The Game Changer The Final Score - By L.M. Trio Page 0,61

thing, I would have told him that nothing happened between us. I would never have let her go on believing I would sleep with anyone other than her. Walking away from her like I did was bad enough. Knowing what she believed to be true put things into perspective for me as to why she never tried to contact me.

And vice versa, when I told her about how horrible it was for me while I was away, she finally understood why it took me so long to come back to her. I witnessed some terrible things while I was away. I told her how I would hear crying during the night of guys being abused. It was bad and I had nightmares about it for awhile. Thankfully, because of my size and my attitude, I can be intimidating when I want to be, no one messed with me. I told her how I couldn’t show weakness or any type of emotion to anything that was going on around me. I had a few friends, but mostly kept to myself. I told her it was one of the reasons I didn’t want anyone I cared about around me. I was afraid it would soften me. After building up that wall for so long, I had a hard time breaking it down once I got out. I told her every bit of how screwed up I was.

We talk and we listen to one another. Not all of our conversations are deep. After getting the worst over with first, we rekindle the most important part of our relationship, our friendship. Our friendship is what attracted me to her from the moment I met her. She looked at me in a way that no girl had ever looked at me. It didn’t matter to her if I played baseball or mowed lawns. She cared about me and thought of me as her friend. She listened to what I had to say and offered her advice. She made me feel important because she trusted me enough to be a part of her life, a life that she kept private from most people. We told each other things that we knew would only stay between us. It was instant, and I knew even then that it was too special to ever let go.

As the weeks pass, we now talk easily and playfully with one another like we used to. On this one particular night, I joke with her about the kiss we shared the night of the fundraiser.

“It was like the first time I kissed you all over again, remember the Fourth of July?” I ask.

“Yes, it was,” she adds sweetly.

“Yeah, but only this time, I think I could have gotten you to go to bed with me,” I tease.

“Oh please! No way! I knew that’s what you were thinking.” She starts laughing.

“Five more minutes… that’s all I needed, if only Mya didn’t show up.”

“Nope, never would have happened,” she denies. “Are you trying to say I’m easy or something?”

“Well, I know firsthand you’re easy.”

“Only with you,” she teases.

“I’ll keep that in mind when I get home.”

We’re looking forward to seeing each other. By the end of our five weeks apart, I know one thing for sure. We belong to each other.

Chapter 16

(Jesse)

I breeze through my last exam of the day, then head to my shift at the gallery. After tonight, my schedule is clear for the next several days and I’m excited to have the time off.

Frank and I remain friends, but nowadays, things are more business-like. The private lunches and dinners come to an end, but he continues to teach me the ins and outs of the business. He’s planning another showcasing event for me sometime in late winter. It means a lot to me, knowing that he respects my work.

In the beginning, it was somewhat awkward. One day, while Jazz and I were alone in the gallery, we were talking in the office together about Luke. We didn’t hear Frank enter from behind. He acted as if he didn’t hear, but it was embarrassing just the same.

The following week, he stopped by the gallery with a tall beautiful blonde on his way out for the evening. He’d left his wallet in his desk. He introduced her to Jazz and I. Jazz later told me that her father owned several hotels in the Tampa Bay area. I was happy for him, but couldn’t help thinking he brought her in to let me know he’s