Jamie has it all - depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and a hate for her endless acne. With no friends, a distant family, and a nonexistent love-life, Jamie has made it through her twenties by hanging onto her dream of becoming a professional si...
When we got to the car, A.B. opened the passenger's door for me.
I stood in front of him. "There's one more place we can go." I took out my phone. Seconds later, I showed the location to A.B.
A.B. looked at my phone. "Donuts?"
Inside the opened-late Donut shop, I picked out four unique donuts. From there, A.B. drove to his Airbnb. We walked up a staircase that led to a cozy balcony. We sat in the two chairs with a small table in between us, under an umbrella. Behind us was all glass with a view of a bedroom.
"This is a really nice Airbnb." I opened the box of donuts.
"It's one of my client's vacation homes. They said I can have the room whenever I'm in town, and this is my first time here."
I asked, "Just the room?"
A.B. pointed at the bedroom. "That room is a loft. It has a bathroom with the biggest tub I've ever been in, a massive closet, a kitchen with a compact stove, oven, and microwave. It takes up the entire second floor."
"Now it sounds like a hotel suite." I picked up a strawberry donut covered with sprinkles and mini-marshmallows before pushing the box over to A.B.
"Thank you." He reached in and grabbed the glazed donut with jelly filling.
I debated on finishing my half-eaten donut or taking a bite out of the second one. I was near over-doing it.
A.B. said, "You don't have to answer this right now or even at all. Have you thought about how long you're fake relationship is going to be?"
I swallowed my food. "It's hard to say... I was willing to end it when I got my record deal, but everyone including Zeke keeps saying to take advantage of the situation. With Zeke, I get a lot of benefits."
A.B. listened.
"Next month will be my last in boot camp, and I think from there I go into promoting the album."
"Do you have a title, yet?" A.B. asked.
"No. I haven't really thought about it..." I put down my strawberry donut and picked up the cereal covered donut.
"Jamie, I want to be your number one supporter. I want to go to every performance, buy every album, and watch every interview that I can."
I nearly dropped my donut as my heart beat faster.
"I'm serious," A.B. reassured me.
I looked at him to see the sincerity in his eyes. "Okay." I took a bite of my second donut. "Ohh, this one is really good." I pointed at it.
A.B. admitted, "I don't know about cereal as toppings on a donut."
I shook my head, "A.B., it's really good. You should try it." I broke a small piece of my donut and held it up to A.B.'s mouth.
"Are you feeding me?"
I sucked my teeth. "Eat," I demanded.
A.B. opened his mouth and I fed him the donut. As he chewed, I waited for his reaction. His eyes lit up as he nodded when he looked at me.
"I told you. What did I tell you?"
A.B. said, "You were right."
I gave him another piece, because I planned on finishing this donut.
"I should've grabbed our drinks out the car." A.B. sat upright.
I dusted the sugar off my fingers. "No need. I'm all done." I held out my hand. "I'm ready to go when you are."
A.B. took my hand in his. "I'm going to come back to see you, Jamie."
I smiled at him. "Please do." I got on my feet as we continued to hold hands.
A.B. stood up and in one smooth motion, his lips were pressed against mine.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I grabbed his arms to keep myself from falling. A.B. slowly pulled away, but I leaned forward, catching myself off-guard. I kissed him back.
I lost the track of time, but when A.B. lightly patted me on my back, we separated. I looked around at everything, making eye-contact with a squirrel. I just know it was judging me.
"You ready?" A.B. asked me.
"For?"
He licked his lips. "To go back home."
I playfully rolled my eyes. "Oh, yeah! Sure. Okay. Let's go!"
A.B. took my free hand and led the way from the top of the staircase to the car. The drive back to the River's residence was faster than I had anticipated. I really wish we had more time together.
A.B. put the gear in park.
I didn't even realize we were still holding hands.
"Jamie, I had a lot fun with you today, but I didn't expect anything less." He smiled at me.
I smiled back. "Same here. Please call me before you leave."
"I will." A.B. leaned towards me and kissed my cheek. "Goodnight, Jamie."
"Night." I released his hand and got out the car. I walked to the front door, still hearing the car running. I opened the door, went inside, and closed it. The walk to my bedroom felt like a blur. The smile on my face never faded as I thought about that kiss.
I'm so glad I met the present A.B. I have a feeling that the past A.B. would've done damage. I may be young, but I ain't stupid. That man knows what he's doing, and I don't want him to stop.
Once I got to my bedroom, I went inside, closed the door, and and crawled into bed. "We can't be friends, anymore. Not after today." I closed my eyes with a smile on my face.
