late. Now wasn’t the time nor the place and she wasn’t in a talking mood, anyway. She just wanted to get out of there as fast as she could.