Banking on Him

Chapter 29 - Reese

I woke up the next morning in my apartment with a slight headache that was sure to morph into a fucking awful hangover. Slowly, I maneuvered myself out of bed and to the kitchen for a bottle of water. Jake was standing near the fridge and offered me a bottle as soon as I walked into the kitchen. "You look rough, man."

I flipped him off before downing the entire bottle of water in a few quick gulps. "Yeah, fuck you too dude. So you want to tell me where you went last night?"

I shook my head. He had asked last night too, but I wasn't sure if I should tell him I was fucking Serena in the VIP bathroom. Jake had drug me out to try to get over her, so that little fact probably meant he failed.

"Ok, let me rephrase that. I know you were with Serena," he said, looking at me pointedly. Well, apparently he hadn't been as drunk as me. I sighed audibly and waited for him to continue his bitchfest. He didn't. Instead, he just continued staring at me.

"I just can't get over her, man. She's different, and I love her," I admitted. He laughed and patted me on the back, "Well now that you've finally admitted that, we can figure out a game plan. But first, you don't have any fucking food so get your ass dressed; you're taking me to breakfast."

Fifteen minutes later we were in a nearby diner ordering pancakes and coffee. After the waitress left, he continued, "So, you said her job is the problem? She won't let you turn down this board offer?" 

I nodded, "She's so stubborn. She's also right, even if I do turn it down, we'd still have to continue with this hiding bullshit. The thing is, I want to show her off. I want to tell the entire fucking world she's mine."

Jake eyed me suspiciously over his steaming hot mug of coffee. Probably because he had never seen me like this. I had liked women before. Hell, I had even told other women I loved them, but it had never been like this. I never actually saw a future with them, or at least I never thought much about it.

"I wish I had a good solution for you man, but it sounds like you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. You should be persistent though. Don't let her go."

I nodded and thought about that for a minute. He was right, all I could do right now is show her that I was willing to fight for her. The rest would have to work itself out.

I pulled out my phone and texted Serena, hoping she wouldn't ignore me.

R: Hope you're feeling better than I am this morning...

I turned my ringer on and set my phone back on the table just as our food arrived.

*****

Jake left shortly after we got back to my place. He said he had some work to do and I was keeping him from all the gorgeous women that visited the winery every weekend.

Surprisingly, when I sat down in my office to dive into some work of my own, I had a reply from Serena.

S: I feel better than I deserve.

I was hoping for playful Serena, but at least she replied.

R: My head is killing me, and I have a ton of paperwork I've been putting off all week.

Normal, I was going for normal.

S: Paperwork sounds boring.

R: Necessary evil. What about you?

S: Work, probably.

R: Probably?

S: Oh Idk. I just haven't been into it lately. Maybe I'll go for a run.

R: Need a running buddy? We can be friends, right?

I watched the dots move across the bottom of the screen and then disappear, only to reappear a few seconds later. I knew she was seriously considering my motives.

S: I'll be at Midtown park in an hour... if you think you can keep up ;)

I fist pumped after reading her reply, ridiculously pleased that I had brought out playful Serena. She even invited me to see her, which was much more than I would have hoped for. I was fucking giddy, which was ridiculous considering I had just fucked her last night, but this was different. I said I wanted to try being friends and I would stick to my word. I wanted to be persistent, but at the same time, I didn't want to come on too strong. Subtlety... definitely not my strong suit.